Category: Animated

I think I checked this film out because I thought my housemate would like it, but he literally didn’t remember watching the first film and thought we were watching something from the live action series. This isn’t surprising as the first film was at best unmemorable. Here Gomez decides the cure to Wednesday’s preteen angst is to take the family on a road trip. Unfortunately an evil scientist has convinced her that she might not be an Addams. It’s not saying much but I do think the story here was stronger and more appealing than the original film. I like the cast they have chosen for the well known characters and while some of the backgrounds are surprisingly gorgeous, the animation style is generally weird and ugly. The various Addams look more natural than the style used for the ‘normal’ characters.

This is one of the ugliest animated films I’ve ever seen, almost uglier than Antz. While I’d love computer animated films to have some variety in their aesthetic, this ain’t it. Somehow an adaptation of the Persian poem, The Conference of Birds, birds live under the canopy of a giant tree and have forgotten how to fly. They are ruled under a reign of terror and coercion by the condors. A group of random bird, including a mixed breed couple, escape to later follow a path to enlightenment. I can only think the incredible voice cast (Jeremy Irons, Alicia Vikander, Jim Broadbrent) had no idea what the film would look like or the details of the weird plot before signing on to participate.

In the terrifying future where kids can no longer make friends, the tech industry steps in and creates B-bots, the best friend they’ll ever have whose personality is based solely on an algorithm reading through their social media. What is a kid who can’t afford to keep up with the ever changing cost of new tech to do? They buy an off the truck, damaged version and try to make do. The film tries to sell a message that the best friends aren’t the ones who are artificially trained to like everything you like, but the result is still a sad commentary on modern reliance on technology and the ubiquitousness of being tethered to a piece of machinery all day every day. To really push that message, it’s rendered in the most generic computer animation possible. It could be Disney or Pixar or Illumination. Surprise, it’s none of those three.

While there is a scene or two set at Christmas time, this is the rare Rankin-Bass stop-motion animated special that involves a less celebrated holiday. Groundhog Pardon-Me Pete explains the best/only Groundhog day tradition by narrating the tale of the one winter when immortal sprite Jack Frost made a bargain with Father Winter to become human. In the best Rankin-Bass fashion, it’s an attempt to explain holiday traditions with some real nonsense. There’s a whole bevy of weather making sprites whether sleet or hail or snow. The antagonist is a Cossack named Kubla Kraus whose only companions are a hand puppet named Dommy and an array of steampunk creations. It’s weird and delightful and a lovely way to celebrate a holiday that really doesn’t need celebrating.