Monsters under the bed, monsters under the closet. Are there anymore universal themes in our childhood that we can relate to? Arguably Pixar’s most imaginative film, Pixar is known for creating simplistic stories revolving around childhood themes and “Monsters Inc.” is a success for tapping in to that classic fear of children fearing the monster in hiding in the shadows ready to scare them at a moment’s notice. But what about the monster? What is its purpose? Why does it need to scare us?
Tag Archives: Animation
Pokemon The Movie: 2000 (2000)
I’m not a huge fan of Pokemon, but I am a casual watcher of the television program. This is alot better than the first one, and succeeds where the first one fails. This one makes me happy. The animation as always is spectacular and sleek, with mixing, computer animation, painting animation, and regular animation. We get to see this demonstrated in the pre-movie cartoon, “Pikachu’s Rescue”. In the scene where the clouds begin to form, we see the trees which are painted, brushing with the wind.
Osmosis Jones (2001)
In the movie, Frank (Bill Murray Stripes, Caddyshack) is a mega-slob who really doesn’t care how he lives, but there lies a world in that greasy oily body of his. When he eats a hard-boiled egg that dropped on the floor, he accidentally eats a lethal Tony Montana-esque germ by the name of Thrax (Laurence Fishburne The Matrix). Now, a white blood cell named Osmosis Jones (Chris Rock SNL, Head of State) and a cold pill named Drix (David-Hyde Pierce Frasier) must stop the germ from killing Frank. But can they catch him in time?
Shrek (2001)
In the movie, Mike Meyers plays Shrek, a huge green ogre who keeps to himself and lives alone in his swamp home constantly trying to be killed by angry villagers with pickforks, whom he often easily exterminates of. When the evil lord Farquaard played by John Lithgow (Third Rock from the Sun) forces fairy tale creatures off the royal lands, they take shelter in, of all places, Shrek’s swamp. Shrek, so urgent to get the creatures off his home, meets a talking donkey named… Donkey played by Eddie Murphy, and they must go to the palace to make a deal with the lord. But the lord makes a deal with Shrek, instead. He must rescue a beautiful princess named Fiona played by Cameron Diaz. Now shrek and Donkey must risk their necks, all for the sake of getting his home back once and for all.
The Road to El Dorado (2000)
It’s a shame that a film with such talent and imagery behind it ended up being ultimately a waste of time and effort. For a film marketed to children, I was shocked how utterly suggestive it tended to be, but beyond that, there’s really nothing worth remembering. With forgettable characters, and performances, it’s a waste. For a movie marketed to kids and advertised practically non-stop it’s a shame it can’t be considered even interesting children’s entertainment. Not to mention the lackluster and incredibly dull musical score.
Chicken Run (2000)
This is a cute story. Mel Gibson never ceases to pull in a fun performance. He’s energetic and realistic in this movie. He doesn’t have a humongous part or the starring role yet he pulls in an excellent performance. He’s hilarious and very funny. The dialogue is hilarious and the character set-up is great. We get to see the characters and their flaws which is great. The story takes place in a rural England farm where this woman named Ms. Tweedy grows chickens and sells their eggs.
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
This is a surprising change for Disney who holds such classic movies like “Beauty and the Beast”, “Cinderella”, and “Snow White” to their roster. “The Emperor’s New Groove” changes the frequently predictable and rather formulaic plotlines from the recent Disney epics and breaks the mold. It starts off telling the story of a very spoiled Mesopotamian prince by the name of Kuzco (David Spade) who is going to tear down a village for a summer home he is building, but unfortunately Pacha (John Goodman), the leader of the village can do nothing about it. Yzma (Eartha Kitt, Kuzco’s advisor is trying to take over the throne while Kuzco is away on business, Kuzco discovers this and fires Yzma, who then attempts to poison him and claim the throne once more with the help of her assistant, the dumb Kronk.