Not all of the best superhero movies are inspired by comics and as such since the revival of the comic book movie, the superhero film has taken on a sub-genre of its own. There are plenty of films out there based on anime, manga, and comic books, but sometimes directors and studios pick up original properties that take on a life of their own as potential comic book bait. From the animated to the cult, these are the best superhero movies not based on comic books.
Tag Archives: Pixar
Day & Night (2010)
One of the elements of animation that Pixar has always excelled at that will garner them a bonafide place in history books and text books about storytelling and animation (whether you’re sick of seeing them on TV and awards shows or not) is the fact that the animators and writers in the studio are able to understand that animation is just as much a narrative experience as it is about sight and sound. As well you can also surround an animated film around sight and sound and little dialogue without overloading us with explosions and colors.
The Theology of "Toy Story 3"
We must warn you that there are immense spoilers and plot twists to “Toy Story 3” revealed in the following essay, so please display caution and read at your leisure.
Ultimately the “Toy Story” series comes full circle when we learn it’s all one big metaphor for the power of love, the sadness of growing up, and god. Many will dispute this fact, they’ll claim others are looking far too deep in to what is just a kids adventure film, but since when has a movie by Pixar ever been just about adventures and laughs? “Up” was about the sanctity of life and love, “Wall-E” about mass consumerism destroying the world and how love can save humanity, et al.
“Toy Story 3” is very much a take on religion in the end as while the first installment explored the blooming maturity of Woody’s master and the threat of being replace, and “Toy Story 2” focusing on the lessening importance of mementos, “Toy Story 3” dares to delve in to the after life of toys and dabbles with the concepts of these characters beliefs and their faith that could lead them down an interesting path in an after life that’s alluded toward but never revealed for us after the credits have rolled in front of our eyes. When the question of an after life and the potential death for the toys arises we’re immediately drawn in to a discussion about their fates that could have potentially varying degrees of experiences.
Toy Story 3 (2010)
What many are assuming is the final installment in the “Toy Story” franchise (until Disney assigns these characters to a new child protagonist) is an otherwise classy and entertaining finisher to what has been a three part exploration in to childhood and the doldrums of growing up and getting rid of the past. While the child audience has taken great joy in the adventures of Buzz Lightyear and Woody for the last ten years, like every other Pixar production it’s about much more than what’s on the surface. “Toy Story 3” much like its predecessors is about recalling a more innocent time and the relics of our past having to face that they’re just not needed anymore.
Our Top Ten Favorite Movie Toys
Toys can mean a lot of things to popular culture and fiction. They can be props, they can be used to sell things, they can entertain, they can impress, they can exploit, and they can become symbols for greater things. The sled in “Citizen Kane” was a toy but a huge symbol for something key to the development of its main character, in “Winnie the Pooh” they were characters facing the blossoming adolescence of their keeper Christopher Robbins, in “Inherit the Wind” Henry Drummond likened religion to a toy rocking horse with a gold coating and a rotten center, in “Poltergeist” a clown doll became an instrument for evil, in “Wall-E” our robotic hero collected toys and mementos that reflected on a world he was never a part of but wishes he would have been, and even in cult classics like “Monster Squad” protagonist Phoebe’s teddy bear became a last gift to her friend Frankenstein as he was doomed to a life in Limbo and torment.
Toys can do so much for the world, and they’ve become a link for our nostalgia and our childhood reminding us a childhood we wish we had and a childhood that we had that we enjoyed until we had to grow up and move on to bigger more mature things and responsibilities. In honor of “Toy Story 3,” we count down the “Our Favorite Movie Toys” from all of cinema and describe why we love these fragments of film that made us laugh out loud, cry our eyes out, and shiver in fright.
What are some of your favorite Movie Toys? Let us know in the comments!
Our Top Six Favorite Disney Heroes
In typical Disney form, the upcoming Oscars signal another potential award winning season as their film “Up” is nominated for Best Picture and best animated Feature, while “The Princess and the Frog” is up for Best Animated Feature as well. In spite of the obvious monopoly Disney holds on the Oscars, they’re knack for creating rousing heroes and heroines is legendary and their variety of characters are diverse and plentiful. So in honor of their potential Oscar victory, we picked our favorite Disney heroes.
Our Top 10 Animated Films of All Time
10. Wall-E (2008)
Directed by: Andrew Stanton
Written by: Jim Reardon
Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Studios
This was a last minute choice, but watching “Wall-E” in theaters this year was an incredible experience and has made me somewhat of a fan of Pixar Animation. Pixar and co. seem to put Disney on the fryer for the messages they influence here with themes of consumerism, materialism, and the dangers of dependence on big corporate conglomerates who keep us fat and happy. In their infinite ignorance, I doubt Disney saw the jabs through their dollar colored goggles. One of my favorite movies of 2008 and now one of my favorite animated movies of all time, “Wall-E” is that rare picture that features one of the most sympathetic heroes of all time, a droid with a simple purpose: Clean. He is then met by Eve, a new entity in his life that he falls in love with at first sight. This inspires a look in to a new world and a better purpose beyond working and he learns that he has a choice in how he lives his life. Just seeking to reclaim his love, he doesn’t know he’s introduced an apathetic, fat and lazy society to a world beyond comfort and sloth and to a crooked organization whose given up on humanity. It’s one of the most visually stimulating animated films with some of the best characterization I’ve ever seen in a movie that didn’t rely on dialogue.