FINDING DORY

★★★

As far as animated movie sequels go, "Finding Dory" is far from a letdown. It’s a vibrant, often times hilarious sequel that successfully incorporates the characters we grew so fond of inits predecessor, "Finding Nemo", and manages to add new ones that are easy to fall in love with. And needless to say, it is also a perfectly enjoyable viewing experience for all members of the family.

Taking on a familiar plot, "Finding Dory" follows the adverse tasks taken on by Dory in her herculean attempt to find her long lost parents. Why adverse or herculean? Because, for those of you who haven’t seen “Nemo” since its release in 2003, remember that Dory suffers from short term memory loss, but since this was early onset, as the movie reveals, this also means that she has forgotten many aspects of her childhood, which could be considered long term memory loss as well.

This attempt starts one day in the quaint life that she leads with Marlin and Nemo,

exactly one year after Nemo’s rescue. Dory has an epiphany and all of a sudden can remember the address of her parents, which happens to be in California. This is on the other side of the world, however, and so, because of her condition, she enlists the help of many to get there, including Marlin and Nemo, the turtle Crush, an octopus named Hank, a whale shark named Destiny, a neurotic bird named Becky, among others. It’s a pleasure to watch and cheer on our beloved Dory in an effort that we can all hold near and dear if for no other reason than for the emotional plight that we were a part of in "Finding Nemo".

But as far as animated movies go, "Finding Dory" is not on par with its wildly imaginative and unequivocally sentimental predecessor. Since it is more or less a retread of the same story,it doesn’t have the originality of “Nemo”. Since the movie’s climax is out of place and since its ideals are just not as compelling, its conclusion is simply not as impactful as “Nemo”’s. The bottom line is that "Finding Dory" is neither as grand nor as rewarding as one might hope. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a fun ride.

- Written by Cole Pollyea

THE LEGO MOVIE

Cole's Rating: ★★★

Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Year: 2014
Cast: Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Alison Brie
Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG

It's obvious that a group of intelligent individuals sat down and came up with the idea for The Lego Movie. That shows in the screenplay. It's also obvious that moviegoers were very receptive to their style of filmmaking. That shows in the notably high Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%. And when you throw in cutting edge animation and notable voiceovers, the end result is a kids' movie that deserves a spot on the DVD shelf.

With that being said, it’s important to recognize the fact that I wasn’t blown out of my seat by this movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good flick, but through my eyes, it wasn’t as great as it was cracked up to be. I suppose that I was predisposed to it’s alleged excellence, and in turn, I was let down at it’s, for lack of a better term, mediocracy.

We’re thrown into the life of Emmet, a guy who strives to be “normal” and no different than “average” because, as it’s taken, the society revolves around this expectation of people. When he’s mistaken for the “most extraordinary person in the world”, he sets out on the adventure of his life to “save the world” with a multitude of friends including the funniest character in the whole movie, Batman.

As it sounds, The Lego Movie is creative. It stretches boundaries of animation that make us think, and along the way, it incorporates some genuinely funny moments that make it a memorable (enough) moviegoing experience. It really isn’t a hilariously comedic film, to my dismay, but it delivers time after time and it, overall, is worthy of your family’s viewing. Something to consider too, is that even if you don’t love it, the kids will. It’s charisma is simply too much to shy away from at a young age.

-Written by Cole Pollyea

THE NUT JOB

Cole's Rating: ★★

Director: Peter Lepeniotis
Year: 2014
Cast: Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson
Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG


       Before seeing The Nut Job, know this: it's been done before. Animals commit acts of theft in order to secure food for their survival during the winter. What's new? There isn't the slightest difference between this and the 2006 animated film, Over the Hedge, except maybe the voiceovers, which I found to below average here. Ultimately, The Nut Job doesn't have a lot of things going for it. I suppose its charisma may be on its side, but I wouldn't say that it's enough to justify a trip to the movies.

-Written by Cole Pollyea

TURBO

Cole's Rating: ★★★

Director: David Soren
Year: 2013
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Animation/Family
MPAA Rating: PG

“No dream is too big.” You hear that Dreamworks? That means that you can indeed make a film about a snail entering the Indy 500. TURBO is a movie that plays by its own rules, and doesn’t take any risks. However, the film boasts characteristics of originality; and that’s partly why it’s a movie I recommend. It is relatively expendable because anything could happen on its own terms; however, it doesn’t have too many recycled ideas (I won’t discuss the ending). Overall, this animated film is an entertaining under-dog story that will leave you and your family with a smile on your face, despite the fact that there isn’t much to think about after the credits roll.

TURBO is about Turbo, a race-car-driving-wannabe snail whose life is in the dumps at his home in the tomato plants. That’s basically all we get to know about the dreamer (unfortunately), so when he gets “transformed” into a super-speedy snail, he only focuses on being fast; and exercising his ability. He meets some friends along the way (including humans and snails), and they are voiced pretty well for the movie’s comedic and overall benefit. 

If you’re wondering if you should go see this, my answer is sure! It’s pure entertainment. It’s not as good as MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, but as my younger brother and I strolled out of the theater, he proclaimed “four stars!”, as he is aware of my rating system. It always elates me to see a smile on his face after a movie, so if you’re looking to see a movie, the only thing I can say for sure is this: Enjoy TURBO for what it can do for your family at any time of the day, and let your kids bathe in the glorious animation. And remember, “That snail is fast!”.

-Written by Cole Pollyea

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (Published in July's FAMILY Magazine ~ Distributed in Michiana)

Cole’s Rating: ★★★
Jesse's Rating: ★★★

Director: Dan Scanlon

Year: 2013

Cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy

MPAA Rating: G

        When you watch the trailer for Pixar’s MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, you witness two things: an offer to view one of the most clever approaches at a children’s movie in a dozen years (since MONSTERS INC.), and the film’s brightest spots of humor. What was effortless in the former (good humor) is harder for the latter to produce because a vast majority of it takes a much more heavy-handed route of storytelling... But storytelling it does; it tells the story of Mike Wazowksi and James P. Sullivan’s ragtag adventures while attempting to become a “Scarer” in the school they enlisted in, Monsters University. One of the greatest things about MONSTERS UNIVERSITY is how swiftly the story moves along, and how you learn to fall in love with the characters you already knew as it progresses, and as you learn more about the monsters’ origin in 2013’s best kid’s movie to date.

        Now, I loved MONSTERS INC. In fact, that’s probably one of my favorite children’s movies of all time. When I saw that they were making a prequel, I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as the original because of the loss of the little girl Boo that motivated the characters’ actions. It takes out the sentimentality that I cherished so much about the first one; and I’m a sucker for kids, so that’s where this falls short for me. But when you’re watching it, understand that it’s there to tell its own story, do its own thing, and entertain, despite the fact that it requires comparison to its predecessor.

        MONSTERS UNIVERSITY is for everyone in the family. The last recent children’s movie I saw, EPIC, was intended more for kids as it focused more on its visual aspect and entertainment value than anything else. But with this, parents will find themselves reliving their college experiences (whether or not they were majoring in “Scare”) thanks to the incredible production design and well crafted social situations among the monsters (who seem eerily human here). If you’re wondering if it is worth your time, that’s up to you. If you see it as dropping five to seven bucks per person on a movie that only lasts an hour and a half, I’d stay away. But if you’d like to invest your money in a great moviegoing experience by buying tickets to MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, I can’t advise you otherwise. I guarantee that you won’t regret it.

-Written by Cole Pollyea

Jesse's Thoughts: If you made an animated version of the recent release The Internship and sprinkled it with an edited for content addition of 1984's Revenge of the Nerds, Monsters University is what you'd get. It's a fun, briskly paced cartoon adventure that brings more kid humor to the table than adult humor. That's okay because the adults that take their kids to see it will still laugh and have a good time regardless (after all, it is rated G). I have to admit, this is a sufficient prequel that actually surpasses the original (Monsters Inc.).You get to know all the characters (Mike Wazowski, James Sullivan, Randall Boggs) and get insight into how they came together or met at where else, college. It's clever and though I've never been a huge fan of animated films, Monsters University surprised me. This flick gets things right pretty much the whole time until the ending which is sort of a cop-out. I won't reveal what happens but if I was behind the camera, I'd change it up a bit. Anyways, I will say this, if you want to take in an animated film that tells a straight story and moderately entertains, Monsters University will satisfy. It's "scary" good! 

EPIC

Cole's Rating: ★★★

Director: Chris Wedge
Year: 2013
Cast: Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Beyoncé Knowles
Genre: Animation/Adventure/Family
MPAA Rating: PG

        I ventured into Movies 14 on a warm spring Friday night with my dad and nine-year-old brother, excited to view the highly anticipated Epic. We found a seat, sat down, and became instantly immersed in the magical 3D world that the movie ambitiously creates. Epic, a slick spin on Honey I Shrunk the Kids, finds Mary Katherine (voiced by Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of a quirky scientist, reduced to the size of a blade of grass, in order to save the forest civilization (“leafmen”). This civilization that she encounters upon has been her father’s obsession for a large part of his life. It tells a riveting story with tasteful humor and wonderful dialogue, and engrosses you with its astounding visual effects, but it falls shorter than other more memorable family movies (such as Shrek, Cars, and Toy Story) due to its severe lack of character motivation. I’d describe it as trivial, because while it is enjoyable, it still doesn’t leave a significant mark on cinema in any way.

        Epic will undoubtedly leave you questioning its script. It’s told well and is interesting, but it feels like this should be a sequel. This is because the “leafmen” fight against the “rot” (who are bad guys that try to destroy the forest for some unknown reason). We know that the “leafmen” are trying to preserve the forest and its natural elements, and we know that the “rot” are trying to destroy it, but is there a point? It’s symbolic of life and decay in the world, and that’s alright, but the film would’ve been much better had there been a fictitious plot element to spice up its tellings and motivations that concern the civilization’s rivalry. Never are we told why either one of these civilizations try so desperately to accomplish their duties; but the film’s target audience (nine and under) won’t care too much about that aspect, which makes it a successful children’s movie.

        Overall, Epic is a lot of fun. It takes its impressive visual effects, meshes it with a handful of likable characters, blends it in with some nice dialogue, and the outcome is a family-friendly movie to spend a Friday/Saturday night watching. And although it’s a good experience, and it’s delightful enough to get by, it doesn’t quite live up to its title.

-Written by Cole Pollyea

THE CROODS

Cole's Rating: ★★ ½

Jesse's Rating: ★★★

Directors: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders

Year: 2013

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Family

MPAA Rating: PG

        About five minutes into The Croods, I recognized and welcomed the idea of this movie symbolizing teenage angst. About 10 minutes later, I pushed that idea aside, and welcomed another idea: the idea that this movie would symbolize a family adapting to the modern culture. But really, the finished product was a mumbo-jumbo, colorful mess. The plot was so thin, that Nicolas Cage fell right through it (he's bad enough in real life, imagine how he is in an animated flick (it's laughable)), and almost pulled the rest of The Croods down with him. 

        The savior was the visual effects. Had this movie been made at the time of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it may very well have been a zero to no star movie. But since the visual qualities were so astoundingly brilliant, it picked up the slack of the script and Cage. All that I can say about these effects has already been said about Life of Pi, but it was the main thing that kept the film interesting; and it was the only thing that drove me to continue to watch it, as the film itself was less than engaging. Another great thing about the effects is that it provoked some laugh-out-loud moments, such as the baby girl who was used as something like a Rottweiler. Hilarious.

        The movie could have been a lot better had it expanded upon the initial ideas that the audience was convinced the film was going to delve deeper into; but it didn’t. Therefore, the movie suffered. This is why I stated that it was a mess; it kept turning in different directions for comical needs and purposes, and drove itself right into the ditch of weak storytelling, and couldn’t get itself out.

        But it ended just like every other kiddy animated flick: satisfying. And although it’s very cliche, it works because it leaves the audience satisfied. It closes it out on a good note because the producers want the audience to leave the film happy and filled with gratitude; this part of the movie was effective, but I would have been much more satisfied had it been good the whole way through.

        To add on to the description of the thin plot, it felt like it was forced. The family was escaping the continental divide (or so we assume, my uncle and myself didn’t easily pick up on it), and kept coming across different “worlds” if you will. My eight year-old brother’s exact words after the movie were: “the visual effects were cool, but I didn’t really get how they kept changing worlds and stuff”. This begs the question, who is this film intended for?

-Written by Cole Pollyea

Jesse's Thoughts: The Croods may have the best visual effects ever in an animated film. The story is  murky though. It was obviously made for a kid type audience (most animated flicks are). However, I do recommend it solely based on the look of it. It's an eye popping feast (especially in 3-D)

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

Cole's Rating: ★★★
Thatcher's Rating: ★★★ 1/2

Year: 2012
Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James
Genre: Animation/Comedy/Family
MPAA Rating: PG

It takes a lot to make some people laugh. For some, it only takes a little. For me, it takes Adam Sandler playing Count Dracula in an animated film about monsters. Not only was it absolutely hilarious, it-it-it, y-yes it was absolutely hilarious. Those of you who have seen The Waterboy, another one of Sandler’s gut-busting movies, will understand that joke. Although Sandler’s voice did seal the deal for me, there was more to it. The movie was about Dracula’s daughter Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez), who was turning 118, a milestone (end of youth) in the vampire lifestyle. This year, like every year, he was throwing a party for her in their monster hotel, human-free since 1998. He invited everybody! Frankenstein (voiced by Kevin James), the Invisible Man, Wayne the wolf (voiced by Steve Buscemi), and many more, all ready to party it up, that is until a human, Jonathan (voiced by Andy Samberg), shows up unexpectedly, zings with Mavis, and ruins the party... For Dracula, who has to have everything go his way, which causes the main conflict in the movie! But everybody else loves him (disguised as a member of the Frankenstein family). The rest, I can’t disclose, I guess you’ll have to see what happens. Being a reader of the original novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker, I found this movie to be slightly derivative. If you come to terms with the fact that it's just a play on its ideas, then I'm sure you'll enjoy it, but I'd personally rather stick to the novel. 

This movie incorporated a few mature, but not inappropriate lessons, which I particularly enjoy to see done in a kid’s film, a few of those being Toy Story, Shrek, and Monsters Inc. Every parent dreads the day that their little girl falls in love, and wants to leave and go explore the world. Well, so does Dracula. Just because he is a vampire, doesn’t mean he’s not a good parent! That’s for certain, I mean he did build the whole hotel and make it secure for her to be protected, for a reason that Dracula keeps internal, which turned out to be  another significant, adult point in the movie. This kid’s movie is one that I recommend to people of all ages, it interests and entertains the adults too.

Bravo to Marcelo Vignali, who helped make Hotel Transylvania come to life. He was the production designer, the Harold in Harold And The Purple Crayon. He was able to apply his lifelong interest in animation to further his career, and create the setting and visual aspect of Hotel Transylvania. In my opinion, he did a great job. However, although it did show multiple places in the castle, I would’ve enjoyed seeing more, being as it was as big as it was, and there was a party going on. Nevertheless, his astounding artistic ability really shows in this movie. The castle eerily reminded me of the original castle with all those secret tunnels and trap doors Shaggy always fell through in the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You! series that aired from 1969-1972. And let me just say that anything that reminds me of that series did a darn good job! 

The humor that was used in this movie was very clever. I found it highly entertaining knowing that Adam Sandler was doing the Dracula voice, and felt that nobody could have done it better, just like Tom Hanks in Toy Story. It did a wonderful job creating the perfect moments for situational amusement. The fact that there are a bunch of monsters playing chicken on each others’ shoulders in a pool of God-knows-what is just hilarious in itself! Let alone the dialogue and things that come of it. Another scene, which was my favorite in the movie, is when three monsters are in the car, and they come across a flock of sheep. Well, Wayne the wolf gobbles em’ up! What I’m trying to convey is that the humor used in here was original and outstanding. 

Hotel Transylvania was a wonderful, hilarious, slightly underdeveloped with display of the hotel (nothing too major), romantic, delightful movie that is a great flick to catch with your family, yet if you're a lover of the book like myself, this may seem like a brain-lulling, derivative kid's movie. But that doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable! And remember, Dracula doesn't say "blah-blah-blah".

Written by Cole Pollyea