Category Archives: Animation

DESPICABLE ME 4 (2024): New Trailer Starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Steve Coogan,

The fourth instalment of the Despicable Me movies has Gru (Steve Carell) and his family on the run from a new nemesis. This time, Gru has a brand new cute son named Gru Jr., A mischievous being who happens to enjoy tormenting his father.

Directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage; additional key cast of Despicable Me 4 includes Kristen Wiig, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Coogan.

Several years ago, if you’d told me that one day I’d look at the minions and be largely unaffected, I wouldn’t have believed you. I was one of those adults who squealed in delight at clips of The Minions, and unexpected sightings of their soft toys.

In fact, at the height of my obsession, I admit that I even briefly fantasised about permanently relieving a young child of their Minions backpack; something I’d of course NEVER do.

These days, now that The Minions fever has largely died down for myself and many others, I no longer refer to the small animated cuties as ‘The best happiness-inducing yellow beauties.’

Gru is fine and all. However, the only character I was interested in besides the many yellow ones was the bubblegum-chewing, purple shoulder pad-wearing supervillain, Balthazar Bratt of Despicable Me 3 (2017).

My fingers are crossed that I’ll also be enchanted by the new villain, Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell). It might be a challenge without the dance moves and musical taste of Monsieur Bratt. We’ll just have to see. Still, something tells me that I’ll enjoy Gru Jr. in this new instalment. Especially because of the moderate Jack-Jack from The Incredibles 2 (2018) vibes he’s giving.

Are you still on the Despicable Me train?

Dana Gaier, Madison Skyy Polan, Stephen Colbert Chloe Fineman and Pierre Coffin also star.

Despicable Me 4 Release Dates: July 3rd , 2024 (US); July 5th, 2024 (UK)…

Happy Film Loving,

G

THE GARFIELD MOVIE (2024): New Trailer From Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames…

Mark Dindal directs Chris Pratt, Snoop Dogg, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham and Ving Rhames in a new movie about Garfield, arguably everyone’s favourite obese, orange tabby cat.

After years of being the pampered orange one, Garfield and his dog brother Odie go on a wild adventure with Garfield’s long-lost father, Vic (Jackson).

I was a little afraid that my favourite thing about this movie might be the cuteness of Garfield as a kitten. Not anymore. After this trailer, I’m ready for the fun adventure this is very likely to be.

Besides the cuteness, I’m excited to hear Waddingham as the deranged cat. The lady has a great voice after all.

Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein and Bowen Yang also star.

The Garfield Movie Release Dates: May 24th, 2024 (US & UK)…

Happy Film Loving,

G

MIGRATION (2023) The Things I Liked…

The story and message about not being too afraid to expand one’s horizons and see the world may not be delivered in the most non-generic and sophisticated way; but, directors Benjamin Renner and Guylo Homsy’s animated action/adventure, Migration is still fun to watch.

Starring Elizabeth Banks, Kumail Nanjiani, Keegan-Michael Key and Awkwafina; Migration is joy-inducing, colourful, cute and features some engaging characters – my favourite of which is Delroy the Jamaican parrot, who is played rather well by Key.

Watch Migration because it’s fun, cute, and it’s only one hour and twenty-three minutes long. Also, look out for that ‘It’s about time I went to Jamaica‘ feeling, because it’s coming.

Happy Film Loving,

G

THE LITTLE MERMAID (2023): The Things I Liked…

The trailer for the live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid didn’t do much for me. It simply looked okay. There’s a chance I’d have felt differently had the 1992 animated version been a favourite of mine.

Having now seen the remake, which stars Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy and Javier Bardem, there are two things I most enjoyed while watching director Rob Marshall’s take. The first is Bailey’s arresting rendition of the film’s main song, ‘Part of that World’. I loved it so much that as soon as I got home after the event, I searched and found a video of Bailey singing it live, which I then listened to several times a week for the following month.

The second most pleasant memory of Marshall’s film has to be the colourful audio-visual feast that is the scene where Sebastian the crab sings the song ‘Under the Sea’. The colourful special effects and beautiful choreography worked together perfectly, making said scene my absolute favourite in the entire film. Now I can’t wait to replay it once it’s available on Disney+.

It’s likely that you’ve heard something about the issues with Marshall’s movie. The main one is the incomplete visual effects, especially in a scene where Bailey’s likeness is missing from the animated mermaid body. Such an obvious error is certainly not something I’d have expected from Disney.

My second issue is how unfortunately immobile McCarthy’s upper face seemed to be during her scenes. Ursula is far too delightfully dramatic and fantastic a character for the full face not to be engaged while portraying her. 

The last two unfortunate occurrences are about the music. I did not enjoy Prince Eric’s singing. I also was not a fan of Scuttle the Seagull’s rather unpleasant rendition of something towards the end. 

Considering all the issues above, of course, The Little Mermaid has not unseated Cinderella (2015) as my favourite Disney live-action film. Yet, I say, give it a chance in the comfort of your own home. It may just be worth it for the aforementioned best bits. 

Happy Film Loving

G

MIGRATION (2023): New Trailer From Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina…

New animated comedy/adventure Migration is the story of a duck family heading towards Jamaica for a long overdue vacation.

Directed by Benjamin Renner and Guylo Homs; Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Kumail Nanjiani and Awkwafina voice the key characters.

The four things I already like about Migration are:

  1. All the big-eyed duck cuteness
  2. The beautiful song that starts at 1:07 minutes into the trailer
  3. The great voice-work by all involved
  4. The promising humour, of course

I wonder where this will land in my list of favourite animated films about birds; a list that currently includes Chicken Run (2000) and The Angry Birds Movie (2016).

Are you ready for some cute avian shenanigans? I sure am.

David Mitchell, Caspar Jennings, Tresi Gazal, Carol Kane and Danny DeVito also star.

Migration Release Dates: December 22nd, 2023 (2023), February 2nd, 2024 (UK)…

Happy Film Loving

G

ELEMENTAL (2023): New Teaser Trailer Starring Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis…

Elemental (2023), Mamoudou Athie, Pixar
Elemental (2023), Mamoudou Athie, Pixar

The latest animation/adventure/comedy from Disney Pixar stars Mamoudou Athie and Leah Lewis as Ember and Wade.

Directed by PeterSohn of The Good Dinosaur (2015); Ember and Wade are two elements in a city where fire-, water, land and air live together.

Looking like a love story between fire and water, I’m hoping there’ll be a lot more to it to keep us all engaged. I mean, I already love the name Ember, so that’s certainly a good place to start.

What are your thoughts at this point? How intriguing do you find this story compared to some of your favourite Pixar films?

Elemental Release Dates: June 6th, 2023 (UK); June 16th, 2023 (US)…

Happy film Loving

G

DISENCHANTED (2022): New Trailer From Amy Adams, James Marsden, Patrick Dempsey, Maya Rudolph…

From director Adam Shankman, Disenchanted is set a decade after happily ever after. A time when Giselle (Amy Adams) is questioning her happiness and inadvertently turning the lives of those around her, and the rest of the real world upside down in the process.

Additional key cast includes Yvette Nicole Brown, James Marsden, Maya Rudolph and Patrick Dempsey.

Disenchanted is that Disney movie that I never got around to watching. However, now that the New York City setting is clear, a dark twist seems to be on the horizon, and Maya Rudolph is involved… suddenly my interest has come to the fore.

Now I just need to finally watch Enchanted (2007). Finger’s crossed it will be fun.

Have you watched Enchanted? Perhaps it’s one of your favourites. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Yvette Nicole Brown, Jayma Mays, Gabriella Baldacchino, Oscar Nuñez, Idina Menzel, Griffin Newman, James Monroe Iglehart, Ann Harada and Kolton Stewart also star.

Disenchanted Release Dates: November 24th, 2022 (US & UK)…

Happy Film Loving

G

LOST OLLIE (2022): New Trailer Starring Kesler Talbot, Jonathan Groff, Gina Rodriguez, Jake Johnson…

The latest from Jonathan Groff, Kesler Talbot, Jake Johnson, Gina Rodriguez, Tim Blake Nelson and Mary J. Blige is the story of a lost toy name Ollie, the little boy who lost more than a best friend and their search for each other.

Lost Ollie is a Netflix mini-series that does sound a lot like a classic Disney movie that you’re likely very familiar with. However, Lost Ollie is different and not just because it’s live-action.

Sometimes I just have to feature a trailer because I love how super well-chosen the trailer music is. The Killers 2009 classic, All The Things That I’ve Done.

There is a small chance I might watch this, especially since I love the way at 00:10 into the trailer, Billy says:As long as these stars are near each other, we shall never be apart.’ How incredibly sweet is that accent?

How likely are you to watch Lost Ollie and why? And does the similarity to Toy Story (1995) only make you more curious?

Everett Andres, BJ Harrison, Zoë Noelle Baker, James Pizzinato, Paul Anthony, Isabel Birch, Benjamin Goas and Leandro Guedes also star.

Lost Ollie Release Dates: August 24th, 2022 (US & UK)…

Happy Film Loving

G