Category Archives: Animation

SPACE JAM – A NEW LEGACY (2021): New trailer Starring LeBron James, Sonequa Martin-Green, Don Cheadle…

Space Jam - A New Legacy (2021), LeBron James, HBO Max
Space Jam – A New Legacy (2021), LeBron James, HBO Max

In the 1996 Space Jam movie, the Looney Tunes sought out the aid of retired basketball champion Michael Jordan in a desperate attempt to win a basketball match and earn their freedom.

More than 25 years later, NBA megastar LeBron James, Sonequa Martin-Green and Don Cheadle are the stars of the long awaited sequel Space Jam – A New Legacy. And in case you hadn’t already guessed, another very important basketball match must be played, and won.

I already love the music in this trailer. The visuals are great too.

Outside of the above synopsis, I remember next to nothing of the first Space Jam movie. But I’m hopeful because this trailer is promising, and I loved LeBron’s performance, the first time I saw him act in 2015’s Trainwreck.

One another thing, Bugs Bunny has always been my absolute favourite Looney Tune.

Kath Soucie, Martin Klebba, Cedric Joe, J. Michael Tatum, Eric Bauza, Xosha Roquemore, Khris Davis, Jeff Bergman, Bob Bergen, Katie McCabe and Chiney Ogwumike also star.

Space Jam – A New Legacy Release Dates: July 16th, 2021 (US); July 23rd, 2021 (UK)….

Happy Film Loving,

G

TOM AND JERRY (2021): The Thing I Liked…

Tom & Jerry (2021), Warner Bros. Pictures
Tom & Jerry (2021), Warner Bros. Pictures

The pre-teen version of me desperately wanted the recent Tom and Jerry movie, starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña and Colin Jost, to be good. I was looking forward to being transported back to some of the happiest TV viewing moments of my childhood. Instead, what happened with director Tim Story’s film was that I quickly became bored.

My biggest issue with Tom and Jerry is that I didn’t find the writing engaging enough to keep me watching beyond the thirty-minute mark. My disappointment was further compounded by the lack of newness where Tom and Jerry’s antics are concerned. There’s also the fact that my sense of humour has undoubtedly evolved. Still, I don’t regret aborting my viewing session before the end.

As for the animation style, I may have appreciated it more had the background not been real-world New York City. This combination of the updated animation style with the real-world backdrop proved to be too much difference all at once for me. An overload that’s made worse because the story execution is lacking.

The best thing about my brief experience with Tom and Jerry is Jerry’s cuteness. I’ll remember that for a while, as I try not to think too hard about how different the film could have been, had the humans not featured so very prominently. Especially when, for me at least, they were never the main attraction.

This is one you try to watch, only if you absolutely must.

Happy Film Loving,

G

LUCA (2021): New Trailer From Disney Pixar, Starring Jacob Tremblay, Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan…

Luca (2021), Pixar
Luca (2021), Disney Pixar

Luca, Disney Pixar’s latest animated adventure is set on the Italian Riviera. A place where an unlikely but strong friendship grows between a human being and a sea monster disguised as a human.

Directed by Enrico Casarosa; Luca stars Jacob Tremblay, Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan.

I’m curious about this ‘fish boy’ story and how much it will have in common with The Little Mermaid (1989). There’s also the intrigue that stems from the gorgeous Italian Riviera setting, of course. I’ll watch almost anything as long as it’s set in a gorgeous part of Italy.

Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman and Marco Barricelli also star

Luca Release Dates: June 18th, 2021 (US & UK)…

Happy Film Loving,

G

MISSING LINK (2019): The Things I Liked…

Missing Link (2019), Hugh Jackman
Missing Link (2019), Hugh Jackman

Missing Link, the story of Mr Link (a Big-Foot-like character) and his adventures with explorer Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman), plus adventurer Adelina Fortnight is an animated movie I found to be fun in parts and watchable.

The reason I’m not more enthused by writer/director Chris Butler’s film is that story-wise, it felt oddly superficial and more basic than I expected.

What I did enjoy are the interactions between Lionel and Link, plus the moments of heart, most of which happen in the more engaging last quarter. Emma Thompson’s character is another welcome highlight, and it proved quite satisfying to see Lionel’s growth/evolution as the story continued.

I watched Missing Link because the cast which also includes Zoe Saldana and Zack Galifianakis intrigued me. Yet, overall, I wish I could include Butler’s film on my list of favourite animated movies I’ve seen in recent years, but I cannot. Nevertheless, I say give Missing Link a chance if you’re particularly curious. It may just be what you need when you’re after an easy-viewing animated film experience.

Happy Film Loving,

G

THE CROODS – A NEW AGE (2020): The Thing I Liked…

The Croods – A New Age (2020), Universal Pictures
The Croods – A New Age (2020), Universal Pictures

I remember having a lot of fun watching the first The Croods (2013) movie. An animated action/comedy/adventure about a caveman family trying to survive while on a long, dangerous trek.

In the 2020 sequel, The Croods – A New Age, the same prehistoric family find themselves caught in a rivalry with another family. A group who claim to be better evolved. And the best I can say about it is this: ‘The animation is pleasing, and there are some rather funny moments‘.

Starring, Emma Stone, Nicolas Cage and Ryan Reynolds, I was surprised to find that overall, the story felt forced and I, unfortunately, cannot deny drifting off a few times.

Now, I promise I was not in a bad mood before I started watching The Croods – A New Age. However, unlike in the first film, this time it was easy to identify almost all the actors behind the voices. And for some reason, that annoyed me. I still stand by me not being cranky when I started to watch the film. If anything, my disappointment with the story execution is the reason for any alteration in my mood.

The good news about directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco’s film is that at the very least, it’s ‘quite watchable. As such, if you liked the first The Croods movie, then give this one a chance. After all, it looks as though most people had a good time with it.

Happy Film Loving,

G