During the Second World War, many of Walt Disney’s animators were conscripted to serve in the US armed forces. Those who continued to work at the studio were more often than not required to animate propaganda films, including a series … Continue reading REVIEW: Melody Time (1948)
Reviewing Luca, Pixar’s latest animated feature, sadly leads to a case of damning with faint praise. For most other animation houses around the world, describing a film as ‘reasonably good’ or ‘moderately entertaining’ might be a case for celebration: if nothing … Continue reading REVIEW: Luca (2021)
For some reason, anime director Masaaki Yuasa never gets quite the level of international acclaim as those for his contemporaries. Certainly it’s not for a lack of work. His debut feature Mindgame (2004) was a worthy cult hit, and subsequent works … Continue reading REVIEW: Ride Your Wave (2019)
Milorad Krstić’s animated feature Ruben Brandt: Collector, released in 2018, is an imaginative marvel. A Hungarian production, it took a reported 10 years for Krstić to complete. It is striking in appearance, wonderfully playful in its execution, and immersed in a … Continue reading REVIEW: Ruben Brandt: Collector (2018)
The Walt Disney Animation Studio, pound for pound the most reliable entertainment bet in Hollywood, has struck gold again with Raya and the Last Dragon. This beautifully presented fantasy adventure should be a good bet to revive the fortunes of movie … Continue reading REVIEW: Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Since the mid-1980s Studio Ghibli has been the world’s premier production house for animated films. Led by directors Hayao Miyazaki and the late Isao Takahata, Ghibli has produced more than 20 features in an unparalleled run of creative successes. They … Continue reading REVIEW: Earwig and the Witch (2020)
Or, to give its full translated title: Kazuo Oga: Ghibli’s Image Artisan: The Art Who Made Totoro’s Forest. This is a 75-minute documentary focused on Kazuo Oga, who has worked since the mid-1980s as an art director and background painter for … Continue reading REVIEW: Kazuo Oga: Ghibli’s Image Artisan (2007)
Political cartoonist Aurel (Aurélien Froment) makes his feature directing debut with this heartfelt and political animation set in a 1939 concentration camp. Not a German one, however: when half a million Spanish refugees fled across the French border to escape … Continue reading REVIEW: Josep (2020)
Penguin Highway, a 2018 animated feature based on the Tomihiko Morimi novel, represents the best and worst of anime. On the one hand it boasts a richly developed and wonderfully imaginative story that boasts both clever ideas and a warm, … Continue reading REVIEW: Penguin Highway (2018)
A particular kind of anime fan will likely have a ball with Blame!, a 2017 feature film based on a Tsutomi Nihei manga. Produced with fluid and impressively detailed computer-generated animation, it offers a serious science fiction story backed up with … Continue reading REVIEW: Blame! (2017)
