My life has been a bit hectic this week, so I skipped about five days of Oscar watching. My mom got a brand new kitten, so of course I had to spend time with the kitten. I mean.... look how cute it is. How could I not spend all my time focused on her?
I am also an 84 year old woman trapped inside the body of a 27 year old and I needed a colonoscopy this week. If you have ever had one you know that to prep for it your ass is in one seat only and that seat is not the couch. No fear my faithful readers, I will be doing some two-a-days to catch up.
The first five films I watched were the 5 best animated films. There were some slim pickings and nothing that really shined as a film that could stand next to previous winners like Wall-E and Spirited Away. Let’s talk about them anyways, yeah? Just a warning: I will be writing the endings to some of the films. That way if you do not have time to watch the films this year, you can still be in the know. Another warning: I am not a film genius. Not in the slightest. I probably know about the film industry as much as you do. Usually I will read predictions online about what is considered front runners, and it does tend to sway my opinion a bit. This year I’m going in blind. I want this to be completely based on my own opinions.
Onward
The very first animated film I watched was almost a year ago. My fiancé is too lazy to cancel his Disney movie club subscription, so we received Onward on Blu-ray in the mail. The cast was shockingly impressive, including Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong, and Wilmer Valderrama. Now I am going to remember as much as I possibly can. Onward is based in a world where magic no longer exists and creatures, like elves and pixies, are living as normal beings. Two brother elves who lost their father when they were young receive a gift which allows their father to be resurrected for a short amount of time. Somehow he is resurrected wrong, and only their father’s legs are brought to life. Now the two boys must travel to find a way to bring back the rest of their father before time runs out. Chris Pratt really gets to let his personality shine throughout the film and to me, he is the star of the film. The film was surprisingly cute and tied together nicely at the end. It gives the front runner a bit competition, but the winner is quite clear.
Soul
Soul was an amazing film and was filled with pretty daring topics for young children to be exposed to: all mainly dealing with death. It dealt with the fragility of life, and what it means to die without truly living. The main character Joe, is a band teacher, who never made it big in the jazz world like he had expected. Luckily, a previous student tells Joe that there is an opportunity to play on the road with a jazz legend. Unluckily, on the way to his first show he falls down a manhole and dies. He is brought to the afterlife and stumbles into a place where new souls are given a passion. Once they have their passion they are able to continue their journey into the world. Joe, who is mistaken as a mentor for the new souls, is assigned a soul who has been mentored many, many times before (by famous nurturers like Mother Theresa) and has not found her passion. Joe finds a way back to earth, by entering the body of a cat, and he accidentally brings the lost soul with him. Throughout his desperate attempt to get back to himself, the lost soul (named 22) is able to be in the world for the first time and she discovers that maybe life is worth living. She ends up finding her passion and is able to go to earth, but through an argument with Joe, she ends up throwing her pass to earth to him. Joe uses it and is able to perform like he had dreamt. He realized, though, that it is not fair for him to take 22’s pass and is able to give it back to her. Due to his noble decision, he is granted the gift of being able to come back to his body for good. He uses this opportunity to live his life to the fullest. It was a great film. It dealt with a lot of abstract things that are hard to explain to young children who will most likely be the ones viewing Soul, but will also give adults something to think about as well. Of course, being a Pixar film, the animation was superb. The use of jazz and African-American culture was a delightful addition and Jamie Fox did great playing Joe. It was humorous and just all around a great film. I am going to explain the other three films, but honestly, they really do not stand a chance.
The Other Films
Wallace and Gromit films are always endearing, so it is no surprise that Shaun the Sheep, a spin off, would be a cute film as well. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon was a somewhat enjoyable film about an alien who needed to be brought home. That is pretty much it. It is always amazing to watch a stop-motion animated feature and I will always give it what it is due, but honestly it can be skipped. It seems like a film that a grandmother would enjoy watching with her young grandchildren.
Over the Moon was a better film about a little girl whose mother had passed away (huh, death seems like a popular subject matter this year) and had to deal with her father remarrying. The girl holds onto a story her mother told her about an immortal woman who lives on the moon and she builds a rocket to take her to space to prove her existence. When the girl arrives, the moon woman tells the girl that she should have a gift for her. Through various antics and adventures, the girl gets the “gift” and brings it to the moon lady. If you plan to watch this film you really need to prepare to really suspend your disbelief. How a child could make a rocket ship and actually go to the moon where she could breath the air was a bit odd. I also do not really understand how the child received the “gift” and how the moon lady knew about it. I enjoyed the singing, especially from Phillipa Soo (Eliza from Hamilton), and the Chinese traditions that were introduced. It was a cute film, but that’s about it.
Last film to talk about is Wolfwalker. Man, I am getting old and sympathizing with parents now. How gross is that? This film, about a town fearing wolves, deals with a little girl who will not listen to her father and stay home where it is safe. Oh! Surprise surprise… her mom is also dead. Lots of dead parents in these films. I kept getting so pissed at this girl who kept wondering into the forrest where there is a wolf infestation. Anyways, she meets a “wolfwalker” who is pretty much a she-wolf who has powers and of course...she ends up getting bit. Now, because of the bite, she turns into a wolfwalker and spends the film trying to get everyone to realize that the wolves are cool and to not hunt them or enslave them. The animation was unique. it was very flat and two dimensional, and had the appearance of a book’s illustrations. It was made in Ireland and was a unique story. I just could not get over the fact that this girl would not listen to her father when he told her over, and over, and over again to stay home.
Anyways, that’s all the films. You can view them all on Disney+, Netflix, and Apple TV. Happy watching! See you all soon to talk about documentaries.
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