Review: ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ is action-packed, heartfelt, and relevant. In other words: another hit for Disney.

Raya and the Last Dragon

Animation is a medium in which is not limited by imagination. If you can think of it, you can make it happen on screen. The best animated stories have bright, imaginative worlds populated with endearing, relatable characters, and a story that appeals to young and old alike; and most importantly a theme that makes the whole thing work in our world, too.

Raya and the Last Dragon is one of these animated stories. Set in a world inspired by a variety of south-east Asian cultures, and following a young woman on a quest to repair a world torn apart by lack of trust, this movie is the real deal. Shocking, I know.

Continue reading “Review: ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ is action-packed, heartfelt, and relevant. In other words: another hit for Disney.”

Catchup Reviews: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Big Hero 6, Dear White People, The F Word, and Horns

The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay

It’s December which means I have pretty much exactly no time to do anything lately but that hasn’t stopped me from seeing a couple of movies, just from writing them up in a timely manner.

But since I’ve seen so many you’re gonna get the shortest version of each of these reviews that I can muster.

Continue reading “Catchup Reviews: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Big Hero 6, Dear White People, The F Word, and Horns”

Review: Frozen

Frozen

There’s two things I can tell you right off the bat about Frozen. First, contrary to what the marketing would have you believe, it isn’t a movie about a snowman and a reindeer. Second, it is in facta Disney Princess movie.

What’s interesting about these two facts is that I have no idea _why_ they marketed so heavily on the snowman and the reindeer because it’s actually a _really_ good Disney Princess movie. More than that it’s actually just a really good movie.

Continue reading “Review: Frozen”

Not Awesome: Disney Has No Plans for Traditional Animation

Disney

[Ben Child Writing for The Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/mar/07/disney-hand-drawn-animation)

> Speaking at an annual shareholder’s meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday, chief executive Bob Iger revealed that none of the studio’s animation companies was working on 2D, hand-drawn material for the big screen. While Iger did not rule out returning in the future to the style which made the company famous, the long gestation period for Hollywood animated productions means a gap of several years before any new film might emerge.

> “To my knowledge we’re not developing a 2D or hand-drawn feature animated film right now,” said Iger. “There is a fair amount of activity going on in hand-drawn animation but it’s largely for television at this point. We’re not necessarily ruling out the possibility [of] a feature but there isn’t any in development at the company at the moment.”

> The news will upset fans of traditional hand-drawn animation, who had been cheered by the revival of the form under John Lasseter, the Pixar boss who also became Disney Animation’s chief creative officer in 2006. Lasseter told a London audience for a 2009 screening of Bolt (a CGI animation) that he had re-hired many of the animators who were ditched by the previous regime because of the emergence of computer-generated technology in the 1990s.

The sad fact is that their last couple of hand drawn animated films haven’t found audiences. The Frog Princess made nearly 300$ Million to be sure, however it’s the exception. Remember that Winnie the Pooh movie they put out a couple years back? Yeah, neither do I. Most of the rest of 3D animated films have pulled in 300$ as a minimum.

However, [Paperman](https://awesomefriday.ca/2013/02/watch-disney-animated-short-paperman/) was produced by people drawing with computers, so while pencil may not hit paper again any time soon let’s hope at least that stylii hit screens (because that movie was gorgeous).

Watch Disney Animated Short “Paperman”

Paperman

Paperman is a Disney Animation short film that came out in theatres with Wreck It Ralph back in the fall. Now they’ve released it online for free, and here it is thanks to [Disney Animation Studios](http://www.youtube.com/disneyanimation):

What a great, sweet little film. The basic story is that a man meets a woman on his morning commute but they are separated before they can speak. He then notices her in the office across the street from his and spends the day trying to get her attention.

Trying to get the attention of the object of your affection is a situation that most of us have been in, but this is a pretty cute take. There’s no dialogue but everything is communicated gorgeously through body language and actions.

The mix of 2D and 3D animation techniques means that the whole things just flat out looks gorgeous too.

Paperman already won the Annie Award for best animated short and it’s nominated for an Oscar in the same category.