Review #32 | The Jungle Book 2

The Jungle Book 2 continues to inspire and brings back the beloved character from the first movie to life again.

The Jungle Book 2, 2003

Mowgli the "man-cub" returns to the wilderness in this sequel to the Walt Disney Pictures animated favorite The Jungle Book. After leaving life in the jungle behind, Mowgli (voice of Haley Joel Osment) has been adopted, and now lives in the nearby village with his new parents and his younger brother, while becoming close friends with Shanti (voice of Mae Whitman), the girl who first lured him out of the wilds. However, adjusting to live among other humans hasn't been easy, and after Mowgli pays a visit to an old friend, happy-go-lucky bear Baloo (John Goodman), the boy considers staying for a while. Before long, both Shanti and Mowgli's new family notice he's missing, and Shanti goes into the jungle to look for him, despite her fear of wild animals. However, Mowgli and Baloo are soon reminded that life in the wilderness isn't always carefree when they learn Shere Khan (voice of Tony Jay) is looking for Mowgli, eager to settle an old score. The Jungle Book 2 also features voice work from Phil Collins and John Rhys-Davies; rock group Smash Mouth contribute a new version of "I Wanna Be Like You" to the soundtrack.

Do you hear the jungle rhythm? The filmmakers wanted to go back to the jungle just like Mowgli did. The Jungle Book 2 explores the jungle that the man-cub longed for in a fun exciting way. This story has comedy and great music but it lacks the full attention from the audience due to its mundane story.

The technology has changed throughout the years and it became easier and faster to do these things but is it just me feeling that the previous movie had better animation? I do like the animation used in this movie except for Papa bear that has a very bright blue color of fur and looks quite different from the first movie. Other than that the animation looks colorful and gorgeous. The characters look appealing as always (that’s what Disney does best).

While kids will certainly enjoy this movie, I doubt elderly people will have any patience to this ‘kids’ stuff. As for me, I have enjoyed-ish the movie and I loved the song ‘Jungle Rhythm’; it was so good.

Inside Outside Review: 68%

'Feast' Your Eyes!

Putting a short before the animated feature film became a tradition since Pixar's Knick Knack before Finding Nemo. Disney embraces that tradition and has delivered outstanding shorts like Paperman. Disney has announced its upcoming short Feast that will be shown in front of Big Hero 6 on November 7.

Feast, 2014

 Feast is the story of one man’s love life as seen through the eyes of his best friend and dog, Winston, and revealed bite by bite through the meals they share. (Disney Insider)

Feast is directed by Patrick Osborne who previous worked on Paperman as a head of animation. He tweeted that it took 9 months to finish!

the word is out, I've been directing a short for the past 9 months. Can't wait for you all to see "Feast"
— Patrick Osborne (@PatrickTOsborne) April 24, 2014

" Feast will make its world premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 10, 2014." (Disney Insider)

Review #31 | Mr. Peabody & Sherman

I have been waiting for this movie ever since the first teaser trailer came out. Due to the circumstances I had to wait longer that I could take, but am I glad I watched it finally!

Mr. Peabody & Sherman, 2014

Mr. Peabody, the most accomplished dog in the world, and his mischievous boy Sherman, use their time machine - the WABAC - to go on the most outrageous adventures known to man or dog. But when Sherman takes the WABAC out for a joyride to impress his friend Penny, they accidentally rip a hole in the universe, wreaking havoc on the most important events in world history. Before they forever alter the past, present and future, Mr. Peabody must come to their rescue, ultimately facing the most daunting challenge of any era: figuring out how to be a parent. Together, the time traveling trio will make their mark on history.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a stylized animation that breaks new ground in the animation world. DreamWorks Animation is famous for its absurd but creative stories and it feels like past mistakes/failures led them to great story telling and although the company is having a hard time making money after the Shrek franchise, Mr. Peabody & Sherman is definitely an improvement in quality.

For the most part the animation was beautiful; the background animation of buildings and historical places are beautiful. Characters are stylized and simple. My favorite characters were definitely Sherman and Penny. Alas, Mr. Peabody and other side characters had little appeal in a design point of view but most characters were funny and amusing just to look at.

Although the settings of the story were crazy as in a dog being a parent and travelling through time, it was good. I loved how the movie turned out to be. The movie was fast paced going from one place to another like crazy but at the end of the movie it had its moments. Yes, the part when Sherman said that he wanted to be a dog if it meant being as a caring dad as Mr. Peabody.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman is fast pace fun movie that leads to a good conclusion. I also took the movie a little personally and decided to be a dog if it meant being a good hearted genius.

Inside Outside Rating: 78%

Inside Sony Pictures Animation: Storyboard Artist Patrick Harpin

Patrick Harpin from Sony Picture Animation tells an amazing career story that inspires me. Watch:

To have a job as a story board artist seems rough and at the same time fun. Story board artists are the ones who really make the scenes happen.

How to Train Your Dragon 2: First 5 Minutes

I try to avoid watching clips from the upcoming animated movies if I can, but I recklessly decided to watch the clip because the movie's release date was still far away that I couldn't resist it. When I first watched it, the opening felt similar to the first movie. The clip introduces the life after dragons came along. Watch the clip below:

What did you think of the clip? Share your thoughts on the comments below.

Happy Earth Day!

Mr. Peabody & Sherman wishes happy Earth Day to all the fans!

Mr. Peabody & Sherman, 2014

Stay tuned for my review on Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

Stoick the Vast Character Poster

As the days come nearer to the opening of How to Train Your Dragon 2 more things start to unravel. More and more things we get to know about the movie making us feel more excited or less. Check out the latest character poster starring Stoick the Vast with his dragon.

How to Train Your Dragon, 2014

52 days left for the dragons!

Open Season Fun Fact

Every sign and prop with a label bears the name of someone who worked on the film.

Open Season, 2006

Next time I watch Open Season, I will definently check the signs and props with labels.

(Via Sony Picture Animation tumblr)

Happy Easter!

Batman from The LEGO Movie wishes happy Easter to everyone!

"Happy #Easter." - #Batman #TheLEGOMovie pic.twitter.com/z7nETquqkU
— The LEGO Movie (@TheLEGOMovie) April 20, 2014

The LEGO Movie arrives on Blu-Ray and Digital HD on June 17, 2014 with lots of bonus features!

Review #30 | The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh

This here is my review of Disney's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The movie is an old one but the characters are adorable!

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, 1977

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is an hour-long compendium of the three Disney "Winnie" animated short subjects produced between 1966 and 1974. Sterling Holloway provides the voice of A.A. Milne's whimsical pooh-bear in all three cartoons, the first two of which are directed by Wolfgang Reithermann and the last by John Lounsbery. The program consists of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968, which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject), and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (1974). The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was originally prepared in 1977 for theatrical release, and has since been available primarily in home-video form.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is an entertaining family movie that has got funny narratives and adorable characters that will last for ages. The great part of this film is its characters; they are so well developed and lovable characters that makes the mundane stories of simple life fun and comedic.

What I like about it the plots of each chapter of the movie are not just separate parts but related. Chapter leads to the other plot and it fits together as a whole story. It is so fun to see characters react in their own special way. Even though there are no dramatic scenes or action packed adventures it still is able to entertain through characters.

Favorite Quote: (Gopher) I’m not in the book.

Inside Outside Rating: 77%

Puss in Boots Sequel in Works

After a huge success of Puss in Boots the filmmaker announced to do a sequel for the film. Since then there was no news of it. Recently Collider interviewed Antonio Banderas, the voice of Puss in Boots, and he said:

 “We started the new one four days ago.  It did incredibly well with audiences and critics, all around the world, and the character is going to keep going.  With Jeffrey [Katzenberg], whatever he wants.  He’s one of my favorite producers.  This character was born almost 12 years ago.  We have had a lot of fun with him, and it seems that audiences do, too.  So, we’re doing another one.”

Puss in Boots, 2011

The story is assumed to take place somewhere totally different from the original. The release dates have not yet announced but it is sure coming. I'm guessing that it should take place around 2018.

What are your thoughts about the upcoming sequel, looking forward to it?

notice: Stay tuned! I am going to share my review of Mr. Peabody & Sherman very soon!

Cute TV ad Made in Aardman Animations

"Creative communications agency Bray Leino has partnered with Aardman animations to produce the latest TV campaign for iglü." (Little Black Book). Take a look at this admirable penguin TV ad created by Steve Harding-Hill from Aardman Animations.

iglü Gel and iglü Rapid Relief Gel provide fast, effective relief from mouth ulcers by forming a long-lasting shelter over them. This sticks in place to soothe the pain, keep the ulcer protected and help it heal. 

“We had great fun creating the simplicity and the charm of this new iglü mouth ulcer gel spot. We went for a traditional 2D drawn animation to bring to life to our hapless penguin and then combined this with painted textured multilane backdrops, animated in the computer to create his strange rotating arctic world. It was a real joy to be able to do something so sweet, characterful and surreal.”_Steve Harding-Hill.

Review #29 | Ice Age

Behind every successful studio there is one film that started it all. With Pixar it was Toy Story, with DreamWorks Animation it was Sherk, and with Blue Sky Studio it was Ice Age.

Ice Age, 2002

A team of "sub-zero heroes" band together to save a human infant in this digitally animated feature from Oscar-winning director Chris Wedge, whose unique lighting software (called "Ray Tracing") sets his visual style apart from earlier CGI efforts. Twenty thousand years ago, the Earth is overrun by freezing temperatures in an Ice Age that is sending all manner of critters scattering in the path of encroaching glaciers. When a lost human infant is discovered, an unlikely quartet of misfits forms to return it to its mother: Manny, a depressed woolly mammoth (Ray Romano); Sid, a fast-talking sloth (John Leguizamo); an acorn-crazed squirrel named Scrat (Wedge); and the devilish saber-toothed tiger named Diego (Denis Leary). Before they can complete their mission, the reluctant compatriots will brave pits of boiling lava, dangerous caverns of ice, and even a traitorous plot within their midst. Ice Age (2002) also features the voices of Jack Black, Jane Krakowski, and Goran Visnjic.

Ice Age is a buddy adventure film that brings back the nostalgia feeling of long time ago. It might not be as good as it is today, for the technology has grown rapidly, the comedy never gets old. It is a warm family fun with Sid, Manny and Diego.

The characters are well established and the synopsis of the movie entertains the viewers. The inner conflict of Diego is what sells the story. The journey of finding the baby’s parent might seem at times boring but it has its funny moments here there.

Scrat is a side character that really does a great job making the movie funnier. Animation in here is surprisingly good despite it was made on a lesser budget than the other ‘big’ movies. This was the first movie from ‘Blue Sky Studios’ and is still holds up to be the model of their work.

Favorite Quote: (Diego) I don't eat junk food.

Inside Outside Rating: 70%

Review #28 | Turbo

Is DreamWorks stealing ideas from Pixar? I had different feelings watching Turbo in the big screens and at home. This time I will post my review into two perspectives.

Turbo, 2013

From the makers of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, Turbo is a high-velocity 3D comedy about an underdog snail who kicks into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. But after making fast friends with a crew of streetwise, tricked-out es-car-goes, Turbo learns that no one succeeds on their own. So he puts his heart and shell on the line to help his pals achieve their dreams, before Turbo-charging his own impossible dream; winning the Indy 500.

Perspective 1_My Thoughts in Theaters:

Had a chance to see the movie that I’ve been anticipating for. Is DreamWorks stealing stories from Pixar? It didn’t take too long to find out. The answers is No. They didn’t.

I have to admit that I was late, despite all my effort to run as fast as I can to the theaters and couldn’t the first ten minutes of the movie. The snail is indeed fast. I was surprised to see the beautiful animation and the originality in humor and story. What would it be like to picture a life of a snail through animation? Looks like the DreamWorks crew has done a quite imaginative job on making the snail world look so adorable and relaxing and funny.

There are a lot of unrealistic parts in the movie but although it seems like that, it still makes me smile to see some sweet things in the animation. The story is an average rating story. The humor of this snail movie is what makes it good. The story and characters don’t really support the humor though.

Turbo is fun and fancy, but lacks great and deep story-lines.

Perspective 2_At Home:

I can’t stop thinking that Turbo resembles much of Cars and Ratatouille. It does have some funny parts and is entertaining but I’m not buying the story of a snail racing with race cars.

Favorite Quote: Wow, that snail if FAST!

Inside Outside Rating: 66% (note: this is a revised rating of Turbo)

Review #27 | The Tigger Movie

I loved Winnie the Pooh that I had to watch an extension of that world. So I went 'back' in time and watched a spin-off movie, The Tigger Movie.

The Tigger Movie, 2000

In this animated story for the whole family, Disney brings A.A. Milne's classic characters from the Winnie the Pooh stories back to the big screen. Tigger is having a hard time finding anyone to play with him, so he decides to track down his family tree and find other Tiggers. Concerned that their friend feels sad, Winnie and his friends dress up like Tiggers so he won't feel so alone. But once Tigger finds out who they really are, it makes him even more determined to find his real family. As Tigger heads out in search of others like himself, he accidentally makes his way into a snowstorm, and Winnie and friends must find him before he gets lost in the cold. The Tigger Movie was originally produced for home video and then upgraded to a theatrical release.

Tigger in my opinion is not an appealing character to have its own movie. I watched this movie with curiosity of how the filmmakers would make the story go around a character who only comes to screen for ‘bouncing’.

For the most part The Tigger Movie fails to entertain many audiences but it all comes to the heartwarming ending of finding true family. A family is not far away dream but right there for you even if it was not what you imagined it would be.

Tigger goes too far to look for his family and has trouble realizing that he already has a family. The animation is pretty decent but I wouldn't say it’s the best quality. The songs are forgettable and the plot is recycled. However you cannot turn away from this movie unhappy because of its sweet moral of family.

Memorable Quote: (Tigger) ‘Cause there’s nothin’ best than the best!

Inside Outside Rating: 59%

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Final Trailer

To be honest, I was not amused with this trailer. I didn't captivate me and it didn't stir up an interest in me. The trailer looked somewhat lighthearted without conflict. Sure it revealed some war against the bad gut but to me, he looked harmless. I don't know what you think but I will probably not watch this trailer repeatedly.

However, trailers can sometimes deceive us so there is no point in disappointing at it. I am not saying it was a totally bad trailer but it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would. It is nice to see new dragons in this trailer. Watch previous trailers in the providing links below.

• Watch the How to Train Your Dragon 2 Teaser Trailer
• Watch the How to Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer 1

How to Train Your Dragon 2 opens on July 13, 2014.

A Final Poster Plus A Character Poster of Gobber and His Dragon!

Dragons are coming. I can recall how long the wait seemed to be just last year looking forward to the first teaser trailer for this movie but now it is almost here! Take a look at what looks like the main poster of this movie with the latest character poster of Gobber and his dragon (yes, he has one too!).

How to Train Your Dragon 2, 2014

How to Train Your Dragon 2, 2014

How to Train Your Dragon 2 opens in theaters very soon.

Review #26 | Pocahontas

John Smith: Pocahontas, look at me. I'd rather die tomorrow...than live a hundred years without knowing you.

Pocahontas, 1995

Capt. John Smith leads a rag-tag band of English sailors & soldiers to the New World to plunder its riches for England (or, more precisely, for Governor Ratcliffe, who comes along for the ride). Meanwhile, in this "New World," Chief Powhatan has pledged his daughter, Pocahontas, to be married to the village's greatest warrior. Pocahontas, however, has other ideas. She has seen a vision of a spinning arrow, a vision she believes tells her change is coming. Her life does indeed change when the English ship lands near her village. Between Ratcliffe, who believes the "savages" are hiding the gold he expected to be plentiful, and Powhatan, who believes these pale newcomers will destroy their land, Smith and Pocahontas have a difficult time preventing all-out war, and saving their love for each other.

Pocahontas is a colorful animated feature that is unique in the art style. The animation is beautiful and uses the colors of nature and experiments and various different colors. It uses diverse perspectives and effects in musical montages with powerful singular colors like or orange, red, and blue. The background animation looks gorgeous. Character designs look more like humans with small eyes and with agreeable human body ration.

The story gives us the two different cultural groups of people and contrasts them. I love how they do that. The musical numbers are pretty good. I loved the song ‘Savages’ that captured the war sequence. Although the story seems to bore here and there, it is fun and heartwarming.

Inside Outside Rating: 66%

Disney's 'Planes: Fire & Rescue' Thunder Trailer

A third trailer for Disney's Planes: Fire & Rescue is here! It looks gorgeous and somewhat 'epic' for a machine talking animated movie that is for kids.

Planes: Fire & Rescue is a spin-off movie from Cars and is a sequel from the last year movie Planes. It opens this July 18, 2014.

Review #25 | Tinker Bell

Tinker Bell is a story about small fairies and what they do. Every fairy has their job and no job is small. This is a story about one particularly familiar fairy called Tinker Bell.

Tinker Bell, 2008

Enter the magical world of fairies and meet the enchanting creatures of Pixie Hollow, who "nurture nature" and bring about the change of the seasons. Changing the colors of the leaves, moving a sunbeam to melt snow, waking animals from their winter slumber, or giving a patch of sproutlings a sprinkle of water are all within the realm of these seasonal specialists. Tinker Bell thinks her fairy talent as a "tinker" isn't as special or important as the other fairies' talents. But when Tink tries to change who she is, she creates nothing but disaster! With encouragement from her friends Rosetta, Silvermist, Fawn and Iridessa, Tink learns the key to solving her problems lies in her unique tinker abilities and discovers that when she's true to herself, magical things can happen.

Disney can make characters appealing and has the skills to tinker a good movie with hard themes like tiny fairies. The world of Tinker Bell is creative, explaining how the seasons change with the help of fairies.

Tinker Bell is a tinker fairy and she fixes things. Now, how can you make a story now that you have a character? You need to give conflicts. Tinker Bell wants to go to the mainland but when she learns that tinker fairies don’t go to the mainland she has a problem and she won’t stop till she gets what she wants.

The story is basically about finding your talent and learning to love it. The characters are appealing and cute. The movie has some funny moments and jokes. The animation is not good as to detect the full emotions of characters. However, the kids won’t mind it.

Tinker Bell is a movie that stands by its own and is not an extended spin-off of Peter Pan. It explores freely to a new world of its own. While it is not a classic Disney film it is a descent film that I enjoyed watching.

Favorite Quote: (Fawn) Do you think it’s heavy? (Rosetta) No, it’s Light.

Inside Outside Rating: 68%

Legends of the NeverBeast Teaser Trailer

Check out this teaser trailer for the Legends of the NeverBeast. This is an another addition to the Tinker Bell franchise and possibly the final one.

Fun and talented animal fairy Fawn believes you can'’t judge a book by its cover—, or an animal by its fangs, —so she befriends a huge and mysterious creature known as the NeverBeast. While Tink and her friends aren'’t so sure about this scary addition to Pixie Hollow, the elite Scout Fairies set out to capture the monster before he destroys their home. Fawn must trust her heart and take a leap of faith if she hopes to rally the girls to save the NeverBeast.

Legends of the NeverBeast will be released next spring of 2015. 

Second Poster for 'Planes: Fire & Rescue'

DisneyToons Studios has made a sequel that will be release less than a year that after its predecessor. That is an amazingly fast work finished considering it takes about 3-5 years to make an animated film.

Planes: Fire & Rescue, 2014

Planes: Fire & Rescue open in cinemas on July 18, 2014. The poster looks really good and better than the previous one.

Shorts Review #1 | The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a 2011 American animated short film directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, and produced by Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. (Wikipedia)

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, 2011

Inspired in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, "Morris Lessmore" is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation), award-winning author/illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a hybrid style of animation that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. "Morris Lessmore" is old-fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.

This is the short that won the 84th Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film category in 2012. I cannot say that I enjoyed so much as I thought I would. Even though it has great animation with a great musical score it feels sad and lonely.

The film does show the importance of books and is pretty creative as to making a world where books can fly. The plots are uneven sometimes fun and sometimes sad. Overall it gives a melancholy feel to the picture.

Inside Outside Rating: 6/10

Review #24 | Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. (Wikipedia)

Grave of the Fireflies, 1988

Grave of the Fireflies opens on an evening in 1945, after Japan's surrender at the end of World War II; and in a train station, the young Seita dies alone. The rest of the movie tells us, in flashback, how things have come to this. Seita and Setsuko are two young Japanese children growing up in the waning days of World War II. Much to Seita's pride, their father is in the Japanese navy, and they live fairly content lives in Kobe despite rationing and the other privations of war. When their mother dies from burns suffered during an American fire-bombing raid, a distant aunt takes them in -- and conflict eventually forces the children to try to survive on their own. At first, Seita and his little sister enjoy their idyllic lives in the country, but harsh reality eventually settles in as Seita begins to understand the difficulties of taking care of a young child when both food and compassion are scarce.

Grave of the Fireflies is no movie for kids. The feature film captures the tragic moments after war. The first scene of the young Seita dying in a train station makes the audience wonder how he came to the state of dying all alone with an old rusty candy can.

Music plays a big role because it sets up the gloomy mood and the tragedy of war. Seita and his sister are left alone with no parents living one their own. The filmmakers capture small tiny parts of moments in life.

It is a melancholy movie and reveals the reality. It is a really sad film but I liked how it was different from other animated films I watched because of its sad story. There are still countries at was and the children living there will go through the similar life as Seita and Setsuko went through.

Final Thoughts: I probably won’t watch this film out of pleasure but it is a good reminder of what war brings. It did capture the essential moments of war. It is not a movie for entertainment but is for those who care for and wander why someone in the train station is sad and melancholy.

Inside Outside Rating: 67%

'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Animation Complete

Not few days ago Simon Otto, head of character animation for How to Train Your Dragon 2, tweeted that the animation for the movie was complete.

Dragon 2 Animation team just finished last shots hours ago! Congratulations everyone...what a journey!
— Simon Otto (@SimonOttoAnim) March 31, 2014

Congratulations for the animation team in DreamWorks Animation and I can't wait to see the film. How to Train Your Dragon 2 will be using a new animation softwared much more faster and better than the previous one.

The film will be also the studio's first film to use its new animation and lighting software through the entire production. Programs, named Premo and Torch, will allow much more subtlety, improving facial animation and enabling "the sense of fat, jiggle, loose skin, the sensation of skin moving over muscle instead of masses moving together." (Wikipedia)

The final trailer for the movie will be released with Rio 2 on April 11.

Review #23 | The Nut Job

The Nut Job plays good humor, has good animation, and an amiable moral about sharing.

The Nut Job, 2014

In animated 3D, “The Nut Job” is an action-packed comedy that follows Surly (voiced by Will Arnett), a mischievous squirrel, who must plan a heist to get into his town’s biggest nut shop in order to help his pals in the park gather food to survive the winter. Together with his sidekick, Buddy, he will assemble a ragtag crew to help him get inside – and take them on a fun-filled adventure they’ll never forget.

I was actually surprised of the animation in this movie. Considering this movie used the budget of $42.8 million it has some clean good animation. What I liked about the movie was its story and comedy. I must say it was not good but it was not horrible.

Side characters were annoying but I loved the character of ‘Buddy’. His character is the character that I as an audience cared about. The story had two things going on. One was animals searching for food and human thieves trying to rob the bank.

Basically this is like Over the Hedge but its better. I don’t know why other critics don’t like this movie, maybe I had low expectations but this was actually fun and entertaining. It has a villain and a protagonist and some lame side characters like ‘Grayson’.

The comedy plays a big role in this film and keeps audience entertaining, at least for the kids. It does have a moral ending that sharing is a better way to live. It wasn't disturbing but acceptable and cute.

Inside Outside Rating: 67%

Training is Over

One of my most anticipated movies of this summer is How to Train Your Dragon 2. We have been introduced to grown up characters from the posters before but this poster is the first look as a whole movie poster.

How to Train Your Dragon 2, 2014

I love how DreamWorks Animation does provide their own style of animation. I haven't seen Mr. Peabody & Sherman but personally it is my most anticipated movie of the year. How to Train Your Dragon was a picture that showed what DreamWorks can do. All of their movies are creative, something different from Pixar Animation Studios or Walt Disney Animation Studios. They explore more into creativeness side of storytelling.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is only 70 days away from its release! I am looking forward to this and Mr. Peabody & Sherman!

Teaser Trailer for 'Shaun the Sheep'

A very cool sheep is coming to town. The stop-animation studios that brought us Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit has released a hilarious teaser trailer for Shaun the Sheep.

Shaun the Sheep is based on a children's television series of the same name and is a spin-off of the Wallace & Gromit franchise. Shaun the Sheep is planned to be released on March 20, 2015 in the United Kingdom.

Review #22 | The Lorax

Dr. Seuss is a great storyteller and I am so happy that they are retold through the animation medium. Here is my review of The Lorax.

The Lorax, 2012

The 3D-CGI feature Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

The animation style for this is simplicity. The colors, character designs, and backgrounds are simply created. The world of ‘Thneedville’ is made of plastic and everything looks unrealistic.

The Characters look one dimensional and quite forgettable. Some sequences just don’t make sense but it lets us to ignore that stuff because this movie was meant for kids. As for the story, it did try to make an interesting story but was not satisfactory. The music from The Lorax justifies the weak story.

‘How bad can I be?’ was my favorite song and played it well. Personally, I loved the movie but as most movies that are made quickly it doesn't have the details that could be detected watching multiple of times. I wish the characters were more appealing in acting.

Favorite Quote: (Once-ler) How bad can I be?

Inside Outside Rating: 64%

Review #21 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is simply a wonderful masterpiece that is the iconic film for Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937

It was called "Disney's Folly." Who on earth would want to sit still for 90 minutes to watch an animated cartoon? And why pick a well-worn Grimm's Fairy Tale that every schoolkid knows? But Walt Disney seemed to thrive on projects which a lesser man might have written off as "stupid" or "impossible". Investing three years, $1,500,000, and the combined talents of 570 artists into Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney produced a film that was not only acknowledged a classic from the outset, but also earned 8,500,000 depression-era dollars in gross rentals. Bypassing early temptations to transform the heroine Snow White into a plump Betty Boop type or a woebegone ZaSu Pitts lookalike, the Disney staffers wisely made radical differentiations between the "straight" and "funny" characters in the story. Thus, Snow White and Prince Charming moved and were drawn realistically, while the Seven Dwarfs were rendered in the rounded, caricatured manner of Disney's short-subject characters. In this way, the serious elements of the story could be propelled forward in a believable enough manner to grab the adult viewers, while the dwarfs provided enough comic and musical hijinks to keep the kids happy. It is a tribute to the genius of the Disney formula that the dramatic and comic elements were strong enough to please both demographic groups. Like any showman, Disney knew the value of genuine horror in maintaining audience interest: accordingly, the Wicked Queen, whose jealousy of Snow White's beauty motivates the story, is a thoroughly fearsome creature even before she transforms herself into an ancient crone. Best of all, Snow White clicks in the three areas in which Disney had always proven superiority over his rivals: Solid story values (any sequence that threatened to slow down the plotline was ruthlessly jettisoned, no matter how much time and money had been spent), vivid etched characterizations (it would have been easier to have all the Dwarfs walk, talk and act alike: thank heaven that Disney never opted for "easy"), and instantly memorable songs (Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith and the entire studio music department was Oscar-nominated for such standards-to-be as "Whistle While You Work" and "Some Day My Prince Will Come").

The passion and the art put on this movie are amazing. Every small motion has meaning and purpose. With unforgettable characters from Snow White to the Seven Dwarfs makes this movie so appealing. They are called the Seven Dwarfs but they have their own names and their own comedic personalities. The Evil Queen is as evil as she looks like.

It also has a blast of comedy, every bit of this film is funny even the Snow White and the Evil Queen have their humorous quotes. It also has striking moments as well as joyful, happy moments. It is a Disney masterpiece and it is the face of Disney Animation Studious until this day.

The musical numbers are all favorable. Every song is good. What I liked about the musical numbers is that the songs had reprises throughout the movie constantly reminding the audiences the feel and the mood of the film.

Favorite Quote: (Snow White) Oh…you must be Grumpy.

Inside Outside Rating: 93%