Animated Feature Contenders: China's "White Snake"

by Tim

The original Chinese title for the new animated mythological epic White Snake is just a hair different from the one that distributor GKIDS is using to promote the film. The literal translation is White Snake: Origin, which tells us quite a lot, in fact. This isn't just any old fantasy adventure, you see: it is, in fact, an original prequel to one of the most important of all traditional Chinese folk tales, "Legend of the White Snake." This matters for a couple of reasons: first, because it explains something that a lot of American critics have been complaining about, which is the film's frequently inscrutable narrative progression. Which is, to be fair, a little bit inscrutable, but much less so if you keep in mind that, for the target audience, many of the things that seem most inexplicable have already been explained simply by the film announcing up front that it takes place in a certain kind of generic universe where certain rules apply. Which sucks if you're not part of that target audience, but we can at least try to meet the film where it lives.

Second, even if you (like me) don't know much or anything about "Legend of the White Snake," you probably at least know one or two folk tales from your own background culture, and wherever you come from in the world, folklore has a very distinct cadence...

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Interview: Chris Butler on creative freedom, animation's future, and "Missing Link"

by Nathaniel R

Chris Butler (Paranorman, Missing Link)

When I met the talented Chris Butler earlier this year for the release of his second film Missing Link (2019), I was buzzing while he was crashing. I was thrilled that he’d just proved his Oscar nominated horror-tinged comedy ParaNorman (2012) was no fluke with his sophomore effort, a hilarious adventure comedy which wore its Victorian literature and adventure film influences all over its fussy colorful sleeves. He was suffering from a cold and ready for a much needed vacation after wrapping his second feature and hitting the publicity grind immediately thereafter. 

As writer and director, he plays two very different roles on each film, one a solitary pleasure, but in the other surrounded by hundreds of people daily. He jokingly feared that he’d become misanthropic. “I need some space! ‘Chrisanthropic’ -- that’s what they call me!”

I flashed back to that interview recently given that year end awards and “best of” lists are upon us. If there’s any justice, Missing Link is being rediscovered right now on FYC screeners and Butler will be surrounded by hundreds of people again on red carpets. Here’s hoping that well-earned vacation was rejuvenating!

[The following interview has been condensed for clarity]

NATHANIEL: Audiences rarely think of animated films in terms of directors but studios… but your films originate with you. 

CHRIS: Our process is probably different from the biggest studios. You know, I originally went to Laika to work for six months and that was 13 years ago!  So yeah, clearly there was an opportunity there that was worth pursuing. What it was was absolute creative freedom...

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Review: Frozen II

By Tim

Frozen, the 2013 feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios, is one of the decade's most extreme success stories: it's the highest-grossing film of the decade that's neither a remake nor a sequel, as well as the highest-grossing animated feature in history (depending on where you set the definition of "animation"; this summer's all-CGI remake of The Lion King bumped it down a notch). Even given Disney's historical reluctance to produce theatrically-released sequels, it's not really much of a surprise that the studio has succumbed to the temptation to chase that blockbuster with a six-years-later follow-up. And so it is that Frozen II is upon us.

The biggest question facing the film is, of course, "does it live up to the original?" And I do wish that I had a less wishy-washy answer than "maybe." A lot depends on what you think about Frozen: for me, it's the third-best of Disney's three original princess movies this decade, behind 2010's Tangled and 2016's Moana, largely because of what a shambling wreck it becomes as the story structure loosens in the second half. Frozen II has the same problem, but in reverse: the first half of the movie feels more like script notes than a script, scene after scene in which neither the stakes, nor the locations, nor the emotions, nor the narrative momentum seems to carry through. Then, at a particular point midway – the particular point depicted in the film's dramatic teaser trailer, no less – everything snaps into focus and the plot and mood suddenly seem like they make sense, more or less. Which is irritating, because it means that talking about everything Frozen II does well would bring us into spoiler territory, and thus this review is going to involve a lot more complaining than the film necessarily deserves...

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Yes No Maybe So: Pixar's 2020 Films "Soul" and "Onward"

by Tony Ruggio

Pixar gonna Pixar. That is, use cute anthropomorphic beings to explore the many profundities of life and make us cry in the process. Soul appears to be another excellent example of their personal stamp. Better yet, it's one of two Pixar originals this year (their firsts since Coco in 2017 since the last two years have been sequels). Let's do the Yes No Maybe So after the jump... 

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"Klaus" is (half) a masterpiece...

Our resident animation expert will be looking at several of the movies vying for a nomination in Best Animated Feature. First up, a Christmas movie.

by Tim Brayton

The new animated feature Klaus is being pulled in a lot of directions. It's the directorial debut of Sergio Pablos, a former Disney animator who splits time between Hollywood projects (as screenwriter, he created the Despicable Me franchise) and nurturing his own company, SPA Studios, based in his hometown of Madrid. It's also the first animated feature produced by Netflix, which has been making sure to emphasize that fact in all of its marketing efforts. And it's not just any old Netflix production: this is part of the streaming service's increasingly deep bench of Christmas-themed movies.

It's hard not to think about this while one is watching the movie. Depending on how you approach it, Klaus is either a masterpiece, or a frankly irritating collection of tin-eared dialogue, odd casting choices, and dated clichés of kids' movie screenwriting...

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