Documentary Review Oceans

Oceans (2010) 

Directed by Jaques Perrin

Written by Documentary

Starring Oceans, Pierce Brosnan

Release Date April 21st, 2010 

Published April 21st, 2010 

Some of the most astonishing sights ever brought to the big screen have nothing to do with CGI, 3D or Megan Fox. These magnificent sights were captured by the patient, dedicated artists at Disney Nature who in their latest Earth Day documentary “Oceans” may make the folks at the Discovery Channel jealous.

French director Jaques Perrin helmed this awesome project that filmed in over 50 different places around the globe from the tip of South Africa to the farthest depths of the arctic to the beaches that inspired Charles Darwin and the warm waters of the Caribbean. Perrin and his crews spent more than 4 years filming with groundbreaking underwater cameras and capturing sights never before seen.

Pierce Brosnan is the voice of “Oceans” and his relaxed brogue holds together this relatively short episodic feature that doesn't so much tell a story as it strings together a series of astonishing images that holds the audience enthralled by all the beauty and wonder on display.

One will naturally assume that, despite the title, “Oceans” is a rather dry (get it?), scientific, educational and environmentally activist feature. That however, is a grand overstatement. The reality is that the images captured in “Oceans” are so strikingly, breathtakingly beautiful that the whole is as easily entertaining and engaging as it is activist or educational.

Yes, time is spent on just how much damage we have done to our oceans. Most impacting is the sight from beneath a trail of garbage floating in an oddly direct line from a river directly into the Atlantic. The filmmakers smartly avoid too much shock imagery as they take us inside fishing nets off the coast of Alaska where we see from below a cloud of blood flowing from a rising net as fishermen go in for the kill.

It’s not as impactful as the Oscar winning shock images from “The Cove” but images like the garbage and the blood are merely asides in “Oceans.”

Jaques Perrin and his crew keeps the focus of “Oceans” on the astonishing glories of the beneath the seas and in doing so keeps the audience in raw wonder as we attempt to discern just how certain images could possibly have been captured, especially the speed racer like Dolphins who cover acres of ocean at unbelievable speeds. The dolphins are filmed from above with a low flying helicopter and from below in ways that are never explained but will leave you breathless.

Disney's return to the world of nature documentaries, a field they left behind years ago after being pioneers of early nature films, is a glorious success. 2009's “Earth” was a strong effort but “Oceans” is the equivalent of Toy Story, the first Pixar feature to demonstrate the awesome, artistic possibilities of CG Animation. “Oceans” expands the limits of what we might expect from Disney Nature.

”Oceans' ' is a glorious, eye popping experience and it doesn't even need 3D. I cannot wait until next year when DisneyNature takes us into the world of Jungle Cats.

Movie Review Ratatouille

Ratatouille (2007) 

Directed by Brad Bird 

Written by Brad Bird

Starring Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Janeane Garofalo, Brad Garrett, Peter O'Toole, Will Arnett 

Release Date June 29th, 2007

Published June 28th, 2007

Brad Bird began his career as an animator on some lesser Disney efforts in the early 80's. He then moved briefly to the art department for The Simpsons and has since taken what he's learned in both of those unique arenas to feature films. His Iron Giant was a wondrous combination of classical animation and lovely storytelling. Sadly that film was never appreciated upon its release and only now seems to be gaining the classic status it so richly deserves.

His follow up, 2004's The Incredibles, thrust him to the forefront of modern animated artistry. His take on the all too real lives of superheroes was humorous, heartwarming and action packed and combined Bird's talent for beautiful animation with deeply human animated characters in extraordinary situations.

That film was, of course, a Pixar animation effort. The company that leads the way in computer animated artistry has once again teamed with Brad Bird for another exceptional film. Ratatouille, the story of a French food loving rat, is a loving tribute to food lovers everywhere and a supremely entertaining movie for anyone who enjoys movies. Not just animated movies or kids movies, Ratatouille is entertainment for everyone.

Remy (Patton Oswalt) is a rat in species only. In his heart Remy is a foodie, a lover of the greatest culinary delights. When he finds that he is living in the sewers beneath Paris, Remy see's a whole new world of foodie delights. Accidentally separated from his family, Remy seeks a new home and finds one in the kitchen of the late world famous Gusteau (Brad Garrett).

Gusteau is world famous for his cookbook ``Anyone Can Cook", a book that Remy has read cover to cover and taken to heart. Separated from his family, Remy develops an imaginary friendship with Gusteau who leads him to his restaurant now run by the miserly tyrant Skinner, Gusteau's ex-second in command. Skinner has turned Gusteau's into a money machine, marketing microwave food under Gusteau's world famous name.

Remy arrives at Gusteau's at the same time as a timid young man named Linguini who has his own connection to Gusteau. Linguini has been fired from numerous jobs and see's Gusteau's as his last chance to find something he can make a living at. A letter from Linguini's mother convinces him to hire Linguini as a garbage boy. However, when Linguini decides to help out with the soup, Remy has to step in and help him out.

When the soup is a hit, Linguini is put in charge of the soup and the two form a partnership and a friendship that could return Gusteau's restaurant to its former glory.

The key to Ratatouille is establishing its heart. We are talking about a movie whose star is one of the most reviled characters in the animal world. When you add the fact that our lead rat character is going to be involved with food and you have an awkward mix. However, the power of animation can tend to soften our feelings toward any species, but the real reason we come to love Remy is the terrific voicework of comedian Patton Oswalt.

The caustic comic surprisingly finds the perfect mix of winning humor, and passion that makes Remy a lively lovable character. Listening to Oswalt as Remy talking about food; you hear excitement and the purest of all joy. Remy has a desire not just to taste great food but to create and share great food with anyone and everyone and you hear that zeal in the voice of Patton Oswalt.

Credit director Brad bird for recognizing that passion and genuine enthusiasm in Oswalt's voice when he happened to hear Oswalt giving an interview on the radio. Oswalt was doing a bit from his act about the Black Angus Steakhouse chain and Bird decided then and there he wanted this guy's eager, earnest, enthusiasm for Remy.

The rest of the voice cast is equally well placed with the legendary Sir Peter O'Toole oozing worldly expertise as the tough as nails French food critic Anton Ego. It is O'Toole as Ego who is at the climax of the movie, its most important character and he delivers the climax in a wonderfully unexpected way.

As with all Pixar creations, the animation of Ratatouille is first rate. I mention Pixar because their stamp of quality brings an extra bit of credibility to Ratatouille. But, even working for Pixar, director Brad Bird has put his own stamp on the film. As he did with his previous Pixar produced work, The Incredibles, Bird brings his talent for traditional hand drawn animation to the world of computers and creates his own unique palette.

The look and feel of Ratatouille and its animated Paris milieu is warm and inviting with just a hint of the traditional Paris attitude. The look is timeless, not unlike the real city of lights, thus why you can't really get a sense of the time of Ratatouille. It has both modern and classic touches to the storytelling and the animated locations. It's in no way alien, just unique, its own sort of universe.

So many wonderful things stand out about Ratatouille and one of the most pleasurable is the genuine love of food. The film is a carnival of carnivorous delights making it the perfect movie to see right before going out to a nice dinner. If this movie doesn't stoke your appetite, you simply don't know how to enjoy good food.

Ratatouille is yet another triumph for Brad Bird and the team at Pixar. A joyous celebration of characters, story and animation. What a delight it is to see a movie that delivers in nearly every way imaginable from direction, to storytelling to casting. Nothing is left to chance and we in the audience are the ones who reap the rewards.

Not just a movie for the kids, but by no means over their little heads, Ratatouille is a complete movie. The rare treat of a movie that all audiences can enjoy.

Movie Review Dumbo (1941)

Dumbo (1941) 

Directed by Ben Sharpsteen

Written by Joe Grant, Dick Huerner 

Starring Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Cliff Edwards, Herman Bing

Release Date October 31st, 1941

Published October 30th, 2011 

A bundle of joy

On a starry night a winged courier marks the sky, a round package hanging from his beak. Gently this very important package is delivered via parachute into the cages of a group of circus animals. One by one these tiny packages unfolds to reveal baby tigers, giraffes, hippos and even hyenas. All the while Mrs. Jumbo stares out at the stars hoping her bundle will be the next to arrive.

It's astonishing the way we feel for Mrs. Jumbo in this scene. Everyone has hoped for something and knows the crushing disappointment when something hoped for does not arrive. Even though Mrs. Jumbo is an elephant and though we are well aware that her bundle will indeed arrive, a very special bundle at that, our heart still goes out to her as she waits through the night and boards the train the following morning without her baby.

E-A-R-S

When the stork finally does catch up to the train Mrs. Jumbo, though briefly detained by a cleverly funny bit of bureaucracy and ceremony, excitedly welcomes a baby show dubs Jumbo Jr. The baby will not carry that name for long sadly. Just as soon as the bundle has been revealed as gorgeous baby boy, a sneeze reveals his large secret, giant, wing-like ears. The older, nasty elephants are quick to give the boy a name that does stick Dumbo.

Our sympathies are never in question in Dumbo and it is the lack of complexity, the purity of this story that sells it. No nuance, no doubt, Dumbo is us and we identify with him and his mother, their all to brief joy and the sorrow of the moment when Dumbo's mom defends him from bullies and is taken away and caged. If these moments don't move you then you need to have your soul checked.

Timothy T. Mouse

The emergence of Timothy Mouse is one of the genius creations of Dumbo. Though he is easy to compare to Jiminy Cricket and other sidekick characters from the Disney canon, Timothy doesn't fit neatly into the role. Indeed, Timothy is a leader and a friend to Dumbo. Without Timothy there is no story; he drives every element from tricking the Master of Ceremonies to put Dumbo in the show to reuniting Dumbo with his mother to finally convincing Dumbo to fly, Timothy is a catalyst not an observer, a live wire of good humor and deep heart and a uniquely Disney creation.

It's hard to talk about Dumbo without acknowledging a few of the more uncomfortable racial stereotypes that the film trades in. Keeping in mind that the film was made in 1941, before the Civil Rights era, the ignorant stereotypes featured in The Song of the Roustabouts sequence, African American workers singing about being unable to read or write or keep track of their pay that they throw away or the outlandish caricatures Jim Crow and his crow friends, the makers of Dumbo undoubtedly blighted the film's legacy.

Mother and Son

Race however, was not the subject of Dumbo and though being a product of its time is not a great defense, it is an understandable one. Audiences can still appreciate other aspects of Dumbo especially the glorious relationship between Jumbo and Dumbo that is as moving as any parent and child relationship in a live action movie with human actors.

There is also the mindblowingly beautiful animation of Dumbo. The scenery in the train early train sequence as the Casey Jr. train is rolling into some nameless Florida town is a work of art in motion. The driving rain of The Song of the Roustabouts sequence, despite the song and the stereotypes, is a stunning visual; as striking as any bit of animation before or after Dumbo.

 The Pink Elephant Dance

And you cannot talk about the animation of Dumbo without discussing The Pink Elephant Dance. This amazing sequence that proceeds from Dumbo and Timothy accidentally drinking water mixed with Champagne is one of the finest moments in animation history. It's daring, bold and dynamic even as it seems to have little to do with the story of Dumbo. It would be fair to call The Pink Elephant Dance indulgent on the part of the Disney animation team but the sequence is so remarkable you can forgive them for it.

Dumbo came along at a time when Disney Animation was struggling. Pinocchio and Fantasia are remembered today as classics but in 1941 they were twin box office failures plaguing the studio and causing Dumbo to be rushed through production so fast that Walt Disney's son Roy, according to an interview on the special edition Dumbo DVD, wasn't aware the film existed until it was completed.

Shortest film in Disney history

Dumbo is the shortest Disney film of all time due to that rush through production and the notion that, at a mere 65 minutes, it could be shown more often throughout the day in theaters and thus offer a bigger payback. Indeed it did, Dumbo became, for a time, the most profitable Disney film ever.

Filled to overflow with warmth and heart, Dumbo is a flawed but still remarkable Disney classic about family, friends, acceptance and overcoming the odds. Who can honestly say they never felt like Dumbo? Everyone has had a moment where they felt left out, where something about them felt seperated from society. Dumbo reminds us all that our limitations can be exceeded if we have love in our hearts and a determined friend to help along the way.

Movie Review: The Santa Clause 2

The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 

Directed by Michael Lembeck 

Written by Don Rhymer, Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, Ed Decker, John J. Strauss 

Starring Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, David Krumholz 

Release Date November 1st 2002

Published October 31st, 2002 

How can a movie whose premise begins with a guy accidentally killing Santa Claus become a huge family hit? Have it star one of TV's biggest stars and slap that Disney label on it, that's how. Unfortunately for Tim Allen, his non-Santa roles have been like coal in a Christmas stocking. With the exception of his voice work in the Toy Story movies and the modest success of Galaxy Quest, Allan has yet to have a real blockbuster since he donned Santa's trademark clothes. So it only makes sense that Allan would once again put on the beard and the belly, what doesn't make sense is how a sequel could be so much better than it's original.

As we rejoin the man formerly known as Scott Calvin, now St. Nick, he is overseeing the creation of this year's toy supply with the help of his top assistant Bernard (David Krumholz) and Santa's top gadget elf, Curtis (Spencer Breslin). Everything is ship shape until Santa gets the naughty list and finds his son Charlie is on it. Charlie (Eric Lloyd) has been acting out in school, in part to get attention from a girl, but also to rebel against his school's Christmas hating Principal Mrs. Newman (the lovely Elizabeth Mitchell).

To make matters worse the elves have a secret to tell Santa. It seems there is another clause (ho ho) in the Santa contract called the Mrs. Clause. Essentially, Santa has to get married by Christmas Eve or he will no longer be Santa and there will no longer be a Christmas. So Santa must return to his old life as Scott, but before he goes he agrees to be cloned so that the elves won't be worried while he's gone. The clone unfortunately is a nut who threatens to give all the kids in the world coal. 

Scott doesn't know that though because he is back home dealing with Charlie as well as his ex-wife (Wendy Crewson), and her new husband (the ever goofy Judge Reinhold). With the help of his ex-wife he begins going out on a series of bad dates while feuding with Charlie's shrewish principal. If you need to be told what happens between Scott and the principal you might need to buy my new book, Genre Movies for Dummies.

Reminiscent of another recent genre film, the horror movie Ghost Ship, Santa Clause 2 isn't about where the story is going but about how it gets there. Garish sets and charming lead performances by Allen and Mitchell combine with a sweet, if entirely predictable, script for a film that is far better than the sum of it's parts. Considering that it took 5 credited screenwriters, and two more writers with Story credit, it's a miracle that The Santa Clause 2 is even remotely coherent, let alone entertaining. 

The script is surprisingly sharp especially the opening which parodies classic sub-movie clichés with the North Pole running full silent at Elfcon One as they avoid the sonar detection of a weather plane. Also funny is Santa's meeting with fellow legends Mother Nature (Aiesha Tyler), Cupid (Kevin Pollack), The Tooth Fairy (Art La Fleuer) and Father Time (Peter Boyle). These ace supporting players are having an absolute ball in this otherwise superfluous scene and I loved it. 

As I look back on Santa Clause 2, the holes in the plot grow bigger and the problems I ignored at first glance become more pronounced. Still I have to go with my initial gut reaction which was that I laughed a lot watching this film. For all of my irony soaked bravado about my indie movie loving credentials, I am forced to admit that I laughed a lot while watching a formula Disney holiday movie credited to FIVE screenwriters. Credit veteran TV director Michael Lembeck, in his feature debut, with creating a fun and lively atmosphere and allowing Allan's quick wit and charm to work around the script holes. Lembeck performed an absolutely incredible trick getting this shambles of a story into shape, smartly allowing a veteran cast to punch up the loose material with big laughs.

I would describe The Santa Clause 2 as a genre film guilty pleasure. A movie I am nearly ashamed to say I liked, but like it I did.