Coco (2017)

The other night ‘Becca’lise was telling me about a coworker who was trying to guess why Coco is making everyone cry. Seeing as the movie is about Dia de Muertos, the coworker justifiably guessed that the big, tear-jerking scene centered around the death of a prominent character. If this was any other film, they would have been right. But this is a Pixar film. They never take the easy route. Yes a beloved character dies in this film, but at least in our theater, that passing was only greeted with a brief, audible sigh from the entire audience. No tears. Because in Coco, death is not an end. As long as someone is remembered, they are never truly gone.

Tower (2016)

Who would have thought that a movie about a massacre would be the film to leave me with a renewed faith in humanity? I certainly didn't! While most films would focus on the shooter and his motives, this film hardly makes mention of him. This isn't a case of plastering one of the Boston Bombers on the cover of Rolling Stone like he's some sort of rock star. I'm not totally certain, but I feel like they don't even say the Austin Shooter's name out loud, and the only photo of him is as a baby. This is a film about the victims, about their lives and their experiences. It is also a film about compassion, sacrifice and even forgiveness. Oh and it's a cartoon too. Man I love cinema!

Anomalisa (2015)

I love the way that Charlie Kaufman is able to craft endings. They aren't particularly showy and don't really rely on twists or reveals, but they really stick with you. Of course credit is due to the various directors who have helped him to realize these works, but it's no fluke that he is the unifying element there. While he might not like to talk about what his films "mean" the fact that we remember those endings serves as proof that there was something he wanted us to take from them. There was something he simply had to express. While certainly less image based than his work with Jonze and Gondry, Anomalisa is no different. It's a great Rorschach Test for how cynical of a person you are.

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

Dead parents are so omnipresent in animation that it has become a cliché. It's a quick way to make you empathize with the protagonist while also presenting more opportunities to place that protagonist in harm's way. They have nobody to protect them and must therefore rise to the occasion and save themselves.

While Laika has mostly avoided this trope, death is still very much a presence in all of their work. It is most notable in Kubo and ParaNorman, but that morose atmosphere really hangs over all of their films. The closest cinematic parallel I can find is in the run of death-obsessed, horror films that Val Lewton produced for RKO in the 40's. Though Laika's films aren't so cynical as to subscribe to Lewton's sentiment that, "death is good." they are much more honest about grief, the various forms it can take, and the way we all live with it.

I know audiences didn't turn out for Kubo, but I'm optimistic that this will be the year that The Academy finally sees fit to honor this plucky, little studio for what I see as their masterpiece. This is the film where everything they do best comes together in the most satisfying way. It's a real bright-spot in a rather mediocre summer. Don't be scared off by all the crappy family film trailers that play before it.

Sight & Sound Challenge: Spirited Away (2001)

Film: Spirited Away (10/250)

Critics Poll: 202nd

Directors Poll: 224th

First Time/Rewatch: First Time

Let me start by saying that I'm working against an undeniable aversion to Japanese animation. I was introduced to it in probably the worst way. Dragonball Z, Pokemon, and a slew of other shows, combined with a few obnoxious anime-loving kids at my high school, made me wrinkle my nose at the whole thing. Anime, to me, was just kinda weird. I watched Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle, which I didn't love, and Tokyo Godfathers, which I actually really liked. My brief exposure to Miyazaki wasn't enough to make me pursue his other films until now, until I had to for this challenge.

Chihiro's adventures in the spirit world were pleasantly surprising. I didn't completely hate this film, what a revelation! It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, which was both good and bad. I'm really picky about the fantasy genre, and things that are over-the-top bizarre and left without explanation bug me. I can't deny that the animation was beautiful though, especially that boat scene. I'd be interested in seeing other Japanese animated films (in JAPANESE, please!) without the fantasy element. All combined, it's a little too much for me. I know this puts me in the minority, but I don't see myself suddenly loving this genre any time soon. Gorgeous animation though, and funny moments...let's see how I stomach My Neighbor Totoro after this.

Sight & Sound Challenge: WALL·E (2008)

Film: WALL·E (9/250)

Critics Poll: 202nd

First Time/Rewatch: Rewatch

I know I indicated that this was a rewatch, but I actually remembered so little about it that it felt like a first viewing. I was surprised that this was the only Pixar entry in the top 250; I thought one of the Toy Story films might've made the list. Upon actually revisiting this movie, I realized how artful it is. It could work entirely without dialogue, and it almost does. Little WALL·E is so animated in his movements and expressions that you understand everything you need to know. I love the scenes of WALL·E and EVE flying through space. It perfectly captures that sense of awe you feel as a kid (okay, and as a adult too) when you see something so beautiful. This film is important too...I feel like that trash-covered Earth is not too far away. Hopefully we're able to save it in less than 700 years.

A Town Called Panic (2009)

After doing our animated movies poll, I felt inspired to watch a bunch of new-to-me animated films that had somehow escaped my attention all these years. As a result, during a lazy Saturday spent in bed, I finally watched A Town Called Panic (Panique au village) and I have no idea why it took me so long to see this. 

Horse, Cowboy, and Indian live together in a little house. Cowboy and Indian have forgotten Horse's birthday, so they decide to build him a barbecue (a totally normal gift for a horse). They need about 50 bricks to build this barbecue, but accidentally order 50 million. And that's where their trouble begins. Before long they're encountering weird aquatic creatures, a snowball throwing robotic penguin, lava, and a number of other strange things. 

This movie is nuts. It's like watching an extremely hyper and imaginative child play with their toys. If you've ever wanted to watch two horses slow dance, or a donkey play the drums, or a card game happen on a rock plummeting to the center of the earth, this is your movie. Let's face it: this is everyone's movie. If you don't at least chuckle during this film, there's something wrong with your funny bone. It's currently streaming on Hulu Plus, so go check it out!

Animated Movies Poll - The Results!

Well the results are in and it makes for a pretty nice spread. Hand-drawn, computer and stop motion animation all seem to be getting love. And despite what some of you might have predicted - it's not all Disney! Foreign animation even got to make the cut - and not just the Japanese variety either! Sure there were a couple of directors who were able to get multiple films represented, but once you see which films we are talking about, I'm sure you'll be able to understand.

As is often the case with these things, a proliferation of ties occurred. When multiple films receive the same number of votes they are listed alphabetically. As always you can find everyone's individual ballots at the end of the post. Lots of great special guest contributors with really awesome picks that are totally worth checking out even if they didn't make the final list. Be sure to click the parenthetical next to their name to see all the awesome stuff that brought them to our attention!

5. Coraline

Princess Mononoke (1997)

I know Spirited Away is supposed to be the Miyazaki masterpiece, but I just love this one so much more. I think it's the fact that this is an action movie. Spirited Away is lovely, imaginative and emotional, but this one has kick-ass action that happens at a furious pace without losing any of its beauty. Call me base if you will but I'm seriously a sucker for well choreographed action. And then there's the environmental message, and all the gooey/icky parts and the fact that this story isn't morally black and white. All of that crammed into a film in a medium that people still insist is "for kids". This ain't Totoro. This will probably give your kid nightmares. And that's a good thing.

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, whatever you call it, it's here. Because I am both obsessed with holiday-specific movie watching and a Disney fanatic enthusiast, I like to revisit The Princess and the Frog on this day. Set in 1920s New Orleans, this movie features beautiful 2-D animation, a lively jazz soundtrack, and one of the most level-headed Disney heroines in the form of Tiana, a hardworking young woman with dreams of owning her own restaurant. It's light and fluffy and full of the usual Disney hijinks, but the film has style and I love the music, especially the song "Almost There." That's my favorite sequence in the whole film, in fact...the animation is just so cute.

Add a trumpet playing crocodile, a lovable firefly in love with a star, and an evil voodoo witch doctor, and you've got yourself a fun little family night film. And who can say no to that?

Animated Movies Poll!

Animation is a grossly underrated art form. For many it calls to mind Disney flicks that are aimed at six year olds (although we definitely like our Disney over here!) but we know there are great animated films out there just waiting to be celebrated. In honor of our 1000th-ish post, we wanted to do another movie poll, this time on our favorite animated films! We're really excited about this one because our readers have great taste and we're always eager to watch new-to-us movies!

Submission is open to everyone! All you have to do is send us your own personal top 10 list of favorite feature-length animated films either as a comment on this blog post, as a comment on our Facebook wall or as a private message on Facebook by the end of Sunday February 22nd. The results will be posted on Wednesday, February 25. Can't wait to see your recommendations!

It's Such A Beautiful Day (2012)

As a fan of Don Hertzfeldt's shorts (Rejected, Billy's Balloon and Ah, L'Amour especially) I was both excited and apprehensive at the prospect of him tackling a feature length film. I knew that it would be formally brilliant, but would the things I loved so much in brief doses suddenly become oppressive when stretched out to an hour or more? Would he be able to maintain my interest for longer than a few minutes? Well I'm very pleased to say that he was successful...for the most part. Sure there were a few moments where my interest flagged, but you could say that about most movies. What is most important is that this film was consistently funny, sad, touching and inventive. It runs the gamut and results in a very satisfying overall experience. There really is nobody quite like Don out there. Those little stick figures and minimal backgrounds are deceptively simple because there's a lot more going on under the surface.

Silly Symphonies - "The Skeleton Dance" (1929)

Happy Fall! I'm one of those obnoxious people who announced "It's the first day of fall!" to everyone I encountered today. I love pumpkin-flavored everything, spooky decorations, and of course my beloved movie list of thrillers and frightfests. I also love watching shorts and music videos that put me in the mood for this time of year, be it "Indian Thriller" or "The Headless Horseman."  One of my absolute favorites to watch is this old beloved cartoon by Walt Disney Productions. It has the distinction of being the first of 75 "Silly Symphonies," a collection of short musical cartoons produced between 1929 and 1939. This cartoon features four skeletons dancing in a graveyard with a macabre sort of glee. It's hard to not tap your feet while watching them dance and twirl. So as we welcome the fall season and look forward to Halloween being ever closer, let's enjoy this little romp in the cemetery! 

Favorite Disney Animated Sequences

This will come as a surprise to no one, but I'm a little bit obsessed with classic animated Disney movies. Regular readers of this blog know how much I love writing Disney-themed lists, from drunks, tarts, and cute couples to dapper dressers, villain sidekicks and awesomely inappropriate songs. For this one, I thought I'd take a look at some of my favorite animated sequences, with no criteria other than being absolutely stunning to look at. Yeah it's a top 9. Oh well.

Fantasia (1940) - The Winter Fairies

This movie is full of gorgeous animation, but my personal favorite part is the winter fairies during Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. The winter fairies glide along the ice, leaving a trail of frost behind them. It's beautiful.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Delivery systems are crucial. The way an idea is presented has great bearing on how it is perceived/accepted. For example, the work of James Joyce belongs inherently to the world of literature. When you try to translate something like Ulysses to film the results are horrific. What sounded beautiful on the page suddenly sounds ludicrous when coming out of an actor's mouth. The ideas are the same yet in one context we accept, in the other we reject.

For years Wes Anderson has been an acquired taste. Those who love his work love it unabashedly, those who hate it dismiss it as twee, quirky and overly mannered...and then he made Fantastic Mr. Fox. While it was by no means a huge hit, Mr. Fox yielded the greatest critical reviews of Anderson's career. It's currently ranked as 93% "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes. So what had changed?

Anderson was still dealing with the same themes of family and loss, the camera moves were still precise and meticulous and the design was of course distinctly vintage. The only thing that changed here was the medium. What critics had found unbearable when performed by humans, suddenly became endearing when performed by animal puppets. Is it a fluke that three years later Moonrise Kingdom scored a 94%? Or did it just take a whistling, clicking, tail-less fox to hip them to what they were missing out on?

10 Reasons to Watch Frozen (2013)

So you've all seen Frozen by now, right? If you haven't, it's kind of wonderful and you should go see it right now. It's still in theaters! No excuses! In case you need a push, here's what I loved about this movie.

1. All that ice animation! I was hooked from the very beginning with those beautiful snowflakes slowly taking shape. Gorgeous!

2. The music! From the hilarious "In Summer" to the moving "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?" to the epic Oscar-nominated "Let it Go," these songs really stick with you.

3. Speaking of singing, Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell kick major ass in the vocals department. Who knew Veronica Mars could sing like an old school Disney princess??

4. "I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" That obnoxious-looking talking snowman from the trailer actually ended up being pretty damn funny. Props to Josh Gad for bringing him to life!

5. Kristoff and Sven, the ice harvester and his faithful reindeer. He's so gosh darn likable! He gets a funny little song too. So much singing!

6. "Yoohoo! Big summer blowout!"

7.  Those costumes! I love Anna's winter wear in particular.

8. A genuinely good story that had audiences in our theater gasping in some scenes, sniffling in others, and laughing quite a bit too!

9. A cute post-credits scene. Oh Disney, you're too good.

10. Sisters! It's nice seeing a movie where the romance takes a backseat to the girl power and sisterly love that's front and center. It's refreshing, it's awesome, and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Go see it (with your sister, if you have one!) and give yourself a pick-me-up this winter!

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Excellent, another Disney film added to my collection! I usually wait until after the holidays to grab whatever Disney film just came out of the "vault" because I'm hoping somebody will get it for me for Christmas. And guess what was under the tree! 

Most girls (and boys) of a certain age have very fond memories of this movie. I remember having a little stuffed Flounder that I would hold by its fins like Ariel did. I would swim in my grandparents' pool and pretend I was a mermaid. You know, typical little girl stuff. What's nice about a lot of these classic Disney films is that while you grow up loving them for one reason, you can revisit them as an adult and appreciate them on a totally different level. What makes this movie great for me now is the amazing musical work by Howard Ashman (RIP) and Alan Menken. Those songs! I hate to think of a world without "Under the Sea". And let's not forget the hilariously violent "Les Poissons" sequence! The blu-ray is pretty great, featuring a great making-of documentary and lots of other fun behind-the-scenes tidbits for superfans. Did you know Ursula the sea witch was based on Divine? Awesome! I'm so glad Ashman's legacy will live on as people continue to love this movie. And with a great voice cast (Jodi Benson as Ariel is flawless), beautiful animation, and top-notch music, there will be no shortage of love for The Little Mermaid anytime soon.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Jack Skellington is feeling a little bored and restless in his role as the Pumpkin King in Halloween Town when he stumbles into Christmas Town and has his little skeleton mind BLOWN. He is inspired to claim Christmas as his own, to the delight of some, and the dismay of others.

This movie takes me back to 10th grade. I was going through my little goth phase, I had a Jack Skellington lunchbox, and Disneyland had just opened their Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween/Christmas makeover on the Haunted Mansion ride. Ah, those were the days! It's true that merchandise for this movie seems to be EVERYWHERE now and it can get kinda seen-one-seen-them-all, but if you look at just the film by itself it's really quite extraordinary. First of all, the amount of work that went into this film is mind-boggling.  I can't wrap my head around the dedication and patience required to make a stop-motion film. The voice actors are top notch, the music is wonderful (well done, Danny Elfman!), and the combined talents of Tim Burton and Henry Selick make this film shine. There's something comfortable and familiar about these songs and these characters. Whenever I feel too snobby and abandon this movie for a few years, it waits, patiently, for me to come back. Like an old friend. For Jack, Sally, Zero, even Oogie Boogie, I'll always come back.

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

The children of the world are protected by immortal "guardians," defenders of those children who believe in them.  North (Santa Claus), the Sandman, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy must band together when Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, threatens the children with endless nightmares that will cause them to lose their innocent belief in their protectors. Things get interesting when the unlikely Jack Frost is chosen to join their ranks.

I haven't been so pleasantly surprised by a movie in a long time! My sister picked it to watch last Sunday night and I was kind of like "Okaaaaay..." but I got sucked right in! The story is creative, the animation is excellent and I loved the original take on our beloved childhood characters. Santa Claus with tattoos? An Australian Easter bunny? Yes please! I had a lot of fun watching this. I really appreciate when children's films aren't afraid to be dark and scary at times. It's good for them! I might have to add this one to my future child's collection of good-but-scary films, along with ParaNorman and Coraline. And now I want to read the books too!

If you're a fan of good animation or just like an interesting story, I very much recommend this one. It's not flawless, but it's surprisingly enjoyable and reminds us all to hold onto that sense of wonder we all had as kids! Enjoy!

The Flight of Dragons (1982)

The power of magic is fading in a world of reason and logic. The wizard Carolinus (Harry Morgan) summons his three brothers in hopes that together they can create a haven for all magical creatures, safe from the outside world. The evil fourth brother Ommadon (James Earl Jones) refuses to hide away and instead vows to use his powers to control and destroy mankind. Carolinus then organizes a quest, headed by a 20th century man of science (John Ritter), to steal Ommadon's crown, the source of his power.

This film is one of the few non-Disney animated films I grew up with. I've met very few people who have seen this film, so I'm always defending it despite the fact that it's all over the place. Once you get past the somewhat wonky animation and crazy monsters, it's actually an interesting story about magic versus science. One could even look at it as a story of religion's place in the modern world ruled by logic. Can the two coexist? This film also gets props for being the only movie I've seen that attempts to scientifically explain dragon fire and flight. Not bad for a little cartoon from the 80s!

You'll have a tough time finding this one without purchasing it outright, but you can watch individual clips on YouTube if you're interested. At least get it for the kids!