Dog’s Movie House: “Inside Out 2” Return To Form For Pixar & Disney!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here and Pixar Studios has taken it on the chin lately since the pandemic (along with parent company Walt Disney, of course). “Onward” the last film released in cinemas before Covid shut everything down, did middling box office at best and “Lightyear” got blasted for trying to make a space epic out of a beloved series of movies about toys. In between, Disney had the bright idea to release three Pixar films to Disney Plus. We had “Luca” “Soul” and “Turning Red,” on the small screen and it conditioned fans to stay away from the cinema. The movies were uniformly excellent, but the perception that Pixar was losing steam was very real. Last year Pixar released “Elemental” and it looked like another crash and burn for the studio with the lowest opening weekend for a Pixar film in ages. Yet the film seemed to find its legs and became a modest hit, showing signs Pixar wasn’t quite down for the count yet. Now we have “Inside Out 2” the highly anticipated sequel to 2015’s original film that was hailed as an instant masterpiece and a perfect pyschological primer on children’s emotions. It was a pretty big hit as well. That’s a lot to live up to, but “Inside Out 2” not only meets the quality of the original but exceeds it, seemlessly weaving in complex new emotions to interact with our favorites as pre-teen Riley is now a teenager. (Look out for falling glass!)
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “Kung Fu Panda 4” A Worthy Addition To The Franchise!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here and I’ve always been a fan of the Kung Fu Panda series of films because I’ve always enjoyed their enthusiasm and respect for the classic martial arts movies they’re honoring. Now over the years there has been a little bit of dimishing story quality, but not enough to justify ditching the series. I’m pleased to report that “Kung Fu Panda 4” and its continuing growth of lead character Po (Jack Black) is still a beautifully animated entertaining romp with some great work from its A-List vocal cast!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” Gives The Heroes A Lively Animated Reboot!
Howdy folks! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been around for the better part of thirty-five years and have become embedded in our pop culture consciousness. People who barely know the films, comics and television shows know the names Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raaphael, and Donatello, as well as Splinter and Shredder. Michael Bay put his own roided out spin on things a few years back and those films were somewhat successful, but the playful nature of these “heroes-in-a-half-shell” haven’t had their playfull roots shown in awhile. Now comes “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayem” to provide a fresh, mostly invigorating spin on the Turtles with some wonderful animation!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “Nimona” A Delightful Animated Film From Netflix That Will Give Disney A Run For It’s Money!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at a little animated treasure called “Nimona” a film that ranks close to one of the best animated flicks of the year so far. Based on Nate Stevenson’s graphic novel, “Nimona” tells the story of Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed) a young knight in a futuristic world who is disgraced and hunted after being framed for a horrible crime. Desperate to clear his name, Ballister teams up with a shape-shifting girl named Nimona (Chloe Grace-Moretz), a smart ass who just happens to have a few secrets of her own. Together they may not only clear their names but also change their whole society for the better!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” A Brilliantly Animated And Engrossing Spider-Man Film!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with an early contender for not only best animated film of the year, but best film of the year, period! In 2018, Christopher Miller and Phil Lord hit audiences with “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse,” a comic book story come to life that introduced cinematic audiences to Miles Morales, and Brooklyn kid who becomes his world’s version of Spider-Man. It was emotional, funny, kinetic, and very clever, not to mention beautifully animated and it became a sensation with audiences and critics alike, even beating the likes of “The Incredibles 2” at that years Oscars. Now the sequel arrives and it’s actually better than the original, full of eye-popping animation, more incredible characters, and a deep, complex story arc that is still easy enough to understand!
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