Movie Review – The Last Unicorn (1982)

Movie Review – The Last Unicorn (1982)

Movie Synopsis:

In a magical forest, a unicorn finds out that she is the last of her kind. She ponders this sad news, and indeed wonders where all the other unicorns have gone. She decides to leave her safe homeland, and seek out others of her kind, or find out what happened to them at the very least. 

She encounters friends on the road, but also dangerous people as well. And when she gets to the end of a road, she discovers a castle with a red bull, an evil king, and a charming prince, and she must face ultimate dangers and face challenging emotions.

Movie Review:

The Last Unicorn is an animated classic from the early 1980s that really brought animation in a different direction. Unlike other animated movies, this one was not afraid to build frightening scenes, mature plot, and complex characters into the tale, making it accessible to adults and teens while still providing a story children could follow, even if it was scary. 

Based on the fantasy novel by Peter S. Beagle, the plot of this movie about a unicorn who must find others of her kind, is a creative examination of what it means to be different, and what it means to be changed as a result of sacrifice. It is a powerful story that has a lot of metaphor and lessons, that one can think about long after the movie and with watching multiple times. This is truly the sign of a good story.

The 1980s animation is beautiful and express the feelings of what is being spoken about perfectly. For example, the evil King’s castle feels dark, dank, and lonely, and we can tell from the scenes. Another great example is the opening sequence, which has breathtaking artwork to go along with opening narration and an opening title song that fills in what is to come in this story.

Speaking of which, the instrumental soundtrack and the songs written and performed by America are enjoyable and catchy in this movie, and are a solid fit with the story and the melancholy feel of the plot.

Acting in the movie is totally on-point, with great casting choices. Mia Farrow is perfection as the voice of the unicorn. Tammy Grimes is fantastic as Molly, and with these two main characters, we have a great film with strong female leads, great to have from an early 1980s film. Rounding out an all-star cast are Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, and Rene Auberjonois.

This movie became a cult classic over time, and is a fabulous animated movie that can be enjoyed by adults, teens, and older children. This is a treat to watch again, even coming on 40 years after its initial release. It is a powerful, emotional, melancholy story, and teaches beautiful lessons about love, loss, sorrow, regret: the human condition.

Well Done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Movie Review – The Dark Crystal (1982)

Movie Review – The Dark Crystal (1982)

Movie Synopsis:

On the far-away planet of Thra, the dark crystal has wreaked havoc on a once peaceful land. The crystal is controlled by the evil Skekses, who use its power to live immortally, at the expense of all other life on the planet.

However, a prophecy told by the wise and ancient Mystics holds that a peaceful Gelfling may be able to bring peace and justice back to the planet, if the dark crystal can be repaired.

The young Gelfling Jen sets out on that quest, and together with another Gelfling Kira, they set out on a dangerous quest to save their world.

Movie Review:

The Dark Crystal is a classic Jim Henson film, where he really decided to push forward with a totally new way of telling stories. He used his Jim Henson Workshop creative team, and brought puppet-animation to life on the big screen, in a fantasy film that told a huge story. The result was an amazing accomplishment, and a true success. 

Henson, Frank Oz, Gary Kurtz, and the rest of their team did an incredible job in 1982 bringing their creative vision to the screen. The film is a treat to watch, with a visually stunning collection of settings, scenery, and characters. Even watching this film again in 2020, the visuals of the film are engrossing, and really bring to life this planet, filled with unique creatures and lifeforms.

Henson also injected a lot of humour into the story. The dialogue is peppered with small amusements from characters like Aughra and Kira, and other characters like Fizzgig are simply there to generate laughter. That being said, this is a great counterpoint to the seriousness of the plot. This is an intense tale, which we understand right at the beginning, when the narrator (voiced exceptionally by Joseph O’Conor) tells us the background of what is going on, in a few minutes. That sets us up for a great adventure.

The characters in the story are fascinating, from the evil Skekses to the wise Mystics to the peaceful Gelfling. Supporting character Aughra, a powerful magical being, is particularly intriguing and dominates every scene she is in.

The plot is thoughtful and challenging. It makes you think about good and evil, and about choices that we make. Like all good science fiction and fantasy, this film allows us to enjoy the story, but also think about how the themes apply to our own world.

Overall, this is a fabulous movie, and well worth watching, and re-watching.

Well Done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Movie Review – 9 (2009)

Movie Review – 9 (2009)

Movie Synopsis:

In a world destroyed by war, a small doll-like figure named “9” wakes up in a laboratory, unsure where he is or what has happened around him. When he starts exploring the desolate, destroyed streets and buildings around him, he encounters another life-form named “2” who helps explain a few things to him. However, when a robotic beast attacks them, they must jump for cover immediately.

So begins an incredible adventure for 9, who must work with a collection of characters with different personalities, save some who have been captured by the evil machines, and try to understand more about what happened, why they exist, and how to stop the evil machines in this world, once and for all.

Movie Review:

This dystopian fantasy, produced by Tim Burton, truly had a beautiful, unique style and design. Director Shane Acker, who created a short film of the same name in 2005, one which received an Academy Award, works with an amazing cast and crew to bring it to the big screen in a bigger way in 2009. Acker and Burton have a vision which is executed flawlessly in this film, with a beautiful esthetic and a steampunk feel. The incredible adventure is told through rag-doll characters, in settings of gothic abandoned churches, dark industrial sections, and streets and buildings abandoned of all life, with only murky gas and whistling wind all that remains. The film had an eerie tone that was truly captured.

Strong voice performances made for a solid animated film, with actors including Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, Crispin Glover, and Christopher Plummer, among others. Although at times the script felt a little stilted and bare, in some ways perhaps that was just right, given this post-apocalyptic world was a barren wasteland.

The film is very short, at 80 minutes, and although it is visually incredible with some great themes raised, it feels like not all the themes are fully explored or resolved to satisfaction. Additional focus on themes of war, violence, technology, science, environment, and pollution, all of which seem to be raised in the dialogue or picture, could have been explored to a larger degree.

That being said, the astonishing visuals and creative uniqueness of this movie definitely make it an enjoyable film worth watching.

Overall: 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Movie Review – Coco (2017)

Movie Review – Coco (2017)

Movie Synopsis:

In this Pixar animated movie, Miguel dreams of being a musician when he grows up. However, his parents and grandmother forbid this idea, reminding him constantly that working in the family shoe making and repair business in his home town of Santa Cecelia, Mexico, is his destiny.

However, as the Day of the Dead approaches, Miguel learns something surprising about a member of his family from the past, who is not spoken about often. It leads to Miguel embarking on an exciting adventure to try and learn more about his background, and explore the possibility of being a musician after all.

Movie Review:

This was an absolutely fantasic movie. Pixar is known for making great films, but in this case they have really found success by using the talent they have with animation, colour, and vibrancy in their process, and combining with fresh new writing that hasn’t really been seen before.

Embracing Mexican culture, and focusing the story around the Day of the Dead, created a truly original movie. Screenwriters Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich have written a fast-paced and enjoyable experience. The themes of the movie are powerfully written about and explored, accessible for all ages. Rather than shy away from talking about death, life, family expectations, and understanding your culture, the screenwriters have succeeded in discussing them head-on and ensuring all ages can appreciate them.

The cast (which is thankfully not white-washed) does an excellent job, with the great voice talents of Gael Garcia Bernal, Anthony Gonzales, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, and Ana Ofelia Murgula.

The music in Coco is also enjoyable, and adds to the overall liveliness of the film. When you leave a movie experience singing the songs back in your head after, you know the music has been spot on. This is what happened after watching Coco.

In summary, this is a fantastic and thoughtful movie for all ages, and one definitely worth seeing.

Well done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Movie Review – Titan A.E. (2000)

Movie Review – Titan A.E. (2000)

Movie Synopsis:

In the 31st century, humans are on the verge of extinction, having been usurped by other species with much more power in the galaxy. The evil Drej species have destroyed Earth, and humans are scattered across the galaxy, often doing menial work to survive. However, when Cale is approached by a small crew led by a human captain, he is told that his deceased father had led a Titan Project, which would help restore the soul and spirit of the human race. Cale joins the crew to try and find the lost ship Titan, and save the human species.

Movie Review:

This animated film from the year 2000, which suffered production and distribution problems from Fox Animation, which was in the process of being shut down at the end of the film’s production, nonetheless does a fantastic job of bringing a passionate, touching, and action-packed science fiction story to the screen.

This film succeeds with great, diverse characters, both good and evil, voiced with talent by Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, Nathan Lane, and Jim Cummings.

Directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, who directed numerous films in the late 1900s including Anastasia, did a great job with this animated film switching to more computer animated techniques. The visuals of the film are stunning, and create an exciting sense of the wonders of the galaxy.

Furthermore, the music in the film is well done, with a variety of rock bands from the time period providing a variety of music with applicable lyrics to the story, and with a beat that keeps the action moving.

Finally, the plot itself, that of a young man trying to find himself and trying to help save humanity, has been explored before, but is nonetheless explored with excitement and enthusiasm here. The darker tones that are present in the storyline are welcome here for an animated film, and it almost makes you feel you are watching an American anime film.

Overall, this is an enjoyable, entertaining, and thoughtful science fiction animated film that was ahead of its time when it came out in 2000.

Well Done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Movie Review – Zootopia (2016)

Movie Review – Zootopia (2016)

Movie Synopsis:

In this animated film, rookie bunny cop, Officer Judy Hopps, has overcome stigma to graduate from the police academy as the first rabbit.  However, she continues to deal with stereotypes in the metropolis of Zootopia where she is now working.  She runs into a sly fox, Nick Wilde, who cons her and others out of money, she tries to do her part to make the city a better place.  However, she finds that she needs to team up with Nick and work with him to try and solve a larger conspiracy that threatens the entire city.

Movie Review:

This latest animated film by Disney was a fantastic one for young children, older children, and adults.

Most impressive is how the themes of the movie cover a lot of complex, important ground, including following your dreams, working hard to be whatever you want to be, and the dangers of stereotypes, prejudice, xenophobia, and making assumptions about others.  These are important themes to be exploring in this day and age, where sadly prejudice and racism continue to run rampant in society.  Further, these themes were presented clearly for the entire audience, making the film thought provoking for older audiences and accessible for younger audiences.  The writers should be commended for this success.

Furthermore, the writers did a nice job of balancing serious themes with a lot of humour that again works for all ages.  The music and the fun in the storyline make for an enjoyable ride.  Combined with all this is the mystery and adventure element of the story, and following our two main characters as they work together to solve a crime.  The story has elements of adventure, action, comedy, and serious themes being explored, and it all connects together brilliantly.

The casting and voice work done by the actors is brilliant, with Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman leading the way.

The animation is fantastic, particularly the way Zootopia is presented as a humming, bustling metropolis of diverse animals of all sizes.  The huge city feel and concept is brought to life perfectly on the screen.  Scenes that take place in other areas of the city that feel less like a modern day city, such as the rain forest and polar zones, also add value to the diversity on the screen.

In closing, this was a fun and entertaining movie that effectively explored important themes and topics for audiences of all ages.

Well done!

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars.