Saturday, December 20, 2014

How Hiro Became a Hero

I don’t think I’ve kept it as much of a secret that I’ve been gravely disappointed in Disney Feature Animation for the past year. However, I did see Big Hero 6 last month when it came out and I will admit that it satiated some of my displeasure (although at this point they’d have to go to some drastic lengths in order to clear up all of my displeasure).

Here are some of the things that impressed me about BH6:


A simple, straightforward plot. I don’t know if you've noticed this, but Disney doesn't seem to do so well when they try to complicate their story lines. A few good examples of this are Frozen, Brother Bear, Home on the Range and Chicken Little. Basically if they try to have too many things going on at once it becomes fogged up. Let me highlight what I’m talking about with the following example:

In Brother Bear there is the main character who is embarrassed by the sacred religious totem he receives, gets in a fight with his brothers, turns into a bear, befriends (ish) a baby bear, goes on a mystical quest to regain his human form, discovers that he killed baby bear’s mom, doesn't even make the minimum requirement of apologizing for murder to baby bear, doesn't patch things up with his still living brother, and decides to remain a bear. In the meantime Bear-boy’s brother goes on a revenge quest in order to kill the bear he presumes killed his brother not knowing that the bear he’s set out to kill actually is his brother in bear form and when he discovers that said bear actually is his brother he decides not to kill him but he also doesn't take the time to patch things up with him and instead chooses to sweep the whole nasty drama under the rug. On top of this baby bear decides to blindly follow a stranger around in the hopes that this stranger will be able to reunite him with the mom that he doesn't know is dead yet and whom this stranger actually killed and when he does discover that this stranger he’s put all his trust into actually is a murderer he shrugs it off for some reason and decides to continue to chum around with the guy that killed his mom (stranger danger much?). Also, there are moose with crazy Canadian accents wandering around for unknown reasons reinforcing all stereotypes about Canada that are in the book. Not to mention the mysterious clan wise woman who shows up for maybe five minutes and is never heard from again, the totem animals with their vague symbolism that is a far stretch in order to make any of them fit into the story, and the changing screen sizes and you have a nice mess of complicating a plot far more than is humanly necessary. I mean, what moral are you supposed to get from this story? Instead of solving your problems sweep them under a rug? Take lightly the sacred things in your life whether they be your religion or your familial relationships? Don’t own up to the mistakes you’ve made in the past? Who’s side are we, as the audience supposed to be on? The murder’s? The vengeful sibling’s? The naïve bear’s?

This is what happens when you try to shove too much into a story: a confusing, forgettable mess.

Now then, BH6 deals with some complex themes and concerns but presents them in a simple and straightforward manner. Doing this makes the characters and their emotional turmoil a lot more relatable to a general audience. The plot focuses on the issues of one main character (not three) and how he deals with them. Hiro is an overly intelligent kid who is full of himself (like any overly intelligent kid I’ve ever met) he’s also acquainted with loss and as a result he relies on his brother for a lot of his nurture and support. Which is why the loss of his brother is such a huge blow (also, you know, losing someone important to you is always a huge blow…). So the whole point of this movie is to watch as Hiro learns to cope with loss. It’s actually pretty inspiring to watch as he accepts his brother’s death and tries to honor his legacy by always helping those in need.

Believable(ish ) technology. I’m sure all of you sat through the credits in this movie…not only to get to the extra little tidbit at the end but as a way of saying thank you to the numerous people that worked hard to make this movie worth watching. And I’m sure as all of you were sitting through the credits you were actually reading them and taking the time to consider how grueling it must be to put an animated feature together. And I’m sure as you were reading the credits you noticed the incredibly long list of universities, libraries, and research facilities that were listed as places where the animators went to make sure all of their science was plausible and accurate. At least…plausible and accurate enough. This is why the villain uses microbots instead of an earlier concept of some sort of super suit or why Honey-Lemon’s Power-Purse isn’t full of micro-sized interdimensional wormholes but is a miniature factory for producing her chemical balls (because that’s marginally more plausible).

Ok, so not all the science in this movie is entirely coherent. The teleportation device is a little far-fetched and the idea that if someone were caught in a malfunctioning teleporter they would be safely tucked away in a comatose state in hyperspace is a bit too much to plausibly wrap my head around. But at least it was theoretically researched instead of completely made up.

Cultural mash-ups. I like the idea that one day in the distant future we’ll live in a society so intermixed that they’ll change the name of San Francisco into something more Asian-friendly (instead of the Spanish-friendly name that it currently rocks). I feel like they mostly did this because the animation industry has a big crush on Japan right now. And can you blame them? Like many people I suffer from acute Asia envy.

All joking aside, I think this cultural mash-up is really well handled. The Asian references are so casual that it makes them read as natural. Nothing in the background of the movie is over explained or hyped up. It doesn’t draw attention to itself; it’s just present, the way it would actually be in real life. This gives the movie a sense of reality lacking in other movies that attempt to do the same thing.

Baymax. I almost think this one goes without saying. Talk about a well-designed character just ready to be converted into a fluffy plush. And he’s actually incorporated into the story instead of tacked on in a blatant attempt to make mass-market plush dolls as a way to milk the general public for one more dollar (I’m looking at YOU Olaf!). And let’s not forget his adorable, child-like personality and that very fine way of performing a fist-bump… It brings to mind fond memories of myself and my darling sister Penny during our high school days.

Now then, here are the things with which I was unimpressed by in BH6:

Boring character designs. This is only a partial grievance. It’s been a long standing tradition at Disney that the main character looks like an everyday person: no real defining characteristics, kind of bland. They do this intentionally as a way to make the main character more relatable. That way you can easily swap out the main character for yourself. That’s cool and all but sometimes I wish that main character’s face had more personality to it, give him a scar or a broken nose or something.

And speaking of character design, let’s talk about Honey-Lemon. Don’t get me wrong, I really like her design. She’s like Pop-Culture-Nerd Barbie and I like that a lot. You get her personality perfectly just by looking at her. However, if this quote from the character designer for Honey-Lemon is anything to go by there’s just one thing missing from her look:

 “In terms of design she was the toughest to crack.. How to design a girl who is of latino descent, loves japanese fashion, while also is a geek about chemical engineering?"

Ok, I can get that this lady is into Japanese fashion and culture, I can totally get behind the love of chemical engineering; the part that I have a hard time wrapping my head around is that Latino descent bit. Really?? I mean….REALLY?? This girl’s got a white complexion, blonde hair, and green eyes. I get that there are some people down in Argentina that probably look like this but for the most part when I think of Latino descent green eyes and blonde hair aren’t defining traits I consider. She looks more like a So-Cal beach girl than she does anything else.


And speaking of cultural confusion, Hiro’s aunt is very obviously a white lady. I’ve already mentioned that I really like the culture mash going on in this movie and I get that it’s obviously a racially mixed family and that’s cool…kudos to them and all that. I also understand that it’s not necessarily viable to the plot that it be explained which of Hiro’s parents is Asian and which is not and in fact taking the time to do so would detract from the plot and remove the audience from the artificial reality created by the movie. So really this is something I want cleared up for my own curiosity. Which parent was of Japanese descent?  

Here are a few miscellaneous things for your consideration:

Did anyone else think that it was outrageously cool that Hiro casually has a 3D printer in his garage?

I was very smitten with the fact that the whole hero entourage’s outfits didn’t look as polished as say Peter Parker’s does (and that’s something I’ve always wondered about: how does a teenage kid with the resources that Peter has come up with a perfectly polished spandex unitard?). It further heightens the sense of reality that everyone has these great superhero costumes with a handmade/cosplay sort of look to them. I mean, Hiro wears regular jeans with his outfit.

And speaking of Hiro’s costume, does it bother anyone else that he doesn’t provide himself with any other protection than a very detachable robot? I mean, for the most part Baymax does a really great job of defending Hiro but there was at least one part during the climactic fight scene where I was just waiting for Hiro to pull a back-up defense plan out of his pocket and he didn’t. Lame!

Well, it feels like this post is a bit more long winded than usual. I guess I had a lot more to say about Big Hero 6 than I thought I would. In any case, it feels like an excellent way to wrap up my blog for 2014.


Until next time, Happy Holidays!

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Like Mother Like Daughter or, Why Merida's Mom is Better Than Merida

So I might have been a little misleading at the end of my last post when I mentioned Brave.

Yes, I have a mouthful to say about Brave, and yes, it might get a little ranty but it probably won't get ranty in the way you're probably thinking it will. As it is I actually don't have any issues with the movie... I mostly take issue with people's reactions to this movie.

Allow me to explain: from what I can tell there are three group of people for this movie; the first group thinks of this movie as a knock-off of Brother Bear, the second group feels as though Brave is a mixture of two movies that have been poorly smooshed together, the third group is the Merida-worshiping feminists.

My response to the first group is an exasperated ??? WHA?? How can you...? Sputter....mutter.....various noises. Is it because people turn into bears?? Because that is truly the ONLY common ground I can find between Brave and Brother Bear. The latter has SO many problems with plot, and theme, and moral to the story that I honestly can't formulate proper sentences when I try to explain why Brother Bear is SUCH a bad movie. I mean, it's an embarrassingly bad movie. If I had worked on this movie I would be embarrassed to put it on my resume. It's just....

And I've heard this comparison from MULTIPLE people.



My response to the second group is some straight up confusion. I've heard this critique from a few completely unrelated sources now and since I've heard similar criticisms about other Pixar movies so I can't help but give this complaint some legitimacy. The confusion comes in because I've had some friends note a clear shift in feel where it seems to move from one movie to another and I honestly can't find where this shift is. Is there anyone out there that would be willing to point it out where this shift takes place and explain what these two different movies are? Because I see this movie and all I can think is there is one clear plot that is well articulated and moves fluidly.

Now this third group is where things get sticky. Allow me to explain:

I have nothing against feminists, I'd be lying if I said gender equality wasn't something we should be striving to achieve in our culture and everyday life. What gets to me is this idea that Merida is a great example of a "Strong Female Character" because she refuses to get married at the tender age of 16 and because she can shoot an arrow. I don't know how these two characteristics translate to female empowerment. Because if you ask me, Merida is stubborn, disrespectful, selfish, proud and rude. Don't get me wrong, I really like Merida as a character, but is she a great example of a good upstanding human being who handles her problems in a mature and understanding way? No.... I mean, she POISONS HER MOM!

Now, if you ask me, if you want a fine example of a strong woman you should check out Merida's mom, Elinor. There's a woman that can stop a fight by simply walking into it. Literally! Not to mention teaching her daughter the importance of putting the needs of the community above her own. She worries about the wellbeing and safety of others. She works hard to ensure the peace of her nation. When Elinor throws Merida's bow in the fire her remorse over the action is immediate because she recognizes the item as something important to her daughter. Whereas, when Merida ruins her mom's tapestry she doesn't even feel shame over ruining all of her mother's hard work. Not to mention Merida disappears after the archery contest her mom's response upon her return is "I was so worried!" Merida's response is to poison her. Granted, she was way off on the whole "a marriage will solve all our problems" bit. I mean, there's no way a marriage would make every clan happy in this movie's scenario. That's pretty obvious from the get go. Sure, she's a pretty traditional lady, what with the lack of combat knowledge and the cleanliness but, I'm all for her!



I will throw Merida a bone, she progresses miraculously throughout the movie and by the end of the story she turns into, well, a great woman very similar her mom.

And speaking of family relations, that is the number one thing I like the most about this movie: it portrays a fully functioning family with both a father and a mother that are actively engaged in the lives of their children. How often do you see that in mainstream entertainment? It is deeply refreshing. In fact, if you want my humble opinion (and obviously you do), if you want to know what makes strong, confident, young women it's parents that are involved in their children's lives.

As a final note: I watched Monster's University and was surprised by how much I didn't dislike it. What I wasn't impressed with is the Pixar short that accompanies it: Blue Umbrella. I'm pretty sure I've seen this short before, only it was called Johnnie Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet and it came out as part of the movie Make Mine Music in 1946. C'mon Pixar, you can do better.

And this concludes my rather shameful year of Pixar.

Coming up next year: Studio Ghibli!

Friday, November 21, 2014

This is a Blog Title

So I'm at work right now, it's probably not the best place in the world to be updating my blog but this is my second shift today and I'm feeling tired and generally apathetic toward respecting rules right now. So what the hey?

I have actually finished watching all the Pixar movies to date and I mostly feel ashamed that it took me so long to watch 14 movies. I keep wondering why it’s taken such a Herculean effort to get through a relatively short number of fairly decent movie work. Did I seriously get that burnt out from last year’s Disney marathon? Do I honestly dislike computer animation that much that my subconscious animosity prevented me from sitting down to watch them? Am I sick of the constantly positive storylines that we’re being forced fed by the behemoth that is Disney/Pixar? Or was it simply the fact that my apartment has lacked a DVD player since mid-march? Or that until recently I didn’t have a laptop with a disk drive? Or the idea that if I chose to watch these movies at a friend's place I’d have to tolerate them talking during the movie?

If I’m being completely honest it was probably a combination of all of the above.

I’m also ashamed that due to my ineptitude I was unable to watch any Studio Ghibli movies. Of course, there’s always next year :)

Ok, let’s do this!


Up! Is a movie that had the audacity to come out the week after I left to go serve my LDS mission. I had to endure 18 torturous months of having people tell me how heartwarming and tender this movie is without being able to see it. It was truly tolerable; it actually wasn’t that bad at all. I mostly felt the sting of missing this movie while I was in the MTC but I soon forgot about it. That’s a pretty shocking idea coming from me, I know…especially considering how many people I yelled at for talking about Big Hero 6 in front of me before I’d had a chance to see it. And the extent of those comments had been “It’s a good movie. You’ll like it!” (As a side note: I hate it when people say this to me. You don’t get a say in what I will or will not like! I’ll decide that thank you very much!)

Anyways, most people who dislike this movie are cold and heartless and probably poachers. When I finally had the opportunity to watch Up it naturally made me teary-eyed and sentimental about family and whatnot.

I also really enjoyed the commentary on the state of the modern family: absentee parents, kids with a lack of understanding and a sense of entitlement, arbitrary awards that mean nothing and show nothing but that everyone puts so much value into for some reason.

All in all a really well made piece of storytelling.

And I do love balloons.


Toy Story 3 came out shortly before I came home from my mission and it was one of the first movies I saw in theaters upon my return home. It was still showing at the local dollar theater and I went to see it with a friend of mine after the date I was supposed to go see the movie with bailed on me (it seriously was not a big deal so don’t put too much drama into the above explanation of how I ended up seeing this movie). I remember it fondly because we went to Wendy’s on our way to the theater and my friend snuck in her Frosty after the usher told her she had to throw it away before she entered the theater. Oh the rebellions that ensue with the movie theater concessions!

Anywho, like any God-fearing American who was a child in the 90’s this movie made me crazy emotional. I probably got weepy-eyed, although I can’t remember for sure. It was such a beautiful closing to a really phenomenal saga and it made me feel like I was saying a very heartfelt farewell to my childhood.

And then I heard about Toy Story 4 and my blood began to boil.

SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH!!!!!!

And I’m going to pretend I didn’t watch Cars 2. The shame is just too much for me to bare.

So the next movie on my list is Brave and I’m going to refrain from blogging about that particular movie this time around since I have a lot to say on the subject and it could get a little bit ranty.

Until next time.


Have a great weekend!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Hello Dolly!

Hey guys...

I am suffering from major burn out right now. I'm crazy tired of school, and work, and waking up in the morning. I'm also not interested in activities like folding my laundry and leaving my apartment. It's not really a good predicament I find myself in considering how much I need to be doing my homework and haven't been......

So naturally my solution to this problem is to catch up on my blog.



I love the movie Wall-e. It is easily my most favorite Pixar movie to date. And I have a tendency to consider people who don't like this movie (and I say this with all the loving kindness I can muster) as idiots who can't understand a compelling and thought provoking plot when they see one. That is a very high brow comment to make, I know, but I'm kind of high brow when it comes to animation so....

Seriously though, this movie is bold. It has an intelligent message that is portrayed well with an uplifting moral to the story found at the end. It is cinematically stunning. Its frugal amount of dialog emphasizes its visual splendor. In fact, I love how little talking actually takes place in this movie. I am understandably moved by the idea of using an image to explain a story and the spartan amount of talking that happens in this movie elevates it almost to the status of a silent film.

And the message in this movie! Wow! Talk about unexpected for a main stream animation studio to pull something that dystopian out and display it as family entertainment!

Of course, I'm a sucker for a good dystopian story. It is my favorite genre. I like it because it's a spectacular way to have an intelligent discourse on social commentary without flagrantly throwing it in people's faces. I will admit that Wall-e's message is a little bit more in your face than I usually care for and that aspect of this movie did take some time for me to get over; I still enjoy what the story of this little robot has to say about the human condition: The flagrant waste of first world nations, the monolithic rise of corporations taking over so many aspects of our daily lives, from the food we eat to the clothes we wear to the people we elect to public offices. Not to mention the laziness of the human populous, the lack of connection and physical interaction with our friends and neighbors, the disinterest in our surroundings due to the constant plug in to our virtual realities. All of this in a medium constantly referred to as "for kids"?! And people wonder why I get annoyed when this sort of label is put on the animation industry.

What sets this movie apart from the usual dystopian story line is its ultimately happy ending and positive message concerning the human condition. (Most dystopias I've read usually end with a "life sucks, there's nothing you can do about it" moral to the story.) This movie really has a very encouraging idea for humanity and the direction it could possibly take in the future. I mean, once the humans realize that they've messed up and that there's a problem that needs fixing they all band together to set things right. They overcome a psycho robot, wide spread obesity, and probably toxic air conditions and mass starvation in order to take care of the planet that they essentially abandoned hundreds of years before. Isn't that such an uplifting commentary on the human condition? That if we see something is wrong we take the action to ensure that it is put to rights.

This is, of course, an over generalization. Some people don't care to do anything to alleviate the suffering of a messed up world but there are countless individuals and organizations that do. And that is an inspiring idea.

Let's not forget the absolutely adorable love story. What's better than robot love?

And, lest I shame myself for not mentioning this, it is crucial that no one overlook the huge homage to Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece: 2001: A Space Odyssey. In fact, I suggest to all people that they watch Wall-e with 2001 as a double feature. It will greatly enhance the experience for you, I guarantee it. Although do be warned that if you aren't familiar with 2001 please do some research before watching it! Or else only confusion and frustration will ensue.

Until next time!

Monday, October 6, 2014

Anyone Can Cook!

Guess what ya'll? I got a new job at Ye Olde Local Public Library. As a result I get free movie rentals with no late fees! It's really boosted my Pixar watching substantially. It's also made my life a daily celebration because I love books!

Anywho....

I am 99% certain that Ratatouille was made with the sole intention of showing off. There are sequences in there that are so technically complicated I feel like the only reason they were created was to brag. Don't get me wrong, Ratatouille is fantastic, but it is very braggy.




Things I like about this movie:


  • A muted color palette. I'm always a fan of a limited use of color. And in this movie it works especially well to accentuate the vibrancy of food (or, the joys of our individual passions and aspirations, as symbolized by the food).
  • Synesthetic rats. I'm not sure of synesthetic is the correct form of the word synesthesia (my computer is indicating to me that it's not even a word) but I'm talking about Remi's on screen description of what food tastes like. Let's face it, it's not quite possible to accurately depict what food tastes like without stuffing it in your face and digesting it, so the implementation of sounds and colors to describe flavors is pretty creative stuff. Kudos Pixar.
  • "Anyone can cook." I love this saying. It's obviously applicable to more than just cooking and I follow this basic philosophy all the time with my pursuits in art. I'm a pretty big advocate of the concept that "anyone can draw." All it takes is the desire to do so. I get crazy peeved when I tell people I'm an illustration student and their response is "That's so cool! I can't even draw stick figures!" Or even worse: "I wish I could draw!" First off, yes, it is crazy cool that I'm an illustration major because I love what I'm studying. Secondly, don't write off stick figures as the lowest form of  drawing there is, because it isn't. I start all of my figure drawings with a stick figure and we go over them a lot in my figure drawing classes. And finally, YOU AREN'T DEAD! You can learn how to draw! It's not some magical ability that has only been endowed upon the select few and all you other losers have to suck it. Drawing is a motor skill, just like writing. If you can learn to write you can learn to draw. The big distinction is WANTING to learn how to draw. Please stop telling me "I wish I could draw" and start making honest statements about how you aren't interested in investing the time it would take to learn a craft. There's no shame in that. Not all things have to appeal to all people. I hate math. I've never been interested in investing the time to become proficient in the field of algebra. You don't hear me whining about it or saying ridiculous things like "I wish I knew advanced calculus!" Gross. The very idea!
This leads into the idea of "a good cook can come from anywhere." Once again I'll be applying this to the art world. I know a lot of people who have the mistaken notion that in order to produce good art you must go to school at a certain university, you must have a cintq (although no lies, if someone gave me one of those I would not snub my nose at it), or the finest papers and pencils. This is a silly pack of lies my friends. It does not take the finest education or the most expensive supplies to create something of worth. It takes patience and determination to see something done right. I create my best work using a Bic mechanical pencil and I only own four paint brushes for acrylic painting. I won't go so far as to say my art work is the best out there but I'd say I do pretty well for myself with what I have. And whatever your interests and passions are the same can apply to you.

Now that we're feeling all warm and sappy here are the things I don't like about this movie:


  • The short film "Your Friend the Rat." This is my only real issue with this movie and it's not even a real issue. I only have a complaint about it because currently there is a mouse that has decided to take up residence in my apartment. And hearing "interesting" facts about how high rats can jump and how their teeth are strong enough to gnaw through steel does not help me sleep at night. Granted, I know that I am cohabiting with a mouse and not a rat, they still come from the same rodent family and therefore have similar abilities. Stupid creepy little buggers with their nasty diseases and icky little tails.

So I was going to try to fit the other three Pixar movies I've watched recently into this post but seeing as how those three are Wall-e, Up, and Toy Story 3 I will forego making this post any longer than it already is.

Until next time.


Friday, August 15, 2014

2 Months in the Making: The Triumphant Return of Virginia's Blog!

Hey my darlings!

Guess what? I've watched two Pixar movies this week! AND I have things to say about both of them!!! Huzzah!

So, here are some words for you:

I watched Finding Nemo last Saturday. This movie makes me sad only because it is so good but it is so overplayed. It feels like every weekend it is on ABC Family or one of the five other stations that Disney owns. It really makes me not want to watch the movie.

The plot of this story is really what makes this movie. Although it's not much of an original story it's well told and that makes all the difference. Also, an odd amount of my oceanic knowledge comes from this movie, like how wales don't eat fish they eat krill and all about how to pronounce "anemone."

The color scheme of this entire movie could also be summed up in three colors: blue (duh), orange, and pink. If you put those three colors on a canvas Mark Rothko style and called it "Nemo" it would be a reasonable title to me.



Now, here's my one issue with this movie and, I'm realizing more and more, my issue with Pixar/computer animation in general. Realism. Computer animation has a tendency to want to try to make things look as close to reality as they possibly can. For example, take the recently released How to Train Your Dragon 2. Don't get me wrong, that was a stunningly beautiful movie but they tried to create such a heightened sense of reality in their character design that it was kind-of off putting.When a cartoon cries and the tears look real and you can see the pores of the skin on the character's face then what's the point of animating it? Why not just hire an actor to play the part? In any case, that's a tangent and isn't really at all the issue I have with Nemo. Nemo suffers from the problem that it attempts to mimic reality but is just slightly off. All the character design is just a little too flat. It seems to me that they put a lot of effort into creating a detailed and believable ocean and since they had to deal with the tricky lighting situations that water creates their characters suffer from it. Also, I'm a bit disappointed in their character designs as is. They're just too realistic. They just look like well...fish. Aside from a scar/gimpy fin these characters have no distinguishing features. You couldn't pick Marlin out of a crowd of clown fish. There's nothing interesting about the way he looks. Once again, if you're so stuck on creating reality what's the point in animating it? If you're going to draw a fish why not have fun doing it? Why not create something that's unique?

Whatever. I still like Finding Nemo. On to the next movie!



The Incredibles is an incredible movie. I always have a hard time remembering that I like this movie and convincing myself to sit down and watch it due to the unfortunate circumstance that I had the flu when I went and saw it and had a nasty experience with the toilet after the movie. (TMI?)

Anyways, I read an article online about how compositionally stunning this movie is and if I weren't so lazy I'd find it and post a link to it. It's also long which is why I didn't so much as read it as I did skimmed it briefly. But from what I could tell it was well researched and interesting!

What I love about Incredibles and what I think separates it from other computer animated movies is that they do not try to mimic reality. The character designs are interesting and although they are obviously human they are exaggerated enough that it doesn't give off that creepy "almost human" vibe.

Also, Brad Bird is a 1950's nostalgia nut. The Iron Giant deals so heavily with the Space Race and Communist fear and The Incredibles is an obvious homage to the fall from grace experienced by the super hero/comic book industry after World War II. If you haven't heard of the book "Seduction of the Innocent" by Fredric Wertham you should look into it. Although the topic of the book deals mostly with the violence of comic books and the subsequent delinquency it provoked in juveniles it had a hand in dealing out several mandates including very strict censorship in the comic book industry. Of course, the book was later debunked for using gross exaggerations and generally incorrect research practices. Unfortunately, the effects of the book were far reaching and in many ways the comic industry is still recovering from those allegations made 60 years ago.

This idea is made clear from the opening sequence as Mr. Incredible revels in the warm glow of admiration that comes from being a super hero and it all goes south in a matter of minutes when his apparently violent means of helping the innocent are unwanted and unappreciated. And now comes the hard reality of adjusting to a world that no longer wants you and tries to censor your very existence. It's actually a pretty sad premise if you think about it.

Another thing that's great in this movie is that it shows a fully functioning family with all it's flaws and arguments included. I always appreciate seeing a movie where both parents are present and actively involved in their children's lives. It's so rare in the media and so refreshing when it happens.

On a side note: Syndrome totally looks like Brad Bird.



Guess what?? Since this post has literally taken me two months to put together I actually watched Cars as well!! I don't have much to say about this movie because I strongly feel that the whole reason this movie was made (as well as its sequel/spin offs) was to sell merchandise to boys and that is disappointing to me. I also don't like movies where the premise is "rich guy living life in the fast lane learns life lessons from country folk in three days or less." Because sincere life changes happen over night (you can't see it but I'm rolling my eyes). Also, the idea of sentient cars raises too many questions that I'd rather not think about.

I do like the background imagery in this movie though.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

"What If a Gun Had a Soul?"

Hey guys! Long time no blog, eh? Well I've been busy and about a million things have happened since last we interacted so I feel justified in my long absence from blog rambling.

In any case...my Pixar movie watching has been slow. I watched Monsters Inc. I don't have much to say about it. It's cute and sentimental. The opening credit sequence is pretty fun. It reminds me of the opening sequence to 101 Dalmatians only not as amazing. Dalmatians opening is a 10....Monsters is a 6. There, that's all I have to say on the matter.

I actually wanted to put Pixar on hold for a short minute and talk about a different movie entirely for this blog post.... a special episode of "Virginia Rambles About Animation" if you will. I watched The Iron Giant for the first time ever this past week. It is to my complete shame and humiliation that it has taken me this long to see such an amazing, nearly flawless movie. Of course, I was 11 when this movie came out and the commercials I saw for it made it look lame (in my humble opinion) not to mention none of my friends were interested in seeing it and the one friend I had who did go see it said it was "ok." On top of that I had a lot of friends whose parents wouldn't even let them see it because "it swore too much." A concept that is fairly laughable now but that's what happens when you grow up as a Mormon in Utah.

In any case, the wrong has been righted. I have seen the movie and it has been added to my Top 5 Favorite Animated Features of All Time list. It's currently at number 3 but that's flexible.



Anyways, this movie is incredible. As Brad Bird's directorial debut in feature length animation it is a knock out (and slightly associated with Pixar as the next movie he directed was The Incredibles). The story is flawless and the characters and their development are so seamless. It tackles such heavy topics like violence, gun control, life and death, standing for what you believe in, choosing the type of person you want to be no matter the opposition.... and it does that without becoming heavy handed or preachy.

These are all themes that are very near and dear to my heart. I came to the conclusion at a very young age that violence does nothing but create more violence. No matter how good a cause it may seem to be to go to war I strongly believe there is always another way to solve our problems. An exception I might make to that is World War 2... of course WWII would not have been the crisis it was if WWI hadn't happened and there was really no purpose to that war except some convoluted idea of honor and national pride. Sorry...I'm getting off topic. If your solution to solving your problems is to aim a gun at it you should probably use your brain a bit more and come up with a better idea.

The topic of death in this movie is shockingly religious considering the time in which it was made but it's presented simply and so innocently that it doesn't cram Christianity down your throat if you don't lean in that direction. When Giant is first confronted by death his dear little friend Hogarth explains to him that all good things have a soul and your soul goes on living forever and that it's not ok to kill but it is ok to die. This struck me as a very mature thought coming out of a 10 year-old boy but I really appreciated it. Not only for the very comforting message it relays but it shows some deep character development which has taken place entirely off screen and not even within the time frame of the movie. Allow me to explain: Hogarth is being raised by a single mother and it is never explained what happened to the father. Hogarth explains to his robot friend that his mom taught him about souls. The way he talks about it though is deeply personal and the only reason I can think as to why a mother would explain the eternities to her son like that is if a death has taken place within the family. It was at this point that it became clear to me that Hogarth's father wasn't some bum who had walked out on the family or something but that he had died. This is further cemented in a quick shot of Hogarth's nightstand seen later in the movie where there is a framed picture of an Air Force pilot getting into an airplane and by the fact that in that scene Hogarth is wearing the same helmet that the man in the photo is wearing. Not only has Hogarth's father died but the death has happened recently. The fact that Hogarth's father was in the military makes it easy to surmise that his death probably happened in the heat of battle and makes for a subtle parallel for the movie's theme of non-violence.

Another thing that I really appreciate about how the death of Hogarth's father is handled is that there is no scene of mom saying something like "You laugh like your father." And son growing somber and saying something like "I miss him..." (I mention this specifically because it's in the deleted scenes so it was almost included). I don't like it when movies have scenes like this because it reads as so trite and unrealistic. Death is something that we all carry with us. We all know someone who has died, we all have had someone who was very dear to us die. It has a life changing effect on us when someone dies. Do we have conversations like this when that person dies? Maybe I'm out of the loop but I've never heard one. Of course we all miss someone who has died and of course we are often confronted with things that remind us of that person but we carry them with us and life continues. I feel like it's more life like to include the subtle things that point to an absence then to spell it out for the audience.

And speaking of religious undertones. I like how it is never explained where the Iron Giant comes from or why he's on earth. Much like those Big Questions many people find themselves asking: "Where did I come from?" and "Why am I here?" The point is that for the purpose of this story it doesn't really matter the where or why of the Iron Giant what matters is what he does with the time he has on earth. (It's another thing that makes me grateful for their editing, as an explanation for the giant's back story was almost included in the finished movie and it's a little too Kryptonian for my taste.)

Finally I love that idea of "You are who you choose to be." There are so many excuses that start with "I can't help it, that's just the way I am." That is a lie. All people have complete control over the things they do and say. Even the things you don't think you have control over are things you have control over. You choose the person you're going to be. Sure, it may be hard at times, and sure, there may be pressure from all sides insisting that you do certain things and act certain ways but ultimately you're the one that decides what you're going to do and who you're going to be.

Sorry if this has gotten overly preachy. Brad Bird just neatly summed up almost everything I feel passionate about in an hour and a half.

Let's talk about art: this movie has the obvious touch of Mr. Bird. The character style rolls over very neatly into The Incredibles. Annie Hughes basically looks like Ms. Incredible if she were a waitress in the 1950's.

There is a near seamless integration of computer graphics and traditional animation in this movie and it is astounding. The only moment that cuts it short from being perfect is the very end when you watch a screw roll through a field of very obvious CG grass. It's very out of place.

And a few miscellaneous things:

My friend pointed out to me that Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston make a nice cameo as train conductors in this movie. And if you don't know who Frank and Ollie are you don't know Disney nearly as well as you think you do!

I like that the military is not demonized in this movie. It would have been so easy to do but they didn't. The people in this movie are portrayed as reasonable, logical people that can perceive when something is good. No one freaks out when a gigantic robot rolls into town because that robot just saved two boys from falling to their death. And the General forebears nuking the robot when he learns that said robot only attacks defensively. It's the paranoid zealot who seems to have something to prove that makes all the trouble. It makes for a nice change of pace.

And one more thing. Dean has a Jack Kerouac poster in his office/dwelling. I find it hard to believe that such a thing existed in October of 1957 considering Mr. Kerouac's big hit novel "On the Road" had just been published the month before. I know they're trying to make it obvious that Dean is a beatnik but the guy would have owned the book, not a poster. Jack Kerouac is not a band, he's an author. I know of no author that makes posters...maybe for their book but not for themselves. I know it's a little thing and it's only in the movie for half of a minute but it's been bothering me ever since. They should have put the book on the coffee table in plan sight or something if they wanted that detail added in. The poster is out of place.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

This is a blatant attempt at wasting time

Oh hey guys!

Long time no blog. Well, it would be an understatement if I were to say this past semester in school has been crazy/stressful/busy beyond belief. Super rewarding but crazy busy. Of course finals are looming and I have a million projects I should be working on so now feels like the perfect time to update my blog!

Also, I have such a lack of motivation to watch some Pixar y'all. It's weird. I like their movies but when it comes to studying the art in their movies I have close to nothing to say. At least not until Ratatouille. And that doesn't come up for another four movies! You see, I have a philosophy about wading through entertainment garbage: You must first hook me with something that is out-of-this-world-oh-man-that's-SO-good! After which it can become progressively worse and worse because by that point I've already invested time and energy into it and I am LOYAL so I will see it through to the end. If you give me something that is meh, ok, boring, or straight up lame to start with but gets better as you go on chances are I won't hang around long enough to see it through to that point and I won't be able to muster up the interest it takes to get to that point forever after no matter how you try to convince me otherwise. This philosophy of mine is the reason I read the entire Wheel of Time series (twice) and I haven't been able to muster the interest it takes to read the Harry Potter series (well, one of several reasons why I haven't read that series anyway). And Harry Potter is half the size of Wheel of Time and I'd say at least 4 of the books in that series should never have been written. But you see, those books were in the middle of the series so.....

I digress. The point is that while Pixar makes great movies, it took them a bit of time to stretch their artistic wings past the novelty of "Look! We made this with a computer!" And actually start making something that is artistically tantalizing.

I can just feel the disagreements starting to brew in people's brains even as I type this.

That being said I have watched A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2. A Bug's Life is great only because it reminds me of a slew of family jokes from my growing up days. If not for the sentimentality I'd be super disinterested in this movie.

Toy Story 2 is one of those strange Twilight Zone sort of movies that is better than the original. It is also Pixar's third movie and first sequel. They set up their standard pretty quickly.

Until next time. Good night y'all!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Love Is A Verb

Hello to all of you my lovely readers!

Guess what?

Valentine's Day is upon us once again!

I thought about taking another post to preach to ya'll about how we shouldn't pigeon hole Valentine's Day into a "couples only" event but I've been there, done that and my feelings haven't changed much so I'll leave it at that.

Instead I thought I'd take a moment to give a shout out to all the important people and things in my life that I love and appreciate.

I love my family.

I love these people that think it's funny to call a skinny person fat and understand why corn is evil. I love that they're always there for me. I love my  family's stories that have taught me what love does and does not look like. These are the people that have taught me what determination, respect, and happiness are. There are not enough words to describe a lifetime of moments and lessons learned from these wonderful people. I love them and I love everything they've done for me throughout my life.

I love my friends.

I love this group of people who inspire, encourage, and motivate me to be better. I owe so much of my success to them. They give me greater goals to aspire for and I love them for it.

I love my school.

Oh UVU, the crazy stepchild of Utah's higher learning I love you.

I love my teachers that will never accept less than the best. I love my fellow students who are always so encouraging and are always so excited by how much I've improved and who's eyes seem to be permanently blinded by the mistakes I feel like I am constantly making. I love what I've learned from UVU. I love how much I've grown due to those lessons.

I love my heroes.

There are those artists, animators, and generally inspirational people who are not necessarily artistic but who still fill me with a vision of what life could be like. They fill me with enthusiasm for the future. They show me that with hard work and a heaping pile of determination I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. I love them for their passion and for giving me the idea that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that success is out there.

I hope that all you people out there in the world know that you are loved. Life may feel like it's passing you by and that no one sees you or cares about you but I assure you: you are loved.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope it's a magical day for you.













Friday, January 24, 2014

A New Year, A New Resolution

Hey kids, how's January treating you? Thus far mine's been insane. I'm really looking forward to it being over. In fact, if we could just skip over to May I'd be pretty satisfied.

Anyways....

As many of you who read my blog know, I had a goal to watch all the Disney Feature Animation movies in chronological order and critic them over the course of 2013. It was amazing (ish). Mostly it gave me a great sense of accomplishment. Granted, in the grand scheme of things watching 53 movies is not the most impressive thing to do in a year but I still enjoyed myself. Toward the end of the year I started to feel a little sad that I wouldn't have something like this to look forward to for 2014. So (with a lot of coaxing from my brother-in-law) I've decided to watch all the Pixar feature length animated movies in chronological order...etc. Of course, there's only 14 Pixar movies to date so once I've watched all those I'm going to explore Japan's Disney animation studio. Although I think they refer to it as "Studio Ghibli" over there. There are 21 Ghibli films. So that makes for a total of 35 movies. I also plan on watching the Pixar shorts that accompany their feature length movies; it feels wrong not to. I'm not going out of my way to watch all the shorts they came out with prior to Toy Story though....mostly because they're weird and boring. Also, I didn't watch all the shorts Disney produced before Snow White so there!

Let's get started!

Disclaimer: I recognize that I have a HUGE bias in favor of traditional animation. I love it A LOT more than I do computer animation. I think traditional animation looks a lot more timeless and engaging than its computerized sibling. In my most humble opinion computer animation has a tendency to look dated a lot faster than traditional. I also don't have nearly as big of an infatuation with the potential of a computer as I do with that of a pencil. Let me explain: all my life I've watched cartoons with wide eyes wondering "How do they DO that?!" I've always wanted to understand the process behind animating. It's like magic to me and every time I see an animator pull some clever little trick out of their hat I'm mesmerized all over again. Computer animation, for me, is like someone sitting me down and explaining all the magician's secrets and then suddenly the magic isn't as interesting anymore. Basically, it's like little wide eyed Virginia just asked "How do they do that?" And some know-it-all-nerd comes out from behind a curtain and says "With a computer." BORRRRING!!!!!!!!!!!

Am I making any sense?

So, now that my extreme bias is out in the open, here are my thoughts on Toy Story:



I'm always amazed that Toy Story came out in 1995. I turned seven in '95 and for some reason I think that this movie is a lot newer than it actually is. I mean it's coming on 20 years now. I constantly forget that computer animated movies have been around that long. Of course, Toy Story's age is starting to show big time. It looks super dated. I mean, it still looks impressive. Just not as impressive as it used to.

Of course, the magic of Toy Story is really in the plot.

I feel like this movie perfectly embodies what it was like to be a kid in the 90's. So it resonates pretty clearly with my generation (am I alone in my opinion? Children of the 90's speak up!). I could make anything out of a cardboard box and some crayons as a kid. And going out for a pizza dinner was a big deal! And let's not forget the heightened status of the toy on the bed. I mean, the toy you'd snuggle up with in bed was a pretty big deal! And that high-tech new toy that you wanted since the first time you saw a commercial for it while watching your favorite after-school cartoons was so cool! Not to mention your psychotic neighbor who was a few years older than you and who you were more than a little terrified of (I secretly think the reason why Andy's family moved away is solely because of Sid). Birthday parties, sharing a room with a sibling, loosing stuff, posters on the wall....my whole childhood is neatly arranged in Andy's room.

When talking about this movie I could read into all sorts of symbolism about computer animation supplanting traditional. Or the ominous dawn of the digital age taking over everything. Sure, those things are probably in there, but I choose not to dwell on them (too much). This movie is a little too nostalgic for me to do that. Because in spite of my extreme bias against it's medium and how horribly, horribly dated this movie looks I still Toy Story. It's a great story about friendship and loyalty. So good job on your first try Pixar!