Inside Out – A Walt Disney Studios Release http://movies.disney.com/inside-out/ Release Date: June 19th, 2015 Rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action Running Time: 103 minutes Pete Docter (director) Ronnie Del Carmen (co-director) Meg LeFauve (screenplay) Josh Cooley (screenplay) Pete Docter (screenplay) Michael Giacchino (music) Amy Poehler as Joy (voice) Phyllis Smith as Sadness… Read More Three Views: Inside Out
By John Corrado Today, Paramount is releasing their recent box office hit The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water on Blu-ray, including an impressive 3D combo pack that comes highly recommended for those with the right system in place. When the famous Krabby Patty secret formula mysteriously disappears, SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) must team up with his… Read More Blu-ray 3D Release: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
By John Corrado Today, Touchstone Pictures is releasing Strange Magic on DVD. The animated musical follows fairy sisters Marianne (Evan Rachel Wood) and Dawn (Meredith Anne Bull), who get involved with the jilted Bog King (Alan Cumming), when lovestruck elf Sunny (Elijah Kelley) unleashes a love potion. Dumped into theatres back in January, I wasn’t really… Read More DVD Release: Strange Magic
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) Throughout their filmography of over thirty features, DreamWorks Animation has had a somewhat mixed output, evident just last year with three films ranging in quality from the surprisingly good Mr. Peabody & Sherman and the outstanding How To Train Your Dragon 2, to the very disappointing Penguins of Madagascar.… Read More Review: Home
By John Corrado Fresh off winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, Disney is releasing Big Hero 6 on Blu-ray today. Following teenaged robotics genius Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) and his huggable health care companion Baymax (Scott Adsit), this is a beautifully animated film that mixes a superhero origin story with poignant themes of grief and… Read More Blu-ray Release: Big Hero 6
By John Corrado Director Martin Rosen’s 1978 animated classic Watership Down is being released on Blu-ray today, through the Criterion Collection. Adapted from the classic novel by Richard Adams, the story follows a community of rabbits, who are under threat from modern development. Although Watership Down takes its time in telling the story, this is a mature and beautifully animated film… Read More Criterion Release: Watership Down
By John Corrado Last week, Paramount released the 1977 animated feature Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown for the first time on DVD. This adventure follows Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang to summer camp, where they end up competing against each other and a group of bullies in a river race.… Read More DVD Release: Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
By John Corrado Disney is releasing their delightful 1961 animated classic 101 Dalmatians for the first time on Blu-ray today as part of the Diamond Edition series, and it’s a must have for fans of the film. When their puppies are dognapped by “devil woman” Cruella De Vil (Betty Lou Gerson), dalmatians Pongo (Rod Taylor)… Read More Blu-ray Release: 101 Dalmatians
By John Corrado Today, Disney is releasing three Studio Ghibli films for the first time on Blu-ray, including Porco Rosso, Pom Poko and Tales from Earthsea. Following the release of The Wind Rises, Princess Mononoke and Kiki’s Delivery Service back in November, this is another fine chance for fans of the Japanese animation studio to round out… Read More Blu-ray Release: Porco Rosso, Pom Poko and Tales from Earthsea
By John Corrado ★½ (out of 4) Audiences below a certain age might like the colours and sounds of Strange Magic. But those above a certain age will just feel nostalgic for a time when the name of George Lucas, who executive produced and co-wrote this forgettable and thoroughly mediocre animated fantasy, was actually reason… Read More Review: Strange Magic
Today, Paramount is releasing SpongeBob SquarePants: The Pilot, A Mini-Movie and The SquareShorts on DVD, including a barrage of goodies for fans of the character. The main draw here is easily the mini-movie of the title, which is actually the 2009 extended episode Truth or Square, a thoroughly delightful and surprisingly clever affair that functions… Read More DVD Release: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Pilot, A Mini-Movie and The SquareShorts
Last week, Disney released Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-nominated The Wind Rises on Blu-ray, along with new editions of the classic Studio Ghibli films Princess Mononoke (1997) and Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), providing a good overview of the recently retired filmmaker’s legendary career. The Wind Rises: Although his nearsighted vision kept him from being a pilot, Jirô Horikoshi… Read More Blu-ray Release: The Wind Rises, Princess Mononoke and Kiki’s Delivery Service
Last week, Disney released a new Sing-Along Edition of their beloved musical Frozen on DVD, featuring a bouncing snowflake to help us join in with the bestselling soundtrack. Since last November, Frozen has gone from being a holiday box office hit, to the highest grossing animated film of all time and an Oscar-winning cultural phenomenon… Read More DVD Release: Frozen: Sing-Along Edition
By John Corrado ★★★★ (out of 4) After delivering one of their biggest and most beloved films with last year’s Oscar-winning Frozen, Disney continues their winning streak with the bighearted and beautifully animated Big Hero 6, opening in theatres this weekend. It’s glorious. Loosely based on a Marvel comic of the same name, Big Hero 6 is another animated knockout from… Read More Review: Big Hero 6
Today, Disney is releasing this summer’s animated sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue on Blu-ray. A step up from the first one, this is a well intentioned film that provides harmless entertainment and even excitement for young audiences, and should prove a popular choice at home. We reviewed Planes: Fire & Rescue in theatres back on… Read More Blu-ray Release: Planes: Fire & Rescue
By John Corrado ★★★ (out of 4) There are many films to honour Halloween and Christmas, and now the November 2nd celebration of the Day of the Dead gets its own film in The Book of Life, a bright and vibrant piece of animation that authentically honours the Mexican tradition. The film opens with a… Read More Review: The Book of Life
Today, Disney is releasing their 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty on Blu-ray, as part of their Diamond Edition series. When Princess Aurora (Mary Costa) is cursed by the jealous Maleficent (Eleanor Audley), she is sent to live in the forest with three kind fairies, until her sixteenth birthday when it’s up to Prince Phillip (Bill… Read More Blu-ray Release: Sleeping Beauty
The Boxtrolls – An eOne Films Release http://www.theboxtrolls.com Release Date: September 26th, 2014 Rated PG for some scary scenes Running Time: 97 minutes Graham Annable (director) Anthony Stacchi (director) Irena Brignull (screenplay) Adam Pava (screenplay) Based on the novel Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow Dario Marianelli (music) Ben Kingsley as Archibald Snatcher (voice) Jared… Read More Five Views: The Boxtrolls
Today, Disney and Pixar are releasing last year’s TV special Toy Story of Terror! on Blu-ray. When the toys get stranded at a spooky roadside motel where Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) mysteriously goes missing, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and Rex (Wallace Shawn) are forced to confront their fears and… Read More Blu-ray Release: Toy Story of Terror!
Planes: Fire & Rescue – A Walt Disney Pictures Release http://movies.disney.com/planes-fire-and-rescue Release Date: July 18th, 2014 Rated G for action and some peril Running time: 84 minutes Roberts Gannaway (dir.) Jeffrey M. Howard (characters) Mark Mancina (music) Dane Cook as Dusty Crophopper (voice) Ed Harris as Blade Ranger (voice) Julie Bowen as Lil’ Dipper (voice)… Read More Five Views: Planes: Fire & Rescue
