Movie Review: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)

By John Corrado The British inventor and his pantomime dog return in Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the second feature-length outing for the characters following 2005’s Oscar-winning The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Co-directed by series creator Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham, this charming and funny new adventure for the stop-motion man and dog… Read More Movie Review: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)

January 5, 2025May 11, 2025 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Dream Productions (Disney+)

By John Corrado Dream Productions, the new Disney Plus limited series “from the world of Inside Out,” presents somewhat of a departure for Pixar. It’s not only their first stab at episodic storytelling, but also done in the style of a mockumentary. The four-part series is presented as a “behind the scenes” look at Dream Productions,… Read More Review: Dream Productions (Disney+)

December 11, 2024May 11, 2025 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Movie Review: Moana 2

By John Corrado Disney’s Moana became a box office hit when it was released eight years ago in 2016. The film has enjoyed a strong shelf life with audiences since then, so it was inevitable that, for better or for worse, the studio would want to do more with these characters. Enter Moana 2, which began life as… Read More Movie Review: Moana 2

November 26, 2024May 11, 2025 thejoyofmovies.ca1 Comment

Movie Review: Memoir of a Snail

By John Corrado In 2009, director Adam Elliot, the Australian animator behind the 2003 Oscar-winning short film Harvie Krumpet, released his debut feature Mary & Max. The excellent claymation film had a lovingly hand-crafted feel to it, and told the tender story of the pen-pal friendship between a girl and an autistic man, which Elliot explored with… Read More Movie Review: Memoir of a Snail

November 14, 2024May 11, 2025 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Movie Review: Transformers One

By John Corrado Transformers One is technically the latest entry in the blockbuster franchise based on the Hasbro toys, but sets itself apart by being both a prequel and the first fully animated film since 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie. And it’s a decent animated film that easily ranks as one of the better entries… Read More Movie Review: Transformers One

September 20, 2024September 19, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

#TIFF24 Review: Flow (Centrepiece)

By John Corrado The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 5th to 15th, more information can be found right here. In his second animated feature Flow, following his 2019 debut Away, Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis captures the wordless saga of a group of animals trying to survive a flood on their island. The creatures… Read More #TIFF24 Review: Flow (Centrepiece)

September 17, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

#TIFF24 Review: The Wild Robot (Gala Presentations)

By John Corrado The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 5th to 15th, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here. The Wild Robot is the latest animated film from DreamWorks, and it’s one of the best movies the studio has ever produced. In adapting the children’s novel by author Peter… Read More #TIFF24 Review: The Wild Robot (Gala Presentations)

September 12, 2024September 12, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

4K Ultra HD Review: South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

By John Corrado This week, Paramount is releasing the R-rated 1999 animated musical comedy South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut for the first time on 4K Ultra HD, in honour of the film’s 25th anniversary. Directed by Trey Parker and co-written by Matt Stone, the film finds the South Park boys getting corrupted after going… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

June 26, 2024June 27, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Movie Review: Inside Out 2

By John Corrado Making a sequel to Inside Out was always going to be a difficult task. The 2015 film is widely considered to be one of Pixar’s finest achievements, and is a late-stage masterpiece from the California animation studio. This leads us to Inside Out 2, a sequel that somehow manages to build upon… Read More Movie Review: Inside Out 2

June 12, 2024June 12, 2024 thejoyofmovies.ca5 Comments

Blu-ray Review: South Park: Joining the Panderverse

By John Corrado This week, Paramount is releasing the streaming special South Park: Joining the Panderverse on Blu-ray. The 49 minute animated special from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone skewers everything from “woke” culture, to useless college degrees, multiverse movies, and token diverse characters in Disney reboots. The wide-ranging special, which premiered… Read More Blu-ray Review: South Park: Joining the Panderverse

June 11, 2024June 11, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

4K Ultra HD Review: Kung Fu Panda 4 (Collector’s Edition)

By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the 4K Ultra HD release of Kung Fu Panda 4. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here. The fourth film in the DreamWorks Animation franchise that began in 2008, Kung Fu Panda 4 is one… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Kung Fu Panda 4 (Collector’s Edition)

June 4, 2024June 4, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Movie Review: The Garfield Movie

By John Corrado Garfield, that lazy, lasagna-loving orange cat from the Jim Davis comic strips, returns to the big screen in Sony’s aptly titled The Garfield Movie. Arriving two decades after the live action Garfield, which had Bill Murray voicing the sarcastic feline, this first fully animated theatrical feature works as an enjoyable caper, that… Read More Movie Review: The Garfield Movie

May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Movie Review: The Inventor

By John Corrado The stop-motion animated movie The Inventor is best described as an elaborate, lovingly crafted tribute to old school Rankin/Bass specials, inspired by the final years of Leonardo da Vinci’s life. The film begins in Rome circa 1515, where da Vinci (voiced by Stephen Fry) is a kooky inventor with a long white… Read More Movie Review: The Inventor

April 23, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Movie Review: They Shot the Piano Player

By John Corrado The latest animated work from co-directors Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, the filmmakers behind the Oscar-nominated Chico and Rita, They Shot the Piano Player is an ambitious if uneven mix of animation and docudrama. The film opens at the Strand Book Store in New York City, where fictitious music journalist Jeff Harris… Read More Movie Review: They Shot the Piano Player

March 15, 2024March 15, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 4

By John Corrado Jack Black returns as the voice of Po in this fourth instalment of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda series, which began sixteen years ago now in 2008. It’s easy to say that, by this belated fourth go around, the series is starting to show some wear, and Kung Fu Panda 4 does… Read More Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 4

March 8, 2024March 15, 2024 thejoyofmovies.ca1 Comment

4K Ultra HD Review: Migration (Collector’s Edition)

By John Corrado The latest animated feature from Illumination (the studio behind the Despicable Me movies), Migration is the story of a family of ducks living on a peaceful lake who venture out into the world. And it’s honestly pretty cute. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) and Pam (Elizabeth Banks) are parents to ducklings Dax (Caspar Jennings)… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Migration (Collector’s Edition)

February 27, 2024February 28, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Blu-ray Review: Trolls Band Together (Sing-Along Edition)

By John Corrado The third film in DreamWorks Animation’s popular Trolls franchise, Trolls Band Together explores more of this vibrant animated world, while adding a slew of boyband jokes into the mix. The story revolves around Poppy (Anna Kendrick) discovering that her boyfriend Branch (Justin Timberlake) used to be a member of the boyband BroZone,… Read More Blu-ray Review: Trolls Band Together (Sing-Along Edition)

January 17, 2024 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

4K Ultra HD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Steelbook Edition)

By John Corrado Please note that this is a review of the 4K Ultra HD release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here. The animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was one of the best surprises of… Read More 4K Ultra HD Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Steelbook Edition)

December 12, 2023December 13, 2023 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: The Boy and the Heron

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) The latest from Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron (which had its North American premiere as the opening night film at TIFF) is an enchanting, gorgeously animated fantasy about life and death. The film is Miyazaki’s first since The Wind Rises a decade ago, which… Read More Review: The Boy and the Heron

December 8, 2023December 8, 2023 thejoyofmovies.caLeave a comment

Review: Wish

By John Corrado ★★★½ (out of 4) It’s the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Animation Studios this year, and what better way to celebrate this milestone than with Wish, a charming new musical fairy tale that harkens back to Classic Disney. The film (which opens with a storybook and those four magical words “once upon… Read More Review: Wish

November 17, 2023November 17, 2023 thejoyofmovies.ca1 Comment