JiGerJag Speaks : How to Train Your Dragon

It is the kind of movie that warrants a "first thing in the morning" review.

Churned out by the same studio who brought us Shrek (WIN), Madagascar (too camp) and Kungfu Panda (animated Jack Black was surprisingly bearable, don't mind the pun), this juggernaut of a movie hit the sweet spots in all the right places and brought fresh life to an overused cinematic character: DRAGONS

Me Grimlock

Based on a children's book by Cressida Cowell, where others have failed, what HTTYD has done so well was quite simple: It told a great story with rich characters with a well brewed storyline and a lot of heart.

The acquaintance was a juxtapositional one. Hiccup, given his physical limitations but ingenuity, managed to capture the most fearsome and "deadly" of all dragons, the Night Fury, hence setting in motion perhaps the most endearing of relationships where we see this awesome creature play pet, learn new tricks and of course FLY.

Landings were usually the hard part

The animated movie is a treat to watch in 3D and the training sequences could rival big budget (maybe USD350 million?) films of the same genre. Be prepared for the incredible audio and visual details while you feel your heart soar through the clouds and away from the almost harsh and limiting landscape of Hiccup's world. It is a fitting metaphor for a boy who never really could fit in the world of burly Vikings (with Scottish accents though) but used his intellect as a tipping point to provide the Vikings with a fresh new perspectives of their much dreaded enemies. To quote GI Joe, "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.."

I also liked the fact that I was not distracted by the "stars behind the voice". The characters were rich and engaging enough to mask the fact that there was Gerard Butler behind Stoick, Jay Baruchel behind Hiccup and America Ferrera behind Astrid. Bet you didn't even notice Jonah Hill... (wut wut who?)

Teenage angst at its very best

Kudos to Chris Sanders, whose previous work was Lilo & Stitch, for bringing to life Toothless, who has undoubtedly, won the hearts of audiences. Contrast Toothless vs. Eddie Murphy's Mushu in Mulan. Mushu must now mean "DRAGON FAIL" in Chinese.

All in all, a 4.3/5 for me and an epic WIN for Dreamworks for giving us an animated movie which doesn't try to be anything else but a great story. And as far as 3D animation movies go, this definitely set the bar high for 2010. I jump in excitement at next year's Oscar's Animated Feature nominees who would undoubtedly have a tough act to follow.

-This is a JiGerJag approved movie-

Special MobieDick thanks to JiGerJag for her contribution.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Cartoon, animations, you got to love the sight of children fantasy books with all the imagination filled in between the spaces. Up next we have the Academy Award nominated The Fantastic Mr. Fox up for its breakdown here at MobieDick. Have we found a jewel in the rough or a downer compared to Disney’s Up?

The storyline is pretty basic and simple. It tells the tale of Mr. Fox (George Clooney) who lives in the woods and leads a pretty interesting life of stealing poultry from the nearby farm. Things however take a drastic turn as Mr. Fox discovers that Mrs. Fox is pregnant and hopes he leaves his carefree life (Hakuna Ma-ta-ta anyone?) for a steady job and starts providing for his family. Fast forward a couple of years (fox years to be exact) Mr. Fox is staring down a path of boredom and living underground but at least in the comfort of a stable family institution. That is till they move upstairs to a tree and discover that they are living between 3 very alluring farms.

Jammy night took a turn for the worse

The filmaker uses stop motion animation to bring to life the wonderful world of Roald Dahl in this tale about a cheeky fox named Mr. Fox. Though slightly unconventional (with 3D and other animatronic technology) in this day of age, I have to admit that it is an excellent touch and really engulfs you in the film. The dialogue between the characters in the woods is funny and has a touch of adult humor. Half the time you are looking out for something witty and clever conversations to be heard by the any of the animals on show (a beaver, a weasel, rabbit, mouse, you get the picture).

German motorbikes were the preferred choice

On another level, if you do suffer from short attention span then maybe Mr. Fox might not be for you. The storyline is fast but the anticipation for some action might take a while. Others might complained that it is slightly dreggy in today’s fast paced world of animation but I think you need it to really get into the right mood to experience the world of Mr. Fox. The movie also looks at the social impact of life in a community and that though we might all be different, we can be brilliant together due to our uniqueness.

Though it is a children's book, I feel in this day of age children might find it a tad boring. Adults would definitely welcome a feature animated film with a grown up jokes but I’m afraid the humor would be loss with children. Highly recommended for grown-ups but might be a miss for kids.

Ratings - 4/5

Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs

Saw this movie about a week ago and I think it was right after dinner. Watching this movie actually makes you more hungry than before so hopefully you have at least a popcorn in hand when you’re at the cinema.

Two all beef patties, special sauce, and a sesame seed bun.

Movie is about a would be investor named Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) (you might remember him as the brother in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) who plans to take the world by storm would crazy inventions which will not only help the world we live in but be seen as a hero to his little town. However not all of his inventions go to plan (things like rat-bird and no laces shoe come to mind) and as time progress he is sort of known as the town screw up. But little do they know that his latest experiment (invention) will not only give variety of food to his town (they’re stuck eating only sardines!) but to put their little town on the map and be known to the world.

really it's not you, it's me

As would most animated film nowadays, they come in a special 3D version. I have to say that I didn’t actually take up that option with fear of hurling exactly what I had for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the cinema floor. Of course now looking back, with the outstanding animation, it might have been worth the trouble. The visual effects are actually pretty amazing. Though that’s probably what you should expect from a featured animated film, there were parts of it that was super impressive.

So just to table things up, if you’re into all these animated movies do give this one a chance cause its bound to surprise and entertain you. It’s one big rollercoaster ride and should have you giggling all the way to the sequel. Well if there is one.

Rating – 3/5

WALL-E

Location – Cineleisure

Food – Absolutely Nothing

After having weeks and weeks of mind numbing, action splitting, body aching, dragon breathing, car exploding action and fun filled adventures, its time to slow everything down with a Walt Disney Animated Feature courtesy of Pixar. Once you hear the opening of any Disney film (“when you wish upon a star”) you’re automatically transported to a world of make believe with endless joy and fun. There’s always something magical about Walt Disney films as it brings out the child in most of us. Is this latest instalment worth our magical time or not?

Rubbish game from the 80’s

The movie revolves around a robot named Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth-class) who by the looks of it is the last remaining robot on Earth. Few 100 years into the future, Earth is in a complete mess and is littered with rubbish. Mankind has decided to go into space while these Wall-E robots start the massive cleanup operation. In the first few opening scenes, we see our robot hero single handily clean up all the garbage that is lying around. He is completely alone (he does have a pet cockroach though) and goes about his daily job diligently day after day. The fun starts however when he starts to fancy a robot named Eve (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) that lands on Earth in search of something deemed classified.

Getting to 3rd base was always going to be difficult

Wall-E pushes the boundaries in terms of animation as well as social humour interaction (is there such a thing?). As there is very little dialogue involved, the bulk of the humour comes from Wall-E’s interaction with his surroundings. This is the same type of humour that you can probably get from a Mr Bean boxset. There really doesn’t need to be any dialogue for slapstick and visual humour. In that sense, I’m pretty sure most people would enjoy this movie.

Every thug needs a lady

From watching his favourite movie to staring at the sky, we start to feel more compelled to follow Wall-E’s journey into the unknown as the movie progresses. After a while, we start to develop a soft spot to Wall-E’s situation, in the sense that nobody really wants to be alone. In some respect, it is almost a naïve and youthful way to how most people view love and social acceptance. Cue Aww machine now. Awwww.

Is it any better than previous Pixar movies? It might not be able to surpass Finding Nemo or Ratatouille in terms of humour and story telling, however the lovable character that is Wall-E is a good enough reason for watching this movie. This robot is probably more memorable and a lot more charming compared to a lot of other Disney characters in recent time.

Ratings – 3.5/5

Is kinda like – Johnny 5 from Short Circuit. Remember that film?