Ralph Mirrors My Past

You know, I'll be brutally honest here... There are days where I question my love for Disney. Now don't be alarmed, I'll always love Walt Disney's work - from the majority of his animated features to his television show to his best live-action movies to Disneyland itself - and it'll always be a pivotal part …

I Can’t Get Angry About Live-Action Remakes Anymore…

Recently, a particular quote from an incredibly divisive entry in a massive franchise has been on my mind... "Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love..." A film released by Walt Disney Pictures no less, the same studio specializing in live-action/CG remakes of their animated features. Those who know me well will know that …

2011: Life and Animation

I wanted to talk about a certain year in my life for some random reason... For a while, I had somewhat considered 2011 to be a downer year for feature animation. Why this specific, not-so-distant stretch of 365 days you ask? It just sort of came to mind... 2011 was a year of some firsts …

Rottenfield

WARNING: Major spoilers for THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX ahead... I saw a "bad" movie and really enjoyed it... Yesterday, Netflix surprise-released The Cloverfield Paradox. The third film in the J. J. Abrams Twilight Zone-esque series of weirdo sci-fi tales, it was - for the longest time - aiming for a theatrical release last year. Delays kept …

When Computer Animation Stopped Being Exciting For Me

Days have passed. A lot of the recent, unfortunate news concerning Pixar has somewhat blown over, though many fans - such as myself - are still in some state of mental disarray. A rumor concerning John Lasseter's actual exit from The Walt Disney Company as a whole - leaving the top chairs vacant at Pixar, …

It’s Time to Stop: An ‘Incredibles 2’ Rant

First thing's first... This is not a rant about the existence of Pixar's Incredibles 2. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel to one of my all-time favorite films. Sorry if the title gave you a near jolt! No, this is more a rant about something that happens almost every time a popular Pixar …

Losing Track of Halloween…

These last few autumns haven't been ideal for me. Autumn is actually my favorite season of the year, in case anyone didn't know. I've never been big on the solstice seasons. Winter is way too cold and full of hassles (plus I'm a New Englander, so... Storms!) and drags once you get to February-March. Summer? …

Nostalgia? Or Something Else? A Personal Story About Drawing and Media

I am often a stern critic of nostalgia. What even is nostalgia? It's the sweet feeling you get when you remember a time in your life, presumably one that occurred long ago. Nostalgia can be triggered by looking at something you once enjoyed, or something you've enjoyed all your life even. To me, it's like …

Imitation? Part 2

A few months ago, I was inspired to write a piece after discussing a very derivative movie with my blogger/reviewer friend Rachel. She had then recently seen the Canadian/South Korean animated feature Spark, which saw a brief limited theatrical release here in North America in the middle of April. It came and went, no one …

Imitation?

As a writer, I deal with this problem often. I worry, some times a little too much... Is my work way too similar to [insert film/book/show here]? Yesterday, my blogging and reviewing friend Rachel posted her thoughts on the recently-released animated feature Spark. The film was made by ToonBox and Red Rover International, the Canadian-Korean …