Keeping Track of ‘Cloverfield’

A few days ago, I caught Paramount and Bad Robot's newest theatrical feature, Overlord. A sort of World War II horror thriller-cum-action drama, the Julius Avery-directed venture is bombing at the box office. Costing $38 million to make, the film coughed up $10 million on its opening weekend and fell over 60% in its sophomore frame, …

Modern Mouse: Contemporary Ideas and Disney Animation…

It appears that the latest Walt Disney Animation Studios film is starting a lot of conversations... Opening next week, Ralph Breaks The Internet, the sequel to the studio's video game-centric hit, happens to be a somewhat rare contemporary Disney animated feature. Since the trailers and marketing materials have highlighted lots of pop cultural references, memes, and …

‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ – An Animation Thesis

Quite timely... My fifth pick for my "Animation Thesis" review series is a film that's unique in that it can be both a Halloween movie and a Christmas movie... The motion picture is none other than The Nightmare Before Christmas. Released in the autumn of 1993 from Walt Disney Pictures through their "adult" Touchstone Pictures label, The …

SOLO, Some 4 Months Later, and Other Things…

Yesterday, it was announced that current Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is piloting the starship for another three years. All in the same week that Solo came to physical media. A controversial decision, but one that makes me happy... It's obvious. Kennedy's staying because numbers don't lie. Combined, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and Star Wars: The Last …

10 Writing About Animation DON’TS

Sometimes when you read about animation, whether it's a review of a movie or a piece on the state of animation box office, you often see writers - who aren't quite entrenched in the medium and its rich history - walk into these tiger traps. They write things about animation that indicate that the perception …

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 …

‘Infinity War’ Appreciation

I love Avengers: Infinity War... Even though I consider Black Panther to be the best of this year's Marvel Cinematic Universe crop, I've really taken a liking to Avengers: Infinity War. It's just such a big, jam-packed, layered entry in the MCU that effortlessly manages to explore over twenty characters, many of which previously established through other films, …

Steady, Forward…

One thing I often hear is this... Animation is "evolving." Animation has "come a long way." I'll make it very clear upfront. I have a very unconventional and possibly controversial view on modern American feature animation. The films that rule the scene are family-friendly movies, many of which really haven't moved us forward from where …

I Want to Make More Fan-art

Actually, I have made fan-art in the past. I was never a fan of making fan-art, though. See what I did there? Despite being a studio art graduate, I still feel my work isn't up to par. Instead of using only my personal work as a way to get better at this stuff, I turned …

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 …