Brad Bird. Just the name should send feelings of childlike wonder through the body of any film fan. From The Iron Giant, to The Incredibles, even to Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Brad Bird has proved he is one of the most talented directors working in Hollywood today. He has the uncanny ability to make any sequence instantly awe-inspiring, whether it's the final scene of … [Read more...]
Review: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Following on from the mega-smash Frozen, Disney look to an obscure Marvel comic book for there next animation; Big Hero 6. Following the successful branching out from the plain old romantic stories to exploring the sisterly relationship, this does the same but with brothers. … [Read more...]
Review: Frozen (2013)
Disney's tradition of taking and adapting famous fables and tales continues with Frozen, their version of The Snow Queen. In the land of Arendelle, young Princess Elsa (Idina Menzel) has the elemental power to make and control snow and ice. While playing with her sister Anna (Kristen Bell), she accidently injures her and in a desperate attempt to protect them both the King and … [Read more...]
Review: The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Following the staggering success of Pixar and computer-generated feature films, Disney moved away from the more hand-drawn ˜traditional' style of animation for many years. They returned to it in 2009 with their own unique take on the classic children's story The Princess and the Frog. … [Read more...]
Robin Hood (1973) review by That Film Guy
Following the end of what is affectionately known as the ˜Golden Era,' Disney found themselves in something of a creative slump. Not helped by the passing of patriarch Walt Disney, the output during the 70s and most of the 80s reads like a whose who of mediocre animated films; Oliver & Company, The Aristocats and The Black Cauldron all proved to be commercially and … [Read more...]
Planes (2013) review by That Film Guy
After the commercial success of Cars and Cars 2 it's not surprising to see another instalment in the anthropomorphised vehicle Universe. With Planes the focus has switched from Radiator Springs to a Grand Prix race for aircraft and the production has switched from Pixar to Disney. What is less of a surprise is just how underwhelming and soulless this instalment in the … [Read more...]
The Lion King (1994) review by That Film Guy
Arguably one of the most influential Disney animated films of all time released at the tail-end of the most creatively successful period for the production house is The Lion King. Since its original release in 1994 it has been adapted to a successful stage musical, released numerous times in cinemas and received an almost record-breaking run on DVD and Blu-ray. … [Read more...]
Aladdin (1992) review by That Film Guy
Arguably providing Robin Williams his greatest role, Disney's Aladdin give creative freedom to the rapid-fire comedian. Following on from the huge success of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast Disney had proven that feature length animated films were once again a commercially viable film type. So in 1992 they cast Williams as the Genie a constantly changing form entity … [Read more...]
Pinocchio (1940) review by That Film Guy
At the heart of the original golden age of animated films came Disney's take on the Italian folklore tale Pinocchio. One of the original feature length animated films it tells the story of the young, naïve sometimes bad puppet created by his ˜father' Geppetto. Taking our young hero and his honourable and caring guardian angel Jiminy Cricket on an adventure that sees him turned … [Read more...]
Wreck-It Ralph (2012) review by That Film Guy
Since the release of the first computer game, Pong in 1972 there have been a raft of new and ingenious ways to play virtual games. Now that games are reaching 4 decades in age there has been a growing movement among a certain generation to play ˜retro games.' Disney, drawing from the popularity of retro games, has created Wreck-It Ralph, an animated film that supposes that … [Read more...]