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...]
Review: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Perfectly positioned before the Christmas period and after the staggering success of The Avengers, Rise of the Guardians, based on a series of books called The Guardians of Childhood, unites a series of mythical creatures into an an Avengers-like team of children's defenders. Created by Dreamworks Animation it follows on from box office successes like Kung Fu Panda 2 and How to … [Read more...]
Carrie (1976) review by That Film Guy
Stephen King is one of the most famous authors in horror and latterly fantasy fiction. His books and short stories have been adapted into a variety of Hollywood films including IT, The Shawshank Redemption, Pet Cemetery and The Green Mile. The first adaptation of his work came in 1976 when Brian De Palma has handed the reigns over King's first ever novel Carrie. A huge … [Read more...]
Brave (2012) review by That Film Guy
Following on from the commercially successful, but critically derided Cars 2, animation house Pixar have created another original film entitled Brave. Wanting to create even more ground-breaking graphic design, Pixar stripped away their old animation software and built it anew for the first time in 25 years and Brave stands as the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. … [Read more...]
Shrek Forever After (2010) review by That Film Guy
With Dreamworks Animation emerging as the only real competition to Pixar in the animation film market, it made sense for them to make as much money from recognisable characters as possible. It is for this reason only that the follow-up to Shrek the Third, the rather neatly titled Shrek Forever After. Announced as the final instalment in the franchise (Puss in Boots filling the … [Read more...]
Shrek the Third (2007) review by That Film Guy
After the continued box office success of the franchise with Shrek 2, it was only a matter of time until Shrek the Third was released. Commercially it was less successful than its immediate predecessor but still took a phenomenal $798m form a budget of $160m and comfortably gave Dreamworks a reason to release a fourth part. With the King of Far, Far Away (John Cleese) about to … [Read more...]
Shrek (2001) review by That Film Guy
As Pixar developed a stranglehold on the digital animation market, there was only one company that managed to give them any competition. Dreamworks Animation managed to find a huge success with the Shrek series of films. Shrek is loosely based on a series of children's books entitled Shrek! written by William Steig. Originally conceived by Steven Spielberg as a hand-drawn … [Read more...]
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) review by That Film Fatale
After a great deal of anticipation and hype Universal Pictures finally releases its big budget take on the Disney tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; however this time armed with the edgier title Snow White and the Huntsman. 2012 has seen the revival and remakes of many Disney classics, including the less than impressive Mirror Mirror, a PG take on Miss White's troubled … [Read more...]
Labyrinth (1986) review by That Film Gal
There are many of us out there who lovingly watched Labyrinth so many times that the image of David's Bowie's bulging (and probably stuffed) crotch, as he pranced about in skin-tight leggings -throwing babies in the air and singing ˜dance magic, dance,'- is now permanently ingrained into the collective consciousness. Bowie's Goblin King is an iconic image for many children of … [Read more...]