Disney

Baymax! – Cass

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Baymax! – Cass
  • wiki: link

At first glance, Baymax (Scott Adsit) seems an odd choice of character from Big Hero 6 to spin-off into his own series. However, the attempts of the personal healthcare companion looking to provide help of a different person in need in each episode offers just the kind of premise that fits the Disney brand. In the first episode, Baymax takes it upon himself to run the café after Cass (Maya Rudolph) sprains her ankle. Not trusting the robot to give the personal service her customers need, Cass continues to sneak back down eventually hurting her ankle even further but gaining and understanding of her limitations and appreciation of both the robot’s attempts to help and her customer’s loyalty.

…

Baymax! – CassRead More »

Baymax! – Cass Read More »

Lightyear

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Lightyear
  • IMDb: link

Disney and Pixar find a way to return to the Toy Story franchise without returning to the Toy Story franchise with Lightyear which is meant to represent the movie young Andy saw in 1992 which would inspire the Buzz Lightyear toy line. While it might not look or sound like a 90s film, a minor quibble, Lightyear does entertain by offering us the misadventures of the Space Ranger who struggles to get home after getting stranded on a hostile planet light-years from Earth. Although Buzz isn’t a toy, Lightyear demands a toy be made for the adorable robotic cat Sox (Peter Sohn) who is just about the best thing ever.

…

LightyearRead More »

Lightyear Read More »

Turning Red

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Turning Red
  • IMDb: link

Disney’s Turning Red is basically an animated remake of 1985’s Teen Wolf recasting the main character as a 13 year-old girl who begins turning into a giant Red Panda whenever she gets too excited. Like Michael J. Fox‘s Scott Howard, the cause for the transformation is a mix of puberty and a family curse which Mei (Rosalie Chiang) only learns about after being freaked out by the horror of the unexplained change. And, as in Teen Wolf, Mei is told by her family to control and hide the Panda within but instead uses it to increase her popularity at school.

Turning Red is slow to get started, relying on cookie-cutter Asian stereotypes of the dutiful daughter breaking out of the mold. Thankfully, once the Red Panda shows up, things get a bit more interesting. However, if we are going to ding movies aimed at kids for dick and fart jokes, it’s hard not to do the same here for the numerous cheap jokes the film gets away with around mensuration. 

…

Turning RedRead More »

Turning Red Read More »

Encanto

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Encanto
  • IMDb: link

Encanto introduces us to the magical Family Madrigal, living together in a magical house in a small town in a hidden valley from the dangers of the outside world. When reaching the appropriate age, each child of the family is gifted with a special power. That is, each member of the family except our main character Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). 

More notable for its cultural perspective and its eclectic characters than its plot, Encanto struggles a bit early finding its rhythm before picking up momentum, both in story and in the strength of the songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, as Mirabel attempts to save the family from a threat no one else sees. It’s a solid film, whose final act outshines the rest of the movie and (in typical Disney fashion) offers a nice moral for kids who are obviously the target audience for the film.

…

EncantoRead More »

Encanto Read More »