68. Luca (2021)
Directed by: Enrico Casarosa
Written by: Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones
Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Saverio Raimondo, Maya Rudolph, Marco Barricelli and Jim Gaffigan
Music by: Dan Romer
Rated: U
Luca Paguro (Jacob Tremblay) is a young sea monster who is bored to death with his life as a goatfish farmer with his parents Daniela (Maya Rudolph) and Lorenzo (Jim Gaffigan) and Grandmother (Sandy Martin). After spending time with a more extroverted teenage monster named Alberto Scorfano (Jack Dylan Grazer), Luca has a desire to see the world and teams up with Alberto to go to the Italian Riveria town of Portorosso and win a race to get enough money to buy a Vespa bike to travel the world. With only their human disguises and a streetsmart human girl named Giulia (Emma Berman) keeping them safe, Luca and Alberto soon discover that their ideas of a free life might be more different than expected…
Loosely based on the childhood summer days of Enrico Casarosa, a Pixar storyboard artist who directed the 2011 short film, La Luna, his first job with directing a feature film, Luca may not be the studio’s best film in terms of plot when compared to the likes of Soul, but the film’s focus on childhood friendships and love for 1950s Italian culture, makes this one of Pixar’s most heartwarming films in years.
Taking inspiration from The Little Mermaid in terms of a sea creature coming to land to live as a human(which is ironic given that Jacob Tremblay would play Flounder the Fish in Rob Marshall’s live-action remake of Disney’s 1989 film) and slice-of life Studio Ghibli films like Kiki’s Delivery Service and Ponyo, but replacing the Japanese settings with Italian ones, Luca shines the best with the latter portion of the similarities, as the background animation of the town of Portorusso and the excellent voice-acting from the likes of Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer is what makes this film truly charming to watch. However , the gender-swapped, aged-down Little Mermaid parallels such as the subplot revolving around Luca and Giulia feels a lot less interesting and does result in an extremely forced second-act breakup moment, that does shoot this film in the foot a bit.
Overall, Luca is one of the most unique and sweet Pixar films in years in terms of character dynamics and stylised character designs. Let’s hope that if more films based on different world cultures come out of the studio, like Coco before it, they will build on this film’s foundations to expand their horizons even more now, since the disgraced John Lasseter is no longer in charge.
Rating: 4/5
67. Surf’s Up (2007)
Directed by: Ash Brannon and Chris Buck
Written by: Don Rhymer, Ash Brannon, Chris Buck and Chris Jenkins
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Diedrich Baker and James Woods
Music by: Mychael Danna
Rated: PG
As filmed by a documentary crew (Ash Brannon and Chris Buck), teenage rockhopper penguin, Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) travels from Shiverpool, Antarctica to the tropical island of Pen-Gu to compete in the tenth Big Z Memorial surfing tournament. After suffering an embarrassing defeat to the current champion, Tank (Diedrich Baker), Cody discovers that Big Z (Jeff Bridges), the legendary surfer, is actually still alive and living in retirement. While Cody tries to convince Z to train him, Z decides to teach him life lessons as well…
Early on in Sony Pictures Animation’s history, there were signs that this new animation studio in the late 2000s that they had potential to be something special. While their first film, 2006’s Open Season, was basically a diet-Madagascar set in the woods, their next outing would instead be something incredibly rare in mainstream feature animation, a surfing mockumentary that featured animated characters talking to camera crews during the story, even if the characters were cartoon birds.
Even though this came out at the very end of the penguin film craze of the mid-2000s that also included Madagascar, March of the Penguins and Happy Feet, Tarzan and Toy Story 2 directors Chris Buck and Ash Brannon manage to make this surfing story really entertaining, with the documentary aspects getting the biggest laughs and most creative sight-gags.
Overall, with beautiful surfing animations, better than usual voice-acting from the likes of James Woods, Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges and an extremely funny Jon Heder as Cody’s friend, Chicken Joe, Surf’s Up was a step in the right direction for setting up not only Sony Animation’s future, but was the stepping stone towards Chris Buck creating the story of one of the most iconic Disney characters, when he returned to the studio a few years later.
Rating: 4/5
66. Corpse Bride (2005)
Directed by: Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
Written by: John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamela Pattler
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse, Joanna Lumley, Albert Finney, Christopher Lee, Richard E. Grant and Michael Gough
Music by: Danny Elfman
Rated: PG
Set in a miserable Victorian era town, Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) is an awkward young man who is set to be married to Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), the abused daughter of the socially high (yet bankrupt) aristocrats, Lady and Lord Everglot (Joanna Lumley and Albert Finney). When Victor accidentally screws up the rehearsal, he is sent to practice his vows alone, where, after placing his ring on a branch, he finally says his vows correctly. However, the “branch” turns out to be the finger of Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), an undead young woman dressed as a bride, who takes Victor to the lively Land of the Dead to celebrate their “marriage”…
While not as iconic as the much more well known The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, based on a 17th century Jewish folktale that was introduced to Tim Burton as the former was wrapping up production, is notable as the director’s first animated film that he actually directed (along with Mike Johnson), rather than just produced or wrote.
As expected from a Tim Burton film, the production design and the Gothic look of this fable are absolutely stunning to witness. The contrasting differences between the dreary land of the living and the party-filled land of the dead, is a clear love letter to Burton’s ideas about the beauty of death and being an outcast. Even though some details of the third act could have been given more time to develop, the love story between the three leads is bittersweet, yet beautifully told, with Emily the titular Corpse Bride, being one of the best characters that Helena Bonham Carter has ever done.
Overall, with horror movie in-jokes (Love that Peter Lorre maggot), great Danny Elfman songs and a touching story about the meaning of love, Corpse Bride is one of Tim Burton’s most underrated and beautifully told films.
Rating: 4/5
65. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists/ Band of Misfits (2012)
Directed by: Peter Lord
Written by: Gideon DeFoe
Starring: Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, Salma Hayek and Jeremy Pivan
Music by: Theodore Shapiro
Rated: U
Winning the coveted “Pirate of the Year” award is the lifelong goal of the Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) and the rest of the crew of The Briny Rose. When an encounter with Charles Darwin (David Tennant), ends up getting the Pirates into hot water with the insane pirate-hating Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), the Captain must use all of his wit and piracy skills in order to outwit the angry queen.
Although The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists may lack the intensity or charm of Aardman’s other films, there is still a lot to like from this loose adaptation of the Gideon Dafoe book series.
Sure, the plot does feel a bit cliched at times, but the set designs of locations such as Blood Island, the streets of London and the huge ships are some of the largest and most impressive props Aardman has ever built, even if a lot of CGI had to be used for a majority of the background animation and the sequences at sea.
As with most Aardman films, the casting keeps Aardman’s British traditions alive, with Hugh Grant, Brian Blessed, David Tennant and Brendan Gleeson just to name a few, all giving incredibly funny performances throughout.
Overall, The Pirates! should satisfy both Aardman fans and kids who love pirates, but are a bit too young for Jack Sparrow’s adventures.
Rating: 4/5
64. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Directed by: Ron Clements and John Musker
Written by: Ron Clements, John Musker and Rob Edwards
Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jennifer Cody, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard and John Goodman
Music by: Randy Newman
Rated: U
Set in 1920s New Orleans, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is a hardworking young waitress who has a dream of owning her own restaurant in honour of her late father (Terrence Howard). After getting outbid shortly after finally getting enough money to buy a building to convert into a restaurant, Tiana makes a deal with Naveen (Bruno Campos), the Prince of Maldonia who has recently been turned into a frog by the Shadow Man of Voodoo, Dr. Facilier (Keith David), that in return for a kiss, he will pay for the restaurant. However, after Tiana gets turned into a frog herself, she and Naveen are forced to team up with a trumpet-playing alligator named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a Cajun firefly named Ray (Jim Cummings), in order to find the mysterious Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), to turn them back to humans…
Although The Princess and the Frog ultimately did not succeed in reviving mainstream theatrical hand-drawn animation for Disney, due to being released at the same time as Avatar, this combination of two projects that Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar were developing that both used the Brothers Grimm fairytale of The Frog Prince as inspiration, is an absolutely charming and lovable start to the Disney Revival Era.
The story does get a bit too complicated at times whenever it has to explain the role of Voodoo magic in the plot and its many rules and complications, but the characters are extremely likeable and Randy Newman’s songs perfectly fit the New Orleans backdrop.
Overall, the hand-drawn animation is once again brought to life with such imagination, the songs are so catchy and despite the unfortunate implications regarding the time she spends as a frog throughout the film, Tiana stands out as one of the best leads in Disney Animation in a long time, making The Princess and the Frog an underrated gem in Disney’s library!
Rating: 4/5
63. Flee (2021)
Directed by: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Written by: Jonas Poher Rasmussen and Amin Nawabi
Starring: Amin Nawabi, Jonas Poher Rasmussen and Kasper
Music by: Uno Helmersson
Rated: 15
Told within the viewpoint of animation, a man from Afghanistan (renamed Amin Nawabi as an alias) tells the director, Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Himself), of his life as a refugee in Moscow after escaping from Afghanistan’s fallout from the departure of the Soviets. As Amir is trying to prepare himself for a new life with his boyfriend, Kasper (Himself), he is forced to also recount how he managed to successfully get away from Moscow, to make peace with his past trauma…
Following in the footsteps of Waltz with Bashir, in being the second animated film to be nominated for Best International Film, as well as being the first one to be nominated for Best Documentary, Flee is a powerful documentary about the struggles of a refugee to find freedom, even if some of its more complex elements could have been fully explored in the form of a miniseries, rather than a ninety minute film.
Much like two other similar examples of Best Animated Feature nominated films that focus on living in oppressive countries, Persepolis and The Breadwinner, Flee, while not as brutally tragic as those films, doesn’t shy away from the difficult reality that refugees go through, passing from one oppressive regime into another, before they can finally find somewhere safe to live. While some of the changing animation styles do clash with the pacing, Flee’s greatest strengths lie in the bond between Amin and his family, and in Uno Helmersson‘s haunting score.
Overall, Flee may lack some of the emotional devastation of the two previous films that dealt with the same subject matter. However, this powerful true story is one that needs to be told to help people understand the troubles that refugees face on a daily basis.
Rating: 4/5
62. My Life as a Courgette/ Zucchini (2016)
Directed by: Claude Barras
Written by: Céline Sciamma, Claude Barras, Germano Zullo and Morgan Navarro
Starring: Gaspard Schlatter/Erick Abbate, Sixtine Murat/Ness Krell, Paulin Jaccoud/Romy Beckman and Michel Vuillermoz/Nick Offerman
Music by: Sophie Hunger
Rated: PG
In modern day Switzerland, a young boy nicknamed “Courgette” (Gaspard Schlatter and Erick Abbate) is taken to a children’s home after he accidentally kills his mother (Natacha Koutchoumov and Susanne Blakeslee) in self defence when she tried to physically attack him. While Courgette adapts to his new life among the other children, the arrival of Camille (Sixtine Murat and Ness Krell), another abused child, gives Courgette an opportunity to help her out…
Far shorter and much less complicated than other Best Animated Feature nominees, My Life as a Courgette (or Zucchini in the USA and Australia), is a charming little stop-motion film about the lives of abused children finding sanctuary in foster care. Based on a 2002 French book by Gilles Paris, this film doesn’t shy away from the disturbing circumstances regarding the reasons why some children are placed into care, in spite of most of the violence happening off screen.
However, the film also shows one of the few instances of positive film depictions of foster homes, which is shown with the bond between the children and the adults in charge, with the titular Courgette’s bonds with a sympathetic police officer (Michel Vuillermoz and Nick Offerman), getting the most heartwarming moments alongside his relationship with Camille.
Overall, while the stop-motion designs are a bit too distracting for this kind of story and the short length does prevent some of the other kid characters to get development apart from the “frenemy” role of Simon (Paulin Jaccoud and Romy Beckman), My Life as a Courgette is a charming and heartwarming film about the bonds of children, regardless of backgrounds.
Rating: 4/5
61. When Marnie Was There (2014)
Directed by: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Written by: Masashi Ando, Keiko Niwa and Hiromasa Yonebayshi
Starring: Sara Takatsuki/Hailee Steinfeld, Kasumi Arimura/Taylor Autumn Bertman, Hana Sugisaki/Ava Acres, Hitomi Kuroki/Vanessa Williams and Ryoko Moriyama/Kiernan Shipka and Catherine O’Hara
Music by: Takatsugu Muramatsu
Rated: U
Anna Sasaki (Sara Takatsuki and Hailee Steinfeld) is a lonely 12-year old girl, who is sent to spend the summer holidays with relatives of her foster mother, Yoriko (Nanako Matsushima and Geena Davis), after suffering an asthma attack at school. Feeling depressed due to a lifetime of repressed feelings, Anna soon befriends a mysterious girl named Marnie (Kasumi Arimura and Kiernan Shipka), who is constantly appearing and disappearing around her abandoned mansion…
Although his career at Studio Ghibli ended up being shorter than expected, Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s second and final film for the company, before he would establish his own Studio Ponoc, would be one with a fitting tone for the company’s haitus that would last until 2021. This emotional take on Joan G. Robinson’s 1967 novel, When Marnie Was There, hits all the right moments for being a powerful friendship story between two young girls.
With a far more detailed animation style and in spite of some pacing issues, When Marnie Was There is still a great female friendship story and a celebration of love and life.
Rating: 4/5
60. The Wind Rises (2013)
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Hideaki Anno/ Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Miori Takimoto/ Emily Blunt, Hidetoshi Nishijima/ John Krasinski, Masahiko Nishimura/ Martin Short, Morio Kazama/ William H. Macy, Keiko Takeshita/ Edie Mirman, Mirai Shida/ Mae Whitman, Jun Kunimura/ Mandy Patinkin, Shinobu Otake/ Jennifer Grey and Nomura Mansai/ Stanley Tucci
Music by: Joe Hisashi
Rated: PG
Ever since he was a child, Jiro Horikoshi (Hideaki Anno and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has dreamed of becoming an airplane designer. As he grows up during Japan’s path that will eventually lead them to their loss in World War II, Jiro ends up working for the Mitsubishi company, takes advice from a spiritual version of his idol, Giovanni Battista Caproni (Mansai Nomura and Stanley Tucci), and falls in love with a terminally ill woman named Nahoko Satomi (Miori Takimoto and Emily Blunt)…
Part-biopic of Japan’s chief engineer of aircraft during WWII, Jiro Horikoshi, part-adaption of a Hayao Miyazaki manga based on his life, and partly taking inspiration from Tatsuo Hori‘s The Wind has Risen, it is easy to see why the iconic Studio Ghibli director, at one point, wanted to make The Wind Rises as his final film, as it is a wonderful tribute to Miyazaki’s passion for flight.
In spite for the incredibly disturbing implications that Jiko’s inventions eventually caused during the war, this film is strongest when focused on his personal life and his dream sequences. While she may not have existed in real life, Nahoko’s love story with Jiko is incredibly emotional and leads to a very powerful ending. While the animation is as beautiful as ever, The Wind Rises truly shines in the fantasy sequences, in which Jiko interacts with a spiritual version of Italian flight legend, Giovanni Battista Caproni.
Overall, while it ultimately didn’t end up being the swan song for Miyazaki as expected, The Wind Rises is still a moving story about the positives and negatives of innovation.
Rating: 4/5
Chaz’s Cinematic Odyssey 