There is so much to say about this movie that’s already been said.
It’s a classic, a landmark in movie history. Its advances in computer-generated visual effects literally changed how movies are made. Its musical score is one of John Williams’ absolute best. Its characters, its iconography, its thrilling set pieces, its . . . everything is so memorable, and sometimes even awe-inspiring.
I love this movie for all those reasons and more. It has entertained and inspired me many, many times since my first viewing as a kid. But there’s one thing about it that I never knew for a long time — something that has only increased my already immense appreciation for it.
Throughout its one hundred twenty seven minute runtime, Jurassic Park contains just fifteen minutes of dinosaur footage.
In contrast to other movies, Jurassic Park never seems desperate to hold your attention. It doesn’t throw a constant stream of meaningless eye candy at you, it doesn’t let the characters zip from scene to scene with no room to breathe, and it doesn’t let the dinosaurs overstay their welcome. It knows exactly when to hold back, when to bluff, and when to show its hand.
Director Steven Spielberg is a master at suspenseful storytelling. Only someone like him can get as much out of those fifteen minutes of dinosaurs as he does. His genius is apparent right from the opening shot.
We see a tangle of moonlit treetops rustling heavily, implying that something big is coming. A first-time viewer will immediately think of a T-Rex, but instead, we see a huge metal box being craned over to a large enclosure. We don’t know exactly what’s inside, but the characters’ expressions convey the tension perfectly. And within a few moments, something goes wrong. We see brief flashes of a reptilian eye, mottled brown skin, and the poor construction worker attacked by an unseen animal as otherworldly roars and screams rend the night.
It’s an intense opener, and in other movies, the action would hardly stop from this point onward, inevitably tiring out the audience. But not here. Now that we’re hooked, Spielberg substantially slows down the ride, taking his sweet time to set things up with deliberation and a promise of excitement to come. He knows that pacing is key. Every scene, every line of dialogue, every character moment serves a purpose.
Right after the opening, we hear the lawyer Gennaro informing the amber miner about John Hammond’s plan to have a team of experts sign off on his park and its safety in order to satisfy his investors. Boom, next scene. We meet Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler digging up fossils, get to know them just enough, and then Hammond flies in to invite them to his “biological preserve” and get their approval.
Boom, next scene. Dennis Nedry is introduced along with his plot to betray InGen and steal the embryos. Boom, next scene. The helicopter with Hammond, Alan, Ellie, and Gennaro is en route to the park along with Ian Malcolm, who briefly introduces his skepticism toward the park and firm belief in chaos theory.
By this point, it doesn’t matter that we’re still waiting to see the dinosaurs, because the characters and their adventures, even in the quieter moments, are just as interesting. No, they don’t have elaborate backstories or soul-piercing moments of growth. But they do have distinct personalities, all uniquely engaging and likeable. Even the more villainous characters have a certain charm to them. The entire cast has a wonderfully real way of interacting with one another, sometimes so real that they mumble or speed through the occasional line. That can be frustrating sometimes, but for the most part, it rewards repeated viewings and enriches the believability of the story.
As the movie clicks along at a perfect pace, with just enough dinosaurs to make us want more, we hardly notice how expertly the dominoes are being set in place. And finally, the halfway point of the movie arrives before we know it. The T-Rex makes its glorious first appearance, knocking over the first domino with earth-shattering force and sending the characters into chaos — exactly as Malcolm predicted. As the dominoes continue to fall, the thrills continue to pile up and build off each other, while always giving the audience a brief reprieve before the next terrifying moment.
And then, just like that, the movie ends. To this day, I dread the coming of the big finale, because I know that it means the movie is almost over. But once it’s over, I can’t help but feel both satisfied and eager to see it again.
What an amazing movie. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s funny, it’s endlessly re-watchable, and it captures the imagination in a way that few movies can. It’s a timeless classic and one of the best adventures ever put on film.
Yes, it has dinosaurs. That’s super cool. But the fifteen minutes of dinosaurs in this movie are just the icing on a delicious cake. Whatever is happening onscreen — an ethical debate over a dinner table, a tour group gazing expectantly at an empty T-Rex paddock, or a heart-pounding game of cat and mouse between two raptors and two kids — Jurassic Park is pure entertainment from start to finish.
If you’ve never seen it, you’re in for an adventure. An adventure sixty-five million years in the making.
*No worries. This review is entirely spoiler-free!*
I don’t know about you, but I vividly remember seeing Finding Nemo on the big screen back in 2003. I was eight years old at the time. Thirteen years later, it’s still one of my favorite animated films and is, in my opinion, one of Pixar’s best efforts. And here we are now with its long-awaited sequel: Finding Dory.
I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect with this movie. Normally, I’m pretty good at predicting whether a movie will be good or not by watching its trailer(s). But even after watching multiple promos and trailers for this movie, I couldn’t tell which way it would swing. I was equally skeptical and hopeful. I would just have to wait and see.
Well, I waited. And I saw it. Now it’s time to review it!
The story, of course, centers around everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, Dory. It’s been a year since the events of Finding Nemo, and Dory finally remembers that she has a family out there somewhere. With the help of Marlin, Nemo, and a cast of other characters both old and new, she sets out to reunite with them.
Overall, I found the story to be well-done and engaging. The opening scene is very strong, pulling you right in and making you feel things (one of the things Pixar is best at). After that, though, things do get choppy and uneven for a while. One minute the movie is fast-paced and fun, and the next it gets lost in some awkwardly written dialogue scenes. Thankfully, the movie does get better as it goes on, but I did find it a bit unstable here and there. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly why, but I think it was a combination of some of the dialogue needing to be ironed out, some pacing issues, and some trouble on the writers’ part figuring out how much they needed to re-establish the characters that we already know.
Most of those problems happen in the first act and (for the most part) diminish as the film goes on, thankfully. And in the end, I was satisfied with how the whole story played out. There were laughs, and there were also tears. The film has a great message about overcoming weaknesses, specifically disabilities; Dory, of course, has short-term memory loss, while other characters have a missing tentacle or nearsightedness. I do think the message could have been better-integrated into the plot, but as it was, it worked. I found the flashback scenes with Dory’s parents to be particularly touching, watching them do their best to care for their daughter and teach her to do things on her own despite her memory problem.
So, no, I don’t think the story is as good as that of Finding Nemo, but I do think it works well in its own right, despite a few problems.
One of the film’s strongest elements is its characters. Dory is obviously a standout, both funny and endearing — more so the latter than the former in this film. Marlin is as great as ever, but sadly, Nemo doesn’t really have much to do in the story. He’s just kind of . . . there. It’s unfortunate, because one of the best things about the first film was how well it balanced its two plotlines: Marlin and Dory searching for Nemo, and Nemo’s experiences in the fish tank. Here, the focus is on Dory, and the parts that center around her are good, but whenever the film switched to a character moment between Marlin and Nemo, I didn’t find it to be particularly interesting.
On the plus side, though, we get some great new characters that are definitely worth remembering: Hank the octopus (er, septopus), Destiny the whale shark, and Bailey the beluga are the main standouts. They were great fun in different ways, and they stack up well with the memorable side characters from the original. Oh, and then there’s Gerald. Gerald is arguably the best part of the movie. Be sure to stay after the credits for more of Gerald. And hey, Pixar? How about Finding Gerald for the threequel? Please? Can you make that happen? I need more Gerald!
The movie is visually stunning, as one would expect from Pixar. The water, the diverse ocean life, the movements of the characters, the lighting, the vivid colors . . . it all comes together in a beautiful package, doing a wonderful job of immersing you into its world. It sounds great, too, from the lovely score by Thomas Newman to the more subtle things like how the characters’ voices echo underwater. Great stuff.
So. That’s actually pretty much everything I wanted to say about this film! In conclusion, Finding Dory is a solid sequel. It sometimes has trouble finding its footing, but when it works, it really does work. No, it’s not as good as Finding Nemo, at least in my opinion. It’s not as moving, it’s not as funny, and it’s not as well-rounded a film. But it’s a good movie all the same, and one that is absolutely worth seeing. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts! What did you think of the movie? Leave me a comment!
Next time, I’ll have some reactions, thoughts, and general discussion about all the new information we got about the new Zelda game at E3! Until then!
I’ve been watching a show lately with the sibs. It’s a show that, when it was airing on Nickelodeon from 2005-2008, I had only heard of and never seen. This was mainly because we didn’t have cable. Plus, whenever I did happen to come across images of it, I thought it looked weird.
Oh, silly me. Silly, silly me.
Anyway, thanks to the power of modern streaming technology, Avatar: The Last Airbender is available for free streaming on Amazon Instant Video (free if you have Prime, that is). And thanks to friends of mine who recommended the show to me and my family, I proposed to my siblings one night that we watch the first episode. Give it a shot.
One episode quickly turned into two. Then three, then four. Et cetera.
We haven’t finished the series yet, but we just started watching the third and final season. And you know what?
This show is fantastic.
It’s even more than that, really. It’s one of the best cartoons I’ve ever seen — heck, it’s one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. It’s aimed primarily at younger audiences, but like all the best entertainment, it’s done so well that adults enjoy it too, perhaps even more.
So what’s the show about? Well, instead of me telling you, just watch the intro from the show itself right here. (The first half-second or so is cut off for some reason, so you can’t hear the narrator say the first word: “water.”)
Seems intriguing, right? Well, just wait until you actually start watching the show. You’ll be hooked from the beginning, trust me.
And you know what the best thing is? It just keeps getting better. And better! Season 1 is great, but Season 2 blew me away even more. I can’t wait to see what further surprises await in Season 3.
So what exactly is so great about this show? Many things. I can’t even begin to describe how amazing the cast is, both the characters themselves and the people voicing them. They’re all so well-drawn, with faults and fears, with strengths and talents, and the adventures they experience together are never, ever boring. I can’t think of a single episode of this show so far that I haven’t liked.
The animation is great, too, taking a lot of inspiration from anime. It’s also funny. Like, really funny. Much funnier than I was ever expecting it to be. There’s not an episode that goes by in which my siblings and I don’t laugh out loud at least once. On the flip side, the show can also sometimes be pretty dark for a kids’ cartoon, and I love it — even if that owl from the library will forever haunt my nightmares, along with the Face Stealer. (Fans of the show reading this know exactly what I mean. It’s creepy as heck.)
But the best thing about the show is the storytelling. It’s so well-written that I almost can’t believe it was on the same network as Spongebob Squarepants. (No offense to that show, really. I like it, but Avatar is on another tier altogether.) Every episode successfully weaves a compelling self-contained story that simultaneously ties into the overall plot that’s building up over the entire series. It’s brilliant.
What else can I write without giving stuff away? Not much. Plus I’m too lazy to just keep writing about the show. So, ultimately, my point is this:
Watch it.
Please. You’ll thank me later. (And please, for the love of all that is holy, stay away from the live action film adaptation. *shudder*)
Oh, and have a GIF that makes no sense unless you’ve seen the show!
***THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS, BOTH MAJOR AND MINOR. FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. BUT SERIOUSLY, JUST GO SEE IT ALREADY. GOSH.***
Wow.
Years ago, I thought I would never live to see the day when a seventh Star Wars film would be made. Yet here we are. The saga now continues with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.
Yes, it’s still “Episode VII” (the words are in the title crawl). I don’t know why I was worried about that.
This movie had unbelievable hype. When it was first announced in 2012 that Disney had bought Lucasfilm and promised that new Star Wars films were being planned, I for one was feeling many things. I was excited, because I thought there might never be more films in the franchise. I was nervous, because Lucasfilm was now in the hands of Disney; what if they turned Star Wars into nothing more than a cash cow? I was also insanely curious as to what the new story would be. The possibilities were virtually endless.
For a while, though, I forgot about the movie. That is, I still knew about it, but I put it out of my mind. 2015 was a long way away, after all.
Fast forward to late 2014, when the first teaser trailer for the new movie was released. I had already decided at that point that I didn’t want to know ANYTHING about the movie. I didn’t want to know the story, the characters, the look and feel of it, NOTHING. Crazy of me? Probably. But I was determined. Star Wars has meant a lot to me from a young age, and I wanted the new film to be as fresh and new to me as possible when I finally ended up seeing it.
Over the next year, two more trailers were released, and a TON of promotional stuff was everywhere — merchandise, news articles, YouTube ads, you name it. So, inevitably, I did end up learning a few things, such as what the main characters looked like. I stuck to my guns, though, and didn’t watch any of the trailers.
I was pretty much shaking in anticipation when I finally — FINALLY — sat down in that theater to watch the film. A hush fell over the crowd as the Lucasfilm logo appeared on the screen, followed by the now famous phrase:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . .
Then, the first note of the theme that everybody knows blasted out of the speakers, and I smiled. As the music played on and the words of the prologue crawled up the screen, my smile only got bigger. It was happening. It was really happening.
I could hardly contain myself as the prologue faded out and the music turned from triumphant to mysterious, the camera slowly moving down to reveal a planet, like in most of the other films. And as the shadow of an enormous ship slowly began to envelop the planet, I was utterly mesmerized. Within mere seconds, director J. J. Abrams had sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go for over two hours.
Enough rambling, though. Time for the actual review. What did I think of the movie?
In a sentence, I thought it was phenomenal.
Where do I even begin? The story? Yeah, let’s go with that.
If you’re reading this review, you’ve either already seen the film or you don’t care about spoilers. Either way, I’m not going to waste your time or mine by summarizing what the story is about. Instead, I’ll just say that the story overall is quite well-done. I was fully invested in the actions of the Resistance against the First Order from start to finish, and the mysteries and other plot elements intrigued me. Luke Skywalker has gone missing and is now the stuff of legend? Han and Leia had a son who has now become a Darth Vader wannabe? Stormtroopers are now fully human, and one of them realizes that he’s on the wrong side and does everything he can to escape and fight back? A scavenger from a desert planet called Jakku (a very similar place to Tatooine) is pulled into the fray and is discovered to be incredibly strong with the Force?
That’s just a few of the story elements that really stood out to me. The point is, I found it all compelling, especially the questions that don’t necessarily get answered in this movie. Why is Rey such a natural with the Force? What is the full backstory of how Ben Solo became Kylo Ren? We don’t know yet. This is the start of a whole new trilogy, and it’s a fantastic start indeed.
I do have a small handful of criticisms of the film, though (hey, there’s no such thing as a perfect movie). The main one is in the story department: it is admittedly a little over-reliant on the films of the past. I don’t find it to be nearly as big of a problem as others have, but the story does mirror that of the original (A New Hope). Rey is like Luke, BB-8 holding important information is like R2 with the Death Star plans, there’s a superweapon that the rebels/resistance need to destroy, etc. You’ve seen the movie, so you don’t need me to outline every single parallel.
However, while I definitely think the parallels could have been toned down a little bit, I really don’t think they hurt the film in any significant way. Sure, I found myself mentally groaning a little when the Resistance outlined the plan to blow up Starkiller Base and then went to do it, but blowing up Starkiller Base was not the main point of the story, like blowing up the Death Star was in A New Hope. Instead, blowing up the base gave way for what was actually important to this story: the confrontation between Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren.
In fact, a lot of the time I actually liked how some parts of the story felt familiar, and I think it was a pretty smart decision on the part of the filmmakers. Keep things familiar to a certain degree, but incorporate plenty of the new as well so it doesn’t feel like the same story with a new paint job. I do hope, though, that as this new trilogy continues they branch out even more with new ideas. I liked how The Force Awakens was a tribute to A New Hope, but I do NOT want Episode VIII to be a tribute to The Empire Strikes Back. That would definitely be crossing the line for me.
Next, characters! Holy cow. They’re fantastic. I’ll touch on each one briefly.
First we have Rey, the female lead. I thought she was awesome in every way. Not only was she a main character who was female, she was WELL-WRITTEN too! She was neither weak and helpless nor the stereotypical over-the-top butt-kicker completely devoid of any emotion who is strong, independent, and don’t need no man.
Instead, Rey is strong, but she is also caring. She is skilled in combat, but she is also smart. She is brave, but she also has her moments of doubt and fear. She’s relatable. She’s human. She’s AWESOME.
(Quick note to all those people complaining about how she was able to use the Force in various ways and beat Kylo Ren, a trained Sith lord, without any formal training: you’re free to think what you will, but I thought her abilities were perfectly reasonable. She’s simply a prodigy in the Force [I suspect she has Skywalker blood, personally]. She is established early on as a capable fighter, so it’s not outlandish that she was able to wield a lightsaber reasonably well. Kylo Ren is not a Sith lord, and his training is not complete — not to mention he had just killed his father and been hit with Chewie’s blaster before his fight with Finn and Rey. So of course he had a disadvantage against Rey, who was able to calm herself with the Force and allow the light side to work through her. Anyway, I’m sure we’ll get more insight into her abilities in the next movie. And come on, that scene where she called the lightsaber to her was AWESOME.)
I also loved Finn. Late in the opening scene, when the stormtroopers are ordered to kill the villagers, I was instantly drawn to him when he aimed his gun with shaking hands but then slowly lowered it. A stormtrooper realizing he’s on the wrong side and having the courage to leave? This is so cool! And not only is Finn a heroic guy, he’s also just plain funny. From his little wisecracks to his chemistry with Han (“We’ll figure it out. We’ll use the Force!” “That’s not how the Force works!”), he had me laughing throughout the whole movie.
One of my favorite scenes was when Finn helped Poe escape and they had an instant friendship, with Poe giving him his name and Finn freaking out excitedly after blasting through the First Order defenses (“DID YOU SEE THAT?! DID YOU SEE IT?!”). That scene had me fully convinced, less than 15 minutes into the movie, that J. J. Abrams was the right man to direct.
Speaking of Poe, I want to see more of him. He had such great charisma, and even though he played a relatively small role in this movie, I already regard him as one of my favorites. I knew I was going to like him right from the moment when he was facing Kylo Ren and said: “So who talks first? Do I talk first or do you talk first?” Just . . . yes. *slow clap*
Poe’s droid, BB-8, is also a scene-stealer. R2-D2 and C-3PO are classic, but this little guy fits right in with them. He’s new, fun, cute, hilarious, and brilliantly executed onscreen. He’s an entirely practical effect, and it shows in the best way possible. I can’t wait to see more of him (and I wouldn’t mind a BB-8 T-shirt, either).
The last new character I’ll talk about in some detail is Kylo Ren. I’ve seen some people in comment sections complaining about him, calling him weak and whiny and things like that. But I found him a very interesting villain. He’s no Darth Vader or anything, but that’s the point. He’s a petulant child who intimidates others with a mask and is not in control of his emotions (I loved the scenes where he took out stuff with his lightsaber, especially the one where the two stormtroopers were like “nope” and walked away). He is still drawn to the light side of the Force, even if it’s not a particularly strong pull. I’m not sure whether I want him to be redeemed later in the trilogy, but here, I found him interesting and maybe even a bit sympathetic. (And the scene in which he kills his father was really well-done, especially with how he says “thank you” after doing it and Han touches his face before falling into the pit. Great stuff.)
There are, of course, other newcomers: Snoke, General Hux, Captain Phasma, and Maz, for instance. In summary, I liked all of these characters as well even though we don’t know some of them very well yet — and at least one of them (Phasma) was definitely underused. I hope we’ll continue to get to know them better in the next film.
Let’s talk about the visuals next — effects, production design, cinematography, costumes, all that stuff. Ahem.
HOLY HOT BELGIAN WAFFLES, THIS MOVIE IS STUNNING!
I was hooked right from the opening shot. J. J. Abrams very wisely wanted to use as many practical effects and real sets and locations as possible. That’s definitely part of why The Force Awakens is simply one of the best-looking movies I have ever seen. There is still some CGI, of course, but overall it’s done quite well; the only really noticeable instances of it are in the characters of Maz and Snoke. While I do think they could have looked better, they still looked good.
Seriously, though, I cannot overstate how freaking GOOD everything looks. The costumes (both familiar and new) look great; the ships look better than they ever have; the props, the sets, the whole LOOK of the film is just outstanding. And I noticed something at the end of the credits that I’m sure helped with that: they actually shot this movie on film. Like actual, old-fashioned 35mm film. That was a brilliant decision and I think it played an important part in how gosh-darn authentic the whole thing looks.
The cinematography is also top-notch. Much of it is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in a Star Wars film, and yet it never feels like it isn’t Star Wars. It feels like Star Wars, but it also feels like a new Star Wars. It’s perfect. There are shots in here that George Lucas would never have dreamed of using, and it all flows incredibly. For a prime example, the scene in which Finn and Rey fly the Falcon for the first time and escape the TIE fighters on Jakku is downright thrilling. The cinematography is just part of that, of course, but a crucial part nonetheless. I wanted to jump out of my seat, punch the air, and scream “YEAH!” after that scene. Just amazing.
Star Wars has long been known as a textbook example of great sound design in movies, and The Force Awakens is no exception. All the old sounds you expect are here: the laser blasts, the roaring of TIE fighters, the hum and clashing of lightsabers, the bleeping and blooping of droids, and so on. But there’s also plenty of new sounds to enjoy; the rathtars stood out to me, and BB-8’s vocalizations are both reminiscent of R2-D2 and completely new at the same time.
With sound also comes the music. I was beyond ecstatic when I learned that John Williams would be returning to score the new movie. As I watched, however, not much of the music stood out to me apart from the uses of the original themes. I picked up on it more during my second viewing, but there was still not much new music that really grabbed me. And after purchasing the soundtrack and listening to it without the movie distracting me, I can confirm a slightly disappointing thing: this is definitely the weakest of the Star Wars scores to date, which is a real shame. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good music, and there are definite standouts (Rey’s Theme in particular), but it’s still simply not on the same level as the previous soundtracks, in my opinion. Maybe John Williams is simply losing his touch as he ages, or maybe J. J. Abrams specifically requested a more low-key score than usual. Whatever the case, I do think the new music is good, but I must also confess my slight disappointment with it.
But still, I can’t stop listening to Rey’s Theme. Help me.
Apparently, this shot from the trailer wasn’t actually in the final film. Weird.
How have I not talked about the acting and the writing yet? The acting, for the most part, is wonderful. The new actors and actresses won me over with ease. Daisy Ridley is perfectly endearing and mysterious as Rey. John Boyega is heroic and funny as Finn. Oscar Isaac is charming and charismatic as Poe. Adam Driver is suitably torn and troubled as Kylo Ren. I loved them all, and I can’t wait to see more of them in the next movie.
The old returning cast is good as well, though not quite to the same degree. I liked Harrison Ford the best reprising his role as Han Solo; I never once felt that he had lost touch with his character. He really felt like an older Han Solo. Carrie Fisher was fine, but nothing she did in this movie really gripped me, admittedly. And I can’t wait to see Mark Hamill doing more things in the next one, because his scene at the end was so well-done! And he didn’t even say anything! His facial expressions (and Daisy Ridley’s) were all that scene needed to be a powerful cliffhanging finale.
Huge props go to J. J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and Michael Arndt for the great screenplay. The dialogue was leagues better than in the prequels, keeping a healthy balance of serious and lighthearted. There were dark moments, and there were also hilarious moments. Heck, this might just be the funniest Star Wars film yet, and that’s a good thing. None of it felt overdone or forced (*cough* Jar Jar *cough*). It felt natural and real. And the actors had such great chemistry throughout the film! You could easily tell that they were having a blast making this movie, a plus that the prequels never really achieved. After leaving the theater, a friend of mine said that the characters in this movie had more chemistry than all of the prequels combined, and I have to agree. Awesome job, everyone.
Time to wrap this thing up.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a phenomenal, triumphant return to the galaxy far, far away. J. J. Abrams and everyone who worked on it clearly poured a lot of love into it. It’s visually stunning. It sounds awesome, even if the music isn’t quite what it should have been. The cast is brilliant, especially the new players, and their characters are compelling and a blast to watch. The story, while a little bit too obvious in its parallels to A New Hope, is well-done, easy to follow, and exciting. The film is many things at once: a passionate tribute to what has come before, an exhilarating setup to what is yet to come, and an altogether rollicking good time for fans both old and new.
In fact, it might — it just might — be my new favorite Star Wars film. I’m not quite sure yet, but at the very least it’s miles better than the prequels. I think I’m going to need a few more viewings and some time to decide for sure, but I really do think it could take the place of Empire Strikes Back in my mind.
J. J. Abrams has said that, above all, he wanted the movie to be “delightful.” Well, J. J., you’ve definitely succeeded, and then some. I’ve seen your movie twice and I still want to see it at least twice more on the big screen. Congratulations on creating the most financially successful movie of the year, as well as one of the most critically acclaimed. You and everyone who worked on this film deserve it.
Bravo. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I hope you enjoyed my review! What did you think of the movie? Comment below!
See you next time, and may the Force be with you. Always.
***This review contains spoilers. However, I will mark them — that way you can still read my thoughts without me giving anything away. How convenient!***
This movie could have been a complete and utter failure.
This movie could have taken the beloved Peanuts characters and dressed them up to fit our modern culture, complete with smartphones and the Internet. This movie could have been a poorly-written cash grab. This movie could have been filled with unfunny pop culture references and crass humor. This movie could have made Charles Schulz roll over in his grave.
This movie could have been or done all of those things at once.
But . . . to my complete and utter joy, it does absolutely none of those things. Quite the opposite, in fact.
In Blue Sky Studios’ The Peanuts Movie, Charlie Brown is still the Charlie Browniest. The gang is still the gang. Snoopy is still Snoopy. Peanuts is still Peanuts.
And that is a very, very good thing.
Seeing this movie brought me joy. Not just for the nostalgia factor, mind you. Yes, I have pretty much always been a fan of Peanuts, especially after discovering the comic strip. But The Peanuts Movie does not merely rely on nostalgia to make a quick buck from audiences. It was clearly made with great care and respect for these characters and their stories that we all know and love.
Oh, sure, it’s been given a visual upgrade. But it’s still clearly and proudly Peanuts.
Okay, if I still haven’t made it abundantly clear, I will now. I loved this movie. I had a big stupid grin on my face through just about the entire thing.
It’s wonderful.
So, to get into a bit more detail. The story, as you probably know from seeing the trailers, centers around the Little Red-Haired Girl moving into the neighborhood. Our hero, good ol’ Charlie Brown, finds himself enamored with her, and he wants to get up the nerve to talk to her and befriend her. The only problem is that he, in his own words, suffers from “a severe case of inadequacy.”
“I’m nothing and she’s something,” he tells Lucy at her famous psychiatrist booth.
“If you really want to impress her,” Lucy tells him, “you need to show her you’re a winner.”
Yes, Charlie Brown may make a lot of mistakes. He may not be very popular. He may not be very good at . . . well, anything. But he’s not a quitter, so he resolves to do just that: become a winner.
Now, I don’t want to give too much away here. But suffice it to say that while this story sounds rather simple and cliche, I think it plays out rather beautifully, and in classic Peanuts style to boot. A lot happens that ties into the main plot, and it’s all incredibly well-done. There are bits and pieces taken directly from the old strips and/or specials, sometimes as a fun little nod or reference and other times as an integral part of the story. But instead of feeling like a boring retread, it all feels fresh despite some familiar elements, which I was quite happy about.
I’ll get back to the story later. For now, though, I want to briefly address the visual style of the film. I think it’s brilliant! It’s a gorgeous translation of traditionally two-dimensional drawings on a page into three-dimensional computer animation. It’s almost paradoxical. It’s 3D, but it feels 2D, which is helped along by the little hand-drawn details sprinkled throughout the film (sound effects written out on screen, thought bubbles that look like the black-and-white comic strips, etc.). The framerate is also lower than usual, which (not unlike The LEGO Movie) gives the film a more handcrafted feel than your typical CG-animated movie. Huge kudos to Blue Sky Studios for pulling off the look of the film! It’s colorful, vibrant, and whimsical, and I personally feel that it couldn’t have looked better.
“You touched my hand, Chuck! You sly dog.”
Oh, and the characters. The characters! THE CHARACTERS! All your favorites are here. Charlie Brown. Snoopy. Woodstock. Linus. Lucy. Sally. Schroeder. Pigpen. Franklin. Violet. Patty. Peppermint Patty. Marcie. And, of course, the Little Red-Haired Girl (whose name we still don’t know, true to the comics). And I’m sure I’m forgetting some, but these are the ones that get the most screentime — and, of course, some of the ones I’ve listed get more screentime than others. But that’s perfectly okay, because this movie absolutely nails each and every one of them.
That’s really all I have to say about them, actually. You know them, and the movie gets them absolutely right! And the kids voicing them are pitch-perfect! In fact, though it might seem like sacrilege to say it, I would say that they’ve never sounded better. And I love the fact that pretty much all of the kids voicing them are basically unknown (or were before this movie came out). Huge props to the casting department with finding these kids. They were excellent — all of them!
Just because the characters are the same, however, doesn’t mean they’re dull and predictable by any means. They’re the same, but we do still get some surprises here and there. There’s a pairing I don’t recall ever being in the comics or the specials, for one thing. But I thought it worked well (and it wasn’t central to the plot anyway).
I think the biggest surprise we get, though, is that Charlie Brown is noticeably less downtrodden here than he is in the comics. While he’s definitely still down on himself in the movie and seems to fail at everything, he’s also more hopeful here than I’ve ever seen him. Purists may nitpick at this, but I didn’t mind it at all. I’m a huge fan of the comics, and even I have to admit that I think they could have benefited from just a tad more optimism. (And I do hope I don’t anger any diehard fans by saying that.)
***SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SKIP AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE!!!***
And back to the story for a moment, this also ties into the one big difference from the comics that occurs in the movie. In the comics, Charlie Brown never ended up talking to the Little Red-Haired Girl. But here, he actually does, which genuinely surprised me — in a good way. Again, purists may argue that this shouldn’t have been done, but I’m actually perfectly okay with it. Yes, Charlie Brown finally does succeed at something, and it’s also nice that he succeeds in a way that’s different from how he was hoping. Instead of succeeding by changing who he is to become a winner, he proves to the Little Red-Haired Girl, and everyone else, that he is a good person despite his imperfections (and despite his own doubts). And I think that’s a beautiful message. Also, come on, give the kid a break! He can succeed just this once, right?
***END OF SPOILERS. YOU CAN KEEP READING NOW. SO YAY!!!***
Oh, yeah! In addition to the main plot, we also get this subplot about Snoopy imagining he’s fighting against — you guessed it — the Red Baron. It’s a fun diversion from the main plot, but if there’s anything about this movie I can actually complain about, it’s that I felt that switching back and forth between these two storylines kind of hurt the movie’s pacing a little. I’d get really invested in Charlie Brown’s endeavors, and then suddenly we’d be back with Snoopy versus the Baron again. These parts of the movie aren’t bad by any means, but I do wish they were cut down just a little more. For what they are, though, they are quite fun — and anyway, who doesn’t love Snoopy dressed as the World War I flying ace?
Sound-wise, this movie really shines. The cast of kids are wonderful, as I’ve already said. The adults still talk with the “wah-wah” of a muted trumpet, which is still hilarious. And, to my eternal delight, a small handful of the classic Vince Guaraldi themes pop up here and there, “Linus and Lucy” being most prominent among them, of course. The score besides that, by Christophe Beck, works well.
This movie does, however, have a couple of pop songs in it. It appears I was misinformed about the director saying there wouldn’t be any in it. Unless he was lying. Meh, I was probably just misinformed. But in any case, one is by Meghan Trainor and the other by Flo Rida. Thankfully, though, these songs were written for a G-rated movie, so they aren’t problematic lyrically, and they actually don’t play in their entirety during the movie. They’re also more gentle-sounding, I guess you could say, than your typical pop tune of these days. So, while I do think the film could have done without them, I don’t think they hurt the film either. *deep sigh of relief*
I think I’ve covered everything I wanted to. So, with that, let’s wrap this thing up!
The Peanuts Movie is a triumph. It’s an absolute delight from start to finish, sure to keep both kids and adults captivated (for different reasons, of course). It freshens up the look of the world and characters while still maintaining their integrity. It looks, feels, and sounds like Peanuts. It IS Peanuts. It’s hilarious, heartwarming, and made with great care and respect. It’s good, clean fun that anyone can enjoy, and I think it’s safe to say that Charles Schulz would be proud.
Good grief, Blue Sky Studios. You did it. And this reviewer couldn’t be happier.
Four stars and two thumbs way up!
SO GO SEE IT IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, BY GOLLY!!!
Also . . . the world needs more good G-rated movies like this one.
I hope you enjoyed my review! If you saw the movie, tell me your thoughts in the comments!
Oh, the Humanity! 