Kate Linnea Welsh: animated

Now, let me start by saying that new animated movie The Grinch does not need to exist. The book is great! The 1966 animated TV special is great! (We don't accept the Jim Carrey movie as a real thing.) There was no hole this was filling. We don't need to remake things over and over if there's no particular new point of view. (There's some backstory here, but it doesn't at all change the impression of the story you have from the earlier versions.) This movie certainly isn't necessary, and it's fairly redundant.

But all that said . . . I saw it and it was pretty good! It's a very cute Christmas movie with a few different nice messages and if you're looking for something to see with your family you could certainly do much worse! The voice cast is solid, though I remain confused about Benedict Cumberbatch's choices, and the animation is also . . . solid, though I thought the Whoville stuff was REALLY GOOD. It looked like a Department 56 village come to life and I would have happily watched a whole movie about life there that did not have the Grinch in it at all, honestly. I would also read a sociological article about this culture. (Also, the Whos are no longer all white and that is great.) The writing was better than I expected for faux-Seuss. The whole thing was better than I expected! Hey, for 2018, that's pretty good.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Afternoon Tea (11/21/18)

I love this: #MeToo Has Debunked the ‘Lean In’ Philosophy

12 Authors On The Books That Best Represent America

Food, Adoption, And The Language of Love

As usual, Todd VanDerWerff's pieces are smart and interesting: Why do so many animated films have great stories? One secret: storyboarding.

No Nut November: the insidious internet challenge encouraging men not to masturbate

Friday, March 16, 2018

Morning Coffee (3/16/18)

Time for Friday happy links!

ICYMI, yesterday I wrote about why I liked A Wrinkle in Time so much!

Aaaah, great news from my friend Steph! Netflix is making a movie of her YA horror novel There's Someone Inside Your House. (I generally avoid horror but I really loved this one.)

Hahaha: National Trust apologises to Cornish after appearing to endorse putting cream on scones first

7 Books to Read After Seeing Black Panther

Aw, look at today's George Peabody Google doodle!

Ooh, pretty: These L’Occitane Easter Eggs Are Even Better Than Chocolate Eggs

The Amy Poehler/Nick Offerman crafting show is premiering ON MY BIRTHDAY. That's very thoughtful of them.

Perfect: If Jane Austen Got Feedback From Some Guy In A Writing Workshop

I'm not particularly into animated series but this is quite the voice cast.

The Solo movie is doing some kind of promotion with Solo cups and that's HILARIOUS.

Mae Whitman Is Ready for Taylor Kitsch to Play Her Boyfriend Now I mean, who isn't?

Friday, February 23, 2018

Oscar Project 2018: The Breadwinner

Movie: The Breadwinner

This animated feature (based on a children's book) is the story of a young girl in Afghanistan who pretends to be a boy in order to help support her family after her father is arrested by the Taliban. It's a lovely film, both heartbreaking and life-affirming. It does a very good job of illustrating life under the Taliban in a way that's appropriate for children but doesn't sugarcoat things.

Availability: In a few theaters, and available for digital purchase.

Nominated In:
Animated Feature Film: Yes - it's a beautiful rendition of a moving, important story.

Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Oscar Project 2018: Loving Vincent

Movie: Loving Vincent

This is a sort of animated documentary about the son of Van Gogh's friend who tries to deliver a letter from Van Gogh to his brother after both of them have died and then gets pulled into trying to figure out what happened in the last few weeks of the artist's life. (The accuracy of his conclusions is pretty debatable, but that's not really the point.) I was pretty skeptical of a documentary done in animation mimicking Van Gogh's style, but it was gorgeous and I was completely drawn in. The great voice cast didn't hurt, either. This is a charming meditation on life and love and art and death and the limits of our understanding of other people.

Availability: Available to rent or buy.

Nominated In:
Animated Feature Film: Yep! This was gorgeous and inventive.

Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.

Friday, February 16, 2018

Oscar Project 2018: Revolting Rhymes: Part I

Movie: Revolting Rhymes: Part I

This is a fun fairy tale remix based on a book by Roald Dahl and featuring a great voice cast including Dominic West and Tamsin Greig. It's clever and funny, and nicely balances being relatively kid-friendly with references and jokes clearly aimed at the adults in the audience.

Availability: Find out how to see the shorts here. You can also buy this one.

Nominated In:
Short Film (Animated): Sure. This was entertaining and well-executed.

Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Oscar Project 2018: LOU

Movie: LOU

This Pixar short is about a sort of monster-spirit of a school lost and found box who teaches a bully how to be better. It's very cute and fun to watch and has a nice, if somewhat simplistic, lesson. It's definitely more kid-friendly than the previous three nominees I've written about in this category. It's not groundbreaking, but it's solid.

Availability: Find out how to see the shorts here. This one is also available from Amazon.

Nominated In:
Short Film (Animated): Sure! This was fun and well-executed.

Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Oscar Project 2018: Garden Party

Movie: Garden Party

This is about amphibians exploring a deserted very fancy house and eventually uncovering the reason for the desertion. Honestly, I didn't really LIKE it much, but I definitely ADMIRE it - the art is just a MARVEL here.

Availability: Find out how to see the shorts here.

Nominated In:
Short Film (Animated): Uh... yes. As I said, it wasn't really to my personal taste, but it was EXTREMELY well done.

Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Oscar Project 2018: Negative Space

Movie: Negative Space

This uses beautiful, inventive stop-motion animation to tell a simple story that's both funny and moving. In order words, it's EXACTLY what I want from an animated short. Definitely my favorite this year. (I'm not telling you much because I think it's best experienced as a delightful surprise.)

Availability: Find out how to see the shorts here.

Nominated In:
Short Film (Animated): YES YES YES.

Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.

Monday, February 12, 2018

Oscar Project 2018: Dear Basketball

Movie: Dear Basketball

The entire content here: "I'm Kobe Bryant and I'm the best at basketball and basketball is great." Seriously. That's it. It just feels like an ad for... himself, I guess? It's not trying to be inspirational; it's literally just his personal feelings about being naturally great at something he loves. (Hilariously, he spells this out by insisting in the narrative itself that it isn't about following your dreams or working toward goals. Be careful, kids, wouldn't want to find this accidentally motivational rather than understanding that it's about how exceptional one person is!) It would be a fine ad for Watch Kobe's Final Season On ESPN or whatever, but as a film it's very tonally odd.

Aside from the content: the art style is one I personally don't love, but it's perfectly proficient at what it's trying to do.

Availability: Find out how to see the shorts here. You can also stream this one on Go90 here.

Nominated In:
Short Film (Animated): Nah. This didn't have anything interesting to say, and the art wasn't good enough to make up for that.

Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Oscar Project 2018: Coco

Movie: Coco

Aw, I LOVED this one - it had completely breathtaking artwork, funny, clever writing, a good story with some fun twists, memorable characters, and a nice message. It's the story of a Mexican boy who loves music even though his family forbids it; on the Day of the Dead he accidentally travels to the afterlife and learns a lot about his family and himself and what matters as he has various adventures trying to get back home. Just a joy to watch.

Availability: It's back/still in theaters and ALSO releasing digitally on Tuesday.

Nominated In:
Animated Feature Film: Yes yes yes. It was a high-quality all-around delight.

Music (Original Song): Honestly, I loved the music theme here in general, but . . . this specific song didn't really do it for me.

Catch up on all my Oscar Project posts.