Tag: animation

Review: ‘Pets on a Train,’ starring the voices of Wyatt Bowen, Angela Galuppo, Tristan D. Lalla, Chimwemwe Miller, Mark Camacho, Terrence Scammell and Richard M. Dumont

October 25, 2025

by Carla Hay

A scene from “Pets on a Train.” Pictured in back, from left to right: Candy and Victor (voiced by Terrence Scammell). Pictured in front: Maggie (voiced by Angela Galuppo), Rex (voiced by Tristan D. Lalla), Randy (voiced by Daniel Brochu) and Falcon (voiced by Wyatt Bowen). (Image courtesy of Viva Pictures)

“Pets on a Train”

Directed by Benoît Daffis and Jean-Christian Tassy

Available in the original French version or in a dubbed English-language version.

Culture Representation: The French animated film “Pets on a Train” which takes place in the U.S. city of Bay City, features talking animals and human characters.

Culture Clash: A stray raccoon, who’s a petty thief, finds himself on a hijacked train where the only passengers are cargoed pets, and the train is on a collision course.

Culture Audience: “Pets on a Train” will appeal primarily to people who are interested watching formulaic but enjoyable animated adventure films about talking animals.

Hans (voiced by Chimwemwe Miller) in “Pets on a Train” (Image courtesy of Viva Pictures)

“Pets on a Train” is a lightweight and predictable animated film about cargoed pets on a runaway train. The movie has engaging visuals and a cute story, with some biting satire of attention-seeking people who exploit animals and kids for audience growth. The film’s biggest flaw (too many unnecessary supporting characters) won’t prevent people from understanding the movie’s plot.

Directed by Benoît Daffis and Jean-Christian Tassy, “Pets on a Train” was written by David Alaux, Eric Tosti and Jean-François Tosti. “Pets on a Train” is originally from France, where the film was released under the title “Falcon Express.” The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The story takes place in the U.S. city of Bay City. The animals only talk in human languages when humans aren’t around to see them talk in human languages.

The main protagonist of “Pets on a Train” is a raccoon nicknamed Falcon (voiced by Wyatt Bowen), whose real name is Maurice. It’s explained in the movie that he got the nickname Falcon because he has always dreamed of being able to fly like a falcon. Falcon was orphaned as a child and was raised by a male pigeon named Rico (voiced by Mark Camacho), which is why Falcon has had a fascination with flying. Falcon sometimes lies by saying he was raised by a falcon.

Falcon is a petty thief who steals food that he shares with other stray animals who live on the streets of Bay City. Falcon isn’t greedy and only steals to survive and to help others survive. He is very resourceful when he comes up against any obstacles. An early scene in the movie shows that when a meddling dog tries to interfere with Falcon stealing some food, Falcon ties the dog’s leash to a moving vehicle that drives away.

Rico is Falcon’s closest confidant, but Falcon is also a pal to three unnamed male mice (voiced by Charlie Patel, Adam Reiser and Anthony Ritossa) who live at a boxing gym. Falcon calls these three mice his “uncles.” These three mice characters are mild comic relief in the movie but aren’t essential to the plot. The mice often act like a Greek chorus to the story and are featured in the movie’s end-credits scene.

Falcon brags to his fellow street animals that they’re going to celebrate Christmas this year with a very special meal. Unbeknownst to most of these animals, Falcon has a plan to rob a train’s pantry/kitchen that is preparing a big Christmas feast for passengers. Falcon has teamed up with an experienced criminal badger named Hans (voiced by Chimwemwe Miller) to pull off this heist, which is called Operation Christmas Feast. Rico knows about this heist and advises Falcon to let Hans do the heist on his own. Falcon doesn’t heed this advice.

The plan is for Falcon to stow away on a train going from Bay City to Toro City, and get access to the train’s computerized control system, so that Hans (working remotely on the island where he lives) can hack into the system and control the train’s computer-based security measures. Falcon will then be able to steal the food and share some of the stash with his street friends and Hans. Falcon doesn’t find out until it’s too late that Hans has a completely different agenda.

When everyone is aboard the train, Falcon does his part to let Hans access the train’s computer system. Before the train is about the begin its journey, Hans surprises Falcon by hacking into the train’s public-address system. Hans pretends to be a train official and makes a false announcement by saying that there’s an unexpected emergency. Hans orders all the people to disembark from the train.

Hans also lies by saying that the delay will be short, and people will be able to get back on the train. All of the pet animal passengers are still in the train’s cargo area. Hans has a reason for why he wants humans off of the train: Hans wants to kill one of the pets on the train, by making the train go on a collision course. Falcon is stuck on the train with these seemingly doomed pets, who are all locked in cages.

These are the pets on the train:

  • Maggie (voiced by Angela Galuppo), a smart and adorable Bengal cat.
  • Rex (voiced by Tristan D. Lalla), a tough and observant German Shepherd police dog.
  • Victor (voiced by Terrence Scammell), a snobby and prissy Weimaraner dog.
  • Janis (voiced by Eleanor Noble) and Jimi (voiced by Bruce Dinsmore), a hippie mouse couple who are expecting their first litter. (The couple’s names are obvious nods to Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.) Janis is very pregnant and could give birth at any moment.
  • Anna (voiced by Noble), a green anaconda, whose owner is famous rapper.
  • Judy (voiced by Elizabeth Neale), a confident parrot.
  • Coco (voiced by Julian Stamboulieh), a nervous parrot.
  • Randy (voiced by Daniel “Danny” Brochu), a talkative Chihuahua dog.
  • Candy, an introspective Russian Blue cat.
  • Momo (voiced by Richard M. Dumont), and orange clownfish.
  • Leo (voiced by Bowen), an easygoing turtle.

There’s also a duck (voiced by Scammell) that has no name. About half of these animals are underdeveloped characters and didn’t need to be in the movie. On this runaway train, Falcon, Maggie (whose name is spelled Maguy in the French-language version of the movie), Rex, Anna and Victor get the most dialogue and/or action. Judy and Coco develop an attraction to each other, which is a sweet but inconsequential to the movie’s plot.

The reason for all this mayhem is because Hans wants to kill Rex, as revenge for Rex being part of the police squad that busted Hans during a theft. As a result of this crime bust, Hans was locked up in an animal pound for five years. Ironically, Rex has caught so many criminals, he doesn’t remember Hans. It really bothers Hans that Rex doesn’t remember him because Hans knows his revenge will cut deeper if Rex knows who Hans is.

Falcon is the only animal on the train who isn’t locked in a cage when the train (controlled by Hans) starts going on the collision course. Falcon is able to find a way to unlock the cages, so he and the rest of the animals on the train can try to escape without getting killed. It’s inevitable that Hans will stop working remotely and go in person to the train when he sees that the pets on the train are trying to prevent the collision.

Meanwhile, the humans in the story are also caught up in what’s going to happen to this runaway train. Maggie’s owner Lisa (voiced by Noble), a girl who’s about 10 or 11 years old, was on the train as an unaccompanied minor, and she was evacuated along with the rest of the human passengers. Lisa is frantic and distraught about Maggie being stuck on this runaway train.

Lisa’s story catches the interest of two Bay City TV news anchors: Cynthia (voiced by Neale) and Michael (voiced by Bowen), who want to use Lisa’s anguish over Maggie as a way to boost ratings for the anchors’ TV news show. The news station has a camera operator named Johnson (played by Patrick Abellard) and a helicopter pilot, also named Johnson (voiced by Annakin Slayd), who also get involved in the news coverage. Randy and Candy have separate owners who use Randy and Candy to make money on social media.

The “Pets on a Train” voice performances are sufficient, but the movie’s best assets are the action scenes and how entertaining the characters are written—especially those that have memorable personalities, such not Falcon, Maggie, Rex, Hans and Cynthia. “Pets on a Train” doesn’t pretend to have a groundbreaking or highly original concept. The movie gets the job done well enough for its main target audience of children under the age of 10. People who are older than age 10 can also enjoy the film. “Pets on a Train” has enough high-octane energy, comedic moments and suspenseful thrills to hold viewers’ attention, even though it’s very easy to know how this movie is going to end.

Viva Pictures released “Pets on a Train” in U.S. cinemas on October 17, 2025. The movie was released in France on July 2, 2025.

Review: ‘Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc,’ a thrilling continuation of the superhero ‘Chainsaw Man’ TV series based on the manga series

October 24, 2025

by Carla Hay

Chainsaw Man in “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” (Photo courtesy of MAPPA/Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures Releasing)

“Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc”

Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara

Available in the original Japanese version (with English subtitles) or in a dubbed English-language version.

Culture Representation: The Japanese animated film “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc,” which takes place in Tokyo, tells the story of teenage boy (who transforms into a devilish human superhero with chainsaws as body appendages) and his various battles against demons and other villains.

Culture Clash: Denji (also known as Chainsaw Man) falls hard for a recent girlfriend, who is not all she appears to be.

Culture Audience: “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the anime series and manga series on which the movie is based, as well as anime films about complicated superheroes.

Denji in “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” (Photo courtesy of MAPPA/Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures Releasing)

“Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is a thrilling continuation of the superhero “Chainsaw Man” anime series. The movie has spectacular action sequences, good comedic touches and heartfelt drama. However, people unfamiliar with the series might feel lost. The 2020 “Chainsaw Man” anime series (which had 12 episodes) was based on the “Chainsaw Man” manga series written by Tatsuki Fujimoto

Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara and written by Hiroshi Seko, “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” takes place in Tokyo. The “Chainsaw Man” world is an alternate sci-fi/fantasy world where the main antagonists are devils that can take the form of other living beings. The devils have names like Chainsaw Devil, Gun Devil, Bat Devil, Zombie Devil, Ghost Devil, Typhoon Devil, Hell Devil, Justice Devil, Chicken Devil, Fire Devil, Eternity Devil, Darkness Devil, Aging Devil and Falling Devil. Chainsaw Devil is the most fearsome devil, who appeared in the form of a dog named Pochita, owned by teenage boy named Denji. When Denji was nearly killed by yakuza gangsters because of unpaid debt that Denji inherited from Denji’s deceased parents, Denji merged with Pochita/Chainsaw Devil to become Chainsaw Man.

Denji/Chainsaw Man is a member of the Public Safety Organization, a large government agency in Japan that has Public Safety Devil Hunters to protect Japan. The Public Safety Organization has special divisions, with Tokyo Special Division 4 being an “experimental division.” Denji has had a crush on Makima, the leader of the Public Safety Organization. Makima flirts with Denji, but she and Denji have not officially become boyfriend and girlfriend.

Also in this world are Fiends, who are Devils that have possessed human corpses as a way for dying Devils to survive. An ally of Denji is Power, a Public Safety Organization member who started off as a self-absorbed Blood Fiend and has since become kinder and generous to her friends. Power is Denji’s most consistent partners when they battle Devils. Aki Hayakawa is a Tokyo Special Divison 4 member who has been a frenemy to Denji. Aki has a vendetta agains Gun Devil for killing Aki’s family.

“Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” tells a story that combines whas was in the fifth and sixth volumes of the “Chainsaw Man” manga series but was not covered in the “Chainsaw Man” TV series. In the beginning of the movie, Makima assigns a new partner to Denji/Chainsaw Man because Power is temporarily away to get her blood changed. Denji’s new partner is Beam, a Shark Fiend, who is hyperactive, loyal and has the energy of a curious puppy.

Makima and Denji go to a movie marathon as on a platonic date. While watching an emotionally touching scene in a movie about a couple saying goodbye to each other, Makima and Denji both start to cry at this scene. After the movie, Denji asks Makima if she thinks he still has a heart, even though he is no longer fully human. Makima rests her head on Denji’s chest and says yes.

Denji’s complicated feelings about Makima get stirred up again, but soon he will meet a new love interest. During a rainstorm, he seeks shelter in a phone booth on a street. A teenager named Reze, who’s about the same age as Denji is nearby. He spontaneously gives her a small daisy as a gift. Reze is flattered by this gift and introduces herself and invites Denji to visit her anytime at the cafe where she works.

Within minutes, Denji is at the cafe. He is immediately smitten by Reze, who seems to be very attracted to him too. They hang out some more and go on romantic dates together. That’s about all that can be described about “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” without giving away too much information about the plot. People who know what’s in the entire “Chainsaw Man” manga series will already know what happens between Denji and Reze, but that information won’t be revealed in this movie review.

The voices of the “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” characters are portrayed by different actors, depending on the version of “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.” The original Japanese version (with English subtitles) has Kikunosuke Toya as Denji, Reina Ueda as Reze, Fairouz Ai as Power, Tomori Kusunoki as Makima, and Shogo Sakata as Aki, Shiori Izawa as Pochita, and Natsuki Hanae as Beam. There’s also a U.S. version, with the dialogue dubbed in English, that has Ryan Colt Levy as Denji, Alexis Tipton as Reze, Sarah Wiedenheft as Power, Suzie Yeung as Makima, Reagan Murdock as Aki, Lindsay Seidel as Pochita, and Derick Snow as Beam.

“Chainsaw Man” has a way of blending Denji’s teenage angst with the bravado of his Chainsaw Man persona, which is why the “Chainsaw Man” franchise is very popular. Denji has some quirks that might be a little off-putting to some viewers (for example, he’s fixated on asking women he’s attracted to if he can consensually fondle their breasts), but there are no sex scenes in this movie, which is suitable for anyone who can tolerate seeing violent action scenes. The end-credits scene (which is interesting but not essential) is an example of how the movie mixes comedy with drama. The action scenes are the best parts of “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc,” which is an immersive and entertaining experience for viewers who already know the backstories of the main characters.

Sony Pictures Releasing released “Chainsaw Man” in select cinemas on October 24, 2025. The movie was released in Japan on September 19, 2025.

Review: ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie,’ starring Laila Lockhat Kraner, Kristen Wiig, Gloria Estefan and the voices of Jason Mantzoukas, Fortune Feimster, Logan Bailey and Tara Strong

September 24, 2025

by Carla Hay

Laila Lockhart Kraner in “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” (Photo by Leah Gallo/DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)

“Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie”

Directed by Ryan Crego

Culture Representation: Taking place in the fictional U.S. city of Cat Francisco and briefly in Illinois, the live-action/animated film “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” (based on the “Gabby’s Dollhouse” TV series) features a cast of characters who are humans (Latin, Asian and white) and talking animals.

Culture Clash: A teenager, who’s a cat enthusiast and owns a magical dollhouse occupied by cat dolls, goes on a road trip from Illinois to Cat Francisco, where she encounters a greedy cat litter mogul, who has stolen the dollhouse.  

Culture Audience: “Gabby’s Dollhouse” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the TV series of the same name, the movie’s headliners, and fluffy and silly live-action/animated adventures aimed at children under the age of 10.

Jonesy the Cat and Kristen Wiig in “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” (Photo by Leah Gallo/DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)

“Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” is like rotten and tangled cotton candy. This sloppy movie spinoff of the Netflix TV series tries to look vibrant and appealing, but it’s an incoherent mess with terrible acting and a cluttered plot about a lost dollhouse. Although “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” is obviously aimed at children under the age of 10, viewers of any age deserve better than what is essentially garbage “junk food” cinema that will leave a proverbial bad taste in a lot of viewers’ mouths.

Directed by Ryan Crego, “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” was written by Mike Lew, Rehana Lew Mirza, Adam Wilson and Melanie Wilson. The movie, just like the TV series, switches back and forth between live-action and animation. These transitions aren’t always done smoothly and might be a little disconcerting to people who aren’t familiar with the “Gabby’s Dollhouse” series, which began in 2021, and is from the production studio DreamWorks Animation. “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” is DreamWorks Animation’s first theatrically released live-action/animated hybrid movie.

In the “Gabby’s Dollhouse” TV series and in “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie,” the stories are centered on an American teenager named Gabby (played by Laila Lockhart Kraner), who has a dollhouse filled with miniature cat toys called the Gabby Cats. Pandy Paws (voiced by Logan Bailey) is Gabby’s goofy “best friend” out of all the Gabby Cats. The movie does an inadequate job of introducing the Gabby Cat characters to viewers who are unfamiliar with the TV series.

The other Gabby Cats in the movie that are also in the TV series are CatRat (voiced by Donovan Patton), a flamboyant, sometimes troublemaking character who can move through portals; Kitty Fairy (voiced by Tara Strong), a cat with wings and a gentle personality; Cakey Cat (voiced by Juliet Donenfeld), a cupcake-shaped cat who is sweet-natured; Daniel James “DJ” Catnip (voiced by Eduardo Franco), who is musically talented; Pillow Cat (voiced by Sainty Nelsen), who likes bedtime stories; Carlita (voiced by Carla Tessar), a feisty combination of a car and a cat; and cat-shaped pencil toppers Hopper, Chopper, Bopper and Marley, who do not speak but make noises.

Gabby has a magical headband for cat ears that can shrink her to the size of the Gabby Cats when she chants “A pinch on my left. Pinch pinch on my right. Grab Pandy’s hand and hold on tight.” The cat ears headband also gives other magical abilities to Gabby. Whenever Gabby is shrunk to the size of the Gabby Cats, the movie switches from live-action to animated.

In “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” Gabby (who’s about 13 or 14 years old) goes on a road trip from Illinois with her beloved Grandma Gigi (played by Gloria Estefan), to visit Gigi for a week in Gigi’s home city of Cat Francisco. (It’s really San Francisco with another name.) Gigi (who’s in the movie for less than 15 minutes) also loves cats and has a 1970s-styled Volkswagen van (with an 8-track cassette player) that has cat decorations on the front, including cat ears on the roof. Gabby takes her dollhouse with her by hitching it to the back of the van.

As soon as Gabby arrives at Gigi’s house, the dollhouse accidentally gets loose from its hitch on the van. Gabby spends much of the movie looking for the dollhouse. The dollhouse rolls away and ends up in the possession of a retailer, who sells it to a conceited business mogul named Vera the Cat Lady (played by Kristen Wiig), who offers a bigger payment than the intended buyer.

The intended buyer is a woman who wanted to purchase the dollhouse for her daughter, whose name is listed in the movie’s end credits as Kitty Ranger #1 (played by Kate Whiddington), who gets very angry that this dollhouse was “stolen” from her. There’s a clumsy subplot about Kitty Ranger #1 enlisting her two friends Kitty Ranger #2 (played by Sophia Biling) and Kitty Ranger #3 (played by Lauren Chan) to track down Vera and get the dollhouse back.

Vera is written and portrayed as the most negative stereotype of an unmarried “cat lady” who lives alone: She’s depicted as mentally unwell and mean-spirited. Vera’s cat sidekick is Marlene Purrkins (played by Jonesy the Cat), who doesn’t speak in a human voice. But if this cat did, the cat would probably say, “Get me out of this horrible movie!”

It’s explained in the movie that Vera made a fortune for inventing Pretty Glitter Kitty Litter, which looks exactly like the name suggests. Bizarrely., Vera uses Pretty Glitter Kitty Litter on herself as if it’s perfume—and she thinks other people should too. Vera is an obsessive collector of cat-themed memorabilia. As far as Vera is concerned, the dollhouse that he bought is collectible art that she sees only for monetary value.

Someone who befriends the Gabby Cats is a cat toy named Chumsley (voiced by Jason Mantzoukas), whose sarcastic personality masks his emotional pain of being abandoned by Vera years ago when Vera became a teenager (played by Cassidy Nugent) and outgrew playing with toys. During the hunt and battle over possession of Gabby’s dollhouse, the movie constantly brings up the theme of people usually outgrowing their interest in playing with toys. (This theme of outgrowing childhood toys is very reminiscent of the Oscar-winning 2010 animated sequel “Toy Story 3.”)

The movie doesn’t condemn adulthood but repeatedly says when people mature out of childhood, they usually lose a sense of childlike wonder. A scene beginning of the movie shows Gabby being worried that she might lose interest in her dollhouse and Gabby Cats when she becomes an adult. A flashback scene shows a tween Gabby at about 6 or 7 years old (played by Tina Ukwu) getting the dollhouse as a gift from Gigi, who is a dollhouse designer. A teenage Gabby is now inspired to be dollhouse designer, just like Gigi.

“Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” swirls with a lot of brightly hued action scenes and explosions of pink of almost every shade. These visuals cannot compensate for a flimsy story. Mildly amusing gags go on for a bit too long and become tiresome, such as a sequence where Vera tries to compete with her cat Marlene on who can do the most difficult yoga poses. Wiig’s performance is intentionally hammy, but it’s still hard to watch her waste her comedic talents in this dreck.

The movie goes off on a tangent with wooden Kitty Gnome statues in Vera’s backyard. The Kitty Gnomes (voiced Thomas Lennon, Ego Nwodim, Kyle Mooney and Melissa Villaseñor) believe that Kitty Fairy is their queen. And so, there’s a part of the movie where the Kitty Gnomes insist on giving an offering as a gift of loyalty to Kitty Fairy.

One of the many problems with “Gabby’s Dollhouse” is that only a small fraction of the characters in this overstuffed movie truly stand out from the rest. Gabby, Vera, Gigi, Chumley and even wordless cat Marlene are the most memorable characters, while all the other characters in the movie just sort of flit around and jabber a bunch of witless dialogue. Fortune Feimster has a supporting voice role as Refrigerator, an appliance in Gabby’s dollhouse. Hardly anyone who watches this movie will remember anything that Refrigerator said.

“Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie,” which also has forgettable songs written for the film, overloads on cutesy imagery but still has a weird penchant for trying to shoehorn in tacky “fart and poop” jokes, as if it’s trying to appeal to older kids and adults who want “edgy” comedy. For example, there’s a scene where Cakey Cat tries to fart sprinkles out of her cupcake body, but she can’t. “I’ve never felt so empty inside,” Cakey Cat says. It’s a feeling that many viewers will have about the boring and shallow characters in “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie,” which is just unfunny and unimaginative cartoon chaos.

Universal Pictures will release “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” in U.S. cinemas on September 26, 2025.

Review: ‘The Bad Guys 2,’ starring the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne, Maria Bakalova and Zazie Beetz

July 30, 2025

by Carla Hay

Snake (voiced by Marc Maron), Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), Tarantula (voiced by Awkwafina), Piranha (voiced by Anthony Ramos) and Shark (voiced by Craig Robinson) in “The Bad Guys 2” (Image courtesy of DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)

“The Bad Guys 2”

Directed by Pierre Perifel; co-directed by JP Sans

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Los Angeles area and in outer space, the animated film “The Bad Guys 2” (based on the book series of the same name) features a cast of characters who are talking animals and humans.

Culture Clash: The Bad Guys, a group of five animals who are reformed criminals, are forced back into committing crimes by a trio called the Bad Girls, who want to steal a rocket ship for reasons that are revealed in the movie.  

Culture Audience: “The Bad Guys 2” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of “The Bad Guys” franchise and animated adventures where talking animals are the main characters.

Pigtail (voiced by Maria Bakalova), Kitty Kat (voiced by Danielle Brooks) and Doom (voiced by Natasha Lyonne) in “The Bad Guys 2” (Image courtesy of DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)

In trying to outdo its predecessor movie, “The Bad Guys 2” almost falls into a sequel trap of overstuffing the plot. Despite some distractions, this animated film still presents an engaging adventure story in a crime caper comedy about anti-hero animals. The action scenes are more elaborate but they’re also more cluttered, compared to 2022’s “The Bad Guys” movie.

Directed by Pierre Perifel and co-directed by JP Sans, “The Bad Guys 2” was written by Yoni Brenner and Etan Cohen. “The Bad Guys” movies are based on Aaron Blabey’s book series of the same name. The first “Bad Guys” movie was directed by Perifel and written by Cohen. Damon Ross is a producer of both movies.

In the “Bad Guys 2” production notes, Ross comments: “The first movie was our love letter to heist films like ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ with a touch of Quentin Tarantino. For the sequel, we wanted to go bigger and explore other genres. We looked to ‘Mission: Impossible’ and James Bond for inspiration—bigger action, bigger spectacle and much higher stakes.”

The titular main characters in “The Bad Guys” movies are five talking animals:

  • Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell), the group’s leader, has a cool and charming personality. He prides himself on being able to talk himself out of almost any tricky situation.
  • Ms. Tarantula (voiced by Awkwafina) is an expert hacker and the most logical member of the group. She is usually calm and level-headed under pressure.
  • Mr. Snake (voiced by Marc Maron) is a pessimistic safecracker who is Wolf’s best friend. Snake’s prickly personality is softened when he gets an unexpected love interest in the story.
  • Mr. Shark (voiced by Craig Robinson) is a master of disguise and is the one most likely in the group to be in a good mood and entertain the others. Shark also has a soft spot for children.
  • Mr. Piranha (voiced by Anthony Ramos) is hot-tempered and unpredictable. This “loose cannon” also tends to fart when he gets nervous, which is a personal trait that is used more than once as comedy in the movie.

“The Bad Guys 2” explains how “The Bad Guys” ended: The five members of the Bad Guys became reformed criminals and decided to start over as law-abiding citizens. The beginning of “The Bad Guys 2” shows that this intention is easier said than done.

Because of their criminal records, the Bad Guys have a hard time getting hired for legitimate jobs or applying for apartment rentals. For example, Wolf mistakenly applies to work at a bank that he forgot that he robbed three times. The Bad Guys all live together in a space where they are about to be evicted for non-payment of rent.

In “The Bad Guys,” Wolf became friendly with a fox named Diane Foxington (voiced by Zazie Beetz), who is now the governor of California. In an early scene in the movie, Wolf and Diane are doing some boxing training at a local gym. He tells her about the Bad Guys’ unemployment and financial woes in trying to have law-abiding lives.

Wolf and Diane mildly flirt with each other, which hints that they have a mutual attraction. However, in this moment, Diane wants to keep things between them strictly platonic. And during this boxing session, Diane easily defeats Wolf. Diane has a secret past as a master thief called Crimson Paw. This past comes back to haunt her in “The Bad Guys 2.”

Meanwhile, a mysterious criminal that the media and the public have called the Phantom Bandit has been committing a slew of robberies in the area. The Phantom Bandit hacks into computer systems to gain access to the places that are robbed. Everything that the Phantom Bandit has stolen is made of a rare metal called MacGuffinite.

The Belt of Guatelemango, which is the grand prize in a Lucha Libre wrestling match, is the most famous MacGuffnite item. The Bad Guys are under suspicion for being the Phantom Bandit. And that’s why the Bad Guys end up at the wrestling match, where they think they can catch the real culprit in the act.

At the wrestling match, they meet a raven named Susan (voiced by Natasha Lyonne), who is working as a snack vendor at the event. Snake reveals that he and Susan have been dating each other. And he really seems to be falling in love. Snake’s friends tease him about this relationship because Snake doesn’t seem like the romantic type, and Susan seems too “book smart” and “nerdy” for Snake.

It’s soon revealed (as shown in the movie’s trailers) that Susan’s real name is Doom, who is a master manipulator/con artist. She’s part of a female criminal trio called the Bad Girls, led by a ruthless snow leopard named Kitty Kat (voiced by Danielle Brooks), who is the mastermind of the heist at the center of the movie. The other member of the Bad Girls is Pigtail Petrova (voiced by Maria Bakalova), a Bulgarian wild boar who is the group’s mild-mannered technical engineer.

After a chaotic ambush at the wrestling match, the Bad Guys find out that they’ve been abducted by the Bad Girls, who are the real criminals behind the Phantom Bandit thefts. Kitty Kat orders the Bad Guys to help the Bad Girls steal a rocket ship. In exchange, the Bad Girls will release a video proving that the Bad Guys did not commit the Phantom Bandit thefts.

The rest of “The Bad Guys 2” involves a series of hyperactive scenes, including action sequences in outer space. One of the clumsiest parts of the movie is when the Bad Guys and Bad Girls show up uninvited (and in disguise) at the wedding of a tech billionaire named Jeremiah Moon (voiced by Colin Jost), who is a huge dolt for not noticing all the weird things that these uninvited guests do to call attention to themselves. Let’s put it this way: The Bad Guys are better at being thieves than at being spies.

Reprising their roles from “The Bad Guys” are TV reporter Tiffany Fluffit (voiced by Lilly Singh), who has takes a tabloid approach to her journalism; imprisoned Professor Rupert Marmalade IV (voiced by Richard Ayoade), who was the villain in the first “Bad Guys” movie; and Misty Luggins (voiced by Alex Borstein), who has been promoted from police chief to police commissioner and loves to remind people about this promotion. New to “The Bad Guys 2” is an Egyptian billionaire named Mr. Soliman (voiced by Omid Djalili), an art collector who was robbed by the Bad Guys five years earlier.

Although “The Bad Guys 2” story is messier and not as entertaining as the story in the first “Bad Guys” movie, the voice cast performances remain among the best assets of this animated film series. Rockwell, Awkwafina, Brooks and Lyonne are the standouts because they bring personalities to their characters that make them instantly memorable. Borstein also brings some laughs as a sometimes-bumbling law-enforcement official.

Daniel Pemberton’s musical score (he also wrote the score for “The Bad Guys”) is a highlight that keeps up with energetic pace of the movie. The movie’s visuals are very competent but not award-worthy. This is a sequel that could’ve used the concept of “less is more.”

For better and for worse, the Bad Girls get almost as much screen time as the Bad Guys. On the one hand, the Bad Girls are undoubtedly interesting characters that keep the story lively. However, some of the Bad Guys and their camaraderie get sidelined in the process. For example, the friendship between Wolf and Snake is solid but not as strong as it was in “The Bad Guys.”

“The Bad Guys 2” makes the Bad Girls such a huge part of the story, it seems almost like a test for a spinoff series for the Bad Girls. Professor Marmalade’s brief appearances in the movie (including a mid-credits scene) seem to be purely for nostalgia purposes. There’s no need to bring back past villains into every “Bad Guys” movie.

“The Bad Guys 2” doesn’t surpass “The Bad Guys” in terms of overall quality. However, it’s a very good option for an animated film with an entertaining story. “The Bad Guys” movies need to stick to using the “Ocean’s” and “Mission: Impossible” movies as inspirations—or “The Bad Guys” could easily lose their way and turn into the animated equivalent of the bloated and ridiculous “Fast and Furious” franchise.

Universal Pictures will release “The Bad Guys 2” in U.S. cinemas on August 1, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on August 19, 2025. “The Bad Guys 2” will be released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on October 7, 2025.

Review: ‘Smurfs,’ starring the voices of Rihanna, James Corden, Nick Offerman, JP Karliak, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne, John Goodman and Kurt Russell

July 16, 2025

by Carla Hay

Ken (voiced by Nick Offerman), Hefty Smurf (voiced by Alex Winter), Smurfette (voiced by Rihanna), No Name (voiced by James Corden) and Brainy Smurf (voiced by Xolo Mariduena) in “Smurfs” (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

“Smurfs”

Directed by Chris Miller

Culture Representation: Taking place mostly in the fictional Smurf Village and various parts of Earth, the animated film “Smurfs” (based on the comic book series of the same name) features a cast of characters that are Smurfs (blue humanoid beings), wizards, and other creatures.

Culture Clash: Papa Smurf, the leader of Smurf Village, is kidnapped by an evil wizard, and it’s up to the rest of the Smurfs and some allies to save Papa Smurf.

Culture Audience: “Smurfs” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Smurfs” franchise, the voice cast and animated films that are formulaic to a fault.

Razamel (voiced by JP Karliak) and Gargamel (voiced by JP Karliak), Papa Smurf (voiced by John Goodman) and Azrael (voiced by Rachel Butera) in “Smurfs” (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

Even by the simplest of standards for animated films, “Smurfs” is a subpar mess of idiotic dialogue, hyper banality, and unimaginative plot developments that copy superhero movies. Most of the supporting characters have no real purpose but to take up space. “Smurfs” has about 18 characters who have noticeable speaking roles, but the movie cares about only six of these characters, based on how they affect the tepid story.

Directed by Chris Miller and written by Pam Brady, “Smurfs” is part of the “Smurfs” franchise that began in 1958 with a comic book series created by artist Peyo. Since then, there have been numerous “Smurfs” movies and TV series, all of which are about a group of dwarf-sized blue humanoids called Smurfs, who live in Smurf Village. After all these years that the “Smurfs” franchise has existed, “Smurfs” has a very unoriginal concept: Papa Smurf (voiced by John Goodman), the leader of Surf Village, has been kidnapped, and the other Smurfs go on a mission to save him.

Much like the Seven Dwarfs in the “Snow White” fairy tale, Smurfs have names based on their respective defining personality characteristics. They travel in a male-dominated pack that apparently that only makes room for one “alpha female” Smurf. In the case of the Smurfs, this “alpha female” is Smurfette (voiced by Rihanna), who is portrayed in this “Smurfs” movie as sassy but not as smart as she could be.

Smurfette is also an anomaly because unlike the other Smurfs (who are born without the need for female childbirth), she was created by the Smurfs’ arch nemesis: a power-hungry wizard called Gargamel (voiced by JP Karliak), whose main goal in “Smurfs” stories is to capture Smurfs and use them for unscrupulous reasons. It’s just another way of defining the Smurfs world as a world where only males get to create life. In this “”Smurfs” movie, Gargamel is not the chief villain and doesn’t have a lot of screen time.

The original “Smurfs” stories had a problematic erasure of females and made all the Smurfs male, except for Smurfette. This “Smurfs” movie has a more equitable gender balance of Smurf characters, but that still doesn’t make the movie very good. Only the most die-hard Smurfs fans would be able to tolerate the slop that’s doled out in this wretched film.

Most of the other Smurf characters in “Smurfs” are Papa Smurf’s red-haired, self-assured brother Ken (voiced by Nick Offerman), No Name (voiced by James Corden), Moxie Smurf (voiced by Sandra Oh), Hefty Smurf (voiced by Alex Winter), Vanity Smurf (voiced by Maya Erskine), Worry Smurf (voiced by Billie Lourd), Brainy Smurf (voiced by Xolo Maridueña) and Grouchy Smurf (voiced by “Smurfs” director Miller). In the beginning of the movie, No Name is very insecure about not having a name therefore not having an identity. He depends on Smurfette to give him emotional support and pep talks.

Gargamel and his more evil brother Razamel (also voiced by Karliak) belong to the Evil Alliance of Wizards, which has gained possession of thee out of four magical books that bring peace to the universe. Papa Smurf, Ken and their long-lost brother Ron (voiced by Kurt Russell) used to be a trio of superheroes called Smurf Guardians of Good. (For whatever reason, the Smurfs in the movie keep pronouncing “guardians” as “guardianeers,” even though the word “guardianeers” doesn’t exist in the English language.)

Razamel kidnaps Papa Smurf to force Papa Smurf to tell Razamel where to find the missing magical book, which is called Jaunty (voiced by Amy Sedaris) but doesn’t really need to be a talking book. You know the rest: Hijinks ensue. Chase scenes happen. The heroes find themselves trapped in a seemingly impossible situation, but they band together to figure out the problem and fight the villains.

The Smurfs end up in the Australian Outback, where they meet Snooterpoots, who are furry interdimensional creatures that live underground and have a weakness for eating cake. Snooterpoots have mop-like fur in various colors and are slightly smaller than Smurfs. Snooterpoots are also thieves whose specialty is pickpocketing.

The leader of the Snooterpoots is Mama Poot (voiced by Natasha Lyonne), a gravelly-voiced ex-girlfriend of Ken’s. Mama Poot is initially reluctant to help rescue Papa Smurf, but she’s persuaded to when she’s enticed with the reward of cake. There are huge sections of the movie where you only see Mama Poot, Smurfette and No Name. In a movie already overstuffed with characters, “Smurfs” shows various Snooterpots who are seen scurrying around, but only Mama Poot is the only Snooterpoot with a voice, name and personality.

Other characters in the movie include Evil Alliance of Wizards members Asmodus (voiced by Octavia Spencer), Chernobog (voiced by Nick Kroll) and Jezebeth (voiced by Hannah Waddingham); a talking tardigrade (voiced by Jimmy Kimmel); Razamel’s intern Joel (played by Daniel Levy); and Gargamel’s cat Azrael (voiced by Rachel Butera). There’s no point in keeping track of who most of these characters are because most of them are sidelined in service of a story that really focuses on Smurfette, No Name, Mama Poot, Papa Smurf and feuding brothers Razamel and Gargamel.

“Smurfs” copies a multiverse dimension-hopping idea that was in 2023’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” And just when you think “Smurfs” isn’t done imitating a Marvel superhero movie, the reveal of Smurf “demi-god” Ron (who has superhero powers) looks like whoever created Ron is a big fan of Thor and Captain America.

The dialogue in “Smurfs” is bland and often mind-numbing. At one point, Ken says to the group of Smurfs: “You don’t know Smurf about Smurfs.” In another part of the film, the Smurfs end up in Paris. Smurfette knows it’s Paris but can’t explain how she knows, even though the Eiffel is right in front of them. Where’s Brainy Smurf when you need him?

Later in the film, the Smurfs say words what could be curse words but are bleeped out. At first glance, it might seem “edgy” for a “family-friendly” movie to do this, but it’s really lazy comedy. It’s also a thinly veiled and short-lived attempt to keep mature audiences interested in all the drivel.

Much of the marketing for “Smurfs” is promoting Rihanna as the voice of Smurfette. And as expected, there’s an original song (“Friend of Mine”) that Rihanna recorded for the movie, whch shows Smurfette performing the song. It’s a forgettable pop tune that’s a blatant attempt to get awards recognition. Nothing about “Smurfs” is award-worthy or impressively creative.

The movie’s voice performances are visuals adequate, but the screenplay and direction fall very short of being coherent. It’s wasteful, considering all the voice talent involved. “Smurfs” introduces several new characters (Ken, Ron, the Snooterpoots), but does nothing new, in terms of what type of adventure story could be told. Even children (the movie’s target audience) could be very bored by this cash-grab film that make the Smurfs world look like a pile of mushy ideas copied from better movies.

Paramount Pictures will release “Smurfs” in U.S. cinemas on July 18, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on August 12, 2025.

Review: ‘Elio’ (2025), starring the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brandon Moon, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil and Shirley Henderson

June 17, 2025

by Carla Hay

Characters in “Elio,” pictured in front row: Glordon (voice of Remy Edgerly) and Elio (voice of Yonas Kibreab). Pictured in back row: Ambassador Naos (voiced by Atsuko Okatsuka), third from left; Ambassador Questa (voiced by Jameela Jamil), left of Glordon; Ambassador Turais (voiced by Ana de la Reguera), right of Elio; Ambassador Helix (voiced by Brandon Moon), third from right; and Ambassador Tegman (voiced by Matthias Schweighöfer), second from right. (Image courtesy of Disney/Pixar)

“Elio” (2025)

Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina

Culture Representation: Taking place in the United States and in outer space, the animated film “Elio” features a cast of characters that are humans and outer-space aliens.

Culture Clash: A lonely 11-year-old boy’s wish to be abducted by outer-space aliens come true, but he finds himself caught up in trying to stop an intergalactic war with help from the son of the war instigator.

Culture Audience: “Elio” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Pixar animated films and family-friendly movies about misfits who learn to be comfortable with who they are.

Lord Grigon (voiced by Brad Garrett), pictured at far left, in “Elio” (Image courtesy of Disney/Pixar)

“Elio” is among many Pixar animated movies about protagonists who learn about themselves as they experience obstacles in unfamiliar environments. “Elio’s” plot is sometimes messy, but it’s a cute story about self-acceptance. This is the type of movie that uses several stereotypical formulas of humans interacting with talking non-human creatures, but it has enough unique visuals and engaging performances to maintain viewer interest.

Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina, “Elio” was written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer and Mike Jones. Pixar Animation Studios is known for having movies based on original screenplays, except for sequels and spinoffs of previously released Pixar movies. “Elio” won’t be ranked in the upper echelon of the best Pixar films, but it’s better than most of the animated films that get released in any given year.

The title character of “Elio” is Elio Solís (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), an 11-year-old American boy who is a lonely orphan obsessed with going to outer space. Elio lives in an unnamed U.S. city. He has constructed his own ham radio to try to communicate with outer-space beings. Elio feels “different” from other people because he wears an eye patch, for reasons that aren’t explicitly stated but appears to be for medical reasons.

Elio’s parents died when he was younger, for reasons that are not revealed in the movie. Elio’s guardian is his aunt Olga Solís (voiced by Zoe Saldaña), a U.S. Air Force major who is very focused on her career. She works in a team of orbital analysts who track space debris. Olga is skeptical that there are creatures who live in outer space.

Olga and Elio love each other but don’t always get along with each other. Elio is slightly rebellious and sometimes skips classes at Montez Middle School, where he is student. Olga didn’t expect to be raising a child and often feels overwhelmed and gets impatient with Elio.

Olga doesn’t appreciate Elio’s ambitions to go to outer space and thinks his dreams and goals should be more realistic. Elio feels misunderstood by Olga, which causes him to be further alienated from her. Sometimes, Elio can be a rude brat, such as in scene where he gets into an argument with Olga and yells at her that she’s not his “real family.”

After Elio gets into trouble for being absent from school, Olga decides that Elio should go to Camp Carver, a summer camp that she went to when she was a girl. Elio starts a Ham Radio Club and places an ad to find members at the camp. Two pals who are about the same age as Elio show interest in joining Elio’s club: Bryce (voiced by Dylan Gilmer) is friendly and outgoing. Caleb (voiced by Jake Getman) is mean-spirited and bullying.

Elio likes to spend a lot of time alone as he daydreams about a better life in outer space because he’s unhappy with his life on Earth. At a beach, Elio carves out this message in the sand: “Aliens! Abduct Me!” He lies face up on the sand, hoping this wish will come true, but no alien abduction happens. Olga scolds Elio by saying to him: “Your life isn’t up there, Elio. It’s down here.”

Meanwhile, Olga’s eccentric co-worker Gunther Melmac (voiced by Brendan Hunt), a military contractor, has his own ham radio group. He also has conspiracy theories about outer-space aliens. Gunther has been trying to communicate with outer-space forms of life by using the technology that he knows. He thinks that signals are coming from outer space. His beliefs make him an outcast with his co-workers.

Gunther has been tracking the Voyager Satellite, which has a Golden Record collection of messages from many of Earth’s children. One day, Elio sneaks into Gunther’s work space while no one else is there and finds a way to send a Golden Record message into space. He quickly sends this message: “This is Elio Solís of the planet Earth. I come in peace and I’m super excited to join you. I’m creative, hardworking, shredded. So, please come and get me. I’ll be waiting!”

Much later, Elio is blamed for getting some of his fellow campers into trouble. Caleb leads a group of boys, including Bryce, in chasing Elio to physically attack Elio. But right at the moment that the boys catch Elio, time freezes, and Elio is beamed up into outer space by aliens who got Elio’s message. Elio is about to enter a magical world called the Communiverse, named after the group of ambassadors and other creatures whose goal is universal harmony.

The Communiverse is an interplanetary group with representatives from various galaxies. They have recently rejected Lord Grigon (voiced by Brad Garrett), the aggressive warlord leader of the planet Hylurg, because Grigon believes in conquering other planets through war. Grigon vows to get revenge by destroying the Communiverse.

When Elio arrives in the Communiverse, he is greeted by several creatures:

  • Ambassador Questa (voiced by Jameela Jamil), a 15-foot-tall, charismatic pink sea dragon, who is the leader of the planet Glom
  • Ambassador Helix (voiced by Brandon Moon), an egotistical, party-loving official who is usually seen holding a container of glorp, the Communiverse’s official drink
  • Ambassador Tegman (voiced by Matthias Schweighöfer), the logical leader of the planet Tegman, who doesn’t speak much, but when he does, he usually speaks bluntly
  • Ambassador Naos (voiced by Atsuko Okatsuka), brainy inventor of the Communidisc, a device for controlling gravity, temperature and languages.
  • Ambassador Turais (voiced by Ana de la Reguera), a nuerotic official who is easily gets anxious.
  • Ambassador Mira (voiced by Anissa Borrego), a skeptic diva who questions Elio’s authenticity as Earth’s leader
  • Ambassador Auva (voiced by Naomi Watanabe), the perky creator of the Universal Users’ Manual, which contains the secrets of the universe.
  • Ooooo (voiced by Shirley Henderson), a supercomputer that looks like a small blue liquid blob

Ambassadors Questa, Helix and Tegman are the first to meet Elio. The other ambassadors are introduced to him later. Ambassador Questa the is the diplomat whose personality stands out the most, while the other ambassadors have generic personalities. All of these side characters are introduced in a jumble. Their relationships with Elio are tangential to the movie’s central relationship: the friendship that Eli develops with Glordon (voiced by Remy Edgerly), Grigon’s sweet-natured son, who doesn’t want to follow in Grigon’s footsteps of becoming a warlord.

Elio is told he was chosen to go to the Communiverse because the Communiverse is looking for the brightest dreamers and stargazers on each planet. The ambassadors assume that Elio is the leader of planet Earth, and he doesn’t correct them. It’s a big plot hole in the movie because with the Universal Users’ Manual and other technology, it should be easy for the ambasadors to find out that Earth has no leader of the entire planet.

Elio loves being in the Communiverse and wants to stay there for the rest of his life, but the problem of Grigon is an immediate threat to the Communiverse’s happiness and safety. All of the ambassadors are afraid of negotiating with Grigon. Elio is desperate for the ambassadors’ approval and acceptance, so he volunteers to be the chief negotiator. He is now burdened with the responsibility of preventing Grigon from going to war with the Communiverse.

The Communiverse says that if Elio was reported missing on Earth, it would create chaos. And so, Ooooo (who took a sample of Elio’s DNA soon after Elio arrived at the Communiverse) uses that DNA to create a clone of Elio (also voiced by Kibreab), who is sent to Earth to impersonate the real Elio. This parallel sublot about the Elio clone becomes a somewhat clumsy part of the story because as Elio is trying to save the Universe, he sees through a portal that the Elio clone is a perfect version of Elio that Olga likes a lot better than the real Elio.

“Elio” is a swirling rush of Elio grappling with his insecurities, forming a genuine and uplifting friendship with Glordon, and finding the courage to face his fears against a bully such as Grigon. Glordon and Elio naturally bond because they both feel like outsiders in their own families and unaccepted on their respective planets. But to be fair, Glordon’s family situation is a lot worse than Elio’s because Elio is not being raised an emotionally abusive adult. (Glordon’s mother is briefly mentioned as too busy to take care of Glordon because she’s away in combat.)

“Elio” has a lot of vibrant and dazzling visuals that can be enjoyable to watch. But the “Elio” story retreads the same concept of many other Pixar movies that have come before it: Someone goes outside a home residence to try and fit in somewhere else and finds out that it’s more important to be secure with oneself, no matter where you live. The voice performances in “Elio” are very good, the movie’s direction is capable (the last 15 minutes of the movie are fantastic), but don’t expect “Elio” to be a masterpiece in animation.

Walt Disney Studios will release “Elio” in U.S. cinemas on June 20, 2025. A sneak preview of the movie will be shown in U.S. cinemas on June 18, 2025.

Review: ‘Lilo & Stitch’ (2025), starring Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, the voice of Chris Sanders, Courtney B. Vance and Zach Galifianakis

May 20, 2025

by Carla Hay

Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders) and Maia Kealoha in “Lilo & Stitch” (Photo courtesy of Disney Enterprises Inc.)

“Lilo & Stitch” (2025)

Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp

Culture Representation: Taking place in Hawai’i and in outer space, the live-action/animated film “Lilo & Stitch” (a remake of the 2002 animated film) features a predominantly Pacific Islander cast of characters (with some white people and African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A mischievious outer-space alien crash lands on Earth, where he is adopted by a 6-year-old girl and her guardian 18-year-old sister, while outer-space officials hunt for the alien to bring it back to captivity.

Culture Audience: “Lilo & Stitch” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the 2002 “Lilo & Stitch” movie, the movie’s headliners, and family-friendly entertainment that delivers a good mix of comedy and drama.

Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifianakis in “Lilo & Stitch” (Photo Zach Dougan/Disney Enterprises)

The good news is that “Lilo & Stitch” is a worthy remake of the 2002 animated film, with an ending that’s arguably better. The bad news is that the hunt for fugitive alien Stitch is worse than the original movie. That’s because the 2025 version of “Lilo & Stitch” clumsily adds a body-transformation aspect to the story’s two space-alien hunters that makes them impersonate buffoonish humans who just aren’t very funny. Fortunately, these two bozos are not the movie’s main characters. The main characters in 2025’s “Lilo & Stitch” are endearing, doing justice their counterparts in 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” while bringing their own admirable qualities to these characters.

Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, the 2025 version of “Lilo & Stitch” was written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes. Camp received an Oscar nomination (Best Animated Feature Film) for directing and producing 2021’s “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” a quirky live-action/animation hybrid that he also co-wrote. Because the 2025 version of “Lilo & Stitch” is a remake of a Disney classic, there isn’t much room to be offbeat, but 2025’s “Lilo & Stitch” mostly strikes the right balance of energetic comedy and heartfelt drama. The movie also has perfect casting of the two sisters who are the main human characters of the story.

The 2025 version of “Lilo & Stitch” begins in the same way as the 2002 “Lilo & Stitch” movie: In outer space, on the fictional Planet Turo, a rogue scientist named Jumba (voiced by Zach Galifianakis) has gotten into trouble for inventing a creature through illegal experimentation. The male creature, which looks like a blue koala with antennae, is called Experiment 626, and will later be named Stitch when the creature lands on Earth and impersonates a dog. Chris Sanders, who co-directed and co-wrote 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” returns as the voice of Stitch/Experiment 626, a character that Sanders is credited with creating.

Jumba is facing punishment before a committee led by the Grand Councilwoman (voiced by Hannah Waddingham), the leader of the Galactic Federation. The Grand Councilwoman decides that Experiment 626 (who is hyper, mischievous and very intelligent) must be exiled on a desert asteroid. However, Experiment 626 causes havoc on the spaceship carrying him. The ship crashes instead on Earth, on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i. (The 2025 version of “Lilo & Stitch” was actually film on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu.)

A horrified Grand Councilwoman orders Jumba to retrieve Experiment 626 from Earth and send him to the original asteroid destination. Jumba admittedly doesn’t know much about Earth. But an eager law enforcement official named Agent Pleakley (voiced by Billy Magnussen), a self-proclaimed Earth expert, offers to accompany Jumba on this mission. Pleakley (who has a cheerful and goofy personality) explains that he’s been doing extensive research of Earth, which he and his colleagues have been using as a planet to repopulate mosquitos.

Grand Councilwoman allows Pleakley to go on this mission. Jumba, who is gruff and impatient, isn’t pleased about this situation because he’s somewhat of a loner who likes to be the “alpha male” of everything. Predictably, Jumba thinks Pleakely is annoying, and thier conflicts sometimes hinder their mission. It’s a familiar story formula of two beings with opposite personalities who are forced to work together for a common goal.

In the original “Lilo & Stitch,” Jumba and Pleakley kept their original alien bodies but were under strict orders not to reveal themselves to humans. Jumba and Pleakley had the ability to make themselves invisible. In the 2025 version of “Lilo & Stitch,” Jumba and Pleakley can still make themselves invisible, but this time, they decided to disguise themselves as humans, to make it easier to interact with people.

How do Jumba and Pleakley disguise themselves as humans? Jumba and Pleakley are at a Hawaiian airport and take photos of two male companion travelers (played by Galifianakis and Magnussen), who are outside of a terminal on their way to getting checked in for their flight. Jumba and Pleakley then use those photos to transform themselves into looking like these two human travelers. There’s some not-that-funny sitcom-ish slapstick where Jumba and Pleakley both have problems adjusting to walking and dressing like humans.

Meanwhile, the two main human characters of the story are introduced: Lilo (played by Maia Kealoha) is an energetic and curious 6-year-old girl, who lives with her bright but overwhelmed 18-year-old sister Nani (played by Sydney Elizebeth Agudong) in a modest Kaua’i house. Nani is Lilo’s guardian because their parents died in a car accident a few months ago. Nani has been juggling child-raising responsibilities with her job as a server at a resort restaurant called Jimmy’s Luau, which has live entertainment.

A new aspect to the story is Nani had plans to study marine biology at her first-choice college: the University of California at San Diego, where she had a full academic scholarship. But because Nani has to take care of Lilo, Nani has put her college plans on indefinite hold. Nani has to deal with a lot because Lilo has a tendency to get into trouble. Viewers have to assume that this story takes place during the summer because Lilo is never seen in school.

In both “Lilo & Stitch” movies, Lilo is treated like a weird outcast by her peers. Just like in both movies, an early scene shows Lilo is late for a hula dancing performance at the resort because she was busy feeding a sandwich to some fish in the sea. Lilo also says she can communicate with the fish. She gets teased about it by some “mean girls” in the group.

In both “Lilo & Stitch” movies, Lilo gets kicked out of the dance group because of a conflict with a “mean girl” in the group who insulted Lilo. In the 2002 “Lilo & Stitch.” Lilo punches the girl and gets in a brawl with her. The 2025 “Lilo & Stitch” tones down Lilo’s violence and just has Lilo pushing the mean girl off of the dance stage.

Nani is understanding but exasperated by Lilo’s rebellious antics. Lilo asks Nani, “Am I a bad person?” Nani replies, “No, but sometimes you do bad things.” Just like in both movies, the concept of ‘ohana (family) is repeated as “no one gets left behind.”

And just like in both movies, Lilo is lonely and wants a best friend. She loves animals and is a big fan of Elvis Presley’s music, which is played throughout the movie. The Presley songs include “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” Suspicious Minds,” “Stuck on You,” “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise” and a Bruno Mars cover version of “Burning Love.” Hawaiian music is also part of the movie’s soundtrack, including songs written for the movie (such as “He Lei Pāpahi No Lilo a me Stitch” and “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride”) and Hawaiian music classics, such as “Aloha ‘Oe” and “Henehene Kou ‘Aka.”

In both “Lilo & Stitch” movies, Nani’s guardianship of Lilo is under scrutiny by a social worker, who does home visits and is concerned about the sisters’ living situation and Nani’s ability to properly take care of Lilo. In the 2002 “Lilo & Stitch” movie, Tia Carrere was the voice of Nani. In the 2025 “Lilo & Stitch” movie, Carrere has the role of social worker Mrs. Kekoa, who is assigned to monitor Nani’s guardianship of Lilo.

Mrs. Kekoa’s first visit to the home is a disaster. The place is a mess. There’s not enough food in the refrigerator. And she finds out that Nani sometime leaves Lilo by herself, which is something that Nani lies about by denying it. Mrs. Kekoa tries to give Nani some leeway by telling Nani that Nani has three tasks to complete before Mrs. Kekoa’s next visit: (1) stock the fridge; (2) clean up the house; (3) and get health insurance for Nani and Lilo.

Later, Mrs. Kekoa is aided by a CIA operative named Cobra Bubbles (played by Courtney V. Vance), who is also looking for Experiment 626, but Cobra fools Mrs. Kekoa by going posing as the director of the social services agency. In the 2002 “Lilo & Stitch” movie, the Cobra Bubbles character (voiced by Ving Rhames) was much more menacing and imposing than the Cobra Bubbles in 2025’s “Lilo & Stitch.” Cobra was the only social services worker in 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” and his CIA identity was revealed much later in the movie.

It just so happens that on the night that Experiment 626 crash-landed on Earth, it looked like a falling star that Lilo and Nani could see from Lilo’s bedroom window. Just like in both movies, Lilo pushes Nani out of the room so that Lilo can be alone to wish on the falling star. Nani eavesdrops and sees that Lilo’s wish is to find a best friend who loves her unconditionally and will never abandon her.

It doesn’t take long for Experiment 626 to cause chaos on Earth. He crashes and runs all over a wedding reception, where people scream, fall down and hurt themselves when they see this creature. Experiment 626 is then taken by animal care control workers to a local animal rescue shelter called Na Me Ola, where he is put in the section for dogs.

Lilo’s introduction to Experiment 626 is slightly different in both movies, but the end results are the same. In 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” it’s Nani’s idea to bring Lilo to the shelter so that Lilo can find an animal friend. In 2025’s “Lilo & Stitch,” an elderly neighbor friend named Tūtū (played by Amy Hill) suggests that Lilo go to the animal shelter and accompanies Lilo to this visit. In 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” Hill had a different elderly woman role: Mrs. Hasagawa, the owner of a fruit stand.

Tūtū lives with her grandson David (played by Kaipo Dudoit), a surfer who has a crush on Nani, who is also an avid surfer. David asks Nani to go on surfing dates, but she politely turns down his invitations. It’s in contrast to 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” where Nani’s romance with David was already established. Jason Scott Lee was the voice of David in 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch.” In 2025s “Lilo & Stitch,” Lee portrays the manager of Jimmy’s Luau.

The workers at the animal shelter don’t know what type of animal Experiment 626 is, so they plan to have the creature stay at the shelter until some local scientists can take this creature for evaluation. Experiment 626 sees dogs and photos of dogs at the shelter, and he is intelligent enough to transform himself to look as much like and act as much like a dog as possible. That includes make his antennae and extra feet hide inside his body. In 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch” the other dogs are so frightened of Experiment 626, they hide on top of their cages. But in 2025’s “Lilo & Stitch,” the dogs in the shelter aren’t bothered by Experiment 626.

When Lilo meets Experiment 626, she’s immediately interested in him because he looks so different from other animals in the shelter. Even when she’s told that this animal is not up for adoption, Lilo insists that this is the pet that she wants. Just like in both movies, Experiment 626 sees a poster of a girl hugging a dog, so he hugs Lilo to ensure that she will want to adopt him. The tactic works.

Of course, once Experiment 626 is in Lilo’s home, it acts like an unruly dog. One day, while he’s in Nani’s truck with Nani and Lilo, Experiment 626 rips the upholstery on a car seat. Nani is annoyed and says that she’ll now have to get the seat stitched up. And that’s how Lilo gets the idea to name this pet Stitch.

The rest of “Lilo & Stitch” is delightful to watch when Lilo, Nani and Stitch are in the scenes. Kealoha and Agudong (who are both native Hawaiians) are completely believable as sisters. Agudong gives a likable and relatable performance, even though she looks like she’s in her mid-20s instead of the 18-year-old character she’s supposed to be.

And although Stitch is the cute creature of the movie, precocious Kealoha as Lilo is an equal star of the show. Kealoha has great comedic timing and performs convincingly in the dramatic scenes. “Lilo & Stitch” is Kealoha’s first movie. And it’s a very impressive debut for her. The rest of the human characters in the movie are serviceable or fairly bland.

Where 2025’s “Lilo & Stitch” falters is in showing Jumba and Pleakley’s pursuit of Stitch/Experiment 626. In the 2002 “Lilo & Stitch” movie, there was more suspense for this hunt because Jumba and Pleakley actually seemed to be dangerous. In the 2025 “Lilo & Stitch” movie, Jumba and Pleakley are just bickering clowns in cartoonish human form, wearing garish tourist clothing. Pleakley’s wardrobe choices are especially cringeworthy because he dresses like a 5-year-old boy and often acts like one.

The 2025 “Lilo & Stitch” movie also doesn’t seem to know how to deal with Jumba and Pleakley, whose hunt is so inept, it feels like the stakes are diminished because of how Jumba and Pleakley are presented as screw-ups in this version of “Lilo & Stitch.” The Cobra character is brought in the middle of the film and is more fatherly than scary. In other words, the villains in this movie needed act more like villains.

Despite these flaws, 2025’s “Lilo & Stitch” retains the warmth and playfulness of the 2002 movie. The live-action visuals are an obvious improvement from the 2-D animation of the 2002 version of “Lilo & Stitch.” Best of all, 2025’s “Lilo & Stitch” gives a more realistic view of the world from the perspectives of Lilo and Nani, particularly in how Nani’s guardianship of Lilo is handled. The movie gives an important lesson that life doesn’t always work out as originally planned but it can work out for what’s best at that particular time.

Walt Disney Pictures will release “Lilo & Stitch” in U.S. cinemas on May 23, 2025.

Review: ‘Night of the Zoopocalypse,’ starring the voices of David Harbour, Gabbi Kosmidis, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Kyle Derek, Scott Thompson, Joshua Graham and Heather Loreto

March 7, 2025

by Carla Hay

Pictured in font row, from left to right: Felix (voiced by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Xavier (voiced by Pierre Simpson), Ash (voiced by Scott Thompson), Gracie (voiced by Gabbi Kosmidis), Poot (voiced by Christina Nova) and Frida (voiced by Heather Loreto) in “Night of the Zoopocalypse” (Image courtesy of Viva Pictures)

“Night of the Zoopocalypse”

Directed by Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro

Culture Representation: Taking place at the fictional Colepepper Zoo, the animated film “Night of the Zoopocalypse” features a cast of characters who are talking animals.

Culture Clash: After a meteor from outer space crashes into a zoo, many of the animals at the zoo turn into mutant zombies, with only a ragtag group of non-infected animals who can possibly stop this apocalypse.

Culture Audience: “Night of the Zoopocalypse” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in family-friendly animated entertainment that is energetic sci-fi horror.

Felix (voiced by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Ash (voiced by Scott Thompson), Gracie (voiced by Gabbi Kosmidis), Xavier (voiced by Pierre Simpson) and Frida (voiced by Heather Loreto) in “Night of the Zoopocalypse” (Image courtesy of Viva Pictures)

It might surprise some people to learn that the kiddie-oriented “Night of the Zoopocalypse” is from a concept from Clive Barker, one of the masters of graphic horror that’s geared to teens and adults. It’s yet another animated movie with talking animals and a predictable plot. At least it’s entertaining to watch. The story is about a zombie apocalypse that turns a zoo into chaos. Children under the age of 10 are the movie’s main target audience.

Directed by Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro, “Night of the Apocalypse” is written by Steven Hoban and James Kee. The movie takes place in an unnamed U.S. city at a fictional place called Colepepper Zoo. The animals in this movie come from various nations and have varying speaking accents. It’s another story about a group of characters who have to overcome their differences to work together toward a shared goal.

“Night of the Apocalypse” takes a simple concept and stretches it into this 91-minute film. The way the characters are introduced is somewhat rushed and flimsy. Essentially, the beginning of the movie shows a meteor from outer space falling into the zoo at night, when the zoo is closed. The result is a zombie apocalypse.

The zombie infestation begins when a bunny rabbit, whose name is listed as Bunny Zero (played by Bryn McAuley) in the end credits, accidentally swallows a piece of the meteor that has landed on a pile of peanuts. For no reason whatsoever, the bunny convulses and starts to glow.

The bunny has now turned into a zombie. One bite from this zombie turns other animals at the zoo into zombies until the entire zoo is in danger of being overrun by zombies. There are no human characters in the movie during this zoopocalypse. Viewers will have to suspend disbelief that a zoo would leave the zoo’s animals alone at night without any human supervision.

You know what happens next: The group of non-infected must try to avoid getting infected while fguring out a way to stop the zombies. These animals are:

  • Gracie (voiced by Gabbi Kosmidis), a plucky young American wolf
  • Dan (voiced by David Harbour), a grouchy mountain lion
  • Xavier (voiced by Pierre Simpson), a movie-loving French lemur
  • Fred (voiced by Kyle Derek), a goofball gorilla
  • Frida (voiced by Heather Loreto), a sassy Latina capybara
  • Ash (voiced by Scott Thompson), a sarcastic ostrich
  • Felix (voiced by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), a pompous proboscis monkey
  • Poot (voiced by Christina Nova), a limited-vocabulary baby pygmy, who is this movie’s version of Groot from “Guardians of the Galaxy”

“Night of the Zoopocalypse” is basically a series of chase scenes with a lot of slapstick comedy. The movie has a noticeable but not overbearing or preachy message about how cruel it can be to deprive animals of their natural habitat and keep them locked up in a laboratory or a zoo. There’s also a message about learning to trust others who are “different” from you. Predictably, the canine (Gracie) and the feline (Dan), who are supposed to be natural enemies, have conflicts.

In the beginning of the film (before the zombie apocalypse affects the zoo), Gracie is seen with other members of her pack of wolves, including her grandmother Grandma Abigail (voiced by Carolyn Scott), who warns Gracie not to stray too far from the pack. Abigail wants Gracie to believe live in fear because “we’re surrounded by dangerous critters,” even in the supposedly protected environment of the zoo.

Of course, Gracie finds out that most other animals (at least not the zombies) are not the enemies that Grandma Abigail says they are. Grandma Abigail is conveniently not seen again until the end of the film because the filmmakers probably didn’t want an elderly nag who can’t keep up with the action to ruin the story. “Night of the Zoopocalypse” is bursting with candy-hued tones that make this a very bubblegum-looking movie. It’s a cute romp that gets the job done sufficiently on all levels, but it’s not the type of animated film that’s memorable or imaginative enough to become a cult classic or a beloved blockbuster.

Viva Pictures released “Night of the Zoopocalypse” in U.S. cinemas on March 7, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on April 4, 2025.

Review: ‘Paddington in Peru,’ starring Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas and the voice of Ben Whishaw

February 8, 2025

by Carla Hay

Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) in “Paddington in Peru” (Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

“Paddington in Peru”

Directed by Dougal Wilson

Culture Representation: Taking place in Peru and in London, the live-action animated film sequel “Paddington in Peru” (based on characters from the “Paddington” book series) features a cast of characters who are white and Latin humans and talking bears.

Culture Clash: Paddington, a talking bear from Peru who was adopted by a London family, returns to his native Peru to find his Aunt Lucy, who has gone missing.

Culture Audience: Besides appealing to fans of the Paddington franchise, “Paddington in Peru” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in family-friendly entertainment about talking animals that co-exist with humans.

Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw), Emily Mortimer, Hugh Bonneville and Julie Walters in “Paddington in Peru” (Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures)

“Paddington in Peru” continues the entertaining charm of the “Paddington” franchise about Great Britain’s beloved talking bear and his adoptive human family. This live-action/animated film has Paddington’s most ambitious adventure so far. Not only does Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) and his human family go to Peru to find his Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton), who has mysteriously gone missing, but Paddington and the Brown family also get involved in a treasure hunt with some danger from greedy opponents.

Directed by Dougal Wilson, “Paddington in Peru” was written by Mark Burton, Jon Foster and James Lamont. It’s the third movie in the “Paddington” film series, which began with 2014’s “Paddington” (written and directed by Paul King) and 2017’s “Paddington 2” (directed by King, who co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby). The movies are based on characters from Michael Bond’s “Paddington” children’s book series. It’s not necessary to see other “Paddington” movies to enjoy “Paddington in Peru.”

In “Paddington,” a lovable orphaned male bear named Paddington travels from his native Peru to London, where he is adopted by the Brown family, who named him after the train station where they found him. Paddington’s big challenge in the movie was to try not to get killed by a taxidermist. In “Paddington 2,” Paddington was framed for a theft that he didn’t commit and was wrongfully sent to prison, where he tries to escape and prove his innocence.

“Paddington 2” begins in London, where Paddington is still living with the Brown family: insurance executive Henry Brown (played by Hugh Bonneville), his wife Mary Brown (played by Emily Mortimer) and their two teenage children: video-game enthusiast Jonathan Brown (played by Samuel Joslin) and bookish Judy Brown (played by Madeleine Harris). The Brown family also has an energetic live-in housekeeper named Mrs. Bird (played by Julie Walters).

The last time that Paddington saw his Aunt Lucy (who is now a widow), she was in living a remote part of a Peruvian jungle at the Home for Retired Bears. The movie’s opening scene shows a dream that Paddington has of falling down a waterfall in Peru. He also envisions Aunt Lucy telling him: “I’ll hear you, however far away you are.”

Paddington reaches a milestone when he gets his United Kingdom passport. He’s soon going to need it because he gets a letter from a nun called the Reverend Mother (played by Olivia Colman), who is the manager of the retirement home where Aunt Lucy lives in Peru. The Reverend Mother says in the letter that she’s worried about Aunt Lucy. According to the Reverend Mother, Aunt Lucy has become withdrawn and is spending a lot of time alone.

Paddington has noticed that although the Brown family members still love each other, inside the house, the family members have been spending more away from each other in different rooms. Paddington worries that the family members might be drifting apart. And he doesn’t want to lose that family closeness.

Meanwhile, Henry is dealing with having a new boss: an assertive American named Madison (played by Hayley Atwell), who dismisses Henry’s large binders of research about risk assessment and tells him that he needs to take more risks. When Henry goes home, he finds out that Paddington wants to go to Peru to visit Aunt Lucy. Paddington also think this trip will bring the Brown family closer together.

At first, Henry says no, but then he thinks about what Madison said about taking more risks. And so, Henry says yes. And off Paddington and the rest of the Brown family members go to Peru. There’s an amusing scene inspired by “The Sound of Music” where The Reverend Mother (playing an acoustic guitar) sings “Paddington in Peru” in an open grassy field with singing and dancing nuns.

Paddington and the Browns are dismayed to find out that Aunt Lucy disappeared before they arrived. And there are signs that Aunt Lucy was abducted: She left her treasured bracelet behind, and her eye glasses are found broken in the same area. Aunt Lucy is very near-sighted and needs her glasses to see properly.

Paddington and the Browns soon find out that Aunt Lucy’s amulet bracelet is a clue to a treasure at Rumi Rock, a place where the Inca tribe hid gold from Spanish invaders. According to local legend, the Incas promised the gold to the spirit of the jungle. Paddington and the Browns figure out that if they go to Rumi Rock, they have a chance of possibly finding Aunt Lucy.

Along the way, Paddington and the Browns enlist the help of a boat captain named Hunter Cabot (played by Antonio Banderas), who owns and operates a travel-boat business with his earnest daughter Gina (played by Carla Tous), who is in her late teens. Hunter is reluctant to take these tourists to Rumi Rock because he says it’s difficult to find, but Hunter changes his mind when he hears that this tour group is looking for valuable treasure.

Various mishaps ensue. And it’s enough to say that some secrets are revealed. “Paddington in Peru” keeps a light tone to the story, but the movie has an obvious message about the evils of greed. “Paddington in Peru” could have used a little bit more exploration of the Incan/indigenous culture that is mentioned but not given enough screen time, considering that the treasure in the story originated with the Incas.

The characters of the Reverend Mother and Hunter are intentionally a hoot to watch. The Reverend Mother has a somewhat goofy persona that Colman obviously had fun portraying. Hunter has visions of seeing his ancestors of different professions (such as pirate, priest, airline pilot), which are characters also portrayed by Banderas.

As for the cast members who were in previous “Paddington” movies, they play their roles well and don’t do much that’s different, although there is a huge slab of adorable sentimentality that’s served up in the last third of the movie. Antiques shop owner Samuel Gruber (played by Jim Broadbent) has a small role “Paddington in Peru.” And the movie’s end credits has a brief re-appearance of a familiar character from “Paddington 2.”)

“Paddington in Peru” rolls along at just the right pace with an uncomplicated story that should keep people of various generations interested and often amused. The visuals are pleasant and the dialogue is what you expect from a movie of this type. “Paddington in Peru” won’t be considered a classic animated film but it’s a worthy sequel in the “Paddington” franchise.

Columbia Pictures will release “Paddington in Peru” in U.S. cinemas on February 14, 2025. A sneak preview was shown in U.S. cinemas on February 8, 2025. “Paddington in Peru” was released in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2024.

Review: ‘The Colors Within,’ an anime drama about a rock band, friendships and music

January 30, 2025

by Carla Hay

Rui Kagehira, Totsuko Higurashi, Kimi Sakunaga in “The Colors Within” (Image courtesy of GKIDS)

“The Colors Within”

Directed by Naoko Yamada

Available in the original Japanese version (with English subtitles) or in a dubbed English-language version.

Culture Representation: The Japanese animated film “The Colors Within,” which takes place in an unnamed city in Japan, tells the story of three very different teenagers who form a rock band together.

Culture Clash: All of the teenagers have different reasons for hiding their band activities.

Culture Audience: “The Colors Within” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in anime films about the subtleties human relationships.

Kimi Sakunaga in “The Colors Within” (Image courtesy of GKIDS)

“The Colors Within” is a lovely and low-key anime drama about three teenagers who become friends when they form a rock band together. Each band member has different reasons for keeping the band a secret. “The Colors Within” might bore some people who are expecting this anime film to have more action. It’s a movie that’s geared more to viewers who want to see a story about this friendship evolves between the three teenagers.

Directed by Naoko Yamada and written by Reiko Yoshida, “The Colors Within” takes place in an unnamed city in Japan. The three teenagers don’t know each other very well when they decide to form a band, but they share a passion for music. The music they want to perform is pop-rock.

The three teenagers at the center of the story are all in their late teens. They are:

  • Totsuko Higurashi, a religious student at an all-girls Catholic boarding school, where the students are not allowed to hang out with boys.
  • Kimi Sakunaga, a dropout from the same school, who now works as a sales clerk in a used bookstore.
  • Rui Kagehira, a student in his last year of high school, who is expected to become a medical doctor like other members of his family.

Totsuko, Kimi and Rui all meet at the bookstore and almost instantly decide to form a band. Totsuko (who is obedient and friendly) has the ability to read people’s colors or auras. It’s something that she doesn’t reveal to a lot of people because she doesn’t want to be perceived as weird.

Kimi (who is creative and slightly rebellious) dropped out of school because she was caught having a boyfriend. Kimi is being raised by her grandmother Shino Sakunaga, and Kimi is afraid to tell to tell Shino that she dropped out of school. Meanwhile, Rui (who is shy and nerdy) doesn’t want his parents to know about his interest in being a musician.

The three teens name their group the White Cat Hall Band, named after a campus library called White Cat Hall. Kimi is the lead singer/guitarist. Totsuko is the keyboardist. Rui plays the theremin.

One of the nuns at the school is Sister Hiyoshiko, who is younger and more liberal than some of the school’s other nuns. Totsuko confides in Sister Hiyoshiko that Totsuko is writing a song. Sister Hiyoshiko says this songwriting activity should be okay if the song she’s writing is morally righteous.

The voices of the “The Colors Within” characters are portrayed by different actors, depending on the version of “The Colors Within.” The original Japanese version (with English subtitles) has Sayu Suzukawa as Totsuko Higurashi, Akari Takaishi as Kimi Sakunaga, Taisei Kido as Rui Kagehira, Keiko Toda as Shino Sakunaga, and Yui Aragaki as Sister Hiyoshiko. There’s also a U.S. version, with the dialogue dubbed in English, that has Libby Rue as Totsuko Higurashi, Kylie McNeill as Kimi Sakunaga, Eddy Lee as Rui Kagehira, Lani Minella as Shino Sakunaga, and Eileen Stevens as Sister Hiyoshiko.

“The Colors Within” has a pleasant message about seeing and appreciating people for who they really are and not how others want them to be. The voice performances are adequate, and the movie takes a little too long to show the band members’ full musical talent. However, “The Colors Within” is a solid option for people who want to watch an anime film about friendships that begin and grow under unlikely circumstances.

GKIDS released “The Colors Within” in select U.S. cinemas on January 24, 2025. The movie was released in Japan on August 30, 2024.

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