Culture Representation: Taking place in the fictional Ohkay City, the animated film “Dog Man” (based on the book series of the same name) features a cast of characters depicting humans and talking animals.
Culture Clash: A part-human, part-dog police officer battles his criminal nemesis: a cat named Petey.
Culture Audience: “Dog Man” will appeal mainly to people who are interested in seeing silly animated films that pander to the lowest possible intelligence.
Petey (voiced by Pete Davidson) and Li’l Petey (voiced by Lucas Hopkins Calderon) in in “Dog Man” (Image courtesy of DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)
Just like an unruly dog that becomes too obnoxious to tolerate, the animated film “Dog Man” is a noisy and incoherent attack on the senses that ends up leaving an unpleasant mess. The visuals and story are amateurish and unappealing. And even though the title of the movie is “Dog Man,” at least half of the movie does a detour into a subplot about the villain cat and his innocent cloned “son.”
Written and directed by Peter Hastings (who also voices the title character), “Dog Man” is based on Dav Pilkey’s book series of the same name. The “Dog Man” movie looks like a misguided vanity project that was privileged to have the financial backing of major animation studio. There are better animated films that can be found for free on YouTube or other video platforms.
The “Dog Man” movie panders to the lowest common denominator and can’t even stay focused on its simple-minded plot. “Dog Man” takes place in the fictional Ohkay City, where humans and talking animals co-exist. The movie establishes early on that the main plot is about the city’s law enforcement wanting to apprehend an elusive cat criminal named Petey (voiced by Pete Davidson), who is mostly a thief.
During a high-speed chase to find Petey, a human police office and his loyal dog get into a serious accident. At a hospital, the medical professionals decide to do a radical surgery, by putting the head of the dog on the man’s body. Dog Man is now born.
Dog Man is still under pressure to find Petey. His unnamed police chief boss (voiced by Lil Rel Howery) is a grouch who is constantly yelling, mostly at Dog Man. However, the chief seems to have a soft spot for an inquisitive local TV reporter named Sarah Hatoff (voiced by Isla Fisher), who is frequently on the scene during the various mishaps that ensue.
Petey isn’t happy that Dog Man exists. He snarls about the police officer and dog that have now become the spliced mutant Dog Man: “I tried to get rid of these two ding dongs. And instead, I made a supercop.”
Petey comes up with idea to clone himself so he can increase the number of crimes he commits. What results isn’t exactly an adult clone but a kitten named Li’l Petey (voiced by Lucas Hopkins Calderon), who has the voice and intelligence of a human child in the age range of 6 to 8 years old. Li’l Petey (who calls Petey “Papa”) is sweet and naïve—which is why Petey wants nothing to do with Li’l Petey at first.
“Dog Man” becomes an irritating repetition of Petey getting captured and then escaping. In the last third of the film, the movie seems to forget all about Dog Man and goes off on a “daddy issues” tangent involving Petey, Li’l Petey and Petey’s father Grampa (voiced by Stephen Root), who is just as curmudgeonly as Petey. A sarcastic fish named Flippy (voiced by Ricky Gervais) becomes a shared enemy of Dog Man and Petey.
The movie has several supporting characters who don’t have much personality and are mostly forgettable. These characters are Butler (voiced by Poppy Liu), who is Petey’s assistant; Seamus (voiced by Billy Boyd), who is Sarah’s camera operator; Milly (voiced by Lunell), a cop co-worker of Dog Man; and 8DHD, a non-talking, sphere-shaped robot with human-like arms and legs. The voice performances are mediocre.
Children under the age of 10 might enjoy “Dog Man” because it’s a very energetic film, but the weak plot grows tiresome very quickly. Viewers looking for a good story will more likely be disappointed or bored by “Dog Man,” which wastes a lot of its frenetic energy on unimaginative visuals and tedious characters. This subpar animated film is like watching a dog chase its tail: Some might find amusement in watching it, but it’s ultimately a shallow spectacle of empty, repetitive and meaningless activity.
Universal Pictures will release “Dog Man” in U.S. cinemas on January 31, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Australia, from the 1970s to the 1990s, the animated film “Memoir of a Snail” features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: An eccentric girl, who collects snails, become separated from her twin brother after their widower father dies, and the twins experience various difficulties during their childhood and adult years.
Culture Audience: “Memoir of a Snail” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s voice actors and unconventional animation that is geared more to adults than children.
Young Grace Pudel (voiced by Charlotte Belsey), Percy Pudel (voiced by Dominique Pinon) and Young Gilbert Pudel (voiced by Mason Litsos) in “Memoir of a Snail” (Image courtesy of IFC Films)
Quirky and inventive, “Memoir of a Snail” is like no other animated film. The movie is not as lighthearted and family-friendly as it first appears to be, but there are moments of hope in this occasionally rambling story of a misfit who collects snails. This is a movie that is best enjoyed by people who consider themselves to be open-minded and can enjoy animation that doesn’t have a formulaic plot.
Written and directed by Adam Elliot, “Memoir of a Snail” had its world premiere at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and its U.S. premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival. The movie, which takes place in Australia from the 1970s to the 1990s, has stop-motion animation that looks a lot like it was influenced by animated films by director Tim Burton. However, “Memoir of a Snail” is more offbeat than most of Burton’s films.
“Memoir of a Snail” begins in the 1970s in Melbourne, where twin siblings Grace Pudel (voiced by Charlotte Belsey) and Gilbert Pudel (voiced by Mason Litsos) are being raised by their widower father Percy Pudel (voiced by Dominique Pinon), a native of France who used to be a juggler in Paris. Grace is the narrator of this movie, which as a flashback when Grace is an adult. Sarah Snook voices the role of adult Grace.
Annie Pudel, the mother of Gilbert and Grace, died during childbirth in 1972, when she was 22 years old. Annie, who was originally from Australia, met Percy when she was visiting in Paris and he was a street busker. After Percy and Annie fell in love, Percy moved to Australia to be with Annie.
As a widower, Percy is addicted to alcohol and uses a wheelchair because he has paraplegia. “Knitting and jelly beans were his other addictions,” Grace says in the narration. From an early age, Grace developed a fascination with squirrels and became somewhat obsessed with collecting snails and snail memorabilia.
Grace and Gilbert adore each other and are very close. n hindsight narration, Grace describes Gilbert as this way when they were growing up together: “He was like Holden Caulfield, James Dean and Charlie Brown rolled all into one.” Gilbert was a pessimistic worrier who was often bullied at school, but he wasn’t afraid to fight back.
Grace also says that Gilbert loved animals so much, he became a vegetarian. She adds, “But the thing that made Gilbert really unique was his love of fire. He’d spend hours playing with fire.” Gilbert’s dream was to become a street performer in Paris, just like his father Percy was. “Despite our hardships, there was plenty of joy,” Grace says of her childhood being raised by Percy.
However, as shown in the flashback scenes, that joy came to crashing halt when Percy dies. Grace and Gilbert are separated in the foster care system and are sent to live on opposite sides of Australia. Grace is placed with a married couple who are accountants in urban Canberra (on the east coast), while Gilbert is placed with a married couple who live on a rural farm near Perth (on the west coast). The twins don’t see each other for several years, but they keep in touch by writing letters to each other.
Grace and Gilbert also grow up in opposite foster homes, when it come to the people who are raising them. Grace’s foster parents are Ian (voiced by Paul Capsis) and Narelle (also voiced by Capsis), who are friendly but often neglectful because they are swingers who are frequently absent from their home. By contrast, Gilbert’s foster parents Owen (voiced by Bernie Clifford) and Ruth (voiced by Magda Szubanski) are religious conservatives who are very abusive to Gilbert.
Not much more can be described about “Memoir of a Snail” without giving away too much of the plot. However, it’s enough to say that adult Grace and adult Gilbert (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee) have ups and downs in their lives. As an adult, Grace becomes addicted to “buying, hoarding and stealing.”
Grace also befriends an eccentric older woman named Pinky (voiced by Jacki Weaver), who is legally blind and becomes a maternal figure to Grace. Grace also has two love interests: one named Ken (voiced by Tony Armstrong) and one named Bill Clarke (voiced by Nick Cave), with both romances being very different from each other. Gilbert also has a romance that takes a heartbreaking turn. A magistrate named James (voiced by Eric Bana) as a small but pivotal role in the film.
“Memoir of a Snail” is not going to be to everyone’s liking. There’s a lot of dry and dark comedy in the movie that is handled quite capably by the voice actors, who give memorable performances. The parts of the story that are depressing might catch some viewers off guard and be a turnoff for the rest of the movie. The movie’s visuals are striking, and the story clips along at a good pace, although some of the narrative tends to wander. Viewers with patience will be rewarded with an ending that makes “Memoir of a Snail” a uniquely poignant movie experience.
IFC Films released “Memoir of a Snail” in select U.S. cinemas on October 25, 2024. The movie was released on digital and VOD on November 26, 2024. AMC+ will premiere the movie on January 17, 2025.
Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba), Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) and Tails (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey) in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
Culture Representation: Taking place in Japan and in the United States, the live-action animated film “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (based on Sega’s video game characters) features a diverse cast of characters portraying humans and talking animals.
Culture Clash: Sonic the Hedgehog and his crime-fighting allies Knuckles and Tails team up to fight a new villain: Shadow, who looks a lot like Sonic and is out for revenge on the Guardian Units of Nations for an incident that happened 50 years ago.
Culture Audience: “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of “The Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise, the movie’s headliners and movies based on videogames that are faithful to the spirit and characters of the original video games.
Shadow (voiced by Keanu Reeves) in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” comes dangerously close to being overstuffed with characters and subplots. However, this live-action/animated sequel effectively ramps up the manic comedy and has a few welcome surprises. Not everyone will like “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” but the movie definitely isn’t boring. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (which is based on Sega’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” video game characters) is one of the few movie franchises based on video games that hasn’t gotten stale by the third movie in the series.
Jeff Fowler is the director of 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog,” 2022’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and 2024’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” Pat Casey and Josh Miller co-wrote the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie, with John Whittington joining as a third screenwriter for “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” Each successive “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie tries to ambitiously surpass itself in spectacle and energy, but the filmmakers need to be mindful of not making any of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies too messy and confusing.
People who watch “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” don’t need to see the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie but should definitely see “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” to fully appreciate “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” In “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” title character Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz) is a blue hedgehog from outer space who is living permanently on Earth. Sonic’s main “superpower” is his extraordinary speed. He has the personality of a hyper teenager and has been “adopted” by a human married couple in Montana named Tom Wachowski (played by James Marsden) and his wife Maddie (played by Tika Sumpter), who discovered Sonic living on their property in the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie.
In “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Sonic is the leader of Team Sonic, a crime-fighting group that includes his two closest male friends: a gruff red echidna named Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) and a friendly yellow fox named Tails (voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey), who made their first movie appearances in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Knuckles has the “superpower” of strength through his oversized fists. Tails is a tech whiz who is very talented with computers and gadgets.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” begins in Tokyo Bay, Japan, where the movie’s chief villain Shadow (voiced by Keanu Reeves) has been kept in suspended animation in a water-filled cylinder chamber on Prison Island. Shadow has been kept imprisoned since 1974. However, in 2024, he breaks out of this prison and heads to the United States because he wants revenge on the Guardian Units of Nations (GUN), the the military operation of Earth’s government, the United Federation. The reasons for this revenge are eventually revealed in the movie.
When news gets out that Shadow has escaped from prison. GUN’s Director Rockwell (played by Krysten Ritter) asks Team Sonic to help catch Shadow, who zips around on a motorcycle. When Sonic first sees Shadow, he is shocked by how much Shadow looks like Sonic. Shadow and Sonic look almost exactly the same except for their color. Sonic is blue and white, while Shadow is red and black. Shadow is technically much older than Sonic, so he smugly declares that Sonic is the one who looks like Shadow, not vice versa.
GUN’s Commander Walters (played by Tom Walters) shows up to tell Team Sonic the origin story of Shadow. This review won’t give away all the details, but it’s enough to say that in the 1970s, Shadow was found in a meteorite that gave Shadow “chaos power.” Shadow was kept in a secret GUN lab, where he was subjected to experimental research. The lead scientist had an adolescent daughter named Maria (played by Alyla Browne, shown in flashbacks), who befriended Shadow.
Meanwhile, Team Sonic finds an unlikely ally with a past foe: Ivo Robotnik (played by Jim Carrey), the “mad scientist” also known as Eggman, who is living in reclusive exile and spending his days eating junk food and watching Spanish-language telenovelas. Ivo’s loyal assistant Agent Stone (played by Lee Majdoub) finds out that someone has been impersonating Ivo, so Agent Stone enlists Team Sonic to find out who the imposter is.
Team Sonic’s mission to help GUN and to help Ivo could have turned into a jumbled mess, but “Sonic the Hedgehog” mostly keeps these two plots running smoothly. Along the way, as revealed in the “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” trailers, Ivo finds out that his long-lost grandfather Gerald Robotnik (also played by Carrey) is still alive. Gerald turns out to be just as wacky if not wackier than Ivo.
Some characters from previous “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies make cameo appearances, such as Maddie’s outspoken sister Rachel (played by Natasha Rothwell) and her upstanding GUN agent husband Randall Handel (played by Shemar Moore), who got married in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Also making a brief that is less consequential is dorky Wade Whipple (played by Adam Pally), a deputy sheriff who is Tom’s friend.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has enough snarky pop-culture commentary that should appeal to viewers who are older than 12. Carrey’s dual performances as Ivo and Gerald are deliberately over-the-top but have their comedic moments, although some viewers might find Carrey’s acting to be completely annoying. The returning cast members do more of the same that they did in previous movies, while Reeves’ brings a snarling deadpan attitude to Shadow that should make this character a fan fave for the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie franchise.
The high-energy visuals remain one of the franchise’s best assets. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has a breezy, fun-loving tone if viewers are willing to keep up with the movie’s fast-paced plot developments. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” fulfills its purpose of being an entertaining movie, especially for fans of video games. The movie’s mid-credits and end-credits scene show that this franchise is continuing for many more years.
Paramount Pictures released “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” in U.S. cinemas on December 20, 2024. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on January 21, 2025. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on April 15, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Africa, the animated film “Mufasa: The Lion King” (a prequel to “The Lion King” movies) features a cast of characters portraying talking animals.
Culture Clash: The origin story of future lion king patriarch Mufasa is told, including how he battled a pride of lion invaders and was betrayed by his adoptive brother.
Culture Audience: “Mufasa: The Lion King” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of “The Lion King” franchise and animated films that are formulaic and don’t do anything innovative.
Kiros (voiced by Mads Mikkelsen) in “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Image courtesy of Disney Enterprises Inc.)
The animated musical “Mufasa: The Lion King” delivers the expected eye-catching visuals, but the story, dialogue and songs are underwhelming and tedious. This disappointing prequel lazily copies the formula of other “Lion King” films. Considering the large production budget and award-winning talent involved for “Mufasa: The Lion King,” this hollow film is an example of too many wasted and missed opportunities.
Directed by Barry Jenkins and written by Jeff Nathanson, “Mufasa: The Lion King” tells the origin story of royal lion Mufasa, who is a stereotypical heroic character. Mufasa died near the beginning of “The Lion King” movies, as seen in the 1994 original “The Lion King” movie and 2019 remake. Mufasa’s unexpected death (by falling down a gorge) made his son/only child Simba a runaway because Simba blamed himself for Mufasa’s death. Mufasa was actually murdered, and the killer went on the hunt to murder Simba. It’s assumed that most people watching “Mufasa: The Lion King” saw a “Lion King” movie that told Simba’s origin story. Anyone unfamiliar with Simba’s story will feel a bit lost and confused by the beginning of “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
“Mufasa: The Lion King” begins with a caption announcing that the movie is dedicated to actor James Earl Jones, the original voice of Mufasa in the previous “Lion King” movies. (Jones died in September 2024, at the age of 93.) “Mufasa: The Lion King” then has an opening scene showing that adult Simba (voiced by Donald Glover), his love partner Nala (voiced by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter) and their cub daughter Kiara (voiced by Blue Ivy Carter) are living as a happy family somewhere in Africa. An elderly, wise mandrill named Rafiki (voiced by John Kani), who was a trusted ally of Mufasa, notices that Kiara is afraid of an expected rainstorm.
Rafiki tries to comfort Kiara by telling her that Kiara’s legendary grandfather king Mufasa used to be afraid of storms too, when Mufasa was about Kiara’s age. Rafiki then tells Kiara the story of Mufasa when Mufasa was a child and a young adult. This story and flashback scenes are the basis of much of “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Returning characters from “The Lion King” movies are two of Simba’s wisecracking friends: goofy warthog Pumbaa (voiced by Seth Rogen) and sarcastic meerkat Timon (voiced by Billy Eichner), who hang around to listen to Rafiki’s storytelling about Mufasa.
Mufasa’s origin story is almost an exact replica of Simba’s origin story. Mufasa as a cub (voiced by Braelyn Rankins) had a happy childhood and was his parents’ only child, until he was separated from his biological family for years and had to find his own identity as a young adult. “Mufasa: The Lion King” has one of the same villains as the original “Lion King” story, but “Mufasa: The Lion King” adds another villain to elongate the already predictable plot. The main difference between the two origin stories is that Mufasa was separated from his family because of a natural disaster, while Simba was separated from his family because Simba ran away after Simba’s father Mufasa died.
In “Mufasa: The Lion King,” cub Mufasa was living in bliss with his parents Masego (voiced by Keith David) and Afia (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), whose goal was to find the promised land of Milele, so the family could live in Milele. Mufasa’s parents describe Milele as a paradise-like place where resources are plentiful and animals live in harmony in “the circle of life.” Milele is a place that some animals believe is real, while others think Milele is a mythical place that doesn’t exist.
The family’s plans to find Milele are interrupted during a flash flood that causes Mufasa to nearly drown in a cascading river. As a result of this flood, Mufasa is separated from his parents and can’t find them. A crocodile almost attacks Mufasa, but he is rescued by another cub named Taka (voiced by Theo Somolu), who is a prince of his pride of lions. Mufasa doesn’t know how to find his parents, so Taka (who is about the same age as Mufasa) takes Mufasa back to Taka’s home, which is a place called Pride Lands.
Taka’s parents—stern father Obasi (voiced by Lennie James) and compassionate mother Eshe (voiced by Thandiwe Newton)—have very different reactions to Mufasa. Obasi, who is very distrustful of outsiders, is reluctant to accept Mufasa into the pride. Eshe is more open to accepting Mufasa, especially when Taka openly expresses that he has always wanted a brother. (The utterly bland song “I Always Wanted a Brother” is performed in this part of the movie.)
Obasi tells Mufasa that Mufasa can only live with this pride of lions if Mufasa wins in a speed race against Taka. Mufasa wins the race because Taka deliberately lets Mufasa win—and Taka doesn’t let Mufasa forget it. Obasi also tells Taka never to trust Mufasa because Taka is Obasi’s rightful heir. It’s the first indication that although Taka wants Mufasa as a brother, Taka expects to inherit the kingdom from Obasi. Even with this “victory,” Mufasa s still treated with suspicion by Obasi, who orders that Mufasa has to spend time with the females of the pride.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” then has a series scenes showing that despite Obasi’s wariness of Mufasa, Taka went against his father’s wishes and became very close to Mufasa, who became just like a brother to Taka. The movie then abruptly segues to the young-adult phase of Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre) and Taka (voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who are still the best of friends at this point in the story. They hunt together and protect each other.
However, there is some tension in the relationship because Mufasa has been outshining Taka because Mufasa has an extraordinary sense of smell, and Mufasa is overall more courageous than Taka. Mufasa is also considered more physically attractive than Taka: Mufasa has a full mane and is muscular, while Taka has a scraggly mane and is somewhat scrawny.
Mufasa’s keen senses are why he can detect the impending invasion of a group of villainous white lions called the Outsiders, led by the ruthless Kiros (voiced by Mads Mikkelsen), who want to take over the land occupied by Obasi’s pride of lions. Kiros has two sisters who are his warrior sidekicks: Akua (voiced by Joanna Jones) and Amara (voiced by Folake Olowofoyeku), who both have personalities that are indistinguishable from the other. You know what happens next: Mufasa and Taka join forces with the rest of their pride to fight against the Outsiders.
Meanwhile, a bit of a love triangle develops when Mufasa and Taka meet a young adult lioness named Sarabi (voiced by Tiffany Boone), who has two sidekick friends: young Rafiki (voiced by Kagiso Lediga) and a talkative hornbill named Zazu (voiced by Preston Nyman), who is Sarabi’s scout. Sarabi becomes a warrior ally to Mufasa and Taka. And even if you’ve never seen the original “Lion King” movie, it’s very easy to predict which lion brother will eventually win Sarabi’s love. Rafiki also has a special friend: a baboon named Junia (voiced by Thuso Mbedu), who will be forgotten by most viewers by the time the movie is over.
If the introduction of all these new characters sounds a bit overcrowded, that’s because it is. Sarabi’s brave-but-gentle personality is almost identical to Nala’s personality. Zazu is an utterly generic chatterbox. Kiros is every single cliché of a cartoon animal villain. Mikkelsen tries to give the Kiros character some sort of charisma, but his performance is hampered by drab dialogue.
One of the biggest problems with “Mufasa: The Lion King” is that even if you never saw any “Lion King” movie, it’s common knowledge in pop culture that Mufasa had a brother named Scar, who betrayed Mufasa and became a villain because Scar was jealous of Mufasa. In “Mufasa: The Lion King,” Taka is obviously the original name of Scar, although the movie tries to pay coy about it, as if it’s some big secret. Most viewers already know that Taka is a duplicitous villain, so there is no real surprise when the moment comes in “Mufasa: The Lion King” when Taka is revealed to be a villain.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” eventually shows how and why Taka’s name was changed to Scar, but this tidbit of information does not change the monotony of the story. The action scenes aren’t as thrilling as they could be. And the movie just can’t overcome the clunky and boring conversations. Pumbaa and Timon, the only “Lion King” characters with a lively rapport, are sidelined in “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which makes Pumbaa and Timon more annoying than amusing.
And unlike many other Disney animated musicals, “Mufasa: The Lion King” has absolutely no songs that are destined to be classics or winners of major awards. Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “Moana,” “Encanto”) wrote the six original songs in “Mufasa: The Lion King” that have lyrics: “Milele”; “I Always Wanted a Brother” (co-written by Nicholas Britell, the composer of “Mufasa: The Lion King”); “Bye Bye”; “We Go Together”; “Tell Me It’s You”; and “Brother Betrayed.” None of these songs comes close to being as memorable as the Oscar-winning 1994 “Lion King” song: “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” written by Elton John and Tim Rice. Britell’s musical score for “Mufasa: The Lion King” is serviceable but not outstanding, compared to Hans Zimmer’s score for the original “Lion King” movie.
Here’s an example of why “Mufasa: The Lion King” has a poorly written screenplay: When elder Rafiki is telling the origin story of Mufasa, the movie cuts to interludes showing Rafiki being interrupted by Pumbaa and Timon, who complain and don’t understand why they aren’t part of the story too—even though Pumbaa and Timon didn’t even know Mufasa. Pumbaa also weirdly keeps guessing out loud if Taka is really going to be revealed as a young Pumbaa. It makes absolutely no sense. “Mufasa: The Lion King” director Jenkins won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for 2016’s “Moonlight.” We’ll never know how “Mufasa: The Lion King” would have been like if Jenkins also wrote the screenplay for “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
“Mufasa: The Lion King” is a prequel that expects viewers to know a lot about Simba’s “Lion King” story, which is why the beginning of “Mufasa: The Lion King” is so jumbled when re-introducing familiar characters. But at the same time, “Mufasa: The Lion King” also drags out the obvious “reveal” that Taka is really Scar, the villain lion who became an enemy of Mufasa and Simba. Everything else in “Mufasa: The Lion King” is really just a distraction that leads up to this reveal. The voice cast members are talented and do the best they can, but “Mufasa: The Lion King” is ultimately a shallow retread of 1994’s vastly superior “The Lion King.”
Walt Disney Pictures released “Mufasa: The Lion King” in U.S. cinemas on December 20, 2024.
Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise), King Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), Haleth (voiced by Benjamin Wainwright) and Háma (voiced by Yazdan Qafouri) in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Culture Representation: Taking place in the fictional kingdom of Rohan, the animated film “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (based on characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien) features a cast of characters who are royalty and commoners.
Culture Clash: The king of Rohan and his family, including heroic princess Héra, come under attack by a ruthless lord who has a vendetta against them.
Culture Audience: “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of “The Lord of the Rings” franchise and anime movies that are predictable.
Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino) in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is the type of franchise movie that will have a hard time winning over fans who are not familiar with the original source material of “The Lord of the Rings” books by J.R.R. Tolkien. This prequel to the Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy falls very short of expectations. Anime is a worthy format for “Lord of the Rings” filmmaking, but the movie’s visuals are often sloppy, and too many characters have bland personalities.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” was written by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Philippa Boyens, a screenwriter for the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movie trilogies, is a producer of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.” Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson, (who directed and produced “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movie trilogies) and his producer wife Fran Walsh are among the executive producers of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.”
The story in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” takes place 183 years before the events that took place before the original “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy, which is a fantasy franchise with wizards and mythical creatures. The story of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” takes place in the kingdom of Rohan, whose people are called Rohirrim, and they have an affinity for horses. Some of the highlights of “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” are stunning-looking scenes of people on horseback.
Rohan is ruled by King Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), who is a stereotypically bold and fearless leader. King Helm, who is a widower, has three children: virile son Haleth (voiced by Benjamin Wainwright), who is the eldest child; sensitive son Háma (voiced by Yazdan Qafouri), who is the middle child; and strong-willed daughter Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise), who is the youngest child. King Helm does not think Héra is fit to be a leader because she is female.
A cruel and ruthless lord named Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino) leads an army to attack the family because he wants revenge. Why? Early in the movie, Wulf proposed marriage to Héra in the royal open court, but King Helm rejected this proposal: “You do not seek an alliance. You seek the throne,” the king told Wulf.
Héra and Wulf have known each other since childhood. She is also not keen on this idea of marriage to Wulf. When Wulf tells her that he loves her, Héra’s response is, “I do not want to marry any man.” After this rejection, Wulf turned into into a bitter and vengeful person.
Wulf is the son of Freca (voiced by Shaun Dooley), Lord of the West March. Freca was taunted by King Helm for having mixed heritage of being Rohirrim and Dunlending, the race of people from Dunland. A tragedy strikes Wulf’s family, which gives Wulf even more cause for revenge against King Helm. (You can easily predict what that tragedy is.)
Supporting characters in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” are underdeveloped. General Targg (voiced by Michael Wildman) is a loyal miltary strategist/adviser to Wulf. Éowyn (voiced by Mirando Otto), a noblewoman/shieldmaiden, is a wise mother figure to Héra. Éowyn is also the movie’s narrator. Otto also portrayed the Éowyn character in Jackson’s live-action “The Lord of the Rings” movies.
This family feud war is a simple idea for a story, but in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” this concept gets convoluted and dragged down by many boring scenes and drab dialogue. The movie’s voice acting performances are mediocre and don’t bring a lot of life or energy to the story. The battle scenes are utterly formulaic.
Everything is so generically predictable in “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” the movie feels disconnected from the thrills and memorable characters in Jackson’s live-action “The Lord of the Rings” movies. “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” doesn’t just feel disconnected from the other “Lord of the Rings” movies. The entire tone of the “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” feels emotionally disconnected—and that is a problem that is too big to overcome.
Directed by David G. Derrick Jr.; co-directed by Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller
Culture Representation: Taking place in ancient Polynesia, the animated musical film “Moana 2” (a sequel to the 2016 animated film “Moana”) features a cast of characters who are human Pacific Islanders, gods or animals.
Culture Clash: Teenage adventurer Moana goes off on another sea voyage, but this time, it’s to find a long-lost island that can bring other Pacific Islanders together.
Culture Audience: “Moana 2” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of 2016’s “Moana,” the movie’s headliners and Disney princess movies.
Pictured clockwise, from left: Kele (voiced by David Fane), Moni (voiced by Hualālai Chung), Loto (voiced by Rose Matafeo) and Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) in “Moana 2” (Image courtesy of Disney Enterprises Inc.)
“Moana 2” didn’t learn the sequel lesson that more characters in a sequel don’t automatically make a better movie. Fans of 2016’s “Moana” should find enough to like in this sequel, which is adequately entertaining but inferior to the original “Moana” film. It’s the type of sequel that replicates much of the same “voyage at sea” concept as the series’ first movie but doesn’t do much to make it more innovative or more exciting.
“Moana 2” was directed by David G. Derrick Jr., and co-directed by Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller—a different team from John Musker and Ron Clements, who directed “Moana.” Jared Bush, who wrote “Moana,” returns as the screenwriter for “Moana 2,” which has Ledoux Miller as an additional screenwriter. “Moana” composer Mark Mancina also returns for this sequel with Opetaia Foa‘i as writers of some of the movie’s original songs. However, Lin-Manuel Miranda (who co-wrote many of the original songs in “Moana”) is not part of “Moana 2.” Instead, “Moana 2” has Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear as co-writers of most of “Moana 2’s” original songs. The end results in “Moana 2” are predictable and formulaic but not entirely disappointing.
In “Moana” (which takes place in ancient Polynesia), teenage Moana (played by Auli’i Cravalho) goes on a seafaring journey to give back a poweful precious stone to the goddess of nature Te Fiti (who is also a living island), in order to save Moana’s island of Motunui from a food shortage that could lead to massive starvation for the people of Montunui. Along the way, Moana teams up with a wisecracking and shapeshifting demi-god of the wind named Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), who stole the precious stone many centuries ago. Moana also finds her identity and confidence as someone who can lead an adventurous voyage and do good things for her community.
In “Moana 2,” the stakes are much lower than life or death for the people of Motunui. Moana is now a proven heroic voyager, but Motunui is still isolated from other people in the Pacific Islands. Moana is visited in a vision by Tautai Vasa (voiced by Gerald Faitala Ramsey), one of Motunui’s orginal adventurers, who tells Moana to find the long-lost island of Motufetū, which can connect other people who live in the Pacific Ocean.
In order to find Motufetū, Moana has to battle against Nalo (voiced by Tofiga Fepulea’i), the god of storms who sunk Motufetū, thereby separating Pacific Islanders to prevent them from connecting with each other. It’s a muddled plot that only makes sense if you’re willing to believe that certain land in “Moana” can have mystical powers. As explained in the “Moana” movies, the people of Motunui were taught for generations to fear going outside a certain radius from their land.
Nalo has captured a mysterious woman named Mitangi (played by Awhimai Fraser), who has lived inside a giant clam for the past 1,000 years. Nalo has ordered Mitangi to stop anyone from finding Motufetū. Mitangi, who surrounds herself with flying foxes, isn’t quite the fearsome opponent that she needed to be to make “Moana 2” more thrilling. Her big musical number is when she performs a song called “Get Lost.” Mitangi is no Ursula (the sea-dwelling ruthless villain from “The Little Mermaid”) because Mitangi’s personality is being a fairly generic villain.
In “Moana 2,” Moana’s parents Chief Tui (voiced by as Temuera Morrison) and Sina (voiced by Nicole Scherzinger) have less importance to the story than they did in “Moana,” which had overprotective Chief Tui telling Moana not to risk her life as a voyager because she’s female. Moana received Chief Tui’s respect and permission to go on voyages at the end of the first “Moana” movie, so there’s not much reason for her to rebel against her parents in “Moana 2.” Moana’s beloved paternal grandmother Gramma Tala (voiced by Rachel House), who died in “Moana,” makes a cameo appearance in “Moana 2” as a ghostly vision.
“Moana 2” introduces a new family character, who is a cliché that many animated sequels have: the adorable kid who’s under the age of 10. “Moana 2” shows that Moana now has a younger sister named Simea (voiced by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), who’s about 4 or 5 years old. Simea’s only purpose in “Moana 2” is to show how much she wants to be an adventurer, just like Moana. In other words, Simea was created to most likely have her own animated spinoff.
As for Maui, there is nothing that’s very new or interesting about him. He still has tattoos that move around on his body, with the tattoos having the ability to portray many of his life experiences. He’s still cocky and prone to getting himself into embarrassing situations. He’s still the impulsive counterpoint to the more logical Moana. He is still the biggest comic relief, although Maui’s presence is diluted in “Moana 2” because the movie is a bit overstuffed with new characters.
In “Moana,” the only people on the sailboat voyage were Moana and Maui, accompanied by Moana’s slow-witted pet rooster Heihei (voiced by Alan Tudyk), who stowed away on the boat. “Moana 2” makes the misstep of having too many people on the voyage with Moana and Maui, thereby giving them more backup allies and less suspense in their chances of winning in any fights. Also on the voyage in “Moana 2” are Moana’s sassy best friend Loto (played by Rose Matafeo), elderly worrier Kele (voiced by David Fane) and burly storykeeper Moni (voiced by Hualālai Chung), who greatly admires Moana and Maui. The accompanying animals on this “Moana 2” voyage are Heihei and Moana’s cute pet pig Pua.
When only Moana and Maui there to protect each other in the first “Moana” movie, any danger they encountered seemed to be more of a challenge. In fact, one of the ways that “Moana 2” misses the mark is in making everything safer and less surprising than the first “Moana,” which already had enough predictability. The animation in “Moana 2” is perfectly fine but isn’t as vibrant as the first “Moana” movie.
“Moana” had bigger issues about environmental protection at the heart of the story, while “Moana 2” is more about Moana hanging out with her boat mates so they can find new friends. “Moana 2” makes more of an effort than “Moana” to incorporate Pacific Islander culture dancing into the story. However, the introduction of Moana’s new boat mates seems forced and contrived, as if this is the “Moana” version of the “Gilligan’s Island” motley crew.
The songs and musical score in “Moana 2” are pleasant, but the movie isn’t a journey chock full of memorable hits. “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?,” which has Johnson on lead vocals, is one of the fun tracks that does a good job of capturing Maui’s sense of playfulness. The anthemic “Beyond” and “What Can Be Better Than This?” are the obvious showcase songs for “Moana 2,” with Cravalho on lead vocals. Are these songs catchy and entertaining? Yes. Are they iconic as Disney animation tunes “We Need to Talk About Bruno” (from “Encanto”) or “Let It Go” (from “Frozen”)? Frankly, no.
The “Moana 2” voice cast performances are very good but would have more of an impact if the overall story and screenplay had been more engaging and more innovative. Mitangi’s most memorable line is when she gives this bland advice to Moana: “There’s always another way, even if you have to get lost to find it.” A mid-credits scene featuring Nolo and Mitangi can be considered a hint of what the story could be for another “Moana” sequel.
People who’ve seen 2016’s “Moana” might have varying expectations for “Moana 2,” which was originally going to be a straight-to-streaming project for Disney+, instead of getting a theatrical release. A live-action “Moana” is due out in 2026, with Johnson reprising his role as Maui. In other words, Disney is overloading on “Moana” but isn’t doing enough to come up with any ideas to take this franchise to new and creative storytelling levels.
Walt Disney Pictures will release “Moana 2” in U.S. cinemas on November 27, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed part of Earth, animated film “Flow” features a various animals and no speaking.
Culture Clash: A group of different animals end up working together to survive an apocalypse.
Culture Audience: “Flow” will appeal mainly to people who are interested in watching unique anmated films about animals.
A scene from “Flow” (Image courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)
“Flow” is one of the best animated films of the year. In this emotionally moving and gorgeously filmed story that has no speaking, various animals find themselves surviving an apocalypse together. It’s impressive for an animated film to have no spoken words and yet convey so much.
Directed by Gints Zilbalodis (who co-wrote the screenplay with Matiss Kaza), “Flow” is Latvia’s official entry for the 2025 Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. “Flow” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The animal characters in this movie do not have names. There are also no humans in the movie, which takes place in an unnamed part of Earth.
The origins of this apocalypse is never explained, but it has caused massive flooding. During the course of a story, a cat, capybara, a lemur, a secretarybird, and a dog navigate a boat while looking for dry land and learn to rely on each other. There are also some other animals in the movie, including a whale, which has one of the best scenes in “Flow.”
“Flow” might sound like it has a very simple plot. However, this is a movie of substance that can’t be described without revealing how the story unfolds. “Flow” is a movie that has to be experienced by watching it to fully understand how special it is.
One of the best things about “Flow” is how it beautifully depicts many of the nature scenes. Scenes in the woods and underwater have an authentic quality that will make viewers feel fully immersed. There are also some stunning-looking outdoor scenes (such as when the cat encounters a giant cat statue) that can be considered among the visual highlights.
Although there is no talking in “Flow,” the animals show distinct personalities and characteristics. The cat is intelligent and resourceful. The dog (a Labrador retriever that is first seen with a pack of other dogs) is playful and affectionate. The lemur is a bit of a pack rat that likes to collect abandoned trinkets. The capybara is laid-back and friendly. The secretarybird seems to be an enemy at first but ends up being a protective friend.
There are a few things that aren’t realistic, such as a group of lemurs acting more like humans than the other animals. An amusing scene shows how the somewhat-vain lemurs do when they discover a mirror. However, the cat (who is the main protagonist) and most of the other animals are portrayed very realistically. In a world where almost all animated films about animals have them talking like humans, it’s refreshing to see an animated film that shows and respects animals for how they really are.
Sideshow/Janus Films will release “Flow” in select U.S. cinemas on November 22, 2024. The movie was released in Latvia on August 28, 2024.
Culture Representation: The documentary film “Piece by Piece” features Grammy-winning artist Pharrell Williams and other people who know him telling his life story, in Lego anination form.
Culture Clash: Williams, a self-described music nerd, spent years struggling to break into the music industry, eventually found hitmaking success as one-half of the production duo the Neptunes and as a solo artst, and overcame a professional slump in the late 2000s for a major comeback in the early 2010s.
Culture Audience: “Piece by Piece” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Pharrell Williams and documentaries about people who create mainstream pop music hits.
Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani in “Piece by Piece” (Image courtesy of Focus Features)
Pharrell Williams’ life story presented as a Lego animation documentary could have been a cynical and superficial cash grab. “Piece by Piece” is actually insightful, soulful and a delight to watch. It’s an entertaining kaleidoscope of sights and sounds where each interview subject’s personality shines through, despite being shown as a Lego toy.
Directed by Morgan Neville (who is also the documentary’s interviewer), “Piece by Piece” had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary’s visuals are great, and the music is very engaging, but they wouldn’t be as effective if the interviews weren’t candid. For example, he admits he’s always been afraid of having success as a solo artist. Williams says he reluctantly recorded his 2003 solo song “Frontin'” after he sent it to Prince, who didn’t respond.
Williams (who was born in 1973) was raised in his birth city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. He says he was a shy and insecure child, who never felt like he fit in anywhere except when he was listening to music or watching TV. He was also a big fan of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” science series. “I don’t know where it’s from,” Williams says, “but I always knew I was different.” He comments on being a loner as a child: “I was detached. I was in dreamland.”
Williams says that television became a magical place where he could escape to and let his imagination run wild. Although he didn’t mind being a loner, he was sensitive about what people thought of him. Williams comments that if people thought of him, “He’s an oddball,” then “that crushed my spirit.”
Williams declares that he knew from an early age that he wanted to make music and be in the music industry, but he often felt frustrated by the lack of opportunities in Virginia Beach, compared to bigger cities such as New York City, Los Angeles or Atlanta. He describes himself as a teenager as someone who spent many hours alone in his room, feeling transported to different worlds by the music he was listening to at the time. Growing up in a beach city, Williams says he’s had a lifelong fascination with the ocean and is particularly fixated on the fictional ocean kingdom of Atlantis.
When he was a teenager, his passion for music led him to meet and befriend another self-described “music nerd” named Chad Hugo, who is also interviewed in “Piece by Piece.” Williams and Hugo had a special chemistry working together as a music producer duo called the Neptunes. They also performed as a rock duo called N.E.R.D.
Hugo’s interview for the documentary was apparently done before his legal battle with Williams. In March 2024, Hugo sued Williams over their agreement that they would co-own the Neptunes’ name. In the lawsuit, Hugo accuses Williams of trying get to sole ownership of the name without Hugo’s consent. The lawsuit is not mentioned in the documentary. In a “Piece by Piece” interview, Williams descrbes Hugo as a “saint.”
Even though Virginia Beach is not a major hub in the music industry, some of Williams’ musical peers from Virginia Beach went on to have international success as hitmakers, including hip-hop star Missy Elliott and music producer/artis Timbaland, whose real name is Timothy Mosley. They are both interviewed for “Piece by Piece.”
The hits written and produced by Williams as part of the Neptunes or as a solo artist make up the soundtracks of many people’s lives. His first breakout hit was Wreckx-N-Effect’s 1992 single “Rump Shaker,” co-written by Teddy Riley, who got to know Williams after Riley set up a recording studio in Virginia Beach. Williams remembers this recording studio being a big deal because it was rare for a major star such as Riley to choose Virginia Beach as the headquarters for the star’s music production facilities.
Williams is also a writer and/or producer for Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass,” Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body,” Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” Kelis’ “Milkshake,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl,” No Doubt’s “Hella Good,” and Jay-Z’s “Give It to Me.” As a solo artist, Williams is best known for his Oscar-nominated song “Happy” (from 2013’s “Despicable Me 2”) and Daft Punk’s Grammy-winning 2013 smash hit “Get Lucky.”
Among the people interviewed in the documentary are artists who made hits with Williams, such as Jay-Z, Riley, Stefani, Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Elliott, N.O.R.E. and Busta Rhymes. Behind-the-scenes music industry people who are interviewed include former Vibe magazine editor Mimi Valdés, who know works as a film producer with Williams; music executive Jimmy Iovine; songwriter Tammy Lucas; Deep Zen monk Kosho Loïc Vuillemin; music executive Jon Platt; and music manager Rob Walker, who introduced N.O.R.E. to the Neptunes. Williams and Valdés (who are two of the producers of “Piece by Piece”) were Oscar-nominated for Best Picture for being among the producers for 2016’s “Hidden Figures.”
Williams is particularly open about his love life and will only discuss his courtship and marriage to model/fashion designe Helen Lasichanh, whom he married in 2013. They have four kids: a son named Rocket (born in 2008) and triplets (born in 2017), whose names have been kept private. Lasichanh does a rare interview for the documentary. She describes Williams as the pursuer in their courtship, but she says it took him years before he said he was ready to commit to marriage. Williams is briefly seen in the documentary interacting with his kids as a doting father, who calls his son “sir.”
Also interviewed are Pharrell’s parents Pharoah Williams and Carolyn Williams, who says that they taught Pharrell the values of hard work. Carolyn also said on the partnership between Pharrell and Hugo: “To see them together, it was like they read each other’s minds.” Another family member interviewed is Bishop Ezekiel Williams (Pharrell’s uncle), who says that Pharrell’s paternal grandmother had a dream that Pharrell was lifted up and was given a special gift by God.
When someone has family members telling these stories, it should come as no surprise that someone might get a huge ego for it. Pharrell admits that his ego became enormous with all of his success, but he was humbled in the late 2000s, when he had a string of flops with audiences and critics. His comeback include career highs with “Happy” and “Get Lucky.”
Although Pharrell is also known for his business forays in the fashion industry, that part of his life isn’t really in the documentary. Don’t expect to hear stories about his fashion brands Bllionaire Boys Club and ICECREAM, or becoming creative director for Louis Vuitton’s men’s fashion, a position he was appointed to in 2023. His movie projects are also not gviven a spotlight in this documentary. “Piece by Piece” is a music-focused docmentary that gives some interesting stories about how Pharrell makes music, his life’s highs and lows and what other people have to say about him. Music is Pharrell’s first love. And “Piece by Piece” is a unique and charismatic way to share that love with an audience.
Focus Features released “Piece by Piece” in U.S. cinemas on October 11, 2024.
D-16/Megatron (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry), Alita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson, Orion Pax/Optimus (voiced by Chris Hemsworth and B-127 (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) in “Transformers One” (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
Culture Representation: Taking place in outer space, the animated film “Transformers One” has a group of characters that are talking robots.
Culture Clash: A group of miner robots that will later become Transformers find out why they have been oppressed and fight back against the enemy.
Culture Audience: “Transformers One” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Transformers” franchise and eye-catching action animated films.
Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm) in “Transformers One” (Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
For better or worse, “Transformers One” is for die-hard “Transformers” fans. This origin story has appealing visuals and action, but the plot might be too confusing for viewers who are new to the franchise. It’s one of the those movies that rushes through a world-building summary in the introduction and assumes that most people watching will already know the intricacies of the major characters in the “Transformers” franchise.
Directed by Josh Cooley, “Transformers One” was written by Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. “Transformers One” is one of several “Transformers” movies (animated and live-action) and animated TV series that have been spawned from the original “Transformers” animated TV series that was on the air from 1984 to 1987. The TV series and movies are all based on Hasbro’s Transformers toys of outer-space robots that can transform into moving vehicles.
“Transformers One” begins by explaining that on the planet Cybertron, a being called Primus birthed a race of supreme robots called Primes that can transform into moving vehicles. Primes need a special feul for a healthy existence called Energon. For generations, Cybertron had peace and prosperity, until it was invaded by enemies. Many of the Primes were killed, Energon became scarce, and most of the surviving robots of Cybertron were forced into identured servitude as underground miners, who are forbidden to go to the surface of the planet.
It’s during this bleak period that a rebellious miner robot named Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) tries to find out more about the history of this invasion. He discovers a hologram-like archive that talks about this history. However, the archive cuts off just before it will tell details about a mysterious force called the Matrix and information about the Matrix leadership. Orion Pax believes that finding out the secret of the Matrix can free the miners from their oppression.
Orion Pax’s best friend is another miner robot named D-16 (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry), who has a personality that almost the opposite of Orion Pax. D-16 is very cautious and feels strongly that the best way for miners to live is to not ask questions and always follow the rules. D-16 tells Orion Pax, “We’re miners. We mine. That’s all.”
The tryannical supervisor of the miners is Darkwing (voiced by Isaac C. Singleton Jr.), who doesn’t hesttate to punish anyone who breaks the rules. Darkwing reports to the leader of the land: Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm), who is worshipped as a hero for being one of the last surviving Primes. Sentinel Prime is very charismatic and has been telling his followers that he and his team have been searching for the Matrix leadership so that they can find more Energon.
Orion Pax is too curious to listen to D-16’s advice to always follow the rules. Several antics ensure that get Orion Pax and D-16 in various degrees of trouble. Without giving away too much information, it’s enough to say that Orion Pax and D-16 join forces with two other miner robots: outspoken Alita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) and goofy B-127 (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), who was banished to a secret lower level of the planet.
“Transformers One” has a lot of terrific action sequences accompanied by dazzling visuals. However, some of the plot developments are a bit repetitive. How many times does Orion Pax have to “punished” in ways that make it somewhat easy for him to escape? Predictably, there’s also a “secret villain” who is easy to figure out if you’ve seen enough of these types of movies.
The “Transformers One” voice performances are perfectly fine, considering that the characters in the movie are robots, not human beings with complex personalities. The “Transformers One” characters who aren’t the core four heroes (Orion Pax, D-16, Alita-1 and B-127) tend to be a bit one-dimensional. Hemsworth and Henry capably handle the dynamics of the friendship-turned-feud between Orion Pax and D-16.
This very male-centric movie could have had more females in prominent speaking roles. The only other notable female character has a small supporting role: Airachnid (voiced by Vanessa Liguori), a spider-like Transformer that can turn into a helicopter. Other characters in “Transformers One” are elderly Alpha Trion (voiced by Laurence Fishburne), villainous Starscream (voiced by Steve Buscemi) and music-loving Jazz (voiced by Evan Michael Lee).
It’s not a secret that certain characters in “Transformers One” will take on new identities that they have in other “Transformers” movies and TV shows with storylines that take place after the events of “Transformers One.” Orion Pax becomes Optimus Prime, heroic leader of the Autobots. D-16 becomes Megatron, evil leader of the Decepticons, the sworn enemies of the Autobots. B-127 (who also give himself the nicknames B and Badassatron in “Transformers One”) becomes Bumblebee, an ally of Optimus Prime.
“Transformers One” offers an interesting but formulaic look into what these characters were like before they were Transformers and how they got their Transformers superpowers. The movie’s brief end-credits scene is energetic but ultimately not necessary. People who are inclined watch sci-fi animated films should find many entertaining aspects to “Transformers One,” which can inspire new fans to watch more “Transformers” movies and TV shows to get a better understanding of the “Transformers” universe.
Paramount Pictures will release “Transformers One” in U.S. cinemas on September 20, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place mostly on a remote island,the animated film “The Wild Robot” has a group of characters that are talking animals and talking robots.
Culture Clash: After crash-landing on Earth, an alien robot becomes a mother figure to a young goose, who learns lessons about loyalty and life along the way.
Culture Audience: “The Wild Robot” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the book on which the movie is based, the movie’s headliners and family-friendly animated films that skillfully blend comedy and drama.
Fink (voiced by Pedro Pascal), Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) and Pinktail (voiced by Catherine O’Hara) in “The Wild Robot” (Image courtesy of DreamWorks Animation)
“The Wild Robot” is a heartwarming and visually dazzling animated adaptation of Peter Brown’s 2016 novel of the same. Lupita Nyong’o does an excellent job of making a robot character have believable humanity. The rest of the movie’s voice cast is also stellar.
Written and directed by Chris Sanders, “The Wild Robot” had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie keeps the plot uncomplicated and treads on a well-worn animated path of being a coming-of-age story where two very different characters are thrown together under unexpected circumstances and learn about life from each other. Most movies about robots usually have humans as main characters, but “The Wild Robot” stands out because there are no humans in the movie—only talking animals and talking robots.
“The Wild Robot” begins by showing a robot named Rozzum Unit 7134, later nicknamed Roz (voiced by Nyong’o), who crash-lands from outer space and becomes stranded on an island that has no humans. In the beginning of the movie, Roz is very rigid and focused only on following the orders that she was programmed to fulfill. She has been taught that once her duties have been completed for her owner, she has to shut down and be programmed for the next owner. It’s later revealed that Roz comes from a company called Universal Dynamics.
Roz’s appearance on the island causes the animals to fear Roz and think she’s a monster. When she is chased by a bear, she falls down and accidentally causes the death of family of geese, except for the only survivor: an unhatched egg. Roz believes she was programmed to protect this egg. A sly fox named Fink (voiced by Pedro Pascal) steals the egg, so Roz chases Fink through a heavily wooded area. Roz captures the fox, plucks a whisker from his face, retrieves the egg, and lets Fink go. The egg soon hatches and reveals itself to be a runt male gosling.
Roz asks this newborn goose, “Was this task completed to your satisfaction?” She asks the goose to rate her skills on a scale of 1 to 10. The frightened gosling can only chirp out an answer. Roz says, “I’ll register that as a 10.”
Roz and the orphaned gosling soon meet a family of young opossums led by a snarky matriarch named Pinktail (voiced by Catherine O’Hara), a mother of seven who doesn’t want to adopt this orphaned bird. Pinktail insists that Roz can take care of the gosling. Roz soon learns that she should have three tasks to complete to raise this newborn to become an independent goose who will be ready to migrate in autumn with the other geese in the community: “Eat. Swim. Fly by fall.”
At first, Roz wants to give numbers as a name for this gosling. (One bland and boring suggestion is 001.) However, Fink comes slinking back out of curiosity and says that this young goose should be given words as names. Roz takes this advice and names the gosling Brightbill when she sees his bill light up in the glow of the atmosphere.
Brightbill (voiced by Kit Connor) grows up to be a young adult who is bullied and taunted by other geese, who think of Brightbill as a tiny wimp and Roz as a monster. The chances look slim that outcast Brightbill will be invited to migrate with the other geese. Fink still hangs around as a family acquaintance who eventually earns more trust.
An elderly goose named Longneck (voiced by Bill Nighy) becomes the first goose to treat Brightbill and Roz with kindness. Other talking animals that appear in the movie are a fearsome grizzly bear named Thorn (voiced by Mark Hamill), a confident falcon named Thunderbolt (voiced by Ving Rhames) and an eccentric beaver named Paddler (voiced by Matt Berry), who is also trying to find acceptance with this clique-ish animal community on the island.
“The Wild Robot” has a lot to say about parental responsibilities and how families can exist with beings who are not biologically related. The movie treats themes of co-dependence and independence in thoughtful and clever ways, as observations and commentaries on interpersonal relationships and authoritarian control. A robot villain character named Vontra (voiced by Stephanie Hsu) represents the dark side of authoritarianism.
It’s fitting that the main character getting the child raising in “The Wild Robot” is a bird because the movie has several moments when Roz has to grapple with the experience of being an “empty nester.” One of the more impactful lines of dialogue in the movie is when Roz says she thinks of kindness as a survival skill. People might get misty-eyed in some scenes that are clearly intended to be tearjerking moments about family and friendship.
“The Wild Robot” brims with dynamic energy, gorgeous visuals and memorable characters, even if the movie offers no surprises. The movie’s writing and directing (complemented by Kris Bowers’ adventurous musical score) do not pander mainly to kids under the age of 10 because there’s much that can be enjoyed by people of many different age groups. The ending of the film obviously hints at a sequel, which should please viewers who want to see this appealing story continue.
Universal Pictures will release “The Wild Robot” in U.S. cinemas on September 27, 2024. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on October 15, 2024. “The Wild Robot” will be releaed on 4K UHD and Blu-ray on December 3, 2024.
