Title:  Tangled
Format:  Blu-ray
Genre:  Disney princess/Musical
Rating:  A+

Description (from All Movie Guide):  The classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale gets a lavish CG makeover as directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno team up to tell the tale of a fair-haired beauty with long-flowing locks, a gallant hero with a heart of gold, and the evil witch who plots to keep these lovelorn innocents apart.

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What an amazing movie!!!  Modern animation and great character development but with a classic Disney feel.  I wish I'd seen the movie in theaters, but seeing it last night on Blu-ray was also awesome.  The animation was great, even though I don't really like the 3D, CGI movies.  But for this movie, it worked perfectly.

Unlike many of the Disney princess movies, Tangled had great character development.  Other princess movies barely introduce the characters before they've fallen in love with a total stranger and are facing adversity.  In this movie, Rapunzel and Flynn both get a lot of background and development, making them seem like much more 3-dimensional characters (no pun intended).  Even the sidekicks and villain had great personalities and depth.

The classic Disney touches were there as well, which is probably why the movie was amazing.  Alan Menken did the music, and Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi had great voices for Disney.  The story was also fun and exciting, with plenty of family-appropriate humor and romance.

It makes me sad that John Lassiter (head of Pixar and new head of Disney animation) has said that Tangled is the last princess movie Disney will make.  This movie was proof that people still love a classic romance from Disney, as long as there's great characters and a fun story.  It was in the theaters for months, not weeks, and was extremely popular, but according to Lassiter, people don't want princess movies anymore.  I think Tangled has proved him wrong.  It's fun, refreshing, and cute with good music and characters.  I'd recommend this movie to anyone and everyone, even strangers on a bus.  I'd somehow make conversation with them just to tell them to see it.  A+

Title:  The Princess and the Frog
Format:  DVD
Category:  Family/Animated/Disney Princess
Rating:  A-

Description (from Disney website):  Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical The Princess and the Frog, an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. From the creators of "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin" comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana, a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.

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I'm so happy Disney returned to their classic 2-D, hand-drawn animation for this movie.  It was a refreshing change from the 3-D, CGI obsession that has taken over all animation studios, including Disney.  It was also awesome, because it wasn't the low-quality, straight-to-DVD animation that seems to have become standard for all non-CGI movies and Disney sequels.

This version of The Princess & the Frog is amazing, not only because it captures the essence of the classic Disney princess movie, but also because it provides a fresh twist on the original fairy-tale.  With memorable characters, fun songs, and great dialogue, this movie is great for the whole family.  Unless you have children who scare easily (like my sister) or if you disapprove of seeing the occult in a Disney family film (like my mom).  The villain of the movie is a voodoo practitioner who speaks to evil spirits, and one of the "good guys" also practices voodoo, but she's portrayed in a good light.  Something neither my mom nor I agree with.  But if you can get past the occultism, the movie is a great retelling of a classic fairy-tale.  A-

Title:  Despicable Me
Format:  Movie theater
Date Seen:  July 15, 2010
Category:  Family/Animated
Rating:  A

Description (from imdb.com):  In a happy suburban neighborhood sits a black house with a dead lawn. Hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru, planning the biggest heist in the history of the world, armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world's greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.

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I want a minion!  They are so ridiculously adorable.  This movie probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as good, if they had left out the minions.

The movie was so cute, and the storyline was really good too.  The villain's back story was well-done too.  Usually, in animated family movies, there's never any background on the villain.  You're just supposed to accept the fact that he's bad, and he's always been that way.  This time, they provided a look at what makes Gru tick.  And you actually end up sympathizing with him.  The movie's other villain, the real bad guy of the story, was incredibly funny.  As was the dialogue.  Which was surprising, because a lot of family movies have a hard time balancing their dialogue between kids and their parents.  You either get very childish humor that makes the parents cringe over the sappiness.  Or you get innuendo and crude jokes.  This movie didn't have either.  The dialogue was entertaining for both children and adults without the innuendo or baby-talk.  Here are some examples of the stuff that made me laugh:

Gru:  Do you speak Spanish?

Miss Hattie:  Do I look like someone who speaks Spanish?

Gru:  It's just that your face is so... Como es burro.

Miss Hattie:  Oh!  Why, thank you!

Gru:  Your dog has  been leaving bombs in my yard.

Fred:  Oh, you know dogs... they go where they want!

Gru:  Not if they're dead.

Little Gru:  Someday, I'm going to the moon.

Gru's Mom:  I'm afraid you're too late, Gru.  NASA is no longer sending up the monkeys.

Agnes:  Aw.  My caterpillar never turned into a butterfly.

Edith:  That's a Cheeto.

Agnes:  Oh.  *Eats it*

Edith:  When we got adopted by a bald guy, I thought this'd be more like Annie.

Agnes:  Will you read us a bedtime story?

Gru:  No.

Agnes:  Pretty please?

Gru:  The physical appearance of the please makes no difference.

So funny!  And those are only a few of the quotes I loved from this movie.  I would definitely recommend this to all kids, and to anyone who likes to laugh.  A

Title: Toy Story 3
Format: Movie theather
Date Seen: June 19, 2010
Category: Family/Animated/Disney Pixar
Rating: A+

Description (from imdb.com): Andy is now 17 and ready to head off to college, leaving Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the toy-box gang to ponder their uncertain futures. When the toys are accidentally donated to the Sunnyside Daycare center they're initially overjoyed to once again be played with, but their enthusiasm quickly gives way to horror as they discover the true nature of the establishment under the rule of the deceptively welcoming "Lotso" Bear. Now, all of the toys must band together in one final, crazy scheme to escape their confines and return home to Andy.

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Absolutely fantastic! I will admit that I was a little nervous about this film, because sequels can either be incredibly good or incredibly bad. This one was incredibly awesome! A great story with lots of excitement, plenty of fun for both parents and kids, and a heartfelt conclusion that made me cry.

The new characters introduced in this movie were such great additions. Many of them played big parts and felt like they belonged in the Toy Story family. Some of the other new characters deserved much bigger roles, like Trixie, Buttercup, and Mr. Pricklepants (can't write that name without laughing). But apparently Disney will be giving them a big role in their Toy Story Mania ride, now that one of the original characters is gone.

Best new character- Ken. The Barbie & Ken relationship that was hyped up in all the previews was as good as I thought it would be. Perhaps the best moments of the movie are between the two of them. This classic couple stole every scene. Best Barbie/Ken moment- Ken's fashion show. If you ever had a Barbie or had a sister who played with Barbie, you will appreciate this scene.

What really surprised me was how intense a few of the scenes were. Neither the first or second movie ever had anything in it that would scare a little kid, but this movie did. All I could think as I watched those scenes was "My little sister would be freaking out right now." So if you have easily frightened kids/siblings, keep an eye out for the final, nail-biting moment, where even I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how they were going to make it.

This movie was an extremely satisfying installment in the Toy Story saga (I won't say final movie, because as everyone knows, all the studios are sucking as much money as they can out of their franchises, and Disney is no different). I cannot wait for it to come out on DVD, and to watch this with my entire family. A+

Title:  Shrek Forever After
Format:  Movie Theater, 3-D
Date Seen:  May 21, 2010 (opening night)
Category:  Animated/Fantasy/Family
Rating:  A

Description (from imbd.com):  A bored and domesticated Shrek pacts with deal-maker Rumpelstiltskin to get back to feeling like a real ogre again, but when he's duped and sent to a twisted version of Far Far Away -- where Rumpelstiltskin is king, ogres are hunted, and he and Fiona have never met -- he sets out to restore his world and reclaim his true love.

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A great ending for a great series.  Definitely makes up for that travesty Shrek the Third.  It had an awesome story, lots of really funny moments, and a very sweet conclusion.  I also saw it in 3-D, which was pretty cool because they didn't make it gimmicky.  All of those cheesy effects they add specifically for 3-D, the ones that look really stupid when you watch the movie in 2-D, always give me a headache.  Since this movie didn't have those, I could actually enjoy a 3-D film headache-free.

I think my favorite aspects of this film were the introduction of other ogres and witches, Rumpelstiltskin, and the fattened Puss in Boots.  The ogres and witches each added a lot more life to the story, as well as a lot more material for punch lines and story ideas.  Without them, I think the story would have just felt like the first Shrek movie all over again.  Rumpelstiltskin was too perfect.  His hair, his voice, his whole attitude- so devious, but hilarious.  It was also nice to include him so that there could be a different villain.  Having Prince Charming in both the second and third movie was just annoying.  I mean, I love his character, but not that much.  Puss in Boots as the pampered kitty was amazingly funny.

The music, as always, was great.  It's usually the best part of the films, and it didn't disappoint this time.  Overall, I really liked this movie because the story was interesting, the new characters were good, and anything would have seemed a huge improvement from Shrek the Third.  A

What a disappointment

Title: Planet 51
Format: DVD/Netflix
Category: Family/Science Fiction/Animated
Rating: D

I'm not writing much of a review on this movie because frankly, it doesn't deserve one.

Description (from IMDB.com): American astronaut Captain Charles "Chuck" Baker lands on Planet 51 thinking he's the first person to step foot on it. To his surprise, he finds that this planet is inhabited by little green people who are happily living in a white picket fence world, and whose only fear is that it will be overrun by alien invaders...like Chuck!

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This movie was so disappointing. I was expecting something I could watch with my little sister, and instead ended up watching this by myself because there was just too much innuendo. I'm so sick of movies that are promoted as family-friendly, when they only mean some of the family. Besides the innuendo, the dialogue left much to be desired, especially Chuck's. And his character was incredibly cheesy and dumb. I know they wanted it to be "silly," but it came off annoying. This whole movie could have been made better. D

Fun for the WHOLE Family

Title: How to Train Your Dragon
Format: Movie theater, 2-D
Date Seen: March 26, 2010 (opening night)
Category: Animated/Fantasy/Family
Rating: A+

Finally, a family film that's for the whole family. The problem with family films today is that the ones trying to reach out to an older audience do so by adding innuendo or references that you just hope flies over the kids' heads. Or the movie is so ridiculously childish and saccharine sweet that it alienates audiences older than 7 or 8. This movie isn't childish, saccharine sweet, or full of off-color jokes. It's just right for the whole family.

Description (from Fandango.com): Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, this action comedy tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn't exactly fit in with his tribe's longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup's world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view.

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I was so thankful we didn't see this movie in 3-D. Mostly because I get headaches from prolonged 3-D media and because the tickets were $3 more than the 2-D tickets, but also because the 3-D special effects would have been the main focus of the experience, rather than the story. Watching in 2-D allowed the movie itself--the characters, the dialogue, the plot-- to shine.

I loved this movie because it was such a fun, family-friendly film. There is only one off-color joke in the entire film. And it doesn't even need that. I saw this movie with a group of friends, all of us in our twenties, and we all loved it. It didn't need innuendos to keep us entertained; it wasn't too young or too sappy either. It's also great because this is one movie I'm going to be able to take my little sister to without having to worry about covering her eyes or ears.

The story in this film is great too, because it's such a classic theme-- the theme of a boy and his dog; except here it's a boy and his dragon. And the dragon is so adorable! I want to take him home with me!

So if you're looking for a film to see with your family, or to see with friends, or to see on your own, this movie is a great fit for anyone. A+

50 Word Review 10

Title: Ballet Shoes
Category: Family film
Medium: Netflix
Rating: A

This was a sweet movie with a great plot, interesting characters and good acting. The story never slows, the characters are believable, and there is actually a happy ending. A great film for all the girls in the family- a little drama, a little romance, and a lot of laughter. A

Title: Ponyo
Format: Movie theater
Date Seen: August 18, 2009
Category: Hayao Miyazaki/Anime
Rating: A

Thankfully for all of his fans, Hayao Miyazaki never means it when he says he's going to retire, or we wouldn't now have one of his sweetest movies ever, Ponyo.

Description (from IMDB): The son of a sailor, 5-year old Sosuke lives a quiet life on an oceanside cliff with his mother Lisa. One fateful day, he finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle on the beach and upon rescuing her, names her Ponyo. But she is no ordinary goldfish. The daughter of a masterful wizard and a sea goddess, Ponyo uses her father's magic to transform herself into a young girl and quickly falls in love with Sosuke, but the use of such powerful sorcery causes a dangerous imbalance in the world. As the moon steadily draws nearer to the earth and Ponyo's father sends the ocean's mighty waves to find his daughter, the two children embark on an adventure of a lifetime to save the world and fulfill Ponyo's dreams of becoming human.

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Hayao Miyazaki is one of the best creators of anime out there. Which is probably why Disney pounced at a chance to sign on with him. His movies are creative and often thought-provoking with animation so beautiful, it should be classified as artwork. My favorite of his movies, Howl's Moving Castle, is probably his best work so far. His newest movie, Ponyo, is also a success.

I saw this movie with my friends--the same friends who introduced me to Miyazaki's films in the first place--and we all loved it. While it is not one of his best in terms of animation, Ponyo is probably his most family-friendly movie since Kiki's Delivery Service. The two main characters, Ponyo and Sosuke, are adorable, and the storyline is neither too simple nor too complex, making it perfect for all ages. Miyazaki also interjected some of his own opinions and humor into this film; just watch the scenes with females driving (I don't think Miyazaki appreciates women drivers).

I cannot wait for this movie to come out on DVD, so the rest of my family can see it. A

Squirrel!

Title: Up
Format: Drive-In Theater
Rating: A+

Pixar has done it again!

Description (from official movie website): From Disney-Pixar comes Up, a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Disney-Pixar's Up invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth.

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I don't want to give anything away, because this movie is still out in theaters, so I'll avoid discussing the plot. All I will say is that it was a great concept that was fun and exciting and silly. A Disney-Pixar masterpiece.

I saw this on Saturday too, the other half of the double feature at Warwick Drive-In. This was the movie that brought in the crowds that night. And now I understand why.

The characters of Up seem so real, so true to reality that you can't help connecting with them on a personal level. After watching Carl's married-life sequence in the beginning of the movie (which, I'll admit it, I cried during), you feel as if you know everything about him. You can understand why he reacts certain ways. And Russell is your average 8-year-old Boy Scout- curious, silly, completely lacking in tact, but equipped with a heart of gold that just wants to help his friends.

And then there's Dug. Dug is the best part of the whole movie. The best! The idea of giving dogs specialized collars so we can understand what they're really saying when they speak could have been a mistake, if they had made the dogs too intelligent and completely coherent. Anyone who has a dog knows that the voice coming out of that collar needed to be gullible, loving, and suffering from a severe form of A.D.H.D. Dug definitely embodies all of those, and I just couldn't help loving him.

Some totally awesome quotes:

Dug: "My name is Dug. I have just met you, and I love you."
Carl: "Wha..."
Dug: "My master made me this collar. He is a good and smart master and he made me this collar so that I may speak. Squirrel!!........... My master is good and smart."

Carl: "Do you want to play a game? It's called See Who Can Go the Longest Without Saying Anything."
Russell: "Cool! My mom loves that game!"

Carl: "What a joke."
Dug: "Hey, I know a joke! A squirrel walks up to a tree and says, 'I forgot to gather acorns for the winter and now I am dead.' Ha ha! It's funny because the squirrel gets dead."

I would recommend this movie to... everyone! A+

A fun, frolicking follow-up :)

Title: Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian
Format: Drive-In Theater
Rating: B+

A great sequel. Better than the typical straight-to-DVD sequels every production company is spewing out. Not as good as the first, but seriously, how often does a sequel surpass the original?

Description (from Barnes & Noble): The good-hearted dreamer Larry Daley must say good-bye to his famous friends from history who magically came to life during closing hours at New York's Natural History Museum. They are being replaced by virtual hologram exhibits, and the originals have been packed up and shipped off to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Then, Larry learns that the ancient Egyptian tablet of Ahkmenrah was also shipped by mistake, which allows the new acquisitions to come back to life! Among them are an evil ancient pharaoh, Ivan the Terrible of Czarist Russia, the American gangster Al Capone, France's Emperor Napoleon, and the famous woman pilot Amelia Earhart. It's Larry's job to stop a nefarious plot by evil-doers in that group. Fortunately, Larry gets vital help from Amelia Earhart. Here's a delightful concoction of comedy, adventure, and fantasy.

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I saw this Saturday night, one half of the double feature playing at the Warwick Drive-In. The theater was packed! It got so crowded, people were parking in the exits, leaving no way out. A safety nightmare.

I really liked this movie, despite what "the critics" have to say. But really, who cares what they think? (Warning: If you like "the critics," as in the nationally published and revered like Ebert, don't read the rest of this paragraph. Or this whole blog for that matter.) After all, "the critics" liked Atonement... Atonement! Why do "the critics" love slit-your-wrists, unhappy-ending, I-think-I'll-go-cry-myself-to-sleep movies? Do they actually enjoy sitting through those morbid and/or depressing movies? Are they like the Academy members who think to themselves, "Let's take the most depressing, and usually unheard of, film and give it an award"? I think the Academy and "the critics" are being paid off by the industry so that these slit-your-wrist, artsy, unknown films get press and therefore make more money than they would have originally. Why is it so difficult for them to like the popular, funny, happy, and yes, somewhat cheesy family fun? Because that's exactly what Night at the Museum 2 was.

This movie took several of the major characters of the last movie and moved them to a new setting so they could bring in a whole new set of characters. And having the movie take place in D.C. at the Smithsonian was a great idea. The Smithsonian's size and range of exhibits helped separate this film from the last. The Museum of Natural History was primarily full of stuffed animals, wax figures of varying sizes, and dummies. The Smithsonian had those too, but it also had statues, pieces of art, machines, toys, puppets.

The plot wasn't brilliant; cheesy is the perfect word to describe it. But we all need a little cheesiness in our lives, and it was perfect for a movie focused towards kids. I think people tend to forget that when they see these movies. They write the movie off as sappy and dumb, because they're no longer at that humor level. (Although I will never undertand how anyone can claim that kids' movies are too cheesy, and then say with a straight face that Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey comedies aren't cheesy; they're "classic." I'm so sorry to disillusion you, but Dumb & Dumber is stupid and cheesy, and there are about a thousand family/kids movies that surpass it in quality and humor.) If you're an adult going to see this film, you can really get into it and enjoy it, as long as you remember that the movie you're about to see is geared towards children, not you.

There is some crude humor thrown in there just for the grown-ups though, stuff that hopefully flies right over the kids' heads, as well as character references that only an adult would know. I did notice that the amount of the crude/sexual humor increased for this movie, which was disappointing for me. I'm still a kid at heart, and I don't think a movie needs to throw that kind of stuff in to make the older audience happy.

Overall, I think this movie was pretty good. It brought back all of my favorite characters from the first movie, introduced a bunch of hilarious new ones (the lisping pharoah is one of the best), had a little romance, threw in a little lesson, and did a great job at keeping us entertained with its cheesiness. B+