Animation

Sausage Party

Director: Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan (2016) BBFC cert: 15

Supermarket foodstuffs come to life and take on a mind of their own in this saucy animated comedy.

The  cheerfully offensive stoner humour is stuffed with racial and religious stereotypes indulging in an orgy of sex, booze and drugs. It’s an acquired taste and bound to offend many, but once it gets cooking on gas it offers some bite-sized satisfaction.

Each evening the products sing to celebrate the day they’ll be picked from the shelves and taken out to ‘the great beyond’ by the gods of the aisles, the customers.

However when a hot dog sausage and his bun discover their real purpose in life, they struggle to convince their friends of the truth.

They’re also being chased by the Douche, a feminine hygiene product who wants revenge for the thwarting of his plan to reach the afterlife.

Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, James Franco and Michael Cera provide the voices with Salma Hayek plays a tacos looking to spice up her life.

Defiantly and unapologetically rude from the off, this is an adult treat and definitely not one for the kids.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

 

Pete’s Dragon (2016)

Director: David Lowery (2016) BBFC cert: PG

A soaringly sentimental adventure in the best Disney tradition, this fabulous family fable is a superior beast to the 1977 version.

This seamless combination of live action and state of the art CGI has sky high production values wrapped around its large loving heart and a story devoted to the values of family and friendship.

Kids will love the outdoorsy adventure and parents will have a surreptitious emotional moment behind their 3D glasses.

Oakes Fegley is wonderfully endearing as the eleven year old orphan Pete who lives in the forest with his best friend Elliot, a friendly dragon. The creature looks and acts like a giant green pet dog. Only with wings and the ability to breathe fire.

Elliot is Pete’s surrogate parent and protector, a King Kong sized Mary Poppins who has the power to turn invisible. Pete is a wild boy of the woods, a distant cousin of Mowgli from Disney’s Jungle Book (2016).

The immensely likeable Bryce Dallas Howard appears as Grace, a kindly Forest Ranger who doesn’t believe in dragons but does want to solve the mystery of Pete’s parents.

After starring in last year’s monster smash Jurassic World (2015) the actress is no stranger to working with enormous CGI beasts. They’re provided here by WETA Digital who won Oscars for The Lord Of The Rings trilogy (2001-2003).

Robert Redford’s craggy avuncular charm is put to good use as Grace’s father, a man who claims to have once encountered a flying lizard.

Though set in USA, the tale is filmed in the lush and mystical mountains of New Zealand.  Kiwi actor Karl Urban stars as not especially villainous lumber mill owner Gavin. Discovering dragons are real, he wants to capture Elliot. But in trying to save Elliot, Pete risks losing his best friend forever.

It’s essential to the films success we believe the legendary dragon exists and so the film-makers have created a sense of mythic timelessness.

Elliot has a broken tooth and a scar, suggesting a creature of maturity and personal history. Interior scenes captured in a semi-sepia tone are sympathetic to the lush brown and green exteriors evocative of the myths of King Arthur.

Contributing also is the 1980s setting which sidesteps the issue of google optimised smart-phones. A folksy soundtrack is an appropriate and sensitive choice as themes of grief and reconciliation are tackled head on.

The result is we’re wrapped up in this huge warm hug of a movie much like Pete is by Elliot’s shaggy coat of hair. Take a flight on the wings of  Pete’s Dragon and you will believe he exists.

★★★★★

@ChrisHunneysett

Finding Dory

Director: Andrew Stanton (2016) BBFC cert U

After storming the US box office this underwater animated adventure finally arrives in the UK and is full of fintastic summer fun for the little ones.

A superior sequel to Finding Nemo (2003), it’s exciting, warm and optimistic. Pixar’s visual creatives demonstrate their astonishingly high levels of technical ability, bathing scenes in breathtaking pools of beauty.

The inclusivity, subtle eco warnings and traditional message of achieving one’s potential complement and provide an anchor to the nonstop knockabout action scenes.

Stanton’s directorial career hit tremendous heights with A Bug’s Life (1998), Finding Nemo (2003) and Wall-E (2007), before his career stalled with the overly maligned mega budget flop John Carter (2012). Now combining writing duties with direction, Stanton has delivered an absolute charmer.

Set a year after the original box office smash Finding Nemo, an accident leaves forgetful fish Dory suffering flashbacks of her long lost parents.

When Dory sets off on a perilous journey to be reunited with them, she finds herself on a voyage of self discovery, steering through deep and dark currents on the way.

Ellen DeGeneres is the emotional centre of the film as the voice of Dory, essaying a quiet change from annoyingly needy to gently confident. Female characters are generally more proactive, resourceful and inspirational than the men.

Along for the ride are her friends Nemo and his over-protective father Marlin. Hayden Rolence and Albert Brooks buddy up nicely as the clownfish.

Their expedition leads the trio to a marine sea life rescue institute in California. Once inside they inventively navigate their way via water pipes, buckets, cups and a coffee pot. Even the best intentioned of the humans are hazardous and the children especially so.

Sigourney Weaver cameos as the intercom announcer on the institute’s PA system. Her messianic delivery offers a zealous refrain of ‘rescue, rehabilitation and release’.

We’re treated to familiar faces from the first film such as the surfer turtles and Brit actors Idris Elba and Dominic West are the voices of bullying sea lions.

Sporting a variety of physical and mental disabilities, creatures of different species come harmoniously together to make a significant contribution to Dory’s quest. They are defined by their loyalty and bravery not their disabilities or the colour of their fins.

As well as Dory’s memory issues and Nemo’s underdeveloped fin, Hank the octopus is missing a tentacle, a whale shark is near-sighted, a beluga whale has lost his echolocation and a common loon called Becky has vision issues. Loon is a type of bird, I’m not being nasty.

An adoryable tale from start to finish.

★★★★☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

 

 

The BFG

Director: Steven Spielberg (2016) BBFC cert PG

Prepare to be charmed into submission by the giant heart of this moving and magical family adventure.

Combining the cinematic skill of Steven Spielberg and the resources of Disney, it’s a respectful and delightful adaption of Roald Dahl’s ever popular children’s book (pub. 1982).

A seamless mix of live action, motion capture special effects and beautiful design bring to vivid life the tale of young Sophie who is spirited away to a mysterious world by the BFG, the Big Friendly Giant.

English actress Ruby Barnhill offers an honest, engaging and sweetly unaffected debut, undoubtedly benefitting from Spielberg’s expertise in drawing out the best in his child performers.

Conscientious in her observance of the witching hour, brave and bookish Sophie is snatched from her orphanage after failing to obey the three rules of not staying in bed, going to the window or looking behind the curtain.

Here there are shades of the dark festive feature Gremlins (1984) which was executive produced by Spielberg.

Once in giant country she overcomes her initial fear to establish a deep bond of trust with her new friend. Played with wounded dignity by last year’s best actor Oscar winner Mark Rylance, the BFG has enormous and expressive ears and lives in a fantastical grotto.

He spends his time mangling words, catching dreams and being bullied by a tribe of stupid and even bigger giants. Despite being 50 foot tall cannibals, for all their size there’s sadly not meat on the bones of their characters of Fleshlumpeater and his gang.

These action moments lack the director’s usual invention and feel almost rote by his own high standards. Plus there’s little sense of giant country being more than a field and a hill.

Rebecca Hall and Rafe Spall offer reliable support and there’s an entertaining and  possibly treasonous turn from Penelope Wilton as Queen Elizabeth II.

With Spielberg having gathered his usual editor, cinematographer and composer, quality glows through this beautifully crafted adventure. Between them Michael Kahn, Janusz Kaminski and John Williams have 10 Oscar wins, 9 of which were for Spielberg films. This may not be their greatest individual or collective work but it’s fiercely, soaringly professional. Rylance of course won his Oscar for Spielberg’s Bridge Of Spies (2015).

The BFG is Dedicated to its late screenwriter Melissa Mathieson who sadly passed away during production. She also wrote Spielberg’s masterpiece E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and it’s not hard to find familiar elements of lonely imaginative children being befriended by strange creatures.

Spielberg is far more interested in exploring the growing relationship between the girl and the giant than the scant story, choosing to focus not on plot but on the way in which the unlikely friends affect an emotional change in each other.

It’s worth pondering whom of Sophie and the BFG really occupies the parenting role. Sophie encourages the BFG to challenge and improve himself. She mothers this boy who describes himself as old as time; a boy who has never grown up.

There are also visual nods to Peter Pan in a beached pirate ship and Tinkerbell-like fireflies. Spielberg’s take on J. M. Barrie’s tale resulted with the lamentable Hook (1991). This is a superior and more faithful adaption and can be seen as an apologia for that noticeable blot on his CV.

Dreams are presented as sparkling sprites which the BFG catches before trapping them as lighting in a bottle and firing them into the minds of the sleeping public. His cave is a magical dream factory.

This is the BFG as an avatar for Spielberg, his most personal and visible on screen self. The filmmakers biography resonates with the BFG. A lonely child and victim of bullying who seeks to be left alone to work his magic and make people happy. Plus cinema here is presented as a campaigning cultural force when the BFG is able to access government and influence policy.

In this reading the giants become interfering studio executives. Or possibly film critics.

A one time former prodigy of cinema, the BFG finds Spielberg in the mood of a mischievous and avuncular grandfather. This is his glorious gift to the grandchildren of the world.

★★★★☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

Ice Age: Collision Course

Director: Mike Thurmeier, Galen T. Chu (2016) BBFC cert U

There seems to be no stopping this prehistoric animated franchise as it cheerily grinds on its way across the savannah of global cinema.

In yet another episode of extinction avoidance, Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary return to voice Manny the woolly mammoth, Sid the sloth and Diego the sabre toothed tiger.

As ever Scrat the squirrel is the main reason to watch and time passes slowly whenever he’s off screen. The acorn obsessed animal ends up in outer space and accidentally causes an asteroid to threaten life on Earth.

Meanwhile down on the planet’s surface our squabbling trio of heroes are engaged in painful subplots to fill out the running time. Sid is allowed a romantic interest and Manny’s irritating daughter plans to get married.

Having begun in 2002 and now on a wearying fifth instalment, it may be better for all concerned if the one of the many threatened catastrophes occurred.

★★☆☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

The Secret Life of Pets

Director: Chris Renaud, Yarrow Cheney (2016)

Furry foes compete to be top dog in this irresistible animated adventure guaranteed to get your tail wagging.

It’s powered with a manic zeal to please its audience and full of infectious sunny mirth and giggly silliness.

Created by the demented makers of the Despicable Me movies, it shamelessly milks brand loyalty to encourage you into the cinema.

This means we’re treated to a marvellous mini minion adventure prior to the film and lots of references throughout.

Max is a Jack Russell Terrier who lives in domestic bliss with his owner Katie and considers himself the luckiest dog in New York and.

His happiness is disturbed when Katie brings home another rescue pet and Max is forced to share his turf with the much larger dog called Duke.

They must bury their bone of contention when they become lost in the big city, are chased by animal catchers and hunted by a revolutionary rabbit and his gang of rampaging recruits. Huge snakes, hungry crocodiles and feral cats add to the madcap chaos.

Meanwhile the posse of friends who set out on the rescue include a hawk, a tabby, a budgie and an elderly basset hound on wheels.

As Max and Duke bark, bicker and bond in adversity as their situation begins to bite, the action rockets through the city, veering from vertiginous skyscrapers to the depths of the sewers.

There’s violent slapstick, bright colours, wall flattening pace and a fabulously funny fantasy in a hot dog factory.

The voice talents of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Steve Coogan and Lake Bell are great fun but my pet hate Kevin Hart never stops shouting his suspiciously ad libbed sounding lines.

Be warned; if you kids don’t have a pet now, they’ll want one after watching this.

★★★★☆

@ChrisHunneysett