My initial dilemma was whether to review this film at all. Disney entreats us to consider this remake of the 1994 film as “live action”, since there is apparently some photography used. However, I decided to disregard the semantic arguments. This version of The Lion King is undoubtedly an animated picture, and that, indeed, is […]

This summer marks my twentieth year as an animated film critic. During stints with Animation Nerd’s Paradise, Animation World Network, and of course, Animation Scoop as well as other work with Mr. Beck, I have learned one crucial thing: There is no one way to review an animated film and no limit to the levels […]

The Pokémon have been with us since 1996, long enough to have entertained a couple of generations of fans. The mythical beasties have a history in video games, anime, TV series, manga, and, importantly, feature films. None of them, however, have been quite like Detective Pikachu. The film is based on the Nintendo adventure game […]

With Toy Story 4 warming up for release, UglyDolls may be the least anticipated animated release of this Spring. More’s the pity. Although this film has taken a critical drubbing (and some aspects of it deservedly so), My own take is that STX Family UglyDolls is an underrated work that deserves better than the barbs […]

In America, animation is rarely used for action or adventure films. Because it’s still largely regarded as children’s entertainment here, studios are usually reluctant to tell stories where the danger is real and the hero can be killed. In contrast, Masahiro Ando’s Sword of the Stranger (2007) is an action-filled samurai adventure that echoes the […]

The first thing noticeable about this film is that its title is a clever play on words; the main character, originally called “Mr. Link”, is missing a home, a family, and his entire species. There is also a second meaning. Missing Link is an evolutionary (and revolutionary) link in the craft of stop-motion animation. Before […]