Reviews

REVIEW: Sony Pictures Animation “Goat”

February 16th, 2026

Despite very odd character designs, the animation is wonderful. The film's action sequences are an animated equivalent of jazz fusion translated to the screen. Layout, perspective, and movement are so fluid that the film flows, rather than projects, on the audience's eyes.

REVIEW: Dreamworks “The Bad Guys 2”

Martin Goodman|

August 4th, 2025

“It’s not the action, it’s the distraction.” Animated movie buffs will find a joyful surfeit of both in the new DreamWorks flick The Bad Guys 2, a sequel to the 2002 hit that surpasses it in almost every way. Every primary and a few secondary characters return in a snappy heist film that has enough […]

BOOK REVIEW: “The Art of The Boy and the Heron”

Charles Solomon|

July 7th, 2025

“The Art of The Boy and the Heron” opens with director Hayao Miyazaki’s self-deprecating Project Memo: “Isn’t it proof that you are aging when you imagine you’re still capable, but in fact you have memory loss due to senility? I would say yes.” Audiences who saw the Oscar-winning film would say “no.” The Japanese title […]

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REVIEW: “Toy Story 4”

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 […]

Martin Goodman|July 1, 2019

REVIEW: “Detective Pikachu”

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 […]

Martin Goodman|May 10, 2019

REVIEW: “UglyDolls”

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 […]

Martin Goodman|May 6, 2019

ANIME REVIEW: “Sword of the Stranger”

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 […]

Charles Solomon|May 5, 2019

REVIEW: “Missing Link”

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 […]

Martin Goodman|April 12, 2019

ANIME REVIEW: “Penguin Highway”

A gentle melancholy hangs over the anime feature Penguin Highway (2018), setting it apart from similar fantasy-adventures. Fourth-grader Aoyama (voice by Kana Kita) is almost too precocious and self-possessed. Never at a loss for a reply to a bully or an interfering adult, he says what viewers may wish they’d thought to say in school. […]

Charles Solomon|April 8, 2019

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Reviews

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ANIME REVIEW: “Mix Meisei Story, Part 1”