The Emperor's New Groove Review

Disney is responsible for some of cinema's most incredible features in history. They pretty much wrote the book on animated movies. Disney is also responsible for some of the most deplorable rubbish imaginable that ever hit the direct-to-DVD shelves. An oft overlooked animated movie they did remarkably well on was The Emperor's New Groove (2000). It was unlike many of its predecessors in that it wasn't an epic drama, it was a full length slapstick silly movie that the legendary Chuck Jones, director old of the Loony Tunes shorts, would have been proud of. This great and fantastic film puts me in stitches every time I see it!

Vain and cocky Emperor Kuzco (David Spade) is a very busy man. Besides maintaining his "groove," and firing his suspicious administrator, Yzma (Eartha Kitt);he's also planning to build a new water park just for himself for his birthday. However, this means destroying one of the villages in his kingdom. Meanwhile, Yzma is hatching a plan to get revenge and usurp the throne. But, in a botched assassination, courtesy of Yzma's right-hand man, Kronk (Patrick Warburton), Kuzco is magically transformed into a llama. Now, Kuzco finds himself the property of Pacha (John Goodman), a lowly llama herder whose home is ground zero for the water park. Upon discovering the llama's true self, Pacha offers to help resolve the Emperor's problem and regain his throne, only if Kuzco promises to move his water park. Kuzco's perfect world becomes a perfect mess as this unlikely duo deal with hair-raising dangers and wild comic predicaments as they race to return Kuzco to the throne before Yzma tracks them down and finishes him off.

Believe it or not, The Emperor's New Groove started out as another epic as per Disney's usual standards. It was going to be called "Kingdom of the Sun" set in the ancient Incan world and feature a selfish emperor who finds a peasant who looks just like him along the lines of Mark Twain's archtypal novel The Prince and the Pauper. However, the evil witch has plans to summon the evil god Supai and capture the sun so that she may retain her youth forever. She turns the emperor into a llama and threatens to reveal the pauper's identity unless he obeys her. The emperor-llama learns humility in his new form and even comes to love a female llama-herder; and the two set out to undo the witch's plans. It would have delved into Incan spirituality and culture and been a romantic comedy musical in the traditional Disney style.

I think this sounds like a fascinating story! But following the underwhelming box office performances of Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, studio executives felt the project was growing too ambitious and serious for audiences and needed more comedy. The project was pulled and put on hiatus for a number of years, then had the script completely rewritten, the actors recast, the whole thing went in a completely different direction, and had a new title slapped onto it. It resulted in a very light hearted cartoonish romp that had above average animation for its day. The Emperor's New Groove certainly doesn't aim high or strain too hard; it is completely at ease inhabiting it's pretty miniature realm.

The two things that make this movie so utterly fantastic are the voice actors and the animation. There is a brilliant all star cast here, and all of them have experience with comedy. David Spade plays a fantastic sarcastic short guy. John Goodman is a quintessential bighearted teddy bear. Eartha Kitt can be so zany and expressive that everything she says is a hoot. Patrick Warburton has a distinctive voice, and often plays a surly tough guy or a very dim-witted one. Warburton had roles in television shows before The Emperor's New Groove, but he was such a lovable and hilarious part of this movie that every time I have heard his voice after seeing it, I instantly get excited and say, "It's Kronk!" Everyone gets hilarious lines in this movie and no one outshines anyone else; they are all at the top of their game here and it is simply amazing.

The animation is classic 2-D hand drawn cell animation and it's pretty solid. The art has a simple color scheme and doesn't focus too much on shading. This gives a Saturday morning cartoon quality to it. The backgrounds look more detailed than the characters do and there's lots of pretty designs to see. The spastic way the characters are drawn and animated, couples beautifully with the voice actors' performances. Nearly everything they do, both grand and subtle, are funny. Everything from casual exchanges of dialogue to the screwball action is uproarious, thanks to some skilled animators and talented voice actors.

I dare say that Yzma and Kronk steal the show in every scene they are in; they've got to be some of the best, albeit funniest, Disney villains ever. At first Yzma's plan to kill Kuzco is to transform him into a flea, put him into a box, mail the box to herself, and then smash it with a hammer. But then decides poisoning him would be better and save on postage. Kronk keeps forgetting the plan, gets distracted making spinach puffs, and is anything but subtle when Yzma reminds him of their objective. The scene that always gets me is when Yzma and Kronk suspect Pacha of hiding Kuzco and try to search Pacha's home only to be foiled by Pacha's very pregnant wife and two rambunctious prankster little kids. Every time I see this scene I end up literally rolling on the floor laughing out loud and have to pause the movie until I can catch my breath.

While it is unfortunate that the original movie had a complete overhaul and was entirely changed around, the resulting movie is animated comedy gold. The Emperor's New Groove is absolutely uproarious and highly entertaining. The animation is fantastic and reminds me of classic Saturday morning cartoon shows, the voice actors are absolutely brilliant, and the resulting characters are some of the most lovable Disney creations I can think of. The plot is very simple, but that's okay. It may be light hearted, but it's so much fun to watch. The Emperor's New Groove is an outstanding Disney movie that seems to be overlooked these days. It is absolutely worth the cost of a copy to add to your home collection, but as of writing it is available on Netflix streaming. If you haven't seen this movie, you're missing out on a lot of laughs.

Is there an oft overlooked Disney movie that you are particularly fond of? Comment below and tell me all about it!

ParaNorman Movie Review

Stop-motion animation seems to be a vanishing art, but in 2012, we had two Halloween-themed stop-motion movies that were released around the same time. I think Tim Burton is keeping the medium alive. Once in a while someone else will make one as well. ParaNorman (2012) was not done by Tim Burton. Popular as zombies are, I’m almost surprised there wasn’t a zombie movie targeted towards kids before before this one.

In the little town of Blithe Hollow, Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a boy who can see ghosts and speak to the dead. No one besides his eccentric new friend, Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), believes his ability is real. One day the town lunatic, Norman’s estranged eccentric uncle (John Goodman), tells him of an important annual ritual he must take up to protect the town from a curse cast by a witch it condemned centuries ago. Eventually, Norman decides to cooperate, but things don’t go according to plan. Now, a supernatural storm caused by the witch’s curse threatens Blithe Hollow as the accursed dead rise. Together with unexpected new companions, Norman struggles to save his town, only to discover the horrific truth of the curse. With that insight, Norman must resolve the crisis for good.

ParaNorman hit theaters in August, a bit early for a Halloween movie. It has a lot of classic “Halloween” elements in it; ghosts, witches, and zombies and an autumnal setting. I was expecting a silly, light hearted romp with silly monsters and trick or treating that would probably conclude with some sort of wacky villain trying to ruin everyone’s fun. Boy, was I wrong! ParaNorman had a lot of morbidity; ghosts who are unhappy and lingering around, a character actually dies in the movie and becomes a ghost, decaying zombies arise and begin shambling about, and stories of a witch being hanged back in the early Colonial days of America. It seemed kind of dark for a family film. Even though ParaNorman is PG, it had some genuinely scary imagery that would probably scare the pants off some young viewers.

Norman's hair always sticks straight up

The animation in ParaNorman was great. Actual stop-motion animation had lots of detail; the sets and characters really looked good. A lot of props and characters have exaggerated features. It adds an interesting style to the animation that looks unique to the movie; it doesn’t look like a Tim Burton feature with spindly characters who have enormous eyes. There are subtle little things, like Norman’s hair, that add some charm to the movie. Norman tries to style his hair so that it looks nice, and it gets tussled up during his adventure, but no matter what happens to it, it springs straight up again. Hair is very hard to animate in stop-motion; I’ve got to give these animators credit. There is some CGI animation used in the movie, too. I think that detracts from the “magic” of stop-motion animation, but it was well incorporated and looked good for the most part.

What surprised me most about ParaNorman was the theme of the movie. Like I said, I was expecting a light-hearted Halloween romp, but the theme was actually pretty deep and meaningful. It’s about how people will overreact with fear of the unfamiliar, and how that often leads to bullying or worse. It’s also about open, clear communication to ensure that we understand one another and don’t jump to erroneous conclusions which could cause us to harm one another. ParaNorman incorporated this theme remarkably well; we aren’t beat over the head with it, but it’s still beautifully and logically woven into the story. I absolutely loved this theme, and they used it in the context of a zombie movie! It’s amazing!

My only real complaint about ParaNorman was the fact that it is pretty slow paced. I understand that it needed to establish some back story and develop the characters before they can actually delve into the meat of the story. But by the time the story got moving I was teetering on the brink of boredom. I hadn’t lost interest enough to turn it off, and the movie as a whole is pretty good, it just has a slow start. If you can make it through the first fourth, you’re in for a good, solid movie.

ParaNorman is a fun movie that features some good animation, a decent story, a fantastic theme, and features zombies. What’s not to love? There is some scary imagery that might frighten some younger viewers, so I wouldn’t recommend showing this to kids under the age of 8 or so. Beyond that, I highly recommend ParaNorman to anyone, especially to help understand bullying, the reasons it happens, and how to stop it. It’s got a slow start, but it’s worth sticking with it. ParaNorman has been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars this year, it was that good. I would buy ParaNorman on Blu-Ray, but I think it is worth renting at the very least.

I can think of a couple of PG family films that were probably a bit too scary for their target audience. What was a movie or movie character in a kid’s movie that scared you to pieces when you were little? Comment below and tell me why!

The Artist Movie Review

When was the last time you saw a silent film? They really aren’t very common any more. Generally when a movie opts to be silent or be shot in black and white rather than color it is for artistic reason, not necessity.  The Artist (2011) was one such movie that showcased its story the way it was done before “talkies” were developed.

Outside a movie premiere, enthusiastic fan Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) literally bumps into the swashbuckling hero of the silent film, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin). The star reacts graciously and Peppy plants a kiss on his check as they are surrounded by photographers. The headlines demand: “Who’s That Girl?” and Peppy is inspired to audition for a dancing bit-part at the studio. However as Peppy slowly rises to fame through the industry, the introduction of talking-pictures turns Valentin’s World upside-down.

I think The Artist drew a lot of inspiration from Singing in the Rain. Both are about an egocentric actor and a rising star dancer who are caught up in the whirlwind brought about by talking pictures. It’s a story about actors who make films, and all the celebrity worship and glamour that goes along with it. The Artist goes in a markedly different direction than Singing in the Rain did. The Great Depression hits, Valentin loses everything, and his last hope for retaining any money is box office success of his latest silent movie which is outshined by Peppy’s latest talking picture. In spite of a bleak downward spiral, the movie remains humorous, cheerful, and pleasant; much like the films back in the 1920’s. For all purposes, you would think that it actually was an old silent film if not for the appearance of several big name actors including John Goodman and Malcolm McDowell.

The Artist is a silent film, and it is conscious of that. But The Artist has fun with the concept and kind of jokes with the viewer about it. The movie relies on some excellent actors to portray feelings, emotions, and ideas without allowing us to hear dialogue. There are intertitles used throughout to get complex dialogue that can’t be articulated through facial expressions and gestures. Intertitles are what you see when the camera cuts away from the action for a few seconds to show you something like a cue card with the words the character is speaking. There’s also a scene shortly after Valentin learns about talking pictures in which he has a dream sequence where there are actual sound effects, but he cannot make a sound. One would not think this would be such a novelty, but by this time we are so accustomed to the silent film, that when Valentin sets his glass down on the table we’re taken aback as we hear a clinking sound. The movie genuinely has fun with the fact that it’s a silent film and makes it fun to watch.

Dujardin plays his role remarkably well. He’s absolutely stunning in his delivery. He is so expressive that he seems like a natural for a silent film. He acts subtle in some scenes and over the top in others without seeming like a ham. And like the Gene Kelly character in Singing in the Rain, he’s got a smile that dazzles no one more than himself. He’s such a good actor that he even plays some melodramatic scenes while avoiding pitfalls that would make him look utterly foolish.

I think what makes The Artist so endearing is the attention to detail and the style. A lot of camera work was used to mimic the types of shots used in old silent films. Because the movie is not in color, it drew more attention to the creative lighting techniques. The lack of color actually made it more interesting to watch. Every single shot was absolutely gorgeous to behold.

The Artist is a very good film. It’s creative and innovative while maintaining the qualities that make a film feel like a classic. It’s well acted, well written, and is visually stunning. The story is clean enough that the whole family could watch it. I could see the fact that it is a silent film would dissuade some viewers. This isn’t the kind of movie we see anymore and its unfamiliarity might leave a bad taste in the mouths of some viewers. However, I strongly urge you to see this movie and try not to focus on the fact that it’s a silent film. The story is good and the style is excellent. There is a reason it won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor.

Have you seen any silent films? What did you think of them? Of the old silent films I've seen, my favorite is Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Comment below and tell me about the silent films you've seen.

Coyote Ugly Movie Review

I am of the opinion that movies categorized as “romantic comedy” have to add the “comedy” modifier to them to ensure that people will see the movie. While I do enjoy a genuinely romantic story, most romance movies are so sappy and melodramatic they are nearly unwatchable. But as far as romantic comedies go, Coyote Ugly (2000) wasn’t half bad.

An aspiring 20-something songwriter named Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo) moves to New York City with dreams of making it big. Her father (John Goodman) begrudgingly lets her go, fearing for her safety. Working with the music industry proves much more difficult than Violet realized. Needing to support herself until stardom rolls around, Violet gets a “day” job as a barmaid at a nightclub called Coyote Ugly. Coyote Ugly is the city’s newest hot spot where the owner Lil (Maria Bello) and the employees are a team of sexy, resourceful women that dance on the bar, flirt with the mostly male clientele, sing along with the jukebox, and goad the customers into matching them shot for shot.

How many movies have there been about someone from a small town going to the big city with dreams of success and stardom? I’ll bet you can think of at least three off the top of your head without much effort. On top of that, there are countless other movies where a poor young lady is being crushed by the weight of the world only to have an absurdly perfect young man sweep her off her feet and help her with her troubles. What, then does Coyote Ugly have to offer that the others haven’t? Sexy women dancing on a bar top in  a wet T-shirt contest is about all I can think of. Nevertheless, Coyote Ugly fleshes out these clichés enthusiastically without much irony. For that, I have to praise it.

Music played a strong role in this movie. There is lots of raucous and fun music played at the bar, such as "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, "I Love Rock N Roll" by Joan Jett, and "Rock This Town" by Stray Cats. Coyote Ugly’s soundtrack features Violet's four songs from the movie, performed by LeAnn Rimes, who also did Violet's singing voice. It achieved gold status within a month of its release. The music was fantastic and  really helped set the tone of the bar and the movie.

The bar is almost a character unto itself. It serves as an escape from the world of dead dreams and is a place to live out fantasies while getting mistreated just a little bit. It’s sort of a southern biker bar meets a downtown hot spot full of frat kids. I’ve been to circuses that were more subdued than the Coyote Ugly bar. The movie is about Violet and the atmosphere of the bar. Coyote Ugly has a relationship with all the characters that we see throughout the film; it’s a place for the characters to congregate and interact. A lot of major plot points and character developments are portrayed through the bar.

There was so much texture and detail in the sets. It seemed like an artistic arrangement while still looking like natural backgrounds; that is a very difficult balance to achieve. I was also impressed by the eye-catching color palette. There were some remarkably vivid reds that really popped out with complementary contrasts of darker blues. Most of the camera work was uninspiring, but the striking colors and sets made up for it.

Coyote Ugly is essentially a bartending movie. It’s sexy, raunchy, and very worldly. It was uncomfortable to watch at times since it objectifies women as unattainable sex toys. The movie pushed its limits without actually achieving an R rating. It’s not something I’d recommend watching with your mother present, or young viewers for that matter. The Comedy aspect was respectable. I laughed fairly consistently throughout the film. All in all, Coyote Ugly was not a terrible film. It’s about as slick and mindless as you’d expect from a clichéd risqué movie about making it in the Big Apple while working at a bar. You’ll either like it as a silly, sexy romp of a film that is not to be taken too seriously, or hate it for being similar to so many other movies that have come before it in terms of character and story. It may be worth renting if the risqué content doesn’t put you off too much, otherwise don’t bother.

I can’t think of any other “bartending” movies other than Coyote Ugly, can you? Comment below and tell me if I’m missing anything worth seeing.