South Park Bigger Longer Uncut: Singing Songs Of Madness

South Park Bigger Longer And Uncut is an animated musical film directed by Trey Parker. The plot sees the boys become caught up in a war between the parents of South Park and the Canadian Government after the kids see the new Terrance and Phillip (Matt Stone and Trey Parker). movie and it starts to influence and impact their behaviour. There is also a subplot about Satan (Parker), and Saddam Hussain (Stone), trying to take over the world.

I am a big South Park fan and have been for a while, however, I hadn’t seen this movie before and I pretty much forget it existed, but then the other day I was scrolling through Prime and saw it and thought I would put it on and give it a go, I had mixed reactions.

Usually when adult animated shows do songs they are good, there have been many hits (at least for me), from a number of different shows including Family Guy and American Dad, South Park too has had a number of funny songs over the years, this film sadly took this and then over did it to a point of killing it. Much like in the worst kind of musicals, there was a song every few minutes in this film, most of the time the song wouldn’t even be funny it would just be explaining what was going on on-screen, which feels lazy, and felt crammed in for the sake of it. It became irritating after a while.

The comedy is strong here though and that does redeem the film somewhat, in the non-singing moments there are a number of jokes that made me laugh out loud and a few that made me chuckle. I wanted more of these and less constant repetitive songs.

Overall, making this film a musical rather than just an extended episode not only handicapped it, it killed it.

Pros

A few funny jokes

An interesting premise

Cons.

It does not justify its existences

The songs are annoying

The ending feel cheap and unearned

The multi-episode storylines of later seasons are infinitely better

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wallace And Gromit Curse Of The Were Rabbit: Howling At The Moon

Wallace And Gromit Curse Of The Were Rabbit is a British stop motion animation film directed by Nick Park and Steve Box. The plot sees the duo set up a business catching and rehousing rabbits in their local area, protecting everyone’s green. However, one day during a failed science experiment Wallace (Peter Sallis), turns himself into a horrible man rabbit hybrid.

I remember watching this when I was a kid in the cinema, I must have gone at least 3 or 4 times to see it during its run; there is something about this film that places higher in my mind than the over Wallace and Gromit fare and even over other Aardman animations. What I think this something is, is the sense of British horror that is on display here ever so subtly. Throughout the film there are several references and homages to classic British horror films and moments, which a genre die hard like me can see and appreciate; I enjoy the tip of the hat.

I also enjoy the romance between Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter), and Wallace. I thought it was nice and quite wholesome to see this love story play out on screen even if it does lead nowhere. It made me smile.

Overall, my favourite Wallace and Gromit film simply for the references to British horror, a great concept well executed.

Pros.

The horror and the references to horror

Wallace and Lady Tottington

The premise

It is well paced

Cons.

The villain feels familiar and uninspired

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Croods 2, A New Age: The Age Of Stone

The Crood 2, A New Age is an animated family film directed by Joel Crawford. The plot continues on from the first film, with the Crood family trying to find a new permanent home (or tomorrow as the film calls it). In this pursuit, Guy (Ryan Reynolds), runs into this adoptive family that took him in after his parents died, naturally the two families’ clash.

So, I was not very impressed by the first Croods film, it felt very generic and had no emotional impact. I am glad to say that I enjoyed this film a significant amount more and I think it made great strides to better the issues of the first film.

Yes, very much like the first film, the conflict is insanely predictable and cliché: where the first had a father needing to set aside, the second also has that but with the added dimension of question whether they need to change how they are and become more than just cave people. The emotional journey of this film is one you have seen done hundreds of times before and the resolution is exactly how you would expect.

This film does feel like it has more heart than the first film, that felt very much like it was trying to steal from other properties in a cold, corporate way. I felt a greater connection to the characters here and enjoyed seeing them interact on screen. I thought this was definitely Eep’s (Emma Stone), film and she was the character that kept me engaged in the plot.

The female empowerment angle towards the end of the film left me split. On the one hand it was a cool scene and came off as a nice final battle scene with all the female characters riding in on huge beasts and saving the day. However, at the same time it felt forced in and unnatural, it felt very much upon a second rewatch that the film was trying to set up this empowering moment throughout in the least subtle way possible- shoehorned in some might say.

Overall, this is a much-needed improvement over the first film and gives me some hope for the series going forward.

Pros.

Eep

The emotional connection/impact

Having a distinct set of personality

Being fun to watch

Cons.

The arc/ journey of the character is a little stale

The female empowerment sequence

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Soul: The Jazz Man

Soul is an animated family film directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers. The plot follows a part time teacher/ wannbe jazz musician Joe (Jamie Foxx), as he dies before he has a chance to achieve his dream of performing on stage. Whilst in the afterlife Joe meets 22 (Tina Fey), a young soul who is struggling to find their spark, together the two of them run away back to earth and go on a journey of self-discovery together.

This film almost made me cry, almost. The ending is beautiful and heartfelt, and it really brought Pixar back for me in a big way. Personally, I haven’t really enjoyed a Pixar film since Brave and even a few of the ones before that Ratatouille, Wall-E did nothing for me: I enjoyed a final trip to Toy Story but more for nostalgia then a strong story. However, I am pleased to say that this film bucks that trend and in my mind restores Pixar to its former glory.

I enjoyed seeing the bond develop between Joe and 22, I thought it was a incredibly well realised friendship and touched on the very real experience of what it means to be human. The individual character arcs of Joe and 22 are equally well done, and you are left staggered at the complexity of emotional impact they manage to elicit.

My one complaint would be that the soul world stuff is a bit dull at times, and it tends to drag on: you can’t help but think during these sequences that you would much rather they get back to the Earth storyline.

Overall, a film that resorted my faith not only in Pixar but in the animation genre in general.

Pros.

The emotions

The character journeys

The performances from Foxx and Fey

A return to form for Pixar
Cons.

The soul world plot could and should have been more interesting

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Boss Baby: I’m Pretty Sure This Kid Is The Antichrist

The Boss Baby is an animated family comedy film directed by Tom McGrath. The plot sees a family welcome a new baby into their lives, however there is something different about this baby he wears a suit and talks on the phone: he is a boss baby.

I truly do believe to enjoy or even understand this film you need a degree in some field of high concept science, as the logic of this film is nowhere to be found. Normally, I would not go after the logic of a kid’s film, but this is particularly egregious. It almost feels at times like the film is going out of its way to make itself more confusing then it already is, it piles on more and more baby lore until you reach a giving up point.

By making the film so convoluted and over the top it removes a sense of relatability the film might have for parents who remember what is it like to have a new baby or for children who remember when their parents brought their sibling home from the hospital. To that end, once the bright colours, and the vapid jokes about poo and things like that are over there is nothing left for the kids to enjoy, they too will see its hollowness.

Alec Baldwin is okay as the titular Boss Baby, he is serviceable, but this is not one of his better 2010 era roles. Furthermore, it is nice to see Tobey McGuire return to our screens even if it is just as a voice over narrator it has been too long.

Overall, I fail to see how this was popular, it takes itself far too seriously and makes things far too complicated baffling viewers whilst simultaneously putting them off the film.
Pros.

Baldwin and McGuire

Cons.

It is too complicated

The jokes aren’t funny

Most of the characters are irritating and not relatable or likeable in any way

It wastes its wider supporting cast

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

SpongeBob SquarePants, Sponge On The Run: Another Feather In Paramount’s Cap

SpongeBob SquarePants The Movie: Sponge On The Run is an animated family film directed by Tim Hill. The plot sees SpongeBob’s (Tom Kenny), beloved pet snail Gary be snailnapped. As such SpongeBob and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), must set out on a quest to get him back.

I enjoyed this film immensely, far more than I thought I would. I have not seen SpongeBob in years, but I did use to like it when I was a teen.

My one complaint of this film would be that the animation is ugly, and quite jarring if you go in expecting the old-style SpongeBob animation like I did. The issue with the animation was that it looked too fake, too CGI, and when they added in real world live action elements it became trapped in the uncanny valley.

I really enjoyed the story of the film. I liked the feeling of finality it had to it, I know there is plenty more SpongeBob content on the way, but it was still nice. Seeing all of SpongeBob’s friends talking about how much he meant to them was a touching moment, and the reveals of how they all met was a good pay off for long-time fans.

The highlight of the film for me was the humour and the cameos. The humour often skewed older, a lot of the jokes and references I feel kids off today would not understand, but they made me laugh. I have always enjoyed the absurdist nature of SpongeBob as a show. Furthermore the cameos were terrific though only brief, Danny Trejo leaves a strong impression as El Diablo and Snoop Dogg has a nice little musical number that livens up the first act; of course Keanu Reeves as Sage is magnificent, but that goes without saying at this point.

Overall, this feels like a love letter to the show itself, it feels like it is done with care, it will make you laugh, and the ending will make you cry. Definitely one of the better SpongeBob films.

Pros.

The tribute to Stephen Hillenberg

The trial scene

Matt Berry

The humour

The cameos

Cons.

The animation is horrendous

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolfwalkers: Never Cage Something That Is Wild

Wolfwalkers is an animated fantasy film directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. The plot sees a girl and her father move to an Irish hamlet in the 1600’s to kill wolves and to start a new life. However said girl Robyn (Honour Kneafsey), finds that there is more to the wolves than any of the towns people know and that the pack is being controlled by a mother daughter Wolfwalker duo, who she soon makes friends with.

This film is a heartbreaker, the plot won’t leave a dry line in the house. It has so many layers to it many of them deeply sad it makes for a very melancholic watch. The later scenes between Robyn and her Dad (Sean Bean), are particularly hard to watch, when he keeps making the situation worse and worse before he realises the error of his ways.

I enjoyed the friendship between Robyn and Mebh ‘Og Mac Tire (Eva Whittaker), I thought it was nice to see their friendship develop over the course of the film and to watch them grow up during such a difficult time period, I’m sure there was a metaphor in there somewhere. I thought this part of the story and its innocence nicely contrasted with the more adult moments.

Finally, I thought it was nice to see a return to 2D animation. It has been too long, and it looked really beautiful throughout, you could tell a lot of work had gone into it and it really helped the film to standout amongst the 2020 animation landscape.

Overall, a beautifully thoughtful and heart breakingly sad animated film that you owe it to yourself to see.

Pros.

A return to 2D animation

The friendship between the two girls

The emotional beats

The father daughter relationship

The look at Irish/Celtic mythology

Cons.

It is desperately sad

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Over The Moon: Emotionally Prepare Yourself For This One

Over The Moon is an animated fantasy film directed by Glen Keane. The plot sees Fei Fei (Cathy Ang), struggle with her father moving on after the death of her mum, so she ventures to the moon to prove that love is eternal and forever, based on the notion of the Chinese Folktale of the moon goddess and her lost love.

Comparing this to Pearl Studios other recent feature Abominable, this is the worse of the two. My main complaint of the film is that it is just too sad, it is depressing especially for a kid’s film and I left it feeling bummed out. I understand a lot of kid’s films deal with dark themes but this one fails to balance the tone; the songs and the bright colourful characters aren’t enough.

That said the songs are probably the best part of this film, moon goddess Chang’e (Phillipa Soo), has a number of great songs that are really fun and lively; and also impossible not to dance along to. Chang’e is probably the best of the supporting cast, who are mostly wasted in forgettable minor roles. This film has people like Sandra O, Ken Jeong and John Cho in it, but it barely uses them.

Also there is something about the animation style that I just don’t like, I think the character models look a bit too CGI, a bit too clean, there is something quite uncanny about them that I found disconcerting over time.

Overall, quite an emotional story that will connect with some more than other, though it doesn’t balance its tone and ends up feeling depressing. Likewise it wastes its talented cast and has some iffy animation.

Pros.

The songs

Chang’e/ Philippa Soo

Trying to have a mature conversation in a kid’s film

Cons.

The animation is off

It is depressing

It wastes its talented cast

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Scooby Doo And The Goblin King: The Return Of Tim Curry

Scooby Doo And The Goblin King is an animated family mystery film directed by Joe Sichta. The plot sees Shaggy (Casey Kasem) and Scooby (Frank Welker), go on a magical quest to defeat an evil Wizard and save Halloween.

Unlike others, that have strayed too far from the formula, I think this film benefits form ditching the standard story structure of a Scooby Doo film and going fully out there. I enjoyed seeing Scooby Doo fully explore the concept of magic, I liked seeing classic creeps like The headless horseman make an appearance and I appreciated the larger world and mythology this film tried to set up; I would like to see it explored further at a later date.

When I heard that Tim Curry was returning to voice a character in this film I was immediately expecting big things, he was after all one of the best things about The Witches Ghost. So, I was saddened when he only had a small part. He does his best with what he is given, and he does make the Goblin King memorable.

The villain is okay, serviceable enough to keep the plot running in one direction but not strong enough to carry any real weight. I feel the story itself buckles under all it is trying to do and crosses a line where it becomes more spectacle than anything else.

Overall, this was one of the better Scooby Doo films of this era (the late 00’s), it is up there with Zombie Island and Witches Ghost, however all that it tries to do weighs the film down a bit too much and it just can’t live up to its high ambitions.

Pros.

Tim Curry

Fully going for the supernatural

The headless horseman scenes

It is a lot of fun

Cons.

Tim Curry only has a very small part

The film becomes spectacle and falls apart after a point

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Early Man: The Origins Of Man United

Early Man is a British stop motion animated film directed by Nick Park. The plot follows a group of stone age people as they are challenged by a bronze age civilisation to a game of football to decide the fate of their valley home.

I will admit I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Aardman and their animations, I really didn’t like Chicken Run and I enjoyed Wallace and Gromit when I was young, but I have not thought about those films in years. So, going into this I had low expectations that were lowered even further when I heard the mixed reviews, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this film.

I enjoyed the story quite a bit and found that the time period leant itself quite well to Aardman’s signature animation style. I thought the characters all had a great deal of rootability, and you really wanted to see them win the game. This film manages to capture the plucky underdog spirit to a tee.

The voice cast didn’t add much to proceedings as I feel like anyone could have played those characters, the voice actors themselves were not memorable, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your viewpoint. Out of the cast I thought Maisie Williams shone the most, her character of Goona was fun and memorable and Williams managed to pull of an accent for the full run time somewhat convincing; much more convincingly then her GOT co-star Sophie Turner in the last X-Men film, however.

Overall, a fun film that really made me consider Aardman that bit more, maybe it has converted me to their cause- time will tell.

Pros.

Fun and accessible

The setting leant itself well to stop motion

Maisie Williams

Capturing the underdog spirit

Cons.

The voice cast weren’t very strong

It felt a bit bloated

3/5

Reviewed by Luke