Thursday 10 September 2020

Push Comes to Shove (1991)

Year Released: 1991

Type: 2D, Hand-Drawn
Length: 6 minutes
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: Big Man Pictures Corp.

Director: Bill Plympton

Story: Maureen McElheron, Bill Plympton, P.C. Vey

Storyline: Two businessmen find unique and violent ways to solve their issues with each other.

Author's Comments:

One of Bill Plympton's best remembered animations and another masterpiece. This has been shown many times on British telelvision over the years, especially at Christmas for some reason.

Author's Rating:

Toonstone (2014)

Year Released: 2014
Type: 2D Computer Generated
Length: 81 minutes
Genre: Western, Action, Comedy, Fantasy

Production Company: Hank and Jed Movie Pictures/Neo Art & Logic

Director: Brent Triplett

Story: Jon Etheridge, Bryan Mahoney, Nate Panning, Tony Schnur, Brent Triplett

Music: Alex Beard

Starring:

Aerli Austen - Gail (voice)

Sheila Brothers - Margaret (voice)
Jon Etheridge - Alien #1 / Cactus #2 / Casket Outlaw #1 / Crazy Ass Frank / Dynamite Jr. / Mayor / Mrs. Rose / Pretty Boy McCoy / Slim / Stinky Pinky / Town Guy / Trigger Happy Wilson / Two Eyed Jack (voice)
Bryan Mahoney - Doc Jenkins / Casket Outlaw #2 / Dildorado Sheriff / Finch / Town City Deputy (voice)
John Marchioni - Vulture (voice)
Brad McWaters - Casket Dealer (voice)
Cullen Moss - Wild Harry Johnson (voice)
Shaun O'Rourke - Butterfly (voice)
Nate Panning - Dalton / Mr. Purdue (voice)
Tony Schnur - Acondo / Bruno / Cactus #1 / Camel Tocy / Casket Outlaw #3 / Crazy Ass Bill / Dildorado Reporter (voice)
Brent Triplett - Alien #2 / Cactus #3 / Drippy Peters / McConaughorse / Pee Paw / Pinky Outlaw 1 / Tom / Dark Owl / Willie (voice)
Matthew Warzel - Crazy Ass Pete (voice)

Storyline: An inept gunslinger with an egotistical talking horse is recruited to save a town besieged by outlaws and evil aliens.

Author's Comments:

This was the first animation I ever saw from the Hank and Jed studios. I had never seen any of their other projects such as Doraleous and Associates (the series of which is available on YouTube). Once you get over the interesting style of animation, which actually was quite comical, there was a story that will be familiar to any film buff, but with a few extra gems. The script was great, the voice acting was also great and partnered with their unique animation style this became an original experience. Loved it.

Author's Rating:

Tuesday 8 September 2020

The Book of Life (2014)

Year Released: 2014

Type: 3D Computer Generated
Length: 95 minutes
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Production Company: Mexopolis (United States)/Twentieth Century Fox Animation
Director: Jorge R. Gutiérrez
Screenplay: Jorge R. Gutiérrez, Doug Langdale
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla

Starring:

Diego Luna - Manolo (voice)

Zoe Saldana - Maria (voice)
Channing Tatum - Joaquin (voice)
Ron Perlman - Xibalba (voice)
Christina Applegate - Mary Beth (voice)
Ice Cube - Candle Maker (voice)
Kate del Castillo - La Muerte (voice)

Hector Elizondo - Carlos Sanchez (voice)

Danny Trejo - Skeleton Luis (voice)

Story: Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart, embarks on an adventure that spans three fantastic worlds where he must face his greatest fears.

Author's Comments:

Essentially this is a Mexican production done in the US. An original concept that in 2017 was made in a similar way by Pixar as Coco (2017). It is a fantastic story based on Mexican religious beliefs, myths and legends. Although Book of Life was nominated for a Golden Globe, it wasn't even nominated for an Oscar and yet Coco won best animated feature three years later. Although it has to be said that 2015 was a tough year at the Oscars with stiff competition in the 'Animated Feature' category from films like Big Hero 6 (2014) and How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014).

Author's Rating:

Coco (2017)

Year Released: 2017

Type: 3D Computer Generated/Stop-Motion

Length: 105 minutes

Genre: Adventure

Production Company: Pixar/Walt Disney Animation

Director: Lee Unkrich

Co-Director: Adrian Molina

Story: Lee Unkrich, Jason Katz, Matthew Aldrich, Adrian Molina

Screenplay: Matthew Aldrich, Adrian Molina

Music: Michael Giacchino

Starring:

Anthony Gonzalez - Miguel (voice)
Gael García Bernal - Héctor (voice)
Benjamin Bratt - Ernesto de la Cruz (voice)
Alanna Ubach - Mamá Imelda (voice)
Renee Victor - Abuelita (voice)
Jaime Camil - Papá (voice)
Alfonso Arau - Papá Julio (voice)

Story: Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.

Author's Comments:

Not seen it yet, but there is apparently a similarity to The Book of Life (2014), which nobody seems to want to talk about. I know that these feature animations take a long time to make, maybe up to 10 years from original concept to final release, so who knows how the similarity came about.

UPDATE: Having now watched I can confirm that this far superior to The Book of Life (2014). A wonderful story and great songs. Very emotional. An outstanding performance from the young Anthony Garcia.

Author's Rating