Bolt

“Bolt” is breezier as a road movie, watching the group cross the country on their way to Los Angeles, with Mittens giving Bolt pointers on primary pooch pleasures, such as begging for food and car riding smell opportunities. The performances lend the movie an interesting spin, as Travolta and Cyrus are the only real stars of the movie. The rest of the cast is made up of character actors (including Greg Germann, Diedrich Bader, and James Lipton) cast more for vocal quality than star power. It’s a nice change of pace, especially with the likes of Walton, who puts his heart into interpreting Rhino’s Bolt fan spasms and plastic-ball-encased heroism, gorging on slapstick to become the film’s comedic highlight and the lone character not burdened with an irritatingly gloomy backstory to overcome.

More admiration for “Bolt” is revealed with the film’s soundtrack, employing Jenny Lewis (a musical performer of staggering serenity and crushing grace) to provide a mid-movie montage with a bouncy, folksy song entitled “Barking at the Moon.” Further surprise arrives at the end credits, with John Travolta returning to his “Let Her In” musical roots to duet with Cyrus on the tune “I Thought I Lost You.”

Filled with explosive canine derring-do, gorgeous animation with a pleasing fixation on Midwest panoramas, and a hilarious psychotic hamster rolling around stealing laughs, it’s easy to appreciate “Bolt” as a nontoxic entry in the CG-animation sweepstakes. Perhaps the film isn’t endowed with a glop of Pixar preciousness, but “Bolt” gets by on a heady froth of charisma and a few surprises where it counts the most.

Watch the trailer here:

Madagascar 2

After a newsreel recap of how the main characters ended up in Madagascar, the sequel picks up where the first concluded with Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) still stranded but attempting to fly home on the repaired plane the lemurs lived in. As expected, two of the most memorable (for better or worse depending upon your age) elements of the first film are predictably present: the ubiquitous “I Like to Move It” song and the militaristic quartet of penguins. As expected, the filmmakers use the song within the first ten minutes, sung by the four friends as they prepare to leave the island.

Unsurprisingly for a plane repaired by penguins and lemurs with wood and twine, the flight doesn’t quite make it to North America but succeeds in crashing on the African mainland. While the penguins fix the plane with the help of a soon-to-be unionized workforce of chimpanzees, Alex and company end up in the very place ruled by Alex’s dad. For a movie that clocks in just under 90 minutes, there is a ton of plot to go around for each of the four characters. The central story is for Alex to be reunited with his family and then be accepted for who he is, which is an entertainer and not a fighter. This point is driven home regularly as Alex gets beat up in slapstick fashion on a couple of occasions. Due to the manipulation of Makunga, Alex and Zuba’s reunion is short-lived. Overall, this story plays like a less violent and emotional variation on the Lion King’s story of a prodigal son returning. The stakes aren’t as grand for Alex and Zuba compared to Simba, which proves that the filmmakers were focusing on making a lighthearted comedy and not a message film.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is the rare animated sequel that reps a notable improvement on its predecessor in every department. Lively and quite funny without being obnoxious, this follow-up smoothly mixes the original’s New York Zoo escapees with a number of engaging new characters they encounter upon crossing from Madagascar to the mother continent.

Watch the trailer here:

Igor (2008)

The idea for Igor is actually a pretty creative one. In a country called “Malaria” the people were once happy and prosperous farmers until mysterious clouds covered the land leaving it in permanent darkness. To survive, the country changed industries from farming to evil mad science!!!! Now the celebrities are the best evil mad scientists… and in Malaria if you are born with a hunch back, your name is changed to “Igor” and you become assigned to an evil scientist as their stupid and slow witted assistant. However, one Igor (John Cusack) is actually quite brilliant and dreams of being recognized as the greatest mad scientist in the world… if he can get people to look past the fact that he’s an Igor.
It’s hard not to get attached to Igor. The character himself is the center of the charm of the film. He’s endearing, yet flawed and Cusack’s voice (even though I’m not a huge fan of movie stars doing voice work) seemed to nail who this little guy is.
I know Igor is just a kids movie, but if other kids movies can some up with viable conflicts, limit plot holes and build things towards a solid ending… why can’t this one?
Speaking of being a kids movie… there were a few moments in the film where I thought to myslef “If I were a parent here with my kid, I’d be uncomfortable with some of the stuff in this movie”. There is lots of talk about murder and death and suicide that may be a little too dark for having your 7 year old kid at.

Watch the trailer here:

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

A CG-animated comedy about a lazy, irreverent slacker panda, Po, who must somehow become a Kung Fu Master in order to save the Valley of Peace from a villainous snow leopard, Tai Lung. Set in the legendary world of ancient China, this is the story of Po, our unlikely hero, who enters the rigid world of Kung Fu and turning it upside down. Po ultimately becomes a Kung Fu hero by learning that if he believes in himself, he can do anything

Fly Me to the Moon 3-D (2008)

This 3D adventure puts an animated twist on the historic Apollo 11 mission of 1969. What if Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins weren’t alone on their trip to the moon? In FLY ME TO THE MOON, three young flies--Nat, IQ, and Scooter--accompany the astronauts, and the tiny trio may turn out to be pint-sized heroes when the mission goes awry. Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, Kelly Ripa, and Nicollette Sheridan all provide voices for the film, and real-life astronaut Aldrin makes an appearance as well.

Girl Cut in Two (2008)

New Wave legend Claude Chabrol helms this black comedy starring Ludivine Sagnier. In A GIRL CAUGHT IN TWO, the blonde beauty plays a weathergirl caught between an older author (François Berléand) and a rich, younger man (Chabrol alum Benoit Magimel).