Finding Dory.

Review #813: Finding Dory.

Cast
Ellen DeGeneres (Dory), Albert Brooks (Marlin), Hayden Rolence (Nemo), Ed O'Neill (Hank), Kaitlin Olson (Destiny), Ty Burrell (Bailey), Diane Keaton (Jenny), Eugene Levy (Charlie), Idris Elba (Fluke), Dominic West (Rudder), and Sigourney Weaver (Herself) Directed by Andrew Stanton (#155 - Finding Nemo, #222 - WALL-E, and #539 - A Bug's Life) and Angus MacLane.

Review
Once again, another trip to the local movie theater, this time with friends, which makes the 24th edition of the so-called (by me) Theater Saga a tad more fun. 

The easiest bright side to detect is that it doesn't hinder nor ruin the first film, even if it is easy to admit that this really isn't an very necessary sequel. For me, I'm not one of those people who lets nostalgia of the first film get to me, I just wanted to see if it would be a good animated film from Pixar. While it is not a perfect movie, I did at least have a good time with it. If you enjoyed Dory from the first film, you will be in for a treat (as evidenced by the title); I was surprised that it decided to follow up the first film and not simply just be one of those "X years later", where everything had changed (save for Nemo's voice, which makes sense). The cast is enjoyable, all having good chemistry with each other (one of my favorites is Ed O'Neill, whose ill-tempered nature contrasts well with DeGeneres' bright quirkiness), with the new characters being well suited for the movie. The animation is pretty good, as is the standard for Pixar, with enough diverse fish and colors to pop just enough. The movie did a good enough job to make me not think about exactly how long Dory was separated from her parents (or how a fish gets diagnosed with short-term memory loss as a baby) entirely too much. It's a bittersweet kind of movie that manages to be a fairly good continuation while also not being too much of a re-tread. It might not get you to cry, but it will most likely inspire some sort of emotion. Was it entirely needed? Perhaps not, but it is at least a sequel that does its job nicely.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: A Bug's Life.

Review #539: A Bug's Life.

Cast
Dave Foley (Flik), Kevin Spacey (Hopper), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Princess Atta), Hayden Panettiere (Princess Dot), Phyllis Diller (the Queen), Richard Kind (Molt), David Hyde Pierce (Slim), Joe Ranft (Heimlich), Denis Leary (Francis), Jonathan Harris (Manny), Madeline Kahn (Gypsy), Bonnie Hunt (Rosie), Mike McShane (Tuck and Roll), John Ratzenberger (P. T. Flea), and Brad Garrett (Dim) Directed by John Lasseter (#440 - Toy Story and #441 - Toy Story 2) and Andrew Stanton (#155 - Finding Nemo and #222 - WALL-E)

Review
Comparisons to Antz (#254) aside, A Bug's Life is a fairly decent film to watch with everyone. Is is better than Antz? That depends on what exactly you want. Antz seems to spring to darker themes, but is still a decent flick that works for the most part. A Bug's Life seems to be more bright, but it also has a charm to it, it may not be the best Pixar film, but like other Pixar films, it leaves an impression on you, it's a film that is certainly entertaining. The cast is good, Foley works well, eccentric, but he does a good job. The rest of the cast is good, Spacey is a fine villain, and the cast interacts well with each other. The animation is good (The fact this was made only 16 years ago makes me feel slightly older), and the movie is certainly entertaining enough. So yeah, don't pick Antz or A Bug's Life, pick both movies, and take this film for what it's worth.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: WALL-E.

Review #222: WALL-E.

Cast
Ben Burtt (WALL-E), Elissa Knight (EVE), Jeff Garlin (Captain B. McCrea), Fred Willard (Shelby Forthright), John Ratzenberger (John), Kathy Najimy (Mary), Sigourney Weaver (Computer), and MacInTalk (Auto) Directed by Andrew Stanton (#155 - Finding Nemo)

Review
The film uses emotions conveyed silently with occasional voices, like a silent film. And in the end, the film still works out (Fun fact: Pixar watched Chaplin and Keaton films to help animate) In a film like this, it doesn't use much acting, but when it does (like I said a few lines ago), it works. The animation is extensive and good. It can make you range in emotions while watching to chuckling to a bit of sadness (depends on the range of person). It's a useful film that is entertaining and interesting to the end. It takes inspirations from films (Such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Short Circuit) and uses it to its advantage. It's a love story (sort of) mixed in whit other elements to make a good, if not great film. Truly an another success for Pixar.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Finding Nemo.

Review #155: Finding Nemo.

Cast
Alexander Gould (Nemo), Albert Brooks (Marlin), Ellen DeGeneres (Dory), Willem Dafoe (Gill), Brad Garrett (Bloat), Allison Janney (Peach), Austin Pendleton (Gurgle), Stephen Root (Bubbles), Vicki Lewis (Deb), Joe Ranft (Jacques), Geoffrey Rush (Nigel), John Ratzenberger (Moonfish) Directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich.

Review
Pixar makes good films that I have reviewed here such as Monsters' Inc (#074) and The Incredibles (#153), and this is no different. The story is heartwarming with a touch of great animation from Pixar (Once again I omit the "Disney" from the credit) The voice acting is excellent, especially from Gould, Brooks, Degeneres and Defoe, but the film's real main focus is on Marlin and his attempts to rescue his son, with emotional scenes that are really gripping in terms of usefulness. The movie doesn't need cutesiness to help, it has drama, beautiful, lush scenes and most of all a heart.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.