The Secret of NIMH.

Review #1466: The Secret of NIMH.

Cast: 
Elizabeth Hartman (Mrs. Brisby), Derek Jacobi (Nicodemus), Hermione Baddeley (Auntie Shrew), John Carradine (The Great Owl), Dom DeLuise (Jeremy the Crow), Arthur Malet (Mr. Ages), Peter Strauss (Justin), Paul Shenar (Jenner), Aldo Ray (Sullivan), Shannen Doherty (Teresa Brisby), Wil Wheaton (Martin Brisby), Ian Fried (Timothy "Timmy" Brisby), Jodi Hicks (Cynthia Brisby), Edie McClurg (Miss Right), and Tom Hatten (Farmer Fitzgibbon) Directed by Don Bluth.

Review: 
"I prefer that animation reach into places where live action doesn't go, and it seems like all of animation nowadays is trying to go where live action is."

It takes some sort of courage to set forth and make your own film, particularly when it comes to one you could be proud to say could rival the pros of the day. In this case, this is one that came from defectors of Walt Disney Productions that tried to keep the spirit of traditional animation films alive with a meaningful story and values that they believed had decreased from the company in recent years. The group, headed by animators such as Don Bluth, John Pomeroy, and Gary Goldman, had spent over four years animating a prior short in the 27-minute Banjo the Woodpile Cat (1979), which was looked upon with apathy when they asked Disney about their interest in buying the film. Bluth had developed an interest in Disney from a young age, which led to two separate stints with the company (starting with Sleeping Beauty (1955) as an assistant and closing with his abrupt exit during The Fox and the Hound (1981) with the others), with notable work including The Rescuers and Pete's Dragon (1977). It was artist Ken Anderson who sparked interest in doing a film of the Robert C. O'Brien book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (rejected by Disney when offered the book because they had "already got a mouse...and we've done a mouse movie."), who gave the book for Bluth to read that was later given to others to read that led to interest in doing a film. It would become a reality with another ex-Disney group in James L. Stewart's Aurora Productions, under the terms of a $5.7 million budget and 30 months to make the film, with long hours for the animators and staff (with 110 hour weeks near the end of production). The film made just around $15 million upon release, but it eventually developed a following of its own that gave it a tremendous reputation among animation films, and Bluth would go on to do nine further films as a director in the next two decades (with varying success and failure).

The film had four credited writers in Bluth, Goldman, Pomeroy, and Will Finn while Steven Barnes was a creative consultant for his initial draft (which had focused more on the rats of NIMH like the book that was revised later to focus on Brisby). What a marvelous little film, one might say when it comes to an experience like this. It can't be denied that there is plenty of striking color and technique to achieve a wonderful mythic tale with plenty of craftsmanship that springs from utilizing ideas such as rotoscoping (live action footage traced over into animation) or backlit animation (in an attempt to recreate artificial light/fire). It is the kind of film that you show to others as an example of what one might want from "mature" animated films for everyone, where it doesn't talk down to either the young or older audience that looks upon the experience - they will find a bunch to adore with its ambitious animation and attempts at a dark story with a suitable path for a fantasy experience and a game cast. This is an interesting cast to highlight, since the voices and abilities of those actors were deemed crucial to matching who they were going to play, finding people to cast based on previous work that they liked, such as Hartman (a troubled but talented actress who had made her debut with A Patch of Blue seventeen years prior), DeLuise (for his work in The End (1978) of all things) or Jacobi and Strauss from their work in miniseries (I, Claudius and Rich Man, Poor Man, respectively). It obviously paid off well, since everyone seems to fit well with who they are meant to be playing, which springs to life with our focus in Hartman (in her last role before her suicide five years later), a sensitive but soothing presence that we appreciate in seeing her courage play out to us. Jacobi serves the film well with a mystical and alluring presence that makes every little sentence count, starting with the opening. Others such as Baddeley (in her final role before her death in 1986) and DeLuise do well with a light hand to connect with Hartman and give the film space to breathe in its initial moments and further. Carradine (in his fourth and last animated role), appearing in one sequence with his distinct voice is recognizably capable for what is needed. Shenar makes his time count as the main threat behind things, while Malet and Strauss fill out the rest with fine spirit. In the long run, the films works out for 82 minutes with quick pacing and a reliable foundation to go with diverting animation to make a worthwhile adventure worth checking out for all ages as a great achievement for Bluth and his animators in a decade that could offer plenty of entertainment for audiences that needed a right touch for everyone to enjoy meaningfully.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Mary Poppins.

Review #1415: Mary Poppins.

Cast: 
Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), Dick Van Dyke (Bert / Mr. Dawes Sr), David Tomlinson (George Banks), Glynis Johns (Winifred Banks), Hermione Baddeley (Ellen), Karen Dotrice (Jane Banks), Matthew Garber (Michael Banks), Elsa Lanchester (Katie Nanna), Arthur Treacher (Constable Jones), Reginald Owen (Admiral Boom), Ed Wynn (Uncle Albert), Reta Shaw (Mrs. Brill), and Don Barclay (Mr. Binnacle) Directed by Robert Stevenson.

Review: 
"That’s the real trouble with the world. Too many people grow up."

What is there to say that has not been said about one of Walt Disney's greatest triumphs? Winner of 22 Academy Awards, Disney was a pioneer of animation that created with his brother Roy one of the most powerful film companies of the world that in the span of nearly a century has gone from animation to diversifying in live-action, theme parks and other various ventures. He had an interest in drawing from an early age, doing various exercises such as copying cartoons and working with tools like watercolors. As he grew older, he delivered papers and took courses for drawing and cartooning at the Kansas City Art Institute. By the time he was 18, he had joined the Red Cross (arriving after the armistice that ended World War I) and found work as a commercial illustrator. He soon found interest in cel animation (as opposed to cutouts), and he soon joined forces with others like Ub Iwerks to make their own studio (Iwerks-Disney commercial Artists, which was short-lived, and Laugh-O-Gram Studio, which lasted two years). Although too late to save the studio, their last creation, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, led to eventual interest in creating a series of shorts (which led to the creation of a studio to distribute said films, originally named Disney Brothers Studio). Over the course of a decade, they would create numerous cartoons with Mickey Mouse being created in 1928. Disney yearned to expand the studio's range and money by making a feature of his own. He would soon plan the first feature-length cel animated film in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), which would take three years to develop amidst arguments with his own brother and wife to try and talk him out of it that was thought to be a futile idea. Simply put, the film was a tremendous success, and several animated film classics would follow in its wake, and live-action segments and features would later follow, and this ended up being Disney's most successful project of the 1960s, one that appeals to both children and adults to this day, an achievement for everyone from longtime Disney director Robert Stevenson to its star in Julie Andrews.

The film was adapted from the book series of the same name by P. L. Travers, who wrote eight children's books featuring the character over a span of 54 years beginning in 1934. As early as 1938, Disney wanted to buy the film rights to the book (owing to his daughters loving the books), but Travers rebuffed efforts for years and years because of her doubts that a feature could do justice to her work (it did not stop CBS from doing a television play of the book in 1949 for their live telecast Studio One, however). In 1961, Travers allowed the rights to be purchased, although she demanded script approval rights (this however was not final draft approval). Considerable changes were made in settling things to film, such as the timeframe being shifted from the 1930s to 1910, a focus on two Banks children rather than four, and a significant lightening of the title character (characterized as slightly vain and stern in the books). The latter change, along with the decision to use animation in some parts and the music (she wanted period piece) did not ultimately please her; when approached in 1993 about turning it into a musical, her key stipulation was that no one who worked on the film be involved with it, although the subsequent stage show that premiered 21 years ended up utilizing the songs from Richard and Robert Sherman, who do tremendous work here (as they did for decades). When it came to star, one could not ask for a greater debut. Andrews had sang with her parents since she was ten years old and had risen to performing on the stage and Broadway by the time she was 19, noted for her work in My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960). It was the decision by Warner Brothers to pick Audrey Hepburn over her to star in the film adaptation of the former that led to Disney having the chance to have Andrews for this film. Her charm and grace are immediately present to view after seeing her first few scenes, one with a great singing voice and a warm spirit that always seems ready for an interesting time with the children while seeming authentic and firm no matter who she interacts, whether that means children or something odder. Van Dyke, a radio/Broadway/television star (sporting a "Cockney" accent), proves quite amusing to follow up with Andrews, an inviting presence that never seems out of place, whether that involves him singing "Chim Chim Cher-ee" or being part of a laugh riot on the ceiling with Wynn (who proves just as amusing in his one scene). Tomlinson accompanies the film as a capable stuffy authority that holds his own in inspiring curiosity on the other side of the hill (namely, reality). Johns, although not in the film too much, inspires a few flighty chuckles. Doctrice and Garbert do a fine job for the time needed, having that middle ground for child acting that isn't too knowing or annoying to write home about. The others fill in the details of curiosity quite nicely for quirks.

The songs are quite catchy, with one clear choice being "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in driving a smile to one's face. The animation sequences are interesting, aided by a modification from Petro Vlahos in a Technicolor camera that mixed live-action and animation through what is known as the "Sodium Vapor Process", utilized in films such as The Parent Trap (1961) and The Birds (1963) that served as an alternative for bluescreen in order for more accuracy. There is plenty of imagination and charm to be found here, a film that can sing with the best of them in leaving an impression on its audience with its simple but efficient story of growing up without seeming too sentimental or abrupt through a ravishing 139 minute run-time. Behaving well doesn't mean not having fun, really. Could it have been more accurate to its source material, sure, but does it really matter? Is this not a magical film that accomplishes what it sets out to do for its target audience (i.e. anyone)? There is a magic here that one wishes to experience every now and then that make it an easy pick for its era and Disney's line of work.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.