By: Addison Wylie For the past month, intrepid comedic actor Will Arnett has been promoting the bejesus out of his latest flick Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a hyperactive reboot of the original heroes in a half shell. He fearlessly sells his character (news cameraman Vernon Fenwick), the action sequences, and the New York City setting with utmost grit and spirited enthusiasm. If Tommy Boy’s Tom Callahan could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in…
By: Addison Wylie I’ve enjoyed covering the TIFF Kids International Film Festival in the past, but this year was especially cool. This marked the first year for any festival where I obtained an industry pass. The TIFF Kids Industry pass entitled you to sit in on exclusive conversations, workshops, keynotes, and Q&A’s. The team behind the festival made sure they delivered on guests who could provide truthful insight about the world of filmmaking and…
By: Addison Wylie I have a theory about animated films aimed towards children that are headlined by The Weinstein Company. And, The Nut Job gives me more material to work with. The Nut Job further solidifies my opinion that: the Weinsteins are severely out of touch with the youth of today, they think your children are dolts who will lap up anything animated, and they think you – the parent – are nothing more than…
By: Addison Wylie Knight Rusty is a terribly hard movie to warm up to. Mostly because it comes across as a padded-out episode of a television cartoon that would barely have enough steam to punch out at 22 minutes. What’s worse is that Knight Rusty plays as one of the weaker adventures during one of the final seasons when the creators have started recycling ideas and effort. Right off the bat, moviegoers are thrown into…
By: Addison Wylie The fine people at Disney usually have a good handle on their films, which is why the occasional slip-up- like Planes or last year’s Cars 2 makes me more sad of its existence than angry at how bad it is. Planes, an animated film taking place in the Cars universe, plays like an undemanding direct-to-DVD time filler. It’s funny that Planes comes out on DVD/Blu-ray a week after Blockbuster announced their final closings…
By: Addison Wylie The most impressive attribute about Monsters University, besides its wit and vibrant animation, is its choice to not use nostalgia as a crutch to help connect movie goers – young and old – to the characters they loved in Pixar’s predecessor. Instead, the film uses two main tactics Monsters Inc. utilized to develop excitement and compassion. Those two ingredients are imagination and heart. The campus life of Mike Wazowski and James P….
“Do toddlers have standards for entertainment?” I found myself asking that a lot during The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, as I was watching what the filmmakers behind the film thought they could serve to children. Judging by box office numbers, life-size colourful creatures jiggling around and trying to find magic balloons for a surprise party for their talking pillow proves kids do; as well as parents paying the price of admission. The film…
By: Addison Wylie Dwayne Johnson continues his streak of children’s movies with his starring role in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, a sequel to the surprise hit starring Brendan Fraser. It’s still slightly puzzling to see Johnson, a hulking ex-wrestler, in these simpler vehicles aimed towards young ones. Perhaps, he’s making these for a niece or a nephew. Maybe, it’s an easy paycheque. Out of the children’s movies I’ve seen starring the former “Rock”, Journey…
By: Addison Wylie It’s unfortunate to report that Hotel Transylvania is a disappointment. Even young children will pick up on how often this neat set-up is treated as a one-note joke. Hotel Transylvania has everything a kid could want from a timely Halloween release including oodles of monsters. Frankenstein (voiced by Kevin James), the Invisible Man (voiced by David Spade), a talking werewolf (voiced by Steve Buscemi), and a mummy (voiced by CeeLo Green) all…