The Iron Giant – 1999

The gentle giant is a pretty standard trope in literature and film. From Lenny in Of Mice and Men to King Kong, they exist in every genre and have existed since the birth of film. The Iron Giant takes the gentle giant and turns him into a conflicted war machine whose base instinct threatens to […]

Toy Story 2 – 1999

Sequels are always a risk. There are dozens of occurrences that have failed and ruined the reputation of the original. The Toy Story franchise has fostered a reputation for creating sequels that were as good, if not better, than the prior installment. The first Toy Story movie is about the rivalry between Buzz and Woody, […]

Up – 2009

The most heartbreaking 10 minutes of any movie might be the beginning of Up. The love story created by this film is beautiful and wonderful and also depressing. This film is one of the great joys of my life and I could watch it repeatedly. One of the problems with animated movies is the static […]

Fantasia – 1940

Walt Disney was a revolutionary, there is no way around it. Back in the thirties he had an idea to combine classical music with animation. Many scoffed at the idea, but he went through with it anyway and the result was fantastic. There are several notable sequences throughout, but the most noteworthy are “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” […]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? – 1988

Animation is a unique medium. The film industry has been utilizing animation for almost a hundred years and it has been revolutionized dozens of times. One of the most impressive uses of animation lies in creating a hybrid film. Combining traditional animation with live actors is the precursor to the CGI hybrid film. Bob Hoskins […]

How to Train your Dragon – 2010

While this movie may sound like an instruction manual for wizards, it is in fact a very well-made animated film that teaches a lot of important lessons. One of the things this film aims to teach is about acceptance and inclusion, which it does beautifully. This film takes the story of a boy and his […]