Netflix has recently shown its dominance over the online movie streaming field.  The Little Prince is no exception to this.  With stunning imagery and breathtaking textures, the film creates a world that is unfamiliar to audiences with experience in animated film.  Not only that, but the film is an exercise in creative writing and knowledgeable storytelling.  Audiences of all ages can enjoy this film, which is hard to say for a lot of other animated films.

The animation in this film has two styles as the viewer is introduced to two different stories.  One style reminds us of the neat and clean Pixar-esque imagery that we have seen in past animated films.  The other style is more of a textured figure style that reminds us of older animation and often claymations.  The two styles work extremely well together, creating two worlds for children and adults to enjoy.  This work of art is very different from Mark Osborne's (Kung Fu Panda, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie) past filmography, but maintains his respectability as an inventive animation director.

The storyline in The Little Prince is brilliantly created through two perspectives.  Duality constantly arises in the film to portray grown-ups and children in different manners.  Children are creative, hopeful, and outstanding from the crowd of boring, overly-mature adults.  Irena Brignull (The Boxtrolls) and Bob Persichetti (Shrek 2) bring Antoine de Saint-Exupery's (Night Flight) novel to the screen in a daring journey of fate.  Personally I have not read the novel, but even if the film does not follow the storyline exactly it is a well written screenplay.  The Little Prince is all about standing up for hope in the world and refusing to get stuck in boring old routines as we age.  I call the storytelling knowledgeable because it creates the two worlds in a mature, but fun process for the viewer to enjoy.  The film's technical aspects reflect the story that it tells.  

The Bottom Line: Sheer messiness and organization combine to bring Saint-Exupery's epic tale to the big screen.

Score: 8.5/10

​Image credit: By Arnaud Malon from Paris, France - DSCF0268.JPG, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3975508

Here's yet another Pixar film that floats towards the top of animated cinema.  Somehow, Finding Nemo is capable of catering to adults and young children through powerful undertones of family and meaning in life.  Upon the reveal of a Finding Nemo sequel, I was skeptical of the possible ruination of the original film.  However, Finding Dory brings a fresh and yet familiar story to its loyal audience of kids and their parents.  I do not see a lot of movies with my parents anymore, but I got to see this one with my mom and it was a blast!

Dory, Nemo, and Marlin return with a new purpose of finding Dory's family.  Considering how hard it must be to make a movie revolving around a character with short term memory loss, Pixar balances the character's disability with a lot of side stories.  At first, I worried that the short term memory issue would be overplayed and eventually annoying.  If this were so, the movie would probably have fallen into my own short term memory.  Yet, this movie is one that I will remember for quite a while (at least until the next Pixar film).  Look out for my ranked listing of Pixar films coming at you soon!

I love the story line, but I was surprised by the amount of false endings.  The movie swims forward for quite a while adding new obstacles for the characters to overcome.  There were just one or two obstacles that were unnecessary in my opinion, but the audience still seemed entertained by the story.  If the story were just a bit more refined, this movie would be extremely close to being my favorite Pixar film.

An applause must also be given to the spectacular voice actors that contributed to the film.  Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show), Albert Brooks (Drive, Taxi Driver), Ed O'Neill (Married with Children), Kaitlin Olson (Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Hayden Rolence (Cicero in Winter), Ty Burrell (Modern Family​), and so many more create characters that are relatable and odd.  All of these voice actors add diversity to the characters, which seems to be the route that animation is finally journeying down.  These characters with different disabilities are treated with respect and treat others with respect.  This movie still avoids preaching to the youth, but displays the idea of living in harmony with others.  No matter what somebody else's life is like, you can still make an effort to get to know them and be surprised by their accomplishments and skills.  This is easy to forget in a world that is being targeted by hate.

The Bottom Line:  Its another family-friendly Pixar film full of fun and familiar faces!  (How's that for some good ol' alliteration?)

Score: 9.5/10

Image credit:  http://cdn2-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/finding-dory-1381167300/12710861_10154095363532240_4168275657864665666_o.jpg

From the directors of Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph comes this animated film about a world comprised of animals.  The animals are divided by certain characteristics and the story is about the struggle to break their stereotyped features.  This is all coming from the studio that brought us the hit movie, Frozen.  Unlike Frozen, this is the most diverse animated film I have ever seen.  Its definitely the most diverse animated film from Disney, featuring all sorts of animals with different backgrounds.  That is funny to say about a movie that does not have any humans whatsoever.

One of the reasons I love the medium of film is because it is an object of the arts.  In my opinion, fine arts are used to spread culture.  Zootopia is a clear example of how culture is spread through cinema.  When the writers create a message about diversity and equality, the film comes out with a deeper meaning.  Zootopia not only struggles with race equality, but also sex equality.  Ginnifer Goodwin (Walk the Line) acts as a symbol for women through her character, Judy Hopps.  Hopps is an adorable bunny who is tired of being seen as prey.  She sees all hunting animals as evil, and believes that they see all of the weaker animals as wimpy and easy targets.  These ideologies are heavy-handed throughout the film, which starts to become preachy.  Everyone in the film is wrong with their judgement of others.  Personally I liked the use of diversity and the message of Zootopia, but the message was so deeply entrenched in the film that I could not feel entertained in any way.  Its as though Disney is trying to create something that will engrain itself into the minds of the youth.  The ideologies portrayed in the film are agreeable, but overall I felt brainwashed by the end.  To me, cinema needs to walk a fine line between message and fun.  It is easy for us to forget a film without both of these traits.  If something is fun to watch but leaves me without any afterthoughts, then I no longer have any feelings for the film when the lights come back on.  However if a film is too much like a sermon, then I eventually tune out the jargon and feel a disconnect from the screen.  Zootopia acted as too much of a sermon and started to annoy me because I was tired of listening.  I should not have to feel so downtrodden after a Disney film, especially when it points out everything that I am seeing in the news nowadays.  I left without much afterthought, but rather the thought that big studio cinema is no longer the same because of how modern society is evolving.  That being said, Zootopia is a very creative and intelligent film that serves as a good start to a more diverse Disney studio.

The Bottom Line:  While being the most diverse Disney film yet, Zootopia struggles with subtlety and enjoyment.

Score: 8.7/10

Image credit: http://img.lum.dolimg.com/v1/images/movie_poster_zootopia_866a1bf2.jpeg

In discussing this film with another SIFF attendee, I ended up getting into an argument about how realistic this plot is.  To me, this is one of the most realistic films I've seen at the festival.  The other attendee had a lot to say otherwise.  The film focuses on two young boy or men, depending on how you want to categorize them, and their friendship.  When the father of one of the boys attempts to raise the rent for the other child's mother, the two families start to drift away from each other.  The two boys are then stuck with parents that they cannot understand.

Ira Sachs (Love is Strange, Keep the Lights On) once again brings out some strong acting performances with Michael Barbieri (Tony) and Theo Taplitz (Jake).  These two boys mirror each other's personalities as outsiders.  They have trouble being understood by their peers and rely on each other's friendship in order to find happiness.  Barbieri and Theo give us a sort of playfulness along with the deep emotions that continue to build throughout the film.  Sachs also brings in some familiar faces such as Greg Kinnear and Alfred Molina who have already proven to be fantastic actors in their filmographies.  Honestly, I need to go back and watch Love is Strange because I have heard great things about that flick.

This film not only feels like a snapshot of a teenage relationship, but it also is presented with complex detail.  After the screening we got the privilege of doing a Q&A with Sachs over Skype.  Throughout the film Tony and Jake are seen skating and roller-blading so someone asked if this had significance.  Sachs said that the scenes were to express the energy of the boys and also to symbolize that they are "chasing" after something in life.  This is a deep concept in a film that portrays two realistic characters.  Sachs's directing has to be praised because of scenes like this.  The thought process differentiates him from other directors, some of whom are so focused on big action that they don't have time to even create meaning.

The Bottom Line: This film makes us all think back to our childhoods and that one person that we called our "best-friend." 

Score: 9.5/10

Miles tells a story of a boy who joins an all girls volleyball team in high school so that he can get a scholarship to go to college.  As an indie film, this one cuts into our emotions as we see Miles (Tim Boardman) deal with the struggles of a typical coming-of-age story.  All of the cast does a fantastic job in acting their part and Boardman displays his capabilities as a great teenage actor.  Also, Molly Shannon once again creates acts a part that seems all to familiar for her as a somewhat depressive mother of a teenager.  This movie gives us a genuine feeling of what the director coped with in his life.  After the film, director Nathan Adloff discussed that this film was a bit of an exaggeration of his own childhood.  That being said, most of the film feels pretty realistic with its upsides and downsides.

My main problem with this film is the average tone it portrays.  Not only does Miles have a typical story arc of almost every indie coming-of-age film, but it also never seems to delve into certain issues.  There is never the character breakdown that I am hoping to see.  Without a further journey into the emotions of each character, I never felt like I truly cared about anything going on.  I applaud the originality of the events in the story, but overall the narrative just falls short.  This film could have been an ace if only so many others had not preceded it.  Maybe if movies like The Kings of Summer, The Spectacular Now, or Boyhood had not already been made then this movie would not have felt like such a bore.

The Bottom Line:  If you feel like you must watch every indie coming-of-age film, then I would direct your attention to this one.  Just keep in mind that there is not much being added to the genre with  this single film.

Score: 5.5/10

Shoutouts:  Quick shoutout here to Josh Okrent and/or Amalia Williams for the first donation to the site!

Image Credit: ​http://www.getmovieposter.com/wp-content/uploads/getmovieposter_miles_1.jpg

From the director of Elf, Iron Man, and Chef comes this new film that makes Jon Favreau an even more distinct film creator.  The Jungle Book is a live-action take on the older Disney film which I personally cannot remember if I actually enjoyed.  One thing I do remember about the cartoon version is that I found the music quite annoying.  Jon Favreau uses this music again in the new version, but for some reason I felt less annoyed.  This is probably because Christopher Walken's and Bill Murray's singing voices are odd and yet entertaining.  In fact, all of the animal voice acting was great in my opinion.

One problem that I had with the film was Neel Sethi's acting.  Usually I love to see a new actor on screen performing a fresh take on an old story, but Sethi's acting felt forced.  Every time he talked, the cheesiness of the Disney franchise really came out.  Of course, I understand that he is a young actor in a big role but I'm sure there could've been a better role for him and a better actor for Mowgli.   

Although the main character came off as super cheesy at times, I loved almost every other aspect of the film.  I saw the 2D version of the film and the CGI was spectacular.  This was clearly no small feat for the special effects staff and I am sure the 3D version of the film is even more spectacular.  I am a bit disappointed that there is a rumored Jungle Book 2 because this film is a clear standalone and it really does not need a sequel.  I'm sure the effects will be about the same and the acting will also be about the same.  The story will probably fall away from the original product though, but I guess we will just have to wait and see!

The Bottom Line:  This film is a visual spectacle that is well acted by everyone except for the main character.
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Score: 7.7/10