Brave: The Greatest Courage Is One of Love

Brave

Directed By: Michael Andrews and Brenda Chapman

Written By: Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, and Irene Mecchi, from a story by Chapman

Starring: (the voices of) Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, and Julie Walters.

Editor: Nicholas C. Smith, Original Music: Patrick Doyle

            For all its fantastic characters, inventive narratives, and ability to make me open tear ducts I wasn’t even aware I had, the most impressive part of the Pixar brand today for me is its seamless ability to truly design visual storytelling. No longer can we watch animation without thinking of the shot structure, editing patterns, and mise-en-scene like the ways we consider in films made without the aid of computers (which, of course, is very few these days). Especially in Pixar’s Brave, their latest film, I found myself constantly tracking the “camera placement,” for something that wasn’t even there. Pixar has continually pushed the mold of what animation can mean, it certainly shows off the company’s ability to use animation not as an end but as a medium, even if Brave isn’t as “groundbreaking” as the company’s previous entries.

            It’s tough when you are Pixar—so many of their films have literally pushed the bar, that when something as solid and well crafted as Brave comes along, the gut reaction is to attack it for not being the equivalent of the Sistine Chapel. What does come up slightly disappointing is that Brave, which has been highly publicized as the first Pixar film to feature a female protagonist, is the film’s rough edges.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Tingles for Adventure, Drunkard and Canine in Tow

The Adventures of Tintin

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish, based on the comics by Hergé

Starring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Toby Jones

Editor: Michael Kahn, Art Direction: Andrew Jones and Jeff Wisniewski, Original Music: John Williams

Rated: PG for comic book violence and fun.

            There’s one man you can’t keep your eyes off of in The Adventures of Tintin, and he’s not even on screen, and this time not even behind it. I’m of course referring to the film’s director, Hollywood wonder-boy Steven Spielberg. His presence looms large in this adaptation of the comic books by Hergé, who, while world-famous, remains mostly anonymous to American viewers, myself included. But its Mr. Spielberg’s camera—how he uses it and how he constantly reinvents the rules of modern cinema (many of which, he wrote)—that remains the constant thrill of Tintin. It’s also the downfall of his film.

            Mr. Spielberg is no stranger to adventures, and Indiana Jones seems to be in the town over from wherever globetrotting Tintin, a young and peppy journalist with an ache for adventure, must be. But here the craftsman takes on new challenges; not just the added dimension of 3D (something I really only noticed in the weight of my wallet), but going for full-scale animation. The Adventures of Tintin isn’t a classically animated world—Mr. Spielberg used the aide of Avatar director James Cameron, as well as producer Peter Jackson, to use the WETA studios and shoot the whole film in a digital landscape with actors carefully monitored to bring their performances to the cartoonish caricatures. But there’s something lifeless in Tintin, and its not just the odd uncanny valley look of the film’s characters, but its lack of a true adventure spirit, which instead feels calculated and often standard, that the reveals and boyhood adventure that has marked so much of Mr. Spielberg’s career remains absent.

Cars 2: From America With a Turbo V8 Engine

Cars 2

Directed By: John Lasseter

Written By: Ben Queen

Starring (The Voices of) Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, and John Turturo

Art Director: Jay Shuster, Original Music: Michael Giacchino

Rated: G, though some explosions may frighten the smallest of children.

            There is something unique about the Cars franchise that separates it from almost every other film in Pixar’s history. While Toy Story, Monster’s Inc., and A Bug’s Life among other present mini-universes within our own universe that we just don’t know about, Cars is a world onto its own. There are no humans turned around, unaware that their vehicle is a sentient being (that story is left to Michael Bay). Instead, the Cars live in their own alternate universe, where they eat oil and feel sick when breaking down. Would President Obama show up as a long slick limo?

            Cars and now its sequel, Cars 2, are also known in certain circles with distain as simply cash-cows for the Disney-Pixar brand. While Cars was the least profitable film for the animation giant at the box office, it has also made the most green in toys and merchandising. But such conversations are irrelevant, and make it too easy to attack the Pixar franchise for what is likely to be agreed upon its least successful film to date. John Lasseter, the Pixar founder and current CEO, shows a lot of admiration for the idea of Cars in his directorial style (he passed on directing Toy Story 3 to do this film, after all). And while never as transcendent as Pixar’s other films, Cars 2 zooms its way around a cleverly inspired plot to keep things moving too fast that you won’t mind.

Rango: Acting Good, Fighting the Bad and Ugly

Rango

Directed By: Gore Verbinski

Written By: John Logan

Starring: (The Voices Of) Johnny Depp, Ilsa Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Timothy Olyphant, and Ned Beatty.

Feature Animation: Industrial Light and Magic, Editor: Craig Wood, Production Designer: Mark McCreery, Original Music: Hans Zimmer

Rated: PG, lots of guns, a few explosions, nothing serious.

            Coming into theaters without a Pixar stamp of quality for most animations might create groans for adults, especially those who have children to drag to the theaters. Pixar, with its now 15 plus years of tradition and Google-like innovation, has become synonymous with balancing childhood wonder with serious adult themes. Thankfully, Pixar’s formula is not copyrighted, and other studios and directors are free to try their hand at something a little more adult-friendly. In fact, Rango, a new Western-set animated film, might be way more fun for adults looking for an interesting take on the genre than the kids who may not understand the film's numerous homages.

            Behind the (nonexistent) camera for Rango is director Gore Verbinski. Mr. Verbinski has been a fascinating Hollywood workman, starting off with his creepy and effective work in The Ring, but then falling into directing the increasingly bad Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Mr. Verbinski though has more talent than those films have shown, and together with screenwriter John Logan (Big Fish), they bring a cornucopia of ideas to this acid Western, mostly through homage and parody.