NOTE: I'm trying to avoid any meaty spoilers in this post (that is, beyond trailer-level stuff) but there might be some here. Be warned.
My verdict is: Mostly great.
To answer the question that gets asked every time a new WDFA film comes out - "How does this stack up with the classics?" - I'd say it holds its own pretty well. Is it a masterpiece at the level of Beauty and the Beast? No, probably not. But when it's stacked up against the other "boy movies" of the past 20 years or so (Aladdin, Tarzan, Hercules, and the like, not to mention the Cars franchise) I'd say it performs exceptionally.
It really ended up being more like Roger Rabbit and Enchanted than Toy Story, and I mean that in a good way. It didn't feel like it was trying to be a Pixar movie, which is something I was worried about.
The animation! Oh, there was a lot to love about this animation. I am a die-hard proponent of traditional animation techniques, but WIR not only took advantage of the CGI, it pulled off some pretty brilliant tricks. The way a number of the characters move, and the physics of many locations, is great fun and had details which are truly impressive. 8-Bit environments are rendered in modern CGI in some really playful and smart ways.
The two leads are strong. Both are well-animated and competently voiced. I think the real breakout might be Fix-It Felix, Jr. himself, though. (I'm working on a Halloween costume by Wednesday)
GREAT villain. Don't want to spoil anything here (it's not too much of a surprise) but I think the Big Bad of this movie might be one for the villains pantheon. Just really, really fun, and a great vocal performance to boot.
One complaint-There were definitely two tiers of humor here, one which was smart and earnest and one which was cheaper and more juvenile. The former category was successful, the latter grating. No worse than, say, Aladdin or Lion King in this measure, but I could still do without it.
There was some surprisingly edgy humor: little gags about PTSD and police profiling, but really nothing that I'd see as inappropriate for the little ones (none in my screening seemed to have any issues, or maybe I was too captivated to notice).
More than anything, this is a movie made with great love: love for classics, be they Pac-Man or Alice in Wonderland, and love for the medium of animation and it's potential. I highly recommend it. It's a touch saccharine (literally) without ever getting too cloying. We'll have to see how it turns out at the box office, but I think WDFA has a hit on their hands.
I am bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.
My verdict is: Mostly great.
To answer the question that gets asked every time a new WDFA film comes out - "How does this stack up with the classics?" - I'd say it holds its own pretty well. Is it a masterpiece at the level of Beauty and the Beast? No, probably not. But when it's stacked up against the other "boy movies" of the past 20 years or so (Aladdin, Tarzan, Hercules, and the like, not to mention the Cars franchise) I'd say it performs exceptionally.
It really ended up being more like Roger Rabbit and Enchanted than Toy Story, and I mean that in a good way. It didn't feel like it was trying to be a Pixar movie, which is something I was worried about.
The animation! Oh, there was a lot to love about this animation. I am a die-hard proponent of traditional animation techniques, but WIR not only took advantage of the CGI, it pulled off some pretty brilliant tricks. The way a number of the characters move, and the physics of many locations, is great fun and had details which are truly impressive. 8-Bit environments are rendered in modern CGI in some really playful and smart ways.
The two leads are strong. Both are well-animated and competently voiced. I think the real breakout might be Fix-It Felix, Jr. himself, though. (I'm working on a Halloween costume by Wednesday)
GREAT villain. Don't want to spoil anything here (it's not too much of a surprise) but I think the Big Bad of this movie might be one for the villains pantheon. Just really, really fun, and a great vocal performance to boot.
One complaint-There were definitely two tiers of humor here, one which was smart and earnest and one which was cheaper and more juvenile. The former category was successful, the latter grating. No worse than, say, Aladdin or Lion King in this measure, but I could still do without it.
There was some surprisingly edgy humor: little gags about PTSD and police profiling, but really nothing that I'd see as inappropriate for the little ones (none in my screening seemed to have any issues, or maybe I was too captivated to notice).
More than anything, this is a movie made with great love: love for classics, be they Pac-Man or Alice in Wonderland, and love for the medium of animation and it's potential. I highly recommend it. It's a touch saccharine (literally) without ever getting too cloying. We'll have to see how it turns out at the box office, but I think WDFA has a hit on their hands.
I am bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.
