Category Archives: Animation

The Boy And The Heron review — Miyazaki returns with a dark, dreamy fable

December 7, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki | Written by Miyazaki and Genzaburô Yoshino | 124 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | In Cinemas (in original Japanese with English subtitles and English dubbed) A version of this review first appeared on FITI during my coverage of The Toronto International Film Festival 2023 I was thinking how universally beloved this animator…Read More

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse review — Exalted but exhausting

June 4, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson | Written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dave Callaham | 140 min | ▲▲▲△△ When I saw the first entry in this animated Spider-Man franchise, I was certainly in the minority for not gushing wildly over it. It's good, but the various plot issues…Read More

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio review — An animated triumph from the gothic master

December 9, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson | Written by del Toro and Patrick McHale, from the book by Carlo Collodi | 117 min | ▲▲▲▲▲ | Netflix Any fan of Guillermo del Toro will know that the filmmaker's passion for monsters — from Pan's Labyrinth to Hellboy to The Shape Of Water —…Read More

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On review — Sweet and sad in equal measures

July 15, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp | Written by Fleischer-Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Nick Paley, and Jenny Slate | 89 min | ▲▲▲▲△ I'm sure I'm not the first person to piece this together, but it strikes me having seen Marcel The Shell With Shoes On that the real recipe for successful whimsy is one part sweetness, one…Read More

Lightyear review — Brand extension falls with style

June 22, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Angus MacLane | Written by MacLane, Jason Headley and Matthew Aldrich | 101 min | ▲▲▲△△ You may have heard about the confusing original marketing of this film: Is this the Buzz Lightyear that was also the toy (voiced by Tim Allen) in Pixar's first feature, 1995's Toy Story, and the three sequels…Read More

The Bob’s Burgers Movie review — The Depressed Simpsons have an adventure

June 17, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman | Written by Bouchard and Nora Smith | 102 min | ▲▲△△△ | Disney+ Right off I must admit I've never watched the Bob's Burgers TV series, so I recognize I may have a disadvantage compared to folks who know and love these characters. This is more or…Read More

Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood review — Nostalgia trip to the moon

April 12, 2022 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Richard Linklater | 97 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Netflix "Science class was so exciting because it was all current events!" American humanist filmmaker Richard Linklater takes us on an animated tour of his childhood in the suburbs of Houston, Texas in this delightful, warm film. It's the late 1960s, a time…Read More

Turning Red review — Pixar triumphs with Toronto-set coming-of-age tale

March 14, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Domee Shi | Written by Shi, Julia Cho and Sarah Streicher | 100 min | ▲▲▲▲▲ | Disney + This picture made me think of a good friend back in my Toronto days. He's a first generation Canadian who upset his traditional mother by choosing a bride she found inappropriate. He went ahead…Read More

Encanto review — Family fantasy fundamentally familiar

January 24, 2022 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith, with story credits from Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse, and Lin-Manuel Miranda | 102 min | Disney Plus | ▲▲▲△△ Just gonna get this out of the way: This is a lovely looking animated Disney musical about a magical Colombian family. Expect an explosion…Read More

The AFX Animation Festival of Halifax is on now!

May 7, 2021 flawintheiris

In its 10th year, the AFX brings short and feature animation to Haligonian audiences in the spirit of Helen Hill, the beloved animator who lived in Nova Scotia for years. The program runs through Friday and Saturday online — with material for all ages and just for adults — and it's all free. Amongst the…Read More