Tag Archives: animation

Movie Review: “Toy Story 5” is all Message, Little Fun

Posted on June 19, 2026 by Roger Moore

My least favorite “Toy Story” movie takes a solid hour to deliver its first laugh and some 70 minutes to truly get underway. “Toy Story 5” tells a tale from three different points of view, with three storylines, and hammers … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review — “The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki: The Influences and Inspirations Behind the Iconic Films”

Posted on November 12, 2025 by Roger Moore

This fall’s North American box office success of such anime franchises as “Chainsaw Man” and “Demon Slayer” and the vast collection of such titles on offer from Netflix underscore the soaring popularity and international appeal of the Japanese animated art … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Book Review — “The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki: The Influences and Inspirations Behind the Iconic Films”

Movie Review: The Animated Early Life of a Great Artist — “Hola, Frida”

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Hola, Frida” is a charming animated imagining of the early years of the great Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Adapted from a book by Sophie Faucher, this Canadian/Quebecois production takes the tidbit that Kahlo had an imaginary friend as a little … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: The Animated Early Life of a Great Artist — “Hola, Frida”

Movie Review: An Oscar-nominated animated “Incredible Journey” from Latvia — “Flow”

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Roger Moore

“Flow” is a futuristic Franco-Latvian fantasy, an animated sci-fi version of Disney’s classic animal odyssey, “The Incredible Journey.” Gints Zilbalodis’ film, an Oscar nominee as Best Animated Feature and as Best International Feature, is a dialogue-free travelogue that follows a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: An Oscar-nominated animated “Incredible Journey” from Latvia — “Flow”

Netflixable? A cuppa “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” if you please

Posted on January 3, 2025 by Roger Moore

Well cor blimey and “butter me crumpets,” Wallace & Gromit are back. Britain’s most adorable exports since the Minis — the Cooper and the Skirt — are back for another twee stop-motion animated farce that reminds us of how much … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Netflixable? A cuppa “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” if you please

Movie Review: “Moana 2” is nobody’s idea of “an instant classic”

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Roger Moore

Here’s how I described Disney’s 2016 blockbuster “Moana” when it came out. “It is an instant classic, a near masterpiece and the best Disney animated film since its last Golden Age, which produced “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion King.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Movie Review: Pakistan’s animated Best International Feature submission, “The Glassworker”

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Roger Moore

“The Glassworker” is a steampunk fantasy romance in the anime style. Its novelty is that it’s the first Pakistani animated film of this type, and is Pakistan’s submission to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as a contender … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: Pakistan’s animated Best International Feature submission, “The Glassworker”

Movie Review: Berkeley Breathed animates a Porcine Pet Bounty Hunter — “Hitpig!”

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Roger Moore

Any children’s cartoon built around an armed loner/bounty hunter named “Hitpig!” was always going to be a dubious undertaking. But it was created by longtime “Bloom County” cartoonist Berkely Breathed. So it’s worth pondering. His cracked, kid-friendly (allegedly) vision comes … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: Berkeley Breathed animates a Porcine Pet Bounty Hunter — “Hitpig!”

Movie Review: A Child’s turn as Robinson Crusoe in “Kensuke’s Kingdom”

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Roger Moore

“Kensuke’s Kingdom” is a simply but attractively animated film based on a Michael Morpurgo novel. The novel, in turn, is based on the classic tale “Robinson Crusoe,” here modernized to place a shipwrecked boy and his dog in tropical paradise, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: A Child’s turn as Robinson Crusoe in “Kensuke’s Kingdom”

Movie Review: Nature meets High Tech Nurture in Dreamworks’ charming “The Wild Robot”

Posted on September 27, 2024 by Roger Moore

The charms of “The Wild Robot” sneak up on you. A futuristic tale, the adaptation of Peter Brown’s kid-lit book summons up memories of the great animated films for children of the past. It was bit of a hard sell, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Movie Review: Nature meets High Tech Nurture in Dreamworks’ charming “The Wild Robot”