Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 28th, 2010
Spectacular Spider-Man is back with his eighth volume and the final one for the 2nd season. As we saw in the last few episodes, it appears that Green Goblin is again rearing his ugly head and looking to get rid of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Furthermore, there are other super villains chomping at the bit to get back at Spider-Man for being put behind bars. Can Spidey survive this onslaught? Let’s find out.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 22nd, 2010
Despite its rather crass and offensive material, Drawn Together lasted three seasons and thirty six episodes before Comedy Central pulled the plug in March 2008. The show featured parodies of popular cartoon characters or archetypes and brought that together in a very funny style that delighted fans who were partial to shows such as Family Guy or Robot Chicken. So it was only natural that when the episodes ended, they would look to other production avenues, like direct to dvd.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2010
You've seen me talk with a certain element of affection for the remarkable work that the Walt Disney Studios have done in the way of feature animation. Who can really argue with me when I state categorically that the studio invented that particular medium? The long line of classics could certainly fill a lot of space in this review, but these are things you already know. Left out of the list of classics, and deservedly so, is this 1980's Disney feature. the studio's take on Sherlock Holmes, The Great Mouse Detective.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 15th, 2010
Ice Age – The Meltdown is a funny, well-animated sequel that offers up a new adventure for the memorable characters from the original Ice Age film. As a great bonus, it’s nicely balanced for audiences young and old.
20th Century Fox Animation is still a poor second cousin to Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios, but for sheer entertainment value, Ice Age – The Meltdown doesn’t get knocked completely out of the water by top-shelf blockbusters like The Incredibles. Sure, the animation is weaker, and story is less inspired, but the voice work is excellent, with the talent of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jay Leno, and the list goes on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2010
I’ve often spent a lot of time talking about how Pixar has dominated computer animation, at least as far as full-length features go. With few exceptions, there isn’t anything out there that even comes close. Most films rely on toilet humor and crude innuendo to get a few laughs. A lot of the kids and adults might suck that stuff up, but they can’t hold a candle to Pixar. There are, as I’ve mentioned, some quite notable exceptions. The Fox Blue Sky Studios has had enormous success with their Ice Age films, and when you take a look at the third and latest entry in that franchise, you’ll understand why.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2010
Warner nearly singlehandedly invented the cartoon medium as we know it today with the advent of their various Bugs Bunny and associates cartoons. Ever since the early 1930’s these characters have become an indelible part of the American pop culture. Their images became an important part of the World War II effort and even helped to put a face on the issues of the Great Depression. They represent one of the richest histories in animation, second only to Walt Disney. There are some, I’m sure, that would argue they might even belong in front of Uncle Walt.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2010
"Right there in that very house is where our story begins. The story of the first Easter Rabbit. And, you know we came within a hair's breadth, if you'll excuse the pun, of never having an Easter Rabbit at all."
Rankin & Bass brought us some of the most memorable holiday specials ever made. Most of us grew up watching these cartoons and stop motion shorts no matter what age we grew up in. You see, this stuff has been on television non-stop for 50 years
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 2nd, 2010
"Boggis, and Bunce and Bean. One fat, one short, and one lean. These horrible crooks, so different in looks, were none the less equally mean."
Roald Dahl was one of the more eccentric writers to come upon the scene. While he often wrote for children, his work is most decidedly dark and often quite sinister. He's most known for such tales as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. His work has not been adapted to film as often as you might suspect given his popularity. The most famous was certainly Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, which was far brighter and more cheerful than the original work.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 30th, 2010
In the long run what was more important to Pixar and its relationship with Disney wasn't the milestone that Toy Story provided being the first computer animated feature. Movies are, as much as we'd like to think otherwise, a business. In the end, a film has to make some money. Toy Story was like a private printing press for the two companies bringing in nearly $200 million at the box office. Add another nearly $200 million in foreign receipts, and this prototype of a movie pulled in nearly a half billion dollars before the first DVD was released. That's huge for what was basically a children's cartoon. The second Pixar film would be A Bug's Life, and it would bring in nearly the same kind of jingle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 30th, 2010
It's hard to believe it, but Toy Story was the very first computer generated animated feature film. CG graphics had already appeared as parts of films starting with the "Genesis proposition video" from Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. It was a rather fitting movie for this Hollywood and technological first to occur. The piece was rather short and not as breathtaking as we've come to expect today, but, it did herald the beginning of a new era in filmmaking, to be sure. What better place for such an historical technological breakthrough than in Star Trek?
![The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-drawn-together-movie-the-movie-large.jpg)
![Ice Age - The Meltdown [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/ice-age-the-meltdown-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Ice Age [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/ice-age-blu-ray-large.jpg)
