Own it on DVD now (released December 6)! Credit: WB

Synopsis (from WB): This half-hour animated comedy series starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck is no longer confined to 7-minute shorts. Bugs and Daffy are out of the woods and living in the suburbs among such colorful neighbors as Yosemite Sam, Granny, Tweety and Sylvester. In addition to each episode?s main story, The Looney Tunes Show also features ?cartoons within a cartoon.? The Tasmanian Devil, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian and other classic characters sing original songs in two-minute music videos called Merrie Melodies . The legendary Looney Tunes cartoons are getting a 21st century relaunch and a CGI overhaul for a new generation.

My opinion: One of the breakout shows on Cartoon Network is The Looney Tunes Show. I actually didn’t know if I would even like the show when I first saw it during its premiere, but ever since, I have been a fan. There’s a crazy genius to the show and its expert writing, which imbibes it with an “everyday situation” comedy like Seinfeld. The craziest thing is that it works expertly well. To me, it’s one of the best sitcoms on television. It’s also the most underrated, because even though it’s got writing that rivals sitcoms like The Office, it’s on Cartoon Network, meaning that a lot of people will think it’s for kids.

To be fair, a lot of people have realized that Cartoon Network’s primetime lineup is just as adult-friendly as Adult Swim. However, what some people still don’t realize is that quite a few of the shows, such as Adventure Time and Looney Tunes, are getting more adult-exclusive as the episodes progress.

I will say that if you’re a Looney Tunes purist, you might think you won’t like this show. I thought I wouldn’t like it either. But, take into consideration that the original Looney Tunes weren’t really all that kid-friendly, either. People just hold them as “children’s cartoons” because they’re classics. People have forgotten just how bawdy the cartoons actually are.

I say that anyone who loves Looney Tunes should give this show an honest shot. It has stars like Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Roz Ryan, Garry Marshall and voice-over veteran June Foray giving their talents, tightly-written scripts and actual laugh-out-loud humor. I give it a thumbs-up.

The Looney Tunes Show: Season One, Volume Two

Out now!

Episodes: “Monster Talent-A Zipline in the Sand,” “Reunion-Cock of the Walk-Fee Fi Fo Dumb,” “Casa De Calma-Queso Bandito-Sail Fail,” “Devil Dog-Unsafe At Any Speed”

Website: click here

Short URL: http://tinyit.cc/84d8f  Tweet:

Credit: Google

I think these “if you’re a girl” posts may turn out to be a regular thing. Soon, I’ll have to catalogue them, I guess. As I’ve explained on my Sherlock and Thor “If you’re a girl” posts, I’m putting fashion suggestions you can use to put together your character-inspired wardrobe. Generally for these types of posts, my rule is to stick with male characters since this is a challenge; it’s easier to think about how a female character’s wardrobe can translate to a female body. But, for this one, I’ll include a girl, Chel, simply because she’s an extremely awesome character and deserves some praise. And her outfit will be one that’s challenging enough to translate into a 21st century wardrobe.

Miguel

Credit: Google

Miguel is the bleeding heart of the group. I like all of the characters, but Miguel edges Tulio out as my favorite because Miguel has a much gentler, caring nature than Tulio. He seems way less jaded, despite the fact that both he and Tulio grew up on the streets. He’s such a good guy–I wish he’d found a Spanish or El Doradoean girl in the film. Perhaps Chel would know someone.

In any case, the main through-line for Miguel is to have a breezy set of clothes, despite the color scheme being in heavy colors like red and gold/tan. I guess for girls, a current trend that might help translate Miguel’s style in the 21st century would be the ’70s trend, since there are plenty of peasant-ish, loose shirts on the runways. Knickers were in for a while (and are really hard to find), but if you’re not a person who either likes knickers or you feel your body isn’t cut out for knickers and capri/cropped pants, you can always opt for pants or shorts. And let’s not forget you’re a girl–you can always wear skirts and dresses. Also, because Miguel plays a mandolin, I included some guitar-themed accessories, gold, of course.

As I started working on translating his god outfit, I found that I could translate it three ways–work wear, day wear, and party/formal wear. All three would be working the metallic trend. I figured the god clothes could translate into work and party wear exceptionally well because the purple, red, and teal colors are richer and the gold is way more extravagant (what with his gold earrings, bracelets, and headpiece). Again, like I said in the Thor post, you can’t go overboard with metallic in the work place, or else you look like you’re at Studio 54. Also, for the day collage, I added hats to mimic the headpiece.

Credit: Google

Tulio

Credit: Google

I like Tulio a lot too, but mostly for aesthetic reasons. He’s a bit too pessimistic and scheming for me at times, but he’s also very grounded, which is necessary for a whimsical character like Miguel. And he is a con man, after all. If there was a character that was both Miguel and Tulio, that’d be perfect. But as it stands, the two separate characters are great, and the fact that I really want both of their personalities melded together means the team behind the film accomplished their goal of making the characters two people who need each other to get through life.

Costume-wise, Tulio wears a lot of blues, tans, and deep browns. Also, the accessory of the vest. To reiterate the cropped pant thing I said above, it’s not necessary to wear cropped pants if you feel your body isn’t a “cropped pant” body. Also, I included some dice jewelry since Tulio plays with loaded dice in the film.

Again, the god outfit translates best into work, day, and party/formal, working the metallic trend. Also, hats were added to the day look to mimic the headpiece. I also included a flower accessory to mimic the flower he gives Chel in the film.

Both men’s styles are easy to reinterpret into classic women’s clothes, but surprisingly, Chel’s outfit is the bigger challenge, seeing she wears just strips of cloth.

Chel

Credit: Google

Chel is a great female character, and just a great character in general. She’s funny, quick-witted, smart, and, as much as I hate writing this cliché statement, she can keep up with the guys. Sometimes, cliché statements can be true statements. And she represents for us curvy females that have some meat on our thighs. To be honest, Chel’s body type mirrors mine almost to the letter.

Her outfit would best be defined by day wear. Also, since she wears such skimpy stuff, we can even go into beach wear.

So that’s it. More of these posts are sure to come, since they’re a nice break from seriousness. What do you think about these collages?

Short URL: http://tinyit.cc/200f9  Tweet:

In response to the all-white shortlist Hollywood has issued for the roles of Tetsuo and Kaneda in the film adaptation of Akira, I put together my own all-Asian shortlist of people I’d give a script to if I had studio power. I’m following up with my shortlist by providing a list for the other characters that make up Akira.

Like I said last time, I’m aiming at getting all Japanese people, seeing how this film is based on a Japanese manga and anime film (which is considered one of the best anime films–if not the best anime film–of all time). But, seeing as how this adaptation will be an American-made movie, and since there are not a lot of big-time Japanese actors in America (and since Hollywood execs cast people by who they know/trust), there might be a few other Asian actors on the list.

Akira (why this whole movie exists; the critically-important psychic child with god-like ability, annihilator, test subject)

Hikori Doi (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea)

(Doi, pictured bottom right)

Akira is a creepy kid. He’s inherently creepy because he’s a psychic, but he’s even creepier in the looks department, since he kinda reminds one of Damien Thorn from The Omen–a regular(ish) looking child who possesses scary power, a power you can tell just by looking in their eyes. For this character, the child actor is going to have to be seriously talented and precious-looking, so I say the role should go to Hikori Doi, the voice of Sosuke in the original Japanese release of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, another classic made by the master of animated films, Hayao Miyazaki. He’s even got the right hairstyle!

Kei (love interest of Kaneda, leader of anti-government faction)

Brenda Song (The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Suite Life on Deck, Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, The Social Network)

Brenda Song broke out of her Disney mold when she was cast in The Social Network, playing Christy Lee, the girlfriend of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. While she can do drama, she has also proven through her Disney work that she is a pro at comedy, too. Even though comedy is not necessary to play Kei, who is so militant she doesn’t even respond to Kaneda’s advances, it shows that Song has the range to play a bevy of characters.

Julia Ling (Chuck, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Julia Ling is possibly best known for her recurring role on Chuck as Anna Wu, one of the members of the Nerd Herd (a version of Best Buy’s Geek Squad) at the electronics store Buy More. Her character is also a martial artist, just like Ling herself, who was a Top Four Finalist representing the U.S. in the martial arts competition Jackie Chan Disciples. So, if and when she would have to fight as Kei, she would be completely convincing.

Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill vol. 2)

I’m a squeamish-type person, so it took a lot of willpower for me to watch the Kill Bill series. But when I did, I was mightily impressed by the films. One of the fan favorites from the series is Gogo Yubari, played by Chiaki Kuriyama. The actress/model played a crazy, sadistic schoolgirl so well that I think she could play the other side of the spectrum–a crazed, anti-establishment, anti-government rebel–just as effectively.

Colonel Shikishima (the only one in the know about the Akira project)

Takeshi Kaga (Iron Chef, Death Note, Sengoku Jietai 1549, various stage musicals)

One of the best person for this role is the chairman of chairmen, Chairman Kaga. As you can tell, I was introduced to Kaga through Iron Chef (still the ultimate cooking show; eat it, Iron Chef America!), but the guy’s a seriously talented actor. Like Fujiwara and Matsuyama (featured in the last Akira post), he is probably well-known to youngsters from his work in the Death Note movie series, so if future movie-goers to an all-Asian film version of Akira saw Death Note, these three actors would already have a built-in American audience. The one thing I’d hope is that, if they did cast Kaga, they would change Colonel Skikishima’s hair so that Kaga wouldn’t have to have that severe buzz cut.

Ken Watanabe (Memoirs of a Geisha, Inception, The Last Samurai, Batman Begins)

Again, like Jay Chou, you would think Ken Watanabe would be considered for something in Akira, what with the roster of films I just named. Granted, he still might be, considering Hollywood’s bad penchant for casting minorities in secondary roles. In any case, Ken Watanabe is not only someone Americans will recognize, but he also brings a commanding presence, something the actor chosen to play Shikishima will need. Plus, Ken Watanabe might actually be able to rock a buzz cut.

The Espers (three middle-aged children, government experiments, psychics)

All of the Espers are essentially children, despite their aged, decrepit looks. Thus, they should be portrayed by children that really look and act like children; the aging makeup will give these kids the right creepy “are they children or aren’t they?” factor.

Kiyoko:

Yuria Nara (Ponyo)

(Nara, pictured bottom center)

or Nozomi Ōhashi (Ponyo)

Takashi:

Takumi Kitamura (Gaiji keisatsu)

Masaru:

Daigo Mori (Shock Labyrinth)

Nezu (government mole, Kei’s affiliate)

Yakusho Koji (Shall We Dance, Seance, Eureka)

Yakusho Koji was terrific in the rom-com Shall We Dance, but he was also very emotionally gripping in the drama Eureka, a film my pick for Yamagata was also in. His films show his versatility as well as his real gift for drama, something needed for a movie as dramatic and gripping as Akira.

Yamagata (second most powerful member of the Capsule motorbike gang after Kaneda)

Karl Yune (Memoirs of a Geisha, Speed Racer)

Karl Yune is a Korean-Japanese actor (1/4 Japanese, according to IMDB) who has been in several American films and shows, such as Speed Racer, Anacondas: Hunt for the Blood Orchid, One on One, and even videogames like 50 Cent: Bulletproof. The biggest U.S. film he’s played in was Memoirs of a Geisha, in which he played Koichi, Hatsumomo’s (Li Gong) lover. He’s a great actor and not a bad looker; Aside from Kaneda, Yamagata might be the second hottest guy in the anime, so it would only be fitting that he would be played by someone who was good-looking (Yune was a model for L’Oreal and Phat Farm back in the day).

Kai (Yamagata’s friend, part of the Capsules)

Masaru Miyazaki (Eureka, The Reason, Gegege no nyôbô, Imo tako nankin)

Masaru Miyazaki plays one of the two children who survive a busjacking in the film Eureka. The film shows realistic performances set against such a dramatic event, and because Miyazaki, as well as Koji and the others in the film, showed such restraint in their acting (it’s actually pretty hard to act “normal” in a film), Miyazaki could be one of the actors who adds a bit of realism to the film.

Kaori (Tetsuo’s girlfriend, a girl who’s submissive to a fault)

Yin Chang (Gossip Girl)

Yin Chang is known to most young people as Nelly Yuki on Gossip Girl. On the show, she’s Blair Waldorf’s competition for Yale University, but I think she could also play Kaori, whose loyalty to Tetsuo is so inane that its almost to the point of Stockholm Syndrome. She’s also about the right age to play Kaori, and this role could give her a big break to star in other Hollywood movies.

Aoi Miyazaki (Eureka; My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?, Nana)

Miyazaki starred alongside her brother Masaru in Eureka as the sister half of the brother-sister duo who survive the busjacking. Just like the other actors in the film, she showed she has serious dramatic acting chops, but she also showed she can do live adaptations of manga by playing in Nana. Like the actors from Death Note, she could have a built in American fanbase because of her work in Nana, which could translate to more roles in America.

So there you have it! The completed list! What do you think of these choices?

A still from Let’s Pollute, credit: Google

I almost forgot to post the info on this, but for those of you who kept up with my Oscars liveblog, you’ll have seen where I mention Geefwee Boedoe and his Oscar-nominated short, Let’s Pollute. Last week, I had the chance to interview him for Shockya.com. Here’s a snippet of the article:

——————————————————————————————————-

“I have been drawing since I was a kid, drawing and writing books,” Boedoe said. “I’ve always liked that combination.” His father owned a Super 8 camera with a single frame, which prompted him to start creating flipbooks and shoot them, allowing him to create his first animated movies.

This love of animation stayed with him; after graduating from Cal Arts in the late ’80s, he went to work for Disney, which was just finishing up on “Oliver and Company”. “That was a good place to get my chops in terms of animating,” he said, however, he admitted that during the time “Oliver and Company” was being made, “[a]nimation was dry. It was dead in 1988.” Of course, this the animation downward spiral “Oliver and Company” was treading was before the big Disney Renaissance that happened just a year later with “The Little Mermaid”.

Even though he worked at Disney, Boedoe was adamant about getting his own studio one day. “I wanted to move on…Eventually, I did that, but it took a lot of years…a lot of hard work, money.” After three years at Disney, he took a year off to create children’s books and oil paintings, and when those ventures didn’t prove lucrative enough, he went back to Disney for two more years. Even still, he wanted his own place. “My personality wasn’t the Disney thing,” he said.

After landing a job at Pixar in 1995, he transitioned from animating to visual development, finding more freedom creating sketches and ideas. “[Visual development] was the funnest part of the project,” he said, “You can push the boundaries more…[you] can help expand things.”

2002 is when he finally was able to let go of the corporate system and start on work as a freelancer for companies like Dreamworks, Industrial Light and Magic, and more. Two years later, his children’s book,”Arrowville” was published and in 2006, “Let’s Pollute” was created.

—————————————————————————————————

You can read the rest of the article here!

By LM Preston from www.lmpreston.com and http://lmpreston.blogspot.com

MOVIE REVIEW OF HARRY POTTER DEATHLY HALLOWS Part 1

I will try to give an honest review, but with the pre-cursor that I’m biased. I just love the Harry Potter books. This movie is a continuation of the tale, and yes, you’ll want to see the other movies or at least read the book in order to truly ‘get’ the reason these kids are on the run, who died that is impacting their search and besides, you’ll just want to see all the other movies (even though the last one was kinda dull). This movie has lots of suspenseful moments and is closely aligned with the book. Unfortunately the only thing I didn’t like was that they stayed in that stupid forest for what seemed like forever. I had hoped that the movie would have cut out some of that wondering in the woods part that I had skimmed while reading the book. Anyways, even with their time in the woods, I still enjoyed the imagery, darkness and total mood of the movie. This is worth your money if you want to go to the movies, but if you decide to stay and wait for the video, it will play just as nicely at home. I give this movie a 4 out of 5 stars because they kept the part where Harry and the others stayed in the woods forever, just kinda wondering.

MOVIE REVIEW OF TANGLED

This movie was so cute. However, I guess Disney is on a GIRL POWER kick, because it seems like most of the leading men lately are just bums – no Prince Charming here. Well I have to admit I enjoyed the movie. There was a twist to this Rapunzel story, I won’t give it all away but the witch wasn’t very witchy except the way she acted and the reason for Rapunzel’s name was taken out in place of a magical flower the witch wanted. That twist wasn’t so bad and my girls fell in love with Rapunzel, only problem they said was the ‘prince’ seemed stupid, and was a criminal – Ye-ah, you heard me, he was a thief (of course we hope he reformed, at least it appeared that her love and her handy frying pan that she used to whack him with reformed him). Again, I say, my only beef with this movie was that the man that Rapunzel ended up with was a bum, just like the poor Princess in Princess and the Frog. Disney? What’s up? Why can’t a girl be smart, strong and still get a rich, dashing Prince? I give it a 3.5 stars out of 5. It was entertaining, great main character, but a bum of a Prince.

Visit LM Preston, author of The Pack and Explorer X – Alpha,  at www.lmpreston.comand http://lmpreston.blogspot.com

credit: WB

Dukes of Hazzard fans unite! The Warner Archive is releasing the vintage ’80s cartoon The Dukes for purchase, and the first 400 orders will be autographed by James Best, better known as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane!

The DVD set, which will have the entire 20-episode animated series on 4 discs, is based on the hit 1979-1985 show. In the animated series, the Dukes race against Boss Hogg and his right-hand man Roscoe through France, England, Italy, Austria and Greece to keep the family farm.

James Best is a Hollywood veteran, having completed over 50 years of acting, including the classic film Verboten! (1959) (currently released through the Warner Archive).

Visit the Warner Archive to place your pre-order!

credit: Dreamworks

It’s been a few hours since I’ve seen Megamind in theaters today, and I still feel warm and fuzzy. Maybe that’s due to the fact that I’m playing the soundtrack as I type this, but even without the soundtrack, the fuzziness would still be here.

The film, which is about a supervillain named Megamind (Will Ferrell) who finally beats the superhero Metro Man (Brad Pitt) but then realizes his purpose in life is gone, and actively goes about creating a hero for himself, that hero being Tighten, a geeky camera man who has the hots for the news reporter he works with, Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey). Actually, every main leading guy in this movie seems to have the hots for her, but only one of them wins (guess who). Throughout the whole movie, Megamind finally realizes what it means to be truly evil and truly good as, well as where he fits in in life and his actual purpose.

For those of you who don’t feel like reading a long-winded post, is that it’s a great movie for those who are looking for a family-friendly film that doesn’t pander to children or throw insipid winks at adults. It provides good characterization, stellar acting on both the actors and the animators’ parts makes you really feel for the characters, especially Megamind. (Just looking at Megamind when he gets–MINOR SPOILER–his heart broken is almost too human for a character to look, but it’s only because we’ve looked that way many times ourselves when our hearts have broken so hard that we’re milliseconds away from crying.) All in all, it’s a great one for the whole family, and everyone will get something out of it, probably more than you expected from what the commercials have to tell you.

Leave now if you don’t feel like getting spoiled and/or don’t feel like reading a long post.

SPOILERS AHEAD

SPOILERS AHEAD

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

All right. Now that it’s just you and me, let’s get to the real nitty gritty of this film.

There’s a lot a want to discuss, so let me organize it into a few bullet points so you’ll know what I’m going to hit in this post:

• The fun nods to comic books, specifically Superman comic books
• The idea/trope of prejudice found in comics
• The mixing-up of good and evil
• The relationship between Roxanne and Megamind
• Roxanne Ritchi

Firstly, the nods to Superman and other superheroes–both DC and Marvel– are virtually endless.  From Megamind disguising himself as the Marlon Brando/Jor El-esque “Space Dad” to Megamind and Metro Man’s childhoods–both having been whisked away from their doomsday-planets to live on Earth–to Metro Man’s laser vision to the Captain Marvel-esque lightning bolts on their uniforms, director Tom McGrath really wanted to send a lovable send-up to a genre everyone has grown up with, whether or not you read comics or not.

Secondly, in comics, there’s always an element of The Other, or The Outsider. This is just a polite way of saying people openly discriminate in comics. For every Superman that gets integrated seamlessly into American culture, there are at least a dozen or more X-Men types, who have to stay on the fringes of society, whether they’re actually from Earth or not. It’s a safe way of showing discrimination, something that happens in the real world, and Megamind expounds on this idea through showing Megamind and Metro Man’s upbringings.  As I said in my other Megamind post, yes, Metro Man looked and probably acted more like a regular human–as a baby, Metro Man landed in (or, through fate, cheated Megamind out of) a rich couple’s house as a Christmas present, Megamind ended up landing in a prison and was raised by the wardens and prisoners–but that doesn’t really excuse the kids and the teacher in Megamind’s class to discriminate against him. Generally, children are thought of as being free from judging on stereotypes or other forms of discrimination; that’s true to a degree, but only to a certain point. To me, those kids didn’t like Megamind solely because of how he got to school–in a prison bus–but more because of  thing that obviously makes him different–his skin-coloring. Metro Man looked, acted, and dressed like a typical (if ridiculously yuppie) kid, so naturally, it was easier for him to be liked. But he’s just as much a freak as Megamind, if not more so; Metro Man is the only alien who can fly in this scenario. But he’s not blue, so obviously, that’s the only thing that matters.

credit: Dreamworks

The interesting thing is that the constant abuse Megamind received at school is what turned him “evil”, not so much that he was born that way. It’s even more interesting that school, the one place that’s supposed to be a safe zone for learning about differences in others, is the place that turns him evil, not the prison. I like how the movie addressed how school can do that to some people–I’m not sure a lot of people caught it, and maybe it’s my own aversion to school after, of course, going to one, as well as working in one during college, but school can be (and sadly, quite a bit of the time, is) the place where children are mistreated due to a teacher either a) not having enough time to understand the child and their problems in and outside of school b) not choosing or not caring enough to even find out why a child acts a certain way and/or c) other children making fun of a kid and the teacher doesn’t stop it, which is precisely what happens in this movie. Children don’t try to be bad. If a child seems bad, more than likely, there’s something going on in their lives that’s causing them to act out in a certain way. Generally, it’s because they’re trying to exercise control in an area where they feel they can exercise control, because they have virtually no control in any other area of their life. The entire school scene was small in comparison to the entire movie, but it’s integral to Megamind’s characterization, and how he was subliminally led to being a villain is the same story for a lot of young people in real-life. A lot of people don’t end up fulfilling their actual callings because a teacher either directly or indirectly told them they were stupid, worthless, and insignificant. I once had a teacher say she didn’t know kids had feelings, so, there you have it. Of course, I’m not saying every teacher and every school is awful; if you’re in the teaching profession and you’re reading this, you should know what kind of teacher you are, so don’t take offense if you’re a good, contentious teacher.

Thirdly, the mixing up of who is good and who is evil is pretty novel. Sure, it’s been argued (and convincingly so) that this movie doesn’t tread any new ground. But I think the majority of people feel this way because we’ve seen the superhero genre done so many times. There’s a glut of movies out there about superheroes and supervillains, as well as revisionist takes on superheroes and supervillains (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, anyone?), so it’s impossible for this movie to tread new ground. I mean, how much new ground is there to tread amid the comic books that have been around for generations of years and the movies they’re aping? With that said, this movie does put a new spin on things by showing that everyone in the film, at least as far as the main guys are concerned, have shades of dark and light; no one is totally good and no one is totally scot-free from doing less-than-good things, either. Hal was once a nice camera man that only needed a bit of maturing and help with self-esteem issues, but later shows how frustration with oneself can lead to extremely erratic and dangerous behavior (without the superpowers, this can also happen to real people). Metro Man, who we first think of as a royal douche through the prism of Megamind’s retelling of his life, reveals to us that he’s really tired of being The Chosen One after having to play that role for his entire life, and instead wants to make music, even if it’s crappy. Megamind, who we first meet as a slightly depressed kid who wants to fit in, becomes a supervillain in order to gain the only recognition he’s used to receiving his entire life, disapproval and hate. He later on realizes something that he probably already knew all of his life–he doesn’t really want to be evil. He just wants to be accepted. Actually, that’s the running theme through all of the main guy characters. They just want to be accepted for themselves. That is sometimes the hardest thing to achieve. And as you’ll see in the film, the characters go to great lengths to achieve it.

The relationship between Roxanne and Megamind is at once simplistic (in a good way!) and complicated. Megamind is leading a lot of people on in this movie through his various disguises–to Roxanne, he’s Bernard, the mousy, nerdy caretaker of the Metro Man Museum, and to Hal/Tighten, he’s Hal’s “Space Dad”, mentoring him on what it takes to be a noble hero. But the way Roxanne and Megamind/Bernard interact is actually pretty naturalistic for an animated movie, or for a real-people movie, for that matter. They naturally progress from being friends to being in that hazy “more-than-friends” zone to actually dating. There’s tension– she rightfully gets mad when she finds out who she’s actually dating, and he throws the line she just told him when he was Bernard–but you can see that there is actual love between them, even if Roxanne is a bit weirded out that she’s been dating the man who destroyed Metro Man (of course, we find out that Metro Man is not actually dead, so that allows it to be okay for Megamind and Roxanne to get together in the end). And of course, it’s all too heartbreaking to see Megamind get crushed by Roxanne’s initial rejection.

Personal note-thank you once again, Hans Zimmer, for expressing what heart-squeezing love actually feels like in musical form. I’ve listened to this probably 50 times by now, and it still hasn’t gotten old.

credit: Dreamworks

Finally, the issue of Roxanne herself. At first I thought she was going to be a throwaway, but she turned out to be 1/2 of the heart in this movie. It was fun to see that she was the constant in all of these men’s lives. Some other script could have made her out to be a Mary-Sue, but she was thankfully kept away from that threshold. As I said above, her relationship with Megamind is dramatic, heart-wrenching, and awesome to watch, but it also gives the movie its mature energy. I think it’s a combination of the love theme above and the scenes where we see Megamind/Bernard and Roxanne intimately talking with each other and holding hands that really bring the film its heart. Also, Roxanne is also the only human who isn’t judging Megamind solely on his appearance. She states in the movie that she was judging him on his actions, which weren’t too great so far. She is probably the most mature out of the characters in that respect. And the fact that she didn’t like Metro Man is another way the movie pokes fun and edges itself away from the Superman mythos.

I will say that the film felt like it was trying to quickly show that Metro Man wasn’t a douche; it’s a good side story, but if  a couple more minutes had been shown to it, it might feel less like a quick jamming-in of a story point and more coherent to the actual plot. Ditto to Metro Man calling Megamind “Little Buddy”. The dance scene wasn’t really needed (even though the sight of Megamind doing what looks like the Dougie is so scary it’s endearing), and like someone on the internet said, a couple more scenes with Roxanne and Megamind could have been called for. Keep in mind that I know this film isn’t Wall-E or Toy Story 3 or How to Train Your Dragon–every film isn’t particularly destined for that kind of life, so go into this movie and expect just that, a movie. But still, this film has a solid enough story and has enough interesting turns of pace and ideas in it to keep you entertained, and, if you’re like me, thinking for a while about what comics impart to us either directly or subliminally.

I’ll leave you with Megamind’s Dougie, since I brought the dancing thing up in the first place. Scary!Hilarious. Also, here’s a video of the actual Dougie. This is not a hard dance, and you don’t have to be terribly coordinated (although it helps greatly!) but, as you’ll see in the “instructional” video, it obviously separates the men from the boys.

College is finally over for this semester, and I finally have some time to watch movies again! Hooray! To reinvigorate my DVD review section, here’s the review of Fantastic Mr. Fox.

If you missed my original review of the movie, click here, but the short rundown of the Roald Dahl-based film is that it centers around Mr. Fox (George Clooney), a fox who gave up his career as a thief to become a newspaperman for his wife (Meryl Streep) and son Ash (Jason Schwartzman). When Mr. Fox decides to do one last heist on farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean(Michael Gambon), the farmers decide they must kill him.

The film itself is a marvelous tour-de-force of stop-motion animation, and, as stated in my review, is a throwback to the Bass-Rankin stop-motion animated holiday films. The story is also highly imaginative, witty, and tightly written.

The DVD extras are just enough to accent the film itself. As you know (and have probably come to expect), most DVDs come with a ton of bonus features that you don’t really need. To paraphrase Tim Gunn, the makers of this DVD seemed to have used an editing eye when it comes to features, and only put in the right amount.One featurette on bringing the script to the screen, another on creating movement with puppets, and one more about Whack-Bat is really all you need, and luckily, it’s about all you get.

Overall, this DVD is one that is definitely worth the money.

Fantastic Mr. Fox, standard widescreen edition, is $16.96 at Wal-Mart. The widescreen Blu-Ray edition-which also comes with a standard DVD and digital copy-is $19. 96, also at Wal-Mart.

Clash of the Titans is about to come to theaters April 2 (and the 1981 version is out for download on iTunes), probably signaling a revived interest in classical Greek characters and stories. Will new-school Titans go down as a classic among the other Greek stories that have graced Hollywood? Here’s a list of some of the more recent films Hollywood has to offer in Greek-themed movies:

Disney’s Hercules

The story of Hercules has been redone and remade plenty of times, the most thought-of version being the television series that acted as a bookend to Xena: Warrior Princess, but never was the story of Hercules given such a colorful twist as when Disney molded the story to fit its “Love Conquers All” mantra. Sure, the mythology was watered down for children (who wants to see Zeus as the affair-ridden husband and Hera as the harpy they actually were? (although Disney made Hercules’ randy satyr trainer Phil fill in for Zeus’ roving eye)), and Hercules actually killed Megara later on the original story, but the Disney version is the one that makes you happy to know a little bit about Greek mythology as well as the fact that Disney can make any story happy and upbeat. And, come on, how can you hate on Disney when they made Hercules into a cute, naïve farm boy? I dare you to hate!

300

300 is based on the historical Battle of Thermopylae about the battle waged between 300 Spartans and a sea of Persians over control of the land. The graphic novel was groundbreaking, and the movie even more so, if only for the effects used to create a visual reiteration of the graphic novel’s inking and coloring style. Since its big-screen debut, the film has become one of the quotable movies of the 21^st century. Who doesn’t love screaming, “THIS…IS…SPARTA!” or “Tonight, we dine in Hell!”?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

A newcomer to the trilogy movie set, Percy Jackson, based on the book series of the same name, is about a boy who finds out that he’s related to Greek gods. The movie is poised to take over the spot Harry Potter will leave behind once the last of the movies are rolled out, and it seems like it’s fitting into its upcoming role very nicely already.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Not initially thought of as a riff on Greek literature, Brother is based on the epic The Odyssey, where hero Odysseus travels to mythical places and encounters magical women and goddesses in his quest to get home. In the film, three escaped prisoners embark on a journey to recover $1.2 million one of the prisoners stole from an armored car. The film is now a modern classic, and the soundtrack earned the film an Oscar win.

Troy

While not an esteemed movie by any stretch of the imagination, this film is probably only popular with those who like to see Brad Pitt without a shirt and pants (ditto for Gerard Butler in 300). The film is based on the Trojan War, taking material from the Homer’s Iliad and the Virgil’s Aeneid. Even if the film flopped stateside, it did receive a lot of love from the international circuit.

My Fair Lady, Weird Science, Mannequin

All of these movies vary in how classic they are in the scope of film literature, but they’ve all got the same origins in Greek literature. These stories of men falling in love with women they’ve changed/created is based on the story of Pygmalion from Ovid’s Metamorphoses X, who falls in love with a statue he carved. This story has been riffed on more than just in these three movies; this story is probably the most popular story conceit as well as the easiest to reproduce in different, modern ways.

What other movies can you think of that have been influenced by ancient Greece? While you’re leaving your comments below, don’t forget to see Clash of the Titans April 2, and download the original Clash of the Titans (including a sneak peek of the upcoming remake) from iTunes.

Information from Wikipedia:

Films list

Troy

Pygmalion

Battle of Thermopylae

Here‘s the full review I wrote when the movie was in theaters, but for for a quick recap of the story, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) wants to open a restaurant in honor of her father (Terrence Howard), but she’s lost how to have fun in the process. After kissing a frog who says he’s Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), she gets turned into a frog as well, and hijinks (and romance) ensue.

DVD FEATURES

Something that Disney started doing lately with DVD releases is add deleted scenes to their special features section. This section is one that always hit-or-miss with me, mostly because I’m spoiled by Pixar’s deleted scenes. Since Pixar’s scenes are in the computer, most of them are in a stage where they can move the characters like puppets, meaning that the deleted scenes read more like live-action deleted scenes. Disney animated deleted scenes, however, are still in their rough storyboard form, so it takes out of the scenes a bit. The way the deleted scenes are set up for The Princess and the Frog is a bit too revered for deleted scenes; co-writers/directors John Musker and Ron Clements walk the viewer through the scenes, which are shown like hung art pieces, which can feel a bit…weird. But it’s a must-see for any die-hard PatF fan.

The commentary, with Musker, Clements, and roducer Peter Del Vecho, is highly informational (as informational as the book The Art of the Princess and the Frog) and insightful. The best review I can give for the commentary is that if you’re a person who likes commentaries, you’ll like this commentary. You learn a lot about the film and the crew that isn’t mentioned in the Art of book, like the fact that the girls around Naveen during the opening song sequence are caricatures of women who work at Disney Animation. It can be dry-you can tell that the commentary is by three guys seasoned by the long years of being in the movie-making business-but if you are a Disney fan, you should give the commentary a listen.

Other features include one-reels-Dylan and Cole Sprouse: Blu-Ray is Suite, Learn How to Take Your Favorite Movies on the Go with Disney Digital Copy, a game called What Do You See: Princess Portraits, and sneak peeks of upcoming Disney blu-ray movies and theatrical releases, including Rapunzel and Toy Story 3 and Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue.

All in all, you get your approx. $15.oo for the regular widescreen version. The blu-ray version ($19.99)* and three disc version ($26.99)* are also available

For more Princess and the Frog interviews, essays, etc, click here.

*prices from Target.com