A common symptom of Aspergers Syndrome is an intense and keen preoccupation with specific subjects that go beyond a hobby - what parents of kids on the autism spectrum call a "special interest." They come and go in phases. My son is transitioning from a passion for animals to an interest in science (convenient that those two subjects are mutually compatible). He has also developed an obsession with maps.
So when I first saw the preview for Martin Scorsese's Hugo - I knew it would be the perfect movie for my Aspie son. An adventure of a boy with a narrow interest in fixing things, a robot that is the focus of all his energy, and the inner workings of a Parisian train station; it fit right in with my son's new fascination with all things scientific. The foreign setting would lend itself to map exploring when we were home again and in front of a computer.
What appeared on the surface to be a visually stunning and potentially emotionally manipulative tale turned out to contain a delightful story.
The movie opens with Hugo - an orphan that lives behind the walls of the Gare Montparnasse in Paris. Hugo steals food to survive, keeps all of the clocks in the station operational, and watches the lives of normal people from behind the clock faces - all while avoiding the grasp of the station master (Sacha Baron Cohen) a stern guard who likes to capture stray children and send them to the orphanage.
He also steals springs and gears and other mechanical trinkets from a grouchy toy-maker (Ben Kingsley) to repair a robot salvaged by Hugo's father (Jude Law). The boy is skilled at fixing things - be it his robot, clocks, toys, or the lives of people who have lost their place in the world.
Along with the toy-maker's goddaughter, Hugo works to interpret a message drawn by the robot - a path that takes him through the history of film to a forgotten legend.
There is an air of magic that surrounds the story - yet it is wholly grounded in mechanized realism with a hint of steampunk romance. Through Hugo's eyes, we see the world full of wonder yet tainted with heartbreak. It presents us a message of purpose - that everyone is here for a reason, that every person is like a part in a machine where there are no extra parts.
My son was captivated by the film, often leaning over and whispering "This is a good movie." I expected him to enjoy the movie - but he learned more than I anticipated. At a point where the early days of cinema was portrayed showing the hand cranked projectors used in the first movies, Christian took his eyes off the screen for the first time and turned to look to the back of the theater - inspecting the projection booth that I'm sure he never before knew existed. I could see the awe in his face coupled with the sudden realization of how movie magic worked.
Like most of Martin Scorsese's work, Hugo is a bit long. It clocks in with a running time just over two hours and bits of the movie seemed lumbering or overly drawn out. At times, it also felt as if I was watching the longest National Film Preservation Foundation PSA ever created. It should be noted that Martin Scorsese founded The Film Foundation in 1990 and is on the board of directors.
But the picture is dazzling. The message of fixing things that are broken and of purposeful reason for existence lends the movie some teachable moments for kids. It is worth watching and (in hindsight) I wished I had shelled out the few extra bucks to see it in 3D.
I recommend you see it. And if the opinion of a seven year old is worth anything - Christian gave it praising remarks. Go, and take your kids with you.
Showing posts with label Kids and Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kids and Family. Show all posts
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Toy Story 3
Go see this movie. Why?
1. Classic story telling. It’s an escape movie at heart and pays homage to the standard bearers of escape films like Escape from Alcatraz and The Great Escape.
2. Satisfying and touching without being emotionally manipulative. The story is filled with humor and suspense; I can’t recall an animated movie that’s kept me so enthralled with the fate of its characters.
3. The return of the original cast – no knock offs. With the exception of Slinky (originally voiced by Jim Varney, who passed away shortly after the release of Toy Story 2) and the kids that voiced Andy and his sister in the first to movies, the original and recognizable voices are back. The writers and the director were all involved with the first Toy Story and bring their passion to finish the story in a way that is both final and true to its origin.
4. The quality of the animation. Pixar proves why it’s the leader in digital animation, and the combination of Disney and Pixar is movie magic.
5. Buzz en Español. You’ll have to watch to see what I’m talking about (I don’t want to ruin the plot). While we’re on the topic of Buzz Lightyear, Buzz is Tim Allen at his best.
6. The tortilla. And the pickle. And Mr. Potato head. Again, I won’t spoil the plot, but the use of the tortilla in the escape from the daycare is one of the funniest moments in the movie – and possibly the most hilarious of all three Toy Story films.
7. The new characters. They’re not just there as filler and their characters are fully developed with unique personalities that add to the value of the story. Ken is shallow, Big Baby is creepy, and Lotso is manipulative and maniacal.
8. Sunnyside Daycare. This is a fantastic new setting for the toys and serves as an ideal prison. The interactions between the kids and the toys at the daycare are priceless and more true to life than the way the toys were handled in the previous films.
9. It keeps kids engaged. More than that, it involves the kids (I’m speaking on behalf of young children as my oldest is 5). Most movies serve as a mindless stream of motion and sound to distract the youngest demographic, but Toy Story 3 brings those with single digit ages into its universe. As Andy waved his last goodbye, my daughter waved back. When Ken’s astronaut outfit was employed in the escape, she asked why Ken was wearing Barbie’s shoes (rather loudly, in the theater, during a quiet moment in the movie).
10. Valuable themes. The movie focuses on loyalty but also touches on the themes of unity and teamwork, faithfulness, determination, kindness, fair treatment of others, and generosity.
If you take young kids to see this movie, be forewarned, the climax of the escape is intense. The final moments at the dump can be frightening. My son (age 5) was not disturbed. My daughter (3 ½) managed to remain in her chair up until that scene – thanks to the distraction of popcorn – but the scary dump led her into my lap to seek comfort and safety.
We went to see the 2D version, so I do not have any testimony to the value of 3D. However, I did not see any place where the extra dimension would add any value to the film other than to increase Disney/Pixar profits. 2D is satisfying enough to make it difficult to justify the more expensive price of 3D.
So go. Trust me, you’ll enjoy yourself.
1. Classic story telling. It’s an escape movie at heart and pays homage to the standard bearers of escape films like Escape from Alcatraz and The Great Escape.
2. Satisfying and touching without being emotionally manipulative. The story is filled with humor and suspense; I can’t recall an animated movie that’s kept me so enthralled with the fate of its characters.
3. The return of the original cast – no knock offs. With the exception of Slinky (originally voiced by Jim Varney, who passed away shortly after the release of Toy Story 2) and the kids that voiced Andy and his sister in the first to movies, the original and recognizable voices are back. The writers and the director were all involved with the first Toy Story and bring their passion to finish the story in a way that is both final and true to its origin.
4. The quality of the animation. Pixar proves why it’s the leader in digital animation, and the combination of Disney and Pixar is movie magic.
5. Buzz en Español. You’ll have to watch to see what I’m talking about (I don’t want to ruin the plot). While we’re on the topic of Buzz Lightyear, Buzz is Tim Allen at his best.
6. The tortilla. And the pickle. And Mr. Potato head. Again, I won’t spoil the plot, but the use of the tortilla in the escape from the daycare is one of the funniest moments in the movie – and possibly the most hilarious of all three Toy Story films.
7. The new characters. They’re not just there as filler and their characters are fully developed with unique personalities that add to the value of the story. Ken is shallow, Big Baby is creepy, and Lotso is manipulative and maniacal.
8. Sunnyside Daycare. This is a fantastic new setting for the toys and serves as an ideal prison. The interactions between the kids and the toys at the daycare are priceless and more true to life than the way the toys were handled in the previous films.
9. It keeps kids engaged. More than that, it involves the kids (I’m speaking on behalf of young children as my oldest is 5). Most movies serve as a mindless stream of motion and sound to distract the youngest demographic, but Toy Story 3 brings those with single digit ages into its universe. As Andy waved his last goodbye, my daughter waved back. When Ken’s astronaut outfit was employed in the escape, she asked why Ken was wearing Barbie’s shoes (rather loudly, in the theater, during a quiet moment in the movie).
10. Valuable themes. The movie focuses on loyalty but also touches on the themes of unity and teamwork, faithfulness, determination, kindness, fair treatment of others, and generosity.
If you take young kids to see this movie, be forewarned, the climax of the escape is intense. The final moments at the dump can be frightening. My son (age 5) was not disturbed. My daughter (3 ½) managed to remain in her chair up until that scene – thanks to the distraction of popcorn – but the scary dump led her into my lap to seek comfort and safety.
We went to see the 2D version, so I do not have any testimony to the value of 3D. However, I did not see any place where the extra dimension would add any value to the film other than to increase Disney/Pixar profits. 2D is satisfying enough to make it difficult to justify the more expensive price of 3D.
So go. Trust me, you’ll enjoy yourself.
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
What happens when an inept, yet well intentioned, scientist invents a machine that will turn water into food? Odd weather. Wait... it’s a bit more than odd. A spaghetti tornado, a mansion hand carved from jello, streets covered with ice cream. And sentient food. Not just food that is capable of thought, but edible products with malicious self-persevering instincts.
Cloudy presents us with a solid (yet unconventional) premise. A neglected nerd has spent his childhood dreaming of making inventions that would solve the world’s problems. He wants to be a scientist and avoid following in the footsteps of his sardine selling father. But his hometown is in an economic downturn because the rest of the world has discovered that it’s only export (sardines) taste “super gross.” Now that sardines are not being purchased by the rest of planet earth, Swallow Falls has a sardine surplus. Flint Lockwood (dorky scientist) builds a machine that transforms the molecular structure of H2O into delicious meals in hopes that he can provide his neighbors something to eat other than sardines. The experiment is interrupted by an anal retentive cop, and the machine shoots off into the stratosphere.
Then it starts raining food.
With the prodding of the town’s mayor and the companionship of a meteorologist (and reformed nerd), Flint provides a bountiful buffet. But, as foreshadowed early in the film, Flint’s invention creates more chaos than intended and the gourmet precipitation escalates into a globe-encompassing perfect storm.
What impressed me:
The casting. Napolian Dynamite as the bumbling scientist, Anna Faris as his romantic interest, and Mr T as the acrobatic cop were perfect choices.
The voice work. The voices might have been stereotyped, but it worked.
The food. The attention in the animation was devoted to the food - brilliantly colored, and dazzling in both absurdity and surrealism.
The story. This is one that is as important for parents as it is for kids. Thematically, it urges parents to encourage our kids’ eccentricities and to lovingly support all of the weird things they do.
The stuff that was a bit disappointing:
Mean spirited humor. The movie was largely devoid of crude humor. No fart jokes or double entendres. However the script writers replaced the crass with the cruel. Insults and teasing were in plentiful supply.
Character animation. The artistic quality of the human characters lacked the devotion given to the inanimate objects. The animation of the living was angular and disproportionate. They were more caricatures than characters.
Baby Brent (Andy Samberg). Again, the casting choice here was excellent, but the grown (overweight) man in diapers was a bit disturbing.
Overall, it’s a delightful movie for both kids and parents. Enjoyable, but not stellar.
Cloudy presents us with a solid (yet unconventional) premise. A neglected nerd has spent his childhood dreaming of making inventions that would solve the world’s problems. He wants to be a scientist and avoid following in the footsteps of his sardine selling father. But his hometown is in an economic downturn because the rest of the world has discovered that it’s only export (sardines) taste “super gross.” Now that sardines are not being purchased by the rest of planet earth, Swallow Falls has a sardine surplus. Flint Lockwood (dorky scientist) builds a machine that transforms the molecular structure of H2O into delicious meals in hopes that he can provide his neighbors something to eat other than sardines. The experiment is interrupted by an anal retentive cop, and the machine shoots off into the stratosphere.
Then it starts raining food.
With the prodding of the town’s mayor and the companionship of a meteorologist (and reformed nerd), Flint provides a bountiful buffet. But, as foreshadowed early in the film, Flint’s invention creates more chaos than intended and the gourmet precipitation escalates into a globe-encompassing perfect storm.
What impressed me:
The casting. Napolian Dynamite as the bumbling scientist, Anna Faris as his romantic interest, and Mr T as the acrobatic cop were perfect choices.
The voice work. The voices might have been stereotyped, but it worked.
The food. The attention in the animation was devoted to the food - brilliantly colored, and dazzling in both absurdity and surrealism.
The story. This is one that is as important for parents as it is for kids. Thematically, it urges parents to encourage our kids’ eccentricities and to lovingly support all of the weird things they do.
The stuff that was a bit disappointing:
Mean spirited humor. The movie was largely devoid of crude humor. No fart jokes or double entendres. However the script writers replaced the crass with the cruel. Insults and teasing were in plentiful supply.
Character animation. The artistic quality of the human characters lacked the devotion given to the inanimate objects. The animation of the living was angular and disproportionate. They were more caricatures than characters.
Baby Brent (Andy Samberg). Again, the casting choice here was excellent, but the grown (overweight) man in diapers was a bit disturbing.
Overall, it’s a delightful movie for both kids and parents. Enjoyable, but not stellar.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Horton Hears a Who!
Approached with some trepidation (Jim Carrey does not have a stellar track record with Dr. Seuss adaptions - not even a decent reputation) Horton delivers what the makers of Grinch and the sad Mike Meyers venture Cat in the Hat could not accomplish: a pleasant family comedy.
The story should be familiar to fans of the Dr. Seuss tale. Horton, an elephant (voiced by Carrey) that hears a cry of help from a tiny speck of dust, finds himself the protector of a microscopic planet that is home to the Whos. He befriends the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carell) while creating foes of a grouchy kangaroo (Carol Burnett), bad Vlad (there is also a good Vlad that makes cookies), and a horde of malicious monkeys. Horton and the mayor are in the same boat. None of the other jungle animals believes Horton's speck is inhabited by tiny people - except a few kids who pretend to carry their own world on a flower (including one odd character who's world has a population of horses that "all eat rainbows, and poop butterflies"). No one in Whoville believes the mayor's warning that they are a speck of dust floating through space and that their world is in peril if a giant elephant can't guide them to safety.
The animation is not the best, but it maintains Seuss's imaginative style. There are several creative liberties within the film, but it stays true to the spirit of the book by using several of the most well known phrases through both dialog and narration (including the timeless "a person is a person, no matter how small"). And that one line is a great lesson for kids my son's age as well as kids my age. Sometimes it's nice to see Hollywood portray worthwhile values. Horton Hears a Who also encourages creative expression - my kids's specialty.
On the downside, there are several insults thrown around like monkeys flinging poop. (thankfully, the monkeys in the movie use bananas as ammunition rather than feces). While it's a worthy effort to teach younger kids that it's not nice to call people names, they used the insult "boob" far too often (boob meaning moron, not the body part).
Bekah and I enjoyed the film and both of us laughed at several points throughout (the mock-anime sequence mid-film makes the movie worth repeated viewings). The kids loved the movie; they watched it over a dozen times in the week following the first screening. And since the DVD had to be returned to Netflix, we went and bought our own copy for the kids's Easter basket.
Horton Hears a Who will be joining the ranks of our family favorites.
The story should be familiar to fans of the Dr. Seuss tale. Horton, an elephant (voiced by Carrey) that hears a cry of help from a tiny speck of dust, finds himself the protector of a microscopic planet that is home to the Whos. He befriends the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carell) while creating foes of a grouchy kangaroo (Carol Burnett), bad Vlad (there is also a good Vlad that makes cookies), and a horde of malicious monkeys. Horton and the mayor are in the same boat. None of the other jungle animals believes Horton's speck is inhabited by tiny people - except a few kids who pretend to carry their own world on a flower (including one odd character who's world has a population of horses that "all eat rainbows, and poop butterflies"). No one in Whoville believes the mayor's warning that they are a speck of dust floating through space and that their world is in peril if a giant elephant can't guide them to safety.
The animation is not the best, but it maintains Seuss's imaginative style. There are several creative liberties within the film, but it stays true to the spirit of the book by using several of the most well known phrases through both dialog and narration (including the timeless "a person is a person, no matter how small"). And that one line is a great lesson for kids my son's age as well as kids my age. Sometimes it's nice to see Hollywood portray worthwhile values. Horton Hears a Who also encourages creative expression - my kids's specialty.
On the downside, there are several insults thrown around like monkeys flinging poop. (thankfully, the monkeys in the movie use bananas as ammunition rather than feces). While it's a worthy effort to teach younger kids that it's not nice to call people names, they used the insult "boob" far too often (boob meaning moron, not the body part).
Bekah and I enjoyed the film and both of us laughed at several points throughout (the mock-anime sequence mid-film makes the movie worth repeated viewings). The kids loved the movie; they watched it over a dozen times in the week following the first screening. And since the DVD had to be returned to Netflix, we went and bought our own copy for the kids's Easter basket.
Horton Hears a Who will be joining the ranks of our family favorites.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Surf's Up
Who doesn’t like penguins?
And that is the question movie execs everywhere were asking a few years ago. After Madagascar (May 2005), March of the Penguins (July 2005), Happy Feet (November 2006), and farce of the Penguins (February 2007), the answer was… we used to.
So did we really need another penguin movie? That is a question probably not asked at Sony Animation Studios during the creation of Surf’s Up. (Considering it was in Production roughly the same time as Happy Feet, I don’t blame them)
So let’s break the movie apart like a surfboard crashing on the rocks of the boneyard.
The Good:
• The documentary style “camerawork.” Granted, it’s not the smoothest animation (yet the water looks almost real in several shots) but it is an improvement over Sony’s first cartoon Open Season. And the documentary feel reminded me of some great surfing documentaries (Endless Summer, Step Into Liquid). And it distracted from the feel of being in a kids movie feel that you can sometimes get when watching animated films.
• Casting. The Dude as Z and Napoleon Dynamite as the half-baked chicken – genius.
• The story is actually funny. After the beautiful downer March of the Penguins and the copulation driven storyline of Happy Feet it is nice to see wit and sarcasm coming from the beaks of penguins.
• Snide jabs at Happy Feet. What fun is it if you can’t throw elbows at the competition?
• The music. The people in charge of the soundtrack made some smart choices. The songs were well placed, lyrically and stylistically fitting in with the on-screen action - like The Dirty Heads’ Stand Tall and Sugar Ray’s Into Yesterday. I caught Bekah singing along to Incubus’ Drive, but I caught my self singing along with You Get What You Give (the greatest one-hit wonder ever). So I can’t hold it against her.
The Bad:
• Poop jokes. There are a lot of them. (Seriously? I didn’t even know that glow worms pooped)
• A creepy scene with trophies. The bad guy (Tank) is a jerk and we all know it from the minute he’s introduced. But when he takes you behind the curtain to introduce his trophies, we discover his real-life counterpart would be on the sex offender registry. Bad guys in family flicks should be mean – not dirty.
• Pee. As in urine is a proven cure for stepping on a poisonous fire urchin. Funny and disturbing all at the same time.
The Moral:
• You can’t give up because there is someone who is better and/or cooler than you
• Winning isn’t everything.
• Do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do.
• Do the right thing.
Bekah’s thoughts:
It was a little rude for a kids movie. The adult humor was funny but a bit heavy. Thankfully, the grown up stuff was lost on the mind of our five year old. Great lessons for kids to learn and most of the jokes for adults are above most kid’s comprehension level.
Christian’s thoughts:
His favorite part: “When the penguin fell down. It was funny.” He also liked the rockhopper penguin (Cody Maverick).
And that is the question movie execs everywhere were asking a few years ago. After Madagascar (May 2005), March of the Penguins (July 2005), Happy Feet (November 2006), and farce of the Penguins (February 2007), the answer was… we used to.
So did we really need another penguin movie? That is a question probably not asked at Sony Animation Studios during the creation of Surf’s Up. (Considering it was in Production roughly the same time as Happy Feet, I don’t blame them)
So let’s break the movie apart like a surfboard crashing on the rocks of the boneyard.
The Good:
• The documentary style “camerawork.” Granted, it’s not the smoothest animation (yet the water looks almost real in several shots) but it is an improvement over Sony’s first cartoon Open Season. And the documentary feel reminded me of some great surfing documentaries (Endless Summer, Step Into Liquid). And it distracted from the feel of being in a kids movie feel that you can sometimes get when watching animated films.
• Casting. The Dude as Z and Napoleon Dynamite as the half-baked chicken – genius.
• The story is actually funny. After the beautiful downer March of the Penguins and the copulation driven storyline of Happy Feet it is nice to see wit and sarcasm coming from the beaks of penguins.
• Snide jabs at Happy Feet. What fun is it if you can’t throw elbows at the competition?
• The music. The people in charge of the soundtrack made some smart choices. The songs were well placed, lyrically and stylistically fitting in with the on-screen action - like The Dirty Heads’ Stand Tall and Sugar Ray’s Into Yesterday. I caught Bekah singing along to Incubus’ Drive, but I caught my self singing along with You Get What You Give (the greatest one-hit wonder ever). So I can’t hold it against her.
The Bad:
• Poop jokes. There are a lot of them. (Seriously? I didn’t even know that glow worms pooped)
• A creepy scene with trophies. The bad guy (Tank) is a jerk and we all know it from the minute he’s introduced. But when he takes you behind the curtain to introduce his trophies, we discover his real-life counterpart would be on the sex offender registry. Bad guys in family flicks should be mean – not dirty.
• Pee. As in urine is a proven cure for stepping on a poisonous fire urchin. Funny and disturbing all at the same time.
The Moral:
• You can’t give up because there is someone who is better and/or cooler than you
• Winning isn’t everything.
• Do what you enjoy and enjoy what you do.
• Do the right thing.
Bekah’s thoughts:
It was a little rude for a kids movie. The adult humor was funny but a bit heavy. Thankfully, the grown up stuff was lost on the mind of our five year old. Great lessons for kids to learn and most of the jokes for adults are above most kid’s comprehension level.
Christian’s thoughts:
His favorite part: “When the penguin fell down. It was funny.” He also liked the rockhopper penguin (Cody Maverick).
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