I Am Frankelda (Soy Frankelda) is the debut feature by Arturo and Roy Ambriz. It is also the first stop-motion animation feature ever produced in Mexico. Mexican cinema has a growing animation industry, it is internationally recognized, with names such as Jorge R. Gutierrez (Book of Life & Maya and …
Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon has been one of the most fascinating workshops for the medium since their 2009 feature debut, The Secret of Kells. Wolfwalkers by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart is only their fifth feature since Kells. Nearly every work of theirs went on to get an Academy …
Animation and sci-fi are two of the most eye-popping genres in the history of cinema. However, in the recent couple of decades, these two genres have become quite popular on television as well. From Stranger Things and The Legend of Vox Machina to Westworld and Arcane, streaming platforms and traditional networks are not shying away from …
Bold, primary colours take centre point within the animated tale Death Does Not Exist (La mort n’existe pas) which convey the film’s blunt messaging effectively. Political in nature and economic in scale, the film lays bare its stance within its opening sequence leaving no doubt about its eat the rich …
All eyes were on how James Gunn planned to start the DCU. When it was revealed the starting product would be Creature Commandos, some people scratched their heads. Is this animated series able to jump-start a new universe? It was a strange start, simply because (similarly to Gunn’s The Suicide …
J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings saga struck such a colossal nerve when it was first published because it was a reaction to the loss of the first World War. The displacement of the muddy, modern conflict into a deliberately regressive story of magic and magical creatures …
DC Comics has no shortage of quality animated material. This includes numerous direct-to-DVD films (the most recent being the Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earth trilogy). While those have offered mixed results, one corner of DC that has remained popular is its animated television content. HBO Max’s shows, such as …
The theme of “artificial intelligence,” particularly in cinema and television, has been one of the most intense, controversial debates in recent years. As with most polarizing topics, opinions tend to be extreme and lack depth, creating opposing views of “AI is good” versus “AI is bad,” as if all uses …
Animation is often seen as a genre for children, but that is because it is a genre for imagination. It’s a way of visually expressing stories that cannot be realistically or safely acted out. The stop-motion Memoir of a Snail, which has surprisingly won Best Film at this year’s London …
DreamWorks Animation has always been regarded as the biggest rival to Disney/Pixar, but despite a few memorable sagas like Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, and Madagascar, the truth is that the studio has rarely delivered stand-alone original works with the same cultural impact as many of the latter’s movies. …
Good news everyone! Futurama is returned once again to satirize the future and the present, and it’s only slightly out of date doing it. There are a few things to say about the show, but let’s get this out of the way first: it’s still Futurama, and if you liked …
The animated world of Batman is growing, with the latest series, Batman: Caped Crusader, that recently hit Prime Video. The ten-episode series from showrunner Bruce Timm, written by Greg Rucka (Harley Quinn, The Old Guard), delivers a new grounded animated series with Hamish Linklater voicing Batman/Bruce Wayne. Does the animated world …
Despicable Me 4 sees Gru and the family take on a different dynamic. Instead of trying to achieve world domination as a villain, the Gru crew has to accomplish the most challenging mission they have ever faced. Somehow, they must achieve the impossible feat of “blending in.” On the surface, …
I learned about the Norwegian film Spermageddon through a friend of mine. While discussing films we’d recently watched and giving each other recommendations, she exclaimed, “I watched this animated movie about sperm!” As she went on to describe the film as a comedy-musical my interest peaked, and I immediately sought it out …
Inside Out 2 is another home run from Pixar. It’s full of heart, honesty, and the stress-induced Anxiety of becoming a teenager. Almost nine years to the date, Pixar is releasing the follow-up to the 2015 smash hit Inside Out. Have you ever felt like your life is together as you prepare …
When you’re a superhero, it seems like the world is always in danger. Be it villains attempting to take over the world, a comet headed straight to Earth promising global catastrophe, or an Alien race swoops in to establish global dominance. Sounds exhausting if I’m being honest, but I guess …
2024 has been characterized by a scarcity of animated releases, but with a good standard of quality thus far. From the rich, complex Orion and the Dark to the fun, touching IF, I’ve enjoyed most animated flicks – whether hybrid or full – up to this point. Despite growing up …
We’re in an age of Star Wars saturation. With each passing year, there are more entries in the franchise than ever, which is more and more of a mixed bag. Last year, one of the new entries was Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, a series of six shorts telling some of the …
Animated sequels can be a challenge; sometimes, the sequel isn’t as good as the original (Shrek the Third is a perfect example). Other times, the sequels can be better than the original (Shrek 2). In DreamWorks Animation’s case, they now have two franchises that have maintained their quality throughout their sequels …
Isaac Asimov was a Russian science fiction writer who died in the early 1990s. He wrote extensively about the future and discussed AI and robots in many of his stories. Much of his work was written before our modern world of robot vacuum cleaners and self-driving cars, but much of Asimov’s …