From John McPhail, the Glaswegian director behind cult favourite Anna and the Apocalypse, comes Grow, a delightfully daft and incredibly charming family film that follows Charlie (newcomer Priya-Rose Brookwell), a young girl with an almost supernatural instinct for horticulture on a mission to grow the world’s biggest pumpkin. After some …
KPop Demon Hunters, the latest musical adventure from Sony Pictures Animation, is, in many respects, a global hit. Released in mid-June, the title is officially the most-watched animated movie of all time on Netflix, its distributor. Currently, the film sits comfortably at No. 2 on the streaming service’s Global Top …
If you have children of a certain age, you’ve probably heard of the Zombies franchise. The newest installment in the series was out last week on streaming, having premiered on the Disney Channel the day before. Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires is entertaining, with catchy music and a positive …
The director, Erich Cannon, presents a family film about grief in Braving Rapids. It tells the story of a family that recently lost its patriarch to an unnamed illness. The mother, Stevie (Megan Heaps), is trying to raise her three kids, Jake (Nate Morley), Chance (Thomas Carroll), and Gracie (Amy …
There is a certain charm in looking back at a film that you watched as a kid. 1995’s A Kid in King Arthur’s Court, from director Michael Gottlieb and writers Michael Part and Robert L. Levy, was an easy choice for family movie night. It stars Thomas Ian Nicholas as …
It’s inevitable. With every new live-action remake released by Disney, the same cycle of controversy, ridiculous boycotts, and deafening noise from hate groups and internet users who can’t handle any deviation from the established norm repeats itself – even if that “norm” is just their highly romanticized childhood memories. Casting …
Marking its final adventure, the third season of Apple TV+’s acclaimed Jane premiered last week. I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with two of the key creative forces behind this environmentally conscious children’s series. The seasoned duo of J. J. Johnson and Matt Bishop (best known – at least …
While it is to be praised that so many dads are making movies for children these days, it does rather mean the dads are centering themselves in the movies, instead of the children for whom the movies are supposedly made. This is very frustrating, not least when it’s clear that …
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 …
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, …
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 …
Enter the film community, and you’ll see jeers of derision at new movies; “They don’t make ‘em like they used to,” scream those factions of the internet. There’s merit to the anecdote; practical effects taking backseat to digital, a rubbery grey aesthetic taking precedence over vibrancy and such, but ultimately …
Mark Wahlberg, the star of Arthur The King, had numerous peaks and valleys throughout his career. These include highlight performances in films like The Departed (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award) and The Fighter. On the flip side, he has also had many cinematic misfires like Max Payne, The Happening, and some films in the Transformers franchise. In the …
Avatar: The Last Airbender is the latest animated property to get the live-action treatment from Netflix. There has been some success with this trend, such as Netflix’s adaptation of the anime One Piece, but reimaginings such as this have to work hard to justify their existence, as their animated counterparts are already …
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 …
Nickelodeon cartoons were a staple of the after-school experience for many kids and families during the late 90s to mid-2000s. From Spongebob Squarepants to Invader Zim, some of the most popular shows ever to spawn from the channel emerged during this period. However, one of these shows stands heads and shoulders above the …
Franklin Armstrong was the first black character in Peanuts. He’s also the character that the newest Snoopy Presents animated special is all about. Welcome Home, Franklin is Franklin’s origin story. First introduced in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and at the behest of teacher Harriet Glickman, Franklin was a barrier-breaking character and …
All Percy Jackson and the Olympians episodes, starring Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri, are now streaming on Disney+. Connor looks at the merits of one-to-one book adaptations and finds that the series lacks some of the books’ magic. When the Chris Columbus-directed movie Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief was released in 2010, young, avid …