The story of how Po [Jack Black] becomes the Dragon Warrior – despite the skepticism of the Furious Five Masters, Crane [David Cross], Mantis [Seth Rogen], Monkey [Jackie Chan], Tigress [Angelina Jolie] and Viper [Lucy Liu] – is one of the year’s surprise hits, critically as well as at the box office.

The film’s DVD release is full of bonus features and, in a special two DVD package, includes The Secrets of the Furious Five. This twenty-five minute tale finds Po facing his greatest challenge – teaching a class of easily distracted young bunnies the art of king fu [Master Shifu, still voiced by Dustin Hoffman, seems particularly tickled by the situation]. To get the class’ attention, Po relates stories of how each of the Five – Crane [David Cross], Monkey [Jaycee Chan], Mantis [Max Koch], Tigress [Tara Strong], and Viper [Jessica Di Ciccio] – had to overcome such flaws as impatience [Mantis], Compassion [Monkey], control [Tigress], and so forth. Even Master Oogway [Randall Duk Kim] puts in an appearance.

Most of Secrets is filmed in the beautiful 2D style seen in the prologue to Kung Fu Panda, with CG used for scenes that feature Po and his class – and the clever cover art from the two DVDs is designed to be one larger picture when placed side by side.

There is a wealth of features on each DVD.

Kung Fu Panda: Audio Commentary by Co-Directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne; Meet the Cast; Pushing the Boundaries [improvements in CGI]; Sound Design; Kung fu Fighting Music Video by Cee-Lo; Mr. Ping’s Noodle House [watch a master make noodles from a simple ball of dough]; How to Use Chopsticks [this time for sure!]; Conservation International: Help Save Wild Panda; Dragon Warrior Training Academy; Printables and Weblinks [DVD-ROM], and Dreamworks Animation Jukebox.

Secrets of the Furious Five: Po’s Power Play: Learn to Draw [Character animators show how to draw their respective characters]; Dumpling Shuffle [which bowl is the dumpling under]; Pandamonium Activity Kit [DVD-ROM]; The Land of Panda: Learn the Panda Dance; Do You Kung Fu [demonstrations of basic kung fu forms]; Inside the Chinese Zodiac; Animals of Kung Fu Panda [and how they relate to their namesake forms of kung fu], and What Fighting Style Are You?

Grade: Kung Fu Panda – A

Grade: Secrets of the Furious Five – B+

Grade: Features: Kung Fu Panda – A+

Grade: Features: Secrets of the Furious Five – B+

Final Grade: A

When Batman: The Brave and the Bold premieres [Fridays, 8/7C], long time Bat-fans may be surprised to see a Caped Crusader who bears more than a slight resemblance to Dick Sprang’s version of the character which ran in the comics from the mid-‘40s to the mid-‘50s. The stories will also remind of this period as they combine mystery with science-fiction, which leads to episodes like the series premiere, Rise of the Blue Beetle, where we are treated to two team-ups – Batman [Diedrich Bader] and Green Arrow [James Arnold Taylor] take down the Clock King [Dee Bradley Baker] as a warm-up to a galaxy-spanning adventure in which Batman teams up with the newest incarnation of the Blue Beetle [Will Friedle].

In each instance we see a difference side of Batman – the friendly squabbles with Green Arrow, an equal to the Dark Knight, and a more mentorly approach with the Beetle. Each is appropriate to the partner involved, and each leads to unexpected action – especially in the Batman/Beetle clash with dreaded Justice League of America villain, Kanjar Ro [from all the way back in the original JLA #5].

Considering the amount of action and characterization contained in this episode, it’s amazing that it doesn’t feel overcrowded – but it doesn’t. Instead the quips fly fast and free; the action involved in taking down a rather mundane [for Batman] villain generates laughs, while the Kanjar Ro beef is considerably more serious [he’s found using a sentient lifeform to fuel his ships].

The writing on Batman: The Brave and the Bold is sharp and concise. It mixes a bigger dose of humor into the adventures, while knowing when to get serious. The animation is as series specific – and right for the series – as that of each of the previous Bat-shows. Plus, the series will find Batman working with a lot of interesting characters, such as: Red Tornado [Corey Burton], Aquaman [John DiMaggio], and Plastic Man [Tom Kenny]. Scriptwriter Michael Jelenic and director Bon Jones may have used Rise of the Blue Beetle to introduce the series to make it clear that it’s a different Batman series – if so, they’ve certainly succeeded!

Final Grade: A-

History is one of those subjects that can be made boring by a less than enthusiastic teacher – or by the misapprehension that it is, inherently, boring. In 2002 the DIC Entertainment Corporation produced a twenty-eight episode history of the United States of America as witnessed by four young people: Henri [voiced by Kathleen Barr], a young French boy whose parents died en route to The colonies and was forced into slavery to pay their passage; James [Chris Lundquist], a teenager whose passion for reporting and for the revolution are occasionally misdirected; Sarah [Reo Jones], recently arrived from England and incapable [at first] of believing that England’s Parliament could possibly enact legislation like unfair taxation, or quartering, and Moses [Kevin Williams], a young black man who works as an apprentice for Benjamin Franklin – and has first-hand experience with slavery.

Now, Shout!Factory has released the series on DVD and, as usual, have done a very nice job of it.

The twenty-eight episodes begin with The Boston Tea Party and carry through to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The writing is crisp and efficient; the viewpoint characters have sufficiently different backgrounds that each grows in different directions – while influencing each other; the animation is solid television work, and the various major historical figures are paired up with well known actors and newsmen.

Among the celebrity cast are Walter Cronkite [Benjamin Franklin], Annette Bening [Abigail Adams], Billy Crystal [John Adams], Michael Douglas [Patrick Henry], Dustin Hoffman [Benedict Arnold] and Sylvester Stallone [Paul Revere] – to name a few.

Features: All discs: Midnight Ride Original Pencil Test; Ben Franklin’s Newsbytes; Continental Cartoons; Now and Then, and Mystery Guest Game; Disc 1: Midnight Ride Original Pencil Test; Disc 4: A Look Back at Liberty’s Kids With The Creators. Also included is a forty-page booklet that give episode titles and summaries, plus guest cast credits and the bonus features on each disc – and a two-sided fold-out poster [one side is a poster of the kids with Benjamin Franklin, the other a map of The Colonies alongside a list of the episode titles, the sites for which are marked on the map.

Grade: Liberty’s Kids – A

Grade: Features – B+

Final Grade: A-

Although the Sleeping Beauty fairytale has been around for much longer, Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty was inspired by the Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky ballet – some of Tchaikovsky’s music is even quoted in the score.

Sleeping Beauty is remarkable for a number of reasons: it was the first Disney film to be done in an angular, more medieval style in which every aspect of every scene was detailed and in focus; it was the first Disney film which Disney didn’t work on from beginning to end; it was the last Disney animation to use hand-inked final art. From the opening sequences, the film is more vibrant, more alive than any previous Disney animation – and it remains almost impossibly lovely to look at today.

As with previous Disney animations, the voice casting is superb: Mary Costa did both speaking and singing for Princess Aurora; Eleanor Audley’s Maleficent is pretty much the standard for evil females in animation, even now; and the Three Good Fairies – Flora [Verna Felton], Fauna [Barbara Jo Allen] and Merryweather [Barbara Luddy] – are quite possibly6 the best example of characters who not only provide comic relief, but are actually integral to the story.

The new restoration of Sleeping Beauty marks the first time since its original theatrical run that we can see the film in its original widescreen aspect ratio, with the additional edges of the film adding even more richness to the experience.

This 50^th Anniversary Platinum Edition of the Disney classic also comes with enough Bonus Features to please the most discerning film buff: disc One: Audio Commentary by PIXAR CEO John Lasseter, Film Critic/Historian Leonard Maltin and current Disney Animator Andreas Deja; Once Upon a Dream Music Video by Emily Osment [Hannah Montana]; Disney Song Selection [plays just the actual song sequences from the film]; Princess Fun Facts – Pop-Up Video-style track that provides some historical background both for the film and princesses in general; Grand Canyon – a beautiful half-hour film that explores the Grand Canyon, set to the Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofe; The Peter Tchaikovsky Story – an episode of the Wonderful World of Disney that featured a biographical film of Tchaikovsky’s life, plus sneak peeks at Sleeping Beauty. Disc Two: Briar Rose’s Enchanted Dance Game; Sleeping Beauty Fun With Language Game; Picture Perfect – The Making of Sleeping Beauty; Eyvind Earle – The Man and His Art; Alternate Opening; Sequence 8 [Forest Scene; Deleted songs; It Happens I Have a Penny [Version 1]; It Happens I Have a Penny [Version 2]; Art Galleries; Original Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough Attraction; Publicity; Four Artists Paint One Tree; Storyboard Sequences.

Grade: Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty: 50^th Anniversary Platinum Edition – A+

Grade: Features – A+

Final Grade: A+

In the land of Malaria, things have changed since it was a sunny, happy place. Constant cloud cover and rain have ruined it for agriculture, so the king has decreed that the best way to survive is to develop an economy based on the creation of evil science. The country’s best mad scientists compete in an “Evil Science Fair” – and the king charges the rest of the world a [you should pardon the expression] king’s ransom to not use it.

Each mad scientist has an Igor – a hunchbacked assistant to gather materials and pull the power switch to put the finishing touches on their evil experiments. The film is built on the idea that one of these Igors [voiced by John Cusack] wants to be the scientist, not the Igor. When his master, Dr. Glickenstein [John Cleese] dies during the creation of a new weapon, Igor seizes his chance. With the aid [?] of his previous inventions – Scamper [Steve Buscemi], a suicidal immortal rabbit, and Brain [Sean Hayes], a robot with a brain in a jar – he decides to create life.

The idea of an Igor supplanting his mad scientist and succeeding is a good one, so it’s really a shame that this beautifully designed film [looking like some mad hybrid of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas and a Tex Avery cartoon] is virtually humor-free. Even Jennifer Coolidge’s assortment of scientists’ girlfriends and Eddie Izzard’s unscrupulous Dr. Schadenfreude [who’s won seventeen Fairs by stealing the best efforts of his competitors – and delights in the misery of others] somehow fail to… ummm… come to life.

The animation, from design on, is extremely good, but in light of the paucity of laughs and any real sense of danger, it simply isn’t enough to recommend the film. In short, Igor could’ve used a lot more madness.

Final Grade: D

The Spectacular Spider-Man: Attack of the Lizard is coming to DVD Sept. 9. It’s been a tough week for Peter Parker.  His two best friends are mad at him, Aunt May is behind on the bills and Flash Thompson is still bullying him at school. It hasn’t been a cake walk for Spider-Man either.  The Enforcers are trying to destroy him, the Vulture is seeking revenge on Mr. Osborn, Electro is wreaking havoc on the city and his mentor, Dr. Connors, just transformed into The Lizard - a reptile on the rampage.  But with great power comes great responsibility and Peter Parker wouldn’t have it any other way! Here are some clips.

The Spectacular Spider-Man™: Attack of the Lizard Trailer
http://news.sonypictures.com/sb40/B2BC/dN778190_144495.htm
http://news.sonypictures.com/sb40/B2BC/dN778190_144496.htm
Film Clip - Survival of The Fittest
http://news.sonypictures.com/sb40/B2BC/dN778190_144497.htm
http://news.sonypictures.com/sb40/B2BC/dN778190_144498.htm
Film Clip - Interactions
http://news.sonypictures.com/sb40/B2BC/dN778190_144499.htm
http://news.sonypictures.com/sb40/B2BC/dN778190_144500.htm
Film Clip - Natural Selection
http://news.sonypictures.com/sb40/B2BC/dN778190_144501.htm
http://news.sonypictures.com/sb40/B2BC/dN778190_144502.htm

Pucca is an animated series about a girl with super strength who loves a ninja with super speed. Sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it? But add a group of renegade ninjas who will stop nothing to destroy Pucca’s One True Love and you get an action-packed, beautifully designed series. These two DVDs are great fun for all ages.

To quote from the DVD cover, “In the mystical and strange Sooga Village, there lives a girl with stupendous strength and a loving heart. Pucca [pronounced Pooka] where she is looked after by her three uncles, who are the chefs at Go-Rong Restaurant.

Garu is a quiet boy who has dedicated his life to becoming a Ninja. All he wants is to be left in peace to pursue his Ninja path.

And all Pucca wants is Garu.”

With its stylized characters [think Powerpuff Girls but even more so] and its exquisite backgrounds and sets, Pucca is a series that combines the action and adventure of Ninjas with the comical ways in which Pucca and Garu interact [or not...]. Call it a romantic Ninja kung fu comedy.

Each adventure’s plot is fairly simple – take Noodle Round the World, for example. Pucca’s uncles learn of an Italian claim to have made the longest noodle in the world. In response, they cook a noodle that is so long that it will circle the globe – and they get Garu to take one end around the world to prove it.

There’s not much there – until an evil Ninja and his four companions try to stop Garu with sneaky/nasty traps. Then it’s up to Pucca to intervene without letting Garu know that she’s helping.

Then, in And The Band Played Rong, Pucca’s uncles hold a contest to see who can come up with the best jingle for an ad for the Go Rong Restaurant. The word cacophony comes to mind…

Many of Pucca’s adventures are made more surreal by the manner in which mythological creatures and Asian traditions are mixed with modern characters and pop culture – even Santa Claus has a recurring role!

Though the series uses a lot of slapstick, there are also episodes where there are more sophisticated things going on, as with The Shirtless Avenger. Here, Abyo gets a Kung Fu Superhero Kit and goes on a crime fighting rampage that puts the entire town in jail – including his father, Policeman Bruce!

It’s a subtle way to teach kids that with absolute power comes absolute corruption, but it’s funny and doesn’t actually put its moral into words – the show’s creators clearly figure their audience is intelligent to figure these things out for themselves.

Between them, these two DVD contain twenty-six adventures – all of which are up to the same high standard. Ninjas Love Noodles also features Pucca Bumpers and comes with a Ninja License. Kung fu Kisses features a link to a Pucca Video Game and comes with a Pucca Sticker.

Grade: King Fu Kisses & Ninjas Love Noodles – B+

Grade: Features – C

Final Grade: B

John Woo’s (Mission: Impossible II, Face/Off) first Anime production, Appleseed: Ex Machina, directed by Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed, Bubblegum Crisis) on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc. Based on the popular science fiction manga from renowned creator Shirow Masamune (Ghost in the Shell), Appleseed: Ex Machina follows partners and lovers, Deunan and Briareos.

As members of ESWAT, the elite forces serving Olympus, they are deployed wherever trouble strikes. The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way by the arrival of Tereus who uncannily resembles Briareos before the wartime injuries that led to his becoming a cyborg. At the same time, Olympus finds itself under a stealth attack. Cyborg terrorism, deadly nanotech zealots, and rioting citizens are just some of the threats that Deunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus and her relationship.

Appleseed: Ex Machina will be available on DVD for $24.98 SRP. There will also be a 2-disc Limited Edition DVD Collector Set containing extra bonus materials and packaged in a steel book case available for $34.98 SRP. All of the content from the 2-disc Limited Edition DVD Collector Set will be available on HD DVD and Blu-Ray Disc for $34.99 SRP.

Appleseed: Ex Machina DVD will feature incredible special features including:

· “Team-Up: John Woo and Shinji Aramaki” (Documentary featurette) – The story of two top talents, John Woo, lauded live-action filmmaker, and Shinji Aramaki, acclaimed animation director, working in tandem to launch a shared vision for Appleseed:Ex Machina.

· “Revolution: Animating Ex Machina” (Documentary featurette) – A team of revolutionary animators introduce a new technology to the trade, while facing the challenge to balance frenetic action and slick, sci-fi visuals with real emotion and humanity.

· “Audio Commentary” – An audio-only commentary featuring producer Joe Chou and renowned anime expert Jerry Beck (Behind the Tunes).

The 2 disc Limited Edition DVD Collector Set will feature even more incredible extras include:

· “Shirow’s Journey: The Appleseed Chronicles” - (Documentary featurette) –. From manga to anime, this is the definitive Appleseed history that doubles as a testament to the legendary writer/artist Shirow Masamune and the complex world he created in this vision of the future.

· “Appleseed Ex Machina: East Meets West” (Documentary featurette) - Examining the anime phenomenon from the perspectives of both the Eastern and Western cultures, while exploring the similarities and differences in the ways that fans enjoy the art form.

Basics:

After spending this weekend fighting with my new Macbook (contrary to what the commercials say, it doesn’t “just work.” But I’ll save my tales of Apple woe until later in the week. I decided to download and watch Warner Home Video’s latest direct to video animated fair Justice League: New Frontier. I downloaded it on my X-Box 360. The download took less than an 1/2 hour so I had instant gratification. When the movie first started, it was weird. The animation was literally just some weird drawings, then the camera pulls back and you see it’s an children’s book author telling a story about the end of the world. But what’s more shocking is, the guy puts a gun in his mouth and blows his brains out. So three minutes into this you know this film isn’t for kids.

But in case you missed the point, a few minutes later Air Force pilot Hal Jordan (voiced by David Boreanaz) is shot down over Russia at the end of the war. He puts a gun to some kid’s face and pulls the trigger. We get to see it in it’s gory detail. I would say this definitely isn’t your father’s Superhero film, but it actually is. The conceit of this piece is that everything takes place in the fifties. At the height of the cold war, McCarthyism, the red scare and more. And our Superheroes are stuck in the middle trying to stick to their convictions when the world around them has turned to chaos and against them. Watching all of this as an outsider, trying to do good in his small way is a Martian - J’onn J’onzz / Martian Manhunter (voiced by Miguel Ferrer).The movie packs a lot of oomph into it’s short 77 minute running time. We really get a sense of the time period and all of it’s turmoil.

Director Dave Bullock and the writers Stan Berkowitz and Darwyn Cooke don’t shy away from talking about some of the racial and political problems of the time period. Mentioning the KKK lynching a black hero, or Superman (Kyle MacLachlan) trying to lecture Diana (Lucy Lawless) about letting enslaved Chinese women murder their former captures after she freed them. The movie pretty relentlessly dark, but there was a great line from Batman (Jeremy Sisto) to the Manhunter “I have a $70,000 sliver of rock that will take care of the one in Metropolis, all I need for you is a Penny and a book of matches.”

The film falls apart at the end when the Heroes finally come together to stop the big bad. It’s some lame living Island thing. It felt a little anti-climatic. But this movie isn’t about big Super Hero battles, it truly is a character piece and manages to juggle it’s large cast really well.

I haven’t watched the DVD, but it looks like a packed affair. The animated adventure is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format. The picture quality is excellent. Its 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is clear with good surround effects. The DVD includes the revealing “Super Heroes United”, “The Legion of Doom” and “Comic Book Commentary” documentaries, two in-depth audio commentaries with filmmakers and comic book writer Darwyn Cooke, three bonus “Justice League Unlimited” episodes (The Dark Heart, Task Force X & To Another Shore), trailers and an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming “Batman - Gotham Knight”.

Final Grade A

EM Review by
Michelle Alexandria

Considering the proliferation of animation on DVD, and considering that the dozens of DVDs I received for review constituted a drop in the bucket, here are my picks as best animation/anime´ DVDs of 2007.

10. The Simpsons Movie [FOX]

It’s not prime Simpsons [a la seasons 1 – 3], but The Simpsons Movie was funnier than the series has been in years. The plot, revolving around Homer’s turning Springfield into a toxic waste dump that must be contained within a giant dome – and his efforts to prevent the toxic town from being nuked by the first President to not be native born – provided a gratifying amount of visual gags, bad puns and moments of human warmth. The DVD’s two audio commentaries are also extremely good – and there a number of other worthwhile features to check out.

9. Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex: The Laughing Man/Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex: Individual Eleven [Manga Entertainment/Bandai]

The two seasons [to date] of the anime´ series, Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex each revolved around one ongoing case – The Laughing Man in series one and Individual Eleven in series two. For those who preferred these cases over the others in each series, Bandai released two two-disc sets to fill that need. In each case, all the elements of the ongoing investigation have been edited into a fast-paced narrative that plays beautifully as single adventures – if longer than the average anime´ movie. As with the series in general, each tale is smart, sly, philosophical and action-packed. The few features are barely worth mentioning, as the stories are more than gripping enough to warrant their acquisition.

8. Futurama: Bender’s Big Score [FOX]

For my money, Futurama was always a better show than The Simpsons in every way [except, possibly, animation]. Bender’s Big Score shows why. It’s a dizzying satire of time travel movies, relationship movies and so much more that its ninety minutes is packed to overflowing with intelligence, wit and Bender. The commentary is as much fun as the movie and the rest of the features are also top notch.

7. Noein, Volumes 1 - 5 [Manga Entertainment]

A surreal tale in which a middle school girl becomes the potential saviour of the world as two forces vie over something called The Dragon Torque. She may be the Torque, or it may be using her as a host. In any event, one side, the La’cryma seeks to save its alternate reality while the other, Shangri-la, seeks to destroy all of space-time. In a unique twist, one of La’cryma’s Dragon Cavalry, Karas, claims to be the girl’s best from fifteen years in the future. The story is unique; the animation is superb [especially in the design of the La’cryma and Shangri-la vessels and other technology] and the whole is an intelligent and thought-provoking series. Again, the features are nothing special, but the saga itself is more than worth investigating.

6. PIXAR Short Films Collection, Volume 1 [Buena Vista]

PIXAR, the little animation studio that could, may be eight-for-eight in producing hit movies, but they got their start as part of Lucasfilm, making shorts. This collection brings together all thirteen of PIXAR’s short films for the first time. From the first, crude, CG short, The Adventures of Andre´ and Wally B., to the most recent, incredibly sophisticated Lifted, these short films are a gallery that represents all the advances in CG technology and software over the last twenty years. They are also evidence that, even before it became a household word, the studio put story before everything else [no wonder they left Lucasfilm...]. The disc includes a documentary [The PIXAR Shorts: A Short History], and twelve of the thirteen short films has a director’s commentary [the sole exception, Jack-Jack Attack, was the one I most wanted to have a commentary – but I’ll live...].

5. The Jungle Book – 40^th Anniversary Platinum Edition

The Jungle Book has always been my favourite Disney animated movie. Maybe it’s because of the music and the curiosity of Mowgli; maybe it’s because the casting is so against-the-grain yet, at the same time, absolutely perfect. The 2-D animation, needless to say, is among Disney’s best. Whatever the case, whenever I hear The Bare Necessities, I have to stop whatever I’m doing and bop right along. I can think of no other Disney cast that matches Mowgli, Baloo, King Louis, Bagheera, Shere Khan and Kaa for the combination of pure delight and undercurrent of danger. The Jungle Book may be the subtlest Disney film in its portrayal of villainy, but that makes it seem far more real. There are tons of features [it’s a two-disc set], but my favourites are the commentary [surprise!] and a look at the original take on the film – including the one song that carried over to this version].

4. Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex/SAC 2^nd Gig [Manga Entertainment/Bandai]

The sets from which my number nine selections were culled, these two season sets feature the post-film adventures of the special unit known as Section 9. The Major, Batou, Togusa, Chief Aramaki and the rest of the team take on the problems that the conventional police and armed forces are not equipped to handle. In a Japan where cybernetics is gradually making it possible to have an entirely technological body in which to house one’s brain, there are all sorts of problems – not to mention philosophical debates. Does a cyborg retain a soul; can machine Artificial Intelligence generate a soul [the Tachikoma share their AI and certainly seem to exhibit sentience], and so on. When a super-hacker begins to hack into the cyber-brains of the public – or when a group of philosophical rebels called Individual Eleven stage public suicides that seem to have an unnerving effect on the public – Section 9 gets the call. Features include interviews with various behind-the-scenes personnel [the director, character designer, animation director, etc.].

3. Tekkonkinkreet [Sony]

This odd little movie features two kids, Black and White, as protagonists. The pair spend their times protecting their part of the city from interlopers – whether young punks seeking to expand their territory, or developers who want to tear down the neighbourhood to build a huge amusement park, it’s all the same to them. Until the developers start using supernaturally powerful enforcers to track them down, that is… Tekkonkinkreet is a visual delight. The colors and designs of the neighbourhood buildings and the various types of vehicles that abound are almost mesmerizing. Black and white are wholly realized characters and their friendship’s ups and downs are genuinely affecting. The animation doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before, so it’s fresh on that front as well. Features include a director’s commentary that is excellent and a making of Featurette that is also extremely good. Note that Tekkonkinkreet is not for kids – it’s rated R for disturbing and violent images and some brief sexuality.

2. Ratatouille [PIXAR]

PIXAR made a rat – who wants to be a chef, no less – into the lead character in what has to be one of the studio’s best films. I could rave about the animation [all those rats – that’s a hella lot of hair; that deluge – way too much water!], but as brilliant as it is, the CG animation wouldn’t mean squat if the story didn’t work [see: Star Wars, Chapters 1 – 3; Happy Feet]. As we follow Remy from rural France to Paris – and thence to Gusteau’s Restaurant, we soon get over his being a rat. We cheer as he and kitchen boy Linguini work together and groan in frustration as Linguini manages to screw up a chance at romance with the lovely Colette. The plot twists are all well planned and the story works beautifully, making this PIXAR’s eighth consecutive terrific film. The features are sparser than I expected, but the film is still one of the best of the year.

1. Paprika [Sony]Paprika is a fever dream given life. There’s this machine, y’see – a machine that allows scientists to enter a subject’s dream. When it’s stolen, a brilliant detective and a fearless therapist must find it before it falls into the hands of a dream terrorist. Why? Over use of the machine has the disturbing effect of allowing dream and reality to merge! Director Satoshi Kon [Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers] loosely adapts the novel by Yasutaka Tsutusi in a manner that produces images like we’ve never seen before. An unexpected love story sneaks into our subconscious, as well, making the finale unexpectedly poignant. Features include a director’s commentary [lots of fun, and very informative], and excellent making of doc and more.

Jerry Seinfeld’s first excursion into the realm of CG animation is a lively, sleek [82 mins] legal comedy, ecological fable and unlikely romance – starring bees. Thanks to Dreamworks Animation and a heartfelt script, Bee Movie is actually the second movie I’ve seen in the last little while to warrant audience applause.

After a harrowing three days of education, Barry B. Benson [Seinfeld] is about to graduate university and select a job – a job that last the rest of his life! While his best friend, Adam Flayman [Matthew Broderick] is excited about the prospect of doing these things, Barry isn’t sure he wants to be one thing for the rest of his life. When the two friends try to hit on a couple of girls by pretending to be pollen jockeys, a real pollen jock dares him to venture outside the hive with his team on their next assignment.

Barry does just that – and finds a stranger world than he could ever imagine. He breaks a bee rule and talks to a florist named Vanessa [Renee Zellweger], discovers that humans steal most of the honey bees make and sues the human race to get it all back. The consequences of his actions are quick and deadly – with enough honey that they don’t have to work, the bees stop working. The result is an ecological disaster.

While the ecological aspect of the movie is a bit on the ham-fisted side, none of the film really talks down to children – or up to adults, for that matter. The humor ranges from some inspired slapstick to bad puns, and everything in-between. Patrick Warburton is of particular note, voicing Vanessa’s boyfriend, Ken, a guy who thinks that turning his resume into a fold-out brochure is a masterstroke of self-promotion and is way too into tennis.

Chris Rock is along as a mosquito hitching a ride to Alaska because he’s heard that moose blood is a righteous experience, and John Goodman plays an evil version of every good ole boy, cornpone lawyer we’ve ever seen, as he defends the honey industry from Barry’s lawsuit.

The animation is lovely, coming to within a hair of matching PIXAR brilliance. The main characters are well drawn in both senses – character development-wise, and in terms of their CG design. Directors Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith have produced a film that never stops moving, even in the more emotional character moments.

There equal measures of intelligence and wit here, though, as I said above, Bee Movie loses points for the rather awkward handling of the ecological crisis – though that is offset by some awesome visuals [millions of bees saving a jetliner, Superman style, for one]. Overall, the pluses outweigh the minuses by a wide margin – which might be why the audience at the screening I attended broke into applause at the end – not polite applause, either. Star Wars/Raiders/Transformers applause.

Final Grade: B+