Tag: Animation

The Simpsons Movie. Dir. David Silverman. 20th Century Fox. 2007.

Why does everything I whip leave me? – Homer Simpson, The Simpsons Movie The Simpsons Movie is characterised by imprisonment vs agency – the central plot revolves around the incarceration of the town of Springfield using a giant glass dome as a punishment for environmental damage – therefore it seems only right to extend the…

5th January 2022
The Good Dinosaur. Dir. Peter Sohn. Disney Pixar. 2015.

Ever wondered what life would be like if dinosaurs never became extinct? Well, you’ll never have to wonder again thanks to The Good Dinosaur. In this alternate world human-animal relationships are reversed as the dinosaurs are civilised and positioned above humans hierarchically. In doing so, this film evokes questions surrounding the ethics of human practices…

3rd January 2022
The Prince of Egypt. Dir. Brenda Chapman, Simon Wells, Steve Hickner. DreamWorks Pictures. 1998.

Following the life of Moses, The Prince of Egypt tells an adaption of the story of the Book of Exodus. In the opening scene of this animated musical, the audience are introduced to Ancient Egyptian culture as a significant importance is placed on their religion through the enormous statues of their gods. These gods, specifically…

26th January 2021
The Mask. Dir. Charles Russell. New Line Cinema. 1994.

This scene in the film The Mask shows the protagonist Stanley in prison after being caught by police when in his Mask character. This short clip from the film allows us to truly see first-hand the love that Milo has for his owner, as well as the intelligence that he has. The pet- relationship that…

22nd January 2021
A Whisker Away. Dir. Junichi Sato & Tomotaka Shibayama. Studio Colorido, Netflix. 2020.

In their 2020 film A Whisker Away, Junichi Sato and Tomotaka Shibayama explore the story of 14-year-old Miyo Sasaki, who transforms into a cat with the help of a Noh mask. Provided by a mysterious mask seller in a cat body, the mask enables Miyo to be close to her school crush, Hinode, who rejects…

21st January 2021
How to Train Your Dragon. Dir. Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders. Paramount Pictures. 2010.

Despite the movie’s title, How to Train Your Dragon does not present ‘trained’ dragons. The title insinuates the shift from foe to friend is a means of ‘training’ a dragon, when this is actually achieved through the development of a mutual understanding of the other. The film’s false equation of this mutual agreement reduces the…

19th January 2021
A Whisker Away. Dir. Junichi Sato & Tomotaka Shibayama. Studio Colorido, Netflix. 2020.

In A Whisker Away, the 14-year-old Miyo Sasaki takes extreme measures in order to be close to her school crush Kento Hinode, even accepting a cat mask from a dubious mask seller to be able to transform into a cat. Upon closer examination, it quickly becomes apparent that Junichi Sato & Tomotaka Shibayama tackle much…

14th January 2021
The Fox and the Hound. Dir Ted Berman, Richard Rich and Art Stevens. Walt Disney Productions. 1981.

The Fox and the Hound (1981) revolves around an orphaned red fox named Tod (Mickey Rooney) who befriends a young hound puppy, Copper (Kurt Russell). The two grow very fond of one another, despite their natural born differences, although their human owners Slade (Jack Albertson) and Tweed (Jeanette Nolan) do not share the same friendliness.…

6th January 2021
Babar, King of the Elephants. Dir. Raymond Jafelice, Alliance Communications. 1999.

Babar: King of the Elephants (1999) is an animated film adaptation of Jean de Brunhoff’s popular children’s books. Written and directed by Raymond Jafelice the story tells the tale of Babar who witnesses his mother killed by poachers. Babar manages to escape and leaves the jungle (an unnamed fictitious South African jungle) , visits the…

4th June 2020
Ernest and Celestine. Dir. Benjamin Renner. StudioCanal. 2012

Ernest and Celestine[2] (2012) is a French animated film that presents the unorthodox relationship between a bear and a mouse. Introduced as a struggling musician, Ernest is starving and on the hunt for food; Celestine is on the hunt for teeth when they form an unlikely pairing to help one another. Due to societal constraints and animal…

2nd June 2020