Tag: Family

The Road to El Dorado. Dir. Bibo Bergeron, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Don Paul. DreamWorks Pictures. 2000.

The Road to El Dorado subverts humanity’s usual place at the apex of creation. In this scene the High Priest, Tzekel-Kan, explains to Tulio (whom he believes to be a God) the importance of human sacrifice in gaining the fear and worship of the people, thus placing humanity somewhere near the bottom of a divine…

27th May 2020
Howl’s Moving Castle. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 2004.

There is a surprising lack of non-human animal representation in Studio Ghibli’s 2004 film Howl’s Moving Castle, despite an overarching theme which frequently pits an idyllic pastoral version of Japan against a threateningly industrial one. The major depiction of human-animal relations is that of secondary protagonist Howl as he gradually transforms into a bird-like creature…

26th May 2020
Wall – E. Dir. Anrew Stanton. Pixar. 2008.

In its depiction of a film-world defined by its lack of natural life, Pixar’s WALL-E (2008) features only one animal: WALL-E’s charismatic companion, Hal the cockroach.

6th June 2019
Mon Oncle . Dir. Jacques Tati. Gaumont (France), Continental Distributing (USA). 1958.

The release of Mon Oncle (Gaumont, France) in 1958 saw the return of Monsieur Hulot to cinema screens, following the successful Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot five years previously. The first of Tati’s films to be released in colour, the film follows the character of Hulot (Jacques Tati), an awkward but incredibly endearing man, and…

29th January 2019
Mary and the Witch’s Flower. Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Toho. 2017.

Mary and the Witch’s Flower is a 2017 animated film, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and produced by Studio Ponoc (founded by the former lead film producer at Studio Ghibli). The film tells the story of Mary, a little girl, who moves in with her Great Aunt Charlotte whilst her parents are abroad. When Mary is…

15th January 2019
Coco. Dir. Lee Unkrich. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 2017.

Lee Unkrich’s Coco (2017) is built on similar foundations of recent Disney/Pixar releases alike Moana(2016) and The Good Dinosaur(2015); twelve year old Miguel’s (Anthony Gonzalez) dream of becoming a musician compromises his family’s ban on music and their hope for Miguel to continue the family business.[i]Yet what may feel like recognisable narrative territory, the enriched setting of traditional Mexico…

15th January 2019
The Cat Returns. Dir. Hiroyuki Morita. Toho. 2002.

The Cat Returns (2002) is a Japanese fantasy film animated by Studio Ghibli, which follows dissatisfied schoolgirl Haru Yoshioka, who after saving a cat from a road collision, discovers she has the ability to talk to cats. Upon saving the feline it is revealed that this individual is none other than Prince Lune, Heir to the…

14th January 2019
The Wizard of Oz. Dir. Victor Fleming, King Vidor, George Cukor, Richard Thorpe, Norman Taurog. MGM. 1939.

The Wizard of Oz is about a small-town girl in the big city–the Emerald City. Dorothy lives on a farm in Kansas with her dog Toto. When she is knocked unconscious during a hurricane, she wakes up to find herself in the magical world of Oz, filled with a myriad of unusual creatures. She must travel…

14th January 2019
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Dir. David Yates. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2016.

Courage, nerve, chivalry, the makings of a true her- oh? This story is about a Hufflepuff? Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) is not from Gryffindor, he bears no lightning scar, and he is well beyond the teenage wizard angst of the Harry Potter series. Instead of a Chosen One, our hero is a… Magizoologist. We meet…

14th January 2019
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. Dir. Andy Serkis. Netflix. 2018.

The film ‘Mowgli’ is a recent adaptation by Andy Serkis of the beloved Kipling story ‘The Jungle Book’. It is a fantasy adventure film and a beautifully aesthetic hybrid of live-action, CGI and motion picture that remains true to the original story in its exploration of the darker elements of the tale that follow the…

13th January 2019