Tag Archives: animation

80s Flashback – Do You Remember?

Do you remember when Gen X was the thing to be? Growing up, the early 80s labeled all of us mid-thirties people as Generation X. We were going to change the world – or maybe we were just going to change entertainment, who knows? But the current DVD climate is appealing to the Generation of X with releases like Voltron, He-Man, She-Ra and now G.I. Joe as well as Thundercats and more. These were regular afternoon cartoon fare that included heroes and heroines saving their world one evil bad guy at a time. For Voltron, it was always the evil … Continue reading →

The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue (1998)

Sixteen years after the release of the original, “The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue” made its appearance on the children’s movie market. Timmy, the sickly child from the first film, is now healthy and a little bit older. Nicodemus, the prophet leader of the rats, prophesied that someday, Timmy would save them all from NIMH again, and now it’s time for Timmy to prepare for his destiny. He’s going to Thorn Valley, where the rats of NIMH have resettled, to go to school and be taught by Mr. Ages and Justin personally. His brother Martin is jealous … Continue reading →

The Land Before Time (1988)

Probably the most classic of all Don Bluth films, “The Land Before Time” takes us back to the age of the dinosaurs, long before man roamed the earth. It’s a time of great upheaval, figuratively and literally, for a small dinosaur named Littlefoot. His mother, a wonderful, caring female, is killed while protecting him from a T-rex, and an earthquake rips his land apart, causing huge gashes in the ground which separate him from his grandparents. Other baby dinosaurs are separated from their caregivers as well, including Cera, the proud and egotistical Triceratops who will have nothing to do with … Continue reading →

The Little Bear Movie (2001)

If you’re not familiar with the character of Little Bear, allow me to take a moment to introduce you. He began as a children’s book character, the creation of Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrator Maurice Sendak. Later he was turned into a children’s television show which aired on Nickelodeon. He lives with his mother and father in a small but cozy cottage. His father is a fisherman and is often gone, so Little Bear spends much of his time with his mother. He also has friends – Cat, Duck, Hen, No-Feet (a snake) and a little girl named Emily and … Continue reading →

An American Tail (1986)

“An American Tail” is a Steven Spielberg film, directed by Don Bluth. I wanted to like it, I really did. Knowing that the main characters were Jewish-Russian mice, I thought, “What’s not to love?” I’ve always been intrigued with the Jewish-Russian culture, one of my favorite movies is “Fiddler on the Roof,” and I even got to go to Russia as a teenager. I was prepared to enjoy. I didn’t get anything I’d hoped for. To start with, these mice have to leave their homes because the Cossacks have raided their village in a pogram. Our main characters, the Mousekewitz … Continue reading →

A Troll in Central Park (1994)

Dom DeLuise voices Stanley the troll in the 1994 Don Bluth film, “A Troll in Central Park.” Stanley is different from the other trolls – where they are mean and ornery, he is happy and joyful. He literally has a green thumb and can use his magic to make plants grow wherever he is. This causes a problem for him in the Troll Kingdom, however – Queen Gnorga has decreed that no flowers shall grow in her land. When Stanley gets a little too ambitious and causes a rosy posy to grow in the middle of his hidden garden, it … Continue reading →

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

In this animated movie, called by critics “Don Bluth’s best work,” we meet a little mouse named Mrs. Brisbee. Her husband, Jonathan, was recently killed, and with four small children, she feels overwhelmed. This is made worse when one of her sons, Timmy, comes down with pneumonia and she doesn’t know how to cure him. Going to see a wise mouse named Mr. Ages, she obtains an envelope of medicine powder. He also tells her not to take Timmy outside for three weeks, but there’s a problem with that. The mice live in a field belonging to Farmer Fitzgibbons. The … Continue reading →

An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)

In “An Extremely Goofy Movie,” we see that Goofy’s son Max has graduated from high school and is now going off to college with his two friends, PJ and Bobby. He’s really excited to be getting out on his own, and, I’m sorry to say, despite everything he learned in “A Goofy Movie,” he’s still ashamed of his father and wants to be anywhere but with him. He takes off early one morning without looking at the nice breakfast Goofy prepared for him and without even saying a proper goodbye. Goofy’s heart is broken as he wanders through the house, … Continue reading →

Antz (1998)

Gather every star in Hollywood and put their voices together in one film, and you’ve got “Antz.” Woody Allen stars as Z, a neurotic and insecure ant who’s in therapy, trying to understand his place in the colony. He feels uncomfortable with the lack of individuality he’s been taught his entire life, and wonders if there isn’t more out there. While drinking aphid beer at the bar one night, an old-timer tells him of a wonderful place called “Insectopia,” where the bugs don’t have a boss and there’s food enough for everyone. A dream is planted in Z’s heart. Meanwhile, … Continue reading →

Belle’s Magical World (1998)

“Beauty and the Beast” was a smash hit for Disney, and I can see wanting to capitalize on that success as much as possible. This thinking brought us “Belle’s Magical World,” a movie comprised of a series of stories that supposedly took place between Belle’s arrival at the castle and the Beast’s magical transformation back into a prince. All of the characters are still household items, and there are more of them than ever before, making me wonder – just how many servants worked in that castle, anyway? I’m being a little more cynical than this movie really deserves – … Continue reading →