Strollerderby : pixar

Please, Pixar, No Princesses

Amy Kuras — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:01:00 GMT

So Pixar’s latest, “Up” seems to be a big hit, earning rave reviews and scoring big at the box office.

But it prompted Linda Holmes, blogger for NPR’s pop culture blog Monkey See, to write a heartfelt open letter to Pixar.

“This is not an angry letter. It is especially not an angry letter about Up, which I adored,” she begins. “I could have sat in the theater and watched it two more times in a row….
So I'm not complaining; I'm asking. I'm asking because I think so highly of you.

Please make a movie about a girl who is not a princess.”

She points out that Pixar is making some of the best movies around right now, and that while they have very strong female characters, none of them are in the fact the protagonist, the person whose story it is. I didn’t realize this until I read her lovely and sweet blog, but wow, she’s right.

Holmes calls on Pixar to remember those “little girls with Band-Aids on their knees” who don’t see themselves on screen all that much. She want girls to have a great movie like “Up” that features someone they can dress up had for Halloween.

I agree. I have one of those little girls with Band Aids on her knees (and pretty much everywhere else a kid can fall over) and while she’s newly in love with the Disney Princesses and everything pink, purple or sparkly, she’s also a fearless little adventurer.

Holmes ends her piece with: “I'm just saying, keep them in mind, those girls in Band-Aids, because they want to see themselves on screen doing death-defying stunts, too.”

I hope sometime soon, the phenomenally talented people at Pixar take her up on it. Not just for my girl, but for my son, too.

Morning News - Susan Boyle Comes in Second

Brett Singer — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:00:00 GMT

So you know that Susan Boyle person? Scottish woman, has a really big singing voice, knocked people's socks off on "Britain's Got Talent", which is sort of like "American Idol" but with weirder acts, like a guy who dances like Michael Jackson while dressed as Darth Vader? (No, really. That's true.) Anyway, everyone thought Susan would win contest. (My money was on Darth Jackson. Which is why I don't gamble.) But she came in second. First place went to a dance troupe called "Diversity." Maybe in England hip-hop dancing is still hip. Or people just got bored with Susan Boyle. Or maybe it was something else. Anyway, she lost, but like Clay Aiken before her, I bet we'll hear from her at some point. Sometimes second place isn't so bad. (Ask Ruben Studdard. Although he does have a new album out, so maybe he'll stage a comeback. Wow, I think I don't care about this topic. Moving on.)

Well, I'm not moving on quite yet. Apparently Susan Boyle needed a team of psychistrists to get ready for the big TV finale. I have to admit that if her story is true -- never performed anywhere but her church, shot to worldwide fame in a matter of hours, on a TV show watched by millions -- then I can't blame her for being nervous. And maybe I'm wrong but to me, it's impressive that she got as far as she did. Not because she isn't talented. But she was completely unknown a few weeks ago. Now she's very very "known." Sounds like a victory to me.

Now on to science news. Everybody has a cell phone these days, and your plants want in on the fun. Yes. That's right. Your plants. The Discovery Channel has a story about a chip that would allow plants to "call" for water when they were, like, thirsty. "The farmer would just need their regular cell phone service, and the plant would send a text message when it needed water." Neat. Although I'm not sure why you can't just water the things on some sort of regular basis. Then again, I've never owned a plant that didn't die within a month. So maybe I'm not the right person to ask about this.

This headline form the Wall Street Journal is both completely sensational, but also accurate. Here you go: Lawmakers Bill Taxpayers For TVs, Cameras, Lexus. It's accurate. I hate reading stuff like this. Some of the item, like a digital camera, I can see as being needed for a lawmakers' job. But a Lexus? Times are tough, drive a crummier car.

Republicans, Let's Play Grown-Up
Sticking with the Journal, one of their columnists says that the GOP should "play grown-up" with regard to Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. Political commentator Ellis Henican says that if Republicans keep attacking Sotomayer, "they might well achieve a rare double fiasco for the Once-Grand Party - pursuing a doomed campaign against a highly qualified Supreme Court nominee and guaranteeing that Latinos will vote Democratic for the next 30 years." I guess we'll have to see how this one plays out.

Cuba's gonna talk to us! Wow!

A group of scientists in Houston, Texas are working on a cancer vaccine. I will now make the understatement of the year -- hey, that'd be cool.

Finally, "Up" ruled the box office this weekend by taking in almost $70 million. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" came in second place, and has already broken the $100 million mark. "Star Trek" broke $200 million. There were some other movies in the top ten that I don't care much about. A few words about "Up" and their box office total: the number is somewhat artificially inflated because of the $3 per ticket surcharge for 3D (or "RealD" as they call it these days). Not every theater is showing "Up" in 3D, but a lot are, and that makes the total dollar figure larger. It also means that in Manhattan it costs $55 to take two adults and two kids to see the movie. Which, for the record, I thought was really good. But I could do without the extra cost.

Image: Wikipedia

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Disney Pixar's UP - Quickie Movie Review

Brett Singer — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:51:00 GMT

I don't want to spoil anyone's fun, so I'm not going to get into too many details. Let me say that there's a lot more to the film than what you saw in the trailer. And if you, like me, are bummed out after the first few minutes, just wait. Trust me.

This is probably the best kid flick I've seen since I had children. It's also one of the better films I've seen in recent years. Admittedly, I don't get out to the movies much. But I doubt any of the Oscar-nominated films this past year were this much fun.

Seriously, "Up" has great action sequences, a good story, moments that tug at the heartstrings -- and by far the cleverest talking animals you will ever see. I don't mean that they say funny things, although they do. I mean that the usage of said animals is a million miles ahead of anything you've seen before.

I'm going to go a little over the top and say that I think "Up" will get a nomination for Best Picture and also Best Screenplay. Yes, it will probably be nominated for Best Animated Feature, and like every other Pixar movie, it wil win. But it's better than that, and I think it will be recognized as such. So you heard it here first -- "Up" for Best Picture.

I don't want to build it up (no pun intended) too much. But it's really good. Go see it and don't let your kids talk too much.

Image: Amazon

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WALL-E: Do you really need 3 DVDs?

editors — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:05:00 GMT

I'm way into Pixar bonus features. I've spent an embarrassing number of hours reading those fake-superhero bios on Disc 2 of The Incredibles and watching the fish in the Finding Nemo aquarium swim by. However, I'm also really skeptical about this super-all-inclusive DVD trend, which too often involves paying a lot of money for fancy packaging and none-too-illuminating special features. It's like paying $20 extra for a fancy steak so the chef will throw in some potato chips. Given this attitude, I was a little conflicted when I found out that Pixar's WALL-E would be released tomorrow as a deluxe-edition 3 DVD set. What could possibly fill 3 DVDs? I decided to find out. Below, a breakdown of every single special feature on the WALL-E DVD, and a verdict on whether you should put it on your Christmas list. -- Gwynne Watkins

DISC 1
- Why do all these Disney DVDs start with 800 previews? My finger is getting tired from hitting "skip."

- Okay, first up, we have that funny little short about the magician and the rabbit that we saw in theaters.

- And here's a new short, BURN-E, about an accident-prone repair robot who gets stranded outside the space station during the events of the film. Cute but has a lot of recycled film footage, which feels vaguely like cheating.

- Next, a 20-minute feature on the sound design. No, really, it's interesting! The true geeking-out commmences.

- DELETED SCENES! Unlike the half-finished scenes on past Pixar DVDs, these basically look and sound like the real thing. Includes a mildly disturbing sequence (with at least a dozen Star Wars references) in which a trash compactor nearly kills Eve.

- Director commentary -- okay, I don't have all day, people.

- Preview of WALL-E's Tour of the Universe -- I watched this -- it's 50 seconds long -- and I still have no idea what WALL-E's Tour of the Universe is.

- Easter egg featuring Pixar guys bragging about what nerds they are. Adorable, but I'm seeing a serious absence of lady Pixar employees. Hire me, Pixar! I can hold my own with the Star Trek references!

DISC 2
- This disc is divided into 2 categories. Let's start with "Humans: For Film Fans."

- A "Behind the Scenes" section contains six different featurettes (average length: 10 minutes) on animation, design, character concept -- I'm going to get any work done today, am I?

- Deleted Scenes. Yes, more deleted scenes! Unlike the others, these are all sketchy-looking and prelimary.

- BnL shorts - A history of the Buy N Large corporation, in commercials. Awesome.

- The Pixar Story -- a feature-length documentary about Pixar. Unquestionably biased, and yet, it had me from that first montage of the history of animation. What can I say, I'm just a sucker for lovable big-eyed creatures that talk with celebrity voices.

- Now let's check out the "Robots: For Families" category.

- WALL-E's Treasures and Trinkets -- Against a blank screen, the film's robots interact with objects from the human world. Hi-larious! I may need to watch this twice.

- Bot Files - Oo, it's like those superhero bios on the Incredibles disc! But about robots! And better!

- "Lots of Bots" Storybook - Not so much a book, more like a combination educational game/story/stylized cartoon, but it works.

DISC 3
Ohhh, Disc 3 is a digital copy. What are digital copies for again? So I can put the movie on my iPod? Yeah, now that you mention it, I want WALL-E on my iPod.

Verdict: If you're a Pixar fan, you want this. The deluxe DVD set retails for $40, but I bet you could find it at a pre-holiday sale for $25 or $30, or pre-order it before tomorrow on Amazon for a hefty discount.

Family Movie Night – Happy Feet

Brett Singer — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:30:00 GMT

I'm particularly glad to have a chance to write something about this one. While it certainly has its flaws, there are some parts that are terrific.

"Happy Feet" is about a bunch of penguins. According to the movie, each penguin has a "heart song" that develops over time; by singing it, the non-flying birds mate, make more non-flying birds, and life goes on. Mumble, though, is different. When he sings, he sounds like a cross between an elephant seal and fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard. He can, however, do a mean tap dance (the incomparable Savion Glover provides the audio for his fancy footwork). This does not endear him to the tribe, and even his parents would rather he be somewhere else. So, like Rudolph before him, he leaves, eventually meeting up with a group of Hispanic penguins (more on this later), and going on a journey to find out why there aren't as many fish to eat as there once were.

By far the best aspect of "Happy Feet" is the music. It came out in 2006, and by that point the novelty of the "mash-up" trend in music had peaked in popularity. The tunes here aren't original, but the songs chosen, and the arrangements used, are so clever that I was mesmerized. The opening number features Prince's "Kiss", blended together with Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel", with little musical quotations from Salt N' Pepa ("Let's talk about eggs, bay-bee" – slight lyric change there), Lionel Richie ("Hello"), and even Mr. Mister ("Broken Wings"). If that sounds horrible, give it a try, because in my opinion it works. The animation is also top-notch, almost on a level with Pixar's. This also means that the scarier parts (killer whale attacks, elephant seals, and so on) are that much more frightening, but neither of my kids seemed to mind.

This film generated a ton of controversy from the conservative quarters of the country because of its extremely blunt pro-environment message. While I personally agree with what they were saying, it does get very heavy-handed towards the end of the film, and inserting actual humans is strange, although I have to admit that it is effective. If you look at some of the user reviews on Amazon, there are various complaints that this is not a "happy" film at all. That's not entirely without merit; one character almost chokes to death on plastic soda rings, and there are those icy predators that always seem ready to munch on Mumble and his pals. But again, the proof is in the kids, and both of my boys were fine with the "less happy" parts.

Speaking of those pals, I'm always a little bit surprised about the way certain races are portrayed in animated movies aimed at children. In this case, Mumble hooks up with a group of short penguins who like to whistle at girls ("Ay, mami!") and speak with thick Hispanic accents. He calls them "the amigos" in case anyone misses the joke. Their leader, Ramon, is played by Robin Williams, who also plays a Barry White-style penguin who sits atop a tower of pebbles dispensing advice. Not to be overly politically correct, but this sort of thing happens all the time: the Black and Hispanic hyenas in "The Lion King" are another example (and of course, there are all of these). It's not enough to un-recommend the movie but it's worth mentioning. I'm also not a big Robin Williams fan, but I know other people can't get enough of him. Having him play two somewhat racially insensitive characters in one film is almost too much, but the animation, music and tap dancing more than make up for it (I'm a big Savion Glover fan).

Bottom line: some truly great moments (the music, animation and tapping) offset some weird ones (the ultra-heavy-handed environmental message). Recommended, unless your political sensibilities run heavily to the right, in which case this film will probably make your head explode.

image: Amazon.com

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Family Movie Night – Hairspray

Brett Singer — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Full disclosure: when I first heard a demo CD of the songs from the Broadway musical version of John Waters' film "Hairspray", I said, "Eh. That's not so great. Nobody's going to want to see it. It'll flop."

Um, right. Luckily the producers didn't listen to me, because the show has been running on Broadway for several years (long enough to have Jerry "The Beaver" Mathers play the mom for awhile, which is longer than most shows last, believe me), not to mention all the tours, regional and international productions, and of course the new film.

Unlike the new film version of "The Producers" musical, this new "Hairspray" is more fully re-imagined, which probably accounts for its greater success at the box office ($200 million, enough that there's actually going to be a sequel). The original Waters movie was very low-key, and definitely kept the hardcore gross out stuff to a minimum (if you've never seen Waters' "Pink Flamingos", you shouldn't, but there's a scene at the end that is so disgusting it haunts me to this day). In retrospect, turning "Hairspray" into a Broadway musical was actually a very good idea, since the story is quite sweet and has a positive message about racial inclusiveness, and also points out that fat people shouldn't be ostracized for their appearance. The musical and new film actually hammer that point home much harder than the original; singing about racial equality makes the message much more blunt than just showing it.

In theory, how is this a kids' movie at all? It's not, I suppose, but there's nothing in it that really crosses a line, except for a few lyrics here and there, most of which go over the heads of anyone that you would think is too young to hear them. ("Hey, baby! You look like you could use a stiff one!" – but he's talking about hairspray, so…) I've seen girls as young as six having "Hairspray" themed birthday parties, which is one reason why I think my son was actually willing to watch it. Both of the Things enjoyed it, the older one because it does have a reasonably involving story and good songs, the younger one probably because it's colorful and the music is quite good.

As for the cast, it's a mixed bag. John Travolta is not an upgrade over Divine, but she/he is dead, so that's not really fair. That said, Harvey Fierstein was so incredible on Broadway that they should have let him reprise his role on screen. I understand the need to cast big stars to ensure a film's success, but sometimes it's better to stick with the original. At least they had the courtesy to cut the line, "Hold mommy's waffles," which, when said by Fierstein on stage, actually had me laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair. (Just take my word for it, it was hilarious.) Travolta is good in a way, but there's something almost too serious about his version of Tracy Turnblad's overweight shut-in mom. He does prove that he's still a terrific dancer, even weighted down with fifty-plus pounds of fat suit. It would be nice to see him do a musical film role that he's better suited for, or even a live turn on Broadway.

The new Tracy, Nikki Blonsky, is quite good. Rikki Lake, who played Tracy in the original, had a much tougher edge but so did Waters' film. I would watch Michelle Pfeiffer read the phone book, but she does more than that and is very good. I would have liked to see more Jerry Stiller, who has a borderline cameo as the owner of a local department store that hires Tracy to be a spokesperson. I had forgotten that he played Wilbur Turnblad in the 1988 film; his role was taken over by Christopher Walken, who I would also watch read the phone book (albeit for different reasons) and gives a solid performance, as always. James Marsden was a surprise as Corny Collins, the host of the local dance show. If that's his actual singing voice he should do another musical. Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle) is no Ruth Brown but she's good enough.

Anyway, somewhat like the Broadway version, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this new "Hairspray", as did my kids. Recommended.

image: Amazon.com

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The Dark Knight -- parents strongly cautioned (to go see it)

Brett Singer — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Let's get one thing out of the way right now – you shouldn't bring your children. They might want to go, but unless they have a very high tolerance for a long movie (2 and half hours) and an abnormally high tolerance for what might be the most frightening performance ever (Heath Ledger's Joker), I'd get a sitter.

Now: this is some incredible movie. At first, I was a little bit apprehensive. Part of that feeling was the hype, which was so intense that it seemed impossible anything could live up to it. (Part of it was also that the movie didn't start until almost 1am because we had to sit through 7 commercials, none of which I remember at all – money well spent, advertisers. But I digress.) There are some slow spots, especially in the beginning, and I think the director, Christopher Nolan, could have cut 10 or 15 minutes of film and made it a tighter movie. But that's nitpicking, because there are several scenes, some just quick moments and some long, exciting action sequences, that will put your jaw on the floor.

The saddest thing about Heath Ledger's death is that his daughter will never know her father. But it's fair to say that if an actor had to go out with one performance, this is that performance. He's so good that I completely forgot I was watching an actor, which, for me, almost never happens. (It's worth pointing out that Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, do the same thing in smaller and less flashy roles.) He's frightening, but not the way a horror movie villain is frightening. It's not shock value, although there is some of that (there's a bit with a pencil that might be the best 5-second description of a character in the history of cinema.) Without giving anything away, The Joker is referred to as a "terrorist" a couple of times, but unlike the terrorists in our world, this one has no cause that he fights for. He's just… mad. Not angry-mad, just flat out crazy. And Ledger captures that in every possible way. You could teach an acting class using this movie – what he does physically, vocally, emotionally; it's all stunning to watch.

The rest of it is, for the most part, equally good. I don't care about the love story, but it's fine I suppose and does serve the story. Aaron Eckhart is a solid actor and he does a good job as Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent. Christian Bale is by far the best Batman yet, although Ledger is so good that he really takes over the movie. Michael Caine is a good Alfred Pennyworth, Maggie Gyllenhaal is fine as token love interest Rachel Dawes; she's more than that, I guess, but it's not her movie. Gary Oldman is amazing; as in "Batman Begins," he somehow manages to completely capture the essence of a fictional comic book character that isn't a superhero, meaning that, as an actor, he has fewer details available to work with. I can't explain it but he IS Jim Gordon.

The nits to pick if you want to go there: some of the dialog is hokey (although the lines written for Ledger are brilliant.) There are a few slow spots. At times the action sequences are a tad frenetic, here and there. But it really doesn't matter. You'll read a lot about the surprising depth of this movie, and this is true to an extent. "The Dark Knight" is incredibly entertaining and does have some thoughtful moments amid the comic-book chaos, but there's no need to over think them. I would say just relax and enjoy it, but it's not a relaxing experience. Ledger's Joker is uncomfortable to watch, but in a good way. I don't want to give anything away, so you'll have to see it for yourself (but, as I said, get your tickets early; even the 12:30am showing was completely sold out.)

Now, despite the fact that there isn't much in the way of blood, this is not a film that you should take your children to see. Obviously, you know your offspring better than I, so if you think they can handle it, that's your call. And of course older kids will be fine. I hesitate to suggest an age-range, but I recommend seeing it yourself first if you're not sure. Worst-case scenario – you get to see it twice. Believe me, that's not a bad thing.

image: Reuters

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Batman: get your tickets now

Brett Singer — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:42:00 GMT

So, being a guy who sees superhero movies, I wanted to see the new Batman movie. Today.

A friend wanted to come with me, so I couldn't pull my usual "go during the day when it's not busy" thing. So OK, let's see when its playing… What? Sold out? You gotta be kidding me.

Well, I'm not. If you're planning on seeing The Dark Knight this weekend, you'd better get your tickets in advance. This is unbelievably annoying. I tried at 2pm to get tickets to a 10:30pm showing, and it was already sold out. The reviews so far are over the top in their praise. Over at Rotten Tomatoes, a site that aggregates reviews from various sources, the rating is a whopping 94% positive (the only film with a higher rating is Wall-E.). If you go to the "top critics" section (print outlets and sites like salon.com), only a couple of the reviews are negative, which is extremely unusual for a comic book flick.

A lot of the interest in this film is because of Heath Ledger's death, but I've never seen anything like this. A movie that you can't get tickets to unless you go at midnight, which is what I'm doing? Come on. (And yes, I know I'm nuts.)

I'll let you know what I think of the film, and whether or not it's appropriate for children, later tonight. But for now, if you plan on going, order those tickets early, Bat-fans. Otherwise, you ain't getting in.

See you tonight -- different Bat-time, same Bat-channel...

image: Rotten Tomatoes

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Family Movie Night: Meet The Robinsons

Brett Singer — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Like "The Wild", this movie could also be subtitled "Why we had to buy Pixar." It's a much more ambitious story than "Wild" but it just doesn't work.

The plot is convoluted but it involves time travel and what happens when you change the past, or something. I normally love that sort of thing (space-time continuum, represent!) but this time (pun intended) it just bothered me. Our hero is an orphan, which is always a pleasurable subject when watching a movie with young children; to be fair to my kids, neither one was fazed, so maybe I'm the one with the problem. The kid looks like Jonathan Lipnicky after he grows up, slims down and becomes truly weird. Of course, he's really a genius, and there's a villain out to get him but it's really the villain's hat that's in charge... or something. It's kind of a blur. The design elements are good. Pixar's John Lasseter was involved, which may account for the above-average visuals. But what works so well for Pixar -- well-written scripts, straightforward stories, combined with by far the best animation currently being produced -- completely eludes the Disney team here. Not nearly as painful to sit through as "The Wild", but still not great.

image: Amazon.com

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Family movie night: The Wild

Brett Singer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

"The Wild" is a Disney film that should be subtitled, "Why we had to buy Pixar for $7.4 billion." It's so bad that you really start to wonder what the Mouse House was thinking. The animation is so-so, the plot verrry similar to the slightly better 'Madagascar'. My son, displaying Hollywood executive-level powers of verbiage, called it "Madagascar meets The Lion King". He also told me, after it was over, that he found it "hilarious", but there weren't a lot of laughs coming from the kinder while we were watching.

As in seemingly every Disney film, mom is nowhere to be found. This time, dad is a lion who dazzles crowds at the "Manhattan Zoo" with his big lionly roar. Sonny boy lacks roaring ability, which is a source of much shame. Dad tells son stories of heroic derring-do in "the wild", but it turns out (SPOILER ALERT! Ah, who cares) that pops is a big fat liar who has never set foot in the jungle -- that is, until son ends up there after stowing away in a crate in an effort to prove his mettle to dad. You will be shocked to learn that dad finds his animal senses again and saves the day, son learns to roar, there are other animals that display truly, deeply, wacky behavior. There is even inter-species romance between a squirrel and a giraffe. (I'm as tolerant as the next guy, but, like, ew.) Many elements show up from other, better films: bad guy wildebeests ('Lion King'), a stampede ('Lion King again), chameleons who spell out the direction that Big Daddy Lion must go to find his son using oddly hallucinogenic arrows (the jokey school of fish in 'Finding Nemo'). The kids didn't care too much, but with the bevy of family films available on DVD, cable, et al, there's no need for parents to suffer through this nonsense. But Brett, what do you really think? Not recommend.

image: Amazon.com

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Five Summer Movies for the Kids

Jen Chaney — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:32:00 GMT

It may feel like spring break just ended, but I've got news for you: Summer vacation is right around the corner. How do I know? Because "Iron Man" comes out in two weeks, and that officially kicks off the summer movie season. And once the blockbusters start, long, hot days with kids underfoot can't be far behind.

If you're already concerned about how to keep the little ones entertained -- and no, "Go outside and time how long it takes until you get sun poisoning" is not an appropriate parental response to the situation -- take a look at this list of five summer flicks you can take your children to see. Keep in mind that release dates, as well as my assessment of these films once I see them, is subject to change.

5. "Speed Racer": The Wachowski Brothers, makers of "The Matrix," aren't usually associated with family-friendly fare. But as Cole noted a few weeks ago, this is indeed a PG-rated film. The trailer makes it look like a movie that's very likely to induce seizures, but if it's a rainy day and your son has just dumped a Costco-sized box of Cheerios all over the kitchen floor, you might be willing to take the risk. Release Date: May 9.

4. "Space Chimps": This animated outer space adventure may be total crap. But there are monkeys in it. And kids love themselves some monkey humor. Release Date: July 18.

3. "Kung Fu Panda": A PG-rated cartoon about pandas who can do Kung Fu, featuring the voices of Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman. This is either a colossal train wreck or box office gold. Release Date: June 6.

2. "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl": Yes, this looks a little shmaltzy. And little Abigail Breslin has not had the best track record since her breakout role in "Little Miss Sunshine." But this is the first feature film based on the American Girl dolls. And as we all know, the American Girl dolls are a force that can't be stopped. To top it all off, the movie goes into wide release just in time for the July 4th holiday, so if you don't take your daughters to go see it, you're letting the terrorists win. Release Date: Limited on June 20, wide July 2.

1. "Wall-E": At this point, Pixar is practically infallible. After giving us "Finding Nemo," "The Incredibles," "Cars" and last summer's "Ratatouille," the animation geniuses turn their attention this year to a robot who falls in love. I hate to sound like one of those cheesy movie trailer voiceovers, but ... if you take your kids to just one movie this summer, this is the one to see. I like monkeys and pandas as much as the next person but the people at Pixar have cinematic gifts that are pretty much untouchable. Release Date: June 27.

Photo: Pixar Via The Daily Mail

Straight-to-DVD Disney Sequels Get the Axe

Alisyn — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:20:00 GMT

When superstar Pixar animators and new Disney hotshots John Lassetter and Ed Catmull announced last week that Disney, now their parent company, is putting the kibosh on their extremely lucrative and truly crappy straight-to-DVD sequel line, my first thought was "What took so long?"

Those movies are truly lame. Have you seen Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure? Don't. The only things dumber than the story is the music, which is grating at best. And don't even get me started on Return to Neverland, the sequel to Peter Pan, which is set against the charming backdrop of the Nazi regime's blitz on London during WWII. You know, because you're never too young to learn about the Third Reich. Good times!

Dan Kois over at Slate does not share my opinion - he thinks Bambi 2 was better than the original, which made me laugh out loud - but we do agree on one thing: unlike today's more modern fare (Shrek 3, Surf's Up, Ratatouille), the Disney sequels make a concerted effort to emulate the rich, soft, glowing animation of their predecessors. They're proud to be cartoons, and aren't trying to fool the audience into thinking that they "look real." The plots are less slick, move at a slower, more child-friendly pace, and the conflicts are kept to a minimum. Unfortunately, though, they're not interesting or good, and are more like the bastard cousins of the originals, than prodigal sons.

The films of Hayao Miyazaki are the closest thing to a middle ground that I can think of - sparkling animation, great stories, strong lead characters (some are even girls!), with nary a whiff of fart jokes or sexual innuendo. Disney was smart to buy them up.