Cars 2

[beakerfan76]

Yeah, Kung Fu Panda was a masterpiece in my eyes. I haven't seen Shrek 4 yet, so I don't have any opinion on that one, but Shrek 3 kinda left a bad taste in my mouth.

As for Shark Tale, the less said about that abomination, the better.

 

[Drtooth]

Shrek 3 plays better on television, if you ask me. It has a DTV quality to the writing. There were some pretty good concepts in that one, especially the Princess liberation front (should have been the focus of the whole movie) and the villains trying to rewrite history to get their own happy ending (not fully explored), but the Puss and Donkey having a caustic relationship jokes went on FAAAAAR too long (especially the body switch joke), and there was just too much Shrek crying "Why me?" going on for my taste. Plus, the King Arthur bit seems so last minute tacked on. I like the concept of him coming out of high school as the one nobody likes... but it seems that they were trying for too many plots in one film.

And who the crap plays Live and Let Die as a solemn funeral song? It's about KILLING people!

The fourth one just played better on every level. Other than the fact it took its main plotline from It's a Wonderful Life (at least to an extent), there wasn't a barrage of non-stop references to other movies... plus, you get to see OTHER ogres for the first time. And I was shocked... NO fart jokes through the entire film. The plot came first, the entire movie came first. The plot was actually intelligible (the problem with the third one). I still like #2 the best, though. But it was a nice way to end a series they've been threatening an insane longevity to... we almost had 7 movies.

 

[beakerfan76]

Shrek 3 plays better on television, if you ask me. It has a DTV quality to the writing. There were some pretty good concepts in that one, especially the Princess liberation front (should have been the focus of the whole movie) and the villains trying to rewrite history to get their own happy ending (not fully explored), but the Puss and Donkey having a caustic relationship jokes went on FAAAAAR too long (especially the body switch joke), and there was just too much Shrek crying "Why me?" going on for my taste. Plus, the King Arthur bit seems so last minute tacked on. I like the concept of him coming out of high school as the one nobody likes... but it seems that they were trying for too many plots in one film.

And who the crap plays Live and Let Die as a solemn funeral song? It's about KILLING people!

The fourth one just played better on every level. Other than the fact it took its main plotline from It's a Wonderful Life (at least to an extent), there wasn't a barrage of non-stop references to other movies... plus, you get to see OTHER ogres for the first time. And I was shocked... NO fart jokes through the entire film. The plot came first, the entire movie came first. The plot was actually intelligible (the problem with the third one). I still like #2 the best, though. But it was a nice way to end a series they've been threatening an insane longevity to... we almost had 7 movies.

The 3rd one was just the weakest, the way I see it. I liked a lot of bits, like the princesses or the bad guys trying to get their happy ending, but it just felt a little shorter when I saw it in theaters. I can't really put my finger on it, I just left the movie house feeling a little disappointed.

As for Shrek 4, I heard a lot of positive reviews, but there still were some cynical people saying it's a rehash of It's a Wonderful Life (A plot normally saved for Christmas specials, along side the one millionth retelling of a Christmas Carol). As I've said before, I won't have an official opinion until I see any movie, be it Cars 2, Shrek 4, Kung Fu Panda 2, what have ya.

I'll just say this, Pixar's track record is a little more reliable than Dreamworks, though they are, as a whole, growing the beard.

 

[Drtooth]

As for Shrek 4, I heard a lot of positive reviews, but there still were some cynical people saying it's a rehash of It's a Wonderful Life (A plot normally saved for Christmas specials, along side the one millionth retelling of a Christmas Carol). As I've said before, I won't have an official opinion until I see any movie, be it Cars 2, Shrek 4, Kung Fu Panda 2, what have ya.

I think rehashing "Wonderful Life" outside of Christmas is at least a twist on that stupid chestnut. Of course, the whole fact of the matter that Rumpelstiltskin actually preventing the day of his birth instead of Shrek wishing he was never born (and rather one day where he was a monster feared by all again) and spending the movie trying to undo it made it a little more interesting than it sounds. Not to mention that all of the first three movies featured Shrek's why me attitude... the twist is, his why me attitude now was that he was so beloved, and questioning it actually caused all the problem. An overall twist to the film series itself. Plus the caustic Puss and Donkey was reduced to 2 one liners in a row, so that' an overall improvement.

The third basically had a "been there, done that" feel the whole way through and it just seemed rushed to theaters with a DTV quality script. But we're lucky... we were gonna have much, much more of these films. Not looking forward to Madagascar 3, and I like Madagascar.

Pixar and Dreamworks (which slowly gained my respect) have done a solid job... some of the other studios feel hit or miss. Blue Sky films seem like they're 3 rewrites short of a final project... Horton hears a Who was uneven... when it was good, it was GOOD, but most of the other times, things didn't mesh. Despicable Me I rather liked, but it could have used a LOT more mad science and a little less family values... I really loved the dark Igor film, but dislike the ending (not enough for me to not recommend it, of course. Steve Buschemi's immortal suicidal rabbit is dementedly brilliant, but only because Steve is the only person who could pull it off). But Sony hasn't made one thing I'd want to watch... not even on a bet, and I'll sooner eat worms than watch those TERRIBLE Happily ne'er After films.

But then again, not all 2-D films were that good... anyone ever see the MGM Tom Sawyer movie? Yeah... you don't have to. You SHOULDN'T. It's an embarrassment.

 

[beakerfan76]

Yeah, not every traditionally animated feature is gold. Remember Cartoon All-stars to the Rescue? It's in the so bad it's good territory, but most people hated it.

You mentioned Blue Sky. They were the Ice Age guys, right? They're pretty solid, but to the guys who did Space Chimps or Fly Me to the Moon are doing Dreamworks' old shtick.

as for whoever handled Despicable Me, they did a surprisingly nice job, though the Minions are annoying in my opinion.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah, not every traditionally animated feature is gold. Remember Cartoon All-stars to the Rescue? It's in the so bad it's good territory, but most people hated it.

Well, I was talking movies (there's a lot of crap that popped up in the 90's, and Don Bluth productions get pigeon holed into crap like Thumbelina) but I'm no fan of anti-drug preachiness (once saw a Pup named Scooby-Doo episodes where the villain either dealt or sold drugs, but it was nonspecifically mentioned in passing for no apparent reason... that's how bad it got). The best one I've ever seen though would have to the Bravestarr episode "The Price" where the addicted kid actually dies in the end. It managed to be deep without being completely heavy handed and like they were paid by the government to do so (many companies WERE in fact paid or given some tax credit for that).

You mentioned Blue Sky. They were the Ice Age guys, right? They're pretty solid, but to the guys who did Space Chimps or Fly Me to the Moon are doing Dreamworks' old shtick.

Blue Sky animation looks good, there's a real effort there... just... when it comes to their scripts, there's always something... well, lacking. Like they need 2 or 3 more rewrites to really get a strong script. I liked the Ice Age films, but the first 2 seemed to be missing something, like they weren't quite focused. Horton was all over the map... when it was good, it was REALLY good, but when it wasn't it really wasn't. They really should have had someone besides Jim Carrey in Horton's role. Amy Pohler, Steve Carel, Will Arnet, Carol Burnett (especially), and Charles Osgood really did a great job. Jim, much as I like his older films, really seemed like they paid a fortune for a voice that was generic sounding (he only sounds like something when he's completely exaggerated... The Mask and Ace Ventura especially) and they could have got Matt Frewer for half the price. Plus, some of Horton's fantasy sequences, while perfectly fit for Arthur or Doug, seemed out of place... especially the cute, yet over all pointless "anime" sequence.

 

[beakerfan76]

I've never seen Horton before, but I am kinda on the fence for that one. I'm all for retellings, but remakes is where I draw the line. That's one thing I seem to have a bias over, but that's a topic more suited for the Fraggle movie thread.

Back to Cars 2, the first one was good, but like I said, it was weak compared to other Pixar efforts, and I'm not a fan of Larry the Cable Guy. It's like with Shrek 3, I just left the theater with an empty feeling. I know I said it before, but everyone knows this movie is only made to make more merchandise.

 

[Xerus]

Not a bad idea. I like where you're coming from on this one. It might be hard to get John Lasseter to do an entire TV series, but who knows. The guy really knows how to work some magic....

Thank you. It would be nice if a Cars TV series would happen. But I just read all of the Cars graphic novels and they were all great. It was kind of like watching a cartoon series. Especially the stories where the Radiator Springs gang tells Lightning what brought them to RS. And the one where Lightning organizes a charity race and even gets Chick to join in.

 

[Disney]

Thank you. It would be nice if a Cars TV series would happen. But I just read all of the Cars graphic novels and they were all great. It was kind of like watching a cartoon series. Especially the stories where the Radiator Springs gang tells Lightning what brought them to RS. And the one where Lightning organizes a charity race and even gets Chick to join in.

Thanks for the feedback. We've heard a lot of good things from fans about the Cars graphic novels, and it's always great to hear about another satisfied fan. Has anyone else had a chance to check them out?

 

[dwmckim]

So, I'm wondering what else this movie will offer besides racing and spies... I might just see this yet.

Waidaminit - Racing...spies...

Throw in some psychadelic animation and some jazzy music and lots of musical counting by Grace Slick and it could be rather nifty! I could just see Bert and Ernie watching it and getting inspired to play some meatball games!