Category Archives: animation

“Arctic Dogs” Poster and Trailer

Directed by Aaron Woodley, Swifty is an Arctic Fox played by Jeremy Renner works in the mailroom of the Arctic Blast Delivery Service. He dreams of becoming a Top Dog. It’s a position as the Arctic’s star husky courier. To prove himself worthy of the role, Swifty secretly steals a sled and delivers a mysterious package to a hidden location.

He stumbles upon a hidden fortress, where he comes face to face with Otto Von Walrus, played by John Cleese, a blubbery evil genius. Von Walrus walks around on mechanical legs and commands a loyal army of oddly polite puffin henchmen.

Swifty quickly discovers Otto Von Walrus’ plan to drill beneath the Arctic surface to release enough ancient gas to melt the Arctic, so he can rule as the world’s supreme leader.

Now, Swifty enlists the help of his friends: PB, played by Alec Baldwin, an introverted polar bear, Lemmy, played by James Franco, a scatterbrained albatross, Jade Fox, played by Heidi Klum, a tough as nails mechanic, Leopold, played by Omar Sy, and Bertha, also played by Heidi Klum, two conspiracy theorist otters and Magda, played by Anjelica Huston, the curmudgeonly boss.

The ragtag group of Arctic misfits bands together to stop Otto Von Walrus’ sinister plans and save the day.

Woodley is an award-winning director with credits as a writer and editor. He’s directed not just movies but shorts and episodic TV shows.

“Playmobil: The Movie” Poster and Trailer

The movie is an animated adventure about Playmobil brand toys.

Directed by Lino DiSalvo, Playmobil: The Movie is an animated action-adventure about a top-secret organization that caused citizens from different lands to vanish from thin air.

The dashing and charismatic secret agent Rex Dasher, voiced by Daniel Radcliffe, partners with smooth-talking food truck driver Del, voiced by Jim Gaffigan, and Marla, voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy, a smart, savvy civilian with her own secret agenda.

Together they plan a rescue of the citizens going against unthinkable odds, the trio goes on a fantastic journey across stunning new worlds as they gather clues for their rescue mission.

Goes without saying, the movie comes from the Playmobil brand toys. Also starring as voice actors in the movie are Dino Andrade, Gabriel Bateman, and Ian James Corlett.

 Blaise Hemingway, Greg Erb, and Jason Oremland wrote the screenplay with story by DiSalvo, who started in the business as an animator.

Norm of the North: Keys To the Kingdom Trailer and Poster

Co-directed by Tim Maltby and Richard Finn, Norm of the North: Keys of the Kingdom follows Norm, voiced by Andy Toth, the newly crowned polar bear king of the Arctic. With such a prestigious title, he travels to New York to accept the key to the city.

For some reason, Norm goes from hero to villain when he’s framed for a crime he didn’t commit. While he is trying to clear his good name, back in the Arctic a vicious bottled-water company has moved in and is starting to steal the ice.

Norm must rely on his friends, both old and new, to clear his good name and help save his kingdom in a winner take all hockey match. The movie is perfect for kids because it is a Dove Family-Approved for all ages.

The other voice actors include Cole Howard, Maya Kay, Jennifer Cameron, Alan Marriott, and Brian Drummond.

My Pet Dinosaur a Family Movie from Australia

Directed by Matt Drummond, who is an Emmy winner, My Pet Dinosaur is only available on Demand.

The story is a blend of E.T and Monster’s Inc.  My Pet Dinosaur fixes on the quirky friendship between a boy and a dinosaur.  Cast includes Jordan Dulieu, Annabel Wolfe, Christopher Gabardi,  and Tiriel Mora.

The movie features high-end visual effects, a heart-warming tale of friendship and the beautiful Australian countryside. Produced in Australia, My Pet Dinosaur is a perfect addition to family movie night list of films to see.

Watch the trailer and discover how a  finds the remnants of a failed military experiment. Then, his troubled town is plunged further into chaos as he accidentally makes a new friend – a dinosaur.

A Boy Named Charlie Brown

a-boy-named-charlieA Boy Named Charlie Brown originally released in 1969 as the first Peanuts movie ever based on Charles Schultz Peanut comic strip. The movie is Peter Robbins’ swan song as the voice for Charlie Brown.  Before the movie, he voiced Charlie Brown several times for television specials.

The story follows Charlie Brown who decisively demonstrates he can do something right. He wins the spelling bee in his class. All the kids regard him with their usual rudeness despite winning his class spelling bee. Then, he does everything in his power to win the championship of his school and wins. He gets to go to the city and be in the National Elimination Spelling Bee.

Vince Guaraldi, who composed the music for the six previous TV specials, creates new arrangements of the old music for the movie. He even spices it up with several new songs by Rod McKuen. McKuen wrote the title song “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” and sings it as well, which establishes the whole feel for the movie — there is a little bit of Charlie Brown in all of us.

One of my favorite scenes is Schroeder’s poignant gesture to Beethoven. The music plays as marvelous complex scenes with Technicolor come on the screen in a very fancy presentation.

Another really good scene is with Snoopy and Linus. It is a delightful setting where Snoopy and Linus are wandering around the city looking for his blanket, which he lent to Charlie Brown for good luck in his spelling bee. Snoopy encounters an ice skating rink and fantasizes being in a hockey match as he skates around the rink. He even has a confrontation with the Red Baron and those scenes are always fun to watch.

When the movie ends, let the credits roll because you get to view the principle voice actors with their animated characters.

I recommend this movie because it is so much fun to watch, though I have a hard time seeing Charlie Brown having such a bad time. But, he is happy at the end, and that counts for me.

Alpha and Omega: Dingo Digs

AO-Dino-Digs_ocard_pack-shotDirected by Tim Maltby and written by Tom Kane, the wolf pack is back in action as a fun and entertaining story for young kids in Alpha and Omega: Dino Digs.

This is the sixth installment of the Alpha & Omega franchise, and some of the scenes are funny and cute with a wonderful musical score. The animation is of poor quality and blurry at times. Still, the 47-minute movie will entertain the kids.

The movie starts with a “65 million years ago…” and we watch to cartoonish dinosaurs facing the destruction of their civilization.  We then cut to and follow Humphrey and Kate with their three pops when they are forced to find a new location for their den.

Their new place has kind of a unique name – wolf-burbia, a nice play on the word “suburbia.” While they are moving into their new grounds, they discover Amy, an affable dinosaur who is unfamiliar with the new world. The scene where they meet Amy is really cool to watch and each facial expression will engage your kids.

Amy is a friendly raptor that magically comes to life when she is uncovered during a big dig. The pups and their forest friends show Amy the wonders of their new world and must work together and try to stop the diggers from unearthing the dangerous T-Rex before it is too late.

The movie is great for kids, teaching life lessons about being a good friend, helping your friends, and confronting and solving problems.

The trailer for the movie is no longer available at my YouTube Channel.  The above link to the movie takes you to Amazon where the trailer is still live.  Parents can view it and see if the movie is appropriate for their kids.

Power Rangers Dino Charge: Resurgence

POWER_RANGERS_Dino_Resurgence_ocard-pack-shotPower Rangers is never boring for kids. They just love watching the series. It is like they are battling alongside the dynamic team that is known as the Power Rangers. In Power Rangers Dino Charge: Resurgence, the Red, Black, Blue, Green, and Pink Rangers unite and save the world from prehistoric monsters.  I am amazed at how the boys are glued to the screen whenever the live-action Power Rangers battle against evil Cavity monster.

The kids learn teamwork and team building skills as the Power Rangers are, once again, put to the test as they rescue Chase and discover the destructive Ankylo Zord and have a battle against a team of Power Ranger clones.

All in all, you can’t go wrong with the Power Rangers. The series has been around a long time, and here we are at season 12. Yet, each new generation of kids get a kick out the battles and imaginative monsters the dynamic team goes against in each episode.

Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots

peppagoldenbootsPeppa Pig: The Golden Boots is a classic cartoon for preschoolers. The Pig snorts up funny episodes where kids just laugh and giggle constantly.

The first episode is called The Golden Boots, and other 45 episodes are very familiar but fun the youngsters. I can’t help but like the messages that include kindness, laughter, and gentle life lessons that make Peppa Pig one of the world’s most beloved preschool cartoons. Kids will never get tired of Peppa because he is so much fun to watch.

Care Bears: Bearied Treasure

Care Bears Bearied TreasureCare Bears creates the funniest puns in their titles.  Care Bears: Bearied Treasure is just too cute as a title and the best one so far. The story is about the bears finding a treasure map, so they each want a treasure for themselves.

They go on an adventure by jumping aboard a ship and sail the sea to Starshine Parade and look for treasures. While they are sailing they help a lost baby star and other delightful and innocent adventures.

But, there is a lesson, and this time, the Care Bears work together to find a buried pirate treasure for each of them but find that the real treasure is their special friendship, which is such a good message for preschoolers.

The pirate jargon coming from the Care Bears is entertaining and the quality of the animation is top-notch.  I recommend it.

Chuggington Dash at the Docks

Delivery Dash at the Docks is the newest installment in the adventurous Chuggington DVD collection. The DVD holds six episodes from the fifth season of the Disney Junior series. The disc even has extra bonus features like Badge Quest Episodes: Buddy Badge and Follow the Leader and Coloring Pages. Kids should enjoy the bonus features as a special treat. We even meet two new characters, Daley and Skipper Stu.  Mothers know this preschool storyline is even fun to watch with their kids.

We follow Koko, and he is thrilled to be spending the day training with Chuggington’s new express delivery engine, Daley. Together they pick up and deliver important packages all around Chuggington, frequenting the bustling docks where Skipper Stu, Chuggington’s new Dock Master, is loading and unloading the ship. All of them go on adventures that any child will enjoy and learn the importance of patience, paying careful attention to detail and teamwork.

Of course, all the delightful engines will entertain and inspire youngsters again and again. They will be able to visit with Brewster, Koko, and Wilson, along with the other engines in Chuggington, on these grand adventures.