Animation | Wildside Cinema

Princess (2006)

Action, Animation, Crime, Drama, Horror, J. Felton, Thriller 2 Responses »

May 112010

U.S. DVD Release

August, a priest who has been away on missionary work, returns home upon hearing of the death of his sister Christina from a drug overdose. His plan is to take in his sister’s young daughter Mia and raise her. His reason for this, aside from the fact that she is his niece, is that Christina was also known as Princess, and Princess was an incredibly popular porn star who chose to raise her daughter in the brothel that she worked and lived. August had tried before to take his sister away from this life, yet this was to no avail.

Now he plans to get Mia as far away from this world as possible. Initially though he wants the company that produces the porn his sister starred in to be taken off Continue reading »

Lunacy (Sílení – 2005)

Animation, D. Foster, Fantasy No Responses »

Feb 142010

DVD Release

Climb into the mind of a lunatic and stay for a while. Jan (Alice) Svankmajer will take you there and drop you off in this relentless test of judgment and sanity. Borrowing heavily from two tales by Edgar Allan Poe, the master of the macabre, Lunacy just might make you a bit uncomfortable. The first half, based on Poe’s The Premature Burial, introduces us to the grieving lunatic and the mad man determined to help him. It delves into the most beautiful scene of blasphemy, which will be indelibly branded in your memories. The second half is based on Poe’s The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether. Chickens run wild, meat has a mind of it’s own and the patients enjoy their freedom within the walls of an asylum. But alas, our lead lunatic learns of Continue reading »

Little Otik (Otesánek – 2000)

Animation, D. Foster, Fantasy, Horror No Responses »

Feb 142010

DVD Release

Unable to bear a child of her own, the desire to parent becomes an obsession for Bozenka Horak. Everywhere she looks she sees mothers and children, which only adds to her torment. While clearing some newly acquired land, her husband Karel digs up a small stump that resembles a baby; he cleans it up and presents it to Bozenka and so becomes Otik. Apparently her passion somehow transfers to the hunk of wood to give it life. If you’re familiar with Jan Svankmajer’s work, you’ll know of his fixation with food and eating; Little Otik is no exception. This little guy steps up to the plate with an insatiable appetite that soon has the authorities making inquires about all the missing people. The stop motion animation of Otik is creepy as hell Continue reading »

The Secret Adventures Of Tom Thumb (1993)

Animation, D. Foster, Fantasy, Sci-Fi No Responses »

Feb 142010

DVD Release

This is not the children’s story, but rather a nightmarish vision that borrowed the theme of a well known tale. A fly gets trapped in the clockwork of an artificial insemination factory, causing the “Super-Seed” machine to malfunction. The fly doesn’t make it, but the result of its poor flight plan is the birth of Tom Thumb. A mixture of stop motion animation, live action and an obscure imagination guide you through the birth, kidnapping and escape of this little adventurer as he fights his way back to his dear papa. This little gem should keep your attention, as there are plenty of interesting characters and always some sort of creepy crawly making its way across the screen. There is very little dialog but the few lines there are, are sure to generate a chuckle.

The Amazing Screw-On Head (2007)

Animation, D. Foster, Fantasy No Responses »

Feb 142010

DVD Release

It all starts in the Museum Of Dangerous Books And Papers, with a kidnapping and the theft of an ancient scroll. Our hero, a sentient, metal head with the ability to screw itself into various robotic bodies, is called upon by Abe Lincoln to assist with this crisis. The mission at hand churns up some personal history for Screw-On Head and gives us some insight to all the characters involved. In turn we realize that this is no ordinary mission, but a personal vendetta for the hero. In just 22 minutes you’ll experience encounters with a werewolf, a vampire, a zombie, cannibals, a crowned monkey and a dead dog on wheels. The art style is remarkable and will be easily recognized by fans of Mike (Hellboy) Mignola. Short but decadently sweet, this animation packs one hell of a punch and the one-liners are sure to leave you smiling.

Hideous! (1997)

Animation, D. Foster, Fantasy, Full Moon, Horror, Sci-Fi No Responses »

Feb 142010

DVD Release

While cleaning the tank at a sewage treatment plant, a worker fishes out an unidentifiable fleshy monstrosity. Martin, the shift leader, knowing there’s a market for strange biological specimens, sells it to an agent that deals with the collectors of these oddities. While the rival collectors argue over ownership of this most recent acquisition, the deformed human abominations come to life and escape; the war is on. The characters will have you laughing, drooling (Sheila, played by Jacqueline Lovell is half naked throughout) and smacking your forehead. The freak puppets are remarkably well done and quite disturbing; you may even catch Continue reading »

Equinox (1970)

Animation, D. Foster, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi No Responses »

Feb 142010

DVD Release

Four friends venture into the mountains for an afternoon picnic, only to discover that evil forces have been unleashed by the reading of an ancient book. Told in flashback style by a traumatized member of the party, Equinox borrows heavily from the tales of H.P. Lovecraft and radiates a 50’s giant monster movie feel. Striking similarities with cult classic The Evil Dead, will have it’s fans wondering if this is mere coincidence or if Sam (Evil Dead) Raimi was familiar with this little semi-precious gem. This frugal budget camp-fest has lots of impressive stop-motion animated monsters, creepy close-ups of some less than savory characters and bad, yet Continue reading »

Dumbland (2002)

Animation, Experimental No Responses »

Feb 192009

OOP DVD

Dumbland (2002)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Subversive Cinema / 2006
Directed by David Lynch
Written by David Lynch
Cast: Animated (voice of David Lynch)
Review by James Garfield

A series of eight brief anecdotes involving a stupid macho jerk and his family: The Neighbor, The Treadmill, The Doctor, A Friend Visits, Get Continue reading »

Futurama – Into The Wild Green Yonder (2009)

Action, Adventure, Animation, B. Harris, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi No Responses »

Feb 192009

DVD Release

The Planet Express team return, this time Leela takes up arms with an outlaw Feminist group in order to save a strange, living rock from being demolished by Amy Wong’s father Leo. After a near fatal accident, Fry develops the ability to hear people’s thoughts which makes him the prime candidate for savior of a lost alien race. A secret society will stop at nothing to ensure Fry’s success, even at the expense of Leela, Fry and Bender’s friendships.

The fourth film in and they’re already sucking? What the hell. Honestly, everything you’ve come to expect is here:

Fry is a dunce, Bender makes hilarious Continue reading »

Igor (2008)

Action, Adventure, Animation, B. Harris, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi No Responses »

Jan 152009

Igor (2008)
R1 / NTSC DVD
MGM / 2008
Directed by Anthony Leondis
Written by Chris McKenna
Cast: John Cusack, Christian Slater, John Cleese, Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard, Arsenio Hall, Jay Leno, Molly Shannon
Review by Brian Harris

In order for the city of Malaria to succeed in a cold, harsh world, King Malbert declares that Malaria and all its residents must be evil! The city is soon populated with two classes of people: evil scientists and Igors, their hunchbacked assistants. Dr. Glickenstein’s Igor isn’t quite right though, he thinks, feels and invents! When Glickenstein is killed in a tragic invention malfunction, Igor must take his place and win the evil science fair with the help of his two friends Scamper and Brain or it’s off to the Igor Recycling plant for him!

Igor is an adorable, heart-warming animated feature that’s sure to leave entire families in stitches; it’s delightfully morbid and features some subtle adult humor as well as laugh-out-loud slapstick to keep the children busy. I was wonderfully surprised by the “Nightmare Before Christmas” look and feel of Igor and the voice talent was exceptional.

This is an imaginative little film that really seems to have been lost in the theatrical shuffle, which is a shame because it deserves some attention. The quality of the animation was superb, the score by Patrick Doyle appropriately light-hearted and anything with John Cleese should be seen at least once…”Ni!” Did I mention Steve Buscemi plays a genetically altered rabbit incapable of dying? Oh yeah, you just know wild, gory sequences are just beggin’ to happen!

Don’t let the look of this flick fool you, it’s not a Veggie Tales feature, this is a gory, gross, morbid, macabre and downright funny film. As I mentioned above, Igor shares quite a few similarities with A Nightmare Before Christmas, King Malbert and The Mayor of Halloweentown and Eva and Sally are nearly identical, so fans should give it a look-see. Is it a renter? Is it a keeper? I personally feel this is a keeper though the kids will probably find this a bit more entertaining upon repeated viewings than you adults. You know how kids are…they’ll watch the same film four hundred times before moving on to something else!

Futurama: Bender’s Game (2008)

Action, Adventure, Animation, B. Harris, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi No Responses »

Nov 182008

Futurama: Bender’s Game (2008)
R1 / NTSC DVD
20th Century Fox / 2008
Directed by Dwayne Carey-Hill
Written by Michael Rowe & Patric Verrone
Cast: Katey Sagal, Billy West, John Di Maggio, Rich Little, George Takei
Review by Brian Harris

Encouraged to find his imagination, Bender’s quest to imagine has dire consequences when it activates a powerful anti-anti-matter crystal, subsequently opening a portal to a strange new dimension filled with dungeons, dragons, swords & sorcery. The Global Express team must destroy the crystal before the Mom can use it to rule the universe’s energy!

I gotta say, I’m a big fan of Futurama and I really enjoyed their previous two films, sorta, but what the hell went wrong? I remember a time when Futurama was witty, clever and laugh-out-loud funny, Bender’s Game wasn’t all that witty, clever or laugh-out-loud funny. Fact is I really didn’t enjoy myself at all while watching this and, trust me, that’s rather hard to admit being such a follower of the TV series and films.

Okay, I get it, the entire thing was a tribute to Gary Gygax and his D&D legacy as well as a LOTR parody, I’m good with all that but I just wasn’t entertained by any of it. The winks, nods and yuks, none of them seemed to really be effective this film installment around, it all felt so “by-the-numbers” and uninspired. Perhaps this will work better once its split into episodes and aired on cable but I won’t be tuning in after seeing this. Let’s hope the fourth film installment offers us the type of Futurama that spawned a loyal cult following.

D&D geeks will love this and casual Futurama fans will probably find this mildly enjoyable but dedicated fans will probably find themselves a little disappointed. For me it just felt like a really long, blow-off episode. By the way, what’s with Bender this time around? His character just seemed so lacking, it’s like he was there but you didn’t care? Anyhow, you could probably do worse by renting but my recommendation would be to wait till this hits Comedy Central or something.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Action, Adventure, Animation, B. Harris, Comedy, Fantasy 1 Response »

Nov 182008

Kung Fu Panda (2008)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Paramount / 2008
Directed by Mark Osborne & John Stevenson
Written by Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Cast: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross & Michael Clarke Duncan
Review by Brian Harris

The legendary Dragon Warrior has been selected by Master Oogway to defend China against the evil Tai Lung but Oogway’s disciples, Shifu and The Furious Five, are unconvinced this new warrior has what it takes. Can one fat panda make a difference, defeat evil and still make good noodles?

This is going to be hit or miss for some of you out there because Kung Fu may not be your thing but if it is, you’re really going to have a ball watching Kung Fu Panda; it’s highly entertaining, the voice actors are all top-notch and the animation is brilliant. As far as animated flicks go, it’s gonna put a smile on the adult’s as well as the childrens faces! I wouldn’t say it delivers on non-stop hilarity but its good, clean fun for the entire family and that does seem to be missing in today’s cinema these days.

Personally I thought the best damn thing about this film was Jack Black. I’m not the biggest fan of his work but he does do comedy well and this was a fantastic role for his style of acting. Dustin Hoffman was also seriously funny as straight-man Kung Fu teacher Shifu. My personal fave though was Seth Rogen as Mantis, he didn’t get a ton of lines or screen time but a Kung Fu fan always sides with the Mantis…ALWAYS. All in all, good performances all around, a satisfying conclusion and some super cool extras for the kids to check out.

I like Kung Fu and I like animation so this was a winner for me. There’s nothing like cute CG animals whooping one another’s asses and using words like, “SKADOOSH!” I laughed, I may have even sniffled once or twice, and ultimately I was left feeling entertained. That’s what it’s all about folks! Super fun, super action and there’s already a sequel available!

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