I was tempted to see this movie in theaters, but I never got to convince anyone I knew to see it. Later, I was rather surprised to read it bombed. Sure, its plot sounded weak, but I didn't think it was THAT terrible.
So, after seeing it, I say liked it. It does has it's problems, but the movie has a heart, and it does touch your inner child.
I'm not crazy over Zemeckis' motion capture style, as, particularly in this movie, most of the characters are introduced as rather anonymous and not memorable.
The movie does start off very weak, with a thin introduction to the characters (there are hardly any close-ups of both Milo or his mom) and the action. However, about halfway through the movie, the story finally gets into shape. Gribble's character was annoyingly presented at first, but once you know his back story, you can actually feel for him. Ki also starts off very badly, and her own back story is rushed, making the opposite mistake that was made with Gribble.
Performances in this type of movies are rather irrelevant, so Seth Green's contribution might have been great as seen live, but in the movie it gets lost with all the visuals. Dan Fogler and Joan Cusack are functional, but their voice tone doesn't really mesh well with the style of the movie.
The animation and effects are nice, though a little too reminiscent of Wall-E and TRON: Legacy, so it does kind of feel very derivative. Also of note is John Powell's entertaining underscore.
As a whole, the plot starts off late, but it does grow in the telling. The movie isn't the worst ever made, it just happened to have the worst of luck during the season, which happens very often most of the times. Expect as an entertaining experience, and nothing else.
So, after seeing it, I say liked it. It does has it's problems, but the movie has a heart, and it does touch your inner child.
I'm not crazy over Zemeckis' motion capture style, as, particularly in this movie, most of the characters are introduced as rather anonymous and not memorable.
The movie does start off very weak, with a thin introduction to the characters (there are hardly any close-ups of both Milo or his mom) and the action. However, about halfway through the movie, the story finally gets into shape. Gribble's character was annoyingly presented at first, but once you know his back story, you can actually feel for him. Ki also starts off very badly, and her own back story is rushed, making the opposite mistake that was made with Gribble.
Performances in this type of movies are rather irrelevant, so Seth Green's contribution might have been great as seen live, but in the movie it gets lost with all the visuals. Dan Fogler and Joan Cusack are functional, but their voice tone doesn't really mesh well with the style of the movie.
The animation and effects are nice, though a little too reminiscent of Wall-E and TRON: Legacy, so it does kind of feel very derivative. Also of note is John Powell's entertaining underscore.
As a whole, the plot starts off late, but it does grow in the telling. The movie isn't the worst ever made, it just happened to have the worst of luck during the season, which happens very often most of the times. Expect as an entertaining experience, and nothing else.