First and foremost, the acting is incredibly bad, so much so that it feels like a rushed project you would submit for school. Staying faithful to the original is great and all, but they overdid it; the voices do sound like the original, but this makes it feel like they are magicked into the real world. See it for yourself, and you'll see what I mean. Second, the plot, and with that, the pacing is so off. There's no need to explain this one, it's just straight-up bad. And lastly, the cinematography is weird. (Apologies if I overemphasize this one, I just have a thing with visuals ;) ) I've seen several long-running series that still nail their visual storytelling, but this one goes for that high-contrast cinematic look but fails to do so and instead creates this confusing tone. Is this show really a sitcom or what? It looks like batman is about to show up. And, why is the sky computer-generated? What is it with the production design?
Reviews
3 Reviews
I expected, and I got it, but feels somehow uncanny (a little bit spoiler alert on the very bottom)
29 July 2023
Gotta say they did a great job in making an alternative universe! Same characters, different storyline. The animation is BONKERS! It's incredibly incredible, it's a treat for the eyes. The songs are quite good, too. Have to love Lou's Courage en moi, it's amazing. I'm not a fan of romance, but this one is an exception. It gives that nice goosebumps during the romantic scenes and I loved it. Voice acting seems ok, but the singing voices are, no matter how much I say this word I don't care, AMAZING! A round of applause for the singers!
Though, the plot seems a bit basic, for me and the dialog feels quite uncanny. Maybe because the pacing of some scenes are a bit off, and maybe Cat Noir's humor is not my style (maybe it's better in French, but I don't know, haven't watched the dub yet). Also, some information could've needed more explanation. I've been watching the Miraculous series from the start and even I feel like there are some things I don't understand on how the nature of this world with the Miraculous works, and I couldn't imagine how those who haven't watched the series would follow along with this film. For me, this is the type of a movie that requires a sequel (considering how complex the canon series is and it took a lot of episodes to explore the concept of their world). Maybe it could be explained with the second movie? But that would leave the audience hanging.
I felt a bit underwhelmed because of this, but the other elements justified this enough. I'll never forget how Marinette roasted Chloé, my favorite quote of all time! I would actually be giving this 7.5/10 but it's not possible so rounding it off, it would be 8. Good job, Zag and their partners!
Though, the plot seems a bit basic, for me and the dialog feels quite uncanny. Maybe because the pacing of some scenes are a bit off, and maybe Cat Noir's humor is not my style (maybe it's better in French, but I don't know, haven't watched the dub yet). Also, some information could've needed more explanation. I've been watching the Miraculous series from the start and even I feel like there are some things I don't understand on how the nature of this world with the Miraculous works, and I couldn't imagine how those who haven't watched the series would follow along with this film. For me, this is the type of a movie that requires a sequel (considering how complex the canon series is and it took a lot of episodes to explore the concept of their world). Maybe it could be explained with the second movie? But that would leave the audience hanging.
I felt a bit underwhelmed because of this, but the other elements justified this enough. I'll never forget how Marinette roasted Chloé, my favorite quote of all time! I would actually be giving this 7.5/10 but it's not possible so rounding it off, it would be 8. Good job, Zag and their partners!
The Little Mermaid
(I) (2023)
Fun and enjoyable to watch, no doubt
28 July 2023
I expected a lot less with this film, maybe because of the trailer given and the comments it got from people prior to its release. But, I was vastly surprised! The most noticeable thing was the visual effects. I watched the trailer a couple of times, and I was so dissatisfied with the visuals since it looked so uncanny. Surprisingly, it's actually really good. The environment looked so satisfying it's as if I really am within the scene. Just, speechless for that one. A tiny problem with that though, could be the lighting, but I've already rewatched it with HDR, and it didn't just fix it, it looked a whole lot better. With that said, some of the characters' designs feel a bit off. I mean, yes we should expect compromises when we do from animated to realism, but Sebastian and Flounder's design could've been better. Others, they looked magnificent, even Scuttle in my opinion (a lot of people might disagree). And yes, I have no problem with the casting. I don't care if the main lead is black, and the animated is white since Greek Mythology doesn't give a- yeah.
The Plot. Yes, there are changes. But the pacing of it is probably not my kind. Like some scenes could've deserved a longer runtime, while some could've been better if was shorter. It would probably be better emphasis on how this story progresses. But it's decent anyway, and that's enough for me. Don't get me started on how satisfied I am with what they done with the duo (Sebastian and Scuttle).
I don't put too much emphasis on comparing the animated from this film since it had done enough effort to bring faithfulness to the animated one, and I think it's fair to respect the artist's creative ideas, touches and compromises to the story. I think of remakes as more like "Someone told me a story, I got one that sounds just like it, so here it is". For me, I see this live action as reliving the world once seen, but it's distant. But now there are changes, and they are closer to you than ever. That's what this film did, and I'm extremely happy for that.
The Plot. Yes, there are changes. But the pacing of it is probably not my kind. Like some scenes could've deserved a longer runtime, while some could've been better if was shorter. It would probably be better emphasis on how this story progresses. But it's decent anyway, and that's enough for me. Don't get me started on how satisfied I am with what they done with the duo (Sebastian and Scuttle).
I don't put too much emphasis on comparing the animated from this film since it had done enough effort to bring faithfulness to the animated one, and I think it's fair to respect the artist's creative ideas, touches and compromises to the story. I think of remakes as more like "Someone told me a story, I got one that sounds just like it, so here it is". For me, I see this live action as reliving the world once seen, but it's distant. But now there are changes, and they are closer to you than ever. That's what this film did, and I'm extremely happy for that.
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