ebbradsh Reviews

The Lorax (2012)

Two Stories, One Vastly Superior

[6/10 · 9 April 2014]

All reviewers of this movie seem to either love it or hate it, and it's easy to see why.

As has been pointed out to death, the "modernized" Hollywood story added in of a celebrity-voiced kid trying to win a girl and overcome a two- dimensional villain in the process is thoroughly uninteresting, and will make older moviegoers angry at the lack of effort made in expanding the story.

The Once-ler's tale, on the other hand, is the story carried over from the book, one of unchecked ambition and carelessness. The Once-ler is morally gray and this is done very well, as he is likable, yet you're never sure- is he a villain? A misguided hero? Somewhere in between? Sure, it's padded out with cutesy animals, but knowing what becomes of them in the end makes it considerably less innocent. This story is where Seuss's message is, and it still makes it through.

The score by John Powell is epic and the animation and designs are gorgeous, which add great atmosphere in the darker parts of the movie. The environmental message is very un-subtle, and people who dislike that in other movies will dislike it here.

One need only listen to the cut song "Biggering" to see how powerful this story could have gotten. And they just didn't have the guts. But beauty does manage to seep through in places, and this is one movie that I'd highly recommend seeing only parts of.

Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)

Mewtwo deserves better.

[6/10 · 13 July 2011]

This is a mixed bag of a film, being clumsily edited and cut for American audiences, with morals and pop songs being slapped on and 10 entire minutes cut from the introduction about Mewtwo. Mewtwo is the strong point of the movie, having more depth and emotion than all of the human characters put together. The viewers are likely to find themselves sympathizing with him rather than the heroes, who are bland and rather annoying. The mood tends to switch from lighthearted and goofy, and then change to dark and intense whenever Mewtwo is present. Mewtwo kills humans (offscreen, of course) and hurts other Pokemon. The character of Mew offers good contrast. Indeed, Mewtwo could hold up well in another movie aimed at adults.

The ending is poorly handled due to the editing, frustrating the viewer. The animation is good and the atmosphere strong. It's a shame that the dubbing had to be handled by 4Kids.

The short "Pikachu's Vacation" is not worth watching for anyone over 6, and parents may want to be cautious about letting their enraptured toddler move on to the actual movie.