Edgewooddirk

Surly, an adjective and a name apparently, embarks on an adventure to obtain food for the approaching winter. He runs across some wacky characters and antics ensue. The Good: Art- The time spent on the animal and human designs was readily apparent throughout the film. I could pick out individual hairs in the animals' coats. I also liked that the artists paid attention to the animals' mouths. They were not just mere flaps of skin covering teeth, but it looked like the mouth region actually had some depth, that the lips were also 3D along with the rest of the animal. The humans had a distinct look and style about them that made me think of 2D cartoons. Big and imposing, shady and dangerous, cute and cuddly, the artwork certainly helped draw a person in. Ambition- The Nut Job tried to draw on several genres of film. It attempts to reshape these stories and form into a family friendly movie. I could spot a crime drama, a voyage of self discovery, a tale of redemption and rejoining society, just to name a few. The film also provided some rudimentary information about the animal species through dialogue, so it did have some educational moments. Whether or not the film succeeded in its ambitions will be covered in the not-so-good section. The Not-So-Good: Pacing- What a colossal mess. The Nut Job is a short 86 minutes and the film tried to show at least three different story arcs. The audience is not shown how the characters will respond to any event because the next event is following hot on the heels of its predecessor. Because of this, any connection or concern for the characters is lost in the fray of action and fart jokes...yes, I'll get there too. Characters- Unfortunately the pacing of the film allows the survival of only the most basic character types. Might as well forget about character development too. And learning. And change for the better. Comedy- I had hoped that the family film genre had grown past this, I really did. Situational and character-based comedy has made significant headway into the family films. Granted it may be a little silly to laugh at Mr. Potato-Head's parts stuck in a flour tortilla, but I found it to be incredibly funny. Or how about when a mermaid becomes a human and, as a result of misguiding information told to her in a previous scene, she puts a fork and a pipe to hilarious use at the dinner table. Fart jokes. Maybe with the compressed story arcs, the only form of comic relief could come from this. The Nut Job tried to meld several different genres and in so doing, did not execute any of them well. You've seen better representatives of the genres attempted here and I'd suggest seeing them instead. 4/10

This delightful animated feature follows the trials of a mouse, Mrs. Brisby. We learn early on that our protagonist is not fully aware of the world beyond her cement block as evidenced by her first interactions with another mouse, Mr. Ages. She progresses through physically threatening trials; meanwhile, she becomes increasingly aware of an entirely different world to which her late husband belonged. As her understanding grows through these adventures, she is presented with more complex and intellectually, even morally challenging issues. The threats change from external, physical sources to internalized difficulties arising from interacting with intellectual equals or superiors. Still, her more comprehensive comprehension allows her to reexamine and redefine her feelings towards her lost husband by understanding what he went through and how he passed. Though she may not understand the complexities of emotion and intelligence having only recently being exposed to them, her good-hearted, courageous nature guides her through. Therein lies what I believe to be an effective and beautiful message from the film: even in times of turmoil and despair, even when faced with feelings of inadequacy, even when directly threatened by physical or emotional strife, the goodness within an individual still bears incredible influence over surrounding people and events.

The Secret of Nimh is a film from director Don Bluth. It poses thought-provoking questions for older viewer while relaying outstanding lessons for younger audiences. The film's artwork is top-notch. Take a moment to read a bit from IMDb's trivia section to see some specific animation tricks the producers/editors used for the film's distinct look. The voice acting is believable though some viewers might find Jeremy to be a touch on the annoying side. I found the protagonist, Mrs. Brisby, to be particularly engaging because her script and subtleties in voice acting add to the film's sophistication. The scene when she's reading Nicodemus' book is quiet, moving, enchanting, and inspiring simultaneously. It is certainly an incredible scene within an incredible animated classic. If my recommendation is not apparent by this point, see this film at your next convenience. You will not be disappointed.