Review: Rise of the Guardians

            Dreamworks new film Rise of the Guardians is not only one of their best films in years but it is one of the best family feature animation films of all time. I saw this movie the weekend it came out and I could not have thought more highly of it. It is a film that not only children can enjoy but people of all ages. It is whimsical and beautiful, the animation and modeling is some of the best I’ve ever seen. The attention to detail even in the smallest since was ineradicable. The just barely visible veins in Jack Frost skin, the finely done manicure on the Tooth Fairies hands and don’t even get me started on the perfection of the particles in the dream and nightmare sand. While the movie is of course a gorgeous treat for the eyes to see it is so much more than that, it is a movie full of heart and brilliant characters as well as a near perfect storyline. The movie is great for those who are young and young at heart. It is a wonderful sight seeing so many holiday characters together in such a seamless setting. The reason they are together makes sense and it doesn’t feel like they’re just trying to buy into the holiday market. The film is amazing to watch; at many points in the film I felt so much strong emotion for the characters. One of the my favorite parts of the film is that unlike so many films created for children the villain didn’t necessarily come off as all bad, his reason for what he was doing had it’s own merit and you could feel some sense of sympathy for the character. This movie is a brilliant film and I encourage everyone to see it as soon as they can. 

Review: Wreck-It Ralph

            Wreck-It Ralph is one of the best films Disney has made in years. The film was full of so much joy and heart and it’s really nice to see the character who should be the “villain” trying to become a better person. In films marketed at children the lines between good and evil are usually so finely drawn and there isn’t any crossing between the two. It’s a wonderful thing to show children that just because a person seems bad it doesn’t mean they are, it’s something so many more children’s films should show that getting to know a person is the most important thing. Many children’s films will say getting to know a person is the most important thing but they don’t really follow up with any proof to that saying, the good character is still good and the bad character is still bad. This is not the case with Wreck-it Ralph the two main characters are both people who are seen as “bad” one being the major “villain” in a video game, Ralph, and the other being a “mistake” put into the game or a “glitch” as they call her, Vanellope. It was also so much fun seeing a movie take place in for lack of a better term “video game land” the arcade setting was great and all the characters were well thought out, it was also fun seeing the cameos of other popular video game characters in the film. During the film you often felt so much sympathy for the characters you may even begin to cry a little, I know I did so many times Vanellope and Ralph were mistreated it was upsetting but it was shown that you can overcome that and I think that’s what really gives the film the most merit. The greatest part about this film is showing that you can overcome anything and that you should certainly get to know someone before you judge them.