By: preme | On: 08 Sep, 2008
Everyone wants to get into the potentially lucrative animation game, and “Igor” illustrates the intriguing internationalization of the genre. The often striking animation was designed at the Sparx Animation Studios in Paris, with a large staff of Vietnamese artists. Although the visuals tantalize and the actors providing the voices add a lot of sass, the result is only so-so. Boxoffice prospects look to be modest at best.
Screenwriter Chris McKenna says he was inspired more by Frankenstein movies than by sunnier Disney cartoons. The story takes place in the kingdom of Malaria, where evil scientists rule, aided by their hunchbacked servants, known as Igors. But one of these Igors (voiced by John Cusack) dreams of advancing beyond his rank. When his master dies, Igor decides to enter the annual Evil Science Fair himself and burst the bounds of servitude. Rivals try to foil his plans before the inevitable happy ending.
The animation style, drenched in darkness, owes more to “Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas” than to recent Pixar hits. The visual style grows a bit monotonous, but a more serious problem is that the story is undernourished, and the wit erupts only in flashes. Although Molly Shannon does what she can with Eva, the monster who dreams of being an actress, the script could use more wickedly satirical touches.
Production Status:
Released
Logline:
A hunchbacked lab assistant has big dreams of becoming a mad scientist and winning the first place prize at the annual Evil Science Fair.
Genres:
Comedy and Animation
Release Date:
September 19th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:
PG for some thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language.
Distributors:
The Weinstein Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM)
By: preme | On: 12 Aug, 2008
Three young flies set off on a courageous mission to become the first insects on the moon by hitching a ride on the historic Apollo 11 space flight. The year is 1969 and like everyone else in the world, Nat and his pals IQ and Scooter are abuzz over the upcoming launch of the first manned mission to the moon. Inspired by his Grandpa’s oft-told tale of hiding aboard Amelia Earhart’s plane during her famed solo cross-Atlantic flight, Nat hatches a secret plan for the three young flies to stow away on the Apollo 11 rocket.
The hard part is keeping the plan secret from his mom, Mrs. McFly! When a N.A.S.A. Ground Control official catches sight of the three winged stowaways, he instructs the astronauts to store them in a test tube for later study. But after an electrical short causes the ship’s engine to malfunction, the three intrepid insects manage to escape from their glass mini-brig just in time to discover the wiring problem and fix it. After a difficult lunar landing, Nat tags along with Neil Armstrong on his legendary moon walk. Although the flies face a few more close calls, the mission appears to be a success. At least until Grandpa’s old flame Nadia arrives from Russia to warn him that her government, angry over losing the space race, has dispatched fly-spy Yegor to Cape Canaveral to sabotage the computer flight plans. With the Apollo hurtling toward Earth, it falls to Nat’s family to save the mission–and the trio of brave flies–from disaster.
Also Known As:
Fly Me to the Moon 3-D
Production Status:
Released
Genres:
Action/Adventure, Art/Foreign, Comedy, Kids/Family and Animation
Release Date:
August 15th, 2008 (wide)
Distributors:
Summit Entertainment, LLC
By: preme | On: 29 Jul, 2008
On the front lines of an intergalactic struggle between good and evil, fans young and old will join such favorite characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padma Amidala, along with brand-new heroes like Anakin’s padawan learner, Ahsoka.
Sinister villains–led by Palpatine, Count Dooku and General Grievous–are poised to rule the galaxy. Stakes are high, and the fate of the Star Wars universe rests in the hands of the daring Jedi Knights. Their exploits lead to the action-packed battles and astonishing new revelations.
Genres:
Science Fiction/Fantasy and Animation
Release Date:
August 15, 2008
By: preme | On: 20 Jul, 2008
Explorer Rick O’Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex, wife Evelyn and her brother, Jonathan. And this time, the O’Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service.
Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress to spend eternity in suspended animation, China’s ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have laid forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O’Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents. As the monarch roars back to life, our heroes find his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia. Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force… unless the O’Connells can stop him first.
Genres:
Action/Adventure and Sequel
Release Date:
August 1st, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for adventure action and violence.
Distributors:
Universal Pictures Distribution
Production Co.:
The Sean Daniel Company, Sommers Company
Starring:
Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh, John Hannah
Directed by:
Rob Cohen
By: preme | On: 11 Jun, 2008
The synopsis for Kung Fu Panda looks something like this: “A clumsy panda bear becomes an unlikely kung fu hero when a treacherous enemy spreads chaos throughout the countryside in this animated martial arts adventure featuring the voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan. On the surface, Po (voice of Black) may look like just another portly panda bear, but beneath his fur he bears the mark of the chosen one.
By day, Po works faithfully in his family’s noodle shop, but by night he dreams of becoming a true master of the martial arts. Now an ancient prophecy has come to pass, and Po realizes that he is the only one who can save his people from certain destruction. With time running short and malevolent snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane ) closing in, Furious Five legends Tigress (Jolie), Crane (David Cross ), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), Monkey (Chan), and their wise sensei, Master Shifu (Hoffman), all draw on their vast knowledge of fighting skills in order to transform a lumbering panda bear into a lethal fighting machine. Now, if the noble Po can master the martial arts and somehow transform his greatest weaknesses into his greatest strengths, he will fulfill his destiny as the hero who saved his people during their darkest hour.”
Genre:
Animation
Release Date:
June 6th, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating:
PG
for sequences of martial arts action.
STARRING
Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Ian McShane, Lucy Liu, Angelina Jolie, David Cross, and Seth Rogen