Animation reviews (The Secret World of Arrietty, Justice League: Doom)
Been a while, but wanted to let out my feelings on these two films. Enjoy!
The Secret World of Arrietty
By Darius Washington
So I went to visit a local comic shop and the lovely lady running things said she was holding a contest for passes to an advance screening of The Secret World of Arrietty. (pronounced ahr-ee-EHT-ee). Needless to say, I was one of the fortunate entrants and I got to check out the latest film from Studio Ghibli to grace American screens.
Said film opens with a somewhat sickly teenage boy named Shawn (voiced by David Henrie) being dropped off at his new home, where his aunt and mother grew up. He sees a large cat out back which is seemingly very focused on a plant. The cat is attacked by a crow and eventually driven away, but the boy thinks he spots a slight humanoid form within the shrubs…
The humanoid form in question is Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler), a tiny 13-year old female who lives with her parents in the lowest reaches of the Clock home. The tiny trio is only one group of many such small people who have in various homes, perfected the art of ‘borrowing’, taking only items which full sized humans won’t miss in their homes, such as a button or crumb or other similar items. These don’t mean much to 5ft humans, but can be a world of difference to 4-inch creatures looking to live quietly. For instance, we see Arrietty head out with her father Pod (Will Arnett) on her first foraging. In the process she acquires a misplaced sewing needle (which she comes to use as a sword) as her first borrowing before helping dad to grab a single sugar cube for her mother Homily’s (Amy Poehler) eventual use for the week.
Arrietty also acquires something else on this outing: the interest of a curious human sized admirer who spotted her on his arrival and can’t stop wondering about the little residents. Yep Shawn sees Arrietty and tells her not to be afraid, but the father & daughter duo run off. Afterward, Pod forbids her from any future contact with the boy since interaction between to two races have often gone badly (fatally at times) for the borrowers, even when well-meaning humans were involved. This doesn’t deter Shawn in the slightest who just wants to wants to make some friends while he’s trapped in his new surroundings, and does so by leaving small kindnesses for the borrowers. Shawn’s seemingly strange behavior begins to vex the housekeeper Hara (Carol Burnett) until it dawns on her that his behavior may not be so strange after all…
The Secret World of Arrietty is a vibrant one both inside and outside the Clock home. The detailed backdrops of the refuse beneath the house are stark contrast to the oft-moving forestry surrounding the place. As has been the case in Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away (among other films), the animators of Studio Ghibli have shown themselves to be best in the game when it comes to animating nature as a living entity, from the winds, to the trees, to the birds, to the bugs and everything else inhabiting this vibrant setting. Under director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, this proves to be the strongest aspect of the film, one that should definitely be experienced on a theatrical screen. Yonebashi served as key animator on several projects before getting the nod to be Studio Ghibli’s youngest director, and the prior experience apparently paid of very well.
The screenplay however, although decent could use a bit of refinement. Adapted from the 1952 British young fantasy novel “The Borrowers” by Mary Norton, the story here by famed director Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicaa and the Valley of Wind) and Keiko Niwa (Tales From Earthsea) sets up the film beautifully. We’re shown the perspective of the little people dwelling in the often dangerous world, as well as Shawn’s own issues (which are slightly exacerbated by his helping The Borrowers), but there is only so much done with these elements. The screenplay builds things up pretty well, but only progresses so much, and the next thing you know, 100 minutes have gone by. As adaptations go, this was a stronger one than the uneven Howl’s Moving Castle, but it still could’ve been expanded more. The overall tone of the film feels like something fellow Ghibli director Isao Takahata would direct for say “Only Yesterday” or “My Neigbors The Yamadas," but a bit shorter. For older moviegoers, this movie might be reminiscent of a Saturday morning cartoon called “The Littles” with similar subject matter and childlike spirit.
My only other nitpick would be that Bridgit Mendler sounds a bit much like a 19-year old woman to be portraying a 13 - year old girl. There was a dub produced for release in England prior to this and given that the novel itself was British, it definitely would’ve been interesting to hear that performance as well, since it’s not like U.S. audiences wouldn’t have understood what was being said. Still, The American cast does acquit themselves nicely so there really isn’t as much of an issue here as there could’ve been.
The screening I attended was primarily aimed at children it seemed as there were more of them in the audience (alongside parents of course) than the typical teen - college range of anime fans. Folks seemed pleased overall though judging from their reactions and as critical as I may seem here, I have to say I enjoyed myself as well. I’m giving an A for visuals and B for screenplay so, I guess this would be a B+ movie overall and a very good start for director Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s movie career. Check out The Secret World of Arrietty at a local theater if you can. You and your kids (if you have any) should have a pretty good time.
****
Justice League: Doom
JLA: Tower of Babel, written by Mark Waid, is one of the best comic stories ever written about the DC Comics characters who comprise the Justice League of America.
The late Dwayne McDuffie was one of the best writers in both comics and animation, having demonstrated excellent work on the TV series Justice League Unlimited and the movie Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. So when he was tapped to adapt a screenplay based on Tower of Babel into the new feature Justice League: Doom, it should’ve been a flawless work.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Doom starts off with a robbery being perpetrated by the Royal Flush Gang, who is interrupted by Batman. He in turn calls the League for help, which in this film includes Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and The Flash (Barry Allen). Through teamwork and impressive power displays (and an unexpected appearance by young hero Cyborg), the JLA manages to win the battle, but not without a bit of cost as Batman is injured, yet seeks no medical treatment. Fortunately at the batcave, Alfred the faithful butler changes Bats’s mind and the two retire for the evening…. leaving the cave and its great computer unguarded.
Eventually, we shift to the Louisiana swamps, where immortal villain Vandal Savage has constructed a secret base and called villains such as Star Sapphire, Mirror Master, The Cheetah, Metallo, Maalefic and Bane for an important job: killing off the Justice League using specific traps from new data he’s just acquired. As Savage’s plans unfold, it becomes apparent the League may be in over their heads, and the only one who can save them is the person who put them in grave danger in the first place: not Vandal Savage, but Batman.
The events that play out make for a decent superhero adventure movie. The animation directed by Lauren Montgomery is actually pretty good, and I hadn’t really enjoyed her style previously. There’s some big battle scenes that are somewhat fun to watch. Also I have to say the trap shown for the Martian Manhunter is particularly agonizing here, done better than the comic story. The Flash’s trap is pretty good too.
As to the voice acting under director Andrea Romano, it was fun hearing familiar voices return for this film. After two decades, Kevin Conroy remains the definitive Batman for the animation scene, and Tim Daly still projects Superman as Earth’s greatest hero. Carl Lumbly and Susan Eisenberg return as well to portray Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman respectively. The two unusual elements are having Nathan Fillion in a new project as Hal Jordan after only doing so one other time in the excellent Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. It felt slightly unusual to see after we’ve seen the John Stewart /Green Lantern for years. Also it’s a bit weird hearing Michael Rosenbaum doing the serious scientist Barry Allen version of The Flash after he did such great work portraying the sarcastic and laid back Wally West incarnation of the character on Justice League Unlimited. All the actors performed to their usual awesomeness but it was still a bit to get used to.
So why the issues then? Basically this screenplay is not as good as the original comic story. There’s a featurette where Producer Bruce Timm and Lauren Montgomery talk about Tower of Babel not being a movie-worthy story so they asked Dwayne McDuffie to change things around for a more action packed story, and to incorporate different characters to keep them congruent with the new DC 52 lineup which was about to take place at the time. This included pushing Cyborg to the forefront as a more prominent member of the JLA instead of the Teen Titans as he’s often been. The problem is that with all the changes and emphasis on action, the most powerful aspects from the comic are diluted here. Removing some of the characters for others was annoying to see but still can work. It happens all the time in adaptations. But what made Tower of Babel so powerful was the effect Batman’s actions have on the Justice League. They’re truly devastating to the team. In this movie however, that aspect is pushed to the side and mostly becomes business as usual. Also, some of the trap changes felt too derivative of Superman / Batman Public Enemies and could've been a bit better, though what Bane did to Batman was somewhat amusing. In the end though, this piece becomes just another superhero story, instead of what could’ve been a truly memorable one. Besides that, the name "Doom' doesn't feel terribly imaginative or anything.
I’ll likely buy this release because I want to support Dwayne McDuffie’s final work. I actually got a bit choked up when his dedication appeared in the final shot. Also, there’s supposed to be a featurette about his life on this disc. Hoping it’ll be good. These elements are what will compel me to buy the blu ray more than the actual movie itself. I prefer to remember him as the guy who brought us some great stuff in Milestone comics (which in turn led to the creation of the Static Shock cartoon eventually) as well as a pretty good adaptation of All-Star Superman, among other things.
As to Justice League Doom though…. I give it a C+ / B-. It’s decent but… well, I have a list of my favorite comic-to-animation movies and ones from DC / Warner Animations normally make me think about changing it. This one didn’t make me even look at my list once.
As to said list:
All-Star Superman
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Doctor Strange
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Hellboy: Sword of Storms
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Justice League: The New Frontier
Planet Hulk
Wonder Woman
The Secret World of Arrietty
By Darius Washington
So I went to visit a local comic shop and the lovely lady running things said she was holding a contest for passes to an advance screening of The Secret World of Arrietty. (pronounced ahr-ee-EHT-ee). Needless to say, I was one of the fortunate entrants and I got to check out the latest film from Studio Ghibli to grace American screens.
Said film opens with a somewhat sickly teenage boy named Shawn (voiced by David Henrie) being dropped off at his new home, where his aunt and mother grew up. He sees a large cat out back which is seemingly very focused on a plant. The cat is attacked by a crow and eventually driven away, but the boy thinks he spots a slight humanoid form within the shrubs…
The humanoid form in question is Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler), a tiny 13-year old female who lives with her parents in the lowest reaches of the Clock home. The tiny trio is only one group of many such small people who have in various homes, perfected the art of ‘borrowing’, taking only items which full sized humans won’t miss in their homes, such as a button or crumb or other similar items. These don’t mean much to 5ft humans, but can be a world of difference to 4-inch creatures looking to live quietly. For instance, we see Arrietty head out with her father Pod (Will Arnett) on her first foraging. In the process she acquires a misplaced sewing needle (which she comes to use as a sword) as her first borrowing before helping dad to grab a single sugar cube for her mother Homily’s (Amy Poehler) eventual use for the week.
Arrietty also acquires something else on this outing: the interest of a curious human sized admirer who spotted her on his arrival and can’t stop wondering about the little residents. Yep Shawn sees Arrietty and tells her not to be afraid, but the father & daughter duo run off. Afterward, Pod forbids her from any future contact with the boy since interaction between to two races have often gone badly (fatally at times) for the borrowers, even when well-meaning humans were involved. This doesn’t deter Shawn in the slightest who just wants to wants to make some friends while he’s trapped in his new surroundings, and does so by leaving small kindnesses for the borrowers. Shawn’s seemingly strange behavior begins to vex the housekeeper Hara (Carol Burnett) until it dawns on her that his behavior may not be so strange after all…
The Secret World of Arrietty is a vibrant one both inside and outside the Clock home. The detailed backdrops of the refuse beneath the house are stark contrast to the oft-moving forestry surrounding the place. As has been the case in Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away (among other films), the animators of Studio Ghibli have shown themselves to be best in the game when it comes to animating nature as a living entity, from the winds, to the trees, to the birds, to the bugs and everything else inhabiting this vibrant setting. Under director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, this proves to be the strongest aspect of the film, one that should definitely be experienced on a theatrical screen. Yonebashi served as key animator on several projects before getting the nod to be Studio Ghibli’s youngest director, and the prior experience apparently paid of very well.
The screenplay however, although decent could use a bit of refinement. Adapted from the 1952 British young fantasy novel “The Borrowers” by Mary Norton, the story here by famed director Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicaa and the Valley of Wind) and Keiko Niwa (Tales From Earthsea) sets up the film beautifully. We’re shown the perspective of the little people dwelling in the often dangerous world, as well as Shawn’s own issues (which are slightly exacerbated by his helping The Borrowers), but there is only so much done with these elements. The screenplay builds things up pretty well, but only progresses so much, and the next thing you know, 100 minutes have gone by. As adaptations go, this was a stronger one than the uneven Howl’s Moving Castle, but it still could’ve been expanded more. The overall tone of the film feels like something fellow Ghibli director Isao Takahata would direct for say “Only Yesterday” or “My Neigbors The Yamadas," but a bit shorter. For older moviegoers, this movie might be reminiscent of a Saturday morning cartoon called “The Littles” with similar subject matter and childlike spirit.
My only other nitpick would be that Bridgit Mendler sounds a bit much like a 19-year old woman to be portraying a 13 - year old girl. There was a dub produced for release in England prior to this and given that the novel itself was British, it definitely would’ve been interesting to hear that performance as well, since it’s not like U.S. audiences wouldn’t have understood what was being said. Still, The American cast does acquit themselves nicely so there really isn’t as much of an issue here as there could’ve been.
The screening I attended was primarily aimed at children it seemed as there were more of them in the audience (alongside parents of course) than the typical teen - college range of anime fans. Folks seemed pleased overall though judging from their reactions and as critical as I may seem here, I have to say I enjoyed myself as well. I’m giving an A for visuals and B for screenplay so, I guess this would be a B+ movie overall and a very good start for director Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s movie career. Check out The Secret World of Arrietty at a local theater if you can. You and your kids (if you have any) should have a pretty good time.
****
Justice League: Doom
JLA: Tower of Babel, written by Mark Waid, is one of the best comic stories ever written about the DC Comics characters who comprise the Justice League of America.
The late Dwayne McDuffie was one of the best writers in both comics and animation, having demonstrated excellent work on the TV series Justice League Unlimited and the movie Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. So when he was tapped to adapt a screenplay based on Tower of Babel into the new feature Justice League: Doom, it should’ve been a flawless work.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Doom starts off with a robbery being perpetrated by the Royal Flush Gang, who is interrupted by Batman. He in turn calls the League for help, which in this film includes Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and The Flash (Barry Allen). Through teamwork and impressive power displays (and an unexpected appearance by young hero Cyborg), the JLA manages to win the battle, but not without a bit of cost as Batman is injured, yet seeks no medical treatment. Fortunately at the batcave, Alfred the faithful butler changes Bats’s mind and the two retire for the evening…. leaving the cave and its great computer unguarded.
Eventually, we shift to the Louisiana swamps, where immortal villain Vandal Savage has constructed a secret base and called villains such as Star Sapphire, Mirror Master, The Cheetah, Metallo, Maalefic and Bane for an important job: killing off the Justice League using specific traps from new data he’s just acquired. As Savage’s plans unfold, it becomes apparent the League may be in over their heads, and the only one who can save them is the person who put them in grave danger in the first place: not Vandal Savage, but Batman.
The events that play out make for a decent superhero adventure movie. The animation directed by Lauren Montgomery is actually pretty good, and I hadn’t really enjoyed her style previously. There’s some big battle scenes that are somewhat fun to watch. Also I have to say the trap shown for the Martian Manhunter is particularly agonizing here, done better than the comic story. The Flash’s trap is pretty good too.
As to the voice acting under director Andrea Romano, it was fun hearing familiar voices return for this film. After two decades, Kevin Conroy remains the definitive Batman for the animation scene, and Tim Daly still projects Superman as Earth’s greatest hero. Carl Lumbly and Susan Eisenberg return as well to portray Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman respectively. The two unusual elements are having Nathan Fillion in a new project as Hal Jordan after only doing so one other time in the excellent Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. It felt slightly unusual to see after we’ve seen the John Stewart /Green Lantern for years. Also it’s a bit weird hearing Michael Rosenbaum doing the serious scientist Barry Allen version of The Flash after he did such great work portraying the sarcastic and laid back Wally West incarnation of the character on Justice League Unlimited. All the actors performed to their usual awesomeness but it was still a bit to get used to.
So why the issues then? Basically this screenplay is not as good as the original comic story. There’s a featurette where Producer Bruce Timm and Lauren Montgomery talk about Tower of Babel not being a movie-worthy story so they asked Dwayne McDuffie to change things around for a more action packed story, and to incorporate different characters to keep them congruent with the new DC 52 lineup which was about to take place at the time. This included pushing Cyborg to the forefront as a more prominent member of the JLA instead of the Teen Titans as he’s often been. The problem is that with all the changes and emphasis on action, the most powerful aspects from the comic are diluted here. Removing some of the characters for others was annoying to see but still can work. It happens all the time in adaptations. But what made Tower of Babel so powerful was the effect Batman’s actions have on the Justice League. They’re truly devastating to the team. In this movie however, that aspect is pushed to the side and mostly becomes business as usual. Also, some of the trap changes felt too derivative of Superman / Batman Public Enemies and could've been a bit better, though what Bane did to Batman was somewhat amusing. In the end though, this piece becomes just another superhero story, instead of what could’ve been a truly memorable one. Besides that, the name "Doom' doesn't feel terribly imaginative or anything.
I’ll likely buy this release because I want to support Dwayne McDuffie’s final work. I actually got a bit choked up when his dedication appeared in the final shot. Also, there’s supposed to be a featurette about his life on this disc. Hoping it’ll be good. These elements are what will compel me to buy the blu ray more than the actual movie itself. I prefer to remember him as the guy who brought us some great stuff in Milestone comics (which in turn led to the creation of the Static Shock cartoon eventually) as well as a pretty good adaptation of All-Star Superman, among other things.
As to Justice League Doom though…. I give it a C+ / B-. It’s decent but… well, I have a list of my favorite comic-to-animation movies and ones from DC / Warner Animations normally make me think about changing it. This one didn’t make me even look at my list once.
As to said list:
All-Star Superman
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
Doctor Strange
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Hellboy: Sword of Storms
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Justice League: The New Frontier
Planet Hulk
Wonder Woman