Angel's Anime Rating Guide

As soon as I had heard about this feature, I couldn't NOT watch MFKZ ... Featuring the voices of Michael Chiklis (The Shield, American Horror Story), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Usual Suspects), Jorge Gutierrez (The Book of Life, Son of Jaguar), Dascha Polanco (Orange is the New Black, Joy), RZA, Vince Staples, and Danny Trejo (Machete, Predators). Genre-mashup MFKZ is the collaboration of French comic artist Guillaume _Run_ Renard and ultra-hip Japanese animation house Studio 4C, creators of Tekkonkinkreet, Genius Party and Mind Game. The Tekkonkinkreet dream team of Shojiro Nishimi and art director Shinji Kimura reunite to bring to life a dark but stunningly animated sci-fi vision that mixes anime, film noir, and Lucha Libre in an orgy of video game-inspired mayhem. The film centers on young Angelino and his skull-and-flame pal Vinz, who live in a seedy tenement in an LA-inspired dystopian metropolis -- a burnt-out, gang and cockroach-ridden neo-urban hell. Follow...

I'm not usually a fan of ninjas, but, of course, I had to make an exception for Batman Ninja ... Batman Ninja takes a journey across the ages as Gorilla Grodd's time displacement machine transports many of Batman's worst enemies to feudal Japan--along with the Dark Knight and a few of his allies. The villains take over the forms of the feudal lords that rule the divided land, with the Joker taking the lead among the warring factions. As his traditional high-tech weaponry is exhausted almost immediately, Batman must rely on his intellect and his allies--including Catwoman and the extended Bat-family--to restore order to the land, and return to present-day Gotham City. Batman Ninja , unsurprisingly, requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief from the very beginning and becomes even more unbelievable as the feature progresses from time-travelling lunacy to utter monkey madness, complete with giant robots. The feature is actually very beautifully animated and the style ...

I saw the NetFlix feature, Next Gen ... A rebellious girl and a runaway combat robot unite to stop a madman's technological plan for world domination. Next Gen is an animated feature that envisions a world where technology is even more ubiquitous than it is today -- a world where artificially intelligent household robots are commonplace. Our story centers on Mai, a young girl who has developed a bad attitude after her father and mother separated. While Mai's mother has wrapped herself up with an obsession with robots, Mai spends about a third of the feature acting out all of her bad-girl instincts. Early on in Next Gen , Mai, while acting up, yet again, encounters a combat robot in a lab. After Mai is escorted out of the lab where the combat robot resides by robot police, the combat robot becomes fascinated with Mai and decides to follow her home. At first, Mai isn't really happy with her newfound robot, but, once she realizes the evil potential of this robot, she qu...

I had seen previews for Kubo And The Two Strings and the visuals looked really good, but, I did not see it during its theatrical run. I did, however, eagerly await its release on DVD... From the acclaimed animation studio LAIKA (Coraline) comes an epic original action adventure featuring the voice talents of Academy Award winners Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey. Kubo mesmerizes the people in his village with his magical gift for spinning wild tales with origami. When he accidentally summons an evil spirit seeking vengeance, Kubo is forced to go on a quest to solve the mystery of his fallen samurai father and his mystical weaponry, as well as discover his own magical powers. Kubo and the Two Strings is a wildly imaginative, magical adventure. According to Wokipedia ... Announced in December 2014, the project is the directoral debut of Laika's CEO Travis Knight. Knight was pitched the story by production designer Shannon Tindle as a "stop-motion samurai epic"....

Ernest and Celestine is a French production based on series of children's books featuring a bear and a mouse... Deep below snowy, cobblestone streets, tucked away in networks of winding tunnels, lives a tiny mouse named Celestine. Unlike her fellow mice, Celestine is an artist and a dreamer, and has a hard time fitting in. When she nearly ends up as breakfast for a grumpy bear named Ernest, the two become fast friends and embark on an adventure that will put a smile on your face and make your heart glow. Ernest and Celestine introduces Ernest, a large bear living in a ramshackle house in the countryside. We first meet Ernest looking to scrape together some money for food. Celestine is a mouse who like to draw and believes that bears are not as bad as everyone claims. Celestine lives in an orphanage and makes her living gathering teeth from baby bears to supply a need among mice for replacement teeth. Celestine and Ernest cross paths when Ernest finds Celestine trapped in a tra...

I was revisiting Starchaser: The Legend of Orin when I realized, for some reason that defies description, I hadn't actually mentioned this feature before... Get ready to blast into hyperspace with Starchaser: The Legend of Orin, an exhilarating, animated sci-fi saga hailed as an excellent special treat for families (Screen International) that brings interplanetary excitement and adventure to an all-time high! Deep within a subterranean Mine-World, a tribe of humans forced into a grim life of servitude by the malevolent overlord Zygon knows nothing of the surface world or of hope until a brave young boy named Orin discovers a sword with mysterious powers that only he can unlock! After escaping the Mine-World with his weapon, Orin teams with rogue smuggler Dagg, a beautiful princess and some trusty robots on an intergalactic mission to free his enslaved people and defeat the evil Zygon! Way back in the misty dawn of time, I had seen theatrical previews for Starchaser: The Legend ...

After many years away, my brother, Sammy, recently came home from away and offered some fascinating insights into the peculiarities of censorship in the modern era. Sammy wanted to see an R-Rated movie. As he was looking for a suitable candidate --  Deadpool  --, he happened to notice a pile of  Tinker Bell  movies and mentioned that he had never seen any of them as they were unrated and as such, were banned. He also noted that  Big , the Tom Hanks movie where Tom plays a child who has suddenly grown big, was censored for objectionable content. As for Tinker Bell, from what I understand, in the original text of Peter Pan , fairies are described as being only able to hold only one emotion at a time, so, when Tinker Bell is angry, she is psycho-crazy angry. And, some of Tinker Bell's anger management issues even make their way into the animated Peter Pan movie as noted in a Buzzfeed article. Of course, the more recent Tinker Bell movies are toned down quite a...

I picked up Strange Magic ... STRANGE MAGIC is a music-filled fairy tale about finding true love in the unlikeliest of places. This magical adventure features a host of colorful characters, including a princess who has sworn off love, a dubious villain, a slightly nutty Sugar Plum Fairy, a tenacious elf, a mischievous imp, and a knight who is no Prince Charming. Bring home the enchanting tale the whole family can enjoy today! I had seen previews for Strange Magic when it was in its theatrical run, but, I hadn't really followed the movie in the media. It seemed like something I might want to watch, but, didn't strike me as something that I needed to see during its theatrical release. Then, one day, I happened to come across the Strange Magic DVD in my local video store, so, of course, it had to come home with me. According to Wikipedia ... George Lucas had long wanted to make a film for his three daughters. He described the film as Star Wars for a female audience statin...

Recently, after reviewing some of the older entries in the archive, I realized that I was missing Les Maîtres du temps aka Time Masters ... From the director of Fantastic Planet and Gandahar . René Laloux, comes Les Maîtres du Temps aka Time Masters , his penultimate animated feature film, in 1982. A huge hit in France at the time of its release, it combines Laloux's famous imagination with that of animation designer Jean Giraud (aka Moebius). On planet Perdide, an attack of giant hornets leaves Piel a young boy alone in a wrecked car with his dying father. A mayday message reaches their friend Jaffar, an adventurer travelling through space. On board Jaffar's shuttle are the renegade Prince Matton, his fiancée, and Silbad who knows the planet Perdide well. Thus begins an incredible race across space to save Piel... A quick search of my local online retailer indicated that the English-dubbed release is now out-of-print and that the PAL-format release is also now out-of-p...

This Apprentice is NOT the reality TV show with THAT guy, but, an animated short of the same name made by animation studio, White Radish ... From days of long ago... Galen of Uxbridge, a young sorcerer in training comes to the door of Zima, a cunning sorceress eager for power, who's hell-bent on offering sacrifices to the Demon Bonglin. He's eager to learn, but when "Blinkie" the goat just won't do anymore, she offers HIM as a sacrifice. But, he won't go down without a fight. Features an original score by Vanilla Almond Creme. The Apprentice revolves around Galen, a sorcerer, and Zima, a sorceress and Zima's quest for power at any cost. The animated short was reasonably entertaining, but, felt a little rushed near the end. While this wasn't White Radish 's best work, in my humble opinion, it was a good effort. I gave the Apprentice a 3 out of 5. According to Anime News Network ... The Apprentice is circa 1998... "...[it's] cell a...

A few days ago, I saw part of the Dragon Hunters movie on cable... Get ready to hold your breath as you get whisked along an adventure to save the magical, floating, medieval, and breathtakingly beautiful world from an evil dragon. This impeccable animation tells the classic adventure of a band of eclectic characters focused on a single mission -- to save the world. Zoe dreams of joining valiant knights on exciting adventures, but because she is a girl the king has other plans in mind for her. A gentle giant, Lian-Chu, and his opportunistic friend, Gwizdo, call themselves Dragon Hunters , but seem to have an issue with getting paid. When Zoe sneaks out and accidentally meets the Dragon Hunters , she decides that they will be the ones to slay the dragon, and she also decides to join them. Dragon Hunters looked pretty good in previews. After months of searching, a gently used DVD showed up at my local video store. The special features really aren't all that special, but, having ...

Recently, I had a chance to see Mars Needs Moms ... Mars Needs Moms is a comic animated adventure about moms, Martians, and mutiny. Martian hatchlings are springing up out of the ground up on Mars, and there's a desperate need for a good mom to raise the babies. Mars matriarch "The Supervisor" (Mindy Sterling) sets her sights on Milo's mom (Joan Cusack) because she's doing such a good job raising Milo (Seth Green) down on Earth, and she quickly abducts her. As luck would have it, Milo's just said something to his mother that he's come to regret, goes into her room to apologize right as she's being abducted, and winds up getting caught in the spaceship that's transporting her to Mars. On Mars, Milo meets a strangely childlike human named Gribble (Dan Fogler), and the two quickly become friends and set out on a bumbling mission to rescue Milo's mom. Along the way, they get a little help from Martian Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), who sees things a li...

Sunmin Image Pictures, which produced animation for Batman - The Animated Series and Gargoyles , were tapped to animate Lady Death ... A powerful story of innocence lost, savage betrayal and glorious rebirth, Lady Death begins in 15th Century Sweden, where Hope, the beautiful daughter of Matthias - a skilled mercenary who is in actuality Lucifer, the Lord of Lies - is accused of being the devil's consort following a hellish incident witnessed by local villagers. Sentenced by the town priest to be burned at the stake, Hope is visited by the malevolent Pagan as she writhes in pain. Unable to think clearly, she accepts Lucifer's offer of life in Hell over a hideously painful death... only to discover that there are far worse fates than dying. Lucifer's grand plan to corrupt a soul of pure innocence meets unanticipated resistance, as Hope rejects Lucifer's scheme and eventually finds herself transformed into the powerful warrior Lady Death, who challenges the ...

Join three cute girls as they fight monsters in order to get their hands on the Item ... "Behold the floating fortress of the Mighty Q'Thulu risen again from its slumber beneath the waves. Yeah... Let's kick some non-euclidean butt."... From the studios of White Radish comes a night in the life of three cute girls from all walks of life. As they face the forces of an unspeakable horror... Join Mecha, Jinx, and Bunni as they fight the unholy monstrosities in the twisted castle of the long-dead thing from ancient stars in order to get their hands on the Item... What is the Item? That's a surprise. With music by Vanilla Almond Creme. The Item centers on three girls, Mecha, Jinx and Bunni, as they fight monsters in an effort to reach the Item . What is the Item ? Take a peek and find out. The  Item  was made by animation studio, White Radish , using classic themes found in traditional anime. I was very impressed by the animators' effort. At approximately six m...

Years ago, I came across Spawn ... Animation Volume 1 It is time for a new warrior to emerge from the darkness. He was once a man... now he's a "hell spawn", battling the forces of evil on Earth - and himself. Using his strange powers, he fights to uncover the truth about his identity and fulfill his destiny. One of the comic book industry's most popular and intriguing characters, Spawn explodes on the screen in a maelstrom of fantastic imagery with action, romance and high-level espionage. Volume 2 The war between heaven and hell continues... Todd McFarlane's hell-spawn returns to battle the forces of evil on earth in this powerful second feature-length installment of SPAWN. How can you avenge betrayal and murder? How can you fight for right in a world so steeped in evil? How can you protect those you love most from all that can do them harm? No man living - or dead - can tell you. But one trapped between both is struggling for an answer that can save the...

Sometime ago, I came across a wonderful animated movie, somewhere on the dial, called Mary and Max ... From Academy Award winning writer/director Adam Elliot and producer Melanie Coombs (HARVEY KRUMPET) comes the hilarious and moving new claymated feature film about the pen-pal relationship between two very different people: Mary Daisy Dinkle (voiced by Oscar nominee Toni Collette) is a lonely 8-year-old in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Max Jerry Horovitz (Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is an obese 44-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome living in the chaos of New York City. Over the course of 20 years and 2 continents, their unusual journey of friendship will explore autism, taxidermy, alcoholism, where babies come from, kleptomania, sexual differences, trust, copulating dogs, religious differences, agoraphobia and more of life's big and little surprises. Mary and Max follows the relationship of the two main characters, who carry a great deal of emotional baggag...

I picked up the Secret of Kells recently. According to Amazon ... In contrast to big-budget Hollywood CG features, The Secret of Kells is a welcome reminder of how warm, personal, and compelling traditional drawn animation can be. The story takes place in the eighth century, a perilous time when Viking raiders threatened to destroy Irish civilization. Since his parents were killed by Vikings, 12-year-old Brendan (voice by Evan McGuire) has lived within the walled monastery of Kells under the stern eye of his uncle, Abbot Cellach (Brendan Gleeson). But his life changes when Brother Aidan (Mick Lally) arrives at Kells with a wondrously beautiful but unfinished illuminated manuscript, created to be "a beacon in these dark times." Brendan realizes he wants to become an illuminator and complete the book, despite his uncle's opposition. His decision helps him win the friendship of Aisling (Christen Mooney), a silver-haired wood fairy--and requires him to battle the monstr...

I picked up the remastered version of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings ... Although it was ultimately overshadowed by Peter Jackson's live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic is not without charms of its own. A target of derision from intolerant fans, this ambitious production is nevertheless a respectably loyal attempt to animate the first half of Tolkien's trilogy, beginning with the hobbit Frodo's inheritance of "the One Ring" of power from Bilbo Baggins, and ending with the wizard Gandalf's triumph over the evil army of orcs. While the dialogue is literate and superbly voiced by a prestigious cast (including John Hurt as Aragorn), Leonard Rosenman's accomplished score effectively matches the ominous atmosphere that Bakshi's animation creates and sustains. Bakshi combined traditional cel animation with "rotoscoped" (i.e., meticulously traced) live-action...

At some time in the 1950's, Mom happened to see Rapunzel on TV. After some searching, I came across an animated feature by Ray Harryhausen that seemed to fit the parameters of Mom's vague recollection... According to Wikipedia .... A childless couple that wanted a child lived next to a walled garden which belonged to an enchantress. The wife, as a result of her long-awaited pregnancy, noticed a Rapunzel plant (or, in some versions of the story, rampion radishes or lamb's lettuce), planted in the garden and longed for it to the point of death. For two nights, the husband went out and broke into the garden to gather some for her; on the third night, as he was scaling the wall to return home, the enchantress, whose name is said to be "Dame Gothel", caught him and accused him of theft. He begged for mercy, and the old woman agreed to be lenient, on condition that the then-unborn child be surrendered to her at birth. Desperate, the man agreed. When the gir...

After recent trips to YouTube  yielded a Cosmic Christmas and other animated gems from the past, I developed an interest in some other animation from the early days of Nelvana. Intergalactic Thanksgiving aka Please Don't Eat the Planet seemed like an interesting story, so, I gave it a try. With a new twist on an old holiday, Intergalatic Thanksgiving or Please Don't Eat the Planet is a delightful animated special combining space age fantasy with the old and revered traditions that make Thanksgiving a great festive holiday. I also looked into Take Me Up To The Ballgame and despite its age (almost thirty years), I enjoyed it even more than Intergalactic Thanksgiving . In this interplanetary baseball story, a group of friends are playing a sandlot game on Earth that is noticed by Irwin, an outer space promoter of baseball. The haphazard team consists of an eagle, a beaver, a bear, a kangaroo, and a mole. Irwin invites the Earth team to play against the Outer Space All-...