Synopsis:
Mumble Happy Feet (Elijah Wood) is a little different from the rest of the emporer penguins. He can’t seem to find his heart song. What he does have is a desire to dance and he quickly gets shunned by the rest of his kind. But now a mysterious food shortage is threatening the survival of the penguins, and Mumble sets out on an adventure to find out why, hoping he can win back the respect of all the other penguins.

Review:

Plot: This film follows the basic animals on a mission kind of scenario. Its mildly predictable, but there are a few surprises and all of the things that happen aren’t formulaic. I’ll be honest, I didn’t reallize from the trailers that the plot would be so conservation-themed. It carries a great message, I just didn’t know it was coming. A lot of people I spoke to about this before I saw it said the movie wasn’t funny. I disagree. There were plenty of laugh out load moments and when I wasn’t laughing, I was distracted by the incredibly cute penguins. It definitely appealed to the (very large) kid in me, but it isn’t as funny as classics like Toy Story.

Graphics: I thought the CGI in this film was great. All of the penguins looked real (not cartoonish) and the motion was fluid. This movie definitely has included great techniques from the previous generations of CGI films. Apparently (I heard this from a friend), the movie has been criticised for using actors as opposed to CG people in the film. I think the use of actors makes the message in the film a little more serious and relatable. CG people would just weaken the moral in my opinion.

Overall: This movie is definitely worth the watch. If you have kids, I would recommend a matinee showing. If you’re a big kid like me and just like animated movies, I would consider just waiting for the DVD. Enjoy!

Overall Rating: ***
Madagascar @ IMDB
Madagascar @ Amazon

Synopsis:
When four animal friends bust out the zoo for a night on the town, things get wildly out of control. Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), and Gloria (Jada Pinket Smith) quickly find themselves in crates on the way to a wildlife preserve. En route, their crates get knocked overboard and they wash up on the shores of Madagascar. Now these four pampered zoo animals must adjust to life in wild….

Review:
I must say I was a bit dissappointed with Madagascar. I had high hopes for this movie, but it seemed to fall in line with the last few mediocre animated films. It seems that Dreamworks Animation is having difficulties finding success after Shrek and Shrek 2 (which I’m watching while I write this). This movie left something to be desired. I was continuously waiting for that gut busting moment, but it never came.
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Overall Rating:***
Toy Story @ IMDB

Synopsis:
Andy got a toy for his birthday. It walks, it talks, it…..has an identity crisis?!?! Jealousy rages when a new toy becomes a young boys favorite. This is the first installment of the Toy Story franchise. It is the fillm that introduced us to Woody, an old school cowboy who’s used to being number one; Buzz, a futuristic spaceman who’s not quite sure who (or what) he is; Hamm, a pushy porker with a pension for pennies; Rex, a domesticated dino in need of therapy; and Mr. Potato Head, the opinionated hot head.

Review:
I should preface this review with a qualifier: most of my comments are about the DVD, not about the movie. The virtues of Toy Story as a film are worthy of another review. Though the fact that it is celebrating its 10th anniversary, makes such a review pointless. But I should do one, so here it is: the movie is great. That sums it up.
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