Animated sequels have yet to disprove that timeless adage about movie sequels, but they’re giving it a real go. DreamWorks Animation hasn’t always gotten the formula right (the “Shrek” movies got worse and worse), but even “Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa” had entertainment to offer. “Kung Fu Panda 2” marks the studio’s third try at extending a franchise, and from a production quality standpoint its their best effort to do so.

No, “Kung Fu Panda 2” doesn’t outdo the original, especially not in terms of humor, but it improves on the visual mastery of the first, which was strong to begin with. The action sequences in particular still have no rival to this series. Director Jennifer Yuh stays true to the winning combination of action, character development and heart that made the 2008 original a success.

The story works well, but its predictability holds the film back. The original offered a lot of surprises in telling the story of a fat and lazy panda who learned he could be great if he put his mind to it. In this movie, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) tasks Po (Jack Black) with another seemingly impossible mission, one in which the film’s narrated introduction sequence already foreshadows his success. Sure, kids won’t know the difference, but it zaps the film of any excitement for the rest of us.

The story takes Po, the now infamous Dragon Warrior, to Gongman City, where the three kung fu masters that protect the city have been ousted by the villainous peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). Shen was exiled by his parents — who once ruled China — because he had a fondness for turning fireworks into dangerous projectiles. Years later, he uses these cannons to uphold his new reign, because not even kung fu can stop them. We’ll see about that.

The strong voice cast returns for the sequel and delivers. Black has simply become Po at this point he does it so well, and characters such as Tigress (Angelina Jolie) and Po’s father Mr. Ping (James Hong) get more of a spotlight, albeit at the expense of everyone else. Oldman makes a terrific addition as the cocky peacock; he demonstrates some lovely dashes of insanity and Shen’s facial expressions match it perfectly.

On all accounts, the production value of this series has gone up in this installment. The film moves at a good clip and the action sequences have no shortage of wowing moments. Shen’s fighting style is something to behold and the storyboarding of the film’s first sequence when the Furious Five defend their home from Shen’s wolves does not lack for ingenuity to say the least.

Also at work in the film is a subplot involving where Po came from, as one must imagine he is not literally the son of a noodle-cooking goose. The answer to this mystery becomes clear from the moment the question surfaces.

All the other aspects of the movie satisfy, but Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger’s story possesses no creative energy. The choice to go with it was safe. Rather than venture too outside the box, “Kung Fu Panda 2” takes the cookie-cutter route. It looks good and it is good, but it doesn’t meet the standard raised by its predecessor. Fortunately its dedication to character and heart make it stand taller than your average CGI-animated effort.

3.5/5 Stars

Kung Fu Panda 2
Directed by Jennifer Yuh
Written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger
Starring: (voics) Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Dustin Hoffman

The Pixar library stands as modern animation’s most impressive by far, partly due to both the studio and Disney’s belief that sequels should only be made with the right artistic reasons in mind, namely a good story. That’s why, to date, we have just “Toy Story 2,” “Toy Story 3″ and … “Cars 2″ … ? 

The original “Cars” has largely been considered the worst of the Pixar movies, in the same way that Pluto might be considered the worst of the nine planets. So why create a sequel? The answer that’s hard to hear is that “Cars” has done incredible merchandising business compared to the other Pixar films. The less cynical answer would be that its director, Pixar head honcho and young boy at heart John Lasseter, loves the “Cars” universe — a lot. “Cars 2″ plays out as a fantasy for a 6 to 10-year-old boy, one that cares much more about sheen than story, despite Pixar consistently championing that phrase the other way around.

In fairness, “Cars 2″ does everything a sequel should in terms of widening the scope, upping the action and improving the overall visuals. Pixar set the bar for technical mastery in digital animation and every animator and member of the production team meets that standard if not exceeds it. It’s the story under the hood that struggles, choosing fun as its main objective as opposed to heart.

And “Cars 2″ has fun by the tankful. Lasseter, Brad Lewis and Dan Fogelman’s story takes the “Cars” universe and throws “James Bond” into it, a cocktail most definitely shaken and not stirred. The film introduces British secret agent cars Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) who are trying to find out what the dastardly Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann) is up to at the World Grand Prix, a new race sponsored by Sir Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard), an adventurer who is now promoting his new alternative fuel source.

Meanwhile, Lightning McQueen has been busy racing and winning championships when he finally returns to his old pal Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) in Radiator Springs. It’s a short vacation, however, as Formula 1 race car Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro) has challenged McQueen to the World Grand Prix. He accepts and brings Mater to Tokyo with him, where our secret agents believe Mater to be an American spy helping them out.

Most surprisingly, Lightning McQueen takes a back seat in to Mater in this film. Agreed that Mater is one of the funnier supporting characters that Pixar has written and in this film he’s equally if not more hilarious, but McQueen’s quest to be the best is completely inconsequential. There’s a moment, as is in just about every film where the message is about friendship, when he spurns Mater and then later tries to make amends, but it happens so early on. Any emotional impact the film could have had is zapped thanks to this and the fact that McQueen has no bearing on the spy plot. There’s also the theme of Mater confronting that people think he’s stupid, but the power of this message never plays itself out.

The real problem with the story of “Cars 2″ can ultimately be attributed to the fact that it does not necessitate being told in a world where the characters are all cars and other vehicles. The same story could have been told with human characters and nothing would have changed. The car aspect serves only as the chance to be clever with a number of car-related jokes and gadgetry.

Disappointment will resonate with a lot of Pixar fans, yet the truth is “Cars 2″ is such a well- oiled machine that it’s much easier to discuss what the film lacked than its strengths. The action, the wit, the cleverness and the impeccable visuals we’ve come to expect from Pixar make it a first-rate animated film. However, we’ve also come to expect an emotional pull, the feeling of being on the verge of tears for even just a bit. “Cars 2″ doesn’t deliver that at all, nor the feeling of artistic purpose. It feels like a studio making the best movie it could with the pieces it already had in place from its financial successful 2006 film.

At the same time, if “Cars 2″ brings in enough money that it funds another three years of powerful, intelligent and emotional original films like “Up,” “Toy Story 3″ and “WALL*E,” I can deal with that.

3.5/5 Stars

Cars 2
Directed by John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
Written by Ben Queen (screenplay), John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, Dan Fogelman (story)
Starring: (voices) Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, John Turturro

Animated talking-animal films since the dawn of CGI have gotten much more prolific. Now that animals can be illustrated with ease and superb realism (namely in textures such as fur, feathers and scales), the supply can meet the demand and almost every major movie studio has either its own animation division or a relationship with an animation company. “Rio” is the product of Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios, the team behind the “Ice Age” franchise.

With animated films coming out in rampant fashion, originality has taken a hit. The formula? Pick a country, climate or segment of the animal kingdom and set the exact same story there. So what started as a “fish-out-of-water” tale has become a bird/dinosaur/penguin/African animal-out-of-water story. “Rio” is a visually beautiful film with a sweet story and humorous supporting characters, but it contains not one original feather in its coat other than the Brazilian backdrop.

“Rio” tells the story of Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg), a domesticated blue macaw that ended up in Moose Lake, Minn. in the care of a socially awkward bookworm named Linda (Leslie Mann). When an overenthusiastic ornithologist named Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) shows up claiming Blu is the last of his species and he would like to mate him with the lone remaining female back in Rio de Janeiro, Linda is hesitant but agrees.

Eisenberg’s eccentricities fit Blu well and help sell the bird-out-of-cage story effectively. When he meets his mate-to-be, Jewel (Anne Hathaway), things couldn’t go worse. She wants desperately to escape and return to be free in the Amazon. Blu and Jewel are kidnapped, however, by a man who intends to sell them. Chained together, the must of course learn to like each other in order to survive. Oh, and it would help if Blu knew how to fly.

The writing team makes a concerted effort to infuse the film with the free spirit of Rio’s annual “Carnival” festival in hopes of adding a meaningful cultural element. It basically results in a few unexpected musical numbers and several overweight male characters dressing scantily, but it helps give “Rio” a distinctive flavor.

In my opinion, you go full musical or you don’t go musical at all, but the concept works better than you’d expect. Even the typical “statement of evil” song from back in the Disney days makes an appearance here and is actually quite funny. Jemaine Clement voices the evil cockatoo Nigel, one of the more sinister and intriguing animated enemies you’ll see in a film of this genre. He provides the necessary sense of danger for this all-too-typical adventure.

The character archetypes are the most bland: the out-of-its-element main character, the rebellious love interest, the wise mentor figure (George Lopez as Rafael the toucan), the tiny sidekicks (Jamie Foxx and will.i.am as Nico and Pedro) and the big lovable stupid acquaintance (Tracy Morgan as Luiz the bulldog).

Sure, there’s a reason animated films keep coming back to those character types, but “Rio” uses them to an unoriginal end. The moral and themes are tired and not given any renewed attention. Do you think that Blu learns how to fly by the end? I even went so far as to try and guess a line of dialogue: “Blu, you’re flying!” I would tell if you if I was right, but truth of the matter is “Rio” is still a light and enjoyable animated flick worth watching.

3.5/5 Stars

Rio
Directed by Carlos Saldanha
Written by Carlos Saldanha, Earl Richey Jones, Todd Jones, Don Rhymer, Joshua Sternin, Jeffrey Ventimilla, Sam Harper
Starring (voices): Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro

It seems to have taken until the eleventh hour, but Disney has finally found a way to make its classic fairytale stories work in the 21st Century. Thanks to longtime Disney animator Glen Keane (serving as producer) and directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard (“Bolt”), the film stays true to Disney’s long line of rich fairytale history while adding a distinct layer of action, adventure and humor that modern audiences now require.

2009′s “The Princess and the Frog” marked a complete return to traditional animation for Disney and received much praise, but the film continued the trend of moderate and unsatisfactory box-office success for fairytales. All hope seemed to be pinned on “Tangled” to revive the genre or it would surely hit Disney’s back burner indefinitely. Once titled “Rapunzel,” Disney’s strategy for this film was clear: appeal to a wider audience. Zachary Levi’s character Flynn Rider, a sharp but self-absorbed thief, became a focal point of the marketing, and while this is Rapunzel’s (Mandy Moore) story, he does play a more prominent role than a large segment of Disney princes from over the years. In short, “Tangled” appeals to boys, girls and the whole family.

Disney has never been known for defying stereotypes, so in that sense, the complexity of Rapunzel and Flynn should be a lauded accomplishment. Like most princesses (or so it seems) Rapunzel is a naive dreamer who sings about longing to see the outside world from her tower, but she’s quick with a frying pan (as a weapon, not cooking utensil) and her hair possesses a surprising amount of dexterity. It’s rather unrealistic how well she handles the outside world considering her overprotective and narcissistic mother (Donna Murphy) has bred incredible fear in her, but she’s by far the most 21st Century princess to date. As for Flynn, despite the cockiness, deception and excessive charm, he has a down-to-earth dry wit too that makes up for his over-the-top nature.

The story carries a surprising amount of intensity and emotional pull. With Mother Gothel and the two thug twins in pursuit of Rapunzel and Flynn as they venture to the kingdom so Rapunzel can see the “floating lights” that come out every year on her birthday, there’s no shying away from dark elements. The possessive mother motif always works to make you sick inside and considering Rapunzel’s sweet nature, you really do wish ill on Mother Gothel.

In terms of the animation, “Tangled” feels traditional, but it’s a good thing. Keane has worked on countless of the Disney classics of the ’90s and he finds a way to adapt that style while using computers. The result is that familiar richness and magic of a hand-drawn animated film with the photorealism and attention to detail of CGI. With big round eyes, all the characters earn our sympathy quickly and make “Tangled” as enchanting as it is action-packed and exciting.

As Disney has always done with exceptional skill, the non-verbal but human-like animal characters vastly increase the humor of the film. Paschal the chameleon and Maximus the royal steed both have unpredictable dispositions that make them fun and lovable. As a chameleon, Paschal likes to instigate conflict but quickly recoils and turns the shade of objects around him when he’s nervous. Maximus takes it upon himself to track down Flynn with a sense of self-importance, yet he’s a sucker for normal animal pleasures like being pet and apples. The brilliance of these characters never fails and will always be part of the Disney legacy.

So sigh relief if you’re a Disney fairytale fan, because “Tangled” has finally found the answer. Some die-hards will insist on more memorable songs and musical numbers (even with a couple of excellent Alan Menken tunes, especially “I See the Light”), but the trade off (as seen with a “PG” rating for the film as opposed to all previous fairytales earning a “G”) is something more compelling for all audiences.

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4/5 Stars

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Tangled
Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard
Written by Dan Fogelman, The Brothers Grimm (story)
Starring: (voices) Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Pearlman

It’s always nice when a movie surpasses expectations. It’s even nicer when that better-than- expected film negates the potential title-related puns that critics could have used to lambaste it. In other words, there’s nothing despicable to say about “Despicable Me” other than the title’s overall irrelevance and potential roadblock to making more money.

In a time where the age demographic for animated features isn’t confined to under 10 thanks to our friends at DreamWorks and Pixar, one never knows what to expect. “Despicable Me” is explicitly for the kiddies, however, with a few under-the-radar adult jokes. Adults will appreciate its cuteness and be generally amused, but Illumination Entertainment’s debut film stays mostly slap-happy and goofy, very much so in the tradition of “Looney Tunes.” In fact, you might even miss “Looney Tunes” a bit after this hour and a half of predominantly physical gags where characters walk away from explosions with nothing but soot on their face.

Following the trend of superheroes and supervillains pervading family entertainment the last 5-10 years, “Despicable Me” focuses on devious Russian-accented supervillain Gru (Steve Carell), who’s best known for stealing the Times Square Jumbotron and the statue of liberty – - well, the miniature from Las Vegas. Needless to say, Gru is losing his mojo and to make up for it, he plans to steal the moon. Only problem is, a new rival villain named Vector (Jason Segel) has stolen the shrink ray — that he stole. Without it, he cannot steal the moon, nor secure the loan he needs from the Bank of Evil to build his rocket ship to get there.

That’s where the “Adventures in Babysitting” part comes in, another all-to-common trend in family entertainment of late. Fortunately, here’s another area where “Despicable Me” has gone and made it work anyway. Three orphan girls with the unfortunate names of Margo, Edith and Agnes manage to get into Vector’s super-secure high-tech hideout right in front of Gru’s eyes. He concocts what he thinks to be a brilliant plan: adopt the girls and have them bring Vector robot cookies that will infiltrate and steal back the shrink ray. As you’d expect, the girls become more than he bargained for, and ultimately test his cold, stubborn heart.

“Despicable Me” doesn’t necessarily rise above these clichés with a fresh or innovative approach. It merely executes them well and not to excess, never seeming like too much of a kids movie. The yellow pill-shaped minions, for example, while not all that funny or lovable, work well and add a somewhat different dimension to the movie to keep it balanced.

The film’s plot is irrelevant and stays that way, which is a sign of a film that understands its role as entertainment and executes as such. By selecting simple and predictable narrative patterns, directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud’s creativity with the sequences and characters becomes the focus. Arguably, however their ability to not take any moment of the film too seriously makes “Despicable Me” work. Considering the tried-and-true physical comedy spread throughout, it definitely takes a certain silliness to make decades-old cartoon tactics work for a modern audience.

“Despicable Me” figures it out and does so without pandering to kids and families, a movie that’s age appropriate but not exclusively so.

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3.5/5 Stars

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Despicable Me
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
Written by Ken Daurio, Sergio Pablos and Cinco Paul
Starring: (voices) Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Miranda Cosgrove, Russel Brand

No matter which way you shake it, “Shrek Forever After” amounts to nothing more than a way to capitalize on a profitable franchise for a fourth time. Many fans will see this as proper closure to the franchise, but that’s the closure *they* need, not that the films needed. “Forever After” feels much more like a side venture than a full-circle exclamation point for the 21st Century’s most beloved animated character.

This grand finale follows the classic “see what your life would be like if nothing ever happened” plot of “A Christmas Carol” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Shrek (Mike Myers) is a daddy ogre now whose life has become repetitive and devoid of personal free time. When he finally bursts, a crafty Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), the notorious deal-maker of fairy tale lore, strikes up a contract that in exchange for one day of Shrek’s life, Shrek can have a day of being a regular ogre again. Shrek signs and suddenly “Far, Far Away” is turned upside down and Rumpelstiltskin has become the ruler.

The “don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” theme gets exhausted early because we’ve seen this several times before. We realize that although Shrek enjoys part of his “free day,” he’s going to regret his decision and want his old life back and plead with his friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz) to remember. The only plus to this story line is that it changes up these characters we know and love just enough to make the fresh again in our minds. Fat kitty Puss in Boots, for one, is quite entertaining. Yet the film never shakes us of the feeling that all this is happening just for the sake of having another “Shrek” adventure.

Of all the new additions, necessary or not, Rumpelstiltskin is by far the best. Voice actor/writer Walt Dohrn shines in this elevated spotlight. He strikes up the right blend between bad guy we can pity and wacko villain and he’s animated in a way that follows suit. Unfortunately, his character mutates from crafty magical underling to eccentric Napoleonic dictator once Shrek signs the contract and he becomes like most other animated despots.

The other characters are up to the same tricks that DreamWorks Animation knows worked before and that we’re apt to fall for again. Most everyone has at least one funny moment here or there, but “Shrek Forever After” is much less hysterical on the whole than previous installments.

More significantly absent, however, is the sense of adventure and camaraderie. Previous films took us on actual journeys with these characters and showed us the ups and downs along the way, especially between Donkey and Shrek. In this film, Shrek attempts to make good with all his friends even though they don’t know who he is. He’s very much on his own and we don’t feel all that bad for him because we all knew signing the contract was a bad idea. Certainly this lesson should be heard by children, but adults have learned it already and “Forever After” doesn’t put a new spin on it.

There’s no shame in revisiting old friends in the form of familiar and lovable characters, but “Shrek Forever After” offers little more than those comforts. A handful of good jokes hit and some things surprise such as Rumpelstiltskin, but if this truly is the end of Shrek, I don’t think any of us, fans or not, will have trouble living happily ever after.

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2/5 Stars

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Shrek Forever After
Directed by Mike Mitchell
Written by Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke
Starring: (voices) Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Walt Dohrn, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas

Watching “How to Train Your Dragon” on DVD, I had my first (and what could well be my last) case of 3-D regret. Watching the young viking Hiccup soaring on the back of his new pal Toothless the dragon made me seriously wish I’d seen the film in theaters and yes, in 3D, a medium that I’ve stood soundly against with exception of “Avatar.” Its absence, however, is evident in DreamWorks’ breathtaking “Avatar”-similar story of dragons and vikings misunderstanding each other.

Much like “Avatar,” “Dragon” tells a classic story of rivals only between man and beast in this case, which hearkens to our mistreatment of animals, but that’s a lesson for another day. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a sarcastic young viking who wants to be “cool” and demonstrate the strong and fearless viking traits, but he’s scrawny and as a result isn’t anything like his his dad, tribe leader Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler). When Hiccup captures the most elusive of al dragon breeds, he thinks his days as a loser viking are over, but when he finds his prey, he can’t bring himself to slay the beast and ends up befriending it instead.

“Dragon” highlights how the misunderstood protagonist tends to be the most effective in animated/family films. As a “black sheep,” we sympathize with the character and over the course of the film that grows to empathy, which strengthens when the character has a reversal of fortune. In this case, Hiccup’s friendship with his dragon-friend Toothless, leads him to learn things about dragons that can tame them and uses these techniques during dragon training to appear to have outsmarted the beasts. Then comes the accidental event that causes Stoick to more or less disown his son and after that, you’re fully invested in the story.

The humor in “Dragon” is much more minimal than say, “Kung Fu Panda” and certainly “Shrek,” but what it lacks in laughs it makes up for in truthful storytelling, terrific visuals and overall cuteness. Among writers/directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders’ best decisions ranks the one to make the dragons a lot like dogs in their expressions and behavior (when they’re not shooting flames at people). Toothless’ concept design gives him the versatility of scary and super friendly and ultimately we learn to like him quickly.

Conventions in storytelling only go so far, but when they’re adorned in great visuals and given a unique context such as the viking world (as historically awkward as that is if you know anything about vikings), they seem fresh and more importantly, serve as effective entertainment. Although the heart of the story will be gone for the upcoming sequel just on the basis of how the movie ends, this creative team will no doubt find a way to get the job done.

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4/5 Stars

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How to Train Your Dragon
Directed by Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Written by Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders and William Davies, Cressida Cowell (novel)
Starring: (voices) Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson

It will always remain a mystery as to what took so long for just a good old computer animation version of a Dr. Seuss story. “The Grinch” and “The Cat in the Hat” had their entertainment value, but the confines of the real world simply don’t reflect the towering imagination of one Mr. Theodor Geisel. “Horton Hears a Who!” conveys that spirit of wacky yet message-driven entertainment.

The iconic elephant, voiced by Jim Carrey and tailored to his talents as a comic actor, is playfully naive in this adaptation from “Ice Age” studio 20th Century Fox Animation. His sense of unbound imagination and inherent goofiness will resonate well with children as that rare combination of coming off both as friend and mentor. Surrounded by a Seuss-appropriate cast of the oddest creatures, his story of discovering an entire world of Whos upon a speck resting on a flower is the closest children’s stories will ever get to the sense of cosmic existentialism and for that reason it’s a powerful story to be able to be told at such a basic level.

“Horton Hears a Who!” pits two ideologies — one a clear winner from the get-go — against each other: imagination versus common sense. Kangaroo (Carol Burnett) believes Horton telling the children of the jungle that there are tiny people in this speck is a poisonous idea and she’ll stop at nothing to control the way her little one and the other children see the world. In the real world, the clear winner is Kangaroo, but rightfully so in a children’s story, it’s imagination that will take the day. Despite that inevitable conclusion, “Horton” is attention-grabbing with a bright sense of humor and ceaseless charisma.

Few films blend genuinely clever humor with physical kid humor, but “Horton” does both with little extra effort. There are the nonsensical gags such as the little gerbil-like character who makes the most bizarre facial expressions and mentions that in her little world the people “eat rainbows and poop butterflies.” The delivery is the adult-geared joke and the word “poop” catches the youngsters off-guard too. One sequence is a Horton spoof on anime which is simply hilarious if you have seen any anime before, but even if kids haven’t, the fast-tempo of this bizarre sequence with Horton pretending he’s a ninja will elicit laughs.

Animation is not a focal point with this story. Fox has gone for a cartoony look that best exemplifies the bright bold colors of the Seuss books. A Seuss adaptation should without question have a look of its own and not conform to most animation studios nearly unflappable belief that more realism in animation is better. Fox picks and chooses where to be realistic (use of light, being one example).

The central moral of “a person’s a person, no matter how small” lies at the center of “Horton,” but doesn’t squeeze its way in or dominate the story to the point where the ending is cheesy. Well, the whole cast singing “Can’t Fight this Feeling” is a little cheesy, but it’s also reflective of how joyfully random the film is.

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4/5 Stars

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Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Directed by Jimmy Heyward, Steve Martino
Written by Ken Daurio, Cinco Paul, Dr. Seuss
Starring: (voices) Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett

There really is something a bit fantastic about Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation debut “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” The quirky spirit of the Roald Dahl book could only be captured by a filmmaker with a deep and unforgiving wit. Anderson’s dry and subtle sense of humor might not translate into big dollars (at least by comparison to giants such as DreamWorks and Pixar), but his affinity for diverse and amusing characters fits the world of animation better than anyone might expect.

Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) is a cocky yet certainly charming woodland creature who relocates his family to an area where three nasty and powerful farmers named Boggis, Bunce and Bean live nearby. A former chicken thief, Mr. Fox sees a chance to recapture some of his former glory, even if it means going behind the back of his loyal wife (Meryl Streep). When the farmers catch onto him, they go after his home and family.

Snagging your attention from the get-go is the unique quality of the stop-motion figures. Anderson explores the medium’s full potential, blending elements of the modern day detail- oriented school of thought with cartoon elements and also playing with the 2-D diorama aspect which is unlike anything done before. Stop-motion masters such as Nick Park are all focuses on making the world seem as real as possible whereas Anderson isn’t afraid to make his characters look and feel like moving figurines. He embraces that quality in a way most filmmakers would likely be afraid to do.

The details on the close-ups of Mr. Fox and friends are stunning. I can’t recall any stop- motion characters that looked so good inches away from the camera. The fur and the way the eyes roll around in the sockets are two unparalleled qualities.

Anderson’s dry humor lends itself excellently to the family film, which fans of his work probably did not expect, but probably should have. His films have always been focused on family. Tone down the family members to PG levels and the extent to which they are dysfunction and you have an excellent director for such a film. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” would not top any kid’s list of family/kid movies, but there’s no issues of child-appropriateness. Some physical humor accompanied with the dead-pan wit of of Anderson and his usual suspects (Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, etc) achieve the child vs. parent-geared balance most animated films strive for.

Then again, adults will appreciate “Mr. Fox” a whole lot more. Animation has proved itself a viable means of adult entertainment in 2009 with “Mr. Fox” capping it all off. The film will make you laugh in ways you never thought an animated film with talking animals ever could because of how ingeniously understated all the gags are.

But “Mr. Fox” is equal parts art, taking stop-motion to new places. The opening sequences of Mr. and Mrs. running through a farm and stealing chickens serves as an ideal taste of what’s to come. The camera pulls back and you see the set as if you were one of the filmmakers looking at these miniature models and the two are running around and jumping to some classic-as-always soundtrack choices from Anderson. It is a unique and spirited adventure that despite a somewhat disinteresting plot breaks ground in enough special ways to warrant some serious acclaim.

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4/5 Stars

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Directed by Wes Anderson
Written by Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Roald Dahl (book)
Starring: (voices) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman

I don’t have anything against talking animals. I love Disney movies like the rest of them. I’ll take talking toys, bugs, bears, penguins, fish, you name it — but an elite force of special unit guinea pigs in a live action setting is not something that screams fun for the whole family. No doubt that kids will get a kick out of mindless physical humor with chase scenes, explosions and high-tech gadgetry, but considering 2009 was full of terrific animated movies from “Coraline” to “Up” to “Cloudy with a Chance Meatballs,” “G-Force” is a complete waste by comparison.

A team of genetically enhanced talking guinea pigs works for a secret division of the government. When their plan to stop a mad man (Bill Nighy) goes sour, they’re shut down and the guinea pigs end up at a pet store, where planning their escape and still managing to stop the bad guy will be their toughest challenge yet.

Written by The Wibberleys (“National Treasure” co-writers), “G-Force” is another being a hero story only with balls of fur and consequently a lot of “that’s because I’m small or furry or an animal” jokes.

The big mistake, in my opinion, is combining live action and CGI. I think they could’ve made this film work all animated, but they chose the much cornier route. As a result, the film just looks worse and they cause themselves problems such as why the guinea pigs are talking CGI creatures but the dogs and squirrels in the movie are ordinary dogs and squirrels. When the film goes “Transformers 2″ at the end, it just makes things worse.

“G-Force” certainly has no lack of action. The plot moves quickly and the film is watchable. It’s one thing to be bad and another to be bad and dull. “G-Force” is not dull, but it doesn’t earn many more compliments. It’s mostly the humor that backfires and attempts to write in subplots of g-pigs wanting to date other g-pigs. I must, however, compliment voice casting. Penelope Cruz, Nic Cage, Sam Rockwell and Tracy Morgan have great, distinctive voices. I thought Rockwell was particularly great at finding a style that would really register as the hero of the group. He’s the hardest voice to identify if you’re an adult who enjoys playing that game in movies that demand no other form of mental effort like “G-Force.”

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2/5 Stars

G-Force
Directed by Hoyt Yeatman
Written by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, Hoyt Yeatman
Starring: Zach Galifianakis, (voices) Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan

“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is about the closest any major CGI animation studio has come to a classic cartoon done in a modern style. It would appear that somewhere between “Looney Tunes” and Pixar’s “Up” that animation has lost a bit of its rule-bending nature. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, co-executive producers of CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother” and the short-lived cult favorite “Clone High” have restored that sense of abstract physical humor in Judi and Ron Barrett’s book while infusing it with a modern sense of humor.

You know what I’m talking about: the old cartoons where a TNT explosion or a gunshot would would merely blow all the fur or feathers off (temporarily) of a character. “Meatballs” isn’t that old school, but at one point, our narrator, the fearlessly crazy inventor Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader of “SNL”) is hiding off the side of a dock after ruining his hometown’s big celebration with a presumably failed invention meant to turn water into food. His eventual love interest Sam (Anna Faris) walks to the pier, sits down and accidentally slams her heels into his mega-sized eyeballs. It’s the good old concept of animated films being aware of their fictional fantasy world and not being so transfixed on creating realism, which many animated features have in this computer age.

Sony Pictures Animation has only continued to get better, with their last film, “Surf’s Up,” being on the more fun and wacky side for animated features as well. “Meatballs” continues that idea with exaggerated characteristics like bug-eyes on all the characters and general silliness, but the writing is what ties it all together and really nicely.

When we’re first introduced to Flint, we get to see his many inventions that have gone wrong. But rather than make it just a fun one-minute bit, it’s a recurring joke throughout the film. The flying ratbirds that he invents pop up countless times throughout the film and his monkey sidekick named Steve with a thought translator strapped onto his chest gets laughs 80 percent of the time, partly thanks to “How I Met Your Mother” friend Neil Patrick Harris.

The story is an important one too, of a wild inventor chasing his dreams, trying to make a difference so that people will love him and dealing with the fame of being a town hero once his machine manages to suck atmospheric moisture and cause it to rain any food imaginable. But also, as we see early but the kiddies will learn later, he’s really out to earn the approval of his sardine-grinding father (James Caan) who we tell cares but can’t say it in any way other than elaborate fishing metaphors. Then there’s that being true to who you are stuff, represented by Sam’s shame at growing up a meteorology dork with glasses and a scrunchy.

Like every kids film, the shenanigans have a wear-down point, but “Meatballs” is layered with subtle jokes kids won’t catch (but that aren’t inappropriate either — a real surprise) that teenagers and adults will really appreciate. In terms of humor, the writing compares favorably with the “Up” script from earlier in 2009 though certainly as a story “Meatballs” is much more cartoon-traditional.

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4/5 Stars

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Written and Directed by: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Starring (voices): Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan

After tackling rats with chef skills and voiceless robots on journeys of self-discovery, leave it to Pixar to make the star of its latest film an elderly man and continue to defy Hollywood’s long-held belief that animated films have to zero in on children and concepts that can be marketed into hats and toys and backpacks. Heck, in “Up” even animals talking are explained rather than simply taken for granted. But what sets it apart from other Pixar gems is that it’s the animation studio’s most inclusive for-the-whole family adventure to date.
It’s no surprise to anyone anymore that Pixar leads field the in terms of computer-generated animation and while “Up” continues this tradition, that’s not its specialty. “WALL*E” is still more of a spectacle and innovator. “Up” is Pixar’s proof that they can combine beautiful, heart-filled storytelling with laughs for every age group and adventure and action to boot and *still* make a killing at the box office.

On premise, most analysts wouldn’t predict a film about 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen ballooning his house to South America to honor a promise to his late wife to be even close to a box office success in the genre of animated family films, but attach the name Pixar and anything is possible. Dogs with collars that turn their thoughts in words and the dynamic between a young boy scout named Russell who accidentally was on Fredricksen’s porch when the house took off and an old man prove to be more than enough for great comedy and entertainment.

Sure, the plot itself once they get to South America leaves something to be desired, and the feasibility of an old man who can’t walk down his stairs being able to hold onto a dangling rope with a boy, a dog and a large bird on the other end will fail to suspend many adults’ disbelief, but there is never a moment devoid of something clever or meaningful in the entire film. The fresh and humorous concept proves quite forgiving as does the touching motivation in the story of Carl doing this for his dead wife. The montage through their years together is incredibly powerful for happening so early in the film. Pete Docter and Bob Peterson do an excellent job, though obviously Pixar’s constant success must be credited to John Lasseter.

Next to “WALL*E” whose innovation, imagination and genius themes might never be repeated in animated film, “Up” is Pixar’s best to date. There is honestly something for everyone: the elderly will relate to Carl’s struggles with aging, loss and unfulfillment; children will find plenty of physical humor to enjoy between the hysterical dogs and Russell’s slight lack of smarts; and the ages in between will find the story touching and the concepts and their execution nothing short of genius. And for once, Disney is even politically correct/inclusive in the diversity of characters.

4.5/5 Stars

“Up” (2009)

Directed by: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

Written by: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Thomas McCarthy

Starring: (voices) Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson

“Ponyo” is the story of a bug-eyed childish-looking fish of the same name, the daughter of an undersea sorcerer, who longs to escape the sea and become a little girl. When she does, she quickly befriends a young boy named Sosuke. In the process she gains a strong magic and unknowingly throws the world out of balance between land and sea, and a giant storm drowns most of the cliff-top town where Sosuke lives with his mother, and it threatens to end the world.

Like “Howl’s Moving Castle,” Walt Disney picked up “Ponyo” for an American release and dubbed it over with an impressive selection of Western voices, even choosing homegrown products in the youngest siblings of Disney band the Jonas Brothers (Frankie Jonas) and Miley Cyrus (younger sister Noah) to voice Sosuke and Ponyo, respectively. Also voicing characters are Liam Neeson (Fujimoto, Ponyo’s father), Tina Fey (Lisa, Sosuke’s mother), Matt Damon (Sosuke’s father), Cate Blanchett (Ponyo’s sea goddess mother) and a trio of hilarious elderly women are played by Betty White, Cloris Leachman and Lily Tomlin. The effort is definitely there to make this film appeal to American audiences and Disney is getting close.

But voices are of little significance in a Miyazaki film, which is all about visual creativity. A fan of transformations and animating liquid and fluid motion, creating a fairytale taking place partly underwater must’ve been a joy for Miyazaki to work with and maybe even his entire motivation for choosing this story. Among the highlights are droplets of water that Fujimoto sends after Ponyo that move like living waves, as well as a variety of other magnificent sea creatures and breathtaking storm scenes make “Ponyo” as awing as any other Miyazaki film.

As a children’s story, however, “Ponyo” concentrates its efforts on being adorable. The discovery of true friendship and love between Sosuke and Ponyo is heart-warming, even if Noah Cyrus shouting childishly when Ponyo excitedly embraces human life can get a bit annoying. But as delightful as many of the imaginative elements and loving relationships are, there’s very little antagonism or danger. Past Miyazaki films have clear villains, but the conflict in “Ponyo” actually shrinks as the story goes along. Sosuke believes he’s lost his mother at one point and in the background is the idea of the world going out of whack and that humans should be ashamed of polluting the sea, but “Ponyo” is mostly tension free. Most glaringly, its climax is uneventful despite how overall likable all the characters are.

“Ponyo” will surely satisfy Miyazaki’s fans in every way with its imagination, and newcomers will still be smitten by his simple yet visually ambitious storytelling, but this is distinctly more of a children’s movie, best for families and others who love fantasy regardless of its form or target audience. It’s not quite what you’d expect from Miyazaki considering his recent work, but it’s sure to be remembered as another of his beloved stories.