

The visually stunning, Oscar-winning movie breathes new life into the tired superhero genre. But three wise-cracking gargoyles and a message of acceptance buoy this movie its uplifting conclusion. This somewhat solemn film about outcasts fighting against religious zealotry and threatened extermination has some gorgeous songs and scenery-the illustrations of Notre Dame are particularly poignant now, in the years after a fire consumed much of that landmark. The ridiculously naive but super strong hero is surrounded by characters with schticks-a cynical femme fatale named Meg, a villain who talks like a Hollywood agent in Hades and Danny DeVito as a satyr who acts exactly like, well, Danny DeVito. Hercules is zanier and a bit less earnest than most of the other animated Disney films. Still, we ought to be grateful for this surprisingly witty take on the Sherlock Holmes tropes starring a mouse named Basil who lives on Baker Street and rides a hound. It’s unclear why in the ’80s and ’90s studios churned out so many children’s movies about mice- The Rescuers Down Under, An American Tale, Stuart Little.
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For a movie about those who have passed on, it’s surprisingly full of life. This Day of the Dead story, featuring an all-Latino cast, disarms its audience by intermingling the ghoulish with the fantastic.

Up strikes the exact right balance between tugging at the audience’s heartstrings (particularly in the first five minutes) and telling a funny, beautiful tale about dreaming big.īefore Soul, Pixar toyed with questions about what happens after we die in Coco. Not only is it arguably the best movie ever made about the emotions that food evokes, it somehow manages to take a really gross premise-rats in the kitchen-and turn it into an emotional tour de force of a film.Ī widower flies his house into the sky with balloons and acquires new companions along the way, including a talking dog, a bird who loves chocolate and a boy scout. But Ratatouille never seems to get the credit that it deserves. Picking a favorite Pixar movie is a bit like picking a favorite chid.
