Hugo (2011)

Westbrook Cinemagic with Lauren on 12/30/11
This is a sad story for a family film! I know that orphans are often the subject of kid's movies (for some weird reason), but seeing how poor Hugo lives within the walls of the train station was heartbreaking. I like the cast, especially Ben Kingsley and Helen McCrory as Georges Melies and his wife. I had totally forgotten that this is a movie for people who love movies until halfway through. And while the automaton is creepy looking, I can get past it for the sake of the rest of the plot. Love all the famous faces that show up as the others who frequent the train station too.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 119

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Westbrook Cinemagic with Lauren on 12/29/11
This was my first attempt at sitting through a 3D movie in a long time, and will also be my last for a long time. It makes my eyes hurt and my stomach start to roil. So not worth it. All that being said, this movie is great. It's fast-paced and full of adventure, complete with sinister Victorian bad guys and pirates. It is, however, very violent and somewhat dark for a kid's movie. Some of the things they did with the motion-capture animation were pretty amazing and it's my pick for Best Animated Feature of 2011. I have no experience with the Tintin books, so other than the fact that I thought Tintin was a kid, I had no expectations going in.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 118

Puss in Boots (2011)

Westbrook Cinemagic with Lauren on 12/14/11
This is one of those spin-offs that was absolutely unnecessary and pointless. Puss in Boots was one of the most memorable characters from the Shrek movies, but if this was supposed to be the backstory, it was a huge disappointment. The plot was predictable, the new characters were uninteresting, and the structure was all over the place. Please, please, please, finally leave the Shrek franchise alone from now on. I can't imagine this actually winning Best Animated Feature now that I've seen it, but stranger things have happened. I guess.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 112

Arthur Christmas (2011)

Westbrook Cinemagic with Lauren and Emica on 12/11/11
This movie is so cute! I had heard that it was good, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Poor little Arthur (voiced by James McAvoy, who is always hot) is so in love with Christmas, and so in awe of his father Santa Claus the 20th, that all he wants is to be a part of the holiday magic. His older brother Steve (a delightfully arrogant Hugh Laurie) has techno-ized Christmas, and when his "perfect" system misses a child, it's up to Arthur to fix things. He and his GrandSanta (Bill Nighy) take the old sleigh for a spin and try to beat the sun to England. It's funny and moving and totally heartwarming on a cold day.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 111

Happy Feet 2 (2011)

Westbrook Cinemagic on 11/29/11
I was not a huge fan of the first Happy Feet. Something about the dancing penguins just failed to reach me. I also found the switching between CGI and live action a little jarring. However, though this one also features dancing penguins and one or two switches between CGI and live action, I found it much more amusing. The baby penguin trio is adorable. Though, interestingly, I found the story of the two krill, Will and Bill, to be far more enjoyable and engaging. Despite the fact that it had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the plot.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 105

The Last Unicorn (1982)

VHS on 8/18/11
I had forgotten that cartoons from the 80s all seem to be musicals. Thankfully, The Land Before Time managed to escape that. This movie is okay, besides the oddly placed songs, but I think again that it's hard to enjoy it without having watched it as a child. The animation is not great and the story is cute, but not engaging. I understand why some people love it, but the nostalgia piece is just missing for me.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 75

The Illusionist (2010)

Netflix DVD on 7/21/11
This is just as weird as The Triplets of Belleville, but without the charming whimsy. There is nothing at all wrong with the animation (you know I'm a sucker for hand-drawn), but what little spoken language there is seems not to be any language known to man. Triplets of Belleville had enough visual story to make up for that, but this one just doesn't. Disappointing. The rating is based on the quality of the animation and that's it.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 57

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)

The Nick with Emica on 7/19/11
New Top 100 list to be coming soon! This is a beautiful, fitting end to a very moving and well-made film series. Though the Battle of Hogwarts was drastically reduced in scale (as seems to have been the case with every big battle in these films), I understand why David Yates chose to do that. You can do so much on the page that would be nearly impossible to translate realistically - it's better to take the pieces that really work and emphasize them. Neville still gets his awesome moment with the snake, Mrs. Weasley still takes on Bellatrix, and the scene in the Great Hall with all of the bodies is even more moving on screen. I may have cried for half of the film.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 56

Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)

Netflix DVD on 5/24/11
Romeo and Juliet acted out by those hideous little garden gnomes! Yeah. I wasn't impressed. There is nothing more interesting about this retelling than there is about any other. Actually, that's not true. The only interesting/moving thing about this film is the story that the plastic flamingo tells about how he lost his true love. Plus, there's an inside joke about plastic pink flamingos that goes all the way back to BE Girls Lacrosse, but that really only makes it funny for me. For the most part, skip this one.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 38

The Fox and the Child (2007)

Netflix DVD on 4/5/11
This is sort of a fairy tale about a young girl who befriends a fox and her kits living in the woods around her house. It's cute and the girl is a pretty good actress (which is good since she's literally the only one) but I have to take issue with the idea that's central to the story. People should not befriend wild animals. Growing up in a fairly rural area, that was one of the first things I was taught. Wild animals can be cute and exotic and intriguing, but trying to tame them is a bad idea all around. It is potentially disrupting to the animal's life and potentially dangerous if it has any sort of disease. Cute movie, but bad message.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 22

Flushed Away (2006)

Netflix DVD on 3/23/11
There are kids' movies that are also subtly for adults and then there are kids' movies that aren't. This one is not. It's entertaining and cute and Ian McKellen makes a fantastic villainous Toad, but there are no sly jokes or allusions to sail over children's heads and yet make the adults snicker. Cute adventure story for kids, but that's it. Really, I shouldn't have expected anything else, since there were also the people who made Over the Hedge. The singing slugs were pretty great, though.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 18

Rango (2011)

The Nick with Chris on 3/9/11
This isn't really a kid's movie with inside jokes for adults, but it's not an animated adult's movie either. It falls somewhere in between. Some of the things they say are actually a little shocking and it's pretty violent for a kid's movie, but there is definite family appeal as well. Rango is a great character reminiscent of all of Johnny Depp's past roles, at times timid and other times all bravado. He pokes fun at himself, referencing when he played Captain Jack Sparrow and Don Juan DeMarco. The other voice cast members are delightful, though much more difficult to place. And finally, those weird lizard eyes, where the skin extends around most of the eyeball, really freak me out. Even animated ones.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 11

180. January 9, 2011 - The Chronciles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

I know that people are pretty divided on the Narnia series. And people seem even more critical of the films. Personally, I like them - I think that they are fairly well made (except the first one) and I am old enough to ignore the blatant Christian allegory if I choose. I have NOT read the books (somehow I missed them as a child), and while I do know the general idea of how the story ends, please don't say anything to spoil it. This one is the one to introduce cousin Eustace, who may be the most irritating child character I've seen in a long time, but the dragon was cool. And Caspian is still hot.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

178. January 4, 2011 - Pride (2004)

Nothing more than a live action The Lion King, this takes beautiful live animal footage and gives it cheesy special effects to make the lions talk. It had such an amazing voice cast that I thought it would be worth watching - at least it was short. Poor Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren and Sean Bean. And really, does anyone believe Martin Freeman, even just his voice, as a villain? Disney did it better.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

171. December 26, 2010 - Tangled (2010)

#71 on my Top 100 List
Rapunzel has never been my favorite fairy tale. In fact, I barely remember all the details except that "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," is somehow important. This version is heartwarming and moving and adorable - Rapunzel is a great character and Flynn Ryder is way more intricate that I expected. It's interesting to note that Rapunzel is 18 in this, whereas every Disney princess before her was 16 (and paired with a 21 year old prince, which is a little creepy in this day and age). Also, this is the 50th animated feature film from Disney. A worthy film of such a landmark! I highly recommend it.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars