I am a big fan of the weird and wacky concepts. So this film certainly had my interest with its notion of food falling from the sky.
Right from the start you know this film is going to be special with the credit 'A Film by A lot of people'. I found that quite impressive. Not something you see much of these days with the selfishness in film credits. The thing that separates the good kids films from the bad is the attitude of the makers. Some seem to get it into their heads that you need to tailor jokes and story points to kids, like your talking down to them. When this is done you tend not to make the film appealing to adults who have to take their kids to these films. Gladly this film does not do that and is so much the better for it. I would say this is one of the better written children's film in a long time. A great deal of care has been taken to create a good story with great characters. You really come to care about the characters and their story despite how silly it is. The film is incredibly funny. The basic concept is funny itself but the creators do not let this be the only place where the humour comes from. The character traits and little asides also provide many laughs. The film also looks wonderful with very vibrant colours and designs. The 3D is brilliant as well and the only way you should see the film. Especially with the wonderful climax.
A great voice cast for me is one where you are not overshadowed by thoughts of the actor who is providing the voice. This is true of this film. Bill Hader is not a name you may recognise but you would have seen him in 'Tropic Thunder' and 'Night At The Museum 2'. He is excellent at bringing out the nerdy craziness of Flint. Anna Faris on the other hand is a more familiar name but does an excellent job at not making you think of the actress but her character. I was quite impressed with James Caan. He brings a great deal of depth and warmth to his character of Flint's dad so you get very emotionally involved in his relationship with Flint.
An excellent animated film that you won't be ashamed to see as an adult. But if you do make sure you see it in 3D to get the best affect.
Brad, i LOVED LOVED this film. I laughed and agree it was fantastically written!!!!
ReplyDeleteI was impressed that a studio would back a film without 'name' voice actors as you have noted. This worked so much better for the film, because you were listening to the 'characters' and not the 'actors' which helps the story so much more. And i was surprised how much i liked Anna Faris because i can't stand her usually! So that was good for me to tolerate her...lol
I have to admit though that i wasn't too impressed with the 3D. I mean, it was great and i prefer to watch films in 3D, but i'm not convinced they used the technology to it's full potential the 'entire' film.
Maybe once 3D has been out for a little while longer, film makers will understand it more and use it to the max. After all, films can still make films with shit beyond shit CGI with big budgets (Next comes to mind-terrible film)
Thanks Brad!