Animation Review - DC Showcase: Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth! (2021 Animated Short)

I wasn't a fan of Jack Kirby until he came to DC Comics and launched his Fourth World saga lead by his brilliant work on Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. And I enjoyed the other creations that followed including Kamandi and OMAC: One Man Army Corps. Both would make excellent cartoons as shown by the Kamandi shorts from Batman: The Brave and The Bold series on Cartoon Network.

DC Showcase: Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth! is a 2021 16-minute animated short included with Justice Society: World War II on Blu Ray, DVD and Digital Streaming. It is unrated for action violence and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Art Direction. The backgrounds came straight out of the Jack Kirby comic books, which was pretty cool. The character designs were very nice, but I would have preferred the versions from Batman: The Brave and The Bold. Those better captured the energy of Jack Kirby's artwork.

Story. This was adapted from one of my least favorite issues of Kamandi, but I really enjoyed it. The story works better in animation, and the filmmakers were able to squeeze in the major characters, the origin, and cameos to service the fans.

The Bad

....

 

What I Would Like To Have Seen

A whole series!

Overall

DC Showcase: Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth! is a 2021 16-minute animated short included with Justice Society: World War II on Blu Ray, DVD and Digital Streaming. The backgrounds came straight out of the Jack Kirby comic books, which was pretty cool. The character designs were very nice, but I would have preferred the versions from Batman: The Brave and The Bold. Those better captured the energy of Jack Kirby's artwork. This was adapted from one of my least favorite issues of Kamandi, but I really enjoyed it. The story works better in animation, and the filmmakers were able to squeeze in the major characters, the origin, and cameos to service the fans. I highly recommend this short and give it 4.5 out of 5 Reels of Film.

 

 

Movie Review - Tom and Jerry (2021 Film)

I was a huge fan of the classic MGM Hanna-Barbara Tom & Jerry cartoons and I even enjoyed the lesser follow ups. I would watch them over and over on afternoons after school. It doesn't get better than those. But I didn't have high hopes for a movie after seeing how poorly other cartoons I loved translated to the big screen (Smurfs, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, and The Flintstones to name just a few).

Tom and Jerry is a 2021 live-action and animated action, romance, comedy based on the classic MGM cartoons of the same name. It is rated PG and is appropriate for all ages.

The Good

Story and Content. This movie had so much more story and content than I was expecting. A lot of stuff happened with a lot of characters having fairly long stories with lots of moving pieces. This was like a real movie and not just a money grab.

Action. There was the right amount of classic Tom & Jerry chase scenes and physical violence, not too much, but enough that it felt like Tom & Jerry I also appreciated that most of it was new and original with only a few reenactments from the cartoons.

Art Direction. This film was really beautiful to look at. The animation was traditional and hand drawn but had a very modern feel while retaining all the greatness of classic animation. The sets and scenery was great to look at.

The Bad

Ken Jeong. Why does anyone hire this guy? He is so obnoxious. He was over the top in a bad way in this film and added nothing.

 

What I Would Like To Have Seen

...

Overall

Tom and Jerry is a 2021 live-action and animated action, romance, comedy based on the classic MGM Hanna-Barbara Tom & Jerry cartoons. This movie had so much more story and content than I was expecting. A lot of stuff happened with a lot of characters having fairly long stories with lots of moving pieces. This was like a real movie and not just a money grab. There was the right amount of classic Tom & Jerry chase scenes and physical violence, not too much, but enough that it felt like Tom & Jerry I also appreciated that most of it was new and original with only a few reenactments from the cartoons. This film was really beautiful to look at. The animation was traditional and hand drawn but had a very modern feel while retaining all the greatness of classic animation. The sets and scenery was great to look at. The only negative was Ken Jeong. Why does anyone hire this guy? He is so obnoxious. He was over the top in a bad way in this film and added nothing. Otherwise this film was thoroughly entertaining. I highly recommend this film and give it 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.

    

Movie Review - Memories (1995 Anime)

I love animation that tries something new, and I love animated shorts. I also love anime from the 80s and 90s, so Memories seems like something I should love, right?

Memories is a 1995 anthology of three anime films based on short stories by Katsuhiro Otomo. It is rated PG-13 for language and adult themes and is appropriate for teens and up.

Magnetic Rose - 4/5

A salvage team in space receives and SOS and investigates and finds a satellite where a famous opera singer once lived and now appears to be haunted.

Story 3.5/5. The story is interesting but so vague it's hard to follow. Katsuhiro Otomo in an interview indicated this was what he meant to do, so it isn't a matter of the viewer just not getting it.

Animation 5/5. The visuals could not be more breathtaking. The movement couldn't have been better done. From an artistic standpoint, this is a masterpiece.

Stink Bomb - 5/5

A man working at a research institute has a cold and accidentally takes an experimental drug that has disastrous effects. This is a dark comedy.

Story 4.5/5. The story is very straightforward, moves as a great pace, and has a twist ending (that you see coming from a mile).

Animation 5/5. The visuals really well done with great animation and great movement.

Cannon Fodder 3/5

A silent short about the day in the life of a village in the middle of a war that's been going on so long it's just become part of daily life.

Story 3/5. The story is supposed to be an anti-war film, but I doubt you would get that from watching it. Again, it's just a day-in-the-life-of story that is so vague you could attach numerous meanings to it.

Animation 4/5. The visuals are interesting in an experimental way, but nothing anyone would want to copy.

Overall

Memories is a 1995 anthology of three anime films based on short stories by Katsuhiro Otomo. There is no overall theme or other connection between the three. The animation is amazing in all three, especially the first two. The stories are another matter. Katsuhiro Otomo in an interview indicated he meant the stories to be vague, and they are. The second story is very linear and strong, but the twist ending is pretty predictable. I give this anthology 4 out of 5 Boxes of Popcorn.