Minions And Monsters (2026)

I have heard some people recently wonder just who Minions And Monsters is for. It takes the well-liked animated characters and puts them in a film packed with jokes and references to the entire history of cinema. Personally, I think many younger viewers will still enjoy the jokes for the simple silliness of the minions, but if there's one specific demographic being catered for then I'd have to say . . . it's me.

Bookended by scenes that show people wandering around a movie studio and being given information by a tour guide (Allison Janney), this starts off with familiar scenes from the past showing us the minions seeking the most appropriate horrible master to serve. Things don't go to plan, as ever, and the minions end up gate-crashing a movie production in the 1920s. Their anarchy and energy leads to them becoming major movie stars, but that stardom, as happened with people in real life, is threatened by the advent of sound becoming a fixture of movies. Maybe the minions can boost their careers by making a great monster movie. Especially when they have a powerful book of spells to help them create a proper monster.

I am absolutely aware of the fact that my opinion here may run contrary to so many others, but this is easily the best minions movie yet (and there have been a lot of fun adventures featuring these small and servile "crash test dummies"). The animation throughout it wonderful, the plotting and pacing are both perfect for the 90-minute runtime, and writer-director Pierre Coffin continues to excel as the main vocal performer, and the expert on speaking the cute gibberish that is Minionese.

Coffin is joined in the writing duties by Brian Lynch (who has worked on a number of these movies, including the almost equally good Minions). Both of them seem to relish a chance to add some mayhem and cute catastrophes to iconic movie moments, and it helps that the animated form allows for a whole heap of wonderful cameos and caricatures.

It's not just all down to the writing, direction, and voice work of Coffin though. There's a fantastic mix of other celebrities willing to lend their voices to the onscreen silliness, from Janney to Christoph Waltz (a director who feels very much based on the likes of Otto Preminger, Josef von Sternberg, etc), Jeff Bridges (two powerful studio execs) to Zoey Deutch (Debbie), as well as Trey Parker (a cute monster) and Jesse Eisenberg (a cute robot named Dort).  

Whatever the joke, whether it's the standard silliness or something a bit smarter, Minions And Monsters always feels as if it has been made with care and genuine love for cinema. Every main sequence has at least one fantastic homage, and many squeeze in multiple references without feeling as if the film is losing any energy or momentum. I know that some will keep wondering how this is supposed to be aimed at children who won't be aware of most of the references, but I think they'll still have fun with everything on a surface level, and will hopefully develop a sense of curiosity that will actually make it a lot easier to  introduce them to a lot of classic cinema in non-animated form.

9/10

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Toy Story 5 (2026)

Every time I have heard about a Toy Story sequel I have had the same reaction. No sequel is ever really needed, but Toy Story felt as if it was even more deserving than most to be left as a solo feature. Then things went very well with what became a fantastic trilogy. All good. Crisis avoided. Then Toy Story 4 was announced. Oh dear. Thankfully, it was fun and entertaining. It still felt unnecessary, but it didn't do anything to really drag down the series. Now we have Toy Story 5. Oh dear.

Toys are now facing some kind of extinction event. Tech is taking over. Children are starting to replace proper play time with time spent looking at screens. While toys don't want to be abandoned, few feel more pained by the thought of that fate than Jessie (Joan Cusack). She's been through that before, and takes it very personally when her owner, young Bonnie, is seduced by the glowing screen of a piece of tech named Lilypad (Greta Lee). So begins a quest to get Bonnie offline and connected with other children, although every other child also seems happier to be looking at a screen now.

Co-written and co-directed by Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris, the best thing about Toy Story 5 is the fact that it's very much focused on Jessie. Fans of the series will remember how sad her backstory is, and you should prepare yourself to be manipulated some more throughout this adventure, but I would argue that it deserves better treatment when being used as the spine of a full narrative. Without spoiling anything, there's one scene here that is supposed to be quite uplifting and revelatory, but I think the whole film would have been all the better if that moment was played to move us into much darker and more complex territory. That would be a trickier sell for kids, of course, but if anyone can do it then Pixar can.

As you'd expect, this looks absolutely gorgeous throughout. While I have fond memories of the first film in this series, there's no doubt that each instalment has seen the talented people at Pixar improve and refine their craft. The textures here are so realistic that there are times when you feel as if you're watching some actual footage of toys that have been caught moving around of their own accord.

The voice cast are also very good in their roles. Many people return, including Cusack, Tom Hanks, and Tim Allen, and Lee is a great choice for the calm and savvy Lilypad. She would be the main highlight, in fact, if it wasn't for Conan O'Brien, who voices a potty-training device named Smarty Pants. Offering some inventiveness and sheer fun that is sadly lacking elsewhere throughout the film, O'Brien is the best thing about this sadly disappointing mess, although I should also namecheck Ernie Hudson, a cameoing Alan Cumming, Shelby Rabaram Craig Robinson, and Tony Hale returning to the role of Forky. Everyone else does very good work with what they're given, but these feel most deserving of being in a much better film.

Coming along so soon after Disclosure Day, this is a strangely appropriate film to sit alongside that one. It's another blockbuster from someone very talented who now feels stuck in place while so many others have raced ahead. And the fact that the film-makers can't even maintain a strong stance set up by the main premise feels either like a) they knew that would be an impossible position, but figured the rest of the film would work well enough anyway, or b) they didn't want to upset the companies that make so much money from selling us our tech and apps and social media bubbles.

The fact that Toy Story 5 isn't as funny as I hoped it would be isn't the biggest problem. It's not really being sold as a comedy, after all. The fact that it stumbles around the main ideas being explored isn't the biggest problem either. The intentions are clear, and one or two moments still manage to work, especially in the best moments that were featured in the trailer. The biggest problem this film has is not knowing what to do with a handful of beloved characters. Jessie feels as if she's being forced to pick at her scars, Woody wanders in to basically show that he's still around, and Buzz Lightyear . . . well, Buzz once embraced the fact that he could fall with style. Now he can fly. And that might best exemplify how the series has now moved too far away from the fun feeling of "let's pretend" that was locked into so many frames of the previous films. 

4/10

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The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2024)

I heard from someone recently that this has been hailed as the first fully-animated Looney Tunes feature film and I was ready to dispute that claim. Then I realised that the beloved features I was thinking of, films I watched repeatedly throughout my childhood, were actually the compendiums that simply stitched a number of their memorable cartoons together. So, yeah, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is the first fully-animated Looney Tunes movies. Which perhaps explains why I wanted it to be so much better.

Daffy Duck and Porky Pig (both voiced here by Eric Bauza) have been brought up together by the kindly Father Jim (Fred Tatasciore). Sadly, Farmer Jim passes away in some of the earliest scenes in the movie, leaving Daffy and Porky to look after their home. That becomes tricky when their roof is damaged by a UFO. Trying a variety of jobs to raise money for the repair, it soon becomes obvious that Daffy is a bit more of a liability than Porky, but it's the former who stumbles upon an alien plan to control the human race via bubblegum. Daffy and Porky end up working with Petunia Pig (Candi Milo) on a plan to save the planet. But are they the ones we really want to trust with the fate of the world?

Written by about a dozen people, including director Peter Browngardt, this is a fun riff on many classic sci-fi movies from the 1950s. Eagle-eyed fans will be kept busy looking out for all of the references and homages (there's even an unexpectedly brilliant use of imagery many will recognise from John Carpenter's The Thing). Unfortunately, as much fun as that is, the sci-fi element doesn't make up for the fact that this is slightly lacking in the Looney Tuney department. Daffy Duck and Porky Pig are iconic enough, but the lack of other familiar faces is hugely disappointing. Would it have taken too much brainstorming to make use of Pepé Le Pew's particular . . . ability? Have Tweety Pie and Sylvester teaming up to explore dangerous territory? There's not even a Duck Dodgers or Marvin The Martian moment, and that doesn't sit right with me.

The animation style is pleasant and lively, as you'd expect for a Looney Tunes adventure, and there are enough gags thrown around that enough of them land in between the many that don't work quite as well, but there's something missing here. There's no outright anarchy, which was always one of the best things associated with Looney Tunes. Okay, there's one moment, the best moment in the entire film, that feels full-on anarchic. That's it though. One drop of water in an arid desert.

Bauza does well with his voice roles (and let's not understate how essential that is) , as does Milo, and Peter MacNicol is a great choice to provide the voice of The Invader. The entire voice cast are quite flawless, as is all of the foley work and the score. I wish they'd all been in a much better movie.

I've already heard a lot of praise for this, and I'm happy that other people have enjoyed it a bit more than I did. I enjoyed it as a bit of animated fun, don't get me wrong, but I didn't once feel that it came close to fully embracing the potential of the Looney Tunes "looney-verse". 

6/10

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Zootopia 2 (2025)

Whatever name it had when I saw it (I THINK it was called Zootropolis for a while here in the UK), I quite enjoyed Zootopia. It wasn't part of the cream of the animated movie crop from the past decade, but it was cute and enjoyable enough. This sequel is slightly better, although maybe that's just because I can't really remember much from the first film now, but it's nowhere near as good as you'd expect the new English-language box office champion of animated movies to be. I guess that's just a reminder that box office doesn't always represent the quality of the product.

After a short amount of time being celebrated for their work, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) soon find themselves on the wrong side of the law. They start to figure out that something is wrong as they attempt to capture an alleged villain named Gary De'Snake (Ke Huy Quan), which leads to them investigating a powerful family who may have stolen and reframed the history of Zootopia.

With most of the main names returning, for the acting roles and the many "behind the camera" roles, Zootopia 2 should be praised, first of all, for expanding the onscreen world without feeling as if it's changing everything already shown in the first film. Writer Jared Bush, who also co-directed with Byron Howard, has an excellent instinct for details that are fun and imaginative, yet also feel perfectly plausible for a world designed for many different species of animals. 

As well as Goodwin, Bateman, and Quan, who are all great and feel well-suited for voicing their characters, there's room in the cast for performances from Fortune Feimster (playing the superbly-named Nibbles Maplestick), Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Danny Trejo, and Shakira, as well as a number of other familiar names you may recognise once you hear them speaking.

Everything is obvious and predictable enough from early on, but that's what happens when you have a mystery at the heart of an animated family movie, but there's still enough done to keep tension running throughout, despite the obviousness of the ultimate end point. There's a quirky character added to the mix every 10-15 minutes, most of the gags work well, and I admit that I laughed more than expected when I noticed that Ed Sheeran had a tiny cameo as Ed Shearin.

Amusing, cute, and nicely animated, Zootopia 2 should keep most viewers entertained. I'm still bemused by it being the most successful English-language animated movie of all time, but I guess I'm decades older than the target demographic nowadays anyway. Maybe I'm just slightly out of touch, despite my consistent immaturity.

7/10

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The Bad Guys 2 (2025)

It's always a good sign when everyone returns for a sequel, and I cannot spot anyone major missing, either behind or "in front" of the camera, from The Bad Guys 2. Considering I enjoyed the first movie enough, thanks in no small part to the style and the voice cast, I was optimistic about this. That optimism was not misplaced.

Some time has passed, of course, and the bad guys are spending their time trying to be good guys. That's hard when you have earned the kind of reputation that they have earned though. It's even harder when someone is pulling off the kind of robberies that would seem to be very much in line with the M. O. of the bad guys. Hoping to crack the case and change the opinions of people who won't let them move away from their past, Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Shark (Craig Robinson), Tarantula (Awkwafina), Piranha (Anthony Ramos), and Snake (Marc Maron) quickly put themselves in a situation that makes them look even more guilty than ever, much to the frustration of Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz).

Just as fun and lively as the first movie, The Bad Guys 2 is a pretty perfect sequel. It may not surpass the first film, but it's a very close call. And it made me laugh hard with a couple of perfectly-executed fart gags I assume will go down equally well with younger viewers. Pierre Perifel is now happy to share directing duties with JP Sans (who worked in the animation department for the first film), and Etan Cohen is now happy to collaborate with Yoni Brenner on a screenplay once again born from the books by Aaron Blabey.

The central cast remain perfect in their roles (as well as those mentioned, Richard Ayoade and Alex Borstein also reprise roles from the first film) and there are equally entertaining performances from Omid Djalili, Colin Jost, Natasha Lyonne, Maria Bakalova, and a few others. Is the plot a bit obvious and predictable? Yes. It's also easy enough to let wash over you as each sequence packs in a fantastic selection of action and gags. 

Perfect for kids (and those as childish as me), The Bad Guys 2 once again nicely reworks the standard  heist movie tropes, adds even more peril, as happens in many sequels, and provides a very nice excuse to spend some more time with some very entertaining and cool characters.

And look, just in case anyone misunderstands how old or mature I actually am . . . let me just emphasise that it was a VERY good fart gag. Otherwise I wouldn't have felt the need to mention it here. Honest. 

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

If you're going to create an animated movie that also happens to make use of a current popular fad (and I know that is absolutely the wrong turn of phrase, I am just emphasising how the mainstream popularity of k-pop has really exploded in recent years) then you could do a hell of a lot worse than KPop Demon Hunters. I started to notice this when it was first released a couple of months ago, but I resisted the pull of it until my movie-centric FOMO seized hold of me.

Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) are the three members of Huntr/x, a hugely successful female K-pop group. They are the latest in a long line of singers who do more than just entertain the masses. Their voices and songs help to create, and maintain, a barrier between our world and a world of demons. Tired of constantly failing, the demons come up with a revolutionary plan to present their own K-pop band, one headed up by the handsome and charming Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop).

Written by a handful of people, including co-directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang, this is a stylish animation that has some fun action sequences, a lot of very enjoyable gags, and, well, a couple of songs in the soundtrack that are absolute pop-tastic bangers. Have I started playing these tunes on regular rotation in my home yet? No, but it's absolutely going to happen. It overdoes the standard gag of something being said before a hard cut to the exact opposite of what has just been stated, but it's otherwise a great mix of cute, cool, funny, and emotional. At least one main character has a secret they're withholding from others, which allows for the film to explore self-acceptance and trust, as well as teaching a lesson about not being defined by others who want to keep you as only one limited version of yourself.

Cho, Hong, and Yoo are fantastic in their main roles, Hyo-seop is equally good, and there's strong support from Ken Jeong and Lee Byung-hun, playing what could be referred to as two very different kinds of "handlers". Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim also join in with the fun. It's good to have these names on the credit list, but it's just a nice bonus tucked away beneath the great visuals and music.

Managing to cover an impressive range of emotion without over-complicating things, KPop Demon Hunters is guaranteed to entertain those in the target demographic, and some people who just enjoy a well-made bit of animation. I was going to specify that it would work best for younger viewers, but have to take into consideration how much I, as a middle-aged/old man, ended up loving it. 

Even if you're wary, like I was, of dipping a toe into the K-pop waters, this is likely to win you over. It has memorable characters, a solid main narrative, and those catchy main tunes. I'm going to cave in now and listen to the soundtrack on Spotify, although I know that will lead to me eventually refusing recommendations when the algorithm tries to get me listening to the likes of BTS and BLACKPINK.

8/10

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Predator: Killer Of Killers (2025)

It has actually been a few weeks now since I watched Predator: Killer Of Killers, an animated entry in the franchise that seemed to delight many fans. I found a decent amount here to enjoy, but, if I'm being completely honest, I also found the very last act to be quite forgettable. I'm also a bit reluctant to give so much praise to something so obviously designed to please fans. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with pleasing fans, but there are times when this feels as if it is moving in a direction that is allowing the fans to think they have too much say and control in the direction of the franchise.

What you get here is an anthology that makes use of some ideas bandied around after the success of Prey. There are four main sections - The Shield, The Sword, The Bullet, and The Battle. The Shield is centred around a Viking warrior named Ursa (voiced by Lindsay LaVanchy). The Sword is all about a Japanese rōnin (voiced by Louis Ozawa) battling his brother. The Bullet shows is John J. Torres (voiced by Rick Gonzalez), a mechanic who ends up piloting a fighter jet in World War II. All of the main characters find themselves in trouble when they encounter a Predator, and things tie together nicely in last act.

Written by Micho Robert Rutare, developing a story co-written with director Dan Trachtenberg (sharing his directing duties with Joshua Wassung), there's nothing wrong with the ideas here. The animation is generally well done, although it took me a bit of time to get used to the style, the voice cast do good work, and it's not a film I would criticise when it comes to the technical side of things. It's just a shame that all of the anthology segments show the potential that everyone seemed aware of after the success of Prey, yet also shows a disappointing lack of confidence in great premises that could have easily been fleshed out into at least three separate features.

Although LaVanchy, Ozawa (who voices both of the main characters in his main segment), and Gonzalez all do what is asked of them, the dialogue is very much secondary to the set-pieces that feel ripped from the pages of some top-tier comics. It's good to have voice performances not distracting viewers with any familiarity (stunt casting would have been an irritation), although a small role for Michael Biehn subsequently feels a bit misjudged, and in line with just another fan note . . . adding an extra name that can be said in answer to a popular movie trivia question from the past couple of decades.

This is good. It was also a welcome surprise when it appeared on streaming, giving fans something to enjoy until the next live-action Predator movie hits cinema screens later this year. It's not great though. A couple of the big moments don't land as well as expected, and I have a niggling feeling that the very end of the film kind of undermines the endings of a few of the other movies in this franchise.

Some people won't watch this just because it's animated. They'll miss out. They won't miss out on anything unmissable though. This is fun and cool, but it's also arguably more disposable than any of the movies featuring this iconic sci-fi beastie (even the ones that are subjectively worse). 

7/10

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Flow (2024)

It is time, once again, for me to try writing a review for a film that I may not really have a lot to say about. It's not that I don't want to heap praise upon this, but it's a dialogue-free animated feature that is best experienced and enjoyed while it moves and shines, as opposed to dissecting the whole thing once you're away from its comforting embrace.

Co-written by Matīss Kaža and director Gints Zilbalodis, what you get here, basically, is a tale of a cat travelling in a boat with some dogs, a capybara, a ring-tailed lemur, and a secretarybird. They all end up on the boat because the world seems to be inexplicably people-free, and there was a sudden flood causing a major rise in water levels. Not natural bedfellows, this small group of animals end up having to help one another as they go where the tide takes them, hoping to eventually get back to some dry land they can then settle on.

Flow is a sweet and gorgeous look at some animals, and you're more than welcome to enjoy it for that simple and wonderful journey depicted. It's also, however, quite an obvious analogy for anyone fleeing danger, risking their lives travelling across a sea, and becoming part of a small community of survivors, each one bringing their own skill to a newly-formed team that can do much more together than any one individual. But, strange as it may seem, that analogy manages to feel obvious without being delivered in a way that will enrage those who try to pretend that movies shouldn't have any messages in them. 

Created on some free and open-source software, apparently, and taking over five years from start to finish, Flow is a very impressive achievement. It keeps things moving along nicely, the pacing helped by a few key moments that show the major changes happening to the black cat at the heart of the tale, and the visuals are a perfect blend of realism and stylised anthropomorphism (or maybe the anthropomorphism is just the end result of me projecting my own reaction to the events onscreen). Zilbalodis deserves most of the praise, but Kaža and other producers (Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman) should be thanked for delivering this to us, and Rihards Zaļupe presents a beautiful score co-created with Zilbalodis. 

As I said at the start of this review, I don't have a lot to say about the film. I'm amazed I managed to get this far. I'm also amazed that I didn't just repeat the words "beautiful", "sweet", and "moving". A treat for viewers of all ages, although younger children may become a bit restless during some of the more serene moments, Flow is an effective appeal/reminder to help those in need, and to allow yourself to receive help back from others in turn. It's also just a cute adventure with a cat in the company of some other cute animals.

9/10

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The Wild Robot (2024)

I wasn't sure why I wasn't keen to make time for The Wild Robot, but the opening titles reminded me of my reasoning. This was a Dreamworks animation. As much as I enjoy a lot of their work, and I really love some of their stuff, they often feel like the kind of thing I have to be in the mood to watch. I assume that there will be lots of good gags, a certain visual style, and characters that will sell bucket-loads of merchandise for them. When I think of Dreamworks I think of Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda. They're all fun, and that doesn't begin to cover the range of Dreanworks Animation productions that you can, and should, check out, but I tend to know what I am going to get from them. I figured The Wild Robot would be the same, but then I started hearing more and more praise being heaped upon it. This is definitely not the same as many other films from Dreamworks, and I am already sorry that I didn't get to it even sooner.

A robot lands on a planet uninhabited by humans. That's how The Wild Robot begins. Wanting to be assigned a task, the robot (a ROZZUM Unit 7134, AKA Roz) tries to communicate with the many animals nearby, all of whom seem afraid of the thing that looks like it's been sent to kill them. Roz goes into a low power mode, listening to the many sounds around her and learning the languages of the many different animal species. Those language skills come in very handy when she ends up destroying a nest and then being imprinted on by a very cute, but also very vulnerable, little gosling. Roz gets advice from a fox, although whether or not she can trust this advice is another matter, and she ends up helping a lot of the animals around her as she aims to get her surrogate child ready to fly away before the weather becomes too inhospitable for the goose population. At least she won't have those pesky human feelings of loss and regret when her "child" leaves. Hmmmmmmm.

Based on a book by Peter Brown, this is written and directed by Chris Sanders, a man also responsible for helping to serve up three other animated movies I have loved (Lilo & Stitch, How To Train Your Dragon, and The Croods). If I had put two and two together sooner, and had a better memory for names, I would have had another bit of motivation to get to this before now. I really need to see his live-action feature, The Call Of The Wild, because Sanders is on 100% success rate with me so far.

The voice cast is worth mentioning now, before I get myself distracted by discussing the visual style, the music, and the ability this film has to reduce me to a blubbering wreck. Lupita Nyong'o is a fantastic fit for Roz, keeping her tone well-moderated throughout, with only the slightest inflections hinting at any possible changes in the way Roz views the world. Kit Connor is the goose who grows from the gosling, Brightbill, Pedro Pascal is the aptly-named Fink, the fox, and there is also some great additional work from Bill Nighy, Catherine O'Hara, Mark Hamill, Ving Rhames, Matt Berry, and Stephanie Hsu, as well as many others who aren't immediately familiar to me. 

Now I can once again allow myself to go on about the lovely visual style of the whole thing, the beautiful score from Kris Bowers, and the knack that Sanders has for pushing a button that seems to be directly attached to some tiny being that lives in my chest and is subsequently ordered to pluck my heartstrings like an expert harpist. I expect such emotional manipulation by the third act of many family films, but I was unprepared to be so fragile even before the halfway point. And once I'd been turned into a leaky-faced wreck, well, it was difficult to get through the rest of the runtime without at least feeling my lower lip quivering as I tried to keep myself composed.

I've used a lot of words here to praise this, and I am happy that I've now managed to compose my thoughts in a way that should be calm and understandable for all. This is beautiful, sweet, moving, and an essential new favourite for those seeking an evergreen family viewing choice. It's one of my favourites from 2024, and one of my new favourite animated movies of all time.

9/10

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)

I cannot fully convey to everyone just how excited I was when I heard that we were getting another feature-length Wallace & Gromit adventure. Not just another outing for the pair, but a feature. I have loved this animated duo ever since watching them have a little trip to the moon, and their last feature remains a favourite of mine. The fact that The Wrong Trousers has some gags that never fail to make me chuckle also increased my enthusiasm for this, considering that it continues a story started in that near-perfect short.

Life has settled into a fairly content and settled pattern for our two main characters. Yes, the bills are starting to pile up, but Wallace thinks he can ease their situation with another cracking invention. He invents a smart gnome, Norbot (voiced by Reece Shearsmith), and soon gets some attention from those wanting to make use of the gadget. Not everyone wants to use Norbot for good though. Feathers McGraw, imprisoned for his attempted diamond theft, figures out a way to access some computers and hack into the smart gnome operating system. 

Although it's now Ben Whitehead voicing Wallace, Peter Sallis (aka Wallace Prime) passed away back in 2017, everything here feels reassuringly familiar and consistent. Nick Park is once again a stickler for detail, something that comes through in his co-directing with Merlin Crossingham and the story shaped into a full screenplay by writer Mark Burton. All three men are familiar with the characters, and the Aardman Animations house style (especially when it comes to the many visual gags, the puns, and the wonderfully British filter on common Hollywood movie tropes), and the commitment to making every scene and sequence the best it can possibly be shines through every single minute of the 79-minute runtime.

Aside from Whitehead, who is a great fit for Wallace, and the fun robo-voice provided by Shearsmith, there's room for the vocal stylings of Peter Kay and Lauren Patel (playing two representatives of the long arm of the law), Diane Morgan (playing a TV news reporter), Muzz Khan, Lenny Henry, and one or two others. Of course, the non-speaking parts are just as amusing, if not more so, and it's a real treat to once again have a big chuckle surprised out of me by the facial expressions of an exasperated Gromit and the nefarious Feathers McGraw.

Composer Lorne Balfe provides the score this time around, although the transition is so seamless that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was still in the experienced hands of Julian Nott (responsible for the music in every past main Wallace & Gromit adventure), and both the music and various sound effects perfectly complement the visuals, which are stuffed full of details, jokes, and delightful references to other movies.

It may not be their VERY best, but this is easily another animated outing that shows why Aardman Animations has long been a deserving part of any conversation about films that constitute the crème de la crème of family entertainment.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: That Christmas (2024)

If you rolled your eyes and had to stop yourself from vomiting when you heard that there was another Christmas movie coming from Richard Curtis, and one that yet again made use of different intertwining and intersecting storylines, then you wouldn't be alone. There are many people who will probably never forgive him for Love Actually (although I quite like that one, mainly thanks to Hugh Grant and Bill Nighy), but maybe this animated feature will allow you to view him in a slightly better light.

Based on children's books written by Curtis, collaborating with illustrator Rebecca Cobb, this has a screenplay co-written by Curtis and Peter Souter and direction from Simon Otto. There's also a voice cast that includes Brian Cox, Guz Khan, Fiona Shaw, Bill Nighy, Lolly Adefope, Rhys Darby, and Jodie Whittaker, as well as many others (familiar and not so familiar). If you're interested already then you shouldn't end up disappointed.

The main story is told to viewers by Santa (Cox). He's visiting a small community that could potentially be about to have a very bad Christmas. A number of children have been left alone while their parents are stranded elsewhere, one young lad (Danny, voiced by Jack Wisniewski) is upset by the fact that he won't see his dad, as well as his mum (Whittaker) having to head off to her nursing job, and a stern teacher (Mrs. Trapper, voiced by Fiona Shaw) might have her own sadness and problems buried underneath a stern and prickly exterior.

Curtis has been quite vocal over the past few years in agreeing with criticisms of his own work. He doesn't exactly present anything very diverse, and most of his characters have been white and privileged. While That Christmas tries to show more variety, as do the storybooks, there's still a feeling that it's impossible for Curtis to figure out how to show the true range of human experiences, whatever the age, in modern Britain. Whether he cannot consider them, or whether he is simply unable to fit them into something that he wants to keep essentially cosy and sweet, he has never been able to present a character who doesn't have a safety net and support in place. This is a movie aimed at younger viewers, of course, and it's fine to keep things cosy and sweet. It just feels strange to see Curtis strive to some kind of halfway marker and think he's conquered his personal Everest. Or maybe that's just me projecting.

Anyway, the script from Curtis and Souter is perfectly fine, albeit also perfectly predictable. It would have been nice to have some more tension and surprises, and a few more laughs in between the emotional manipulation would have also been welcome, but it succeeds as it is intended. Think of it as a moving slideshow of various Christmas cards strung up above your fireplace and you won't be far wrong.

Otto directs everything well enough. The visual style is quite lovely throughout, and especially good when presenting aerial shots or just showing off the geography of the small town. It may not be at the very best level of animation we have seen in recent years, but it suits the material. Otto knows that he's in charge of a delicate ornament, and he treats it with the care and tenderness it needs.

A number of child actors do good work, including Wisniewski as the nominal young lead, but it helps to be able to recognise the many great names I mentioned earlier. Cox is a very good Santa, Khan is amusing as his main reindeer, Darby, Adefope, and others provide more of the comedy, and both Whittaker and Shaw add to the emotional heart of the whole thing.

This is a great, easy, choice for family viewing time. It's very Christmassy, very playful, very bright and twinkly, and full of the kind of snow-blanketed landscapes that we rarely see here in the UK. It also feels very disposable though, and I doubt it will endure for as long as the previous major Christmas movie penned by Curtis.

7/10

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Inside Out 2 (2024)

Just to be clear at the start here, I was one of many people who figured that we really didn't need a sequel to the wonderful Inside Out. The first film was another instant classic from Pixar, although it was released in between a few movies that people might argue rank as some of the weakest from them, and the story felt complete. There's a great hook here though, and a natural progression that allows the film to feel as insightful and brilliant as the first film.

Here's the simple, and simply brilliant, premise. Riley Andersen, the lead of Inside Out, is now starting her journey through her teenage years. Her emotions now also take care of her sense of self, an important area that uses her memories and experiences to help her turn into the kind of person that she wants to be. Joy (Amy Poehler) wants to keep everything positive, and get rid of all the negativity, but she ends up with a much tougher job when the core emotions are joined by some new emotions - anxiety (Maya Hawke), embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and envy (Ayo Edebiri). This extra turmoil happens inside Riley as she is heading with her friends, Bree and Grace, to a weekend ice hockey camp that she hopes will lead to her joining the team.

This isn't as good as the first movie, but the criticisms I could list here seem to work for it. The animation and plotting feel a bit messy at times, which is perfectly in line with how everything feels as a teenager. Writers Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein (developing a story idea by LeFauve and director Kelsey Mann) do a good job of further developing an internal world that perfectly correlates to the external attitude and behaviour of the main character. Mann came up through the ranks of Pixar in the standard way, and he shows that he's been taking plenty of notes while making his way up the ladder. This is so good that I am tempted to forgive both him and LeFauve for their work on The Good Dinosaur.

As expected, the voice cast all work brilliantly in their roles. Poehler remains perfect, as do Phyllis Smith (Sadness), Lewis Black (Anger), and Tony Hale (Fear). Hawke, Hauser, Edebiri, and Exarchopoulos are great additions, as is Liza Lapira (getting a couple of fun moments as Disgust), and it's also worth praising Kensington Tallman (Riley), Grace Lu (Grace), Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green (Bree), Diane Lane (Mom), Kyle MacLachlan (Dad), Lilimar, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ron Funches, James Austin Johnson, and everyone else involved in bringing this bright and surreal story to life.

If you enjoyed the first movie as much as I (and many others) did then you can be happy that people found a way to craft a sequel that feels natural and absolutely in line with the first film. It's not quite as sharp, not quite as tidy, and not quite as emotional, but teenagers rarely are. There's no need for a third instalment, but I'm very happy that we have two Inside Out movies of near-equal quality.

8/10

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Minions (2015)

Thanks to the recent release of Despicable Me 4, I was able to buy a bundle of animated movies that included the previous Despicable Me movies and, of course, the Minions movies. And I am happy with that purchase. Because I am a grown man who often enjoys the fun and anarchy of animated movies like these ones.

I had previously seen both Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2, but that's where my time with Gru and the gang had stalled. Thankfully, recent rewatches of both of those movies made me all the more eager to work my way through the rest of the franchise.

Minions is a quick overview of the little trouble-makers who now seem to remain solely employed by Gru. That wasn't always the case though, and a narrator (Geoffrey Rush) gives us a selection of people that the minions have tried to help over the years. We then get to see our lead minions (Stuart, Kevin, and Bob) get involved with the nefarious Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock) and her husband, Herb (Jon Hamm). This kickstarts a chain of events that leads to Scarlet eventually dethroning the Queen of England (Jennifer Saunders). But is that a result that the minions are happy with, and will they ever be given proper courtesy and recognition from Scarlet?

Co-directed by Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin (aka the voice of the minions), this is a fun animated feature that fits nicely in the franchise. Arguably a bit sillier, and a bit more fun, than the two movies that preceded it, writer Brian Lynch knows how to string together various set-pieces to give fans of our little yellow beings exactly what they want to see. The minions aren't actually malicious, nor are they rarely fully aware of any danger around them, and this keeps them as endearing mischief-makers, although the third act allows them to start worrying about their ultimate fate at the hands of a ticked-off super-villain.

Coffin is as entertaining as ever while voicing the titular characters, but both Bullock and Hamm are also a lot of fun. The former is so good that it makes me wish she would get involved with more animated movies that could benefit from her vocal talent. There are also fun turns from Steve Coogan, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, the aforementioned Rush and Saunders, and one or two others (including an obligatory cameo from Steve Carell).

Whether you enjoy the spectacle, enjoy the amusing way in which the plot careens from one act of villainy to the next, or just enjoy hearing minions blurt out words like "banana", Minions should make you smile and laugh for almost every moment of the 91-minute runtime. The minions may not be big, and they may not be clever, but they're wonderfully entertaining to watch. I'm looking forward to getting through the rest of the movies in this series very soon.

8/10

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Prime Time: DC League Of Super-Pets (2022)

While I don't consider myself any kind of expert on the vast history and array of comic books, I am aware that super-pets have been a thing for some time. Which makes this animated movie an obvious choice for those wanting to appeal to younger viewers wanting to continue, or begin, their journey through the landscape, one full of masks and capes, that has dominated the box office for most of the past decade. It should be an easy enough recipe, and it is, but it's a shame that those involved didn't add just a bit more flavour.

Dwayne Johnson voices Krypto, the pet dog of Superman (voiced by John Krasinski). All seems to blissful, until Superman starts to think more about making plans with Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde). Meanwhile, a group of animals living in a shelter are far removed from bliss. Those animals include a dog named Ace (Kevin Hart), a guinea pig named Lulu (Kate McKinnon), and a few others we will get to see more of as the story plays out. Take some kryptonite, the fact that Lulu wants to impress the man who once ran tests on her (Lex Luthor, voiced by Marc Maron), and a bit of soul-searching, and you have the movie. Krypto loses his super-powers, but Ace and friends gain some, which leads to them trying to resolve some issues that will get in the way of them working together as a team.

Co-directed by Sam J. Levine and Jared Stern, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Whittington, this is strangely better than I expected it to be, yet also full of unrealised potential. If the writers had found a way to focus on the animals without even needing (super)human characters involved then it may have been a much more enjoyable experience, able to play around in the DC universe without feeling attached to anything else. Sadly, the other characters are given some time, even if it is limited in comparison to the animals. And there's a cameo at the end of the film that is both sad and hilarious for a reminder of the hubris that Dwayne Johnson had in 2022.

Johnson and Hart are both fine in their roles, both managing to use nicely intertwine their onscreen personas with the essence of their canine characters, and I cannot think of any of their many film collaborations that I have completely disliked. McKinnon is great fun as the nefarious Lulu, an evil mastermind contained within a decidedly non-evil-looking guinea pig physique, and Maron makes a very good Lex Luthor (so much so that I think he'd be great doing it in live-action form). As for the other main animals, you have Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, and Diego Luna having a lot of fun in their roles (playing, respectively, a potbellied pig, a short-sighted turtle, and a very nervous squirrel), and cameos from Keith David, Thomas Middleditch, and Ben Schwartz to listen out for. Krasinski and Wilde do fine, but the other superheroes are entertainingly voiced by Jameela Jamil, Jemaine Clement, and, best of all, Keanu Reeves (who is a surprisingly great fit for the Batman voice).

Younger viewers will enjoy the animal antics and silly jokes. Older viewers will enjoy the voice talent. I don't think anyone will enjoy everything about it though. The animation style is cute, but not on par with the seemingly effortless brilliance from other studios, the plot is as predictable as it is ultimately inconsequential, and it's the kind of thing you can watch and rewatch as a harmless distraction, rather than any beloved classic. 

But hey, no matter what I have said here, it still probably sits above most of the live-action DC features we've seen in the past few years.

6/10

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Mubi Monday: Alice (1988)

Having been a huge fan of the source material it is based on, and also a fan of the clips I have seen elsewhere of Jan Svankmajer's work, I am surprised that it took me this long to finally get around to watching Alice. But it did, and here we are.

Kristýna Kohoutová plays Alice, a young girl who ends up going on an adventure that will be quite familiar to those who have read the most famous tale from Lewis Carroll. Quite familiar, but not overly familiar, because this is the tale filtered through the alternately dreamy and nightmarish vision of Svankmajer.

While not for everyone, which is a phrase I consider redundant every time I use it (but cannot think of a decent replacement), Alice is certainly worth the time and attention of those who know what kind of vision Svankmajer wants to deliver. It's a strange and decaying world, one in which most of the creations are barely held together, but that actually feels nicely in line with the text being adapted to the screen. What is Alice if not this strange and curious lifeforce upending and alarming the citizens of a wonderland always on the very edge of collapsing in on itself?

The stop-motion work may be the highlight of the film, and everything is informed by it, but Kohoutová does well to perform in the middle of such a strange and surreal selection of set-pieces. She feels as if she's performing, but that, once again, feels true to the spirit of the story. Alice is a character who is very imaginative, and her way of speaking, both to herself and to those around her, is often in a performative manner. She is either trying to convince herself of what she is seeing around her, or she is trying to convince others of her relative wisdom.

While this may not be the Alice's Adventures In Wonderland that comes to mind when you think of the story, it is a surprisingly faithful and brilliant interpretation. Every frame feels as if it was carefully considered and crafted with a monumental effort, which is both a positive and a negative (because the Carroll tale feels somehow easy and effortless), and I would certainly put this near the very top of any list ranking the movie adaptations of this timeless classic. 

Drink the potion, eat the snacks, nibble on both sides of the mushroom, and spend time with the characters who don't seem to make sense until you figure out the context of the conversations. Many films try to show you Alice in Wonderland. Svankmajer comes very close to actually taking the viewer all the way down the rabbit hole.

9/10

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Turning Red (2022)

Whether you view it as an analogy about being embarrassed by your parents, a tale about dealing with the trials and tribulations of starting to menstruate, or just accept that a young girl becomes a giant red panda when stressed, Turning Red is a cute and fun film that many should enjoy. Even if the third act skates very close to Teen Wolf.

Rosalie Chiang voices Meilin, a young girl who tries to do everything in a way that her mother (Sandra Oh) would approve of. But all of the good behaviour and good school grades don’t buy her any goodwill when she has the chance to see her favourite boyband in concert. That’s quite stressful and anger-inducing, and it’s not helped by the fact that Meilin now turns into a giant red panda when she gets too stressed. 

Directed by Domee Shi, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Julia Cho, this is a high-concept film that uses the central idea to explore a number of interesting and relatable themes. The transition period when you are a child dealing with changes in your body is the big one, of course, but there is also a look at the pressure parents can put on their children, as well as cycles of behaviour that can cause real harm to different generations. It isn’t just the relationship between parents and children that are the focus though. There is a look at the value of real friendship, the people who can accept you as you are, and there is a lesson about having difficult conversations long before problems start to snowball from something minor into something major.

Chiang is great in the lead role, just the right mix of cute end occasionally annoying, and Oh is equally good as the overbearing and worried mother. There may not be a load of familiar names scattered elsewhere throughout the cast list, but Wai Ching Ho and Orion Lee are both very good, playing family members with very different perspectives on the situation, and Ava Morse, Hyein Park, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan are a great trio of friends for our lead to be close to. Tristan Allerick Chen is fun as an irritant known as Tyler, and the wonderful James Hong gets to have fun in a small, but crucial, supporting role.

The animation is pretty gorgeous throughout, especially when incorporating some traditional elements that support and influence the style and nature of the tale, there are a few lively songs accompanying some key moments (although they are used to soundtrack the film, which means none of the main characters actually burst into spontaneous songs), and the third act is enjoyably thoughtful and satisfying.

Although not up there with their very best, Turning Red is a real joy, not least because it has approximately 100% more red panda content than most animated features. And that alone is enough to make it worth your time.

8/10

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Ani-MAY-tion: Encanto (2021)

A Disney tale about a young Colombian woman trying to find her place in her gifted family, Encanto is everything you have come to expect from the best movies created by the House Of Mouse. It's sweet, funny, features some delightfully playful lyrics, and looks absolutely gorgeous throughout.

Stephanie Beatriz voices Mirabel, a member of the Madrigal family. Thanks to a magical candle that has stayed burning for them through decades, every member of the Madrigal family eventually receives a gift that helps people around them, including a local community that has grown and thrived with the Madrigals at the heart of it. Mirabel has one sister who is super-strong and one sister who can make flowers and plants bloom anywhere around her, she has a mother who can heal with her cooking, and there are other family members who can control the weather, shape-shift, have super-hearing, and even communicate with animals. And then there's Bruno . . . but "We Don't Talk About Bruno".

The writing and direction here is credited to Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith, but there's also a fair amount of credit to be given to Lin-Manuel Miranda, who gets a nod for helping to shape the story, as well as being credited for penning the catchy songs, in between a consistently lovely score from Germaine Franco . As much as those people should receive a good amount of praise, every animated film of this calibre feels like the end result of a fantastic collective effort from the many people who work on every different aspect of the animation and the audio.

Everything is helped by a great voice cast too. Beatriz is wonderful as Mirabel, the heart and soul of the tale, Maria Cecilia Botero is suitably imposing as Abuela Alma, Mirabel's grandmother and the protective matriarch of the Madrigal family. Jessica Darrow, Diane Guerrero, and Adassa are wonderful in their respective roles, I have just highlighted them ahead of some others because of enjoying their characters so much, and John Leguizamo is fantastic when we finally get to meet his troubled character.

Encanto is funny and adorable in equal measure, it's also inventive and absolutely determined to make every main set-piece as magical and eye-catching as possible. Every character and detail works, especially as things lead to a third act where things knit together to make the movie equivalent of a supersized family comfort blanket. There are, of course, some valuable lessons to be learned before the end credits roll, and people of all ages will appreciate the central dilemma for a character wanting to help her family while battling against the pressures put upon her (even if those pressures seem to stem, paradoxically, from being reassured that she shouldn't feel any pressure).

Despite the high standard of the animated Disney movies from the last decade, this deserves to be jostling for a spot at the very top of the rankings. It's a potential modern classic, and I would certainly revisit it ahead of some of the other top contenders (I'm side-eyeing you, Frozen).

9/10

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Prime Time: Are We Monsters (2021)

Thinking that I would treat myself to something different in my current selection of animated movie viewings, I opted to give my time to Are We Monsters with the knowledge that it wasn't going to be any kind of traditional animated movie. It does incorporate some animated elements, as well as some horrible special effects, and I was rooting for it to impress me.

It did not impress me.

John Black plays Everett, a young man taught by his father about the existence of werewolves. Everett aims to carry on the family tradition (werewolf extermination) after the death of his father, but the situation might be slightly complicated by the fact that werewolves aren't necessarily the mindless monsters they are assumed to be. A hunt is still on though, and both Maya (Charlotte Olivia) and Luke (Jathis Sivanesan) find themselves in potential danger, whether that is from Everett or from elsewhere.

I sensed that I was in troubled when I saw that this was also co-written by Black. That suspicion was absolutely confirmed when I saw the first sequence that made use of a special effect that I'm pretty sure even someone of my limited technical abilities could have improved. Director Seb Cox certainly has his work cut out for him, but he does himself no favours with the weak script, poor visuals, and amateur cast members.

I won't spend too long being critical of Black, Olivia, Sivanesan, or anyone else in the cast. They're generally not very good, but they also don't have decent material to work with. I'm not sure even the best actors in the world could do enough to elevate this mess.

It's a low-budget project, fair enough, and Cox also takes on a number of other roles (cinematographer, editor, animator), but that doesn't excuse such a poor final product. There is a theme here that is potentially worth exploring, if done correctly. This isn't the right environment for it, and that leaves the cast struggling to be earnest and interesting in between moments that are so mishandled that all you can do is laugh. The animation feels like a lazy solution to a non-existent problem, when it should have felt like an interesting and bold creative choice, and the creature design looks as if someone dropped a load of sausage-shaped putty into a 3D printer and just decided to go along with whatever the end result was.

I HAVE seen worse films than this, I'm pretty sure of that. It's hard to think of them right now though. This fails at everything it is attempting to do, and it's depressing to see that Black and Cox have already worked together on some more projects that will add to their filmographies. I am not saying that they should never work again. I am just saying that everyone would be happier if they took some more time to actually figure out the basics of film-making before vomiting up more messy puddles like this.

1/10

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Ani-MAY-tion: Batman: Soul Of The Dragon (2021)

I have enjoyed many of the animated Batman movies from the past couple of decades, some of them rank alongside some of my favourite live-action features, and so I went into Batman: Soul Of The Dragon with a certain amount of optimism. It looked as if Batman was being thrown into the middle of a Bruce Lee escapade, and that was alright by me. Okay, there’s no ACTUAL Bruce Lee here, but we all know this is a pairing of Batman and Lee in everything but name.

The plot revolves around a mystical and powerful sword. It was guarded for years, but now may have fallen into the wrong hands. If the sword is used to open a secret gate then our world will be at the mercy of some grand horrors. Fortunately, Batman is on the case, and he is accompanied by some skilled martial artists who used to train alongside him many years ago.

This should have been a slam dunk. I cannot think of the last time I was so excited by the premise of an animated Batman movie, and I kept putting off my viewing of it with a heavy heart. The fact that it ends up being a sub-par adventure for the Caped Crusader is almost unforgivable. There’s no reason for this to be as relatively dull as it is, and things aren’t helped by a supernatural element coming to the fore in the third act.

Writer Jeremy Adams supplies a dull and lifeless script, seemingly uninterested in using the period and setting to occasionally let loose and have some fun with the characters, and director Sam Liu (who helmed one of my favourite animated Batman films a few years ago) does little to liven things up in between the moments of dialogue. The fights lack a certain amount of power and flair that I was expecting, and the pacing isn’t helped by the non-chronological structure, making things feel a bit too drawn out as we are pulled towards a finale that doesn’t seem half as interesting as other movie ideas I had in my head.

The voice cast do well enough. David Giuntoli is fine in the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, although he isn’t up there with the best actors to take on the role, but I was much happier to hear the performances from Mark Dacascos, Michael Jai White, and Kelly Hu. I am not saying that I recognised them immediately, but they were a great fit for their respective roles, and I am generally a fan of them in anything they do. James Hong also has a small role, and is always a welcome delight, while Josh Keaton is stuck playing a fairly uninteresting villain.

It’s all okay, I guess, but almost every department deemed a bit more. The visual style should have been bolder, the soundtrack should have been more interesting, and the plot should have mixed in more recognizable elements from one or two classic martial arts movies. We should have been given a great “Bruce Lee” movie with Batman added in as a special ingredient. Instead we got a mediocre Batman movie with “Bruce Lee” and co. mishandled and wasted.

4/10

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Prime Time: Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron (2002)

It’s easy to forget now, but there was a time when Dreamworks didn’t really have any main identity at the heart of their animation department. They have now, and they have had great success, but there were a few years when they tried, and I would say failed, to impress audiences with classic adventures, biblical epics, and this . . . a tale of the old West as shown through the eyes of a strong stallion. And it should be said that I class these films as failures because of how they can be perceived in relation to other films from Dreamworks, not in relation to how I myself view them.

Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron isn’t great though. I have no idea how it was turned into a videogame and a number of small-screen spin-offs, considering how surprisingly dull it is, but those wanting more family viewing options featuring this character . . . knock yourselves out.

Matt Damon voices the titular character, a brave and noble stallion who enjoys the US countryside and looking after his friends and family. That is all out at risk when man barges through though, looking to train and tame horses, and looking to put railway tracks down throughout the fields and forests. Headed up by a stubborn and mean Colonel (James Cromwell), the men may spell the end of the blissful life for Spirit and co. 

Co-directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook, this is a film that had me wary from the very opening scenes. Viewers follow an eagle as it flies over some picturesque scenery, in a scene that feels very much like people showing off how nice they can make their animation. It isn’t the only moment like that, although some other sequences marry the visuals to some enjoyable action and drama, and it ultimately highlights the weakness of the film. This is much prettier than it is interesting.

The script from John Fusco doesn’t help. He has written some fun stuff in the past (a certain Brat Pack Western being one of his best), but he focuses here on a central character, and central message, that ensures the focus remains on the serious messaging of the piece. From the very first lines of dialogue, which are awful, you just know that you are stuck with something that is weighed down by an overload of earnestness.

Damon is fine as the lead character, Cromwell is a good villain, and the other main cast member is Daniel Studi, who does well, but they also have to share some time with songs delivered by Bryan Adams, who seems to have watched the film and then handed over tunes that literally describe what is happening onscreen. Nobody is at their worst, I guess, but they are certainly not at their best either.

It generally stays pleasant to look at, there’s an exciting sequence in the third act with a large steam train, and it certainly didn’t pain me to watch it. I will probably forget it within a few weeks though, and I know I will never deliberately pick it for a repeat viewing. There’s not enough to appreciate or dig into beyond a one-time visit.

5/10

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