DemonicSoul

Story: 3 prehistoric animals from the Ice Age-Manny, a mammoth, Diego, a saber-tooth tiger, and Sid, a sloth-find a human baby away from its tribe. They decide to bring the baby back to the tribe as they're being led by Diego who might have something up his sleeve. The story here is pretty basic and predictable, and there's no surprises here. There's also a subplot with a saber-tooth squirrel named "Scrat", and in it we follow his misadventures as he tries to get an acorn. Besides that, the plot here is nowhere near the creativity of Pixar. 5/10 Animation: Unfortunately, the animation didn't really age well. Over 12 years after its release, it's animation is severely outdated with the colors and textures looking below average by today's standards. Even the character models look outdated. Good thing Blue Sky updated them in the sequel. Overall, it's animation may have been good back in 2002, but unfortunately, it didn't age well. 4/10 Characters and Comedy: This is where things get better. When it comes to our 3 heroes, all 3 of them are likeable. And it's all thanks to that baby they have. That baby is the centerstone that this film needed as it's responsible for all the character development and heartwarming moments that this film has. Manny starts off as a grouchy mammoth, but as the film progresses, it becomes clear that he has a dark past that he tries to hide and that it's explained why he dislikes the baby at first. Diego was sent on an objective, but after spending time with the crew and the baby, he slowly opens up to them. Finally, Sid is the comic relief character who isn't too annoying and is generally funny. Manny and Diego eventually grow to like him as he tries to form a "herd" with them. There's also Scrat who is hilarious as his style of comedy resembles the Looney Tunes style of humor. He's silent, but with all the attempts he makes to get that acorn, he quickly becomes a big highlight of the film, and eventually Blue Sky"s mascot. So the characters are likeable and have a bit of depth, and the comedy is great here. 8/10 Sound: The score is fine, but nothing memorable or amazing. 6/10 Acting and Casting: All the voices here do a great job, even if John Leguizamo can become occasionally too much to bear. I also like Scrat's voice, so props to Chris Wedge for his voice. 9/10 Verdict: Ice Age was a great start for Blue Sky Studios because of its great style of humor and great performances all around. Even though it's now a bit dated, this is an animated film that can still be enjoyed by everyone. Rating: 8/10

Story: Blu, his family, and his friends embark on a trip to the Amazon to find a hidden Spix's macaw flock after getting word from Blu's owners Linda and Tulio of a possible hidden flock. The 1st film's story was never great to begin with, so don't get your hopes up as the story here is slightly worse than in the 1st. Whereas the 1st film had a cliched romance story, this film features: A Meet The Parents main plot, Nigel's revenge subplot, A Talent Show style subplot with Nico, Pedro, Raphael, and Carla, and Linda and Tulio's environmental subplot. The big problem is that there are too many subplots here. The film would switch back and forth from subplot to subplot so much that it loses focus of the main plot. Speaking of main plot, none of these subplots have anything to do with the main story. The only positive I can say, is that the environmental message here is stronger than in other animated films due to how the film uses the Amazon as a location for the environmental message. Whereas other environmental films use fictional places, the fact that Rio 2 uses an actual location that's actually getting cut down in real life is what makes the message here stronger. Besides that, the story here is bad, BUT, I know that audiences don't watch these kinds of "fun and entertainment" films for the story, and since Rio 2 ISN'T plot-centered like a Pixar or Studio Ghibli film, having a bad story doesn't hurt Rio 2 as much as it could've if it took its story seriously. Watching Rio 2 for its story would be like watching Madagascar for its story, and we all know most of us don't watch Madagascar with that mindset of wanting story. These kinds of films are style over substance, and you can tell by the trailers. So if you wanna watch Rio 2, then change your mindset/expectations. 4/10 Animation: One of Rio 2's biggest strengths is in its animation. You can tell by the trailers that Rio 2 looks gorgeous. This sequel looks better than the first. The colors are vibrant, the backgrounds are stunning, some of the musical scenes are beautiful to look at, the human and bird modes are realistic, and the attention to detail here, especially on the birds, is astounding. If you're gonna watch Rio 2, watch it on Blu-ray or 3D. 10/10 Characters And Comedy: All of the cast from the 1st film return, and besides the Spix's macaws, none of them serve a purpose to the plot, and all of them serve as simple archetypes. Blu is the fish out of water, Jewel is the caring wife, the 3 kids follow archetypes as well with one loving music, one being smart, and the other being mischievous. I personally wanted to see more of the family together on screen. Raphael, Nico, and Pedro are just comic reliefs and judges for the talent show auditions, Eduardo is the angry father-in-law, Roberto is the Fabio of the Spix's tribe, Linda and Tulio are just ornithologists exploring the Amazon, and the logger villains are just cliched villains. While they all follow archetypes, I found some to be more entertaining than others. The best characters here would have to be Nigel and his sidekick Gabi. Gabi was entertaining to watch since she's a poisonous frog who loves Nigel, but can't touch him. And Nigel is still entertaining here as he was in the 1st. There were also some funny moments here with a brief audition montage serving as a highlight. The comedy here is solid, and the characters are still entertaining, albeit cliched. 6/10 Sound: The score does a good job here, but one of the biggest highlights here are the songs. There are more songs here than the 1st, and even if they don't hit the height that Hot Wings did in the 1st, all of them are fun to listen to. What is Love is a nice opening for the film, Rio Rio fits the movie's happy and fun tone, Ô Vida is an enjoyable song that plays in the background while Blu, his family, and friends travel around Brazil, Poisonous Love, is one of the highlight songs due to its operatic tone, Welcome Back is a good, albeit short song with Bruno Mar's clean vocals, Beautiful Creatures is another highlight for me with its tribal tone and percussion, Don't Go Away is a short, but lovely lullaby with Anne H.'s vocals, It's a Jungle out here is a nice montage track, I will Survive is an outlandish and great cover by Nigel, and Batucada Familia is a nice closing for the film. For me, the songs here are better than Frozen for being unique and different. 9/10 Acting and Casting: The cast here does a good job at voicing with Jesse E.'s voice fitting Blu perfectly. There weren't any voices here that really annoyed me, and I'm surprised that Bruno Mars can actually do a good job at voice acting. Overall, good voice acting here. 7/10 Verdict: Rio 2, like its predecessor and so many others like it, is a film you DON'T watch for its story. Its writing isn't good, but its animation, visual gags, and songs are what makes this film soar. Change your mindset and give it a watch. Extra: +1 for being a sequel I liked. Rating: 8/10

Story: Five years after the Viking village of Berk has made peace with the dragons, dragons now live amongst the villagers as working animals and companions. But when someone wants to control all the dragons, it's up to Hiccup and the gang to stop him. The film has been getting a TON of praise from critics, so much that I decided to finally begin reviewing animated films (Will eventually go to other genres). Whereas the 1st film's story revolved around Hiccup as he tries to earn the respect of his father and fellow villagers, along with developing a relationship with Toothless, the 2nd film focuses on Hiccup's family and the dangers that Drago Bludvist has on the dragons. To me, I don't see what the critics are talking about when it comes to the story being refreshing and original since it does have some problems. The story here is by-the-books: (To avoid as much spoilers as possible, I won't reveal anything important) Hiccup learns about Drago, Drago does evil things, Hiccup meets Drago and tries to solve the problem without violence, Drago does more evil things, Hiccup has to stop Drago in the end leading into a final action scene. The story here is nothing new and amazing as critics seem to say, and since this is one of those animated films that centers around its story and characters (as in their contributions to the plot) while also having a serious tone, having a cliched story actually hurts the film more than it would in something like Madagascar or Rio. In fact, the story in the 1st film to me felt better than here mostly because of Hiccup's great chemistry with some of the characters. Overall, the story is receiving more praise than it deserves. 6/10 Animation: This is the film's biggest strength as the animation here is spectacular. The backgrounds look stunning, the textures are great, the character designs are well made, the environments vary from snowy mountains, to lush flora, to ice-y terrain, and Berk. Another impressive thing was the variety of dragons. There were at least 30 different kinds of dragons seen, and each one looks like they have their own unique feature that makes them special. You can easily make an encyclopedia on all the dragons here. But the most incredible thing about the animation were the action scenes, especially with some "Alpha" dragons fighting in the background. Definitely watch this movie in 3D or IMAX if you can. 10/10 Characters and Comedy: As said, to me the 1st film made better use of the characters than here. I'll say that Hiccup's relationship with his father Stoick and his mother Valka make for some of the more heartwarming moments in the film. Dreamworks did add in some emotional scenes here as things happen to Hiccup, and it's great to see him change throughout the film because of those actions. His bond with Toothless also serves as another highlight to the film. His scenes with his family and Toothless are some of the best moments in the film. As for all the returning characters, they don't serve much of a purpose in the film outside of mere comic relief. I'm even disappointed that Dreamworks didn't expand Astrid and Hiccup's relationship seeing as how they're a couple now. Astrid just follows what all the side characters do now. As for the villain, Drago is your standard-dark dressing, eye-slashed, gritty-voiced villain who doesn't have an interesting backstory or goal. He wants to control all the dragons. So original. As for comedy, the returning side characters are mostly comic relief, so with them and Toothless, you'll find some nice comedy sprinkled here and there amidst all the action and conflicts. It's clear that Dreamworks focused more on Hiccup, his family, and Toothless more than their returning characters and villain. 7/10 Sound: John Powell does an incredible job with this score incorporating a more "epic" fantasy feel to the film. The score ends up immersing you into this fictional world that Dreamworks created. They even added a song to the mix. It features Hiccup's mom and dad singing a song they hold dear to them, and it's a nice addition to an already incredible score. Oh, and the sound effects here are fine, especially in the action scenes. 10/10 Acting and Casting: All the performances here are great but if there's one thing I have to complain about, it would be Jay Baruchel's voice for Hiccup. Watch the movie and find out why. I also feel they didn't use Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse to their full potential. But the acting is still great and the casting is fine. 8/10 Verdict: This film although great, is sort of overrated when it comes to praise. This is mostly because of the flaws in the story and some of the characters. But the animation and score are what makes this film soar over Frozen and The Lego Movie. This is my pick for best animated feature of the **** now. Extra: +1 for being a sequel I enjoyed. Rating: 9/10