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Something was evidently lost in translation where the blandly rendered Rock Dog is concerned. An adaptation of the graphic novel, Tibetan Rock Dog by Zheng Jun, this draggy, computer-animated feature exhibits neither bark nor bite in its portrayal of a sheep-guarding, guitar-playing Himalayan mastiff who has his head perpetually in the clouds. Coming after the film’s Chinese release last summer, which disappointed its 14 executive producers by bringing in less than 10 percent of its $60 million budget, the Americanized version, with a voice cast including Luke Wilson, Eddie Izzard, J.K. Simmons and Sam Elliott, will be hard-pressed to do much better, with a marketing campaign catering to younger pups. While groomed by his gruff alpha dog dad, Khampa (Simmons) to keep the wolves away from the woollier inhabitants of Snow Mountain, young Bodi (Wilson) has always been distracted by the sound of music.

Before delving into the merits of “The Lego Ninjago Movie,” it’s worth pausing to reflect on just how remarkable it is that the third film in a cinematic franchise based on plastic children’s construction toys comes with high expectations attached. Before Lego launched its own film empire, other toy companies like Hasbro had established assembly lines of often profitable, invariably awful branded theatrical entertainments, and there was no reason to expect anything different from Lego. Yet 2014’s “The Lego Movie” and last spring’s “The Lego Batman Movie” surprised just about everyone by being smart, sophisticated, cognizant of their own synergistic origins, and most importantly, actual movies. That the Lego Cinematic Universe (LCU) became a recognizable acronym isn’t surprising; that it came to signify quality is almost miraculous. Superficially, “Ninjago” is very much in line with its predecessors. Based on Lego’s ninja-themed original property – already a Cartoon Network TV show – the film is a hyperkinetic assault of eye-catching faux stop-motion animation; packed with clever, self-aware, and sometimes boldly absurdist humor; and all anchored by a father-son conflict that the film takes more seriously than is strictly necessary. Yet for the first time, the franchise’s house-style is beginning to show signs of wear. Whereas “The Lego Movie” and “Lego Batman” seemed to come by their cheeky irreverence naturally, the sketchier “Ninjago” sometimes strains to keep up the pace, with its anarchic sensibility now having the air of a mandate – and few tones are harder to maintain than “mandatory irreverence.” Still plenty entertaining and occasionally very funny, “Ninjago” nonetheless displays symptoms of diminishing returns, and Lego might want to shuffle its pieces a bit before building yet another film with this same model.

Home on the Range," Disney's new animated feature, has the genial friendliness of a 1940s singing cowboy movie, and the plot could have been borrowed from Hopalong Cassidy or Roy Rogers, apart from the slight detail that they aren't cows. The new songs by Alan Mencken ("The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast") are in the tradition of Western swing; I can easily imagine Gene Autry performing any of them, including the yodeling number, and wasn't too surprised to find out that the Sons of the Pioneers starred in a 1946 movie with the same name.

For those not inclined to resist this over-insistent brand of educational entertainment, Fox’s latest collaboration with Blue Sky Studios should deliver still more of the winning formula that made the moderately charming “Rio” a surprise 2011 hit, grossing $486 million worldwide. Of that amount, about $341 million came from overseas, and “Rio 2” is already off to a similarly sunny start internationally, having grossed more than $10 million in a few territories (it opens March 27 in Brazil and April 11 Stateside). What may lend the film an extra commercial boost is an aggressively pre-marketed soundtrack that offers a vigorous fusion of hip-hop beats, samba riffs and Broadway-style showstoppers (once again overseen by composer John Powell, executive music producer Sergio Mendes and songwriter Carlinhos Brown). As a result, “Rio 2” plays even more like a full-blown musical than its predecessor did, reflecting a general spirit of inflation that’s evident from the opening scenes: more jubilant revelry in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, more fireworks exploding over Christ the Redeemer, and more town-vs.-country lifestyle angst for Blu (again appealingly voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (the sweet-toned Anne Hathaway), the extremely rare blue macaws who were united at the end of the first film. Now they’ve got three cute, spirited chicks (Rachel Crow, Pierce Gagnon and Amandla Stenberg) and are living more or less happily ever after, although the Minnesota-raised Blu still exasperates the jungle-born Jewel with his reliance on man-made gadgets and amenities; instead of fetching fresh Brazil nuts for breakfast, the way she does, he’ll cook the kids pancakes instead.

In the wake of the noisy misfire that was 2011’s Cars 2, the Pixar pit crew ran the diagnostics and were able to pinpoint the winning formula of humor, heart and action (along with an added dose of Route 66-informed nostalgia) that made the 2006 original such a sweet ride. They all make a welcome return in Cars 3, but, while visually dynamic, Lightning McQueen’s newest challenge still feels out of alignment with a languid end result that lacks sufficient forward momentum. Given the enduring good will generated by the first installment, the franchise, which has to date grossed well over $1 billion and sold countless billions more in four-wheeled merchandise, should expect similarly strong, school’s-out business, even with the picture’s less-than-zippy performance.

There are certain animated films — like, say, “Inside Out” — that achieve rarefied levels of feeling, imagination, and head-boggling audacity. In their kid-friendly way, they aim high and sail over the bar of their own ambition. But in our desire to celebrate them, let us not overlook the unadulterated magic of a Day-Glo ride for tots like “Trolls.” On the surface (and what a surface! — it just about pops your eyes open with delight), the new feature from DreamWorks Animation, distributed by 20th Century Fox, may not be the kind of blatantly brainy and profound adult-movie-in-toon-drag we’re accustomed to seeing from Pixar. Yet the enchantment that “Trolls” achieves is all too real and, in its way, quite pure. Kids should adore it, but don’t let that scare you — the movie is every 3D psychedelic inch a fairy tale for adults. It’s another antic pop-culture whirligig, with some of the fast-moving prankishness of “The Lego Movie,” but it has a touching theme that dips into a major issue — namely, what’s the nature of happiness? “Trolls” is the right film to pose that question, because it’s an ecstatically happy movie, a giddy EDM kiddie musical that sends you out on a high. A storybook prologue done in felt colorforms tells us that Trolls are “the happiest creatures the world had ever known.” That makes sense if you think back to your own childhood connection to the iconic Troll Dolls, created in 1959 (as the Good Luck Trolls) by the Danish toymaker Thomas Dam. They had androgynous cherub baby faces with big marble eyes and grins so wide it creased their cheeks, bellies that bulged with just a bit of prominent navel, and, of course, those electroshock billows of cotton-candy hair that seemed to shoot right out of their soft plastic heads. The hair, which came in different wild colors, was their most defining feature, yet what really made the Troll Doll special is that it seemed to be beaming, with an innocent mysterioso knowingness. It’s no accident that the dolls got big in the early ’60s: Away from their outfits, they looked like naked angels reborn as baby hippies. That made them, to a kid back then, the coolest toy in the universe. “Trolls” was produced in cooperation with the Dam Family, but the movie makes no fetish of Troll Doll nostalgia. It’s very much a present-tense Troll movie, and though it’s always light and fun, there’s nothing quaint about its motivating conflict: The Trolls live like blissed-out Hobbits in the middle of a woods, but they also live in fear of their sworn enemy — the Bergens, a tribe of giant dyspeptic ogres who are miserably unhappy but don’t want to be, and the way they’ve devised to become happy is: to eat Trolls. They do it ritualistically, once a year, on the day they call Trollstice.

Steve Carell doubles your fun in Despicable Me 3 – he not only voices Gru, the bald-pated baddie turned goodie, but Dru, his blond, long-lost twin and a villain-in-training with an even more delightfully bizarre accent. The yellow band of fart-tooting Minions are back (their group sing of Gilbert & Sullivan is not to be missed), as is Kristen Wiig as Gru's wife Lucy Wilde, still trying to bond with his three adopted daughters. The plot kicks in when the couple are fired by the Anti-Villain League's meanie new boss (Jenny Slate) for failure to apprehend the notorious Balthazar Bratt (hilariously voiced by South Park mischief-maker Trey Parker). Bratt is a former 1980's child star – cue soundtrack bites from Michael Jackson, Van Halen, a-Ha and Madonna – who is out to steal the world's largest diamond unless Gru and Dru can stop him. Whew! The overload of subplots can be wearying, but you'll be laughing too much to complain. Pierre Coffin (who voices the Minions) and co-director Kyle Balda keep the plot spinning merrily. Pharrell Williams contributes five new songs to the mix, including the hummable "There's Something Special." It's no mystery why Illumination's franchise is still something special after three go-rounds – the box-office gross is a whopping $1.5 billion and counting. Carell is the life of the party and the main reason this animated blast of slapstick silliness packs appeal beyond the PG crowd.

If you go with your family to see “Smurfs: The Lost Village” (and let’s be honest: most of today’s animated features are more than suitable for adults only, but anyone who would go to this movie without children is seriously starved for entertainment), you’ll get to experience the trailer for “The Emoji Movie,” an upcoming feature from the same studio, Sony Pictures Animation. The trailer is hosted by an emoji named Meh, voiced in the morose observational tones of comedian Steven Wright; in just 30 seconds, he makes not being overly enthusiastic about anything seem the apex of hilarity. I won’t prejudge the film, but it’s a stupendous trailer. Then we get to the Smurfs movie, which has a hundred characters who are Smurfs, and not one of them is as funny, or wry, or distinctive as Meh. You might describe the Smurfs as blueberry Hobbits crossed with knockoffs of the Seven Dwarfs — or, more precisely, of Dopey, since they mirror his innocent leer ****, open-car-door ears, and hat that’s like a folded-over blob of Poppin’ Fresh dough. (I do realize that the Smurfs were created in Belgium in 1958, and that their headwear was meant to evoke the Phrygian cap, which signifies freedom. But they still look like Dopey.) As with the Dwarfs, the Smurfs have names that describe just what they are: in this case, Jokey, Nerdy, Grouchy, Brainy, Clumsy, Nosy, Hefty, Winner, Loser, Painter, Scuba, Paranoid, Therapist (“Sometimes,” says a patient, “I just feel blue!”), and Table-Eater. Unlike the Seven Dwarfs, the Smurfs, even with their Defining Traits, seem to have more or less interchangeable personalities. They’re one-note elfin mascots of cute who are all, in essence, variations on the same product. Last November, when “Trolls” came out, a number of critics described it as being sort of like a Smurfs movie. Well, it kind of was — but if so, it was the “Citizen Kane” of Smurf movies, a kaleidoscopic disco fantasia with marvelously individualized troll-doll characters. (I’ve seen it three times and could easily watch it again.) “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” by contrast, is a sweetly benign fantasy for three-to-seven-year-olds, and though one should show no hesitation in calling it innocuous, because it is, I do realize that’s all part of the design. It’s not a rousing animated comedy that parents will cherish along with their kids. It’s more like a colorful and diverting pacifier.

Pixar is the standard bearer for animated movies that appeal equally to children and adults, and this is no exception. There has yet to be a Pixar film that doesn't make more than $100 million or score a devoted following from both critics and audiences. The animation is gorgeous, the action sequences crisp, the voice acting impeccable, and the inside jokes funny. Cars 2 is not a masterpiece when stacked up against the Toy Story sequels, but it's a fun summer spectacle that will make kids think about what it means to really be yourself, even when there's pressure to change. Mater is now the protagonist, and the world is the setting; while that expands the action and the automobile humor (geisha cars, the Queen as a vintage Rolls, and Prince Wheeliam as a Bentley), it does limit the amount of time that we spend with our old friends from Radiator Springs. Caine and Emily Mortimer are perfectly cast as the British intelligence agents who mistake Mater for an American spy, but in the end, this is Larry the Cable Guy's shining moment.

No more grasping for political allegory in the latest episode of Riverdale — The Boss Baby has already done all the work for you. This is a film about a little baby, dressed in a baby-sized suit, the seat of whose pants strain to contain his bulbous baby bottom. When the Boss Baby is (spoiler alert) promoted to CEO of his baby company, he’s given a new office, and sits on his new golden toilet at the top of his baby tower, looking out at the world below. When he’s forced to take a photo with the family he’s been “assigned” to, he refuses to smile, saying that it makes him “feel weak.” His favorite expression is a puckered-lip scowl. At one point the Boss Baby (who does not have a name, because his personal and professional identity are indistinguishable) plays with a toy golf set while his older “brother” Timmy works late into the night doing research for him. When Timmy asks why he doesn’t help, the Boss Baby responds, “I’m very busy delegating.” But beyond that, The Boss Baby is a movie about the imaginary attention economy, first within the family unit (the Boss Baby, being a baby, takes all the attention away from Timmy) and then more fantastically in the Boss Baby’s mission — to sabotage the pet industry. Puppies are becoming more and more popular, and babies are no longer the stars in the cuteness industry. The Boss Baby gathers a cabal of yes-babies and preaches to them about the threat of the encroaching Other, visualized by a pie chart with a shrinking baby slice and an expanding puppy slice. (Birds, cats, and fish are given much smaller slivers of the pie.) “Puppies are winning, babies are losing,” he says ominously to his trembling base.

It’s been said that the most powerful story is one that can be distilled to a single, simple, easy to understand idea. The more complex the idea the harder it is for emotional content to be connected to (or absorbed from) it. It certainly makes sense from a marketing perspective if not necessarily an artistic one; easily understood is easily sold. From that point of view, Sing makes perfect sense. Animate some current pop songs with anthropomorphic animals to add in some fun animation antics and sit back. It’s a similar idea to the one behind stuff like Glee and Pitch Perfect but with more dancing pigs. It doesn’t really make sense in any other way, but that’s not particularly a deal breaker. The big driver is diminutive showman Buster Moon (McConaughey), the world’s best worst theater producer. In love with musical theater since he was a child, Moon has been trying to make a go with his own theater for years but has come up with nothing but disappointment. On his last leg and with the bank threatening foreclosure, Moon has one last brainstorm – a singing competition that will both discover new talent and get the city invested in seeing one of their own make it to the big time. When a type-o in his competition flyer brings singers out of the woodwork, Buster is beset with more talent than he knows what to do with, including overworked housewife Rosita (Witherspoon), gangster-in-training Johnny (Egerton), brash lounge singer Mike (MacFarlane), wannabe punk rocker Ash (Johansson), and shy shower singer Meena (Kelly). But it will all be for naught if he can’t get them to gel as an act or get anyone to come and watch, something he’s never particularly excelled at. Simple ideas can have entertainment value and for all its lack of an animating idea (no pun intended), and when Sing does what it sets out to do, it’s a solid time. It basically has two things to offer and not much else. The first is well-cast and directed voice work, primarily McConaughey. Buster is an irrepressible spirit, endlessly optimistic no matter what obstacles are thrust in his path. McConaughey imbues him with a can-do spirit and joy to be doing what he loves that his perseverance despite his failure is both funny and believable. He also eats up most of the screen time as his co-stars are constantly balanced against each other in order to keep their own stories understandable (if not developed) and reflect more light on Buster. And sing their songs really well, which they do. Egerton is a particular find and could easily have a career as a pop star if he decided to give up the whole acting thing. Beyond existing to have a place for the voice acting to emanate from the characters, Sing doesn’t have a lot to offer. They are necessary evils for source music delivery and so that producers Illumination (Despicable Me) can practice the imaginative gag construction they’ve become so good at. From Buddy’s desperate attempts to fix his ailing theater to a very personal car wash, Sing’s sight gags are where it’s real innovation can be found.

Open Season is the first movie from Sony Pictures Animation. There are two ways you can evaluate a movie like Open Season. The first is to simply judge it as a film. Is it any good? The second is to ask whether or not your kids will like it. This review (and any review I write) will approach it from the first perspective because let's face it, if the movie has talking animals in it your pint-sized terrors are going to love it. Children like anything, as long as it's animated and they've received enough sugar before viewing it. That's great for parents, since it means they can plop them down in front of the television and entertain them for hours with discount straight-to-video DVDs, but it's not so great for the rest of us since it gives Hollywood a license to print money without having to bother with earning it by making something good. Open Season for instance, is not good. The idea it's based on might have been; a computer animated comedy about animals taking back the forest from hunters could work. But the movie takes so long in getting to hunter torture that you'll find yourself bored to death long before the first animal finally rips off someone's underwear. When the melee finally does happen, you won't laugh because you've seen all the best bits from the film in the trailers. There's nothing there beyond the advertisements except a lot of time spent watching a bland bear and a fast-talking deer knockoff of Shrek's pal Donkey, wander around in badly rendered CGI circles. The bear's name is Boog (voiced by Martin Lawrence), and he's a tame bear. Anyone who's seen Grizzly Man might find themselves a little uncomfortable with this notion. People who think their bears are tame generally learn the hard way that they are in fact, not. Luckily, this is a family movie, so Boog's owner Ranger Beth avoids ending up looking like she's beaten a wookie at holographic chess. Instead, she gets a clue when Boog allows himself to be lured into busting up convenience store by a wild, one-horned deer named Elliot (voiced by Ashton Kutcher). Beth realizes her bear buddy needs to go back into the wild, and drops Boo and Elliot off in the woods right at the start of hunting season. Right away they're pursued by a particularly knarly hunter, and seeing him butting heads with Boo and Elliot might have been fun. But it's at least thirty minutes into the film before we even get to the forest, and once we get there the majority of the rest of the story is spent watching Boog and Elliot get lost, and wander around in circles. After awhile, the movie starts repeating itself. Boo and Elliot lose their way, a bunch of gags ensue, they figure out where they are again, only to lose their way once more and repeat the same gags. It feels like Steve Bencich and Ron J. Friedman, the film's writers, were stretching. They had an idea, but couldn't make it long enough for a feature film and started padding it. The result is a movie that's only 99 minutes, but feels like it's about 207. The worst thing about it is that Sony's Animation Division really isn't up to the challenge of making a decent looking computer animated film yet. That might be forgivable if the story was better; great story and great characters can easily overcome technological limitations, but Open Season doesn't have that. There are a few interesting moments, like a clever scene in which Boo and Elliot encounter a herd of ill-tempered deer and even better there's a funny pit stop for a chat with a group of surly beavers. But even those good moments are wasted, since the film fails to build on them or take them anywhere that pays off. Will Open Season make a lot of money? Will your kids love it? Yes. Is it a good movie? Not at all.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

The Lorax is incredible film of the year. Dr. Seuss animated movies about Horton Hears a Who! starring Jim Carrey and Steve Carell. But now they're making the Dr. Seuss movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas will be come out November 2018.

I can't wait to see the movie Storks. You know I like this movie about birds like Rio and The Angry Birds Movie. I watched the Warner Bros. movie in the theatre since The Lego Movie.

The Angry Birds Movie is a coolest movie of the year. The release of the "The Angry Birds Movie" greatly increases Rovio's revenue for this year. This was not always the case. Rovio's revenue has been declining steadily for the past three years. It even reported a loss of $14.5 million last year.

This has been a spectacular year for family films -- particularly of the animated variety. Pixar and Disney stormed into theaters earlier this year with the breathtaking hits Finding Dory and Zootopia, respectively. The Secret Life of Pets did so well that a sequel already has been announced. And live-action family fare continues to entertain, with families heading to the theaters this weekend to see what Pete's Dragon has in store. Needless to say, families have been finding ample programming opportunities at the multiplex all season long, as Hollywood has offered all kinds of fantastic animated movies that are suitable for all ages. Sausage Party is NOT one of those movies. For real, don't bring your kids to Sausage Party. I can't say that often enough. Don't bring them. This is not a dig on the R-rated comedy. Our own Greg Wakeman LOVED it, and most adults will laugh their asses off during it. I'm 100% certain, however, that co-creators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg -- the guys behind This is the End and Pineapple Express -- don't want you to bring your kids to this movie, despite the fact that it's animated. Having seen the movie, I'm going to give parents three strong reasons why Sausage Party is way too inappropriate for young viewers.

I found this movie entertaining and fun. I would like to see more fun moments, though. Overall, it is a great movie to watch on Saturday or Sunday with your family or friends. Parents and children will surely enjoy it.