Tag: DreamWorks

REVIEW: Live ‘Dragon’ finds mild success with animated playbook

After six years, the dragon Toothless returns to the big screen looking much like he did in the animated film from 2019. The world around him, though, is much different.

The latest “How to Train Your Dragon” film is a remake of the 2010 animated feature. Like its cartoon counterpart, the picture centers on the young, awkward Viking Hiccup (Mason Thames), who doesn’t have the same battle prowess of his father, Chief Stoick (Gerard Butler).

But he makes up for it with his inventiveness, which he uses to one day catch one of the dragons attacking his village. He can’t bring himself to slay the dragon when push comes to shove, though, and instead decides to learn about the creature and train it.

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REVIEW: ‘Teenage Kraken’ makes modest use of fun concept

Ruby Gillman is the latest kraken to enter pop culture, joining the rum, the hockey team and the krakens from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Clash of the Titans.”

Ruby (Lana Condor) is the protagonist of “Teenage Kraken,” a blue-skinned water creature that lives on land with her parents and brother. Though they come from the sea, the family fits in on land, pretending to be regular people, and manage to pull it off for the most part.

However, Ruby still struggles to fully fit in and that’s compounded by being an awkward teenager. She starts to come into her own, though, when she uncovers a family secret: that she can become the giant sea creature of legend, something that only those in her bloodline can do.

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REVIEW: ‘Puss in Boots’ sequel is an enjoyable swashbuckling flick

After more than 20 years, the franchise that put DreamWorks Animation on the map is still kicking, and the latest in the series is fine addition.

As the title implies, the film focuses on the character Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). After many dangerous adventures before and after meeting the ogre Shrek, Puss in Boots is down to his ninth and final life.

With a desire to continue living life on the edge and knowing the predicament he’s in, the feline decides to go on a quest to find a place that will grant him a wish, which he plans to use for more lives. Along the way, he’s joined by friends new and old, and is introduced to new enemies.

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Best of the Decade: Animation

This is a series called “Best of the Decade.” It’s a list including 10 movies that I found to be the best in a specific genre from 2010-2019.

A Disney resurgence and solid work from other studios meant that the past 10 years had a lot to offer when it came to animated features. Here are my favorites. Also I’m doing 11 for this because this is my list and I’ll do what I want with it.

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REVIEW: ‘Abominable’ looks great but suffers from poor characters

Dreamworks’ animated features have had their ups and downs, and “Abominable” comes in at about the middle.

The movie follows Yi (voiced by Chloe Bennet), a teenage girl who’s motivated to work several jobs to save money in order to go on a trip across China. Her motivation comes from her late father, who wanted to take Yi on the trip himself before he passed away.

One night when she’s on the roof of her apartment putting away her saved money and to play her violin, though, Yi is greeted by an abominable snowman. While frightened at first, Yi eventually befriends the yeti. The problem, though, is that the yeti is being chased by goons from a billionaire who collects exotic creatures. Determined to keep the yeti safe, Yi and a few friends decide to help it get back to its home on Mount Everest.

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REVIEW: Third ‘Dragon’ ends the series on a positive note

It seems like the dragons are trained by this point, but the name still rolls off the tongue nicely.

In the third and likely final film in the series that started in 2010, the main character Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), an expert dragon trainer and rider is now chief of Berk. Since the events of the second picture, the island village where vikings reside has become a sort of safe haven for dragons. Because the people of Berk have become experts in handling dragons, thanks largely to Hiccup’s efforts in the past two movies, the dragons are able to live in relative peace.

However because of how many dragons are coming to the island for safety, the land is becoming overcrowded. This is on top of the fact that there are antagonistic forces who want to eliminate dragons, seeing them as a threat. In response, Hiccup decides to find the so called “Hidden World,” where dragons can live safely without being found.

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