Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Films I've Seen Since Last Post

I've seen quite a few animated films since my last post. I'll talk briefly about each.




First up is Kuiba, a Chinese anime styled animated film which is about a demon that is reborn every 333 years. The film seems to set itself up for a sequel because it leaves its plot unresolved. We discover that Kuiba is, unbeknownst to the characters, a little boy. This little boy wants to go along with his friend and fight Kuiba, so they both set out on a journey to join an army and fight Kuiba.








Another animated film I saw is called Toward the Terra. It's a science fiction anime film about a boy who finds himself taken away from his computer run city to join a group of people called Mu who are people with extraordinary powers but, usually, at the cost of frail health in other ways. The Mu are regarded by ordinary people as an enemy. The main character, Jomy, keeps the appearance of a young teenager throughout the film.














The third animated film I found is called You Are Umasou, umasou meaning 'tasty' in Japanese. It's about a young t-rex like dinosaur adopted by plant eating dinosaurs after his egg is washed down a river. He grows apart from the herbivores who include his mother and another young dinosaur the same age and he starts hunting creatures for meat on his own. He adopts a young anklyosaurus who he initially tries to eat, hence the name Umasou.







You Are Umasou Part 1 by f100002603595572





The last animated film I found online is a Filipino animated film called RPG Metanoia. It's about a boy's life with his friends as they play and RPG called Metanoia and real games outside.  Things eventually go wrong inside the game but you can watch the movie to find out what happens.







Each one of these films disappointed me to a degree. Toward the Terra is probably my favorite, and I'd give it a 7 out of ten. RPG Metanoia is the second best and I'm undecided whether Umasou or Kuiba is the better film.




The very last animated film I've seen is Ernest and Celestine. This film is released by GKids so it's not all that obscure. I saw the English dubbed version at my local independent theater, The Magic Lantern. I found the story very touching and enjoyed the illustrative visual style. It's about a mouse named Celestine who lives in an orphanage and needs to collect teeth, and Ernest the bear who's a down on his luck musician. I found it more touching than anything else, but it's still quite an enjoyable film and the best one out of those I've seen. I give it an 8 out of ten.








Feel free to share any animated films you've seen recently in the comments below.