Cinderella (2015) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / March 28, 2015

It’s a curious thing; a remake of one of the most well-known fairy tales of all time. I doubt anyone’s going to see it expecting a gripping new storyline. I’d seen Disney’s 1950 version, but to be honest, I never really cared for it. I’ve always felt it lacked a certain…something. Maybe it was just too bland. So, naturally, I went into the 2015 version with mixed expectations to say the least. Fortunately for me, I found the end result to be incredibly surprising and, most importantly, quite heartfelt.

            I doubt a plot summary is needed, but just for the sake of reviewing: Cinderella is a happy little girl who lives with her mother and father. Instill in her, are (naturally) virtues of innocence, kindness and courage. Her mother takes ill and dies however and this changes her father. He tries to kindle a relationship with a certain Lady Tremaine (aka The Wicked Stepmother) who turns out to be something of a cunt mean, nasty woman. When Cinderella’s father unexpectedly dies during one of his business trips, Lady Tremaine practically takes over the household and forces Cinderella to do all the work. Cinderella of course, out of the kindness in her heart, agrees and finds solace in the little pleasures in life. One day, however, she’s had enough and flees with her horse. There she meets Prince Charming, well, Kit, as he calls himself; he’s reluctant to reveal his identity as a prince out of fear this will change her behavior towards him. The prince is instantly smitten, not just by her looks, but (importantly) by her way of thinking. They both return to their fortresses of solitude, where they endure with what’s expected of them versus what their hearts truly desire: Cinderella is eager to see Kit again and vice versa, but Kit’s expected to marry a princess for the good of the kingdom. Then, Kit announces a ball where everyone, both royalty and commoner, is invited. There, he will choose his bride. Naturally, he ardently hopes the girl whose name he doesn’t know will be there…

            What I find most heartwarming about Cinderella is the earnestness with which the story’s presented. In a time where you can’t make a film without including the requisite winks and nods à la Tarantino, it was very likely Cinderella would be treated the same way; those annoying winks and nods through which the director basically says ‘haha, I don’t truly believe in the story and I’m hiding behind thinly veiled cynicism and references to show how clever I am.’ Thankfully, director Kenneth Branagh and co decided to play it straight. They present the story without cynicism, apart from that supplied by Lady Tremaine of course, and in doing so create an experience that’s unexpectedly involving which is especially impressive considering pretty much everyone knows this story like the back of their hands.

            It also helps that the acting’s quite good, especially that of leading lady Lily James who truly succeeds in conveying Cinderella’s innocence, kindness and courage. It’s also nice to see that Robb Stark successfully fled Westeros and found a new kingdom to lead. Seriously though, despite sporting teeth whiter than a Colgate commercial, he adequately conveys the prince’s amazement and sheer wonder at having discovered a girl who goes against the way things are, which of course is what he subconsciously desires, to rebel against the rules enforced upon him (marry for profit vs marry for love). And of course there’s the lovely Cate Blanchett who gets to ham it up as the Wicked Stepmother, though the film does allow her some room for nuance. Speaking of which…

            Even more interesting are the little changes in the narrative here and there. The two most significant changes are the fleshing out of the stepmother and the addition of politics. Rather than having the prince be some faceless nobody with a handful of lines, the film fleshes out his situation a bit. We see how everyone around him, including his father, pressures him to marry for the good of the kingdom. This not only adds a layer of political intrigue, minor though it is, but it allows us the opportunity to get to know the prince a little and cheer for his success in reuniting with Cinderella. The stepmother is fleshed out as well. Not significantly so, mind you, but just enough to suggest a tragic backstory. The film occasionally hints at her reasons both for wanting to marry for wealth and for despising Cinderella.

            So yeah, I’d say Cinderella’s a massive success. I highly doubt a live action version of the classic fairytale could’ve been executed any better. Whether it’s the highly appropriate lack of musical numbers, the comic relief which is quite good and not intrusive, Patrick Doyle’s score, the acting, the more fleshed-out characters, it all works. Ironically, what I remember most of the 1950 Cinderella is how little I remember of it; this one, however, I think I’ll remember for quite some time.

Big Hero 6 (2014) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / 1 maart 2015

Big Hero 6 is the most recent film by Walt Disney Animation Studios. By the way, don’t you think it’s interesting how we refer to them as ‘Disney’ films rather than looking at the writers and directors? After recent successes like Frozen, you can’t blame people for considering these past years as symbolizing a second resurrection of Disney. Whether or not Big Hero 6 can be considered as befitting this remains to be seen…

            We’re introduced to the east meets west city of San Fransokyo where fourteen year-old Hiro Hamada (get it? Hiro…hero) spends his time partaking in illegal robot fights. His brother Tadashi and mother worry for him and his future. Tadashi casually introduces him to his friends in the robotics department of his university and Hiro is immediately entranced by the possibilities. Tadashi also shows him Baymax, a lovable, huggable robot who specializes in providing medical aid and know-how. Hiro decides to enroll and showcases his microbots during a convention, but that same night, a tragic accident (or was it an accident?) changes everything…

            If I was asked to sum up the film in a few words, it’d be ‘fun, but decidedly mediocre.’ Make no mistake, it’s a competently made film, but it contains little to no real surprises. You’ve got the not-so interesting melodramatic plot, the comic relief, the sidekick, etc. Go Go Tomago is the silent female badass ‘who don’t need no man.’ Fred is the self-aware comics nerd who sees everything as a materialization of his comic book fantasies. After being asked during a car chase why they’re being attacked, he says: “it’s classic villain. We’ve seen too much!” As for Honey Lemon, well…she’s just Honey Lemon. All I remember about her was that she was the only one who pronounced Hiro in a very Japanese way and that her purse was the source of her superpower. And Wasabi does have a few humorous moments, but he’s mostly just the token black guy. If this all sounds demeaning, that’s not my intention. The supporting cast is fun, but they’re so underwritten. Instead, the film’s more concerned (quite justifiably so) with Hiro and his relationship with Baymax which is fine, but it makes the rest of the crew feel like an afterthought.

            The storyline’s also quite simplistic. There’s a tragic accident. Hiro teams up with the crew and chase the Big Bad who, of course, has his own highly emotional but still underwritten and uninteresting motives. And along the way Hiro learns some highly important life lessons. All in all, it’s quite ‘meh.’

            By far the best part is Baymax. There’s not a moment that’s not a success when he’s on screen. The film makes perfect use of his design in all kinds of ways that remind us of the old days when physical comedy without any sound was all we had. It really emphasizes the strength of modern technology when there’s so much detail in a few seconds that it’s nigh impossible to keep track of it all. Perfect example is the short scene where Baymax tries to make his way to Hiro from the other side of the room. And of course, there’s the fistbump scene which is probably the first thing people will quote to get their friends to see the film.

            I also quite liked the messages for the kids spread out across the film. Of course, since feminist debates are becoming popular again (see GamerGate and so on) it’s easy to see how Tomago is supposed to function as a typical Strong Female Character which is fine, but haven’t we reached the point where this kind of stuff doesn’t need verbal emphasis? I mean her catchphrase is an inversion of ‘man up,’ namely ‘woman up.’ I’m of the opinion that if your goal is to create strong female characters, then you should emphasize action not sex. If a characters are badass, people will like them regardless of gender. Emphasize action, willpower and strength and all that instead of the female aspect. If Tomago’s just doing cool stuff, the audience will be thinking, ‘fuck yeah, Go Go’s a badass!’ But if you let her say lines like ‘woman up,’ the audience will be thinking, ‘oh yeah, I see, she’s intended as a female badass’ which isn’t what you want. On the other hand, we can add Tomago to the growing list of Disney ‘princesses’ who’s still single by the film’s end, so there’s that. The old Disney flicks can be forgiven for this somewhat, but to see Mulan save China pretty much singlehandedly only for it to be suggested she’ll marry Shang is puke-inducing. But back to Big Hero 6. One last thing I want to mention about Baymax is that he’s defined by the desire to ensure Hiro’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Even in stressful situations, when asked to do something, he’ll ask if this will help Hiro’s emotional state. This line is also very nicely used during a scene that emphasizes the pointlessness of revenge.

            So, in the end it’s Baymax and the little moral messages that make the overall disappointing story easier to swallow. Big Hero 6 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does enough things right for it to be fun watch. As for whether or not we’ll still be talking about this film years from now…

Dutch version

Big Hero 6 is de recentste film van Walt Disney Animation Studios. Trouwens, toch interessant hoe we het altijd hebben over ‘Disney’ films en nooit echt letten op de regisseurs en schrijvers. Gezien het succes van Disney’s recente films, met name Frozen natuurlijk, is het niet verwonderlijk dat men is gaan spreken van een tweede wederopstanding van Disney. Of Big Hero 6 binnen dit kader past, is een ander verhaal.

            De film opent met een helikoptershot van de ‘east meets west’ stad San Fransokyo. In donkere stegen vinden illegale toernooien plaats met robots die de deelnemers zelf hebben gemaakt. De veertienjarige Hiro Hamada (snap je? Hiro…‘Hero’) is zo’n deelnemer. Zijn broer Tadashi en zijn moeder maken zich zorgen over zijn deelname aan deze toernooien, dus Tadashi heeft een plan. Tadashi neemt Hiro mee naar de robotica-afdeling van zijn universiteit en stelt hem voor aan zijn vrienden: Go Go Tomago, Fred, Wasabi en Honey Lemon. Ook laat Tadashi hem zijn medische hulprobot zien, Baymax. Hiro raakt meteen geïnteresseerd, zoals Tadashi hoopte, en wil zich gaan inschrijven aan de universiteit. Dit lukt hem en tijdens een universitaire conventie laat hij zijn nieuwe microbots zien. Diezelfde avond vindt er echter een tragisch ongeluk plaats…

            Om Big Hero 6 in een paar woorden samen te vatten: prettig, maar voorspelbaar. Het is een leuke film, maar bevat weinig echte verrassingen. De robot Baymax is tegelijkertijd de sidekick van Hiro en de comic relief in de totale film. Go Go Tomago en de rest vervullen soortgelijke functies en hebben allemaal hun eigen ‘gimmick’: Tomago is de stille vrouwelijke actieheld ‘who don’t need no man.’ Fred is de zelfbewuste stripboeken-nerd die alles ziet als een verwezenlijking van zijn favoriete comics. Hij stijgt boven elke situatie uit en geeft vaak verbale knipogen aan de volwassenen in de zaal, zoals wanneer Wasabi bij een autoachtervolging vraagt waarom ze achtervolgd worden en Fred antwoordt, “It’s classic villain. We’ve seen too much!” Honey Lemon is…tsja, Honey Lemon. Haar handtas als bron van haar superkracht is wel een leuk detail. Wasabi heeft ook best een aantal grappige momenten, maar de film besteedt simpelweg te weinig tijd aan deze kleurrijke figuren. De filmmakers zijn meer bezig met Hiro en zijn verhaal en zijn band met Baymax, wat natuurlijk logisch is, maar het zorgt er ook voor dat de rest van de cast onterecht wordt genegeerd.

            Ook het hoofdverhaal is vrij simplistisch. Het tragische ongeluk vindt plaats. Hiro sluit zich aan bij de nerds en samen gaan ze achter de slechterik aan. De bad guy heeft zijn eigen redenen, maar interessant wordt dat nooit. En onderweg leert Hiro ook een paar belangrijke levenslessen. Het hoofdverhaal is dus vrij ‘meh.’

Verreweg het best uitgevoerde deel van de film is Baymax, de medische hulprobot. Er is geen enkel moment dat niet raak is. Alles wat hij zegt en doet voelt gewoon goed. De film heeft zoveel momenten waarbij optimaal komisch gebruik wordt gemaakt van zijn ontwerp. Dan merk je ook weer de unieke kwaliteit van animatie. Met de kracht van moderne computers kun je zoveel grappige details in één scene stoppen, dat je het allemaal soms niet bijhoudt. Dit is goed te zien in de korte scene waarin Baymax zich langzaam maar zeker een weg baant naar Hiro vanaf de andere kant van Hiro’s kamer. Stille humor op z’n best. Andere hoogtepunten zijn bijvoorbeeld een scene met plakbandjes en een parodie op de ‘fist bump’.

Ook bijzonder zijn die kleine boodschappen voor de kinderen die in de film verstopt zitten. Hoewel het verhaal vanuit een bepaald oogpunt simplistisch en belachelijk is, weet het toch de humor en het serieuze vrij goed te combineren. Aangezien feministische debatten weer oplaaien (denk bijvoorbeeld aan GamerGate), snap je meteen dat Go Go Tomago fungeert als vrouwelijke ‘badass’ en daar is niks mis mee. Het enige minpunt is dat de scriptschrijvers de noodzaak zien om dit voortdurend verbaal te benadrukken. Haar slagzin is “woman up” (i.p.v. ‘man up’). Beter is het om niet sekse te benadrukken maar actie, als je doel is om sterke vrouwelijke personages voor kinderen te maken. Benadruk het ‘sterke’ meer dan het ‘vrouwelijke.’ Als je haar gewoon kickass dingen laat doen, dan denkt het publiek, ‘yeah, Go Go is badass!’ Met slagzinnen als ‘woman up,’ maak je het publiek echter te bewust van je bedoelingen, ‘o ja, ze is bedoeld als vrouwelijke badass.’ Hier staat tegenover dat Tomago een naam is die we kunnen toevoegen aan de langzaam groeiende lijst van vrouwelijke Disney personages die single blijven, dus het is een bonus dat hier het oude huwelijkscliché vermeden wordt. De oude Disney films kan dit vergeven worden, maar om Mulan China te zien redden en dat de film eindigt met de suggestie dat zij zal trouwen met Shang is tenenkrommend.

Maar…weer terug naar Big Hero 6. Een van de dingen die Baymax uniek maakt als sidekick, is het feit dat hij staat voor het streven naar lichamelijk en emotioneel welzijn—in tegenstelling tot de meeste sidekicks in films die meer actiegericht zijn. Baymax zegt vaak dat hij Hiro helpt, omdat hij hoopt dat Hiro zich hierdoor beter zou voelen. Dit is vooral mooi te zien in een cruciale scene die heel knap de nutteloosheid van wraak benadrukt.

Uiteindelijk zijn het Baymax en die kleine morele boodschappen voor kinderen waardoor het vrij voorspelbare hoofdverhaal makkelijker te slikken is. Big Hero 6 vindt niet het wiel opnieuw uit, maar alles is goed genoeg uitgevoerd en daarom het kijken waard. Of we echter over enkele decennia nog over deze film staan te praten…?

101 Dalmatians (1961) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / July 3, 2013

Spoilers!

The reason I like animated films like 101 Dalmatians is because they don’t take themselves too seriously. Two other Disney films like this one, The Aristocats and Jungle Book, are, not so coincidentally, made by the same director and (mostly) the same writing staff. I’m unaware if other Disney films were also made by them, but this trio of films represents the most fun I’ve gotten out of Disney.

            101 Dalmatians opens with Pongo, bored to death, looking out the window, while his owner Roger, his ‘pet’, is composing at the piano. Longing for a mate for both him and his ‘pet’, he arranges for Roger to meet a woman called Anita and her Dalmatian Perdita. In typical Disney fashion, they get married before you can say Bob’s your uncle. Perdita eventually gives birth to fifteen puppies. That’s when Cruella De Vil pops her head around the corner and decides she wants the puppies' skins for a new fur coat. When Roger and Anita obviously refuse, she hires Horace and Jasper to ‘dognap’ them. Roger, Anita and the police are unable to find the lost puppies and so it is up to Pongo and Perdita to track them down with help from the rest of the animal kingdom.

            If there’s one thing that pops to mind when critiquing 101 Dalmatians, it’s the quality of the animation. I’m not too sure of the history, but it looks like it was financially impossible to pump too much money in the animation department. Backgrounds are sometimes monotone and lack depth. Several types of animations also repeat throughout the film, such as Pongo running (to the right) which is not only repeated once or twice, but sometimes even obviously mirrored (with Pongo running to the left).  But theses technical details are easy to forgive, because of the humor which is quite often of the adult kind. No kid watching this will ever see the horse and the dog from the barn as military satire.

            Also amusing is the subtext of humans being more like dogs than one might think. This is not necessarily new. In fact, it’s about as old as Darwinism, but it’s pleasant that we’re not hit over the head with this message. There’s no grand monologue on how humans must realize they are more animal-like than they’d like think. Instead, it subtly reoccurs through imagery and dialogue. Pongo refers to Roger as his ‘pet’ multiple times. Also cute is when De Vil accidentally sprays Roger with ink, making him visually similar to a Dalmatian.

            101 Dalmatians and similar films like The Aristocats and Jungle Book represent Disney at its most humorous. Gone are the overtly grand moral statements (‘when you wish upon a star’), something which 101 Dalmatians is not interested in. Instead, watching it feels more about having a good time. Consequently, this might not make it one of Disney’s best, but the humor and its not-too-serious nature more than make up for it.