She is 15 and he is a predator.
The times have changed and so did the media we consume, yet we all can find something timeless about the highschool setting, The loves, the humour, the angst... being a teenager sucks. It doesn't matter whether you are a poor kid being bullied every day or a rich socialite. We are just people, right?
Man, I really wanted to like this movie. There is nothing more appealing than deconstructing a well-established genre and this movie was so close to being self-aware that it hurts, yet clueless has barely scratched the surface. Instead of using its refreshing storytelling style to make a commentary or tell an entertaining story, the movie has tried to hit as many points of being a teenager as possible while staying completely delusional.
In my opinion, they should have focused on only one storyline instead of shoehorning way too many concepts into one movie which made it hard to get invested into one problem. This has resulted in the tone problem which holds this movie a few inches away from becoming an actually rewatchable movie.
I'm not taking this movie from anyone who finds in it the same comfort I find in trashy mid-2000s Disney channel original movies, but neither one is better than the other.
This movie is highly dependent on the times it as made in and the generation it was made for, which is fine, but there is nothing of value to this movie.
I was never really into Shaun the Sheep when I was kid and I also didn't enjoy this movie as much as I would if I was. I probably had the same problem with this film as I had with minions. It isn't bad idea but it's too much minutes for too little words.
Shaun the Sheep is great idea but much more enjoyable when it's in seven minutes instead of 85. I think that story had too slow tempo for how long it was and I also felt like I already saw it because the story wasn't really original when it comes to it and also gags in this movie weren't really that funny. I think that even 5-years-old are already full of this same kind of jokes.
I personally enjoyed "emotional part" of this movie more, than I enjoyed the "funny part".
On the other hand I really loved animation and soundtrack of this film which was truly briliant and one of the factors why I had energy to finish this movie because without it I wouldn't do that and for me, the last 15 minutes of this movie was the best part.
The idea was great but they should have worked on it more.
The 1980s were such a different time in terms of animated movies. Nowadays even the most progressive ones seem lukewarm compared to the topics discussed in this movie. The subject of the death being the main point of the film.
Watching this as a child was a nightmare, yet I remember it fondly. To a child, this is such an atmospheric movie with what feels like real life stakes. Similar to Pinocchio with its cocktail of presumed adult topics and places as casinos and criminals and betting on horses, we watch our main character grow and develop morals through what feels like very real consequences of their behaviour.
As an adult, I can see how predictable this movie is and I recognize all the tropes in this movie but I have to take into account the fact that this came out 30 years ago and considering this it still holds well in my eyes. I didn't tear up as I did when I was 7 years old yet I can appreciate the sentiment of this movie.
The music is great, better than you would expect in the children's movie, so lively yet melancholic reminiscent of the golden times of animated movies with its jazzy scores and character modelling reminds me of classic Disney movies with their shagginess and imperfections down to the rosy checks of our main female character similar to Snow White's in the classic movie.
This despite being mostly forgotten is such a classic. At the time when animation was still considered more of a marketing technique rather than art this movie stormed in and put its best into the world combining both relatability and lightness with a lot of effort.
I wouldn't call this a masterpiece but man rewatching this felt like coming home after a long tiring day.
8 reasons why everybody should watch this movie:
1) The animation
This is what animation was made for. Pushing it to the limit. The colours are vibrant, movements fluid and the visual storytelling stellar. You can't take your eyes off the screen. And honestly, you shouldn't. This does justice to the comic book adaptation name. Very raw, straight from the page.
2) Choreography and camera work
Nowadays many action movies don't care about choreography and just show characters punching each other in a dark smoke filled desolate area. Not this movie. The fight scenes are awesome, well staged and Spiderman's ability to swing is used to its full potential. Let me tell you, this movie is such a visual treat.
3) The story
We all know Spiderman's origin story by now. Bitten by a spider, yadda yadda yadda. But not this time. The writers are very well aware of the tropes yet respectful to the origin material and have created an adventure worth rewatching. Combining everything we know and all from all of the dimensions creates a very unique story.
4) Emotions
This is an emotional rollercoaster. You will laugh at the jokes geared toward both kids and adults, you will cry at the emotional moments, you will have chills watching this movie. Trust me.
5) Miles Morales
Miles Morales in the comics isn't quite the best character ever made. He has a hard time developing something unique about himself and it shows on the page, yet the writers of this movie have completely remade the character to be his own person. He finally got his unique personality, his unique origin story. You can finally enjoy his character whether you knew him before or not. But if you did you can also enjoy the subtle nod to his comic book self.
6) Character development
As the Pixar rule of storytelling goes: you admire a character for trying rather than succeeding. And our main characters try a lot. And fail a lot. But that's how life goes and we see our characters deal with real-life situations in a way that makes us root for them.
7) Representation
There are hundreds of stories about how Miles's character inspired children to feel like a superhero. Representation matters. Everybody can be a superhero. All you need is just...
8) A leap of faith
The chills.
Being teenager sucks and Daria captures this sentiment surprisingly well. Teenage angst, summers spent doing unsatisfactory, grunge and nihilism of existence.
Daria emits the essence of the 90s, piling together everything that sucks about living while polishing it to make us feel vaguely nostalgic.
The movie offers a semi-satisfying conclusion to the series keeping everything the way we know and love it. The main storyline revolves around the dreaded love triangle and despite the resolution not being what I wanted I can see the reasoning behind it. However, Daria's interaction with other characters in the movie is what makes it golden. Surprising realisations from our main character move the story forward and solidify Daria in our minds not making her the blank man for us to relate to but unique and memorable character.
The best parts are however running gags in the movie. Daria's parents really have their time to shine in the movie and other background characters keep their charm untouched as well.
Despite all this fun, I can't not touch on the problematic elements in this movie. Yes, it was made in a different time but some messages here are rather problematic, and the representation of the bisexuals in the movie would not hold up today due to several reasons. This enforces negative stereotypes and biphobia in society and should be approached with caution.
Overall this movie is everything we could have ever wanted from a Daria movie. Fun, chill and memorable with not so surprising insights considering the reputation Daria has built over the years and the commentary on life holds up even today.
