Erratic pacing and an over-ambitious first act ultimately hampers this visually astounding film from hitting its full potential.
An animated movie trope tour de force. Spectacularly predictable.
Things happen in this movie.
An astounding production for 1960 in retrospect, hampered today by an alarming disregard for the animals featured in the production.
As much as I've loved the show in the past... honestly, the last several seasons has stained the entire thing for me.
A plot so buried in metaphor, that you can't really understand the jokes or their context.
A confusing, hypnotizing and questionable piece of media.
If you watched this as a kid in the 90s and resonated with Max... watch it again. It hits different.
A world filled with character and charm, let down by a patchy final act.
Was hoping for some more amusingly bad moments, but unfortunately they're few and far between. Forgettable budget bin fodder.
An uncomfortable, unsettling watch... absolutely by design.
Put simply, it's offensively bland.
Solid premise, and delightful art direction... let down by frustrating predictability.
00’s insensitivity will likely be a barrier to entry for new viewers.
A promising show that frustratingly fails to raise the bar. Fun vibe and characters, but no deeper story or character arcs, and a very weak duo dynamic, as well as questionable motives from the lead Molly.
A show with the ambition of its competitors, but not so much on the substance. Kids might dig this, but it lacks the appeal and depth of shows like Steven Universe and The Owl House.
Kids might enjoy this maybe?... and the songwriting team are solid. I look forward to future projects from the music team at least.
It was executed much better than I thought it would be, but that's not to say it was good or great. Just predictable and inoffensive. Children might enjoy it.
A bore-fest with very few redeeming qualities. Maybe watch everything up to the titles, if you REALLY need a spy monkey fix.
A stunning representation of the content creation profession, led by startling realistic depictions of passion and the lengths creatives will go to follow it. Highly recommended viewing for anybody who works in the media or has aspirations to do so.
The films biggest weakness is obviously its association with the Doctor Who IP.
If you're a Doctor Who fan, then this is unquestionably essential viewing, and I believe you'll rate it 8-10.
If you just don't get Doctor Who though, then that could be a barrier to becoming fully invested in this story. Nevertheless, I still believe that you'll rate this 6-9.
The format is interesting, but ultimatly, the Teen Titans have very little to contribute to the viewing experience. The cutaways may have worked better as an episode of the show, and the unignorable edits to the original film (particularly the soundtrack) just lessen the value of the original film.
H
Save yourself the trouble, and instead, just eiter watch Space Jam, or some Teen Titans Go.
While the premise is offensivly shameless, a handful of half-decent gags prevent this from being completly terrible.
A recommendation, absolutly not. A guilty pleasure / curiousity, egh, sure, you’ll at best half enjoy this.
This'll be a love or hate film for viewers... If you don't resonate with this era of electronic music, then the film will feel like as predictable and pandering as anything else. If you do though, then the film serves as a rich and engaging time capsule.
Soul is a much more effective film than Pixars recent output. The exposition dump thats far too familiar in Inside Out and Coco is more effectivly spread across the films first act, and interwoven organically into the narrative. That alone gave this an air of prestige above Pixars last five or so movies. It's unfortunate that that skill doesn't extend into the films closing act, as last-minute rule changing tears immersion apart, much like Lukes force ghost in The Last Jedi did. Specifically, Joe takes a MacGuffin back into the soul realm. How this is made possible isn't bookmarked at all earlier in the film. The logic halted the films momentum for me. There are a handful of simular rule breaks, but this one in particular is the most significant for me.
For most of the film, I was immersed and engaged, and teared up in places... but the occasional lump in the creative process prevented me from fully connecting with the narrative.
Regardless though, I believe this to be my favourite Pixar film in the last 10-20 years.
EDIT: Egh, this technically is bookmarked near the start of the film, as 'souls' are seen to bring items they resonate with with them when they're "in the zone". Maybe they didn't highlight this clearly enough, or maybe the intensity of that particular info dump was too dense to properly consume. In my opinion, the information dropped during that scene should have been spread out a bit more.
Even 35 years on, this film remains accessible, engaging and exciting. Its strength are in the notion that it's a human story first, where the time travel element exists only to create wild and intriguing scenarios.
This movie doesn't suffer the kind of aging seen with other films of the era, as the depictions of both the 1980s and the 1950s are faithful and consistent. Even as the 1980s have started to look more like the 1950s today, it doesn't date itself with any wild predictions about technology and social trends, apart from a cheeky, pandering, but ultimately thrilling final shot, which serves its purpose perfectly.
The films pacing and writing is flawless, with just about every major set piece firmly established then paid off. A solid example of bookmarking, which doesn't appear to be too apparent or jarring on first viewing.
The only thing that prevents this film from being a 10 for me, is it's over reliance on comedy to drive the film. I mean, I understand that this blockbuster was marketed as a comedy, driven by its star talent Michael Fox at the time to get people in cinemas... but its legacy is its adventure. I wish that we had a few more moments of drama and peril interjected, with a more defined focus on causality, particularly as Marty deals with strange and unfamiliar scenarios. The comedy is solid, but it occasionally takes me out of the story. In addition, the films ending is pretty cliche, and the biggest thing that dates the movie today, as the characters happy ending is effectively represented by a gross embodiment of the American dream, and reliance on material possessions.
The creators would get the opportunity to explore different methods of storytelling in the sequels, and they serve fantastically to build the Back to the Future world into something rich and engaging.... but that all starts with this absolutely solid story that could easily stand on its own.
Gonna be honest with you.... This is art........ limited by the limitations of 2D animation. That's as real as I can get.
I've got to be super anal about this but OK sure here it is. Story wise, storyboarding, production, sure thing, this is a 10/10 absolutely........ but the limitations of 2D animation prevents this from becoming a solid ten for me. I wish that weren't the case, but that seems to be it for me. I can only personally give it a nine. That's not to say that this is BAD of TERRIBLE. This is fucking ART right here.... just.... you know... illustration prevents me from resonating with this better on a primal level. That's not meant to be a pun. I've just trying to describe how I feel.
A timeless vintage animated classic, with some very memorable moments... let down by its writing, clearly geared towards a younger audience.... and its obvious drop in production quality compared to Disney classics that came before it.
Entertained me as a kid in 1998... but hasn't aged well at all. Not worth the trip down memory lane.
Mediocre for more people I guess. If you ever dabbled in the rave scene though, this film will evoke some forgotten memories that’ll resonate with you deeply.
A dumb old thriller that had a few surprising twists and turns that prevented it from being a complete waste of time.
