Danny

**60** Watched it in class for a lecture on acts which it plays perfectly. Pretty funny throughout but nothing past that, shallow themes and an unearned ending, he should've went to jail.

**93** Wow, an astonishingly fantastic movie that I did not see coming whatsoever, plays as a spectacle just as good as a grounded friendship tale and flourishes in both. This movie is a true embodiment pf genre bleding, tackles romance, interstellar friendship, and cosmic epic and handles it masterfully. While this movie is long the writing couldn't be tighter, the dialogue super well and doesn't talk down to it's audience, because although a few moments they doe explain things straight it was needed for such a complex plot. Rarely... no virtually never has movie been able to keep my jaw open for minutes on end in multiple sequences, these moments I don't even understand are so beautiful it hurt to see them go. From the slow moments of sorrow and realization to the avengers level threat that is Astrophage every part works and it paced out perfectly, they understand what truly works in film. It's now time to talk about the heartbeat of this film, Grace and Rocky. I'll first talk about Rocky, just such a magical character that can do absolutely no wrong in my eyes, I don't even care about possible logicak holes in their communication because I need them to talk. Rocky's charm is just so otherwordly yet deeply human, I love how flawed he is and at the same time is so brave. They don't need to focus on fleshing out his whole world because we learn about it through his sorrow and worry, using Grace as his anchor to survive the guilt. Every time Rocky "speaks" you just get lost in his innocence and genius at the same time. The only two parts that brought me to tears both heavily involved Rocky and I will never spoil them, his ability to win over the audience within seconds is dazzling, not to mention he was hilarious. I can finally discuss them as a duo. This on screen chemistry is literally flawless and is probably not topped by any non-romance I have seen in my life. You just can't help but hold a massive smile on your face every time they interact. I cannot find the words to explain how good they are together, their jokes bounce off great, their emotions and backgrounds match perfectly but each is set in their own ways, and most importantly, they both are each other's sole reason for trying to stay alive and to eventually grow into much stronger characters for it. Grace wasn't nearly as good as Rocky in this but don't twist it, he is still amazing and his development and backstory were so engaging to watch, not to mention he is endlessly fun to root for except for the one part which I'll get to. If for nothing else watch this movie for one of the most grounded and pure friendships you'll ever see, possible the most comically balanced and emotionally heavy friendship I've seen. Now like I said this premise was a little confusing for me, I know it isn't a real thing or anything but it got crazy at times, but luckily it's paced a written very digestible and you fully understand almost all of whats happening. This saving off explanation time allows for a lot more character work which I of course loved, even Eva fucking rocked as a charactee with such little time, she is so cool and I really felt for her. I will now get to my only substancial issue with this movie and it was the ending. It really hurt when it came down to it because I was excited to dish out a perfect five star but the way our characters are sent off matters so much and I just didn't like it. Without spoiling too much I'll say I really didn't like how much hope they give Grace, like the whole movie his one flaw is being forged in fire through incredible hardship and heartbreaking friendship, and to see a lot of it kinda dissolve at the end truly hit me deep, it didn't completely ruin the movie just left a pretty sour taste in my mouth and shot it out of perfection for me, still a masterpiece. Lastly the effects team went above and beyond here. Not only was Rocky's character design unbelievable good and so were his movements, the space visuals were borderline euphoric, the colors, the stars, and the speed leaped off the screen and through your whole body. It was especially enhanced by that fantastic score by Pemberton, so grand and epic yet reserved and sweet when necessary, it truly immersed you in this unforgettable experience. Please see this movie, it beats basically every movie from last year besides Weapons and is a fresh take on the space spectacle, Rocky will be my favorite character of the year.

**85** Okay yes lets go, another great original story from Pixar and another reason why we don't need Toy Story 5, when this studio allows talented artists to be creative good things happen. Of course great theming all around, us living in harmony with, while a frequently explored very unrealistic one, it's done very well in the Glade location, with an immersive set of wildlife, atmosphere, and colors, when Mabel and her grandma are sitting their you truly feel like your there with them, experiencing each little chirp and snap. While I don't think they handled Mabels overall character themes nearly as well at least it had logic to it that I didn't see coming, leaving very little questions unanswered. While clearly Disney's swing at DreamWorks'  incredible Wild Robot, it has it's own identity with it's friendship instead of family message, and although it shares the theme of belonging for wildlife and humanity it doesn't feel an ounce of derivative. Like I said wasn't a huge fan of Mabel, in my opinion ass of late Pixar's protagonist have not been the true stars not even close, almost everyone else around her is more likeable and funny, not to mention doesn't cause everything. And yes I understand she was doing the right thing throughout many times I questioned whether this was all for her to just rain in the nostalgia she has for the Glade. But don't get me wrong she's not terrible, just a very flawed character with not a complete resolution, therefore falls short of the sidecast. That brings me to this great sidecast, second to only the affirmentioned Wild Robot the amount of super likeable side animals here is amazing, from mammals to fish they offer someone for everyone and none of them miss. I especially liked the Lizard which was super unexpected, as he was a meme I was prepared for an annoying comic relief but all of his moments are not only funny, but they are timed well and actually feel like they have a place, they nailed the comic relief. I also adored George of course, while kinda one note and a tool to develop Mabel that doesn't take away his personality and charm, he is everything this forest stood for and more. Not sure how I feel about the premise of Hopping, is it interesting, sure, but it's not something I see being possible in any near future. Just like Avatar it doesn't particularly relate to us now. Quickly I'll shed some major praise on the animation and score. Pixar is of course the king od 3D animation and I love that they are slightly stepping away from hyper-reaslism, but that doesn't mean I wanna see and K-Pop Demon Hunters shit either which I may have, just find you r own style damn. And a great score to pair, nothing spectacular but they were a few scenes where I was really into it, hint hint, the shark. That reminds me major spoiler warning here but I wanna highlight probably the scene that stuck in my head most which was when the shark changed eyes back to wild animal. While this scene didn't mean much I don't think it should go unnoticed, it honestly sent a chill up my spine and whether it was the hint at horror or the reminder that we are still different it blew me away and stands at the top of the movie. Overall a great movie and another redemption for Pixar making that 2 in a row now. While it didn't beat Wild Robot I actually wanna credit the climax for easily matching it, just didn't move me throughout the first half, but I digress, long live original stories Disney! One thing I forgot to mention is I love how they finished the Mayor, the fact that they didn't treat him as an irredeemable coorporate asshole like so many do and just is so easy to me, they actually gave him not only a good resolution but a reason to.

**82** A movie that understandably gets compared to Coco a lot but I think that undermines it heavily, this in an enchanting story that has an entirely different identity with much more human themes, and easily matches it in quality possibly even beating it. No other way to start than with this beautifully vivid and incredibly alive world, it just screams with culture and love and in that beautiful storybook animation. Of course, the land of the remembered is out of this world with it's amazing festivals, colors, and dead but that isn't all, it's the way this story portrays it's themes of family and love, therefore linking all of these places together. Though I still did love San Angel, it's such a warm and charming town filled with great people and you really felt like you belonged. I'll also go back to the animation which like I said was breathtaking, those wooden characters placed within these scrapbook like scenes make you truly feel immersed in this story and flipping the pages with the students from the start. Now, this core story, it was simple yet so effective in it's take on young love and true friendship. Obviously the main romance worked so well, extremely understood chemistry and connection, and I love how they wrote Maria to be such a great individual that can still find love. She is by far the best character and I could've believe what they almost did to her. Jaoquin wasn't really a problem for me at all, while small-minded you grow to like him by the end, and since he wasn't super central he didn't become annoying once. I will say, I think our main character was kinda one note, I understand his whole story was great and stuff but I just didn't see much strong writing in him, whether it's because of his personality of just loving Maria over even his dead mother or his constant need to break out into song, he just didn't do it for me, thank god that he found a girl who makes up for him though. The side cast was very solid too, the families of each of the main trio were super fun and funny to hang out with and I love how they stayed till the end, this movie isn't afraid to abandon logic for enjoyment which I think it got away with, especially in a story with such fantastical elements. Like damn, those twists threw me off big time I have to admit, this is a movie that takes some insane creative liberties and I love that for it, it throws away everything. you expect about a colorful animated movie from 2014 and sets it on fire, and after it lights it launches into the sky like a firework. Quickly and finally, I'll get back to the music and songs. I'll start by saying I love the traditional and super mellow tone the score takes, it flows this love story along beautifully and really allows these scenes to take their time when needed. That being said I think the songs were a big misstep, some really unwelcome genres and just outright weird lyrics were placed and it made some of the most important scenes feel messy and pitched, especially when Manolo sang to Maria in that great scene. I don't know, I know ripping on songs is kinda dumb but if the protagonist is a musician I expect them to fit much more and be much better written. Overall, this movie surprised me, it took a simple story in an incredibly alive and transcendent world and spun it 180 degrees.