Upon learning that the film came out recently on Netflix, I decided to check it out due to it's stylistic look and a recognizable cast of actors. Not to mention that Tony Bancroft, one of the people who worked for Disney and directed Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, was co-directing this movie. After seeing it, it turned out to be an above average film. Is it a masterpiece? Not quite, but it has plenty of stuff to recommend to others.
First is the animation which looks very decent even though it isn't in the same league as say Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, and Blue Sky. It's visual aesthetic design of the circus looks very appealing and the character animation is stylistic but tolerable enough. Also, there are some characters that are very likable especially the two main characters Owen and his wife Zoe along with Chesterfield and are the only characters who brought plenty of humor and heart to the movie. The voice acting from everyone involved is top notch with John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny Devito, Patrick Warburton, Gilbert Gotfried and other voice actors including James Arnold Taylor and Tara Strong giving superb performances. And also, Bear McCreary, responsible for composing the music for the popular TV show The Walking Dead, does a very good job with the film's score, providing an uplifting and poignant atmosphere to the orchestral.
That being said, there are some problems I do have with the movie. First is the story. It does have it's heart in the right place, but it's narrative structure is problematic with interesting ideas not being fleshed out enough. Not to mention the apacing is very uneven with a promising beginning but suffers by some unnecessary time jumps. Some of the side characters haven't been fleshed out despite the voice acting talent involved and while Ian McKellen does a fun job in voicing Horatio, the character himself is a one-dimensional villain.
Overall, Animal Crackers does have it's share of problems and it's not a masterpiece like I said, but it does it's job as decent entertainment with a lot of worthwhile elements. This film is only worth watching for the animation and talent involved. Go check it out.
First is the animation which looks very decent even though it isn't in the same league as say Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, and Blue Sky. It's visual aesthetic design of the circus looks very appealing and the character animation is stylistic but tolerable enough. Also, there are some characters that are very likable especially the two main characters Owen and his wife Zoe along with Chesterfield and are the only characters who brought plenty of humor and heart to the movie. The voice acting from everyone involved is top notch with John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny Devito, Patrick Warburton, Gilbert Gotfried and other voice actors including James Arnold Taylor and Tara Strong giving superb performances. And also, Bear McCreary, responsible for composing the music for the popular TV show The Walking Dead, does a very good job with the film's score, providing an uplifting and poignant atmosphere to the orchestral.
That being said, there are some problems I do have with the movie. First is the story. It does have it's heart in the right place, but it's narrative structure is problematic with interesting ideas not being fleshed out enough. Not to mention the apacing is very uneven with a promising beginning but suffers by some unnecessary time jumps. Some of the side characters haven't been fleshed out despite the voice acting talent involved and while Ian McKellen does a fun job in voicing Horatio, the character himself is a one-dimensional villain.
Overall, Animal Crackers does have it's share of problems and it's not a masterpiece like I said, but it does it's job as decent entertainment with a lot of worthwhile elements. This film is only worth watching for the animation and talent involved. Go check it out.