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Lightyear (2022)
Everyone has a favourite toy from their childhood, it could’ve been a simple soft stone that you picked on beach sand, but for you, it reminds the whole world that you have created in your imagination. Pixar successfully exploits this (nostalgic) feeling in its Toy Story franchise. Among the characters in Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear, the astronaut was a favourite and its dialogue “To Infinity & Beyond” is edged in our memory. The latest in the franchise is Lightyear (2022) and it is not a sequel or prequel to Toy Story but covers one of the space missions that Buzz travels. It is the movie that Andy (the boy) had…
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Turning Red (2022)
With Turning Red (2022) Disney has done it again, bringing out an animation for the kids that is fun yet with a social message. The story happens in Toronto, Canada where a Chinese girl lives with her parents running a family temple and giving tours. Once the girl gets into her teenage, due to a family curse, she transforms into a giant red panda, did she get cured of her curse has been told in a humorous manner?. It gets a mangoidiots rating of Raw. The film uses the red panda as an allegory for puberty and menstruation, taboo topics for many parents to discuss with their kids. I enjoyed…
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Encanto (2021)
Encanto (2021) is a charming, heartwarming animated film that is a fantasy comedy. Three generations of the Madrigal family live in a magical house named “Casita”. Each of the family members, except the lovely Mirabel, have been gifted with special powers which they use for the welfare of their small community protected by mountains. The film available on Disney+ Hotstar is not to be missed and get a Ripe. In recent years, the quality of the animations are improving by leaps and bounds. In this, a few characters like the superhuman sister of Mirabel, Luisa Madrigal, appear cartoonish. But others like Mirabel with her big brown eyes, large round spectacles…
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Ron’s Gone Wrong (2021)
Ron’s Gone Wrong (2021) is an animated comedy movie about a young boy getting a faulty bot as his friend. It presents a mirror to our current society on the obsession kids are having with their online presence on Instagram or Snapchat and its harmful influence on their overall development. As a movie, the screenplay could’ve been a lot more engaging and fresh. The film by 20th-century studios is available on Disney+Hotstar in India and gets my ‘Raw’ rating. Barney Pudowsk is a young boy (about 10-years-old) living with his single father and grandmother. He is an introvert and has no friends. The other kids in his middle school have…
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The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021)
Seeing a baby wearing a three-piece suit and tie, running business meetings and coupled with the strong voice of Alec Baldwin, The Boss Baby (2017) was a family entertainer and a hit. As usual, Hollywood has tried to milk the franchise by making a sequel: The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021) was the result and it was a mediocre attempt to say it kindly. The film gets a mangoidiots rating of “Raw” as kids will like the film, especially those who haven’t watched the first one. The plot was uninspirational and beyond the first thirty minutes, I found it tough to keep watching. In the original, puppies were being created…
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Secret Magic Control Agency (2021)
Secret Magic Control Agency (2021) is a fantasy animation film based on the famous kids classic “Hansel and Gretel” by Brothers Grimm. Available on Netflix. It was a simple story of a king being kidnapped by an evil witch, and two brave special agents saving the king. A fun film to watch and gets a Mangoidiots rating of ‘Raw’. The cookies coming alive and walking, talking gibberish and even fighting was fun to watch. Seeing so many colourful sweets, sugary treats, and pastries made me hungry and order a box of doughnuts for dinner :-) Kids will love this film.
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Tom & Jerry (2021)
Tom & Jerry (2021) is a live-action and computer-animated comedy film for kids like you & me to enjoy. It happens in one of New York’s luxurious hotel getting ready for a high-profile wedding, when Jerry decides to make the hotel his residence, followed by Tom who comes chasing him. This familiar yet thoroughly laughable sequence from the famous cartoon by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera forms the backdrop for the film. The Tom and Jerry chase sequences too didn’t have anything new, they appear the same as what we had seen numerous times in the cartoons and the story involving human characters were stale and cliche. As a result,…
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Over the Moon (2020)
Over the Moon (2020) is an animated musical film for kids that can be enjoyed by grown-ups too, I liked it. It blends Chinese mythology, a bright girl & caring parents, science and the emotional drama of losing a loved one. Be warned, the story is childish and not a new one but one that has been narrated tastefully; and there are many songs too. The film is available on Netflix. A young girl named Fei Fei lives in a small village in China with her loving parents who run a small shop selling their home-made mooncakes. A sudden loss happens which Fei Fei finds difficult to accept. As a…
