ANI-MOVIES, *That Christmas

Netflix needed a new animated family flick for the holidays as it had been a few years since Klaus, so they decided to air That Christmas. Directed by How To Train Your Dragon and Prince Of Egypt animator Simon Otto, this fully-CGI movie was the second joint production between Locksmith Animation and DNEG Animation since Ron's Gone Wrong. DNEG also helped animate Nimona, The Garfield Movie, and one of the Troll sequels after Ron's Gone Wrong. The movie is based on a series of books written by Richard Curtis who most anglophiles will know as a writer for Blackadder, Mr. Bean, Four Weddings And A Funeral, Love Actually, and the Bridget Jones films, plus Curtis co-wrote the screenplay with Peter Souter. The three books that the movie is based on shows a life-changing Christmas in a small British village as it gets hit with a particularly bad blizzard during the most wonderful time of the year, all while Santa Claus makes an appearance.

Set in the seaside town of Wellington-on-Sea, there is a diverse neighborhood with some interracial families. Young Danny has just moved there with his divorced mother who acts as nurse for an elderly lady. Danny is trying to confess his feelings for local girl Sam while moping over his father never visiting for Christmas, even though his strict teacher/next door neighbor Mrs. Trapper who has trouble opening up to others since her husband died some time ago. Sam and her twin sister Charlie are polar opposites with Sam constantly worried about ending up on Santa's Naughty List while Charlie seems to be a troublemaker even though her intentions are good. Nisha is another girl going to the same school as them hoping to change Christmas tradition as her parents aren't completely listening to her, plus her younger sister Evie keeps going missing. Then, Santa Claus shows up and gives all these kids the presents they really needed to help bring their families together, especially since several of the parents get stranded on a frozen pond in an old van on Christmas Eve. Mrs. Trapper gets the parents rescued by a troublesome farmer and then rounds everyone up to search for Evie who chased after some runaway turkeys. The movie has several plotlines that all tie together in the end, even though the wide cast consisting of nearly an entire town of various ages can be a difficult to keep up with.

That Christmas works as a complete movie, but the constant shifting of one plot to another can make some a little dizzy. It might have made for a better mini-series instead of a 92-minute single feature. Locksmith Animation has come a long way since Rob's Gone Wrong despite how much easier it is to animate a story in a town filled with snow. Santa Claus himself acts as the narrator that ties all the storylines together, and Brian Cox does a grand portrayal of Father Christmas, although for some reason he's only using the singular reindeer of Dasher instead of the regular eight tiny ones. Most of the character designs are welcoming and not jarring considering the variegated cast and features an interesting roster of voice actors like Fiona Shaw, Jodie Wittaker, and Bill Nighy, plus the young ones playing the children are exceptional. It's hard to say if this will become a holiday standard like Frosty or Gremlins, but it would make for a replayable watch at least once this season.

MISC. MANGA, *Kaiju No. 8

Naoya Matsumoto has been a manga creator since 2005, but he really grew to prominence with his recent manga, Kaiju No. 8. Largely inspired by tokusatsu shows, the ongoing title has spawned off a new anime TV series with more episodes on the way. There are currently over 16 million copies of the manga in circulation, making it one of biggest sellers of the decade. Matsumoto's rocky career in the manga industry reflects the main character's struggle dealing with the pressures someone has to deal with when getting used to new lifestyle. If you fell head over heels in love with the first season of One Punch Man or dug the original Pacific Rim, than you'll find some familiar grooves in this series.

Set in a world where giant monsters called Kaiju regularly attack Japan, the Japanese Defense Force is tasked with taking down these titanic terrors. After each battle, a crew has to clean up the huge corpses of each dead monsters, and Kafka Hibino is one of these kaiju janitors after failing to get in the defense force after failing it years earlier. Now in his late 20s, Kafka is breaking in new recruit Reno in a standard disposal when a parasitic kaiju plants itself inside Kafka's body. Kafka now has the power to turn into a human-sized kaiju giving him super-strength and the looks of a skeletal abomination. This comes in handy when he uses his ability to save a little girl from a rampaging monster. Reno hears that the defense force is widening its numbers, so they both join the recruits while first keeping Kafka monster self a secret. This eventually becomes less than secret as Kafka is assigned the name Kaiju No. 8, which is advantageous as a new humanoid kaiju type called No. 9 has risen and causing major havoc. All this is going on while Kafka is trying to rekindle the relationship with his childhood friend Mina who has become a major player in the anti-kaiju brigade.

Kaiju No. 8 might seem similar to Attack On Titan as a regular soldier soon realizes that they can transform into the very monsters his people are fighting against and becomes their greatest weapon against them. However, you can recognize how old school Ultraman played a huge part in its influence. The heroes vs. monsters genre is seen in everything from Power Rangers to Kamen Rider, but this manga brings the format into modern day and shows how everyday life can play a major part in a high stakes action sci-fi epic.

ANI-MOVIES, *Merry Little Batman

Before they did the Batman: Caped Crusaders series for Amazon Prime, Warner Bros. licensed a brand-new family-friendly take on the Dark Knight in a full-length animated feature that was hand-drawn which is a rarity nowadays. Merry Little Batman was scripted by Regular Show writer Mike Roth and Teen Titans Go writer Morgan Evans, which was also the first animated production put out by Amazon MGM Studios. It's an original story not based on any existing DC Comics material, but it could be seen as a Bizarro version of The Dark Knight Returns where everything in Batman's future is actually pretty good.

Young Damian Wayne is growing up in a Gotham City that has been crime-free for the last eight years. Bruce Wayne has been in semi-retirement for a while and grown a beard but has let his son know his secret identity. Since its Christmas time, Bruce gives his son a child-safe utility belt with first aid equipment. Although Joker hacks the red phone and tricks Batman into checking out something on the other side of the world in a trap set by Mr. Freeze. While the Bat's away, Joker and his senior citizen supervillains of Poison Ivy, Penguin, and Bane begin to plunder Gotham of its Christmas presents. Damien has to get his belt back from Joker who has been leading the Junior Batman around like a carrot on a stick and inadvertently causing massive property damage in his pursuit of the belt. Batman shows back up so father and son can stop Joker from his Grinch routine, and returns all the stolen presents.

Merry Little Batman was successful enough to set up its own upcoming series titled Bat-Family, and received a modicum of positive feedback. The animation is fair with character designs reminiscent of Tim Burton's work, even with most of the cast aged up. The voice actors they had gave a decent enough performance, although Luke Willson really needs to stay out of the superhero comedy routine as he does the most mediocre Batman ever. There's some unusual hip-hop selections for the soundtrack, but the songs are original and work for a Christmas special. The largest drawback for this is that the feature was far longer than it needed to at being well over 90 minutes as it could've been reduced to less than an hour.

ANI-MOVIES, *5 Centimeters Per Second

Before Makoto Shinkai started breaking banks with his shared-universe films of Your Name and Weathering With You, one of his first full-length pictures came out in 2007 in this 3-part anthology titled 5 Centimeters Per Second. Unlike the majority of Shinkai's creations he did with Comix Wave, this one doesn't have any big sci-fi or fantasy elements, or at least at first. The entire production is somewhat short being only a little over an hour long, but it does work well for a romantic drama showing the love life of a youth and his experience growing up from 1991 to 2008 which means part of this takes place in the future making it slightly sci-fi.

The movie begins showing an elementary school boy in Tokyo named Takaki forming a friendship with classmate Akari since they both love spending time in the library due to their similar allergies. Three years later, they separate after Akari's family moves to another town, but that doesn't stop her from sending Takaki letters. Another year passes and Takaki learns his family is moving to the other side of the country, so he plans to meet up with Akari in her town so they can say finally reunite. Takaki runs into several weather delays which gives him and Akari only a few hours together to rekindle their friendship, even though they share their first kiss together just before Takaki returns home. Four years pass and Takaki is a senior in high school in the country and his female friend Kanae tries to work up the courage to confess her feelings for him. In this case, it's as if all the elements in the world tried to keep Takaki and Akari apart, life seems to be going out of its way that show that Kanae is the one Takaki should be interested in, even with the two of them witnessing a takeoff from the nearby space center would have been a big enough clue for the clueless dope still pining for his old wouldbe girlfriend. Kanae gets over Takaki and becomes more infatuated with surfing. The final segment takes place nine years later(a year after the actual movie came out)and Takaki works in Tokyo as a programmer. He still has feelings for Akari even though she has tried to call him several times despite the fact that she was getting married to someone else. In a finale which seems like a bad reflection of Your Name, Takaki and Akari apparently pass each other while passing a railroad crossing, but when Takaki goes to look back to see if its her, a train passes by blocking off his view to reveal that Akari is not there.

5 Centimeters Per Second has an interesting history as far as its American releases are concerned. It was first available on it own DVD dubbed by ADF Films, and then later on with a completely different dub along with two of Shinkai's short films on Blu Ray by GKids. This was one of the first times Shinkai shared production with a whole studio after doing The Place Promised in Our Early Days under Comix Wave three years prior. As one of the few anime anthology films of the 21st Century, this still holds up very well. The animation can go from ordinary to breathtaking in a heartbeat with sweeping landscapes and one of the most amazing rocket launches ever animated outside of Royal Space Force. If you're wondering where Shinkai's earlier brilliant influence for Suzume came from, then you need to check out this late-2000s anime treasure.

ANI-MOVIES, *Transformers One

Despite the cringy initial trailers, Transformers One turned out to be a decent enough addition to the entire Energon Universe, or at least for one that supposedly is connected to the established live-action movie franchise. Paramount Pictures released this full-length animated film that wasn't done by Dreamworks or Nickelodeon, so whether this might be one of the first of Paramount Animation's new line-up is yet to be seen since their prior film of Under The Boardwalk came out last year. Former Pixar animator Josh Cooley directed this new crack at the robots in disguise which was of course meant to sell more toys even though it honors the traditional lore that has been developed over the last four decades. The animation itself is all CGI as the entire film takes place on an alien world filled with robots, and the art deco design really works for the chrome plated commandos.

Set on the planet of Cybertron millions of years ago, the world is inhabited by sentient lifeforms in robotic bodies. The Cybertronians were created by a mechanical space god called Primus so massive he turned into the very planet of Cybertron, and the beings that spawned from this were known as Transformers. Their forefathers were the Primes that used the Matrix of Leadership, an item of great power that was like their holy grail. An invasion of the Quintesson forces have plagued the Transformers as their current leader Sentinel Prime has been looking for the Matrix after the Primes went missing after a battle. To maintain life, several Transformers were created without the special cogs they need in order to transform to act as miners to tap the planet's main resource, an energy called Energon. Two of these miners are Orion Pax and D-16 who toil their days away hoping to be something more than just cogless worker drones. They get the attention of Sentinel Prime after nearly winning a race wearing only jet packs, but are left to be forgotten by the bully officer Darkwing(what an "original" name)in a garbage sub-level with the overly chatty B-127. The three of them come across a chip holding the last distress call by Alpha Trion, one of the only remaning Primes, so they grab their former superior Elita-1 and set out to find the last stand of the Primes. Their quest leads them to a cave where the corpses of all the Primes aside from the dormant body of Alpha Trion and tells them they were all betrayed by Sentinel who made a deal with the Quintessons so he would be in charge if he lured the Primes into their trap. Orion and pals get their own cogs from the deceased Primes and make their escape as the cave is attacked by Sentinel's troops, even though they are captured by the surviving High Guard who assisted the Primes. D beats up the High Guard's leader Starscream and takes over just as Sentinel's forces capture most of them. Orion, Elita, and the leftover High Guard gather the miners and other Cybertronians to expose Sentinel's scheme. D plans on killing Sentinel, but Orion gets in the way and is nearly shot to death. D lets Orion fall into the planet where the spirit of Primus changes him into Optimus Prime. D finally slays Sentinel and proclaims himself Megatron after inserting the cog of former Prime Megatronus into himself. Optimus arrives and the former friends have the first of many battles which the peaceful Transformers winning. Optimus casts Megatron and all his supporters out of their capitol city where they become the Decepticons, while Optimus along with Elita and B form the Autobots waiting for the next attack by the Quintessons.

Transformers One could have been the beginning of a possible new line up, but parent company Hasbro stated they wouldn't financially support any further Transformers projects by Paramount, so unless the major studio is willing to pay the whole bill for any future installments there doesn't seem to be any plans for a sequel. There is the matter of having the main cast being composed largely with non-voice actors which doesn't help as there's been several different people performing Optimus and Megatron but replacing them with A-List celebrities is a trend that doesn't hinder this film overall. Chris Hemsworth is worthy enough to play Optimus, Brian Tyree Henry brings Megatron's pent-up rage, but Scarlett Johansson is flat as Elita-1, and Keegan-Michael Key's annoying take on Bumblebee would have even Deadpool telling him to shut-up. Some hardcore purists might have problems with the changes made to the lore, but altogether this remake checks enough boxes to fit it in the annals of acceptable Transformers history.

R.I.P. Morgan Lofting

 

MISC. MANGA, *The Dragon Prince: Dreamer's Nightmare

For the fourth graphic novel of The Dragon Prince, Graphix went on to do another prequel, although this time its the brothers Ezran and Callum in an adventure that unifies them in a new way, and reveals some interesting facts about the characters. Nicole Andelfinger is back as in his second prequel book as writer, and Felia Hanakata is back as artist since their previous team-up on Bloodmoon Huntress. Dreamer's Nightmare is a welcome look into the princes' lives back when their father was still alive.

Some years after their mother passed away, Callum is getting crossed with his brother Ezran and his claim that he can talk to animals. King Harrow gets a message to go help the village of Noct which lies in his realm of Katolis. He brings along the princes and his sister-in-law Amaya who is also his head general. Once in Noct, the royals discover that the adults are struck with a sleeping sickness. After talking to some of the local animals, Ezran learns that the plague is being caused by a spiritual creature which has had parts of its soul separated into different animals. Callum had trouble believing this, but a fairy tale that they find in a library thanks to a helpful rodent clues the princes in on the creature's backstory. Ezran's inherited leadership skills comes in handy as he is able to calm down the village's remaining children after all the adults eventually fall asleep, and his Disney Princess talent for speaking to animals ultimately helps resolve the fractured creature's restlessness to wake everyone up.

The world of The Dragon Prince is given a fresh focus on two of the main characters by going over an important event in their past which brought them closer together. Ezran realized that Callum would always believe in him, and Callum learns that his younger half-brother will make a fine ruler someday. Any fans of the Netflix series will find it fun, especially since this is the secret origin of Callum's jerkface dance. Dreamer's Nightmare is probably the most necessary prequel chapter so far and hopefully won't be the last one to see print.