A Darker Shade of Animation...
Sometimes the mainstream media isn’t what it used to be.
For example, I’ll look for out-of-the-way Asian films that wouldn’t have much of a niche here. Some of the stuff is just nuts to find. I’ve looked for one Japanese horror gore spread called “Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl” in hopes of doing a blog on it.
Couldn’t find it anywhere. I’m not surprised. Didn’t find it anywhere in the Fox Cities. None of the Best Buy locations had it. Neither did Barnes and Noble. Nobody had it. I felt left out.
So I had to order it online. Which seems to be the way to go these days. But there’s nothing like finding a movie beneath all the other tripe in the crowded shelves of a retail store.
Those days are gone. They had about twenty thousand copies of “Predators” sitting around regarding some dumb alien who didn’t know how to use his invisibility properly. Such a dumb alien. And a dumber movie. But no “Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl.” The title alone is a winner.
But I did find a copy of the most recent Batman/Superman animated feature called “Apocalypse.” And I’ll review it right here.
Isn’t that nice of me?
It’s got the go-head from Bruce Timm who produces the best Batman animation in recent years. Have I told you that I met him in person? Did I tell you already? I did? Well, I’ll tell you again. He’s one of the nicest guys in the world if you’re lucky enough to cross paths with him.
The recent animated film is a sort of Justice League reunion between the three major characters from the DC Universe: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. It’s an interesting film that plays between the constant conflict between them. Some of it is playful bickering. But beneath it all they have a respect for each other. Even though they don’t agree with one another.
And that’s the core of the film.
A newcomer comes to earth in a crash landing and it turns out to be woman who may or may not be a survivor of Krypton—the very same world in which Superman comes from. Batman doesn’t trust her. Superman welcomes her with open arms. Wonder Woman wants to take her to Paradise Island where the morals of women can be taught in a military way.
This is the fight over the fate of Kara… or better known as Supergirl. This is the story of her.
The dynamic of the film plays well between all the major characters. Kevin Conroy is a welcome guest as he supplies his familiar voice to the dark knight character. As does the part of Tim Daly who gives his voice to Superman. Both of them are originals from the animated series from the 1990s which Timm also produced. It is interesting to see how far they’ll go with their disagreements and how much they’ll set aside to work together to reach a goal.
The only one that is missing, and it is a big factor, is the voice of Darkseid… Michael Ironside does not voice the character this time around. And it’s unfortunate. The current voice is not menacing enough… nor it is scary at all. He sounds like another Republican wanting to seek office in the senate. That’s what he sounds like. I would have preferred Ironside in the part with his rich tremors of voice. Oh well. You can’t get everything.
The only other issue I have, and it is a minor one, is the habit of cartoon films trying to cram everyone into a 78 min. film. It’s not very noticeable here. But it doesn’t help to distract from the main three characters who are going out of their way to lend a hand to the sole female survivor of Kryton.
But there are far too many characters for one’s own good. There’s Supergirl! There’s Big Barda! Hey look, there’s Krypto! Here’s Harbinger! There are too many supporting characters that were really not needed in the story. Most important were Supergirl who played a major part in the film. And Big Barda would make sense because she was a former warrior belonging to Apocalypse. The other characters were just throwaways.
Though I have to admit it was very cool to see Krypto.
However, the story is very focused on the conflict between major characters. And the design and look of the film is one of the best… it is a very clear style that is soothing and well as chiseled as if you’re carving the characters out of stone like the Greek sculptures did. They look very good in cartoon form particularly Batman. There are some nice touches of Jack Kirby art if you are a comic book fan… as you know that the world of Apocalypse was created by Kirby’s own hands. Not Stan Lee, the credit hogger.
The animation is stunning. It's darker too... And some of the best parts of the film is the last half hour of the film where Superman and his cousin Supergirl go into battle with Darkseid who is able to hold his own against the super being with his brute strength and his omega beams. He comes from a philosophy of warriors and savages who lays destruction to other worlds through concentrated violence. Some of the final battle sequences are very well done.
There is an assured confidence in the way the film is made here. They are going at it with full speed ahead. And you can almost feel the heroes charging through the animation.
Whether you are a fan of comic books or not, it’s well worth a look. Animation fans will be allured by the stark beauty of the drawings done in the film. There is a good balance of hand drawn art and computer graphics making this one of the best looking films to come out. And bear in mind that Batman comes across very well here even though he was pushed into secondary character status… he still has the greatest weapon of them all. His smarts. And you see that he is able to fend for himself when he confronts Darkseid himself. Just a human being. Not an easy feat to do.
“Apocalypse” does have some small letdowns… but it’s not enough to distract you from what is easily one of the most enjoyable animated films. It does hold a promising future for other projects in line. There is still a history of comic books for them to choose from… and enough chapters from comic books sources to make your head spin. It’s funny how some people never grow out of comic books. It’s not a bad thing.
It is the voice of Kevin Conroy that helps carry the film greatly because it hits a note of nostalgia right there. Bring Conroy back for more animated projects. It’s always a joy to hear him again.
For example, I’ll look for out-of-the-way Asian films that wouldn’t have much of a niche here. Some of the stuff is just nuts to find. I’ve looked for one Japanese horror gore spread called “Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl” in hopes of doing a blog on it.
Couldn’t find it anywhere. I’m not surprised. Didn’t find it anywhere in the Fox Cities. None of the Best Buy locations had it. Neither did Barnes and Noble. Nobody had it. I felt left out.
So I had to order it online. Which seems to be the way to go these days. But there’s nothing like finding a movie beneath all the other tripe in the crowded shelves of a retail store.
Those days are gone. They had about twenty thousand copies of “Predators” sitting around regarding some dumb alien who didn’t know how to use his invisibility properly. Such a dumb alien. And a dumber movie. But no “Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl.” The title alone is a winner.
But I did find a copy of the most recent Batman/Superman animated feature called “Apocalypse.” And I’ll review it right here.
Isn’t that nice of me?
It’s got the go-head from Bruce Timm who produces the best Batman animation in recent years. Have I told you that I met him in person? Did I tell you already? I did? Well, I’ll tell you again. He’s one of the nicest guys in the world if you’re lucky enough to cross paths with him.
The recent animated film is a sort of Justice League reunion between the three major characters from the DC Universe: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. It’s an interesting film that plays between the constant conflict between them. Some of it is playful bickering. But beneath it all they have a respect for each other. Even though they don’t agree with one another.
And that’s the core of the film.
A newcomer comes to earth in a crash landing and it turns out to be woman who may or may not be a survivor of Krypton—the very same world in which Superman comes from. Batman doesn’t trust her. Superman welcomes her with open arms. Wonder Woman wants to take her to Paradise Island where the morals of women can be taught in a military way.
This is the fight over the fate of Kara… or better known as Supergirl. This is the story of her.
The dynamic of the film plays well between all the major characters. Kevin Conroy is a welcome guest as he supplies his familiar voice to the dark knight character. As does the part of Tim Daly who gives his voice to Superman. Both of them are originals from the animated series from the 1990s which Timm also produced. It is interesting to see how far they’ll go with their disagreements and how much they’ll set aside to work together to reach a goal.
The only one that is missing, and it is a big factor, is the voice of Darkseid… Michael Ironside does not voice the character this time around. And it’s unfortunate. The current voice is not menacing enough… nor it is scary at all. He sounds like another Republican wanting to seek office in the senate. That’s what he sounds like. I would have preferred Ironside in the part with his rich tremors of voice. Oh well. You can’t get everything.
The only other issue I have, and it is a minor one, is the habit of cartoon films trying to cram everyone into a 78 min. film. It’s not very noticeable here. But it doesn’t help to distract from the main three characters who are going out of their way to lend a hand to the sole female survivor of Kryton.
But there are far too many characters for one’s own good. There’s Supergirl! There’s Big Barda! Hey look, there’s Krypto! Here’s Harbinger! There are too many supporting characters that were really not needed in the story. Most important were Supergirl who played a major part in the film. And Big Barda would make sense because she was a former warrior belonging to Apocalypse. The other characters were just throwaways.
Though I have to admit it was very cool to see Krypto.
However, the story is very focused on the conflict between major characters. And the design and look of the film is one of the best… it is a very clear style that is soothing and well as chiseled as if you’re carving the characters out of stone like the Greek sculptures did. They look very good in cartoon form particularly Batman. There are some nice touches of Jack Kirby art if you are a comic book fan… as you know that the world of Apocalypse was created by Kirby’s own hands. Not Stan Lee, the credit hogger.
The animation is stunning. It's darker too... And some of the best parts of the film is the last half hour of the film where Superman and his cousin Supergirl go into battle with Darkseid who is able to hold his own against the super being with his brute strength and his omega beams. He comes from a philosophy of warriors and savages who lays destruction to other worlds through concentrated violence. Some of the final battle sequences are very well done.
There is an assured confidence in the way the film is made here. They are going at it with full speed ahead. And you can almost feel the heroes charging through the animation.
Whether you are a fan of comic books or not, it’s well worth a look. Animation fans will be allured by the stark beauty of the drawings done in the film. There is a good balance of hand drawn art and computer graphics making this one of the best looking films to come out. And bear in mind that Batman comes across very well here even though he was pushed into secondary character status… he still has the greatest weapon of them all. His smarts. And you see that he is able to fend for himself when he confronts Darkseid himself. Just a human being. Not an easy feat to do.
“Apocalypse” does have some small letdowns… but it’s not enough to distract you from what is easily one of the most enjoyable animated films. It does hold a promising future for other projects in line. There is still a history of comic books for them to choose from… and enough chapters from comic books sources to make your head spin. It’s funny how some people never grow out of comic books. It’s not a bad thing.
It is the voice of Kevin Conroy that helps carry the film greatly because it hits a note of nostalgia right there. Bring Conroy back for more animated projects. It’s always a joy to hear him again.
posted by K.M. Paters at 12:03 PM
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