Introduction
Good evening, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is back for yet another adventure. After averting disaster from all those door openings in Japan, it is time for full steam ahead as I covered three more animated movies before waiting in anticipation for The Super Mario Bros Movie. Today, I will cover three animated movies: one from 2019 that was hard to find, one that I had been looking forward to since its release in 2022, and the third being the first Netflix animated movie of the year.
The first movie, Monty and the Street Party, is a relatively obscure 2019 Danish animated movie about a boy named Monty who desperately got the neighbourhood together to organise a street party in the neighbourhood, hoping to get his parents back together again. However, given the neighbourhood itself is one of the most unlikable and craziest in Denmark, hilarity ensures with the crazy neighbours of the town. When I first heard that movie, I knew I had to see it to believe it. However, it was very difficult to find that movie from outside Europe, until one day, thanks to one of my Twitter friends, I finally found an English-subtitled copy of The Street Party that might finally give an answer of whether the search was worth it.
The second movie, Unicorn Wars, showcased a brutal war between teddy bears and black unicorns and as a new group of bears wage war against the unicorns to save the forest, anything goes and all rules on morality are thrown out of the window. Directed by Alberto Vazquez, the same director behind Birdboy and the Forgotten Children, when I saw the trailer last year, I had a feeling this will be a must-watch for me. However, as with most indie animated movies, Unicorn Wars is yet another movie that is hard to find, unless you know a way in. So, when GKIDS acquired the distribution rights to Unicorn Wars and released it for rental on YouTube, I seized the chance to watch it. We will see how I will fare with this one.
The third movie, The Magician’s Elephant, is produced by Australia-based Animal Logic (The Lego Movie, DC League of Super-Pets) and is adapted from a book. When an orphaned boy crosses paths with a fortune teller, the boy seeks help with the fortune teller to find his missing sister. The fortune teller only tells him to find a mysterious elephant and its magician owner, setting the boy off for an adventure to conquer three impossible tasks in the search of his sister. Since this is the first Animal Logic after Netflix acquired them, I was curious to see this one, but given I watched this one week after Suzume, I was very certain The Magician’s Elephant will be a disappointment.
And with that, let the second animated movie rundown of 2023 begin!
Monty and the Street Party (2019)
Key Information
- Directors: Anders Morgenthaler and Mikael Wulff
- Animation Studios: Monkey Tennis, Squarefish and Studio Souza
- Country of Origin: Denmark
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 26 September 2019 (In Denmark)
Trailer
Story and Characters
Since this is a Danish animated movie, the category is “Nordic Insanity Realness”. Given the number of shenanigans that occurred in Nordic animated movies as of late, it was not surprising to see a weird and unconventional story. To the shock of no one, it is.
I feel the story does not feel comprehensive, however, as the story lacks something that ties the storylines and the various gags together. Even if it is clear that the writers took a satirical move, there needs to be a level of cohesion to tie everything together and unfortunately, there was a lack of it. This was why I struggled to connect the main storyline and connect with it.
There were also a lot of gags that would be crude enough to warrant an NC16 or M18 rating in Singapore, from the five Allans doing crazy stuff around the neighbourhood, to the dangerous effects of Juicy Boost (the movie’s energy drink that’s the equivalent to the original Four Loko in America) and the new, CrossFit fanatic boyfriend Monty’s mum was hanging out with. There is a level of adult comedy within this movie and while some jokes land, pretty much half of the jokes do not, and came out as unfunny or forced. This is disappointing, as I enjoyed some dark comedy, particularly from Frankie Boyle stand ups, so to see the majority of jokes not making me laugh is a shame.
As for the characters, there is Monty, that annoying kid with a sincere mission to reunite with his parents considering a divorce, his neighbour and best friend Sofia, who went through a phase and has to deal with the failing Juicy Boost business from her Dad and putting up with her five Allan pen-tuples causing havoc across the neighbourhood. There is also Monty’s parents who had a rough relationship. all of a sudden, which is the crux of the movie’s major conflict.
All of these, as well as the crazy neighbours, felt like caricatures of classic adult animated series characters that do not feel complete, and a lot of these characters can come off as annoying, pretentious or sometimes both. They left an unpleasant taste in my mouth, but honestly, the problematic writing and characters are the least of this movie’s worries. Voice acting is also on the annoying side as well.
Animation
For the animation style, it had clear inspirations from popular adult animated series, such as The Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park from its deliberately ugly aesthetic. From the various uses of garish colours to weird human character designs and some gross-out appearances of certain characters, it was clear Monty and the Street Party had this quintessential Nordic weirdness all over it.
Unfortunately, while I appreciate what the animators were going for, the visuals felt nauseating to me. Yes, the animation quality is definitely better than a lot of bad animated movies I watched, but the style felt off-putting to me. Few will appreciate this level of ugliness, but those that do will have a knack at this novelty.
In fact, as crazy as I sound, the animation style, not to mention fast but unpolished character movements, might be endearing for the specific animation crowd that enjoyed great and wacky animated shows and movies. However, it is not for me, unfortunately.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
Personally, the soundtrack and other elements do not add much to the movie, so let me move on to my level of enjoyment.
I think I felt a bit frustrated at Monty’s style over substance approach. As mentioned, there is a lack of cohesion that ties the main plot and the gags together, and felt like random comedy sketches being put together. Add together the ugly, but not too obnoxious animation style, and Monty and the Street Party is something that does not feel like an animated movie for kids, but it actually does for Nordic animation standards. However, the more I watched on, the more I appreciated this movie.
For starters, I can appreciate the amount of guts the team that worked on this movie (as well as the 2022 sequel which looks even crazier than The Street Party), and there are certain gags and plot moments that were so stupid, I was laughing throughout the movie’s runtime. Also, the moments towards the end when the actual street party took place had moments of joy, bemusement and laughter. It should be a movie that I hate, but somehow, Monty and the Street Party is enjoyable, despite it being a technically weak animated movie based on my critique.
Honestly, I dig this movie, and I would come back again… if I am in a foul mood and I need something to enjoy at.
Overall Thoughts
Well, I am glad I was able to experience Monty and the Street Party for once, even if that movie was not for me. Sometimes, it is great to explore animated movies from other countries, but that was when the positives for this movie ends here.
If you are the type of person who enjoys crude humour that stands to its own, deliberately ugly animation that plays well to this movie’s crudeness, and loads and loads of gags, even if these elements clash with each other, then Monty and the Street Party is for you. Otherwise, if you are afraid this movie will offend your tastebuds, then the best way is to stay away and let others enjoy this acquired taste of an animated movie.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
Unicorn Wars (2022)
Key Information
- Director: Alberto Vazquez
- Animation Studios: UniKo, co-produced by Abano Productions, Autour de Minuit Productions and Schmuby Productions
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Rating: R21 (Unofficial rating, but if I am IMDA in Singapore (basically the MPA of Singapore), I would have given Unicorn Wars that rating)
- Release Date: 10 March 2023 (In United States)
Trailer
Story and Characters
Given I just covered Monty and the Street Party, you think we will go back to talking about sane stuff. Guess again, because Unicorn Wars is even more insane than Monty, but excellent.
For starters, this is an anti-war movie like you had never seen before, given it is a war between teddy bears and black unicorns, combinations that most would never make, but here we are. The anti-war message is at least the most straightforward element of the movie, but that is not just its biggest strength. The story is very unpredictable and went many directions, but each directional change in the story is a one-level descent into even more madness. That is actually a good thing, because not only this makes it a very exciting watch; it will make you question the way you think about writing in animated movies, especially with an ending that is straight from left field. That is to say that the quality of writing is not only high but also very entertaining, with no utilisation of animated movie tropes whatsoever.
What is even better than excellent and unpredictable writing has to be the characters. In fact, you can say that with a left-field animated movie, expect characters from that side as well. Each of the characters, particularly the main characters of Bluey and Tubby, all have their distinct personality and charm, and hits you in the face once Vazquez decides to let loose and get rid of these characters one by one as the movie progresses.
While Spain still has a long way to go when it comes to their extensive line-up of CG animated movies (and trust me, Spain produced a lot of them), especially with the level of writing, their non-CG stuff is beyond amazing, and with award contenders aplenty like Chico and Rita, Another Day of Life, Klaus and Birdboy, Unicorn Wars is definitely among the greatest animated movies from Spain, but in a completely different manner. This will make you re-think the way you think about animated movies and shows you can make excellent animated movies that are not meant for kids.
Animation
When I saw the trailer, I had a feeling it will be distinctively different from Birdboy, and it will be a unique looking animated movie. Not only was I right, but the styling is something I had never seen before.
Talking about the teddy bear character designs, they each had a distinct feel that showcased each and every character’s personality very well, and the creatures in the forest look amazing, not to mention having this 2D fairytale like aesthetic that fits into the movie.
However, it was the usage of colours that floored me. Somehow, Vazquez was able to combine contrasting colours and make them stand out. The combination of green, pink and black during the scenes in the forest should not have worked, but somehow, they do, and with impressive effect as well. The beauty of the backgrounds and character contrast heavily with the mysterious elements of the forest and the bloodshed throughout the middle of the movie. This is pretty much a near-perfect combination of animation styles and colours.
Vazquez has this flair of combining light with darkness and in this case, he put that flair to good use with Unicorn Wars. There is so much expression and artistry within what he and his team had produced that at this rate, just let him cook.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
I loved a great contrasting soundtrack to highlight the beauty of the forest and the dark tones of the war atmosphere throughout the runtime. So many of these score tracks amplified the correct tone for each scene, and this is important given the number of soundtracks that are ruined by poppy songs that feel very out of place.
As for my level of enjoyment, I had a complete blast with each and every moment in the movie, even if Unicorn Wars scare the hell out of me throughout its 90-minute runtime. I hollered, cry, and screamed at different moments in the movie, even if I was alone in my room, renting it on YouTube. This is the type of movie that would get sold-out screenings in theatres, and I wish GKIDS, who did yet another excellent job picking up another great indie animated movie, released this theatrically worldwide.
Overall Thoughts
Here is my warning to you: do not go into Unicorn Wars knowing what to expect if you had seen a lot of crazy movies in the past, not even Vazquez’s previous movie, Birdboy. Trust me, you don’t.
Unicorn Wars is one of the most insane, brutal, sadistic and yet thrilling and amazing Spanish animated movies I had ever seen. Beneath the beautiful pastels and cute characters, there is a copious overdose of violence and gore, some nudity, drug abuse and insanely gorgeous animation. This is what excites me about animation, and that is knowing it is not a typical, boring, safe and family-friendly animated movie that is easily digestible, but instead a liberating experience not suitable for kids, not to mention having a unique animation style with excellent storytelling.
If you think you know your way around animated movies, I bet you had never experienced Unicorn Wars. This is without a question not only a must-watch but should also be solid evidence to prove that animation is not a genre, and that it is also not just for kids either. In fact, just burn every rulebook about animated movies in your head first before seeing this amazing acid trip like no other.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
The Magician’s Elephant
Key Information
- Director: Wendy Rogers
- Animation Studios: Netflix Animation (with Animal Logic)
- Country of Origin: United States, Australia
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 17 March 2023 (On Netflix)
Trailer
Story and Characters
First off, I am not familiar with the original story by Kate DiCamillo, so I cannot judge whether this is a good adaptation of the story. With that said, I will admit that the writing is pretty alright for me. The story felt easy, with not much plot holes to poke through, even if the story feels predictable. However, while palatable, the story feels too safe, as it does not take any calculated risks to make the story more exciting and the viewer engaged. This is concerning as more animated movies these days are willing to take risks and try something different and innovative, and playing it safe will go nowhere.
As for characters and voice acting, the overall cast of characters felt nice and the voice acting is pretty solid. Noah Jupe’s Peter is a generic protagonist, but does not feel grating and has some nice moments such as his backstory and honestly, I don’t hate the characters in the movie. The issue, however, is that there is not much to remember about the story and the characters, which is concerning.
One of the two saving graces I have (and the most surprising) is the narration. Now, narration in animated movies is something that may be a huge pet peeve for me, but in this case, the narration is pretty decent, and does not feel cynical. The other has to do with the messaging and morals that the writers were able to full realise them, but even with those positives, it is still not enough to make me feel engaged throughout the entire runtime.
Animation
If you know me, I love myself a bit of well-executed photorealistic CG animation, especially if the animators can pull off this already tired technique surprisingly. Given this was Animal Logic we are talking about, the studio that had worked on The Lego Movie and DC League of Super-Pets, I was concerned about whether they can pull off an animation style they are using for the first time. Here is my (amateurish, since I am not trained in animation) assessment on the overall animation quality.
I loved the more muted colouring of the environment and the character to depict the loss of magic in the town and some of the detailed character designs. I also really like most of the animation sequences in the movie, especially given there was a bit of stylised animation in a few sequences, which prevented the animation styling from going too stale. Speaking of character designs, they look pretty neat, especially with the detailing on the elephant designs. My goodness!
However, for some reason, I was not vibing much in terms of the uniqueness of the animation design. In fact, I may have suffered from fatigue from realism CG animation, and that might be because after seeing so many great animated movies with interesting and vibrant character designs this year, such as Suzume, Unicorn Wars and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Perhaps that was why the overall animation, while well-crafted and with some magic, does not vibe well with me. It just felt stale to me.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
I adore the music score as while it is nothing special, the distinct tones in each score track helps to heighten the mood of each animation sequence. It is definitely not the most impactful score for an animated movie in 2023 (that honour still goes to Radiwmps for the Suzume soundtrack), but it is a substantial soundtrack, regardless.
In terms of the overall level of enjoyment, I am positive with the overall viewing experience of The Magician’s Elephant. Even though it is not the most exciting animated movie of 2023, at least I enjoyed and appreciated the craftmanship put into this feature, even if once again, I wanted to shout at Netflix for once again not caring much about promoting it.
Overall Thoughts
To be fair to The Magician’s Elephant, it is understandable that I feel underwhelmed by the overall experience, given I just came off from watching Suzume and Unicorn Wars. Still, I have to be fair to other animated movies that came out this year.
While The Magician’s Elephant has some decent writing and had great animation moments, it played too safe and did not take the risks to make the story and concept more exciting. The fact that this was an Animal Logic movie is more disappointing, given we know what they are capable of with The Lego Movie and DC League of Super-Pets.
All I can say is that The Magician’s Elephant would not be offensive on the palate unlike other bad animated movies Netflix has, such as Marmaduke and The Soccer Football Movie, but sadly, it is too inoffensive to be memorable, especially given that we have more exciting animated movies coming our way.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
Conclusion
Well, that was a rundown of epic proportions, I have to admit. Three distinctively different animated movies, with different styles and with different plots. It goes to show that regardless of animation quality, there is no wrong way of producing an animated movie, so let’s just let the animation studios cook.
Since The Super Mario Bros Movie is just a few weeks away, I knew I had to let something out of my chest, and that is my essay about one of the most divisive animation studios right now, as well as the animation studio behind The Super Mario Bros Movie. I will see you later for my essay about Illumination Entertainment, and until then, k thanks bye!
