Introduction
Hello fellow adventurers! Blaziker is back for yet another animated movie adventure! In the last adventure, I did promise that we will be taking a trip to the Kingdom of Rosas, but as I was preparing my trip, I realised that there were some other animated movies that I need to cover first before our epic whimsical adventure. Hence today, we got three exciting animated movies to cover, each that are vastly different from each other and produced by different animation studios in different countries. Needless to say, this rundown is going to be a world tour!
The first movie, Blue Giant, is another anime movie based on a very popular manga of the same name, and focus on rookie saxophone player Dai pursuing his dream to be the best jazz player in Japan. Together with an experienced pianist Yuikinori and best friend Shunji on the drums, the trio set out to be the new jazz hit in Tokyo. I got to be honest, just like with most things, I have never heard of the manga that this movie was based on, but hearing a lot of rave reviews from fellow animation fans, including Animated Antic, I knew I had to put this on my watchlist. Will this be worth the hype?
The second movie, Under the Boardwalk, is a Paramount Animation original movie, about a herd of sea crabs clashing with another herd of land crabs at the Jersey Shore. This was a movie that the community thought it was cancelled, especially given the absolute lack of promotion and attention from Paramount Animation, who sadly does not have a great reputation when it comes to the quality of their movies (especially given recent comments from Paramount’s CEO on moving away from original animated movies which is thankfully debunked). In fact, some might say that they are the worst mainstream animation studio out there, both due to the lack of quantity and lack of quality in their movies. With this movie being suddenly released in theatres on a limited scale, how will this fare?
The final movie, Mars Express, is a French sci-fi animated movie focusing on a detective and her android partner, as they track down a criminal that could ravel their futuristic world forever. I first heard about Mars Express through Cartoon Movie, the annual European animated films pitching festival, and I was very excited when I saw a preview of that movie. Now that it has gotten release at various festivals, including at the prestigious Annecy International Film Festival, I got a chance to see it as part of the French Film Festival Singapore. Is this worth the rave reviews?
And now, with no time to waste, on to our 9th 2023 Animated Movie Rundown!
Blue Giant
Key Information
- Director: Yuzuru Tachikawa
- Animation Studio: Studio Nut (Yup, that’s the name of the animation studio in charge)
- Country of Origin: Japan
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 17 February 2023 (in Japan)
Trailer
Story and Characters
Coming to this movie, I came in with no expectations whatsoever, but what I got was a passionate and well-driven animated movie about passion for jazz.
If you have seen other animated movies that focus on jazz, such as Whiplash and Soul, I will say that Blue Giant is on par with these two fantastic movies. The focus on Dai and his jazz band’s dedication and passion to jazz makes this movie so intense that there was never even a dull moment in this movie. Almost every moment, even including the lighter scenes, has something of substance that brings the movie forward. Some might see the plot and dismiss it as cliché, but I feel that the execution of the movie’s story is anything but.
While this movie follows similar beats to that of other music-based movies, it is how much the movie focuses on jazz music that keeps the movie as grounded as possible, without deviating it from anything else. That is what makes Blue Giant such a standout: this movie also shows the brutality and pains of achieving perfection in one’s craft, and this movie does not shy away from this reality.
The same thing can be said about the main trio of Dai (Yuki Yamada), Yukinori (Shotaro Mamiya) and Shunji (Amane Okayama) and to say that these three have fantastic chemistry would be an understatement. Each have different reasons and motivations to dedicate their lives to the art form, and in spite of their differences, the energy from them is put in full display every time they perform and harmonise together, just like how different jazz musicians perform at their own wavelengths, but work together to bring their music together in a team effort.
I honestly cannot fault the writing or the characters and voice acting in this movie, even with such a simple premise. It goes to show that you can turn something generic into something extraordinary.
Animation
2023 is the year full of wildly creative visuals, whether it is the incorporation of Japanese myths in Suzume, hyper-stylised action in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse or colourful blending of hyper-realistic and stylised CG animation in Deep Sea. Blue Giant is also a movie full of fantastic visuals.
Firstly, the 2D animation style is nearly perfect, with great character and background designs even if we have seen similar designs before. The movements and restrained style provide a well-realised approach to its style and the overall quality is great.
However, it is when the trio start to perform that this movie turns it up a notch. In fact, the animation in the musical performance outshines its already great animation quality. The transition to 3D CGI, while slightly off-putting at times, provides another dimension to this already well-animated movie as there is emphasis of each performer as they perform to the beat as one. In fact, Blue Giant is worth seeing in theatres just for the performance sequences alone, because every time Dai plays his saxophone, be it solo or with his jazz band, it was a visual punch to the face in the best way possible.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
With a music-based animated movie, the soundtrack is very crucial to bring the movie forward, and Japanese jazz musician Hiromi smashes it out of the park with a lot of fantastic jazz compositions she brought up.
Whether it is the soft but energetic “First Note”, the intense and wildly satisfying “N.E.W.” or the epic crescendo with “We Will”, Hiromi might give jazz specialist Jon Batiste (who helped with the jazz compositions for Soul) a run for his money for having the best jazz soundtrack for any modern movie.
It is not just the soundtrack that is excellent, but also the sound editing and mixing. The level of sound in the movie’s acoustics, especially in the performances, is beyond great, as it helps to emphasise the music at just the right level of intensity and volume. Sound editing is a very minor element in animated movies, so to see such an element done so right showcases the level of dedication in this movie.
As for my level of enjoyment, I am in an absolute trance with this movie. Blue Giant is a surprise out of nowhere, and I am so happy that I get to discover such a well-composed animated movie with the level of energy that puts some mainstream animated movies to shame. This is why I love to talk about non-mainstream animated movies: to discover something as exciting as Blue Giant.
Overall Thoughts
Wow, just wow. Blue Giant is a different beast of an animated movie altogether.
Blue Giant is one of the most exciting animated movies of 2023 so far, full of well-developed writing and characters, wildly creative visuals and a fantastic soundtrack. There is a reason why anime movies continue to excite the global audience, and that is with high-quality stuff like Blue Giant. I cannot wait for you to get tickets to see Jass (the name of Dai’s band) on stage because they are something very, very special.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
Under the Boardwalk
Key Information
- Director: David Soren
- Animation Studio: Paramount Animation (with DNEG)
- Country of Origin: United States
- Rating: PG
- Release Date: 27 October 2023 (in United States on limited theatrical release)
Trailer
Story and Characters
Coming to this movie, giving its sudden release, Paramount Animation’s poor track record and very limited advertising, I was very worried on how Under the Boardwalk would fare. In all honesty, I am genuinely surprised at how this movie was not as bad as first thought.
While it does not surprise for moviegoers like me, especially with inspiration from West Side Story and overall generic plot structure, I enjoy some aspects of the writing, as the 80s inspired setting provides some decently crafted world-building between the two main crab species that we see in the movie.
I also enjoy the relationship between Michael Cera’s Armen and Keke Palmer’s Ramona, the two main opposing crabs, as do the appearance of Jersey native Steven Van Zandt (aka Stevie VZ) as a one-armed crab more than Mr Beast’s crab and the hearing-impaired crab for pretty good disabled representation, something I feel is sorely needed in mainstream animation. I know this movie also has the very controversial Russell Brand as the movie’s villain, but the less said about his presence in the movie, the better.
Despite these positives, however, the nearly uninspired writing resulted in the writing being middle-of-the-road. Sure, the writing is not as terrible as some of the lower-rated animated movies of 2023 so far, but there was not enough wow factor to make it memorable unfortunately.
Animation
What lacks in the writing department was definitely made up in the animation, which should not be surprised given the involvement of DNEG, the studio that had already been involved in impressive animated movies as of late, such as the severely underrated Ron’s Gone Wrong in 2021, and more recently in the near-perfect Nimona this year.
The crab designs as well as the design of the boardwalk were honestly the highlights for me. Almost every crab featured is unique on their own with their shells representing a different personality. The scenes in the boardwalk are very well-detailed, as do the sea environments, preventing this movie from getting too boring and generic real quick. Given I also reviewed very generic and generic-looking animated movies as of late, this is already a bonus.
I know that animation alone cannot save an animated movie, but I would recommend this movie for how spectacular looking Under the Boardwalk is. There is so much charm with the animation that I feel that is already an improvement from Paramount Animation’s previous animated movies.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
As what I mentioned when I talked about Trolls Band Together in my previous animated movies rundown, a good soundtrack helps to elevate an animated movie, especially if the movie is a musical. Unfortunately, the movie’s soundtrack is kind of forgettable.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the songs are not annoying unlike other terrible songs from other animated movies (I will not mention which movies, these movies can speak for themselves), but the West Side Story-inspired songs, while well-composed, just do not have the x-factor for me. They are honestly fine, but in 2023, “fine” does not get you anywhere.
I also have to talk about the nearly non-existent marketing, as once again, Paramount Animation did not do the bare minimum to even market their movie, releasing it just one week after it dropped its trailer. Last year, Netflix did the same thing with The Soccer Football Movie, but unlike that movie which was deservedly unwatchable, Under the Boardwalk did not deserve that extremely limited marketing.
As for my level of enjoyment, I was on the fence with this one, but I can say that it is slightly more positive. Even with how generic Under the Boardwalk is, there were some redeeming elements that make this movie worth watching at least once, just because original animated movies in the mainstream animation space is endangered. I still feel that I would watch this again over something like… Headspace from the previous rundown for sure.
Overall Thoughts
Given this is a Paramount Animation movie with little to no fanfare, I was not expecting much from this movie. While that was the case, this was not too shabby, considering the circumstances.
Under the Boardwalk is the classic middle-of-the-road animated movie that is satisfying enough for me to give it a passing rate. Despite its by-the-numbers writing, pretty ok comedy, an overall slightly forgettable cast of characters and musical numbers, this movie has enough charm to be decent, especially when it comes to the animation.
Considering the current state of properly original animated movies, having a movie like this is a massive rarity, and even with my somewhat neutral response, I was glad that I got to experience a taste of Jersey Shore for once.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
Mars Express
Key Information
- Director: Jeremie Perin
- Animation Studio: Everybody on Deck (with other production companies)
- Country of Origin: France
- Rating: NC16
- Release Date: 12 November 2023 (in Singapore)
Trailer
Story and Characters
I honestly did not expect 2023 to have one great original sci-fi movie about artificial intelligence (AI) that leaves a lasting impression in the movie industry, let alone two. If The Creator managed to turn heads into producing great original sci-fi cinema, Mars Express helped to solidify that fact.
One of the biggest strengths in Mars Express was the various themes and ideas this movie explores, and each one of them is well-focused when needed. This resulted in a well-rounded story that engages the audience easily. In all honestly, it is difficult for some movies to have even one good theme, but to have a movie that successfully covered a wide variety of themes is testament to the movie’s strength in its writing.
Speaking of writing, Mars Express also excels in being pretty unpredictable, avoiding certain tropes and having great action that is up there with some of the best animated movies of the year so far. Plus, the comedy is very original, does not rely on easy jokes and most importantly, do not overstay their welcome. Given how tired I felt with bad comedy in a good number of animated movies this year, the comedy in Mars Express is refreshing to say the least.
Of course, the great writing extends to the characters as well. Aline (Lea Drucker) and her robotic sidekick Carlos (Daniel Njo Love) both have excellent chemistry, with each having well-developed backstory and motivations to boot and having just the right presence to make this movie interesting. While Royjacker (Mathieu Amalric) is a typical villain, his motivations also help to prevent him from being generic, and the other characters, such as Aline’s hacker contact Roberta (Marie Bouvet) and the ever-reliant Goedaux (Sebastien Chassagne) all have their respective spotlights.
Animation
Before I go in depth into this movie, let me ask you a question. How much do you think this movie costs overall? US$10 million? US$20 million? Actually, the projected budget for Mars Express is 6.7 million Euros, or US$7.3 million. However, this movie utilised its budget way better than some animated movies on probably five to 10 times the budget.
The animation style is simple, but brutal, with picturesque background animation and well-varied character animation, combined with some brutal action and brief nudity that justify the movie’s NC16 rating. It also have great transitions between the 2D and 3D sequences, which can be difficult to pull off, but this movie did that with relative ease.
Also, the lighting in this movie, especially in the nighttime sequences, is pretty on point. Neon colours dazzle with the night in one sequence, and it complements the cyberpunk noir detective story Mars Express is going for.
Even though the movie’s animation style is pretty simple, with not much details in the characters, it does not need to, because the animation style helps to carry this movie even further, even when the writing is top-notch. I love a great and well-realised non-mainstream animated movie, and this movie’s animation style proves that point.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
A great cyberpunk detective story needs to have a good score, and the neo-noir score is indeed the perfect soundtrack to blend with this movie. With the score, there is intrigue, mystery and excitement when needed, and I honestly do not have much to say about the soundtrack.
As for my level of enjoyment, I really love this one. Considering that I had been covering similar mainstream animated movies (plus one foreign CG animated movies) for the past two weeks, having a great non-mainstream animated movies is a well-needed palate cleanser to remind myself why I love non-mainstream animated movies in the first place.
In addition, I want to give a shout-out to The Projector who showcased this movie. The Projector, being a refurbished indie cinema from an old cinema, might be one of my most favourite cinemas in Singapore, and seeing that movie in an old but refurbished cinema, with a crowd that also have similar interests in non-mainstream cinema, makes my Mars Express screening even more special.
Overall Thoughts
I mostly get excited every time I get to watch a non-mainstream animated movie, because they offer something different and unique from the typical mainstream animated movies. Mars Express is another one of such great examples.
From the level of maturity in its themes and characters filled with unpredictability and fantastic humour, to the simple but brutal animation style that showcases the creativity in both the human and robot designs and the neo-noir soundtrack that plays to the beat of the movie’s cyberpunk aesthetics, Mars Express is a great non-mainstream animated movie antidote to break away from mostly covering mainstream theatrical animated movies.
It may be the only Annecy competition movie that I will be able to cover this year, but at least I get to cover one great Annecy competition movie this year.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Movie Rating
Conclusion
Three different animated movies, three different results. In all honestly, I find it exciting to cover not just animated movies people are familiar with, but also those that cinemagoers should check it out when they get the chance.
Well, with the rundown over, it is time to continue preparing for my journey to the Kingdom of Rosas and see whether my wish will come true. I will see you on the next adventure, and until then, k thanks bye!
