Ghost Mike's Movie Review Roundup #7: November 2024 · 6:00pm Dec 3rd, 2024
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! Or, if they live outside the States, a good weekend. Myself, between taking yesterday off (I typically have enough leave leftover by year’s end as to use quite a bit in December), and our work Christmas party on Friday being huge, it’s certainly been less pressured. Still going through the motions, not much of a mental turnaround for me yet, but gonna try and make good there this Christmas.
It was a very enjoyable party, if an exhausting one: while we didn’t expand in size nearly as much this year as opposed to last, being about 85 people now, a lot more people based outside Ireland came over this time. Still largely those in Europe of course, what with them only able to provide for accommodation, not flights, but between that and a few people about to leave, meaning both them and their replacements-about-to-start came, it was packed! And you’d better believe there were a few people I’d never seen before that I still barely got a chance to talk to, with all the folks to bounce around. And, yep, still about half of them there when I left too. 
Even so, what with some shakeups for me inbound at work, it was an energetic one, despite me drawing my voice hoarse over the night, especially with the cramped downstairs pub area we were squished into. Had a fun Bad Santa gift exchange (anonymous could-be-for-anyone Secret Santa, except you have the choice to open your pulled gift or swap with another who’s opened theirs), talked about both work and non-work things, and overall had a good time. I don’t go out for this kind of thing at all, but in a crowd of folks who love their jobs in mobile app development and with virtually none of the blunter socialising side the Irish can be known for, it’s something I greatly enjoy twice a year, between this and the Summer equivalent.
Also, I have weirdly gone into the office three times now in the last five weeks. Considering the average for me for ages was once every three months, and usually only for notable work afters, that’s bizarre. 
When there’s only a few folks there, it’s little different from home, but when there’s lots, like on Friday… yeah, bit more chatter, bit less productive! 
But that is the kind of day that would be less productive.
Over on the Movie Roundup side of things, we can see again the further split of me away from contemporary blockbusters: when they come to town, less old releases around, and thus I see less. No Wicked or Gladiator II rumblings here! And I have heard the former isn’t half-bad at all, but still, don’t feel bothered. Not lacking for some quality choices, mind, between another Disney Animation classic in that boutique cinema of mine, and my first viewing of a notable British animated film in a lovely 4K restoration, original animation artefacts and all (which I consider part of a film’s legacy: see my rewatch last year of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Finally, something on the home front too, with my dad reviving our shared movie nights earlier this summer that he’d been rather ghosting me on… for a 90’s HBO tv movie about a business takeover recommended by a colleague after the book it was based on came up. Have I mentioned he was a CEO for a decade before he swapped to a startup for a different challenge to close out his career? 
But he has promised that I can chase him if he neglects these again, especially this month.
Now, there is one new film in there, giving me the chance to share some thoughts about the current state of the animation industry once again, a topic very near and dear to my heart, but which I try and avoid repeating too much on here, because I can get carried away, Plus, it’s a depressing one. But yes: Moana 2. Now, it’s actually not as bad as it could have been, by the standards of this post-Revival period of grey paste from Disney Animation. It didn’t make me want to question my life choices, which alone is enough to put it 3rd of these seven films, ahead of the horrible Raya and the Last Dragon, Strange World, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and especially the studio-worst Wish. In many ways, it’s just a typical inspiration-deprived sequel, if exasperated by its origins as a Disney+ tv series.
That’s the main reason I’m gravely concerned about this film’s titanic box office. Honestly, even more than the fallout Inside Out 2 becoming the highest-grossing animated film ever earlier this year (yes, even with the crunch the Pixar animators faced, plus those who got let go before the film opened not getting their performance bonuses). Off Moana 2 having the best Thanksgiving opening by a landslide ($221 million), now set by my estimation to reach final box office numbers on the level of The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($575m in the US, $1,360m worldwide), this is going to have monstrously terrible consequences on an already volatile animation industry. Above and beyond being further “proof” that doubling down on established IP is the only way forward for the studios (something already on the cards, with further sequels for Zootopia, Frozen and Toy Story inbound over the next few years anyway).
But, yes: this film began as a streaming miniseries for Disney+ (as in, a single story told over a finite number of episodes, though obviously more than could fit into a movie), announced back in December 2020. Its 2023 planned release date went by without a word, until this Spring, when it was suddenly announced to be Disney’s Holiday 2024 animated feature. Obviously the move preceded that announcement (though there are some industry insider rumours that some staff didn’t know about the upgrade until it was announced publicly).
Now, when it was a streaming service, storyboarding and pre-production were to be done at the Burbank studio, but actual production at a new satellite one in Vancouver (yes, right next door to DHX, or Wildbrain now 
). I don’t know what the divide is after the move: certainly, the onscreen animation looks Disney-theatrical quality (though to my eyes, the minimal visual imagination betrays the streaming pre-production phase, as does the diminished visual scope and scale of the cinematography, plus none of the vibrancy in the character animation Disney Legends directors John Musker and Ron Clements brought last time), and the public budget of $150m is above the usual up-to-$100m budgets animated films produced fully outside of LA typically carry. But the Vancouver crew still unquestionably did a lot of the work.
So, the worry boils down to not just Disney thinking they can retooling streaming series to theatrical films and audiences will lap it up like automatons anyway*, but that it’s okay to further stretch non-unionized animators outside the States (there surely had to be a lot of crunch on this one) for further savings. Right on the heels of the animators’ strike in LA, it’s a toxic situation we’re in right now, and as glad as I am to see the studios realising it’s better both financially and creatively to make feature films that can later be on streaming, rather than content straight for it, this is just another further step on the death road of cinema.
* The main reason for Moana 2 exploding is, of course, that the original is such a rewatch favourite, being the second-most streamed movie in 2021 and the most in 2023. Many reasons are debated as to why, but the songs tend to be the biggest one: well, I can tell you now, the nothingburgers in this one from a pair of TikTok musicians (obviously Lin-Manual Miranda wasn’t attached when this was a streaming series, and it was too late to change that after the upgrade) aren’t going to do anything like that. By 2026, after the allure of the new is gone, expect this film to not be anywhere on streaming watch hours charts.
Well, that makes it a good climate to enjoy older, better stuff, and discover afresh old blind spots, both of which I’m sure I’ll do plenty of this month. For now, enjoy these four.
- Lady and the Tramp (★★★★) – Definitely sweet and charming in a syrupy way, but there’s such grace to this love story I can't fault it. Add the best dog animation in the medium's history, and this totally pulls off its conservative, idealistic small-town nostalgia. November 2nd 2024, rewatch, boutique cinema. [RATING CHANGED, was ★★★★1/2]
- Watership Down (★★★★) – The over-literate take can make it a bit flat at times. But it has power to spare and is deftly streamlined in its tale of seeking hope against nature, human civilisation and dystopian class struggles. The spiritual parts are especially probing. November 5th 2024, 4K reissue.
- Barbarians at the Gate (★★★1/2) – As conceived, this could have been a smug, cold affair in the wrong hands. Strong acting keeps it palatable, as does the writing and pacing, while also semi-trivialising it. Explains its concepts well without talking down to the viewer. November 23rd 2024, Film Watches with Dad.
- Moana 2 (★★) – On some level, it has more solid bones than any Disney flick since the first Moana. It's also a direct-to-DVD-type retread, with nothingburger music, makes every character a quipper or a cipher, and is frantically over-edited. Not even visually inspired. November 30th 2024. [RATING CHANGED AND REVIEW EDITED, was ★★1/2]
Woah, Watership Down. What a coincidence, I've been seriously considering adding the book to my collection for later review. I've only seen small snippets of the movie and never read the book, yet it's one of those things that's been peripherally present throughout my life so I was all "I should finally look at that."
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If I am to trust the words of Loganberry and Hawthornbunny – two lifelong fans of it who met via its fandom before FiM – the film is a great enough thing but the book is better largely due to having the length to go full ham on the worldbuilding of a whole culture (and also more character details).
In any case, I fully intend to give it a read myself, just not so soon to the film so I’m not comparing the two constantly. For I am still, above all else, primarily a ghost whose storytelling instincts lean towards filmmaking and especially animation technique.
Moana 2 is a roll of bubble wrap buried in packing peanuts: There's nothing in the box.
Watership Down is a gripping adventure with strong, engaging characters in an existential struggle against vast and sometimes indifferent forces. The movie is so good because it reflects the book so well.
Lady and the Tramp has dogs kissing.
Is it bad I knew what movie it was before I scrolled down? I haven't even seen it, just know of it - the KKR-RJR Nabisco fight was pretty much both the peak and the beginning of the end of the leveraged buyout boom, and yeah, still gets some attention today.
If you want a film in a similar vein for your next joint watch (assuming you haven't watched them already, The Big Short or Margin Call are worth a look.
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I can believe that: I've been told the book is still essential reading in some circles.
I should stress these are very slapdash and unorganised watches (I wasn't kidding in the review about him ghosting me on these) and we're only three in. Plus, we wouldn't have bothered with this one were it not up on YouTube for free. In any case, this is subject matter I find interesting and fascinating without ever much feeling the drive to seek out. But the acclaim for the first film you cite there is big enough that you never know.
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Yeah, like I need telling, I only saw the ruddy thing and wrote up my spiel on further reasoning why animation is doomed.
But this is the rare instance where an authoritative statement like that from someone who hasn't/won't ever see the film (as you shouldn't, of course) comes across as fair and not just stating one's opinion as fact. So I'll give the metaphor a pass.
I know you well enough to know this is intended to be too cryptic to actually read anything into it. Plus, you probably only said that for the written rhyme between bashing Moana 2 and praising Watership Down to finish with a tongue-in-cheek take.
Still, the point remains I cannot parse if this is meant to be a criticism or praise, even as I suspect it's neither. And that I'm probably reading too much meaning into my inability to read this statement.
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I think if you did a survey of people who had seen Lady and the Tramp long ago, the one thing everyone would remember is the spaghetti scene. Same for me. Though, thinking about it, I seem to recall some evil, scheming Asian cats? Otherwise... Yeah, dogs kissing. You really are overthinking this.
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Well, least I suspected as such and pre-empted it.
But fair enough. Case of me, like a lot of Disney Animations, knowing the film too well to step back to the one fact the larger public associate with it (also being used to you not commenting on something unless you have something to say on it, so I didn't consider that it you might not have seen in multiple decades). Which, hey, is that much different that all us here being too close to MLP to appreciate the weirdness to outsiders of butt tattoos that visually show each character's destiny?
Either way, I'll take "oh yeah, the dog spaghetti scene" over the default reaction whenever I bring Dumbo up (that being "racist crows, ew"). Let me tell you, that never results in a fun conversation.
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What I remember from Dumbo was the tender scene between him and his mother before they take her away. Even as a kid, long before I became an animator, I was stunned by how real the movement and emotion of that moment was.
Racist crows? Huh.
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). What a versatile maestro, really showing the difference that character animation in the Disney house style can make, both for intimidating and empathy, when done at top-tier.
Thank you! One of my go-to strengths to cite for the film to others is the world-class animation on the mute lead character, making such a sympathetic and emphatic character out of the guy, and so many people just shrug with indifference when I state this. But it's such a phenomenal turn from one of the world's best animators Bill Tyita, right off two back-to-back large fleshy characters with weight and mass, Stromboli and Chernabog (and Grumpy before that, probably animation's first tsundre
Alas, it was his last such triumph, off running afoul of Walt during the Disney strike and getting shit work during his remaining years at the studio. Still, it's one reason why Dumbo's separation from his mother hits me much harder than anything to do with Bambi's mom. Well, that and the fact that a parent being separated due to the cruelty of others is tougher to process than them being shot.
I like the Dumbo crows, they had character and individuality. For Dumbo I remember Pink Elephants on Parade Inspired by East Coast style animation!), the Baby Mine bath and the feather.
Heh heh heh, bubble wrap. Yeah, no urge to see this movie, not that it's going to play in English at the one and only multiplex in my shtetl. As a result, I have not seen Moana either.
What I remember from Lady and the Tramp are the sly cats Si and Am, the He's a Tramp song, the rat and the tricking the zoo beaver to remove Tramp's muzzle (the device, not Tramp's nose and jaws). The spaghetti scene has been spoofed so often that it's hard to forget.
I am not a flag waving rabbit fanatic but I highly recommend Watership Down.
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Watership Down is amazing and you should hrair% read it
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No, I honestly like the crows too, and their song is still one of my favs in the film. I'm just sick and tired of people using them as a crutch to bash the movie on, when the racism is on the tamer side for a '41 movie and they're sympathetic to Dumbo; the people making this claim have evidently largely not seen the film in donkey's years and are just echoing the default online claim.
Ooh, someone who knows their history of different animation industries on the different coasts during Hollywood's Golden Age, that's a rare sight these days. Fair play!
The muzzle's actually on Lady, but that's otherwise quite accurate for someone who hasn't seen the flick in ages! And "He's a Tramp" is a pretty great song, a rare case of a Disney number that is someone both clean and sexually charged at the same time, while also being hella catchy.
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OMG, you are so right! The muzzle was on Lady! That error is a sure sign that it's been too many decades since last I saw this film.
Now Bambi. that's my jam. Got the copies, got the books, got the swag (or at least the swag that wasn't selling for hundreds of dollars or worse).
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I agree with this message, perhaps the most important message you'll read on Fimfiction all decade.