Beauty and the Beast returns to the big screen this weekend (with a 3-D retrofitting) just a shade over 20 years after its initial release and several years after an extended cut of the film made the rounds. The film – which was one of my fondest childhood movie going experiences – holds up nicely in a thematic sense, with as much love for cinematic craft as Hugo and The Artist, but while the 3-D does add to the film, the HD transfer makes a case that maybe not all hand drawn animated films should be toyed with.

The “tale as old as time, and song as old as rhyme” remains the same, as the heroine Belle (voiced by Paige O’ Hara) takes the place of her inventor father after he is captured by a fearsome and selfish beast (Robbie Benson), who just so happened to be a handsome prince cursed by an enchantress. Together in his enchanted castle full of singing and dancing bric-a-brac, Belle helps Beast learn the true nature of love and caring for someone more than he cares for himself.

Despite being the first ever animated film to be nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, the story to Beauty and the Beast was always structurally unsound. Belle’s transformation from headstrong women, to withering captive, to somewhat sunny optimist still comes full circle, but the character transitions aren’t handled very well, with motivations tied more to plot conventions and storybook moralizing than logical behaviour. Then again, this is ostensibly a children’s film.

That’s all comparatively small potatoes when one approaches the film as more of a historical artifact. From the opening musical number where Belle speaks of her humdrum existence in a provincial French hamlet, Beauty and the Beast strikes a tone of pure joy for the written word. Belle’s bookish ways are looked down upon by a French upper class that thinks a woman couldn’t possibly learn anything from them. It’s a sequence equally literary and cinematic, and a subtle dig at French cinematic sensibilities towards film criticism with the classic line “How can you read this? There’s no pictures!”

Compare this feeling with The Artist, which for all its greatness is a simple story about one man and not saying so much about cinema other than displaying how the rises and falls of celebrity culture are entirely cyclical. Even moreso, compare Disney’s sense of spectacle to Scorsese’s raging polemic disguised as a family film. Disney’s writing staff lucked into a subtler and less headache inducing defence of the cinematic art form in a five minute musical number than Hugo could hammer into someone’s head in over two hours. Coming fresh off a year that many of my colleagues deemed as being too nostalgic for its own good with regards to past masterworks and auteurs, it feels wholly fitting that the best case is made by a 21 year old film.

But enough about subtext, back to the film itself and its new transfer. Reverting back to the original theatrical release and excising the deleted musical number that found its way into the extended cut from a few years back, the backgrounds of the film remain as gorgeous as ever and the sound mix is clear as day. The 3-D makes the combination of hand painted scenery come to life in new and exciting ways, and the HD makes the colours all the more vibrant, but those added dimensions also raise an interesting point.

In scenes where characters are shown in extreme close up, the modern technological advances act as a disservice to the film. With increased picture clarity, the imperfections of hand drawn animation are brought to the forefront. Every pencil stroke and jerky movement is literally in the viewers face and in HD. While I found an odd sense of comfort in being able to visually see the effort that went into making the film, I could also see how some people would say that it now looks cheap by comparison. It leads to a very interesting thing to think about.

While the film was made during the interim between hand drawn and computer animation (which are married seamlessly in the Busby Berkely styled “Be Our Guest” and the titular ballroom dance number), one has to wonder if audiences have not become spoiled by computer animation designed to delete any and all imperfections tied to the use of a decidedly less steady human hand. Does the computer give humanity to something that isn’t there or does the human holding the ink impart some of themselves onto what could be seen by modern audiences as an imperfect creation? Have we been spoiled by the proliferation of computer animation and in about 15 years will we be able to have the same appreciation for these films we once did?

Despite all of this thinking about how the film pertains to modern cinema, I was still taken back to the first day I saw it. The press screening of this version just so happened to be the 20th anniversary of my seeing it for the first time on a snow day from school at the movie theatre I remembered from my youth. It was quite possibly the first time that I looked at a film from a critical perspective. The issues I had with the plot at the age of eight are still roughly the same problems I have now, but as a work of pure cinematic spectacle it might be even more relevant to my tastes as an adult.

Side note: The film is preceded by a short sequel to the movie Tangled. It’s well worth showing up for and serves as proof that Disney has gotten its mojo back when it comes to making short films again.

What makes animation so galvanizing is how, for so many of its creations, one weaker or void aspect can still be lifted to great heights by the others. Ghibili films usually have no trouble finding fascinating and inspiring tales, and Akira’s density is made up for by rich atmosphere. But animated films can be about nothing and everything, because of the message in their beauty. And, some films can be about nothing and nothing, but deliver everything. Redline isn’t about nothing, but it isn’t about much. Nothing stops Redline from hitting goals. Nothing stops Redline from victory. Redline is so ferocious and unwieldy that it’s too dangerous to be bound in your hands, it’s too fast for the qualms of plot or logic. It can’t slow down. The wonderful thing about animation is that it’s a world from scratch, created only by the pen instead of constructs of likelihood. Redline is its own universe, and it rockets through it so fast you’ll miss planets if you blink.

“Sweet” JP is a racer, and while in this fantastical, lawless future race vehicles can be made to look like mecha beetles and sexy superheroes, JP is an odd traditionalist who prefers to blast through the finish line in a monstrous Camaro. JP earned the nickname “Sweet” due to his resistance to using weaponry, though his slate’s been scarred from a history of game fixing; a mob reeking debt that haunts him and his collected partner, Frisbee, to this day. The good news is, while losing the qualifying race, a popularity vote propels JP into the main event, the Redline, the end-all be-all of intergalactic races. The bad news is the reason space became available is due to other racers getting cold feet over the controversial location: Roboworld, a totalitarian planet of cyborgs who use their self-given title of peacekeepers as an excuse to secretly develop planet-busting weaponry, and a government that despises the Redline and the media presence it would bring. Now JP has just one defining race to hold off the competition, the militia of Roboworld, his mob woes and, worst of all, an infatuation with his rival: “Cherry Boy Hunter” Sonoshee McLaren, who drives an amphibious crab.

Seven years in the making and written by Katsuhito Ishii, who made Funky Forest (though Redline is nowhere near as surreal), Redline glows with radioactive colours and alien beings who seem like cut-outs from foreign magazines and comics that define the term “culture shock.” Even with a subject so machine heavy, the cars are organic beings, that pulse and thump and flip out when provoked and stretch when pushed past logically capable speeds. Redline is seven years of detail. While the film is two races with a slower, “off time” chapter in between, the pace is kept up with visions of livid living creatures.

Then there are the races, which are both comparable to the redeeming, euphoric final bout of 2008’s Speed Racer. Antes are constantly upped to degrees that would make Dragon Ball Z feel dizzy, with new speed boosters and disastrous weaponry rabidly spewing one-upmanship. Nitro capsules, claustrophobic cockpits with switches and gears crammed in around leather seats, and mad calamity, especially during the Roboworld siege. Everything and the nuclear kitchen sink is thrown at the competitors, and the competitors throwing everything back.

The minor cast and their tropes aren’t as gimmicky as the Wacky Races posse, aside from perhaps an over-sexualized pair from fantasy land and a duo of spandex-costumed bounty hunters, but there’s no Dick Dastardly among them switching the signs to throw rivals on cruel detours. Perhaps to make these racers feel believable, even in an unbelievable world, they aren’t out for each other’s blood, they’re a communal, sporting bunch. Missiles are thrown, but only in the name of sabotage. Even the grand champion, a blocky monolithic car-hybrid with an ego known as Machinehead, anticipates the idea of being bettered, and would rather out-do his foes than kill them. The same can not be said for Roboworld, their armadas, generals and freakishly grotesque top secret bio-weapon, Funky Boy, who looks like Tetsuo’s booger.

There is no great storytelling ambition for Redline, it’s guts-and-glory underdog story doesn’t quake the same heartstrings as other anime greats. Those with with a Grave of the Fireflies shrine won’t so much as shrug, but it does get the blood pumping, as jet stream missiles launch ad nausuem and screaming becomes the new dictation standard. Few gestures are done twice, and every bit of architecture and machinery will bust new valves and gaskets to function or go faster. JP’s destructive devotion tears down his car, his safety and your face. But his pompadour is invincible.

The festival runs from October 20 – 27 at the Toronto Underground Cinema. Be sure to visit the Toronto After Dark website for the full schedule of films playing this year.

Below you can find a few of our picks for the fest. There are many great films playing at Toronto After Dark this year, but we think these ones are particularly noteworthy

Redline, dir. Takeshi Koike

A film that could easily be described as a mash-up of Speed Racer and Death Race 2000, Redline takes futuristic auto racing to a place where most cars never go: outer space! This break-neck anime feature from the animation gurus at Madhouse was seven years in the making. Blisteringly fast-paced and beautifully realized, Redline is unlike any anime you’ve ever seen. The film follows JP, an up-and-coming race jockey who qualifies to compete in the Redline – the galaxy’s most dangerous (and lucrative) race.

Redline features the voice talents of Takuya Kimura, Yû Aoi, and Tadanobu Asano.

Screenings: Saturday, Oct. 22, 4.15pm at Toronto Underground Cinema
More info here.

The Divide, dir. Xavier Gens

Sheltered in the basement of an apartment building, eight survivors of a nuclear apocalypse have trouble surviving one another. Think of The Divide as a post-apocalyptic riff on Lord of the Flies, only with adults, fallout, and no beach. Director Xavier Gens made a splash on the horror scene with his bleak and brutal 2007 film Frontier(s). The Divide looks to be a claustrophobic return to form for Gens. Seriously though, what is with this guy and axes?!

The Divide stars Michael Biehn, Rosanna Arquette, Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Eklund, and Lauren German.

Screenings: Tuesday, Oct 25, 7.00pm at Toronto Underground Cinema
More info here.

The Innkeepers, dir. Ti West

Director Ti West (House of the Devil) tackles the well-tread haunted hotel subgenre head on with The Innkeepers. A New England hotel with a history of unearthly phenomenon and mysterious sightings is about to be shut down. With only one weekend left before the hotel is shuttered forever, two employees take it upon themselves to uncover the secrets of the old inn.

 The Innkeepers stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, and Kelly McGillis.

Screenings: Thursday, Oct 27, 9.45pm at Toronto Underground Cinema
More info here.

Gil Alkabetz Retrospective & Workshop (Click to enlarge)

An evening with the creator of many award-winning short animated films, presented by the Toronto Animated Image Society in partnership with Goethe Institut and the National Film Board of Canada.

Best known for his animation in the award-winning film, RUN LOLA RUN, Alkabetz joins us from Stuttgart, Germany, to present his retrospective and to discuss ideas of storytelling.

Films will be shown on its original format of 35mm.

Admission:
$10 TAIS & NFB Members
$15 General

Tickets can be purchased online at: www.tais.ca

More new footage arrived from the Wondercon convention this past weekend; while we let you guys know about the extended Green Lantern trailer yesterday, today we come back with some new Thundercats footage!

I’m a little young for Thundercats, so I’m going to leave the nostalgia-ing to those who’ve had a little more experience; maybe it’s time that I go back and relive one of the 80s’ much-vaunted series.

Click to enlarge.

Dethklok #3 reads just like an episode of the wildly dark and humorous TV show Metalocalypse, from which it is spawned. The comic takes its name from the heavy metal band that the animated show revolves around. This isn’t classic, ground-breaking, soul-searching writing, but not every comic needs to be an epic examination of the worlds of our imagination. Dethklok is just pure awesomeness. Over-the-top wackiness with very edgy humor, this comic makes fun of everyone – from superstar musicians and their fans, to agents and satanic forces, with the economy and copyright laws thrown in for good measure. Nothing is sacred to writers Brendon Small and Jon Schnepp.

The art by Lucas Marangon is drawn in the same style as the TV show’s animation, and this dedication to the source material is reflected in every aspect of the comic. So, if you aren’t a fan of this bizarre and hilarious show about the world’s greatest heavy metal band, then this comic is likely not for you! Unashamedly vulgar, sometimes nonsensical, and completely twisted, Dethklok is black humor at its best.

The plot revolves around Dethklok’s world tour atop a death-trap train whose construction has both ended the current global economic depression and subsequently caused another. There is a story regarding an old musician’s attempts to reclaim his Devil-possessed soul, and this leads into a wonderful (and wonderfully bizarre) rant about copyright and creative control. Both the comic and the animated show have this great knack for weaving intelligent socio-political commentary amongst its crazed plot lines and grotesque humor. Definitely worth picking up for fans of Metalocalypse.

McDuffie also was responsible for the creation of Milestone Media, an imprint of DC Comics. Through this imprint, McDuffie gave the world its first taste of many heroes, like Icon and Static Shock. It was also described as a “coalition of African-American artists and writers who believed that minorities were severely underrepresented in American comics,” and for that, I commend them on their work.

McDuffie was also instrumental in many children knowing Green Lantern as a strong black role-model, as John Stewart replaced Hal Jordan in Justice League.

I suggest you all go and watch some of the episodes he wrote; as Matt Fraction informed us on Twitter: “Dwayne McDuffie wrote funny. Not “comics funny,” but legitimately funny. He never drooped down to “comics funny” and I loved him for it.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Our condolences go out to his family. Though the cause of his death is unknown at this time, this post will be updated when more information becomes available.

All-Star Superman is DC’s newest animated feature and drops today on Blu-ray and DVD; it follows the storyline set out by the comic book of the same name. Released between November 2005 to October 2008, All-Star Superman gave us the quintessential Superman story – there were elements from every part of his mythos, and it was all tied together by one overarching plot point: Superman is dying, and needs to come to terms with his mortality.

The comic was written by the combination of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, who, admittedly, I’ve never been a fan of. I dislike Quitely’s art (specifically his faces) and Grant Morrison’s writing seems to reward the person who has read every speck of his work while punishing those who haven’t. More often than not I’m scratching my head wondering what I’ve just read while wondering why Wonder Woman looks like she has Superman’s face.

However, Morrison did not write this film, nor did Frank Quitely animate it. Instead, they provided an amazing framework to be used by the animation magician, Bruce Timm. For the uninitiated, Timm did the work behind most of the DC Animated Universe, and produced this film. Along with him is Dwayne McDuffie, the creator of Static Shock and writer/producer for the Justice League animated series, who co-wrote the film. On paper, All-Star Superman looks quite good.

And it is. The film does the job the comic did originally: it makes Superman seem relevant in a time where superheroes need multiple layers of drama and (to be frank) bullshit in order to hide genuine personality.

The opening scenes of the film involve Superman absorbing a lethal dose of solar radiation while saving some scientists studying the sun. This is set up by Lex Luthor, who wants to kill Superman before he himself is executed for crimes against humanity. As a result of his solar exposure, Superman’s powers are supercharged to extremely high levels, and he must figure out a way to spend his remaining time alive.

So the rest of the movie is spent doing just that. Each area of the Superman mythos is touched on: Lois Lane, Smallville, dealing with time-hopping villains, Lex Luthor and being a journalist are each touched on, and serve to show different sides of Kal-El before… the end.

The movie actually omits certain story lines from the book (namely the large Bizarro section.) I’m kind of glad they did, because they were largely confusing. They were what I’m guessing was Morrison’s requisite “you have to read it five times to understand it” sections. They would not have translated well to film at all, so I’m glad they didn’t try.

The voice acting cast of the film is star-studded: we’ve got Ed Asner playing Perry White, Anthony LaPaglia playing Lex Luthor and Mad Men‘s Christina Hendricks headlining as Lois Lane. However, the most crucial voice – Superman, voiced by James Denton – comes off uninspired and lifeless. I can tell by the way he reads the lines he doesn’t truly care about the Superman character; sometimes Clark just seems plain bored to be in the situations he’s placed in. That shouldn’t happen.

My only other complaint lies with Lois Lane; however, it’s not with Christina Hendricks. What irks me is the way she’s written. One moment she’s paranoid and murderous, another she’s pompous and condescending and then she shifts back into lovey-dovey mode in time to utterly rebuff Superman’s attempt to come out as Clark Kent. It was frustrating to the point that I just wanted Lois to appear as little as possible, and that shouldn’t happen to a main character.

Ultimately, All-Star Superman is a great film for anyone who loves superheroes. You don’t need to know anything about Superman besides a loose definition of his powers and an idea of his immediate supporting cast; even if you don’t, the movie holds your hand and explains just enough for you to get by. All-Star Superman is genuinely good, but not amazing; I’m not able to rave about any one specific part of it. The animation is not on par with earlier DCAU work, nor is the voice talent able to compare with Superman: The Animated Series. This does not mean they’re bad, but fans expecting improvements or companions to those products are going to be disappointed.

I wonder if we’ll ever get to the day where those series’ are surpassed; I mean, Kevin Conroy isn’t going to live forever, nor is Mark Hamill’s larynx eternal. One day we’re going to have to accept new standards for the characters.

Though All Star Superman is a good attempt, it isn’t that new standard – I welcome Timm to keep trying.
—
Matt Demers writes about comics for Dork Shelf. You can follow him on Twitter and take a look at his work on his personal site.

Big news for you cartoon buffs out there: Marvel.com now offers many of their animated series to stream for free. This means that you can watch some classic shows to your heart’s content, provided you have a big enough bandwidth budget. Some links include:

Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998)
Spider-Man: Unlimited (1999-2001)
Spider-Man (1967-1970)
Over 40 episodes of the Japanese Spider-Man series
The Incredible Hulk (1996-1997)
Silver Surfer (1998)
X-Men (The Animated Series) (1992-1997)
X-Men: Evolution (2000-2003)
The Avengers: United They Stand (1999)
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightest Heroes! (2010-present)
Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes (2006-2007)
The Super Hero Squad Show (2009-Present)
Wolverine and the X-Men (2008-2009)

Enjoy!
—
Matt Demers is a Toronto write who’ll be spending his Valentine’s day watching Peter Parker yell “MARY JAAAAAANE!” You can find him on Twitter.

If you find yourself in or around Paris, France between now and March 13th, I am extremely jealous of you. Paris is, of course, a wonderful and historic city in its own right (one that I would be happy to visit at any time), but there is a very special art exhibition taking place at the Fondation Cartier. The spectacular exhibit, titled Moebius: Transe-Forme, is an expansive collection of the work of vaunted comics illustrator, cartoonist and artist Jean Giraud, also known as Moebius.

Even if you don’t know his name, you are certainly familiar with his work. Giraud has been hugely influential on modern science fiction, fantasy and cyberpunk. Best known in North America for his work in early issues of the cult magazine Heavy Metal, over the course of his career the artist has collaborated with an array of visionary creatives like Stan Lee, Alejandro Jodorowosky and even George Lucas. Filmmaker Ridley Scott attributes Giraud as one of the key inspirations for the look and feel of Alien and Blade Runner, films that in turn were influential in their own right. One need only look at movies like The Fifth Element and games like Deus Ex and Omikron: The Nomad Soul to see the long reaching impact of his work.

The exhibit runs until March 13th at the Fondation Cartier in Paris, France.

See some photos from the Moebius: Transe-Forme Exhibit below:

See more at designboom
Photos by Olivier Ouadah

Directed by Yellow Submarine animator Gerald Potterton and featuring a stellar cast of canuck voice talent (John Candy, Jackie Burroughs, Eugene Levy), this anthology film, based on the famous sci-fi and fantasy pulp magazine of the same of the name, has endured as both a cult attraction and as a highly influential slice of 1980s animated insanity. It is also responsible for many a fantasy of flying a 1960 Corvette through space.

Heavy Metal repeats the following Sunday at 9:30pm.
Tickets $8.

Facebook Event Page here.

Come out on Friday for a tribute to great Japanese auteur Satoshi Kon:

PAPRIKA (2006): Three scientists at the Foundation for Psychiatric Research fail to secure a device they’ve invented, the D.C. Mini, which allows people to record and watch their dreams. A thief uses the device to enter people’s minds, when awake, and distract them with their own dreams and those of others. Chaos ensues. The trio – Chiba, Tokita, and Shima – assisted by a police inspector and by a sprite named Paprika must try to identify the thief as they ward off the thief’s attacks on their own psyches. Dreams, reality, and the movies merge, while characters question the limits of science and the wisdom of Big Brother.

In addition to Paprika, we will also be playing an episode from Kon’s seminal TV series “Paranoia Agent“: Seemingly unconnected citizens of Tokyo are targeted for bludgeoning by a boy with a golden baseball bat. As detectives try to link the victims, they discover that following the assaults, the victims’ lives have improved in some way.

Facebook Event Page here.