Rotten?

Moo.

"Madagascar" isn't getting very good reviews at the moment. Rotten Tomatoes put it at around 50%, meaning that the general consensus is that it's a stinker. Personally, I find the attitude of these critics very disappointing. I know that we are all entitled to an opinion, but while each reponse is a vaild one, I fear that many have missed the point. For me, "Mad" is a fun, energetic film that provides 80 minutes of entertainment, and that's it. The film never purports to be anything other than this, and so comparison with films like "The Incredibles" are misleading. Pixar have always gone for emotional depth, and while this is completely admirable, ("The Incredibles" is the finest computer animated film made thus far, by a long way) I feel there is more than enough room on the block for some lighthearted fare.

Personally, I enjoyed "Mad" more than "Shrek 2", which ended up at around 89%! I hope that people will go and see it, regardless of what the boffins say, for I hope the layman will simply enjoy the film for what it is. F U N !

Yikes

Our new movie, "Madagascar" is to be released this Friday. After all the work, real paying people will finally get to see it. Will they like it? I'm quietly (in as much as professing it on the internet can be quiet) confident. The early reviews have been very positive, so let's hope it gains momentum over the coming week. The Friends & Family screening this weekend went very well and I hope that's an indicator of the reaction to be witnessed from the general public.

"Cute and cuddly, boys!"

Notoriety

The recent linking of my blog to that of Mr Jason Schleifer's has seen a surge in the number of visitors, taking the total to around 4. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Jason for this kind promotion, and encourage future visitors to open links to this blog in a new window, so that when you get bored and wish to go back to the pertinant, industry-savvy writings of the aformentioned giant brain, then you can simply close the window rather than pressing the back button and waiting for jonhandhis dog to reload.

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Comments


good tip. thanks.

Posted by: Jason | May 16, 2005 08:14 AM

Perks

Woo! I get to see the new Star Wars film a week early! It's pretty exciting.

Also, seems like some people on CGTalk were able to see our film a bit early too. Looks like the reaction is more than favourable! Woo Two!

Work

So a new animation project has kicked off at work. It's a really fun little piece, and I think everyone in my department will have a great time working on it. The director, Gary, is a super nice bloke too, which is always good.
I always get nervous when starting a new project. It's exciting, but also scary. "Will my work be up to scratch?", "Am I going about creating the best stuff I can in the simplest way?", "Is what I'm doing entertaining?". All these things race through my head on a regular basis as we start the clicking of buttons. Fortunately I have lots of giant animation brains around me, which is the biggest boon about working in a one of these 'ere big shot studios. In spite of the popular misconception about most animation being produced by the socially inept in darkened rooms, it's actually a highly collaberative process involving lots of giant brains (and me) and computers and ping pong.

Right, back to clicking...