Nick Dorenkamp

Worst comic book movie of the year. Two hours of life that will not return.

Personally this movie was sort of mix bag. On the one hand Its amongst some of DreamWorks Animation's best visually looking movies while at the same being one of Mikros animation (the French studio that provided the animation services on this movie just like they did on DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants the First epic movie) best visually looking movies. However on the other hand the writing was not as good as the visuals but not bad. The reason I say the writing wasn't bad was mainly because of the main writer on this movie was Charlie Kaufman. For those who don't know who he is, he was the guy who wrote Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; and going into this movie I sort of had an Idea of what to expect from both the animation and a little bit of the writing. I said main writer because there were some other writers who apparently also wrote extra material that was probably to help with the film's comedy, which not gonna lie got a nice little chuckle with the ways Sleep puts people to well sleep. Overall I thought this movie was decent. Definitely would watch this again for the weird visual aspect over Trolls band together.

Never thought I'd see the day that a prequel to a children's book would be made. A few things to keep in mind: 1. I refer this movie as a prequel to the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book and not a prequel to the original 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (even though there are several nods to it throughout the film). and 2. This review is not typed by a bot nor another thing you my dear reader might also assume "a reviewer who has been paid by the studio to say something nice about the film by the studio because they know its bad". No I can 100% guarantee to you that I wasn't paid by the studio to say something nice about the film and if I was I wouldn't be typing my review in this "review" section on the movie's google page (although to be honest the review section on any movie, show, etc.., reads more like the comments section on YouTube given how most people who write reviews in the review sections clearly don't know the difference between a review and a comment. What's the difference you may ask? a review is a well thought out, the person took time to think the film over and let it digest before they give their opinion. A Comment while sometimes can be well thought out however a comment can range from being a one short sentence without explaining why to the sound of complete utter nonsense. By nonsense I mean not thinking critically; so in short a review is a critical response and a comment is a non critical response.). All that said what are my thoughts on Wonka? Well its not the worst the movie based on something from Roald Dahl (In fact the worst Roald Dahl adaptation I've seen is the direct to video 2017 animated Tom and Jerry film Tom and Jerry and Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory) nor is it close to the best adaptation of his work. In fact for me personally its around the Top 5 best adaptations of Roald Dahl. However visually it is one of the few film adaptations to feel visually like one of his books even though its just based around one of his most iconic characters. Moving on to the Musical aspect, now I've heard some people say they did not know this movie was a musical. First off the trailers made it clear that this was going to be a musical. And second anytime there's an adaptation of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory its gonna have a musical elements. Anyway the songs in this are pretty damn good much like the songs in Sony and Netflix's adaptation of Matilda the musical from last year. in fact that's part of the reason I gave this five stars the other part being that Timothee Chalamet did an amazing job as Wonka. That all said as a prequel to Dahl's original book, how does it do? Well it actually does pretty well considering that while it does as mentioned earlier make little nods to the original 1971 film (i.e. the film that Dahl absolutely hated and if you wish to find out why he hated it well I recommend looking up the development of Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory because oh boy. In fact its because what happened during that development is why Dahl was known for being a prick in the film industry with the only adaptation of his work he liked in his life time was the 1989 animated adaptation of the BFG.), It does actually manage to stick with elements from the book (considering that this film was co produced by the Roald Dahl Story Company) like Slugworth being a 100% rival of Wonka. Overall, If your looking for a movie to see this chocolate and are in the mood for some holiday season...wait scratch that reverse it, then Wonka is definitely the film for you and your family. Just try not to steal any Gobstoppers or turn into huge blueberry's.

While not Aardman's best film however it's not there worst. While the story's predictable, however it does like many of the studios film's have that Aardman charm and humor. The film was Directed by Sam Fell (who previously directed the 2012 Laika film Paranorman (which shows in Dawn's more mature moments) and Aardman's 2006 CGI film Flushed Away) and did a pretty good job directing Aardman's first sequel that's not related to the Wallace and Gromit franchise.

After just now watching the movie, it was pretty good. Not amazing but it was good although I probably would've liked it more if I was watching this on my laptop. This film is a standalone sequel to the movie searching (which I have not seen but didn't need to watch in order to understand this) and out of all the movie sequels I've seen this year this might be the best one in terms of non comic book movie sequels. Let's start with the plot, while some people will say it's hard to follow, I found it actually pretty easy to follow despite some plot holes. In terms of realism, I actually thought a good majority was realistic especially the film's biggest twist. Sure some would argue that's unrealistic but then again some who perhaps knows someone who is going through something like what one of the characters did, then they could argue its realistic to an extent. Although there was one instance where the film broke realism and that was when a crew member walks right pass the camera which kinda broke it. Next let's talk about the characters and I thought they were pretty good. Some could say the mom and daughter are underdeveloped but I think they were well developed. Infact I love how we got to learn more about the mom by what they chose to show us as oppose to telling us especially when building up to the twist. I can even say the same about the boyfriend and how he played a role in this. Is this movie gonna be for everyone? No but unless your someone who has braincells and actually know how to critically think about a movie, as oppose to just spewing the nonsense you came up with before watching the film (i.e. the I'm not going to change the opinion I had before this movie because I think it's dot dot dot and anyone who disagrees with it was paid by the studio to say good things or is a bot), then yeah I recommend giving this watch (especially if you have a laptop or home computer which I'm not gonna lie is the best way to watch found footage type movies. Aside from a couple of shots) especially if you like mysteries, the found footage genre, and movies taking place in one location. Which the last one is good to watch every now and then especially in today's world.

Best Pixar short in a long time aswell as the best ending to a Pixar character.

So the movie's marketing wasn't lying when it says if you don't like Barbie this movie is also for you. As a guy who never played with Barbie ( I mean I did play with Scooby Doo dolls as a kid) I didn't think I was gonna love the film until after I saw it. 1. The Production design- the pinkest movie I've ever seen. Loved that they chose to use practical sets and hand painted backdrops as opposed to CGI backgrounds. (*side note: go up on YouTube and look up the behind the scene's of the film's production design). 2. The Performances of Ryan and Margot as Ken and Barbie. The best way I can describe Ryan's performance is think of Michael Keaton's performance as Ken in Toy Story 3; and turn that up to an 11. Margot as always delivers a fantastic performance no matter what she's in. That said the story and it's message about female empowerment weren't too bad. One thing I'll say about the film's message is that I'm glad they didn't hammer it down like other movies. That could be due to the film also commentating on societal expectations. What the film did to comment on that was again through its production design and how both Barbie world; and the real world are separated. Where one is seen as this magical fantasy world while the other sort of a cold reality. All that said I really do recommend this movie.

In my 22 years of life I've learned several things. I've learned that through bad times some good comes around. I've learned to never give up and keep trying (something of which I remind myself constantly). I've learned to keep my cool in times where I feel like blowing my head off. However one of the most important life lessons I have ever learned was patience. In all my years I have seen very few shows that didn't talk down to its audience. This show is not loud like most preschool shows or made to sell toys. It was not only made to teach kids but parents too. The animation is great especially when certain shots have to combine 2D and 3D. The soundtrack is also just heartwarming. Infact I was listening to one of the tracks earlier from an episode called Barky Boats which is probably my favorite track. I do recommend giving this show a watch because it will teach things you as a parent (or legal guardian if your an aunt, uncle, etc) you didn't think you needed while also teaching your kid an important lesson as well. That said where do I rank this? Number 4 right along with Mister Roger's;Bear in the Big Blue house;the other preschool show where a blue female dog is the main character aka Blues Clues, and Sesame Street.

Every few years Netflix manages to create a show that is both stunning in visuals and good in writing. The Sandman is probably one of the best shows they have not only produced but also alongside HBOMAX's Peacemaker, the best show produced by DC Entertainment. Its also another visually stunning of adaptation based on one of author Neil Gaiman's work.