http://www.badmouth.net Look, Ma! No pants! Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:04:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.badmouth.net/valiant-2005/ http://www.badmouth.net/valiant-2005/#comments Sat, 20 Aug 2005 07:27:12 +0000 Brian McDonough http://www.badmouth.net/?p=214 Here's your review of Disney's animated pigeon movie, “Valiant,” in one word: Eh. Expanding slightly on that theme, “Valiant” is a pretty by-the-numbers story of a plucky young underdog faced with a challenge that he, of course, overcomes. Accompanied by wacky sidekicks. So, like I said, eh. The new computer-animated film is from Vanguard, not really from Disney. The Mouse House has pretty much given up on top-quality feature animation in favor of lower-budget direct-to-video projects and distributing the higher-quality output of Pixar (so far, at least) and, now, Vanguard. With the Pixar deal expired and as yet unrenewed, Disney proably hopes little Vanguard will be the next Pixar. It probably won't. The animation is okay here, nothing bad, little that's spectacular, with some nice flying sequences – absolutely none of the pure wow that Pixar so relentlessly dishes up – but the story is completely subpar. Disney's stock in trade is fairy tales so mythically resonant you're transported to another world. Pixar's success is built on more contemporary stories that perfectly blend modern wit, sharp irreverence and broad adventure with touchingly sweet character moments. Valiant is aiming more for “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo” territory than “Beauty and the Beast” or “Snow White,” but it falls way short of either, being as bland as a flock of pigeons. No related posts.]]> http://www.badmouth.net/valiant-2005/feed/ 4