Freebirds

ANIMATED, FAMILY

Thanks for Giving

6.5 out of 10 | Rental

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Rated: PG Animated action
Release Date: November 1, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes

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Director: Jimmy Hayward
Writers: Jimmy Hayward, Scott Mosier, David I. Stern, John J. Strauss
Cast: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler, Colm Meaney, Keith David, Dan Fogler, Jimmy Hayward

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SYNOPSIS:  Two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the holiday menu for good.

REVIEW: Jimmy Hayward, director of Horton Hears a Who! and Jonah Hex, returns to animation to bring us the self-proclaimed Greatest Thanksgiving film of all time. Hayward also writes the film with the help from Scott Mosier, David I. Stern and John J. Strauss.

Turkey Reggie (Owen Wilson, The Internship) finds himself at the losing end of trying to convince his farm brothers that the farmer is just trying to fatten them up for Thanksgiving dinners. When Reggie is pardoned by the President of the United States, he switches a life at the end of an axe handle for a life of pizza and relaxation at Camp David. One night, Reggie is visited by another turkey Jake (Woody Harrelson, Zombieland) who is convinced that he and Reggie must travel back in time to stop turkeys from being on the menu at the first Thanksgiving between the pilgrims and the local Indians. Actually finding a time machine with the acronym S.T.E.V.E. (George Takei) to take the duo back in time, Reggie and Jake meet intelligence and resource turkeys hiding from the pilgrims led by Chief Broadbeak (Keith David), his son Ranger (Jimmy Hayward) and his daughter Jenny (Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation). The only things standing in the way of the turkeys' safety are the pilgrim's greedy and gluttonous Governor Bradford (Dan Fogler) and his driven turkey hunter Captain Myles Standish (Colm Meaney).

How many animated films are there with the theme of turkeys and Thanksgiving? A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving? Mouse on the Mayflower? A few select others? Hayward's claim of Freebirds as the greatest Thanksgiving movie of all time probably will not hold true. Centered on the plight of the turkeys themselves, Freebirds is a slick flick similar to recent animated effort Epic.

Freebirds looks good, every plume and feather in place. Hayward's experience as an animator for Pixar truly came in handy for this film. The problem with Freebirds, as well as the aforementioned Epic, is that as an animation the film is colorful and kinetic but not that amusing. Usually, an animated film has something for both the children and for the parents or adults. This time, other than a few cries during Captain Standish's scary pursuits and a few awwws for the baby turkey puffs, there was not enough to provide more than a few chuckles.

Owen Wilson does have a great drawl for voice work, and Woody Harrelson and Amy Poehler are capable. Colm Meaney is mean as Standish - or is he just drawn that way. I could listen to Keith David all day long. But with just an adequate story to tell, all the glitz of CGI and all the talented voices cannot get this turkey off the table.

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The Secret World of Arrietty

Anything But A Tiny Tale!

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Rated: G  For all audiences.
Release Date: February 17, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

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Director:  Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Gary Rydstrom

Writers: Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay), Mary Norton (the novel, "The Borrowers")
Cast:  Bridgit Mendler, Will Arnet, Amy Poehler, David Henrie, Moises Arias, Carol Burnett

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SYNOPSIS:  A family of 4-inch tall 'Borrowers' live secretly within the walls and under the floors of a human family's residence. When the daughter Arrietty is discovered by the young human being Sean, the lives of everyone living under the roof changes forever.

REVIEW: Involved in the creation of such animated adventures as Spirited Away and Ponyo, director Hiromasa Yonebayashi brings a little tale to life with a screenplay from Howl's Moving Castle's Hayao Miyazaki adapted from Mary Norton's book, "The Borrowers". Several television series have been created from Norton's book, including a 1973 film, a 1997 film, and a 1992 TV series of the same name, plus a 1993 TV series The Return of the Borrowers. Now, "The Borrowers" is brought back to the screen as The Secret World of Arrietty.

Arrietty Clock (Bridget Mendler, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel) stands only four inches in height, her entire world the house and property of the human residence she and her mother Homily (Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation) and father Pod (Will Arnet, Despicable Me) call home. They live in the walls and under the floorboards of the house, making their house a home with miniature furniture, homemade and found. They borrow only what they need to live, sugar cubes, tissue paper, cookies, crackers, and other necessities. When the young sickly human 'being' Shawn (David Henrie, Wizards of Waverly Place) comes to his Aunt Jessica's (Gracie Poletti) house to rest up for an operation, he discovers Arrietty while she and her father are in the act of 'borrowing' one night. Once a 'Borrower' is seen, it is tradition to move to a new residence before something bad befalls them. Anxious to protect and help Arrietty, Shawn has to deal with Jessica's superstitious housekeeper Haru (Carol Burnett, Horton Hears a Who!) who looks to expose the tiny borrowers for the thieves they are.

In the same style as other recent Japanese children's animated films, The Secret World of Arrietty is beautifully painted and animated. Attention is paid to the smallest details, from the upside down ceramic flower pot used as a hearth to a lithium battery used to light a small light bulb for Pod to use during his nightly 'borrowing' excursions. Director Yonebayashi executes each frame of the film with precision and a scale grander than most non-CGI cartoons these days. The way that Arrietty views the world is captured with grandeur and a sense of innocent wonder.

With wonder comes danger, especially when you are only four inches in height. Arrietty and her family face danger each time they set foot outside their humble abode. From rats to the family cat, from gutting winds to a ravenous crow, from the continued security of a secret life to a housekeeper interested in exposing the Borrowers to humankind, every step a Borrower makes could be filled with peril. Pod uses his experience and extensive network of mechanisms to navigate the treacherous pitfalls of the human house. Arrietty uses her youth, agility and eagerness to keep up with her father. Arrietty's mother Homily stays behind worrying enough for all three of them.

The Secret World of Arrietty is a children's film focused on the delight of children. When Arrietty climbs up to the top of a human dresser and drops something off the edge, the kids in the audience gasp. When Arrietty is confronted by an oversized bug and must dispatch it with her sewing pin, scattered eewwws can be heard. Arietty's panicked mother gets outright laughs. Ladybugs illicit ooohs and aaahs. Parents and grownups will be amused and delighted right along with the kids, partially in response to the kids' reactions to the film, partially in response to their own reaction.

The Secret World of Arrietty is a gentle, delightful adventure for kids. At its heart is a young girl looking for and trusting in contact outside her own family, hoping beyond hope that she and her family are not the last of their kind. Optimistic and fun, with a grand sense of adventure, Arrietty's world is one secret that should be shared.

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WORTH: Matinee or DVD