Reviews by Kyle Ellis

Movies: My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

First Appearance: My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

Voiced by: Hitoshi Takagi

Cuddly, gentle and peace-loving, Totoro is a pure forest spirit who comes to the assistance of people in emotional need. He and his small friends also make kick-ass stuffed toys. Created by Japanese animation king Hayao Miyazaki, his gang resemble a cross between a rabbit and a Moomin, but have a quirky personality all of their own - they carry around bags of acorns (which they use to grow trees), use umbrellas and travel in a cat bus. That's right: a cat that is also a bus. But even amid such cuties, Totoro's round and cuddly self is still our favourite.

Stroke of genius

The beautiful, silent sequence where young heroine Satsuki stands beside Totoro at a bus stop during a storm. Enjoying the sound the falling rain makes on his umbrella, the magical creature grins, then jumps up and down, shaking water from the trees above.

Fun fact

A Totoro plush toy appears briefly in Toy Story 3.

Movie(s): Monsters Inc

First Appearance: Monsters Inc (2001)

Voiced by: Billy Crystal

When it comes to Monsters, Inc., it's throw a dart time. You could go for Boo, arguably the cutest kid in movie history. Or Sulley, John Goodman's lovable walking rug of a monster. Or even Roz, the first evidence that Bob Petersen could do more than work behind the microphone. But it's the refreshing, unforced jollity and decency of Billy Crystal's Mike Wazowski that just about wins out. Endearingly hapless, with a cavalier attitude towards paperwork, the manic wackiness of Wazowski provides the perfect counterbalance to Sulley's more lugubrious nature. And when he's funny, boy, is he funny. No wonder the dude goes into stand-up by the film's end. Oh, and we should also point out that Wazowski is effectively a walking eyeball just another excuse for the boys at Pixar to show that they can take any object or shape and invest it with emotion and life. Show-offs.

Stroke of genius

The sweetness that's exposed when Wazowski or Googlie Bear, as he might also be known goes on a date with his beloved Celia. It all goes wrong, naturally, but it's nice to see another side to the big goof-eyeball.

Fun fact

Mike has his own Facebook page. We suspect he gets an assistant to post for him.

Movie(s): How To Train Your Dragon, How to Train your Dragon 2, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

First Appearance: How to Train Your Dragon, a novel by Cressida Cowell

Voiced by: Jay Baruchel

Yes, we've gone for Hiccup rather than his adorable dragon Toothless? Why? Because he's a character we don't see enough of in animation: someone smart, competent and braver than he gives himself credit for. While the wise-cracking, geeky outsider is familiar in live-action teen movies, he's given a fresh breath of life here amid a town full of Vikings and plagued by dragons, and Hiccup's developing bond with Toothless is one of the most finely drawn friendships ever established in the genre. Also, his awkward relationship with his father is much better than the average orphan story, with bonus points for the joke about his mother's breastplate.

Stroke of genius

SPOILER WARNING. It's at the end of the film, where Hiccup wakes up in his bed to discover that he's lost his foot in the battle with the enormous dragon. He stares wordlessly for a moment, but after a single sigh refuses to dwell and - with Toothless' help - gets out of bed to try out his prosthetic. Heartbreakingly good.

Fun fact

The novel's version of the story is almost entirely different: Toothless is very small and brown, there's no giant dragon to fight in the last act and Hiccup remains whole. To be honest, however, it's not as good.

Movie(s): Spirited Away (2001)

First Appearance: Spirited Away (2001)

Voiced by: Rumi Hiragi, Daveigh Chase

Miyazaki has a wealth of great characters, from bizarre gods to eccentric spirits and terrifying witches. But it's his heroines who are usually the best, and Spirited Away boasts the best of the lot. Over the course of her adventures Chihiro matures from a spoiled little brat into a mature and courageous young woman, helping others who are worse off than herself and eventually earning her own freedom and that of her (enchanted) parents. She also gets bonus points for getting a job - most animated characters are a bunch of benefit-scrounging layabouts.

Stroke of genius

It's probably the scene where Chihiro has to help clean a terrifying and rather repellent "stink spirit", which is revealed under her ministrations to be a polluted river spirit, poor thing.

Fun fact

Pixar's John Lasseter is well known to be a Miyazaki fan, but it's mutual: the jumping light which shows Chihiro the way is intended as a reference to Pixar's mascot Luxo Jr.

'Your Name' is not just one of the best animes in recent years (and there have been some very good ones), but one of the best animes ever from personal opinion.

Will go even further, saying it's one of the best animated films in recent years, one of the best animated or otherwise films of the year and that it rivals the masterworks of Miyazaki. This is a huge compliment, for any anime, animated film or even any film, and a bold claim that still stands. Much of it is to do with how 'Your Name's' stayed with me and the impact it's had, a film once seen but never forgotten.

The animation in 'Your Name' is stunning, so beautifully and intricately drawn with immaculate attention to detail in the backgrounds and a simply breath-taking array of ethereal but also atmospheric colours. The music fits the film's atmosphere with no problem at all and also works wonders as a soundtrack on its own, serving superbly as music on its own.

Meanwhile, the script is thought-provoking and touching, with much to say and explored expertly and neatly with no heavy-handedness. The storytelling engages throughout, sucks one into its world and never lets go of the immersing and is enormously heartfelt, really investing in the characters' chemistry and their love for each other. Pacing is deliberate, but never drags due to the emotional impact and how well realised the characters are, even when noticeably slower in the second half.

Characters, and the film's themes, are brilliantly written and developed, and the voice acting is emotive and fit the characters with no qualms.

In summary, a truly magnificent film all round that will be remembered for years to come. Deserves all the raves it's gotten, and deserving of even more. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Have always been a big fan of anime, particularly Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki without restricting myself to just them (some of my favourites are actually without either involved).

Any film dealing with bullying and its consequences deserves to be applauded for the effort. Bullying, often stemming from something that should be a non-issue but turns out to be an easy target for bullies (for examples if your parents disallow you to play a popular video game for obvious reasons, if you have a posh accent, if you listen to and perform classical music, if you have a physical or social disability, false rumours spread about you, if you were a hard-worker rather than somebody who messed about and disrespected substitute teachers) is something that is very much relevant still and has damaging effects, it is an issue that needs to be addressed and acted upon much more than it is. This is coming from somebody who suffered merciless bullying myself in school, for all the above reasons apart from the first (in my case my school did nothing about it too), and nearly a decade on it has damaged my confidence/self-esteem, made me feel worthless and made my already bad anxiety worse despite getting a degree in music and singing regularly.

So as one can probably tell, 'A Silent Voice' really resonated with me on an emotional level. At the same time, it also really made me think and see that there is much more to the issue, the bully, the witnesses and the victim than one would tend to perceive. 'A Silent Voice' also turned out to be a very good film in its own right. It isn't flawless, some of the supporting characters are under-explored and in a few cases inconsistently and one-dimensionally written and some of the story jumps around and doesn't always feel complete.

Despite being over two hours, didn't think it was too long considering the number of characters and their stories. If anything, perhaps 'A Silent Voice' would have been even better as a series which would have solved the problems.

On the other hand, 'A Silent Voice' has an awful amount to recommend. Great isn't a strong enough word to describe the animation. Rich in meticulous background and character detail, atmospheric and ethereal in colour schemes and alive to nuances in its use of settings and character gestures and expressions, it becomes a character of its own and there are some memorable images throughout like towards the end. The music has whimsy, haunting beauty and understatement, while not overbearing the drama and letting it speak when needed. The song is catchy.

The writing is thought-provoking and contemplative, doing it in a way that will make bullying victims and those who bullied alike identify with what is said. A lot of it is remarkably insightful, and even when the film was really resonating with me it taught me a lot about an issue that isn't as black and white as perceived. The story has its issues but has a strong emotional core, with the truly powerful and touching ending leaving me shell-shocked.

Not often does one find themselves rooting for a bully as well as the victim, 'A Silent Voice' is one of those rarities. The voice acting is dynamic.

In summary, not perfect but very well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox

While I slightly prefer The Producers and Young Frankenstein this is still a jewel in the crown when it comes to comedy. It is silly and it is not subtle at all, there are those who will flinch at some of the language used. But it is very funny, and works really well as a spoof. The story is a lot of fun, and there are enough slapstick and jokes to amuse as well as a wonderful script. The production values are very good too, while the acting is spot on. Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder are both great as the smart-as-a-whip railway worker appointed first black sheriff and the drunken gunman who helps him out, while Madeline Kahn(in a Marlene Dietrich send-up), Alex Karras and Harvey Korman are even better. Overall, not subtle but still great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

There are many female superheroes that I love to read in DC. Zatanna is one of them as are a few others are elsewhere on this list.

[Link removed - login to see]. As a half member of the Homo Magi race, Zatanna is a naturally gifted spell caster and user of magic. Where Zatanna is different from other users of magic is that she casts her spells by saying the spell backward. That is, she recites the spell, word for word, completely backward. She does this for two reasons. First, it pays homage to her magician father. And second, it forces her to concentrate on the spell thereby making it stronger.

Zatanna is easily recognized by her wardrobe. As any stage magician would, she wears a top hat, suit jacket, and fishnet stockings…all of which make for one supremely hot superhero.

Black Canary made her debut in Flash Comics #86 back in 1947. She was created by Carmine Infantino and Robert Kanigher. Of her first appearance, Infantino said this…

“I was drawing Johnny Thunder, which was not much of a character. I suppose he could have been better because his ‘Thunderbolt’ was interesting, but the situations they were in were pretty juvenile. Bob Kanigher wrote those stories, and he had no respect for the characters. These stories were nowhere near as good as ‘The Flash’ stories. DC knew it—they knew ‘Johnny Thunder’ was a loser, so Kanigher and I brought the Black Canary into the series. Immediately she got a good response, and it was, ‘Bye, bye, Johnny Thunder.’ Nobody missed him.”

Black Canary has remained primarily unchanged over the years. Aside from the occasional “who’s under the mask” secret identity change, all iterations have possessed the Canary Cry and have been expert martial artists…[Link removed - login to see]. 

Starfire is by far the hottest female character in DC Comics that isn’t from Earth. She is immensely powerful. She possesses superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, reflexes, stamina, and is nearly invulnerable. And she is also able to fly, is long-lived, has immunity to cold and heat, can survive in space, is able to man manipulate ultraviolet energy, absorb and project energy, and emit supernova-type energy.

[Link removed - login to see] She’s the on and off again love interest of Dick Grayson. And she can beat most of the DC males in battle without even breaking a sweat. What I’m saying is this. Powerful is an attractive trait and Starfire doesn’t lack any of it.