DVD Collectors Online

Fantastic Mr. Fox, a review by Danae Cassandra

Fantastic Mr. Fox
2009, USA

Mr. Fox, an newspaper columnist and reformed thief, plans one last heist ... and puts himself, his family, and friends in danger he hadn't planned on.

A clever, imaginative piece of animation.  One of the most original I've seen in a very long time.  Certainly the choice of stop-motion, which is rarely used, helps with this, as do the ingenious character designs, but it's also - and most importantly - the story that makes it so very clever and original.  I haven't read the Roald Dahl book this is based on, so I have no idea how close, or how far, it hews from the story.  What I do know is this was good, very very good.

There's so many layers to this film, to its story and its struggle.  On one level it's about a fox's (man's) relationship with his vixen and cub (wife and son), and his understanding of who he is and what his place is in the world.  On another level it's about the struggle of the little man against the big man, the individual versus the corporation, and the survival of individuals in the face of rampant corporate greed and power.  It touches on the choices one can make in the face of bullying, both individually and communally.  It touches on the choice of going along with the flow, doing nothing to disturb or anger outside events - or of living life, of being who you are and doing what you believe you were meant to do.  I expect when I watch it again I'll get something different out of it.   

All in all, a great film.  See it if you like stop-motion, or animation in general, or see it if you want something to think about later.  Awesome little flick.

Overall: 4/5

(From Danae's reviews on April 14th, 2011)

The Man Who Planted Trees, a review by Antares

L'Homme qui plantait des arbres (1987) 80/100 - Beautifully crafted animation short with a heart warming story about life and man's purpose on this planet. This definitely hit all the right emotional chords for me as I consider myself not a child of God, but a child of Mother Earth. Our time on this planet is short and how we spend that time is crucial. I've tried to live my life by paying it forward whenever I can. While also trying to adhere to the personal policy of voluntary simplicity, just like the shepherd in the story. The animation is creatively mesmerizing and I can see where Michael Dudok de Wit got some ideas for his Oscar winning animated short film Father and Daughter. It's only 30 minutes long, I think a lot of people here would like this very much.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on August 2nd, 2020)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

12. Provider
Original Air Date: 1/21/2002
The Angel Investigations team gets into trouble after spreading themselves a bit too thin, and Angel begins to realize he has strong feelings for Cordelia.

Guest Stars:
Laurel Holloman
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Eric Bruskotter
Sunny Mabrey
Tony Pasqualini
Keith Szarabajka

My Thoughts:
This is a pretty good episode... though it isn't quite as good as most. It is pretty predictable from the start of the episode.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 13th, 2010)