Sailor Moon S: The Movie - Hearts in Ice (1994) Review:

Japanese anime during the 1990s had fairly solid properties going on even before Pokémon hit the scene. Sailor Moon had proven to be quite a hit starting in 1992. By this time, the series had already aired three seasons and one film. Despite the show feeling very much like a little girl’s cartoon, many were enjoying it. So unsurprisingly, the next entry in the show’s film log came around. The first film was a fairly decent beginning in its set of movies to come. This one however feels sort of familiar to that of the last which doesn’t make it that unique. The viewing experience is not a total wash, there were just aspects that could have used fine tuning or a simple change up in how execution was to be done.

The plot to this entry is about Usagi, Sailor Moon (Stephanie Sheh) and the rest of the sailor guardians crossing paths with a couple who are in a rocky place in their relationship. Kakeru (Chris Hackney) is an astrologist, hoping to discover the Moon Goddess. Feeling that his lifelong dream sounds like a fairy tale is his girlfriend Himeko (Eden Riegel). They both don’t see eye to eye but with the help from Luna (Michelle Ruff) and the sailor guardians, there’s a chance they will fall in love again. Meanwhile an evil ice witch on a comet is headed towards Earth and if nothing’s done, the planet will become a frozen wasteland. The screenplay was once again written by Sukehiro Tomita, who also wrote the previous film. Directing the feature was Hiroki Shibata, who began their career with an Akira Toriyama Dr. Slump movie.

For what’s in the film, as mentioned before the plot feels similar to that of Sailor Moon R: The Movie – The Promise of the Rose (1993). The difference is, instead of the antagonist having a connection with one of the protagonist like Tuxedo Mask (Robbie Daymond). This time the antagonist revolves around Kakeru and Himeko. It’s just not that different in how things play out other than which character is actually interacting more with the antagonist than the other. Additionally, Luna the cat develops an affinity for Kakeru after she has a brief encounter with him. The issue is that some of these motivations behind the characters feel like they’re stretched further in believability than they should be. Obviously the universe this show takes place in has a lot of magical items that are not actually real, but there are parts where the reality of certain situations is a little beyond the shows established rules of possibility.

Despite these flaws within the films experience, there are still several good parts. For one the voice acting is all commendable. The couple of Kakeru and Himeko sounds like a believable relationship despite one feeling strongly for science and the other for magic beings. Stephanie Sheh returning as Sailor Moon works her magic well. The same goes for Cristina Valenzuela as Sailor Mars, Kate Higgins as Sailor Mercury, Bennett Abara as Sailor Jupiter, Cherami Leigh as Sailor Venus, Sandy Fox as Chibiusa, Lauren Landa as Sailor Neptune, Erica Mendez as Sailor Uranus and Veronica Taylor as Sailor Pluto. All the actors (mainly actresses) give the performances they are best known for in the show and it all sounds acceptable. Michelle Ruff probably has to provide the most emotional performance of all of them, due to Luna’s involvement with the couple.

Visually speaking like other anime reviews, the cinematography is a credit that goes misunderstood. As to what kind of camerawork is needed for animation is yet to be confirmed. However, the animation though is as good as it would look like for 1994. The scenes have a lot more detail added to them than the typical episode which makes the scenes look that much better. Finally, the music to the film score by Takanori Arisawa provides another great listening experience. For the more tender moments, Arisawa sounds like the used xylophone but then breaks out into a full orchestra. It is very sweet to hear, and equally pleasing to the ears like the last film and the show with fluttering flutes. There is a Japanese album to listen to and it covers eighty to ninety percent of the film.

Sadly, this particular entry seems to recycle some ideas from the previous film into this one. The music, animation and voice acting are still all great to experience. It’s just that some aspects seem a little more out of whack than normal this time.

Points Earned --> 5:10

Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)

For Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball series, the set of films to be released during its run hasn’t been the best. Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986) was more or less a summation of the first season despite it leaving out some key elements. Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle (1987) was more of a recap of the first few episodes of the second season. So to expect this film to follow any kind of order for the third round would be improper. This third film was released towards the end of the eighth season. With that said, the alignment of how this story sits is going to be all kinds of jumbled parts thrown together. Is it better than the others before it? That’s debatable as there are parts that still don’t make a lot of sense.

The story is like the other films where the characters known from the show are in an alternate timeline. This time Chiaotzu (Monika Antonelli), Tien’s (John Burgmeier) loyal companion now acts as an emperor. Tien, Mercenary Tao (Kent Williams) and Master Shen (Chuck Huber) serve under his wing. Their goal is to locate all dragon balls so they can find Chiaotzu’s long lost wife. Meanwhile, Bulma (Tiffany Vollmer), Yamcha (Chris Sabat), Krillin (Laurie Steele) and Goku (Ceyli Delgadillo) are working to collect the dragon balls too. Along their travels they encounter Upa (Kara Edwards) and his father Bora (Dameon Clarke). Together they help Goku and friends to help collect the mystical items to help make their wish come true. Directing this feature goes to Kazuhisa Takenouchi who has also worked on the show and the Sailor Moon series.

Writing the original script for Japan goes to Yoshifumi Yûki who also wrote for the previous two films as well as two Dr. Slump movies originally created by Akira Toriyama. Working on the English version of the script is Neil Bligh who also worked on Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986). From an English dub cast perspective, the people attached are the preferred among many. All actors listed are the ones who voiced their characters throughout the series, that is except for one. Again as to why Stephanie Nadolny was unavailable considering she voiced Goku in the show doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Ceyli Delgadillo who also played Goku’s voice in the previous film Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle (1987) just doesn’t cut it. From a storytelling angle the amount of coverage this movie tries to cover is too way long a span.

There is no consistency as to how the stories are being readjusted. Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986) seemed like it had an idea by condensing a season into one movie. Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle (1987) didn’t even try for the whole season two. The story here is now trying to cover everything that happened from season three to season eight. That’s a lot to cram in and the bulk of it really covers parts of season four, five and seven. Making things even more random is that Arale from Dr. Slump appears in this movie as an easter egg so to speak. The inclusion of the character is played just as a comic relief foil to Mercenary Tao. Obviously it was put there for a reason but it wasn’t necessary.

Visually speaking, the animation looks as good as always. Although every decade has its moments of strangeness and wonkiness, anime in the 80s and 90s are quite appealing. Also as expected this movie has Motoaki Ikegami as the credited cinematographer. The question of why, remains to be answered. Motoaki Ikegami also did the same for work for the last two films. Lastly the music once again supplied by the talented Shunsuke Kikuchi knows no faults. The music seamlessly blends with the scenes show on screen and it’s all fun to watch and listen. This is also one the rare cases where themes from the show are recycled in for the feature bears no issue. It’s not always a good thing but Kikuchi’s music really doesn’t need a substitute for the work.

The look of the film, the sound and majority of the US voice acting are now where they should be. Yet the actor for Goku still couldn’t be nabbed. Additionally, the writing to this feature is just very bloated with multiple scenes and characters that are trying to recap highlights fans remember from the show.

Points Earned --> 6:10

Anastasia (1997) Review:

When it comes to animation, there are only a few names that people think of who have made an impact with their films. The first is usually Walt Disney for obvious reasons. The second is Richard Williams for having worked on films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), while directing Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1976) and The Thief and the Cobbler (1993). There is a third though and his name is Don Bluth. Originally working for Disney before leaving on his own accord, Bluth went on to create many films people remember from their childhood. He even worked on the animations for the Dragon’s Lair video game that has become known for its notorious difficulty. Before one of his last films, that is Titan A.E. (2000), Bluth directed a film before it that many people feel was his last best film and that was this.

Part of what makes this film remembered so well is that it revolves around an actual historical figure. The story plays to the fantasy of what would have happened if Anastasia (Meg Ryan) had survived the Bolshevik revolution of Russia in 1917 where Czar Nicholas Romanov II and his entire family that she belonged to had been executed. Unfortunately for her in the film, she escapes but at the expense of her memory not knowing her origin years later. The only thing she knows is that she suspects her family is in France after receiving a locket from her Grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie (Angela Lansbury). To find her way there she finds Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vlad (Kelsey Grammer) who might be able to help. They also might have a connection as well to what Anastasia’s looking for.

The film was directed not only by Bluth but also Gary Goldman who has been with him since. For writing, the screenplay was shared among Susan Gauthier from the Carol Burnett Show, Bruce Graham from Roseanne, and Noni White and Bob Tzudiker from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Together these four pen a script that is sufficient in what’s put to screen and has moments of entertainment. From a character perspective, all of them feel authentic in their motives except for one. The one character who seems to be the weakest is the villain Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd). It’s not that the character isn’t entertaining, it’s just that Rasputin is kind of there from time to time. It’s like the story can’t find a balance between how much it should focus on Anastasia reaching France and Rasputin trying to eliminate her.

Aside from this though the acting is fine. It was actually quite hard to tell that Kelsey Grammer voiced Vlad. The rest are all pretty identifiable in their performances. Even Hank Azaria playing the anthropomorphic bat Bartok, a sympathetic foil to that of Rasputin was fun to listen to. The character is not even shown how they came to be. Meg Ryan as Anastasia is perfect as she personifies her voice to sound like a strong heroine lead. There is a continuity error with her character and that’s where she miraculously recalls something she didn’t seem to know before. As to how this happens, goes unexplained. There are no other blatant issues that audiences would see here. It is intriguing that again the script was penned by two TV writers. For animation, the look of the film is quite appealing. All the movements of the characters are expressive and are very smooth.

Of course that is why Don Bluth films are regarded in the way that they are. It’s also rather surprising just how visually graphic the character of Rasputin is. He literally falls apart and veins and bodily innards are shown. For a rated G film, that’s unheard of. Lastly the music was decent enough. Composed by David Newman who also worked on The Phantom (1996) and The Nutty Professor (1996) is sadly not heard too much in the album provided. The movie contains more songs sung by the characters which is fine as some may find these songs memorable from their childhood. However, the score itself is rather unattainable for an expanded version. Still, the music in the film is well done and has the right tracks for the appropriate scenes.

Aside from having some focus imbalance on the heroine and the villain and a glaring continuity error, the film entertains like it should. The acting is professional, the animation delivers and the music will find its set of fans to listen to.

Points Earned --> 6:10

Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987) Review:

With the success of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball property hitting big at home, after three seasons Toei Animation felt the series was prime for some movie making as well. For some reason, the first film Dragon Ball Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986) didn’t come out until then, instead within the year. Not to mention that rule stuck for this second film to come out. It’s hard to say why that’s the case instead of annually for every season in other animes that came out after it. That’s not the only thing though, this second production also has the same concept as the last film. Instead of creating a film that fits in the timeline of the series, it sticks to recapping events from prior seasons but in a different way. It’s really unclear as to why this is a thing for this franchise.

The narrative to this retelling of events follows Goku (Ceyli Delgadillo) and Krillin (Laurie Steele) finding Master Roshi (Mike McFarland) in hopes of being trained by him. Rather than doing that right away, he tells them the story of a princess in the devil’s castle and asks them to bring the princess back to him. Only then would he train them. Along the way Yamcha (Chris Sabat), Bulma (Leslie Alexander), Puar (Monika Antonelli) and Oolong (Bradford Jackson) follow the two to what’s called the Devil’s hand. This particular entry was written by Keiji Terui who worked on the show prior going back to season one. Directing was the same person as before which was Daisuke Nishio. As an entry to the start of Dragon Ball movies, this second entry is not staying consistent in the groundwork that the first film laid.

Unlike the first movie which covered almost all of the first Dragon Ball season, this story is very much a summation of the first three episodes of the second season. It’s a disappointing as at least the first film felt like it was trying to cover its bases, but this is one just doesn’t cut it. There’s also some continuity issues with this feature if one is sticking to the Dragon Ball film timelines instead of the show. This is the first film where Goku turns into his ape form, yet one of the characters says “not again”. Since these films are supposed to be an alternative timeline to the show, this line makes no sense. At least if the production company is going to go in a certain direction with their films, at least be on target with what’s happened so far.

Now to be fair, perhaps this was only an issue in the English dub but that still should have been checked with being set for the west. The acting is also very subpar surprisingly for the voice actors on board. Leslie Alexander as the new Bulma is still no close match to Tiffany Vollmer. The same also goes for Ceyli Delgadillo as Goku, who is by no means close to Stephanie Nadolny’s version. Even stranger is that Chris Sabat as Yamcha doesn’t sound like he’s sure of what his character should sound like either. And it’s not like he didn’t know as he was voicing Yamcha in the show before this film was even released. Bradford Jackson and Laurie Steele seem to do okay though. It’s interesting too because Leslie Alexander was in Red Dead Redemption II.

Visually the animation is still appealing to look at. The animation director for this feature was Minoru Maeda who also worked on the film before it. The colors all look sharp and solid, while the character designs are correct with their depictions in the show. Cinematography is a question here with credit being given to Motoaki Ikegami as like the last film. The music though is as solid as it could be with Shunsuke Kikuchi’s themes sprinkled throughout the film. There are a few themes the recur that seem out of place but this might be due to the dub mixing used in the west, which still should have came out better. Can’t knock the film score because that’s one of the few things that remains on point. Without Kikuchi’s score, it may not even be as recognizable.

This entry is not as well put together as the first film for some reason. Music and animation are consistent in their quality but everything seems to be off base for no reason. The story doesn’t recall what’s supposed to have happened from the last film with continuity errors and the acting sounds like a demo reel for some performers.

Points Earned --> 4:10