Injustice

Don’t change that input. Injustice the video game is now a DC Animated Movie. If you loved beating up a bunch of DC super heroes in Injustice the game, then this movie is for you.

There are plenty of twists and turns with shocking gory death scenes. All of this is set in motion by Joker tricking Superman. Rightfully so Superman and Batman have opposing views and form their teams.

Special features included are Adventures in Storytelling – Injustice: Crisis and Conflict, and From the DC Vault 2: Bonus Cartoons. With it also arriving on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Code it’s pretty jammed packed with content.

It’s a good start to what could become a series of cameo animated films. Would be great to see more characters like the Mortal Kombat universe or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles swing into the action.

Night of the Animated Dead

Night of the Animated Dead presents an interesting idea. What if classic live action films were turned into animated films for modern day audiences? Kind of like the reverse of what Disney is doing with its animated films turning them into live action flicks. Retell the same story almost shot for shot.

It’s not a bad idea, but ideally the animation would be on par with the quality of the original film. This is where Night of the Animated Dead doesn’t fully work. I guess you have to like the animation style in order to now like the movie. The animation is similar to the style of the TV show Archer. So if you’re into that show imagine a lot more blood and you’ll like Night of the Animated Dead.

Thankfully the other elements such as story and voice over acting do their job and hold up the film. Night of the Animated Dead is not perfect, but it’s an unique take.

The Bluray does include one special feature called Making of the Animated Dead.

LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain – DVD Review

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

Something is amiss at Super Hero High School! Many of the students are acting out, acting up, and getting into trouble. And it’s the ones that normally would have no part in such devious shenanigans. Do they truly know what misdeeds they are doing, or are they inadvertently part of a nefarious plot by some dastardly villain whose motives are less than noble?

Welcome to LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain! This is the third animated feature starring the strong female characters that make up the DC Comics universe with an adolescent twist. And this time they’re not just animated, they’re LEGO!

Once again Warner Bros. Animation delivers a solid and entertaining movie all about girl power, teamwork, and friendship that also delivers plenty of sight gags, one-liners, and silly puns to go with the action. And there’s plenty of action and excitement to be had as Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl work together to figure out why everyone they know is acting so strange…including themselves!

Skullduggery is indeed afoot at Super Hero High, and it will take the strong minds and spirits of these Super Hero Girls to get things back to normal. Can they do it? Watch and find out!

So get your cape on and take flight with LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain! It’s Super fun!

LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain is available NOW on DVD!

Who’s your favorite DC Super Hero Girl? Leave a comment and let us know!

LEGO Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash – Blu-ray Review

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

Scooby-Doo has been entertaining audiences since his debut in 1969. For nearly five decades, Scooby and the gang have solved mystery after mystery and unmasked evil ghosts, ghouls, and monsters that have terrorized abandoned amusement parks, ski lodges, and beaches. Scooby is as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, the Golden Arches, and the Batman logo, and it doesn’t appear that he, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, or Fred are going away anytime soon.

Enter the latest incarnation of the mystery-solving meddlers: LEGO Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash. When the team decide to let their hair down and have some fun by going to the nearby Blowout Beach Bash, they find themselves in the middle of yet another mystery.

Evil Ghost Pirates have scared away all the teens at the beach and boardwalk and it’s up to Scooby and the gang to solve the mystery, save the Beach Bash, and make sure there’s enough time for food (well, for Scooby and Shaggy at least).

Will they solve the mystery and find out the identities of the Ghost Pirates before it’s too late?

Before LEGO Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash, there were three other Lego Scooby-Doo movies, and each one has been highly entertaining with a stellar voice cast. Frank Welker has been the voice of Fred since the very first episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and continues the tradition to this day. He’s also stepped into the role Scooby-Doo. Matthew Lillard reprises his role as Shaggy whom he played in the two live-action films in 2002 and 2004. Kate Micucci (Garfunkel and Oates, The Big Bang Theory) voices Velma, and Grey Griffin (The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom) is the voice of Daphne. It’s a nice mix of old and new voices that really works.

The Blu-ray features something for everyone. A new Scooby adventure for the kids and two classic episodes of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and one ep of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo as Bonus Features (“Go Away Ghost Ship;” “A Clue for Scooby-Doo;” and “Party Like It’s 1899”).

So have some fun and get ready to party of Scooby and the gang in LEGO Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash! I highly recommend it!

LEGO Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash is available July 25, 2017 on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD!

What’s your favorite version of Scooby-Doo? Leave a comment and let us know!

Disney’s Bambi: Anniversary Edition – Blu-ray Review

In the interest of full disclosure, I had never seen Disney’s Bambi before I sat down to watch this latest Anniversary Edition. I know, I know. How is that possible? I’m a huge fan of Disney animated films. The first movie I ever saw in theaters was the 1984 re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, so the foundation of film-going experience begins with the Disney animated feature that started it all. And yet, Bambi had eluded by viewing for the 37 years I’ve been around. Until now.

Here are SIX things I learned while watching and researching the film, Bambi:

1. Bambi is a Milestone for Disney Animation

From its setting of the forest to its more accurately drawn animals, Bambi marked a new era in Disney animation with its eye for realism. Disney created special classes for his animators so they could learn how to draw and animate animals, water, fire, and other elements in order to create a truly believable world. And to their credit the film is a visually stunning masterpiece of pastoral beauty. It’s a feast for the eyes with literal layers of animation to watch and enjoy time and time again.

2. Bambi was not a Financial Success for Disney

It’s hard to believe that it’s the 75th anniversary of Bambi. That means that this film was the 5th animated feature from Walt Disney Studios and it also happened to be released during World War II (1942). This may explain that while we think of it as a classic, it was a failure at the box office. This makes sense given the time period (there was a major war going on) and its box office failings put it in good company with two other memorable Disney classics: Pinocchio and Fantasia (both released in 1940).

3. Not the Story I Thought it Was

I’ve always believed that Bambi’s mom got shot and killed by the Hunter at the beginning of the movie and the rest of the film is Bambi coping with her death with the help of Thumper, Flower, and the other animals of the forest. I was wrong, which to me is a good thing. This meant that I was actually more engaged with the story, and the tension of when Bambi’s mother would be shot and killed made the film all the more suspenseful to watch. I also didn’t know about the big fire that happens during the final act of the film. This, too, made the an unexpected surprise and one that shows that you never really know what a film is about until you’ve taken the time to watch it for yourself.

4. It’s Not a Musical

Along with the story, I was also surprised that there are no musical numbers sung or performed by the animal cast (which may have been a choice by Walt himself given that he wanted the animals to be more realistic…talking aside). Yes, there are songs and music, but knowing how Disney likes to have characters break into song in the majority of their animated films, it was an interesting discovery. In this instance it makes sense, much like in future Disney features like Tarzan, where music is a factor in the overall world of the film, but not in the lives of most of the characters that inhabit the story.

5. Shows a Pattern in Disney Storytelling Still Seen Today

The theme of the orphaned main character is a common story device that is used in the majority of Disney films. And like most of these features – The Lion King and Frozen being two exceptions – how the character copes with that death/loss is handled off-screen. But it is this wound inflicted on the character against their will that helps make them stronger and more independent in the long run as they make their way through the struggles and victories of the narrative. The same can be said for characters what only have one parent in the picture. How they deal with the loss of the other parent is never fully explored if it’s mentioned at all.

It’s also an interesting side note that many of the characters in the Marvel films and Star Wars films also share the orphaned/parentless theme with many of their Disney character counterparts.

6. Incited Controversy

How, you may ask? Well, believe it or not, hunters were very upset over their demonization in the film. According to a 2014 FilmInspector.com article by James Bjorkman: “American sportsmen naturally took offense at this negative imagery: in a 1942 edition of the magazine “Outdoor Life,” editor Raymond Brown denounced the film as “the worst insult ever offered in any form to American sportsmen.” Imagine if they had had a Twitter account back then!

Not only was this an issue for some, but the entire plot point of Bambi’s mother’s death was also a contentious area of debate, especially in the Disney household. Walt himself admitted in an interview that his daughter was horrified over the death of Bambi’s mother and she was not happy that it was in the film. Others who witnessed the off-screen death were drawn to animal conservation efforts and became animal activist in their adult years.

Along with the original theatrical version, the Blu-ray includes a and the following special features:

Studio Stories: Bambi
The Bambi Effect
Inside Walt’s Story Meetings
Bambi Fawn Facts
Short Film: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit – “In Africa Before Dark”
Deleted Scenes
Deleted Song: “Twitterpated”
The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born
Tricks of Our Trade (Excerpt)
Inside the Disney Archives
The Old Mill: Animated Short
The Golden Age

For a look at what truly was the first Golden Age of Disney animation, I highly recommend Disney’s Bambi: Anniversary Edition!

Disney’s Bambi: Anniversary Edition is available NOW on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Download.

What’s your favorite Disney animated feature? Leave a comment and let us know!

Max 2: White House Hero – Blu-ray Review

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

There’s a lot going on in Max 2: White House Hero. It’s a dog movie, a precocious kid movie, a political intrigue movie, and a political satire all rolled into one. And it’s family friendly on top of all of that! Max, the star of the film, was first seen in 2015’s Max about a military dog whose adopted by the family of one of the soldiers her assisted in Afghanistan. The sequel finds Max on a new mission as a White House Secret Service dog who quickly becomes the playmate and protector of the First Son.

You see, the Russians are coming to the White House (the movie is rather timely and topical) to discuss a new nuclear arms treaty between the two countries. The Russian President, Vladamir Bragov, brings along his young daughter Alex (Francesca Capaldi) who befriends First Son TJ (Zane Austin).

But something is amiss; in fact, there’s a sinister plot afoot that Alex, TJ, and Max uncover while the adults are completely oblivious to the badness on the horizon. Can Max and the kids prevent an international incident before it’s too late?

I can honestly say that I enjoyed this movie! It had its moments of action and suspense, it was well-acted, and the dog is pretty awesome. Directed by Brian Levant (Jingle All the Way, Beethoven), Max 2: White House Hero is a kid-friendly, family friendly movie that the whole family can enjoy together.

The Blu-ray includes two fast-paced and entertaining featurettes:

Kids on the Case: Making of Max 2

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film with Francesca Capaldi and Zane Austin.

Max 2: A Ruff Life

It took four dogs to bring Max to the screen. See what it takes to train a dog for a movie like Max 2!

As I said above, I had a good time watching this movie. It’s upbeat, fun, and quite entertaining. I highly recommend it for family movie night!

Max 2: White House Hero is a available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Download!

What’s your favorite dog movie? Kid’s movie? Political satire? Leave a comment and let us know!