A Grandfather for Christmas is in every way a classic Christmas film in which hope and good feelings play the leading roles. In this sense, a mise-en-scene reminiscent not only of 1950s comedies, but also of the glorious films by John Hughes proved to be the winning solution.
Woodwalkers undoubtedly has good intentions (as well as great ambition). Here, in fact, through a fantasy story in which there is no lack of adrenalin and good feelings, the discourse aims first and foremost to make the young audience aware of an important issue, while also taking on rather classical connotations.
Deep Water Diver under the Rooftop tells us a particularly sensitive story, now through the point of view of the children, now through that of their mother, through a light and visually appealing staging. At the Diagonale 2024.
New Tales of Franz hits the mark. And it does so with a minimal running time and captivating editing, bringing to the movie screen a compendium of friendship, courage and consistency that is certainly educational and pedagogical for the audience for whom it was intended.
Tales of Franz stands out immediately for its extremely simple and linear narrative structure, almost completely devoid of subplots. And if, on the one hand, the story of Franz and his friends is exciting and amusing, on the other hand, one feels the need for a few more twists and turns, as well as necessary insights into some secondary characters.
It is not a film with many pretensions, Help, I shrunk my Parents. Not even as far as the various script twists are concerned. The story unfolds in an often predictable way, albeit with good dynamics, and the young audience seems to be happy with it.
Help, I shrunk my Teacher is a film of international scope that is clearly inspired by contemporary US entertainment cinema and also aims very much at an extensive distribution abroad. Yet, despite this, we cannot fail to notice an almost television-like approach that, together with sometimes excessively contrived special effects, makes the whole thing easily forgettable.
Moonbound is all in all an enjoyable, colourful and, at times, adrenaline-fuelled feature film for families. A film with an international scope that, however, both in terms of the script and the realisation of the CGI pictures, suffers greatly from the comparison with other animated films made in the meantime all over the world. At the Diagonale’22.
Help, I Shrunk My Friends is clearly inspired by the now cult film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. But if those nostalgic for that film – as well as for the glorious 1980s – are hoping to re-experience the same feelings they felt when watching Joe Johnston’s film, their expectations will inevitably be disappointed.
The School of magical Animals entertains, but not too much, enthralls, but not too much. And, as a result, it is in danger of being forgotten shortly after its theatrical release.