Animation

Review: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

They left New York. They went to Madagascar. Then they ended up somewhere else in Africa. Now they're in Europe, trying to get back home to New York. It's the Circle of Life. No, hang on, that's ... anyway, here's a pleasant surprise: this animated threequel from DreamWorks is a whole heap of fun. What's more, it represents a film's most effective use of the song 'I Like To Move It' by Reel 2 Reel (feat. The Mad Stuntman) since it was first popularised in the work of Truffaut.

Review: ParaNorman

Like any right-thinking adult, I make it my business to scare a child at least once a week. Otherwise there's a risk they could grow up soft, I always think, what with their Bebos and their Sylvanian Families. Happily, I can now take the day off every once in a while, because stop-motion animation ParaNorman should put the frighteners on them. Might even make them laugh a bit too, but then you can do that just by tickling them.

Review: Top Cat

"He's the boss, he's a pip, he's the championship, he's the most tip top, Top Cat!" When I was young that catchy tune used to fill me with joy. Top Cat was, by a country mile, my favourite Hanna-Barbera creation. Now, thanks to this slap-dash, Flash-animated big screen 3D mutation from Mexico, Don Gato y su Pandilla (as it is in Spanish) leaves yet another childhood memory is in tatters.

The Land Before Time: where careers go extinct

You all remember The Land Before Time, right? The 1988 Stephen Spielberg/George Lucas-produced, Don Bluth-directed cartoon about talking dinosaurs learning important life lessons, that incited millions of kids to nag their parents into a weekly Pizza Hut pilgrimage just so they could ram their tiny hands inside the ill-fitting plastic puppets... right?

Review: 9

We are told that 9 is brought to us by the visionary directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, which immediately conjures up images of gothic fairytale whimsy and flashy action. Although containing elements of both, this film is actually more like an epic adventure - and it's just a little too ambitious.

Review: Up

Have Pixar outgrown the animation industry? You could certainly argue they have. Typically the domain of sassy talking animals and cutesy characters, it's a playground which Pixar seem to have grown bored with.

Review: Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs

The first Ice Age was one of the first indicators that Pixar had some serious contenders in the animation department. Ice Age: The Meltdown came along soon after and proved that the busybodies at Fox were still a threat with a much improved sequel. Now, the whole gang is back for a third instalment of the animated franchise, tak...

Review: Coraline

There's something deeply disturbing about button-eyes. Maybe it's the lack of reflection or emotion that leaves a certain 'deadness' about them. But if your Other Mother is more loving and attentive than your real mother, surely that's a good thing? Even if she has button eyes, right? Coraline (Fanning) is an adventurous but ...

Review: Monsters Vs Aliens

Like so many brides to be, Susan Murphy's wedding day consisted of getting up early to be faffed and fluffed over; sneaking off to see her groom before the ceremony; being squished by a quantonium-laden meteorite and subsequently transformed into a 49-and-a-half-foot government secret codenamed Ginormica. It's a timeless tale. ...

Review: Bolt

In recent years, there have been two types of animated movie released by Disney. You have the Pixar movies, loved by all and heralded as works of genius; think WALL-E, Finding Nemo and Toy Story. Then, on the other hand, you have the rest of the crap. Think that's unfair? I give you The Wild and Chicken Little. Bolt, coming from...