How to train your dragon

For a while I'm going to review some DreamWorks movies. I've made reviews for Shrek and Kung-Fu panda which were made by DreamWorks too. Now I'm going to do more. Let's start with one of my favourites How to train your dragon. By all outward appearances I should actually hate this movie. This has so many elements that I can't stand in a movie. The geeky dweeb who becomes the hero. The annoyed parent who will never listen. The misunderstanding that will break them apart a just result in them sad and depressed. The hiding the pet so no one will see it. Even the liar revealed subplot which I should say right now I absolutely hate. This is stuff I usually can't stand. But for some reason, here, it really, really works. There's just some thing about the way this story s told and presented and paced that just really, really gets it. What's the story? A young boy named "Hiccup" lives in a world of Vikings who spend most of their time trying to fight off dragons. Why? Because they believe that dragons are evil. And who can blame them? They constantly attack, breath fire and they're just dangerous animals. But Hiccup begins to see things a little differently when he come across a wounded dragon called a "Night fury" in the middle of a forest. So  Hiccup decides to study him. He actually names the dragon. He names him "Toothless." As he spends more and more time with him he realises that dragons are not really evil. They're like any other animal. Just as long as they can be understood they can be trained to be peaceful. So Hiccup uses this advantage to fight off other dragons... in a sense. He doesn't really fight them he actually finds non-violent ways to defend them off. Which gets him the attention of the village where he lives called "Berk", and more importantly his father who mostly sees him as a disappointment but now finally sees something they can connect with. But gee will the father's anger issues get in the way to the point where he says he doesn't have a son and all that other stuff? Yes. But it's actually done pretty good here. The only reason I can think of as to why it work here and not in other stories is that the pacing just so good. Every time something happens you see how it effects the characters. Every emotion feels genuine. You see that when the characters are happy they feel genuinely happy, when they're jealous they feel genuinely jealous and when they're heart-broken you really feel how heart-broken they are. And I think so much of that comes from the fact that they take the time to let us know these people. And it's not ruched. The flying scenes unbelievable. I mean they are great and wonderful to look at. When this movie came out it was in 3-D. And I still stand by it when I say this is the greatest looking 3-D movie I've ever seen. I saw it in the Gate and it blew me away. Anytime there's a flying scene you felt like you were on this dragon and you were riding where ever the rider was going. I don't know what they did, how or they did it, but more movies need to do this. They're actually making a second one this year. I'm really excited to see it. I mean I absolutely love the first one so I don't really know what to expect with the second one. They actually made a TV show from this. And I just love the TV show. I have to say though, this is definitely  one of my favourite DreamWorks movies.

Kung-Fu Panda

Kung-Fu Panda is a great film. I t was actually made by the some company that made Shrek, called "DreamWorks." So what's the story. In China there lives a Panda named "Po." He's a big fan of the "Furious five." A group of marshal artists. Just to clarify everyone in this movie is an animal. One day the great, wise master turtle named "Oogway."is about to chose who of the furious five is going to be the "Dragon Warrior," the marshal artists who will stop the evil "Tai-lung," who has broken out of prison and is on his way to their village to get revenge. Po get flung into the mix and Oogway selects him. Everyone, including Po himself thinks that Oogway has made a mistake. but Oogway says that he is the dragon warrior so he decides to go along with his plan. Po's new teacher named "Shifu" doesn't like that a random person who looks clumsy and kinda stupid, which he kinda is, tries to train Po so hard he'll want to go away. But Po is so excited and so full of determination he doesn't even think of it. When they release that Tai-lung is coming, the race is on to get Po to be the real Dragon warrior before Tai-lung gets there. The movie is really pretty to look at with world they create. The characters are pretty cool with their personalities and characteristics. Po is very likable with his innocents and his needs to never give-up. The furious five all have good personalities and are all pretty well developed. Since at first their kinda mean, stuck-up, kinda arrogant and rude. But by the end they're all nice, likable and funny. Who are they? There's a girl tiger named "Tigress." A mantis named "Mantis." A girl snake named "Viper." A monkey named "Monkey," And a crane named "Crane." The movie also does surprisingly well with mixing in drama, despite the fact that it's supposed to be a comedy and an action film and it mixes in all those elements in brilliantly. The fight scenes are unbelievable and are awesome looking. If I did have one problem with the movie is that the ending is kinda anti-climatic. Why? Because throughout the whole move we've been told over and over of how awesome and strong Tai-lung is, and yet he's able to beat Shifu and the furious five. And yet he couldn't beat Po. I mean I didn't want to see him kill Po because he's the hero and I like him. Kung-Fu Panda is a great film for both children and adults of any age. It's funny, it's cool, it's pretty and let's not forget, it's awesome.

Kung-Fu Panda 2

Alright. So you guy know that I love the first Kung-Fu Panda. You know that I love the movie and the characters and the joke and so forth. So that's  putting a lot of pressure on it's sequel "Kung-Fu Panda 2." And what did I think of that? Honestly... it's even better than the first. That's right. I don't even think this movie is as great as the original, but it surpasses it. Like Toy Story, with the first one setting the popularity bar and this time even the bar of the movie going up really high. The first movie ups the joke, characters, action and even drama. Yeah there's good animation and acting this movie. So what's the story? Po returns as the Dragon Warrior. But a new threat has come. A peacock named "Shen" threatens China with a huge cannon. And in the past he has wiped out all the pandas. Why? Because a Soothsayer said that a panda is the only thing that will defeat him. He want's to take back the land that he says is rightfully his. So Po and the Furious five go to defeat him. But they discover that not only that he has a greater army than they expected but they also find out the secret of Po's backstory and the reveal of his real parents. Yeah in the first one, Po lives with his adoptive goose father named "Mr Ping." Rather then tell the story in the first one or rehash anything they actually decide to continue the story, like a good sequel should. Po is not only learning more as a person but he's also learning more in his fighting skills. And the Furious five aren't just making fun of him anymore, they're actually beginning to really respect. I actually think there a really good real believable friendship between him and them including Tigress. And again all the skills he's learning has a very heavy lean towards marshal philosophy and ethics. This one leading towards learning to conquer yourself before you conquer your enemies. Remember how I said in the first one the ending was kinda anti-climatic because Tai-lung wasn't that impressive. Shen is the exact opposite. Shen is a great villain. He has a fantastic backstory he, has a great design, he has a devious voice. He's actually a better fighter than Tai-lung was. I liked the first movie a lot but this one is way better. This one also threw in a few more twists and turns a made it a bit more dramatic. Heck, when I saw it in the cinema I think I heard people crying at some scenes in this movie. Yes, Kung-Fu Panda 2 actually made people cry in the cinema. That a dang impressive feet. To be honest I have no problems with this movie at all. I think it's another one of those perfect films with everything being stepped up to the next level. Even a better villain. And guess what? There's going to be a Kung-Fu Panda 3 in 2016. I'm really excited. This is a film series that just get's better and better and I hope the third one can make everyone want to show it to everyone they know.  you liked the first one, than you're definitely going to love the second one.

Shrek

The story begins with an ogre named “Shrek” who lives in a swamp and he scares people so he can be left alone. A man called “Farquad” sends fairy tale creatures to Shrek’s swamp. Shrek isn’t happy so he goes to him and tell him that he’s not happy so Farquad makes a deal with him. He’ll get rid of all the creatures in his swamp and Shrek saves a princess named “Fiona” so he can marry her to become king. Shrek agrees and they do just that. As they continue on back to Farquad, Shrek and Fiona begin to develop feelings for each other. When they make it back, Shrek then realises where his heart truly lies. Fiona has a secret that every time the sun goes down she turns into an ogre herself. In the end Fiona and Shrek get married and I should also say that another main character is a donkey named “Donkey”, yes I’m serious. He’s the funniest character in Shrek ever. Shrek is by far my favourite DreamWorks story saga I’ve ever seen. The stories are amazing, the comedy is hilarious and the music is so contagious that you either want to listen to it forever or sing it over and over. Shrek one was probably one of the first movies I ever saw and it just kept blowing me away every single time I saw it and as I kept getting older I understood and liked it more and more. The characters just blend into you and you really feel sympathy for all the characters.

Shrek 2

I almost exploded the first time I saw the movie. The story is perfect and simple to understand, you see over and over the amount of times you see this the more you want more people to see it too. Shrek, Fiona and Donkey are off to the kingdom of “Far, far away” to visit Fiona’s parents. Her parents are surprised because she’s an ogre and in turn, married an ogre. Her father is especially not happy so he hires an actually cat to try to kill Shrek. Puss in boots is his name and boy is he hilarious. There’s an evil fairy god mother who also wants Shrek to die so that her son prince charming can marry Fiona. Shrek wants to make his wife happy so he drinks a potion that he, donkey and puss, who joined them, get from the fairy god mother’s factory where they make magic potion. This causes Shrek and Fiona to turn human, which will not only get the blessing of her parents but her love in return. There were some great twists in it. Like Shrek and Fiona turning human after the potion and Donkey turning into a horse. You see new characters. Like the king and queen of far, far away or puss in boots or the fairy god mother or prince charming. I say Shrek’s final development comes in this movie. Having gone through all that he has he willing to give-up everything in the swamp just to make his wife happy that’s pretty heart-warming.

Shrek The Third

This, in my opinion is the best out of all the Shrek movies. It’s comedy, its speed, its pasting, its timing. The amount of things they do right in this movie is fantastic. Fiona’s father dies of being a frog, yeah at the end of last movie the fairy god mother shot him with her wand and turned him into a frog, which means that Shrek has to be king. But he doesn’t want to be king so he, Donkey and Puss go off and try to find Fiona’s cousin “Arthur” or they just call him “Artie.” Artie is annoying at parts because he’s kind of whiny but you do grow out of it. Shrek wants him to be the king. They manage to convince him to come with them but the ship they travelled on crashes and they’re left on an island they get help back to Far, Far Away from a wizard named Merlin. However when they’re there it in ruins because Prince charming from last movie has gathered all the fairy tale villains to take over Far, Far Away and kill Shrek and Fiona. Ya you can guess the rest of it. Shrek wins and everyone's happy. There's a little development for Shrek in this movie but probably not as much as number 2. There is so much comedy and family in this. Shrek and Fiona have kids in this movie who they name "Fergus, Fergal and Felecia." It's very nice to look at when we finally see them. It's weird that at a lot of the movie Shrek isn't happy that he's going to be father and at the end when we see them, he's very happy. Though a lot of the movie is fun, family, comedy and so enjoyable.

Shrek Forever After

Shrek forever after is the final Shrek movie and out of them all. It's my second favourite. It's definitely the 2nd funniest. What's the story? A bored and domesticated. Shrek pacts with deal-maker Rumpelstiltskin to get back to feeling like a real ogre again, but when he's duped and sent to a twisted version of Far, Far Away -- where Rumpelstiltskin is king, ogres are hunted, and he and Fiona have never met -- he sets out to restore his world and reclaim his true love. The villain in this movie is one of the funniest villains I've ever seen. The story is o.k. Shrek's development this time really doesn't go anywhere this time. Actually it kind of goes downhill a bit because he's kind of mean to Fiona and the others. It's still enjoyable, funny and fun. It is better than the third one but I wouldn't say it better than the first or second one but it's kinda... you know what I mean. Donkey and Puss are constantly hilarious in this movie. Donkey's a slave and Puss is a fat weird looking cat who's Fiona's new pet and it's all really funny.

Toy Story

Toy story is the very first C.G.I animated film ever made. When this film came out every one went nuts, it was loved by everyone, and yeah it's obvious to see why. It's funny, colourful, memorable characters and memorable moments. What's the story? Woody the cowboy is a toy who belongs to a kid named Andy, Andy's favourite toy. But when Andy leaves his room all the toys come to life and start chatting with each other. And they're especially concerned because Andy's birthday party is today. And they're afraid the new toys might overshadow them, even to the point of having tem be given away. But Woody is there to calm them down because of course he's Andy's favourite... or at least was. A new toy named Buzz Lightyear has all the latest gizmos and technology. Woody eventually get jealous and tries to get Andy to notice him again. One day when Woody tries to get Buzz stuck behind a desk the plan goes too far and he accidentally knocks Buzz out of the house. Woody get into the same situation and the rest of the film is a race to get back home before Andy and his family move. The strength of this movie is the characters. These are just fantastic characters. Not to mention the brilliant setup. I mean Buzz nor Woody are the villains it all just a form of jealousy which leads to great comedy. Really that's what this film seems half to be, comedy. And also there's also Andy's doings. When I say that I mean he is playing with Buzz more and that's what started the feud between Woody and Buzz. But you can't blame him because well he's just being a regular kid playing with toys. There's also the villain Sid. I'd say he's an o.k villain. He blows up toys and torchers toys too. Another thing I think is pretty good is the C.G.I. With the C.G.I on the toys it's really impressive because the plastic texture actually work really well in C.G.I animation. There's also the spoon that Woody uses to look at himself with. That looked really there. However with C.G.I on the humans and Scud the dog yeah they look kinda awkward. Give them credit, I was the first C.G.I animated film ever made so it is forgivable. The film works unbelievably well. This movie has to be a classic. Filmmakers all over the world knew how great this film was and decided to do it themselves too. This one is nothing but a classic.

Toy Story 2

With the first Toy story being a surprise monster hit, they were going to be making their next movie and while that one was a success too it wasn't as good as Toy story. So they decided to make a Toy story 2. While people loved the first one I'm pretty sure it was going to be hard to do a movie that was just as good. And what did I think of it!? I thought I was brilliant and it's one of my favourites but I didn't think it was as good as the first one. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it. I just think it's the way it looks it a little odd. Also I think there's too much lighting. But do I love it? Yeah I do I just don't think it's as good as the first one. What's the story? Woody and Buzz are back again but this time Woody is in a bit of trouble. Andy has gone off to Cowboy Camp, a garage sale is going on and sadly one of the older toys named "Wheezy" is being sold off. Woody goes in to save him but gets stolen by a nasty toy store owner named "Al." In Al's apartment Woody comes across a cowgirl named "Jessie", a horse named "Bullseye" and a minor named the "Prospector." The race is on for the rest of Woody's friends to go out to and save him but it seems like Woody might have seconds thoughts about returning home, because he knows that eventually he has to face the inevitable. That Andy will grow-up and someday forget about him. He has another choice where he can be taken to a museum in Japan where he can be enjoyed by people forever. People would come from all over the world just to see that he exists. So why don't I think this one is better than the last one, especially when everyone else says it is better? Well I already told you one of the reasons but also I also would of liked a little more scenes to make us laugh. Also I think the scene where Woody shouts to Buzz and the others in Al's apartment is way too out of hand. I mean they travelled all the way to help him and yet in the end he shouts at them for it and I think that that's a little too mean. O.k now what do I like about it? Well, everything else. The characters are still their funny, creative, lovable and great selves. And for what we got it was funny, dramatic, intense and well written. While the Prospector and Al are the two villains of this it is pretty good. You actually relate a lot with this movie. You relate with dealing with the inevitable. What will happen in the end? What should you do? What's the better thing for yourself and for others. I'd say my favourite scene in this movie is the scene where Buzz, Rex, Slinky, Hamm and Potato Head are under the cones crossing the street. Watch this and you might know why.

Also Jessie has a backstory that's probably the most dramatic scene in the whole movie. Watch.

So do I love this movie? Absolutely. The characters are still fantastic. It's just great.

Toy Story 3

Toy story 3 is the final toy story there is. And I have to say, this is the best out of all of them. It has a lot comedy, your favourite characters are back and guess what, it's Toy story 3, meaning it's still is Toy story. Everyone I know who like Toy story also say it's the best out of them all too. Alright, what's the story? Andy is now 17 years old and is now going to collage. He needs to make a decision of weather or not he still wants to hold onto his toys. The toys, well aware of this, have to make a decision about weather or not they still want to hold onto Andy. Well after a miss communication they figure that the best thing to do is probably to move on. They make their way to a day care centre where they think they can be enjoyed by children for years and years to come. The problem, the toy running the day care centre, named "Lotso-huggen-bear." Or just "Lotso", is actually the villain of this movie, like Sid was in the first one or the Prospector or Al was in the second. Woody tries to get back to Andy's house, the toys find out that they made a mistake and try to get back too but Lotso and his gang imprison them, Barbie gets a new boyfriend named "Ken." And Buzz is reprogrammed to be evil and so forth. This was actually the only Toy story movie I ever saw in cinemas. I was born in 1999 and the first one came out in 1995 and number two was made in 1999. Buzz is still my favourite character in Toy story. Sure in some parts of this he's evil because of his reprogramming but they manage to fix him again. There's still a lot of laughs and jokes like that, I mean the stuff with Ken hilarious. Some of the characters are were apparently sold by Andy, including Woody's girlfriend "Bo peep." She was from the first two films. And at the end Andy gives away all the toys to a 5 year old named "Bonnie", who goes to the day care centre. Woody was with her at some parts in this movie and he thought that Andy should give him and his other toys to her. So just before Andy left Woody got a marker and wrote down on a sticky note saying that he should give them to Bonnie and he signed his moms name not his. Yeah just to clarify, none of the humans know that the toys are alive. A lot of people were crying at the end of this movie. I have to say this right away. A lot of kids were Andy's age when the first Toys story came out. So to watch themselves grow-up and to see the movies grow-up with them probably shows the development that the children and other audience have gone through. Maybe in the end that's Toy story's great secret. It knew just when to come out and it knew just when to stop. It reached the right age bracket and decided to grow-up with us. And for those like me who didn't grow-up the same age, maybe toy story brought them back to that age. Maybe they hit something that not only do we all remember, but we all hold something we all hold so precious and close to us. Whatever Toy story did, it did it well. So well that when people grow-up and have kids of their-own, Toy story is going to be one of the first things they're going to show them, and I know that Toy story is going to be around for generations and generations to come. It's a fantastic series of movie to be introduced to and it's a fantastic movie series to look back on.