Miyazaki Makes Magic Again in Ponyo

Incredible studio turns out another incredible movie

(NEWSER) - It's only June, but Toy Story 3 already has one call for best movie of the year. In fact, Dan Kois of the Awl goes so far as to declare that “the people of Pixar are currently America's most important filmmakers.” This movie is “totally bonkers,” with loads of crazy scenes—like a mushroom cloud made out of a trillion plastic monkeys—real laughs, and truly exciting moments. And then comes the last 15 minutes, “which I spent bawling, as did every moviegoer around me.” More»

Classic animation charms the critics

(NEWSER) - Classic Disney animation makes a triumphant return with The Princess and the Frog. Critics agree the film is beautiful, and most—but not all—were charmed by the story:

• The movie, set in New Orleans, is “the sweetest, most sincere romantic comedy to come along in ages, and a luminous love letter to a great American city,” writes Mary Elizabeth Williams in Salon .

Spirit's there, but critics split on wow-factor of evolving tech

(NEWSER) - Most critics express a hearty "humbug" for Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture version of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey. A sampling:

• "It's a heartwarmer that doesn't have much of a heart itself," Michael O'Sullivan writes in the Washington Post, "populated by figures that are halfway between Wii Fit avatars and real people." Come on, folks: "Just because something can be done with computers doesn't mean it should be."

Film tells of burlap robot battling through frightening world

(NEWSER) - The creepy tale of 9, which depicts a burlap-bodied robot’s (Elijah Wood) quest for his origins while battling bad guys in a post-apocalyptic world, looks incredible—but its script leaves something to be desired.

• “Long on imaginative design but less substantial in narrative, this dreary story of fighting the power is more numbing than thought-provoking,” writes Claudia Puig in USA Today.

(NEWSER) - Battle for Terra has a nifty twist of a premise—it’s an alien movie in which humans are the evil invaders—but critics are split on how well it works. Here’s what they’re saying:

• It’s a “work of art,” writes John Anderson in Variety, as “original and convincing a feature as the better Japanese animes.” Animation acolytes will love it, but beware: this isn’t at all sugar-coated, and won’t be “the feel good movie of 2009.”