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Runes (2022)
Great for the Whole Family
This show is for kids around 6-13 so far. The acting is good enough and the animation is a pretty unique style that I like. Like most shows, it begins a little awkwardly paced (only four episodes have been released as of my writing this). I will be interested to see how it improves.
It reminded my son and I of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but I couldn't tell you why, other than the target audience and the 2D animation.
The story follows a young man (a boy, honestly) who is on the run from some people who don't want him to inherit a dukedom. He discovers he has a special power to invoke runes and do magic spells, and it looks like the ultimate nemesis is Loki, the god of chaos. So, it has some pagan magic in it and that is probably the worst thing. As long as your kiddo knows the truth about magic, it's just a fun story.
Roe v. Wade (2019)
Good idea, some excellent actors, bad directing and stupid music
I still cried twice. A really important subject matter. Good acting came through at times but I think this may have been badly directed. It seemed too performed a lot of the time and the music was typically distracting and annoying.
The Pagemaster (1994)
Fantastic
I'm not sure what exactly pulled me into the world of books - perhaps it was mostly Harry Potter - but I am absolutely certain that The Pagemaster had its hand in introducing me to the idea of stories. I read a few reviews complaining that movies shouldn't be telling kids to read more books, but I would argue that it isn't exactly the point of this film.
As a very shy and anxious child myself, I identified with Richard Tyler (the main character). This story is about overcoming your fears. It is also about stories - not just books, but stories overall. Perhaps this is just my belief, but I think stories influence a person's life more than any other form of media. Movies are fast forms of stories (and not at all as deep as books), but that doesn't make them bad forms.
Moreover, I don't know if anyone else noticed, but the plot moved from a place of fear - the horror section - to a place of heroism and optimism - fantasy - plus they had to go through a little adventure to get there. Personally, I think this is a great message.
Regarding the animation, it isn't as terrible as everyone is saying. No, it isn't Disney, but it serves its purpose just fine. Its no worse than watching a lot of older Disney movies. If people dislike the movie due to the animation, then I would counter that they aren't paying much attention to the quality of the story itself.
One thing I did not like about this film was the cheesy song when they enter the fantasy world. If you think you can bear one potentially annoying song then you'll be fine. As it is a cartoon, they must have their LSD moment in there somewhere.
Lastly, it passes the kid test. My three year old loves it as much as I did when I first saw it (I was four). He quotes it regularly. This was a movie I remembered watching as a kid, with a more meaningful message than most "follow your heart" Disney movies, and I never really forgot it. Some are saying it's forgettable, but it wasn't for me. It was exactly the story I needed.