by J. Nagle
Nimona was, of the Disney-Fox merger, one of the names that Blue Sky Studios fans were sad to see go in 2021 upon the studio’s closure. However, hope was restored in 2022 when Annapurna Pictures and Netflix acquired the film, with a projected 2023 release date. With these roadblocks in mind among others—such as the film’s original release date setting it up to compete with Sonic—those looking forward to the film were pleasantly surprised on June 30th, 2023 when they were treated to an adaptation that provided a faithful as well as captivating story within its world.
The visual style of Nimona pops in a way different from most animated films, a result of the experimentation Blue Sky Studios found themselves making with their latter films such as The Peanuts Movie and Ferdinand. The film utilizes a mixture of 3D animation with traditional 2D elements, which can be attributed to its stylistic adaptation of graphic novel flair. However, it’s important to note that this technique was a bit ahead of its time in development. DreamWorks Animation Studios experimented with the same concept in 2022 starting with The Bad Guys, elaborating on this concept later the same year with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Two years earlier, Nimona would find itself incorporating some of the same elements during its production that made those same films so captivating to look at.
Part of what makes Nimona so daring is its central plot being so reliant on the strained relationship between Ballister and Ambrosius, two characters whose romance has seldom been shown onscreen in mainstream animated cinema, a romance definitely not to the degree of which it’s integral to the story. In addition, Nimona’s own journey alongside Ballister shows many metaphors for the fluidity of gender and how those who express themselves in an untraditional way can be cast out of society. It’s a great thing Annapurna decided to revive the film, because it delivers some very clear and heartfelt messages that many people in the LGBTQ+ community can relate to and may still need.
Chloë Grace Moretz and Riz Ahmed provide inspiring and emotional performances as the title characters and Ballister Boldheart respectively, and the rest of the cast—some names surprising—provide an outstanding job on their vocal work as well. Eugene Lee Yang of The Try Guys fame voices Ambrosius Goldenloin, a respected knight and Ballister’s love interest, and RuPaul of RuPaul’s Drag Race provides the voice of Nate Knight. Additionally, Nimona creator ND Stevenson has a vocal cameo as Kwispy the Dragon in an in-universe cereal advertisement.
Nimona is now streaming on Netflix.
by J. Nagle
Wes Anderson’s newest film, Asteroid City, once again brings together veteran Wes Anderson fans without alienating the new ones it’s surely made. Light spoilers ahead!
When a new Wes Anderson feature releases, there tends to be a sense of curiosity drummed up in the cinephile space, though not in the sense that the film seems confusing. Anderson’s style of marketing and trailers give away his eccentric direction and writing style, but almost never give away crucial twists and plot details worth a spoiler warning online. However, he allows just enough of a plot through in his trailers to let world-building seep through, to craft the environment shown in Asteroid City, thus beginning a curiosity not dissimilar to that of the prodigies shown in the film.
Anderson’s eye for palette control in his films leads to the atmosphere of the titular Asteroid City being one of the more colorful desert towns explored in modern cinema. Half of this job is done incredibly well with the color mixing and set design working together in the town, and the same can be said for costume design. Each character’s clothing has little notes and details that carry over to the next while still feeling distinct from the next. This can be said for both the film’s main narrative in Asteroid City as well as—without giving away too much—the more monochromatic narrative the film opens with.
One theme that both narratives in the film excel with is that of creation. Wes Anderson excels in writing location-as-character screenplays as seen with films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, which can be seen once again with the titular town in this film. However, the film’s other plot concerning the creation of the Asteroid City play is more character-driven. It feels both meta and not at the same time—bringing together how art and the artist coalesce into one another and coexist. Each component in Asteroid City plays a huge role in its felt authenticity, and each component feels as though it shines outside of the central narrative once the audience gets a feel for how the two stories play off of each other.
The weight and intricacies of the two stories are both things that it takes time for the viewer to get used to, but once adjusted to them, it’s shown how integral the two are to each other. The film brings a great feeling to the idea of living for creation, an idea many filmmakers can feel themselves in.
Asteroid City is playing in theaters now worldwide.
The online hype around Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse seems to not be dying out anytime soon as Sony Pictures Animation employees who have worked on the movie are coming out and sharing production art. However, among the names that have received viral praising for their shared behind-the-scenes work, one name has stood out to most as a shocking prodigy.
Preston Mutanga—known online as LegoMe_TheOG—is known by his YouTube fanbase (as well as Twitter) to make impressive LEGO animations in Blender using dynamic posing, lighting, and shot composition. What shocks most people is that he’s 14 years old and doing this at a level where those within the industry—namely, producers and writers Phil Lord & Christopher Miller—were taking notice.
Mutanga’s recreation of the first trailer went lightly viral on Twitter, visible enough to where Lord & Miller noticed, showing it to those working on the film. After some negotiations between the studio, Mutanga, and his family, they worked out a contract for Mutanga to build the scene of the LEGO universe briefly explored within the film.
The LEGO universe within Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was briefly mentioned in an interview with Jake Johnson, the voice of Spider-Verse’s Peter B. Parker, though its prominence and direction was unknown beyond its confirmation. While it was a nice inclusion to put another The LEGO Movie-esque feather in the cap of Lord & Miller, we’re all very pleased that a skilled young artist like Preston Mutanga is receiving the recognition and work he deserves from his passion project.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is playing in theaters now worldwide.
Wes Anderson is going right into production of his 13th feature film later this year, The Film Stage revealed earlier today.
The announcement came during the press tour for Wes Anderson’s new film, Asteroid City, set to release next Friday. Cinematographer and frequent collaborator on Anderson’s films Robert Yeoman revealed Wes Anderson’s plans to head into production on a new film later this year, with Michael Cera being cast in a currently undisclosed starring role.
The sudden announcement shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to those familiar with Anderson’s work—Yeoman goes on to describe Anderson as a “workaholic”, citing the short release gaps between his films in the past. Once filming on Asteroid City wrapped, Anderson and Yeoman reportedly went right back into filming with the director’s elusive Henry Sugar adaptation set to release on Netflix in the future.
Three of the names in talks to join the film are Michael Cera, Jeff Goldblum, and Benicio del Toro. While Goldblum and del Toro have starred in Wes Anderson films before—their most recent appearances being Asteroid City and The French Dispatch, respectively—Cera is a newcomer to the director’s productions. However, it should be noted that Cera was originally in talks to join Jeff Goldblum early in Asteroid City’s production, though negotiations obviously fell through. Cera’s performance could bring a new flavor of eccentricity to Anderson’s stories, due to the strange nature of the characters he’s often been cast into in previous films and shows.
Wes Anderson’s newest film Asteroid City is set to have a limited release on June 16th, followed by a wide theatrical release on June 23th a week later.
On July 21st, two movies will release in theaters that, alongside each other, have caught the attention of moviegoers worldwide: Oppenheimer and Barbie. One film grapples with existentialism and the alertness of death; what it means to be human in a world where its true darkness is hidden to the naked eye.
The other film is Christopher Nolan’s biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Two pieces of media sharing a release date is a common love for the internet. Between 2019 and 2020, fan art between the DOOM and Animal Crossing series saw a massive rise due to the shared release date of the franchises’ newest entries (DOOM Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, respectively). Three years later, the trend seems to repeat itself as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer will be releasing on the same day, with many moviegoers intending to see them back-to-back.
Matt Damon, who stars in Oppenheimer as Leslie Groves, reminded audiences that “people are allowed to go see two movies in a weekend,” in an interview with Vanity Fair, following his admission that he’d never heard of a “war” between the two movies.
Regardless of which films an audience member will choose to see—one, both, or none—it can be said for both movies that they seem to be shaping up to be equal parts fun and captivating. The Barbie film seems to be a surprisingly sincere adaptation of the brand, much like how The LEGO Movie was to its namesake brand. Each actor seems to have fun in the film, corroborating this sentiment in interviews leading up to the release. In addition, the chilling acting in Oppenheimer mixed with the gritty theming and explosive practical effects is leading up to another great film from Christopher Nolan. The film has earned Nolan his first undisputed R-rating in over two decades, which would allow him creative freedom to take the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life where it needs to go.
It seems another release date war may be brewing following these films, however. It was recently revealed that the current release dates of Fast X: Part 2 and Minecraft are one in the same: April 4, 2025. And what changes? Jason Momoa is set to star in both.
Barbie and Oppenheimer will release worldwide on July 21st, 2023.
Twitter seems perplexed by the Paul brothers’ ventures once again as the youngest of the two, Jake Paul, has announced he will be starring in his feature film debut, to be distributed and produced by Wonder Street and Mandalay Pictures.
The general public took this about as well as you would expect.
The Paul brothers in recent years have seen a bit of a downward spiral in their public images. Over the past couple of years, Jake Paul came under fire for the promotion and alleged scamming of his fans through forms of cryptocurrency he heavily advocated for and promoted, often without telling them of said prearranged promotions.
However, the announced film seems to have higher stakes and production to it than in Paul’s previous appearances—Mandalay Pictures’ most recent films, Air, was praised by critics due to the performance of its cast, and the collaboration with Paul could have a similar effect on critics if done similarly.
The announcement comes during a time of multiple announcements of YouTuber-led films; in April, YouTubers Mark Fischbach and Seán McLoughlin—often known as Markiplier and Jacksepticeye respectively—announced their involvement in Fischbach’s feature directorial debut, Iron Lung, based on the video game of the same name. A24 recently greenlit a film based on The Backrooms from Kane Parsons, known online as Kane Pixels, as well as acquiring the rights to YouTube duo RackaRacka’s feature film debut Talk to Me. This followed a bidding war between the studio and Universal after the film’s screening at Sundance earlier this year.
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