Here alas is the first.
Which is a shame, because I really wanted to love this film. As a father of a precocious 3 1/2 year old girl, I yearned deeply for a strong female heroine, and there at least it didn't disappoint, just don't look for much else.
Hopefully I will proclaim this for the last time: A beautifully executed film is no longer an excuse for a sub-par film. Beautiful animated films are now a dime a dozen, with Dreamworks, Pixar, Disney, and a seemingly myriad of other major and minor studios, here and abroad, churning them out incessantly. It must become a priority to request more from these films than simple innovation and sheer beauty.
There are few gorgeous shots in the film but the rest seem shallow and unimaginative, and certain elements don't seem to fit the larger aesthetics of the film; more specifically, the three little boys after the change. It's almost like Pixar, under the helm of Disney, could not remedy the schism between anthropomorphism's and reality, and that's a shame.
Otherwise the film is pretty good. It has it moments of pure joy. Its moments of utter sympathy. And a heart larger than the titular character's entrancing hair.
But again, that cannot be enough.
I guess one could sum the problems as one of formulaic constance, and that is the easy part to fix. The harder part is the seemingly uninventive story arc, but there you can judge for yourself.
It seems like Disney, or Pixar, it really is hard to see whose balls are bigger here, searched hard and in vain for the few Scottish actors that were well known, and although I have adored Kelly McDonald ever since I fell in love with her watching Girl in the Cafe (2005) and Gosford Park (2001), here she gives the character's voice a sense of surrealism. And it might just be that I recognize her distinctive voice, but when I hear the main character, I can't help but see Kelly Macdonald, not the feisty redhead I'm supposed to see.
Wait for it on DVD or Blu-ray, just be warned that some of the emotions elicited might be too strong for some kids. If you insist on watching it on the big-screen, then try to avoid the Sony 4K digital version that I saw, the compression manages to make some of the fast pans too hard to watch or discern.
Otherwise enjoy!
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