![]() In Luck, those nods only feel like a halfhearted way to capture the magic of both Ghibli and Pixar.ĭavid Ehrlich of Indiewire also drew comparisons to Ghibli and Pixar and felt that Luck came up short: The funny thing is, Pixar has taken elements from Ghibli films before (Lasseter is a known fan of the Japanese animation studio), but recycled them in exciting and interesting ways – the Spirited Away influences in Coco and the ecstatic flight scene in Toy Story being just a couple. It doesn’t help that its story and even some of its imagery is plainly inspired by Ghibli’s The Cat Returns, a 2002 fantasy film directed by Hiroyuki Morita that followed a teenage girl who finds herself invited to the fantastical land of cats. The gentle whimsy and imaginative world of Ghibli is there, as is the Pixar tendency to cleverly turn high-concept ideas into mundane bureaucratic structures. But apart from some genuinely stunning visuals (the design of the Land of Luck in particular is a beautiful piece of retrofuturism with a fantasy twist), Luck can’t help but feeling like a Ghibli film processed through a Pixar formula. Luck might be a fun time if it weren’t so clearly reminiscent of other, better movies. Hoai-Tran Bui of Slashfilm placed the film against Ghibli and Pixar projects and was unimpressed: (In my very unscientific study of two children, the movie kind of lost them at the midway point.) But at 106 minutes, the movie’s length and intricate plot will probably leave most kids slightly bored. Maybe they will be distracted by the sparkly crystals and funny unicorns. ![]() ![]() I suspect the movie’s target audience won’t have the patience for it. The plot of Luck is far too dense and convoluted. Sparklingly directed by Peggy Holmes, a Lasseter protégée who served her time on two straight-to-video Tinker Bells, Luck contains all the warmth and ingenuity that was nowhere to be found in Pixar’s own recent Lightyear, and has the attitude – if not always the supreme clarity and craftsmanship – of his old studio’s vintage productions.Īmy Amatangelo at Paste, however, was less impressed: Here’s what the critics are saying:Ĭarlos Aguilar gave a fairly favorable review for The Wrap:Īlthough Luck can’t reach the sophistication level of the best Pixar features, it stands as a far more accomplished effort from a technical standpoint and in the resonance of its story than the dime-a-dozen, talking-animal cash cows infested with vapid pop-culture references that have become the new standard in Hollywood animated releases.Ĭhief critic at The Telegraph, Robbie Collins, says the film hits where it counts: To put it in measurable terms, early scores ahead of the film’s release include a 47% mark on Rotten Tomatoes and a 50 on Metacritic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |