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Leonard Maltin
book review — 3 Significant New Film Books
- By Leonard Maltin
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- March 1, 2010 4:10 AM
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- 1 Comment
GEORGE LUCAS’S BLOCKBUSTING(George Lucas Books/It Books) Edited by Alex Ben Block and Lucy Autrey Wilson, with a Foreword by Francis Ford Coppola
This ambitious, indeed sprawling, 945-page volume sets out to trace the history of American film, decade-by-decade. While it ostensibly focuses on 300 so-called blockbuster hits, its chapter-opening essays, sidebar notes and statistics provide an informed and impressive overview of changing trends in moviemaking—and moviegoing—throughout the 20th century and into the dawn of the 21st. While at first glance it appears that the book’s emphasis is on the business end of movies (providing revealing, inflation-adjusted statistics on admission prices, star and director salaries, production costs and box-office figures) it also devotes considerable space to artistic advances and milestones. The silent era is especially well served by contributions by such historians as Robert Birchard and David Kiehn.
Wallace and Gromit, Jessica Rabbit and other uniquely entertaining gift ideas
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 14, 2009 4:29 AM
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- 0 Comments
If you’re thinking about gifts for the holidays, I’d like to mention a few presents I’ve bought myself lately. (I’ll be posting my annual movie book roundup within the week.) First, if you haven’t seen the latest confection from animator Nick Park, you owe it to yourself and your family to purchase a DVD of Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death. After twenty years these wry characters have lost none of their appeal, and Park remains a consummate filmmaker as he devises new adventures for the uniquely British duo. Once you’ve enjoyed their latest half-hour film, which originally aired on...
UP
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 9, 2009 2:18 AM
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- 0 Comments
The late, great Disney artist and story man Joe Grant—who remained a potent creative force until the day he died at age 96—had a mantra about the movies he worked on: “What are you giving the audience to take home?” Far too many contemporary cartoon features are like fast food, easily...
Ponyo
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 8, 2009 10:43 AM
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- 0 Comments
The animated films of Hayao Miyazaki are strikingly designed and animated, emotionally engaging, and utterly unpredictable. Ponyo is a children’s fable that leaves most American cartoon features at the starting gate: no formula storytelling here, no wisecracking dialogue. Ponyo is a fish who longs to be human and manages to insinuate herself into the lives of...
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 8, 2009 9:52 AM
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- 0 Comments
I used to look forward to every new animated feature; now I take them on a case-by-case basis, and to be honest, I dread having to sit through some of them. So it’s with a great sense of relief—and delight—that I offer an enthusiastic review of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Based on the 1978 children’s book by Judi Barrett (illustrated by Ron Barrett), this lively (some would say...
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol: The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 8, 2009 3:57 AM
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- 0 Comments
Author: Darrell Van Citters
If you grew up watching the annual network broadcast of this celebrated hour-long animated holiday special, Darrell van Citters’ loving and comprehensive book will bring back happy memories. The author is an animator whose credits range from Who Framed Roger Rabbit to a...
Iwao Takamoto: My Life With A Thousand Characters
- By Leonard Maltin
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- December 2, 2009 1:20 AM
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- 1 Comment
by Iwao Takamoto with Michael Mallory; Foreword by Willie Ito
Mention the name of Iwao Takamoto to anyone who’s worked in the animation business over the past fifty years and you’re bound to get a smile and a story. Although he spent several decades at Hanna-Barbera as their chief character and production designer he started his career as a teenager at the Walt Disney...
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