There are many different ways to tell a story. Novels, songs, plays, movies: they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Why one storyteller chooses their particular medium is always an interesting question to ask, to see what it is about the form that lends itself to the story in question. Given all of the other possible ways to tell a story, why anyone would choose animation, the most difficult, tedious, time-consuming subset of film, is a mystery in and of itself. It’s Such a Beautiful Day is the answer to that question. Continue reading It’s Such a Beautiful Day: An Artist at Work →

There’s an inherent fairy-tale quality to animated films. They build worlds that are similar to our own, but a step removed. Physical traits appear exaggerated, colors shine with distinctive brightness, and characters challenge and stretch bounds of reality. Perhaps this is why the medium is so often used to tell children’s stories: animated movies create a unique world where anything is possible. Continue reading Big Hero 6: A Child-Sized Step Forward →

Birdman is an artistic, intellectual film that does no artistic or intellectual work. It’s an outline, a sketch, a suggestion of an idea, and that idea isn’t even original. Continue reading Birdman Falls Flat →

If you overheard a conversation in my family, you might think that we hate each other. Teasing, mockery, and insults abound when we reunite. We rehash embarrassing old stories, deriving pleasure from one another’s mistakes. But we don’t hate each other, I swear—we’re drawn together by this shared sense of humor. It defines us not individually, but together. Comedy makes my family mine, and that sense of humor I bring with me everywhere always ties me back to the home I grew up in. Unlike many comedies, whose only purpose seems to be making the audience laugh, The Skeleton Twins taps into the complex, human side of comedy. Continue reading The Skeleton Twins: A Comedy of Purpose →