41 reviews
Really Good...Not Great..But Good Enough
If you're a parent checking reviews for "Family Movie Night", and you go in to this with moderate expectations, you're family will be entertained. The animation is on par with Abominable or Madagascar so rest assured it's not a cheaply made production. Harmless plot with no agenda. My 9 year old son loved it and I wasn't glued to my phone out of boredom (my own rating system). If I reach for the phone in the first 10 minutes I'm in for a rough 90 mins of kid, cinema, torture. This one's absolutely good enough for a family movie night. No phone required, so go for it!
- bobbyd61074
- Jul 24, 2020
- Permalink
Family film
REVIEW - ANIMAL CRACKERS
Why do I do it?
I try to keep abreast of the latest movies so I can review them and saw the write up for this so thought I'd give it a try.
Ok I'm not the target audience for this as I'm 51 years old and not 6 but here goes.
Animated film and what attracted me to it was the sheer amount of stars doing the voice over for this include Danny Devito and Sylvester Stalone.
Actually quite good, kept me interested anyway, not really the humour for adults and there isn't really any dual humour, one joke for kids and one for adults that the kids won't understand but enjoyed it none the less.
Interesting story, set in modern times using mobile phones etc. Animation very good and a great way to waste 90 minutes with your kids who will just love this film.
Definitely a family sit around the TV movie.
Rating 7 out of 10
Why do I do it?
I try to keep abreast of the latest movies so I can review them and saw the write up for this so thought I'd give it a try.
Ok I'm not the target audience for this as I'm 51 years old and not 6 but here goes.
Animated film and what attracted me to it was the sheer amount of stars doing the voice over for this include Danny Devito and Sylvester Stalone.
Actually quite good, kept me interested anyway, not really the humour for adults and there isn't really any dual humour, one joke for kids and one for adults that the kids won't understand but enjoyed it none the less.
Interesting story, set in modern times using mobile phones etc. Animation very good and a great way to waste 90 minutes with your kids who will just love this film.
Definitely a family sit around the TV movie.
Rating 7 out of 10
- markthomassintek
- Jul 30, 2020
- Permalink
Very cute movie
This is an enjoyable film. Viewers shouldn't go into this expecting Pixar, nor a lot of humor. This is a cute and fun story, albeit a somewhat cookie-cutter plot line. The performances are good, the overall story line holds together, and it offers a decent ending. It never came across as boring or juvenile (a flaw of many poor animations). It should prove entertaining for children and adults alike. I especially enjoyed the husband-wife relationship of the two main characters; they were well-developed and well-portrayed. A bit of cliche here, but fun cliche. Well worth watching.
"Good Things Come in Small Crackers"
Really good watch, would watch again, and can recommend: probably better for younger audiences.
This is a very good example of a family movie that tries to be for the entire family without being too obvious about it. It takes the serious bits and makes them palatable for a younger audience, and takes the magical bits and makes them more complex for older audiences.
The voice casting was excellent, they managed to stack the cast with celebrity voice actors (normally a death sentence as they don't all play well together) without me noticing, which is a sign of a good voice actor: that they feel natural in the character.
The writing actually seemed to be pretty decent, if formulaic, but I would have preferred a different antagonist scenario. The movie is all about family, born or chosen, and how great it is to be together, but both Mr. Woodley and Horatio embody the opposite of that so while it makes sense from a literary standpoint, it didn't feel intuitive for this movie. A scenario where it is all about working together to overcome someone / something (like a chief investor in the circus or a rival circus) would have been preferable, but both story lines were resolved in the expected manner.
This isn't going to be a deep movie, but it was certainly fun to (mostly) turn my brain of for a bit and enjoy it.
This is a very good example of a family movie that tries to be for the entire family without being too obvious about it. It takes the serious bits and makes them palatable for a younger audience, and takes the magical bits and makes them more complex for older audiences.
The voice casting was excellent, they managed to stack the cast with celebrity voice actors (normally a death sentence as they don't all play well together) without me noticing, which is a sign of a good voice actor: that they feel natural in the character.
The writing actually seemed to be pretty decent, if formulaic, but I would have preferred a different antagonist scenario. The movie is all about family, born or chosen, and how great it is to be together, but both Mr. Woodley and Horatio embody the opposite of that so while it makes sense from a literary standpoint, it didn't feel intuitive for this movie. A scenario where it is all about working together to overcome someone / something (like a chief investor in the circus or a rival circus) would have been preferable, but both story lines were resolved in the expected manner.
This isn't going to be a deep movie, but it was certainly fun to (mostly) turn my brain of for a bit and enjoy it.
I must be an easy date
Because I thoroughly enjoyed this new-old film despite, or in spite of, my advanced age of 51. Great, strong actors and a family dynamic with much heart and love. The dialogue is smart and doesn't condescend to the audience. Sure, the plot could be seem as stale as those cookies, but the fun animation, exuberance of the actors, and exciting action make an oft-used plot feel new.
Finally, there is no moralizing about a topic du jour, unless, maybe, one thinks an unbreakable familial bond is preaching.
- davidadams-04768
- Jul 24, 2020
- Permalink
While not without it's problematic storyline, Animal Crackers provides enough heart and humor for decent entertainment
- gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297
- Jul 29, 2020
- Permalink
Circus
Good voice actors, decent animation but terrible movie with stupid random things happening all at once.
- MB-reviewer185
- Aug 1, 2020
- Permalink
Longish and cluttered, but fun
average and many questions
Oh, What a Circus!
GRADE: B-
THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: Fine animation is once again upstaged by a weak unfocused book.
JIM'S REVIEW: Animal Crackers, an independent animated feature by Scott Sava has been languishing on the shelves for a number of years and has slowly resurfaced with the help of Netflix and some courtroom action. But it is the Shakespearian plotting behind-the-scenes narrative that is a more interesting story than the actual plot of the movie. Set to be released in 2017, the film was plagued with financial difficulties and political intrigue after it was bought by Weinstein Studios and resold to Chinese businessmen who interfered with the filmmaker's initial vision. Court fights and personal debt plagued the animator until recently when a certain streaming service became his lifesaver.
The film itself is a mix of creative ideas, some very well done, others unfulfilled. Based on Mr. Sava's graphic novel and inspired by those edible childhood favorite cookies, the meandering and far too convoluted scenario begins its tale with a flashback involving two brothers named Horatio and Bob Huntington who own a circus. Their eventual falling-out over a gypsy girl, Talia, leads to tragic results, which brings us to the main storyline about their nephew and present-day circus owner, Owen, his wife, Zoe, and their possession of a magical box of animal treats.
Directed by Mr. Sava and Tony Bancroft who show off enough craftsmanship from their animation department, the film follows the fate of many animated features suffering from a story that is sub-par to the visuals. A visual delight throughout, the film is undernourished by its aforementioned rambling script, written by Dean Lorey and Mr. Sava. Their plot becomes such a jumble of unprocessed notions, although I am not sure where the blame goes due to the real-life background behaviors and the mishandling of the film. Nevertheless, the well-rendered animation itself is definitely worth viewing.
The major snag with the film is its scattershot screenplay. The first half hour is merely story exposition and character development before it even kicks into the plot mechanics about the box of magical animal crackers. Then the customary action and chase sequences follow with an overabundance of snappy tune montages that do little to advance the story, except to wow you with its wonderful computer-generated visuals. Yes, there is much too see, yet too little to ponder.
But behold the film's animation skills! They may be on overdrive, with rarely a quiet moment and desperate to impress the shortest of attention spans from the youngest of moviegoers. Still, the overall look of the film is superb, for viewers of any age, with its vivid primary color palette, stylized backgrounds, and the filmmaker's obsession to the simplest details. Character design is inventive and each exaggerated figure expresses its own unique personality and sense of wonder.
And what a cast they have assembled! Voiceovers are provided by a high pedigree of skilled actors: Married couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt as Owen and Zoe, Sir Ian McKellan and Gilbert Gottfried are the antagonists, with fine supporting work by Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone, Raven-Symoné, Patrick Warburton, and Harvey Fierstein. All bring their A-game to the project.
Bear McCleary's lively score includes original songs by the likes of Michael Bublé, Huey Lewis and the News, Howard Jones, and Toad the Wet Sprocket, most of which are forgettable ditties. One can see the care and lavishness doted on this personal project by so many talented people,especially noticeable is Mr. Cava's earnest passion to his "pet" project (pun intended)
Despite all the love and heartache given to this independent project and some wonderful style and flair, the end result is ultimately lacking focus. Animal Crackers has just too many half-baked ideas to become the proper cinematic sustenance it wants to be. Still one hopes Mr. Cava has better luck on his deservingly future projects.
THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: Fine animation is once again upstaged by a weak unfocused book.
JIM'S REVIEW: Animal Crackers, an independent animated feature by Scott Sava has been languishing on the shelves for a number of years and has slowly resurfaced with the help of Netflix and some courtroom action. But it is the Shakespearian plotting behind-the-scenes narrative that is a more interesting story than the actual plot of the movie. Set to be released in 2017, the film was plagued with financial difficulties and political intrigue after it was bought by Weinstein Studios and resold to Chinese businessmen who interfered with the filmmaker's initial vision. Court fights and personal debt plagued the animator until recently when a certain streaming service became his lifesaver.
The film itself is a mix of creative ideas, some very well done, others unfulfilled. Based on Mr. Sava's graphic novel and inspired by those edible childhood favorite cookies, the meandering and far too convoluted scenario begins its tale with a flashback involving two brothers named Horatio and Bob Huntington who own a circus. Their eventual falling-out over a gypsy girl, Talia, leads to tragic results, which brings us to the main storyline about their nephew and present-day circus owner, Owen, his wife, Zoe, and their possession of a magical box of animal treats.
Directed by Mr. Sava and Tony Bancroft who show off enough craftsmanship from their animation department, the film follows the fate of many animated features suffering from a story that is sub-par to the visuals. A visual delight throughout, the film is undernourished by its aforementioned rambling script, written by Dean Lorey and Mr. Sava. Their plot becomes such a jumble of unprocessed notions, although I am not sure where the blame goes due to the real-life background behaviors and the mishandling of the film. Nevertheless, the well-rendered animation itself is definitely worth viewing.
The major snag with the film is its scattershot screenplay. The first half hour is merely story exposition and character development before it even kicks into the plot mechanics about the box of magical animal crackers. Then the customary action and chase sequences follow with an overabundance of snappy tune montages that do little to advance the story, except to wow you with its wonderful computer-generated visuals. Yes, there is much too see, yet too little to ponder.
But behold the film's animation skills! They may be on overdrive, with rarely a quiet moment and desperate to impress the shortest of attention spans from the youngest of moviegoers. Still, the overall look of the film is superb, for viewers of any age, with its vivid primary color palette, stylized backgrounds, and the filmmaker's obsession to the simplest details. Character design is inventive and each exaggerated figure expresses its own unique personality and sense of wonder.
And what a cast they have assembled! Voiceovers are provided by a high pedigree of skilled actors: Married couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt as Owen and Zoe, Sir Ian McKellan and Gilbert Gottfried are the antagonists, with fine supporting work by Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone, Raven-Symoné, Patrick Warburton, and Harvey Fierstein. All bring their A-game to the project.
Bear McCleary's lively score includes original songs by the likes of Michael Bublé, Huey Lewis and the News, Howard Jones, and Toad the Wet Sprocket, most of which are forgettable ditties. One can see the care and lavishness doted on this personal project by so many talented people,especially noticeable is Mr. Cava's earnest passion to his "pet" project (pun intended)
Despite all the love and heartache given to this independent project and some wonderful style and flair, the end result is ultimately lacking focus. Animal Crackers has just too many half-baked ideas to become the proper cinematic sustenance it wants to be. Still one hopes Mr. Cava has better luck on his deservingly future projects.
- jadepietro
- Jul 26, 2020
- Permalink
Pretty much explains why this movie spent three years stuck in distribution hell
'Animal Crackers' is an animation movie with a complete mediocre story line and boring characters design. Pretty much explains why this John Krasinski and Emily Blunt vehicle spent three years stuck in distribution hell.
- Sir_AmirSyarif
- Jul 30, 2020
- Permalink
Where did THIS lucky find come from??
I dug this up a little while back and now that I heard the great news that Netflix is adding it this month, I figured I'd leave my review.
Despite its obscure release and generally insignificant existence, this movie was particularly impressive. The voice cast was perfect, animation nicely fluid and colorful with an entertaining story. Of course, there were the couple random scenes where you felt, 'What are they thinking?' Or 'Why didn't they just do this?'
But all in all, it was a delightfully amusing film that I enjoyed watching (along with my nephews/niece ranging from 12 to 5 yrs). They thought the hamster bit was hilarious!
Slightly messy film is saved by its humor, heart, and passion.
Animal Crackers was a rather pleasant surprise. Despite being based on Animal Cracker cookies of all things, the movie managed to exceed my expectations with its creativity, humor, style, and voice acting. The movie follows Owen and Zoe Huntington who, along with their daughter, inherit not only Owen's uncle's Circus, but also a box of Animal Crackers that allows who ever eats them to take the form of that animal. But that's an EXTREMELY paired down synopses because there's also a long standing feud with Owen's still living uncle Horatio, animosity between Owen and his father in law, a subplot involving a dog biscuit flavor like people food, and a few other speed bumps along the way. However, while the story can sometimes feel overcluttered with too many moving parts, it does make up for it with its creativity and economically delivered style. This is not a Pixar or Dreamworks movie so it's best to set your expectations before hand. With that said, despite this being an independently produced animated film it still looks vibrant with lots of details including a very well staged scene set to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now that's filled with creative transitions, smooth animation, and vibrant colors. The movies third act falls apart at the end especially since the antagonists does an abrupt turn and changes character from an egotistical jerk to a power mad villain bent on world domination(yes, seriously), but even despite its faults I do recommend it because it is well made, the performances are well delivered with good chemistry between the actors and you can certainly do worse in terms of family films. So marginal recommendation.
- IonicBreezeMachine
- Jul 24, 2020
- Permalink
Animation and voice acting is great
And that's about it.
The art looks like a mass produced TV show for kids, and the design on most of the characters are boring and generic. The story is all over the place with a main plot that's super easy to predict.
I'm not great at guessing plots, and I guessed the ending within the first 10 minutes.
Boring subplots and cheap art, the movie is saved by the voice acting and the animation work, and if you have kids to love the cirkus and you are already paying for Netflix, then give it a watch
The art looks like a mass produced TV show for kids, and the design on most of the characters are boring and generic. The story is all over the place with a main plot that's super easy to predict.
I'm not great at guessing plots, and I guessed the ending within the first 10 minutes.
Boring subplots and cheap art, the movie is saved by the voice acting and the animation work, and if you have kids to love the cirkus and you are already paying for Netflix, then give it a watch
- crazyburn87
- Jul 23, 2020
- Permalink
Cracker of a movie
I hope this doesn't mean anything else to some than I intended it to mean. Just a bit of fun. And this is family fun - I'm a bit surprised I found it on Netflix, without knowing too much about it. Yes it isn't Pixar, but that doesn't make this less of a movie. This is more than decent and fun. So many strange and ridiculous ideas - I loved it.
And then you add the voice cast, which is also phenomenal ... again quite surprised this wasn't on my radar before. But never mind that, it probably wasn't on yours either. But now that it is, if you want to have a good time with some animated fun for the whole family - enjoy this weird little movie. With "magic", heroes and villains
And then you add the voice cast, which is also phenomenal ... again quite surprised this wasn't on my radar before. But never mind that, it probably wasn't on yours either. But now that it is, if you want to have a good time with some animated fun for the whole family - enjoy this weird little movie. With "magic", heroes and villains
I liked it a lot
Great actors and great work, but very confusing.
- psychowitch87
- Mar 5, 2021
- Permalink
It's complicated...
The story in the first half was a bit complicated for my 5 year old twins; this made them lose interest soon and didn't care for the best 2nd-half.
- beatmaster23
- Aug 1, 2020
- Permalink
Very flat, bland, boring and unoriginal
Only thing this film had going for it is the idea of humans eating animal crackers to become animals. That idea is awesome, not to mention a handful of jokes here and there that let out a chuckle, the animation is also solid in most spots for the most part. The voice acting is solid. My issue is the overlapping plot points, inconsistent story, very bland unoriginal script and dialogue between characters with almost little to zero development. Very all around the mill Below average animated film. Not that bad, but certainly not good.
- hotrobinproductions
- Aug 1, 2020
- Permalink
For very young children
This is for very young children. It has a very colourful palette. The characters are dichotomously good or evil. There is but much for adults, possibly except the star studded voice cast.
Fun and Enjoyable
The idea of this movie is afun concept and it was an entertaining watch. 1/2 on story and 1/1 on plot setting. The animation style and dialogue choices and character build up was good enough 2.5/4. Personally I will give this movie 1.5/2
- leonshikto
- Mar 18, 2021
- Permalink
Disappointing on many levels
It is surprising that this movie got made and that such talent decided to support it. The plot and timeline are convoluted and contrived. The usual fare of pratfalls and visual humor were lame. Most concerning was the portrayal of women. The love interest is repeatedly claimed as "mine" by the villain. In many scenes, the women are unnecessarily scantily clad and frequently objectified. There was nothing new here- typical circus jokes, lame plot, and problematic stereotypes typical of a movie that is 50 years older than this. After 20 or 30 minutes that offered only cringes and no smiles, we had to find something else.
Such Delightful, Imaginative Fun!
This movie start to finish is just the most imaginative fun. Scott Christian Sava's creation of animal crackers is the most fun I have seen in a long time. I loved every minute of this movie. I don't want to give away spoilers, but magic, magic, oh my fun magic
This is the circus that every child dreamed of and almost tantalizingly got, but never quite as brilliantly as this movie. From the opening with Horatio we see the difference between good and evil. Or in this case cruelty vs gentle loving kindness!
And that is the extent of my spoilers you will get! Watch Animal Crackers today and enjoy the imaginative ride it will take you on. The voice actors were brilliantly cast. Some of my favorites too. Patrick Warburton, Danny DeVito, Ian MacKlellan (sp?) and so many more! Honestly, what are you waiting for! Go... Go.... watch it now!
This is the circus that every child dreamed of and almost tantalizingly got, but never quite as brilliantly as this movie. From the opening with Horatio we see the difference between good and evil. Or in this case cruelty vs gentle loving kindness!
And that is the extent of my spoilers you will get! Watch Animal Crackers today and enjoy the imaginative ride it will take you on. The voice actors were brilliantly cast. Some of my favorites too. Patrick Warburton, Danny DeVito, Ian MacKlellan (sp?) and so many more! Honestly, what are you waiting for! Go... Go.... watch it now!
- mrsdicktracy
- Feb 8, 2021
- Permalink
Circus Charlie
- raben-81146
- Jun 3, 2023
- Permalink
Not appropriate for kids
Despite your initial reaction that this will be a fun family movie, it seriously disappoints. Laced with inappropriate tones, this movie is simply not appropriate for young children, and has no real entertainment value for anyone.
Save yourself the headache of turning it off after 20 min and choose something else for family move night.
Save yourself the headache of turning it off after 20 min and choose something else for family move night.