• Third Chance Saloon? Revisiting Kilkenny’s Oscar-Nominated Animations

    January 26, 2018 - By 

    Among the Irish nominations for the 90th Academy Awards, announced this week, was The Breadwinner, up for Best Animated Feature, from Kilkenny-based animation and design studio Cartoon Saloon. Based on Deborah Ellis’ novel, it follows a girl in late-90s Afghanistan whose father is unjustly arrested by the Taliban authorities, forcing her to pass as a boy in order to support her family. The film, which will receive its Irish premiere at the Dublin Film Festival next month and a wide release later in the Spring, is the company’s highest profile feature yet. In terms of Oscar nods, that makes it three out…

  • The LEGO Ninjago Movie

    October 10, 2017 - By 

    While not quite as surefooted as previous cinematic LEGO outings, this family-friendly romp still offers a colourful dose of inspired lunacy. From the outset, it is important to acknowledge that the Ninjago franchise, albeit hugely popular in its minifigure form, is not as appealing as the Batman universe, yet that in itself liberates the filmmakers to try something a little different. At no point does this addition to the LEGO roster claim to be as subversive or slyly satirical as this year’s hilarious puncturing of the Bruce Wayne mythos nor as a piece of animation does it set out to…

  • My Life As A Courgette

    June 7, 2017 - By 

    Children’s films don’t come much finer than My Life As A Courgette, simply because of how in tune and empathetic debut director Claude Barras and writer Celine Sciamma (Girlhood) are charting the trials and tribulations of being a kid growing up, especially when broken homes and traumatic childhoods are involved. There is a level of intelligence, sensitivity and realism throughout that sets it on a level all of its own, but most of all, it lets the children’s (quite often hilarious) perspective do the talking at all times, making it a true breath of fresh air. Courgette is a young…

  • The Boss Baby

    March 28, 2017 - By 

    It’s a movie about a baby. Who wears a suit. Like a boss does. I’m not sure what else to tell you. Based on the children’s picture-book by Marla Frazee and directed by Madagascar regular Tom McGrath, Dreamworks’ The Boss Baby takes a universal truth about the demanding reality of newborns, and spins it into a whimsical theory about the origins of toddlers and the conflicting demands put on a family’s resources. Voiced by Miles Bakshi (and Tobey Maguire in the adult-looking-back voiceovers), Tim is a 7 year-old enjoying life as the sole recipient of his parents’ time and attention, mom and…