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I love fairy tales, which is probably why I still watch Disney movies and cartoons. The imagination and the buildup of it is the ultimate story. You have a beginning with the goal/dream of the character who goes through quite an adventure to get to the end. How can you not love fairy tales?

So here's the tale this movie revolves around:
Long ago humans lived in harmony with water nymphs, the Narfs. As time passed humans on land moved more and more inland breaking ties with the Narfs. Without the communication and guidance from the Narfs, humans on land became increasingly violent and disruptive towards one another. So the Narfs starting sending in their most precious ones to guide them once more. According to the legend, Narfs have the ability to see into the future. Based on that they know who their "Vessel", person they have to meet, is going to be. The Vessel is said to have a major impact on the world, but needs to see the Narf in order to be inspired and directed where he/she needs to go. All the Narf has to do is make sure the Vessel sees her.

Scrunts are animals made of twigs and grass who try to prevent the Narfs from accomplishing their mission. But there is an understand that Scrunts will not attack on the night of the Narf's departure, for fear that they will be punished by the Tartutic's. Sometimes rogue Scrunts will attack regardless of the rules. The Tartutic's are three monkey-like animals that keep justice between them. They are said to be evil.

The entire movie takes place on this story. A Narf, Story, is stranded after completing her mission. A rogue Scrunt has attacked her repeatedly when she tries to leave. And so she seeks the help of the landlord to apartment complex, Cleveland Heep, help her, who researches the story from one of his neighbors, a Korean college student who has a mother who knows all about this bedtime story.

As the movie continues there is more to the story of how to help her get back to the giant eagle, who will help her get back home. Like if she has obstacles there is a select group of humans who can help protect her. A Guardian who can ward off the Scrunts. An Interpreter who can see signs in simple things to guide them. A Healer, to... well heal her.

What I loved was the realistic spin to this fairytale. What I didn't like were the inconsistencies:

1. The fact that the Korean lady knew of this bedtime story and made-up words like "Narf", "Scrunt" and "Tartutic" were somehow translated from Korean to English.
2. Where were the Tartutic's all along? Weren't they supposed to come punish the Scrunt's for attacking her when she tried to leave the first time?
   
3. If she is allowed to have helpers like the Guardian, or the Interpreter, to help her get to the eagle, and they're allowed to see the eagle, then why can't she tell these people she's allowed to see them?
4. I wasn't quite clear on the "ceremony". What was the purpose of the 7 sisters? 5 of them were actual sisters, so where did the Interpreter pick the other 2 from?
5. This is going to sound weird but given the circumstances, I find it hard to believe that everyone would believe such a fairytale is really true. Think about your landlord coming to you and saying "I really found Cinderella, and she needs help finding her glass slipper. Can you help?"

The movie was alright. I'm more impressed with the writing than the writing. If it comes on tv I'll watch it, but it's not something I'll go out of my way to buy and put in my collection.

Yes those are the figures as of right now for the Dark Knight. I did check it out Friday night, waiting an hour before the show started in blistering heat. I was lucky enough to snag tickets before standing in line on Fandango, because it sold out literally 5 minutes after I bought them.

I will probably be outcasted for saying this:

I'm going to start off by saying Heath Ledger was FLAWLESS! I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that it was Heath Ledger behind all the make up and pure insanity. He just really captured the mental disturbance and brilliant mind that is the Joker. The littlest things that were done help the character stand out, like the way his mouth kept twitching and his slight clumsiness when it comes to fighting or his lack of care of whether he comes out dead or alive at the end of it. Whether it was the writer's or the director, or Heath Ledger himself, the entire presentation of the Joker was phenomenal.

As for the rest of the movie... eh. Yes I said it... eh.

For the friends that are dearest to me, they know I have an immense hatred for Katie Holmes, but it kills me to say, she made a better Rachel. *flops over dead* There was just something about Maggie Gyllenhaal that I didn't like on the big screen. She didn't fit in with Christian Bale, and Aaron Eckhart who came out a tiny bit too goody-two-shoes with a hint of the need to be in the spotlight. His dire need to help the poor city of Gotham was annoying.

If it weren't for the Joker, this movie would bomb in my opinion. Whether it was Heath Ledger or the Joker's contribution in the storyline it doesn't matter. They carried the story. You sat in anticipation of the next scene that included the Joker. The rest was just fluff.

At the end I felt like I walked out of a B-rated movie instead of being wowed by all aspects of the film and not just one.

Being a HUGE fan of Wall-E which is still out in the theater's right now, I strongly recommend that you check out this film. Not for the animation factor, which is really not the greatest I've seen, to be honest. It starts out with really great jaw-dropping effects. The opening sequence of the doomed Earth hundreds of years from now with garbage everywhere, and the detailed put into this planet was phenomenal. You'd have to blink and pinch yourself that this is an animated movie. Towards the end, as the humans get involved it just looks like a cartoon. But I'm not questioning the quality. The quality is still better than Dreamworks, but that's just cause my opinion is biased.

Wall-E is the only robot left behind on Earth and he lives his life day to day doing what he was programmed to do: to compact the garbage left behind by the humans into little cubes and build them into these piles as big as the skyscrapers. His only companion is a cockroach. They live collecting random trinkets while taking care of one another. Wall-E's clumsy, awkward and almost childlike naivete help make him relateable and sympathetic to be the ultimate underdog.

I gotta say that I'm surprised Pixar went where it did. They went brutally honest at what may become of the human race. The humans are morbidly obese living in the midst of a heavily commercialized community. Everything is flashing and announcing that you should be eating this or that and no one is talking to one another without the help of something electronic. They all float through the cruise ship on recliners with machines that give them everything they need. It's a scary but convincing rendition of what the future is expected to be.

Wall-E hardly had any dialogue but still carried a strong and very clear message of loneliness, love and the possible future of our planet. I know I know, it's a weird combo, but it works. The two songs used to help mold the story was "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" and "It Only Takes a Moment".

Found this article that shares a small interview with Jerry Herman, who was the award winning composer for "Hello Dolly!".
"My eyes were really wet at both the opening and the closing of the film, and just the wonderful way those songs were used to make him more human," Herman said. "That's really what they did."

You can check out the article as posted by the Associated Press, here.
Another interesting article. This one focuses more on Pixar itself.