4.5 Starfish out of 5

“How to Train Your Dragons” is an epic tale packed with adventure, action, humor, stunning 3D visuals and beautiful music.  I give it 4.5 starfish, it is as good as Up!  It is a film that I think every child and parent will love to experience.  The movie is about friendship, connection, redemption, and the hidden power of “being different.”

2 1/2 Starfish out of 5

This film is BAD! Johnny Depp tried his best, but his character is simply not very well developed. Also, a lot like what Roger Ebert wrote on “The Green Hornet,” there is too much senseless violence that adds little to the plot.

2 1/2 Starfish out of 5

This Disney new 3D animation release opening TODAY (March 11, 2011) is mediocre at best.  The storyline about a young boy who went up to Mars to save his mom who was kidnapped by Martians is weak and not believable.  The character Gribble (stranded boy who grew up to be an adult on Mars) is not credible or well developed.  The visual is not that impressive either.

Guard Dog Global Jam Scene 41 Drawing - by Perry S. Chen (bull thinks of hamburger)

5th-grade award-winning film critic, animator, entertainment personality Perry Chen is the youngest of 75 animators who created “Guard Dog Global Jam,” which will have its Los Angeles Premiere at the New Media Film Festival on May 20, 2011 in Hollywood.  Perry Chen will attend the red carpet premiere and audience Q&A on May 20 as the film opens the festival.  “Guard Dog Global Jam” is based on Bill Plympton’s Oscar-nominated “Guard Dog.” It won “Best Experimental Film” at the ASIFA-EAST Animation Festival in May 2011.  Other animators who plan to attend the May 20 LA premiere include: Grey Wears, Una Marzorati, Jessica Bayliss, Linda Lee, Ansar Sattar & Larry Loc.

4 Starfish out of 5.

Most people know and love Puss in Boots, the charismatic feline companion of Shrek, but who knows his mysterious past? Puss in Boots, a new animation from DreamWorks reveals the thrilling adventures the swashbuckling orange tabby went on before he met the ogre. The film is a clever mash-up of many well-known nursery rhymes and fairy tales such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Mother Goose, and Humpty Dumpty.

4.5 Starfish our of 5

Do you know the name of the world’s most visually stunning book?  It is illuminated, called The Book of Kells.  It was produced in the early 8^th century in Scotland.  The book of Kells went on a long and arduous journey, somehow made its way to Trinity College in Dublin, where it resides today.  The rest in Real history!

The Oscar-nominated animation “The Secret of Kells” is a story about a young orphaned boy Brendan, who lives in the Abby of Kells, under siege of the raiding Vikings.  Brendan’s only family is his strict uncle, the powerful Abbott Cellach of Kells.  Although the Abbott loves his nephew, he doesn’t have the right way.

“The Secret of Kells” is an “illuminating” tale about friendship, wisdom, overcoming fear, and discovering your own creativity.  It has splendid visual, haunting music, and amazing storyline built upon historical facts. 

Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest, an animated short, is about Ms. Ingrid Pitt, a young Jewish girl and Holocaust survivor.  When she was 8 years old, Ms. Pitt miraculously escaped the Stutthof concentration camp with her mother, surviving in the forest until the end of the War.  I have the great honor to be invited by Beyond the Forest director and producer Mr. Kevin Sean Michaels and two-time Academy Award nominee Mr. Bill Plympton to be the sole animator for this film.  We must know our past to move on into the future, so I believe it is necessary and important to educate today’s children about the Holocaust so that similar tragedies will not happen in the future.

Perry Chen at Cars 2 press screening (photo by Zhu Shen).

In this sequel to Cars, after winning the Piston Cup, Lightening McQueen, professional racecar champion, invites his best friend Mater (a rusty tow truck who tries to be funny but ends up looking dumb) to help him in winning the World Grand Prix.  Along the way, Mater gets himself into tons of trouble and makes Lightening McQueen lose his first race.  Lightening McQueen gets into a fight with Mater and tells Mater he is no longer needed.  Mater is on the slow side, and doesn’t realize that he is mistaken for a secret agent by the enemy and the British intelligence.

Paul Fierlinger's My Dog Tulip

Is love a bitch? Apparently so for British author J. R. Ackerley.  He was always looking for an elusive companion to come to his life, yet this companion never materialized … until Tulip, a mischievous female German Shepherd came to his life and became inseparable.  Together, they started many misadventures, including searching for the ideal vet and mate for Tulip, and other ordeals which turned out to be much harder than it seemed.

The year 2010 has been a “Perrific!” year for animation films.  I saw not only impressive major studio releases, but also amazing indie films at film festivals and Landmark theaters.