Legend of the Guardians.  (C) 2010 GOG PRODUCTIONS PTY LTD. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Picture.

You’ve probably heard about the Uncanny Valley: not a geographical location, but the precipitous drop in peoples’ comfort level when they come across something that’s almost human… but not quite (like the replicants in Zemeckis’ mocap movies). Well, in Zack Snyder’s Legend of the Guardians you’ve got owls – dozens and hundreds of owls who look almost like real life owls… but not quite. It’s that quest for the absolutely perfect replication of wind rippling the tiniest hairs in their feathers or the way light glints and reflects off their wide eyes: Guardians achieves it – at the expense of the audience they’ve just tossed into the Valley.

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios / Studio Ghibli.

Fathers and sons – both onscreen and off – figure in Studio Ghibli’s Tales from Earthsea.  Onscreen, a teenage prince kills his royal dad and makes off with the man’s sword; offscreen, Goro Miyazaki, the son of Japan’s best-known animation director takes over a project his dad initiated but never found the time to direct. Wish fulfillment or mere coincidence? Does a sword equal a man’s career? You be the judge…

I really wish I could’ve, I wanted to like The Sorcerer's Apprentice more, but the movie tries way too hard, hitting you over the head with its fantasy premise instead of slowly drawing you in. It’s obvious Cage is having fun as Blake (although it turns out his ‘just a little’ gesture that cracked me up in the trailer when Dave wonders if he’s crazy was already used by Futurama’s Professor Farnsworth) and Baruchel’s unique voice and just-below average guy looks make him an interesting and appealing contrast to the usual Michael Cera/Shia LaBoeuf earnest young protagonist.

When it comes to animated features, Universal’s taken a different path than Disney or DreamWorks. Rather than produce animation in-house, the studio’s made the wise decision (for them at least) of acquiring or financing animated features from independent studios – no overhead, low risk. While The Tale of Desperaux was a mixed bag (let’s be honest, it was a bit of a mess – who the hell was that vegetable man, for one?), Despicable Me is a neat and snazzy treat. This time Universal has a definite contender for a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination. (I think we all should just agree right now that Pixar will win again for Toy Story 3 and instead handicap which films will snag the other four slots.)

Toy Story 3. © Disney/Pixar.

To quote a line from Toy Story 2’s ad campaign, the toys are back in town, and to paraphrase one from What’s New Pussycat, together again for the last time. And it looks like the real deal too: Pixar is bidding farewell to Woody and his pals. Frankly, I wish all my goodbyes were this sweet.

3D Filmgoers at the Be Film Festival

It may not get a fraction of the publicity showered on the high-profile Tribeca Film Festival, but in its seventh year the Be Film Festival has made a name for itself nonetheless. As so often happens when creative folks get together, Be Film is one of those things that spontaneously gives birth to itself and then grows and grows…

Bugs Bunny & Daffy - The Looney Tunes Show

A free breakfast buffet (lox wrapped around a pretzel – whose idea was that?), a 2-gig flash drive and a flashy live/multi-media stage show: not bad for an April Wednesday morning in New York City: it’s your typical ‘up front’ presentation, wherein the networks showcase their new shows in full razzly-dazzly mode – and on this particular morning Cartoon Network has plenty to razzle-dazzle.

Ralph Bakshi

Cartoon rebel Ralph Bakshi was the guest of honor at Soho’s Animazing Gallery for the opening of “The Works” – not the creations of his decades in animation, but the collage paintings he’s dedicated himself to since turning his back on his former medium.

After the emotional depth of Kung Fu Panda, the lazy humor of Monsters vs. Aliens was a major disappointment, and as a result I wasn’t holding out much hope for DreamWorks’ new How to Train Your Dragon. Guess what? I was wrong.

New York’s Society of Illustrators has great shows focusing on great artists and genres – all of which I read about but never get around to seeing; dammit Joe, get thee ass to East 63^rd Street just off Lex and check the place out. (www.societyillustrators.org)

What finally lured me through the doors of the Society’s classy little townhouse: their March 10^th show of animated commercials and music videos. Can I say ‘cutting-edge,’ or has that cliché passed its sell-through date? I’ll say it anyway; the stuff screened had a very high “wow, that was amazing” quotient.