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The Princess and the Goblin (1991)
Really rough in all aspects
Going through everything wrong with this animated movie would take more than a short review, so I'll keep this to a few points.
Most distractingly, the animation is really strange - characters twist and warp as they make even the slightest movements. Nobody's hair never seems to stay still, and distractingly flies all over the screen. Just bizarre emphasis on every tiny action - it seems like a lot more could've been done with the animation budget, instead of using all those frames on the weird, undulating movements. It really reminds me of the Zelda CD-I games' animation, and needless to say, this pulled me out of the movie.
The villains are the least menacing I've ever seen in a children's film, and this removes all tension or interest to what the protagonists are even fighting for. The goblins are goofy and incompetent right from the getgo, so it feels like there's no reason for the kids to fear them. Not only this, but there's some weird homophobia / transphobia going on, with the hideous Goblin Queen with a male voice actor and the other goblin villain with a pronounced lisp and flamboyant gestures. Yuck.
I generally don't expect much from children's fairytale animation, but this was still glaringly awful in comparison to other, similar fare.
Säilöttyjä unelmia (2012)
Manipulative
My main complaint about this film is that it's emotionally manipulative. It features overuse of melodramatic music, and this frankly comes off as disrespectful to the interview subjects, framing their lives as an epic tragedy when many of them don't seem to see it that way. Conversely, there's the overuse of optimistic classical music when showing something the filmmaker views as a positive, like tomato or wheat farmers. Overall the film feels really hamfisted as a result. It's a a shame, because there's some awesome documentary footage here. The "beef" segment is surprisingly the best executed and least sensationalized.
Nova Seed (2016)
Light on story, but makes up for it in spectacle
This film isn't about the story. As another reviewer said, this film is all about creating a feeling, an atmosphere. Often feeling like a 1980s Saturday morning fever dream, Nova Seed doesn't really waste time on plot exposition or give you much context about the world it's set in, but instead thrusts you straight into it and allows you to draw your own conclusions. The film is littered with trope-y sci-fi elements, like a crazed mad scientist building a perfect life form, giant bio-mech warriors, hybrid creatures, and impractical spaceship designs. This is great in my book. The animation is delightfully wonky and really feels like the labour of love that it is. Highly recommended, but don't expect a groundbreaking, original story.
Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty (2019)
Weak visual design and out of touch humour
This show really feels like it was written by adults who were so sure they understand what kids like, and were basing it on old trends popular years ago like "lol so random" humour, obsessions with bacon, sparklecats/dogs, and ultra-detailed grotesque closeups straight from Spongebob. It feels like a reject cartoon from the mid 00s. The animation is really painful to look at; weird tweening, characters that are rendered in a totally different style than the backgrounds, and the colour palettes always clash. Ultimately feels really rushed and like an insincere cash grab.