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semiotomatics · 3 years

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HOLY SHIT Y’ALL i just watched Soul (finally) and i am shook

uncontrollable sobbing after the cut

just kidding i already spent the past hour and a half sobbing uncontrollably. like. it was so good folks. folks. i am reeling. every aspect of it was perfect.

okay so first of all, going into this movie i had...idk if high hopes is the right word but i was feeling cautiously optimistic. i loved loved loved Inside Out and i was ready and willing to go on another animated metaphysical journey with pete doctor and friends. i had absolutely no idea what to expect (the only info i had about the movie were the trailers and various headlines/review exerpts which were pretty unspoilery on purpose). so after i got about 10 minutes in i was already like *heart eyes* what is happening.

and like. i’m not gonna ~spoil anything about the story itself because i’m solidly of the opinion that experiencing things without preconceived notions/expectations is the best way to experience them but i will say that the story was. beautiful. it was a love letter to life. to living. it didn’t at all go the way i expected (though, again, not many expectations going into it), it went so much better. every single character felt rich and complex and idk any other way to describe it they felt alive. there was so much heart in every frame of this movie, it just sang.

and the frames were good y’all. the frames were so good. every pixar movie i try to figure out what their newest toy/challenge is (based on a quote from ages ago where they explained how every movie presented a new animation challenge to overcome ie. fur, skin, water, particles, lighting, etc) and tbh i’m not sure what it was for this one because it was all a technical masterpiece. especially the scenes on Earth!!! they were so good!!! i was majorly bummed that i wouldn’t be able to watch it on the big screen but i was still blown away by the details even on my piddly little laptop screen.

i was especially impressed with the character designs and details. i know pixar did a ton of research/consulted with bipoc people during the making of this film and so i genuinely hope that the characters were well received (i haven’t read any articles abt the movie yet, i literally just finished watching like 3 minutes ago haha), because they all looked beautiful to me. nobody can ever, ever say that animating diversity is difficult or not necessary. this movie unequivocally proves them wrong. god i am so over movies about white people. i want more of this.

I also loved the style they gave the Real World? like i was so worried they were gonna fall into the hyperrealistic uncanny valley for a bit there (do not ask me about arlo’s kneecaps i’m still recovering) but i feel like with Soul they’ve really landed on this perfect blend of verisimilitude of place and artistic freedom of character. which isn’t to say that the characters didn’t look or feel like real people, because they absolutely did. but they didn’t look like photographs.

finally no review would be complete without at least 500 words spent gushing about the music. holy shit you guys the music. like i wasn’t sure what to expect bc trent reznor (of NIN fame) did the score (with Jon Batiste doing the diagetic jazz compositions) which was different from pixar’s usual style (no michael giacchino, thoman newman, or randy newman this time lol) but can i just say??? it may be my new second favourite score (after WALL-E ofc)??? i desperately tried to find a way to stream it in canada but it seems like no luck so far, which is a travesty cause i need to hear it again. i may even buy it just so i can listen to it. can you imagine, buying music in the year 2020??? anyway yeah the sound was perfect, the score when they were in the Great Before was v otherworldly and kinda haunting almost? perfectly atmospheric. and the music on earth was warm and jazzy (no duh) and so emotive i could cry just thinking abt it. and!!! that’s not even going into the jazz stuff!! i love jazz but i’m not by any means ~knowledgeable abt it so the extent of my thoughts when i heard it was “hell yeah!! that’s awesome!!” which like, yeah, but i’m sure there are people with more nuanced takes than that haha

anyway this is becoming a small novel and i sincerely apologize for that, i’ve just got a couple more things i wanna mention (spoilers ahead!!! read at own risk!!!):

1. was the rat with the pizza slice supposed to be remy/a relative??? pete please tell me the truth i need to know if the rat was remy

2. i was so convinced joe was going to Die by the end and i am so incredibly glad i was wrong like they really said screw the natural order of things!! we choose life!!!

3. the GERRYS. AND TERRY. WERE AMAZING. terry is my new favourite

4. the cat was not cute this is the only downside to the entire film how did they manage to mess up a cat. big hero six did a better cat than them. heckin toy story 4 did a better cat than them, and ts4 is them.

5. during the scene where we meet dorothea while she’s playing her saxaphone you can hear the clicking of the idk keys buttons whatever you call those things and i love it so much, their attention to detail is *chef’s kiss*

6. “why do you sound like a middle aged white lady” “because it’s the most annoying voice” OH MY GOD also tina fey did so good here??? i was kinda put off that they cast her so soon after Inside Out but like, i didn’t get joy vibes from 22 at all haha

7. when i say that i saw joe ranft’s name on the wall of mentor name tags in 22′s room and immediately burst into tears. y’all. i ugly cried.

8. also!!! 22 had a WALL-E cave!!! i so badly want to watch WALL-E rn you have no idea

okay that’s enough of that i think, if you’ve read this far and you DON’T want to watch Soul then i think it’s because you don’t have one (lol geddit). as a final thought can i just say how absolutely inspiring and exciting this new era of Pixar has been?? like Onward didn’t rock me to my core or anything but it was still fantastic in its own way, and TS4 was phenomenal, and even Incredibles 2 completely blew me away with how good it was. I’m not counting Coco in this bc it was still conceived under Lassiter’s leadership (which is NOT a mark against Coco that film is my beautiful baby child and i love it to little pieces). god like when I lay them all out like this Pixar has had hit after hit for a while now. say what you want abt the Cars franchise but even Cars 3 was enjoyable!! (again, do not ask me about The Good Dinosaur i’m just trying to heal and move on). and now we’ve got Luca coming up next year which i already know is going to utterly destroy me!! and Turning Red and the goddamn Buzz Lightyear biopic i still cannot believe they’re making a Buzz Lightyear biopic. this is the second (some would say third, idk) golden age of Pixar folks and I am living!!!!

anyway Soul was amazing and you should watch it, like, now.

#personal spewage #i live a pixar apprecation life #i miss talking about pixar movies!!!#time to go on a binge and rewatch them all lol #this has been an original post #soul (2020)#pixar's soul #idk what the hell to tag this movie as lol #it's 'onward' all over again

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lovelytonys · 5 years

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100 great things about megamind

basically i just watched megamind and wrote down everything that made me go “hey that’s good”

1. The opening monologue slaps I literally do not care about your “cliches” it’s GOOD

2. “8 days old and still living with my parents...pathetic right?”

3. The idea that Megamind is inherently good since his origin story should have been his dad saying he’s destined for “greatness” but the greatness got cut off uwu

4. Literally just the fact that Megamind was about to go to the Rich Nice House and his destiny changed at the last second,,,everything about this movie makes it a cinematic masterpiece

5. “A baby! How thoughtful!” “yes yes I saw it and thought of you”

6. “While they were learning the itsy bitsy spider I was learning how to dehydrate objects and rehydrate them at will”

7. When you hear the Bad to the Bone guitar riff kick in,,,,,,heck yeah babey!!

8. J.K Simmons is here! yeah!

9. Will Ferrell’s voice acting is literally SO darn good like even just from the beginning,,, the funny affectation of whatever kind of accent that is,,,,,the expressiveness of literally everything he says,,,,,I’m not actively a fan of Will Ferrell or anything but he just did a good job ok

10. “His heart is an ocean inside a bigger ocean”

11. Idk why but I just love the phrase “you fantastic fish you”

12. Metro Man is such a fun character. Like. A hero who shouldn’t be a hero, but he just….is one? Someone who’s idol-worshipped and, despite his grandeur, doesn’t exactly deserve it?

13. MEGAMIND’S CHARACTER DESIGN IS LITERALLY SO GOOD like the vivid colors of his skin and eyes? His COSTUME? His hilarious proportions, between the giant head and the skinny & scrawny everything else? Superb, you funky little alien

14. All dialogue between Megamind and Minion is god tier by default

15. The twist on “damsel in distress” where yeah the girl gets kidnapped but she is so not distressed and has the intellectual power in the situation as she roasts Megamind at every turn and he can’t combat anything she says

16. “Oh potato tomato potato tomato”

17. “I’m shaking in my BABY SEAL LEATHER BOOTS”

18. THE ENTIRE EXCHANGE BETWEEN MEGAMIND AND METRO MAN ABOUT JUSTICE AND REVENGE AND THE MICROWAVE OF EVIL AND WARRANTIES

19. “Can someone stamp my frequent kidnapping card” “You of all people know that we discontinued that”

20. The way this movie manages to SO effectively establish character while diving right into the action and keeping with a fun, fast pace? The world & characters are set up incredibly well AND the start of the journey/ “break into the new world” hits at a brisk 20 minutes? Lovely work, Dreamworks

21. When Highway to Hell kicks in with the lasers and Megamind dancing at the police,,,,,this is nothing short of priceless

22. “Imagine the most horrible terrifying evil thing you could possibly think of and multiply it…..BY SIX”

23. When you’re a supervillain who takes over the city and you say “let’s just have fun with this” to the citizens

24. *whispering behind the door* “now slam the door really hard!” *snickering like a 12 year old girl* “move they can still see you”

25. “Did you think this day would come?” “No, no not in a million years, not ever...I mean yes”

26. “That’s called a window, sir. All the kids are looking through them”

27. Crazy Train is SUCH a nice touch, the fade into Alone Again Naturally is great. The use of music in this movie is absolutely A+, MEGAMIND DID IT FIRST AND GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY AIN’T SPECIAL (jk gotg you’re so special ily)

28. The images of Megamind’s destruction & deterioration of the city are so creative and funny

29. *to a desk toy bird* “What’s your vacuum like?”

30. “GOING OFF THE RAILS ON A CRAZY TRAIN SIR”

31. Haven’t yet mentioned how lovely the animation of Megamind’s face is! Every single frame, he’s so expressive

32. Mispronunciation of words like “school”, “Metro City”, and “melancholy”

33. This voice cast in general is so good like it’s not just big names phoning it in for an animated movie, they’re fully into it

34. Real Bernard doesn’t get much screen time but he’s hilarious

35. “Typhoon Cheese”, whatever that was gonna be

36. The juxtaposition in body language & facial expression between Real Bernard and Megamind Bernard,,,,,actually just the way Megamind’s physicality is transferred to the other characters he disguises himself as. Great stuff

37. Megamind’s off-the-walls high energy is so fun and electric

38. “This is a bad idea” “yes, a good idea for the greater good of bad” “maybe it seems good from your bad perception but from a good perception it’s just plain bad” “oh you don’t know what’s good for bad”

39. Ollo? Oh, hello

40. “I’m just yelling at my…..mother’s urn”

41. Megamind and Minion just saying “code” before things that aren’t in code. This movie is so good with its running gags, they don’t feel like “oh haha they used that joke again!” they feel like inside jokes between the characters I love it

42. Megamind fighting himself as Bernard while complimenting himself, COMEDY GOLD

43. The various occurrences of random life-altering things happening on a whim to the wrong people, like Hal getting the superpowers and earlier Metro Man being molded into a hero and Megamind landing in prison as a baby

44. The forget me stick

45. Space Dad and Space Stepmom

46. Every character Megamind inhabits always retains Megamind’s eyes

47. MR BLUE SKY PLAYING OVER HAL’S DISASTROUS TRAINING SEQUENCE AND THE FALLING IN LOVE SEQUENCE THAT INCLUDES DONKEY KONG AND MEGAMIND WEIRDLY TEXTING ON A FLIP PHONE (gotgv2 who? Don’t know her)

48. Roxanne’s positive influence making Megamind genuinely want to make the city better uwu

49. ROXANNE AND METRO MAN WERE NEVER A COUPLE! Lovely trope subversion

50. Tropes in this movie in general are so fun. This isn’t some uninspired genre parody. They don’t just subvert tropes in the exact way that you’d expect. I feel like the way that this movie plays with the superhero genre often feels unique and creative

51. Bernard’s character design kind of slaps tbh. The turtleneck, the hair, the glasses, all very nice

52. When Hal calls Roxanne “a really good looking one I’ve got my eye on” like she’s meat or something as opposed to Megamind valuing her personality…..makes ya think u know

53. T h e b l a c k m a m b a a a a a

54. “Maybe I don’t want to be the bad guy anymore!” and Megamind & Minion’s subsequent falling out that served as a precursor to the disastrous date with Roxanne- it happens pretty much exactly halfway through the movie. Some people look down upon following structure to a T, but sometimes it’s satisfying when a movie perfectly follows structure and this movie’s structure is flawless

55. “Good luck on your date” “I will” “That doesn’t even make any sense” “I know”

56. Right after fighting w Minion when Megamind looks in a cracked mirror and frowns at his reflection but then changes into someone else, into Bernard, and then smiles? THE CINNAMON TOGROPHY, THE STORYTELLING

57. When Hal is just an incel whose feeling of entitlement is framed as disgusting and he’s not supposed to be sympathetic and Roxanne’s rejection of him is not framed as evil but rather completely justified? VERY epic of them, this movie would have SMASHED the pop culture scene if it came out today

58. The GRAVITY of the part when Roxanne accidentally reveals Megamind in the restaurant is so powerful that I can STILL barely watch it even though I’ve seen it so many times

59. The part that immediately follows where Roxanne shuts down Megamind is SO well done. Roxanne is giving out some harsh words to our dear protagonist, but she is not framed as the bad guy. The great thing about this scene is that they let Roxanne call out Megamind on how he’s been a jerk and she gets to be RIGHT. How very cash money of them! The emotion here isn’t anger at Roxanne because she’s ~being mean~ to Megamind. It’s a sting over the fact that she’s right, and the heartbreak over the dramatic irony of us knowing that Megamind is becoming a better person and Roxanne having no idea. Now Megamind is left with a decision that will show who he truly is on the inside: he could either retreat back into safe, evil ways for the rest of time because it’s easier to be bad because then no one expects anything from him and rejection is easier to handle, or he could ultimately choose to grow from this and recognize how he was wrong and how he has to change. The execution of this midpoint is exemplary.

60. “Do you really think I’d ever be with you?” “....no” the delivery of those lines is so good

61. “You were right! I was….less right!”

62. The Black Mamba is a god tier costume and the fact that it has its own theme song in the score makes it at least 6x better

63. WHEN BACK IN BLACK KICKS IN YEAAAHHHH (Iron Man who? Don’t know her) (Iron Man was already out at this point but how fun is it that this movie used TWO iconic mcu songs)

64. Megamind in the giant suit playing with cars

65. Hal SUCKS I love how much the movie wants you to hate him

66. The difference between Megamind and Hal/Titan/Tighten is so interesting to watch. How Megamind is the self-proclaimed “bad guy” but he’s not even out to do serious damage & it’s just a game to him, while Hal is out for blood but was created to be a hero

67. “Now it’s time for witty banter” “AAAAAAAAA” “I’m not really sure where to go with that”

68. “I’M CALLING A TIME OUT”

69. Twisting the Kryptonite trope by having Metro Man make up the copper weakness

70. “Does he have a hideout? A cave? A solitary fortress?” lol I understood that reference

71. “OW! MY GIANT BLUE HEAD!”

72. Metro Man’s confession scene is so good. Really, how often do you get a hero who feels that he was forced into being a hero? That’s usually a villain trope. Does the hero ever realize he doesn’t want to be a hero….and actually quit FOR GOOD? Again, the trope subversion is awesome

73. “I have eyes that can see right through leaaaaaaaad” that’s my favorite song

74. “You left the city to HIM! No offense” “no I’m with you”

75. “There’s a yin for every yang. If there’s bad, good will rise up against it.”

76. “I say we just go all GANGSTA on him” ms tina fey i would die for you

77. Megamind turns himself in to the police, the fact that he willingly submits himself to the punishment of being a villain at this point is a lovely and stirring way of showing the sense of justice he has deep down and showing his character development

78. When Roxanne gives Megamind a desperate & compassionate pep talk over live tv no matter what it means for her reputation :*))

79. When Megamind has 88 life sentences

80. “I. Am. Sorry!” *dramatically slides down door*

81. Megamind’s heartfelt and regretful admission of all his mistakes that brings his character arc to a head? Lovely

82. “Good luck” “WE’RE GONNA D I E! Hahahaha!”

83. “There is no Easter bunny, there is no tooth fairy, and there is no queen of England.”

84. MEGAMIND’S EPIC ENTRANCE BY COMING OUT OF HIS OWN MOUTH

85. “Oh you’re a villain alright. Just not a super one.” “Oh yeah? What’s the difference?”

86. P R E S E N T A T I O N

87. METRO MAN THUNDER CALVES

88. Again with the green eyes continuity! Love that!

89. “Going somewhere? Besides jail?” *flies in a fancy pose*

90. When Megamind is ready to let everyone think Metro Man is back but Roxanne wants to see the real hero :*))

91. “This is the last time you make a fool out of me!” “I made you a hero, you did the fool thing all by yourself” SICK BURN

92. “There’s a benefit to losing. You get to learn from your mistakes”

93. WHEN THE DEHYDRATION GUN COMES IN CLUTCH

94. Minion being a drama queen lol comedy peaked in 2010

95. Minion’s Little Face

96. “GET BACK YOU SAVAGES” “Sorry he’s just not used to positive feedback!”

97. “Destiny is not the path given to us but the path we choose for ourselves”

98. When Megamind gets to parallel Metro Man’s entrance from the beginning of the movie and everyone cheers for him :*)) and he adds his own fun little twist by making a villain joke

99. “Megamind, defender of Metro City” “you know? I like the sound of that!”

100. Name a better villain to hero story. YOU CANNOT. Cinematic excellence. I am never disappointed.

#I DO NOT DESERVE RIGHTS #lovelytonys personal thought

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