Over the Hedge

Dreamworks brings to us another great 3D animated film (in my opinion). I just couldn't get over it even if years had passed since my last time watching it. The plot is still clear in my mind though.

RJ is a raccoon who owed a big bad bear all his junk food, blue cooler, and red wagon. In order to repay him  he has to steal the same stuff from humans. But he couldn't do it alone, especially with all those animal traps around the house of a paranoid, and obviously, furry-unfriendly woman, and an additional exterminator. So he sort of lied to a group of innocent and hungry woodland animals who lived over the hedge, in the middle of a suburban subdivision, to help him get them all the food they can eat. All RJ's life, he lived and scavenged for himself, and along the way while he was with these animals, he realized how good it felt to live and survive with a family. Vern (the turtle and leader of the hedge animals) too learned how to try taking a risk and getting out of his shell.

Er...not that "out of the shell".

Let's Play! RPG Metanoia

Meet the Philippines' first ever full-length 3D animated film. 

The RPG Metanoia 3D movie story revolves around an avid online game named Nico who as an eleven year old boy lives a normal child's life. But when he is playing the MMORPG (Massively Multi-players Online Role Playing Game) called Metanoia, he is an unpredictable vagabond armed with a magic yoyo and with uncanny speed and agility in his skill set.

Nico got low self-esteem and is only getting his guts from playing Metanoia. That is why when he and his friends were faced with an adversity from local boys, he felt his world shatter. But they found a saving grace from a new friend which inspired them to continue their online endeavor. 

However, the Metanoia network was infected with a virus affecting the whole internet, most computers and the minds of gamers all over the world. It's up to Nico, his friends and the other remaining Metanoia players to stop the virus from taking control of the online and offline world. But to do that, Nico must muster his courage, and discover the true hero he really is.

Source: http://www.movienews.me/2010/07/rpg-metanoia-3d-movie-trailer-plot.html

I actually really liked it. I've no problems with online gaming but too much can be really bad for young children like Nico. So when his computer got broken, it was fun to watch him try playing games outside that children used to play a while back then when gadgets rarely existed. This film is not discouraging children to play online games and even games played in the streets at all. In fact, it encourages friendship, family, and to make the most out of childhood. I liked the Metanoia universe, the animation was good and the kids' powers in the game were fun and interesting. The story though, where an online universe is being attacked or hacked, is pretty common. It's quite a bit similar with the Digimon Movie and Sword Art Online anime series. But I still applaud the animation and am very proud for the Filipinos' talent to pull off this entire film.

Arrietty: The Small Borrower with a Big Heart

Based on Mary Norton's classic children's book titled The Borrowers, Studio Ghibli brings to us the story about little people that may possibly be living beneath the walls and floors of our homes. And no, I'm not talking about cute little mice and small sneaky spiders.

Ever wonder why some of our littlest things go missing? Things like laundry clips, buttons, needles, pieces of fabric, etc. The reason for this are the little people called borrowers. Arrietty is a borrower who lives with her mother and father under the floors of a home in the suburbs unbeknownst to its human inhabitants. On the very first day when she was finally allowed to go borrow things with her father, a sickly human boy named Shawn caught a glimpse of her. It is very crucial for a borrower to be seen by humans, so Arrietty's parents decided that they should flee the house. But while her family was still packing up to leave, Shawn became curious of the little borrower he saw, and no sooner than later, he and Arrietty became good friends. This film just shows to us that friendship knows no bounds, and one would go beyond his/her limits in order to protect it.

A lot of us are more used to 3D animation nowadays, that's why this one seemed to have lesser recognition. Despite that, I find the film visually beautiful. The backgrounds are impressive as always thanks to the guys working at Ghibli. My favorite scene that features their pride for detailed work on backgrounds was when Shawn's grandma introduced to them the exquisite doll house that his grandfather requested to be made, because he too used to have seen little people when he was younger. His grandma explained that every piece of furniture and thing, especially in the kitchen, is the miniature of the real thing. I also love Arrietty's room by the way. 

The characters are pretty too. Shawn just stole my heart. Well, he can have it since his is pretty weak and it's giving him a hard time. It's true, he's not allowed to exert too much because he couldn't breathe well. But for love and friendship, he is willing to risk that. Arrietty's very grateful. 

I owe you one.