"Hop is definitely the odd one out in Illumination movies. It's not fully animated. On top of being am Easter re-skin of The Santa Clause, it ended up feeling like a very middle-of-the-road movie. Nothing terribly done in terms of writing or characterization, but it only stands out for its more unusual look. At least it has the funny quirk of having an identical scene to the one used in the Sonic movie. So identical, in fact, that it's not only a perfect recreation of the scene, but is done by the same actor."
Despicable Me 3
June 30, 2017
58% (6.3/10)
"I actually saw this one on an impulse at the theaters and I really enjoyed it. The movie does everything I liked about the first two movies, but then it has to include a subplot for the minions because, well, they had to have their own movie. So they get even more screentime to their wacky shenanigans even though it's Gru's movie. I've heard a few complaints about Gru's brother, but I didn't mind him personally. He's your basic inverted version of the hero in looks and personality. It's a similar cliché to what we had in the Simpsons with Homer and Herb. It's more of the same, but frankly, I just enjoyed another romp with Gru, his wife Lucy, and their nice kids."
"As I said in Worst/Best Book-Based Animated Movies, Illumination's stab at the Grinch isn't terrible, but it's simplifying the Grinch into that "bad on the surface but really just lonely" model that Gru is given. It certainly does fall into the trappings of a typical Illumination film. The Grinch's design, for example, is clearly meant to be more fluffy and as endearingly toy-etic as possible, which does conflict with the disgusting descriptors in the song. I can understand why some folks don't like this film, as it changed the Grinch's character into just a lonely introvert who just needs a hug. Though I also get why you might enjoy it, as it's inoffensive and the characters are likable enough."
"Again, as I mentioned in Book-Based Animated Movies, Illumination simplified this one down grossly. The whole point of the Lorax is that there's no great villain. The Once-ler is just a guy trying to start up a sustainable business, and the Lorax just wanted to keep his home. But both ended up sad at the end for what happened. Showing a complex message to kids about not always finding an easy answer on who is to blame involving life's challenges. But Illumination, of course, simplified this down, giving this movie a "Big Bad Corporate" villain and just telling people to "Let it grow!" Ugh! I really didn't enjoy this one!"
