Colin Chan '14 reviews Arietty, the latest animated achievement from Studio Ghibli. 

Julia Moser '15 rants 

Chomet's The Illusionist harkens back to old school animated features.

Rango may look pretty, but, like many cute sorority girls, it lacks cohesion.

Graham Corrigan sits down with Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton to discuss his latest film, Idiots and Angels, as well as his collaboration with music legend Tom Waits.

Anyone who had the misfortune of suffering through the latest hour-long Family Guy special “Something Something Something Dark Side” already knows what’s coming in the form of a diatribe. The same critiques of the animated show that the South Park creators so poignantly nailed to their irreverent crosshairs continue to ring true.

There are lots of reasons to be excited about the silver screen right now in Ithaca: Cornell Cinema is firing on all cylinders; cutsie romantic comedies and more sophisticated offerings are available at Cinemapolis; dark thinkers, bloody battles and uplifting idiotics are rotating with astonishing speed through Regal Cinemas. Certain constraints however limit us from jetting off to every movie that perks our interest, and most of the time those choices can be made based on the actors — how many Brad Pitts and Johnny Depps, Julia Roberts and Natalie Portmans does it have? How many does it have to be?

Hayao Miyazaki has won many awards for his achievements in directing animation, but to credit him in such a way seems limiting. Miyazaki makes films, not just animated films. Animation is just a medium to him, and not a genre. Perhaps it is a dictate of American culture, an unfortunate result of Disney’s legacy, that animated films are automatically seen to be fare for children. There are obvious exceptions (Beavis and Butthead, South Park, most shows on Adult Swim, etc.), but by and large, animated works, including Miyazaki’s, will always be viewed through a filter as works intended for children.

For an art form that often lives in the shadow of its live-action big brother, animation finally received its share of the spotlight on Saturday at Cornell Cinema’s special event, Homegrown Animation. Headlined by Tara Cooper ’08’s ten-minute short Until the Lake Froze Solid, the program included nineteen animated shorts made by Cornell students over the past six years, as well as a Q&A session with Tara about her MFA thesis film. Although there was no red carpet or hordes of paparazzi waiting outside Homegrown Animation was both a showcase of the cream of the crop of Cornell animation projects and some well-deserved face time for the incredibly talented artists whose work rarely earns the attention that it’s due.

When I told my friends that I was going to go see Coraline over the weekend, most of them either had no idea what I was talking about — “What’s a Coraline?” — or were prepared to ridicule me for my affinity for animated films — “Isn’t that a kid movie?” And while the film is indeed an animated feature that primarily caters to the young at heart, this is a film that transcends all age barriers, as Coraline is an enchanting picture distinguished by its unique amalgamation of youthful spirit and whimsical charm. Characterized by its eye-popping visuals and mystical story line, this is a tightly-focused movie that keeps you engaged throughout.