“An American Pickle” stars Seth Rogen, Sarah Snook, Eliot Glazer, and Jorma Taccone.  Released on HBO Max on August 6, 2020, the film is about a laborer from the 1920s who finds himself in the future.

The film is directed by Brandon Trost, who is known for writing and directing “The FP” with Jason Trost.  He also served as a cinematographer for films like “Crank: High Voltage”, “MacGruber”, and “That’s My Boy”.  It is based on the 2013 short story “Sell Out” by Simon Rich, who also wrote the film.  Can you imagine meeting your relative from the past in person?  It sounds odd at first, but it would’ve been way cooler than wasting your money on studying your family tree at Ancestry.  For those who are living underneath a rock, WarnerMedia introduced the world to its own streaming service called HBO Max back in May, which offers a bunch of content from HBO, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, DC, Studio Ghibli, and so much more.  It is also the home to plenty of shows that are made exclusively to the streaming service like “Love Life”, “Looney Tunes Cartoons”, “Close Enough”, and “Craftopia”.  However, it appeared that the streaming service is severely lacking some content in the “original film” department like the other major streaming services, aside from the documentary “On the Record”.  That all changes today as we finally have the first original film to debut on HBO Max, and it’s from the guys that delivered the laughs and the feels with the likes of “The Disaster Artist” and “Long Shot”.  This latest comedy-drama will put HBO Max to the test to see if the streaming service is another respectable option for original films.  After all, we are getting the Zack Snyder cut of “Justice League” sometime next year.  With that in mind, let’s see if this “pickle” is worth a bite.

Set in the 1920s, the story follows Herschel Greenbaum (Rogen), an Ashkenazi Jew who immigrates to America with his beloved wife Sarah Greenbaum (Snook) in order to build a better life.  While working at a pickle factory, Hershel accidentally falls into a vat of pickles, causing him to be brined for a century.  When he wakes up in modern-day Brooklyn, he attempts to get comfortable with modern society while befriending his relative Ben Greenbaum (also played by Rogen), who happens to be the last remaining descendent of the Greenbaum family tree.  When it comes to comedy and drama, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (the producers of the film) are usually the best options to go to as they understand that crafting a good story is just as important as conjuring up some laughs.  You also got Brandon Trost, who has worked with Rogen as a cinematographer for films like “Neighbors”, “The Interview”, and “The Night Before”.  These three people, combined with a fish-out-of-water story, would’ve made this film another solid home run, but instead, it wound up being as revolting as a bag of rotten pickles in the dumpster.  While there is some sort of effort in getting its sentimental message across, the film clearly had no idea how to take the concept even further, which is mostly due to its questionable runtime.  The film is close to being an hour and 30 minutes long, which didn’t sound too bad at first, but after watching it, I can definitely see that they could’ve add in a lot more elements into its plot.  After a promising first act, the film just sort of gave up in taking risks and making the concept more fun and endearing.  Simon Rich’s screenplay felt unsatisfying because of his inability to flesh out the characters even more, and first-time director Brandon Trost struggled to make the mixture of comedy and drama work in his favor.  There were plenty of jokes in the film that could’ve been hilarious, especially the ones that involve politics.  Unfortunately, like the drama elements, the execution on the comedy was undoubtedly disappointing.  It’s not as cringe-inducing as the comedy from “Neighbors 2”, but it was pretty forgettable.  The only saving grace that kept it from being one of the worst films of the year was Seth Rogen’s dual performance as Herschel and Ben respectively.  Even though it’s not his best performance yet, I have to give him credit for providing his own sense of depth and charm into his characters without making them either offensive or overly cheesy.  I think if we get to know these characters a bit more, especially Ben, Rogen’s performance would’ve been enough to overshadow some of its distracting flaws.

Overall, “An American Pickle” has plenty of good ideas in its vat of pickles, but fails to capitalize on them.  As a result, it wound up being a salty pickle with an underwhelming flavor.  Despite Seth Rogen’s dual performance and its heartfelt message, the film lacked the tremendous taste it was going for, which sucks considering the talented people behind the camera.  Due to its aimless plot, bland jokes, and an unsatisfying script, this is one of the most disappointing films that Rogen and Goldberg had ever produced.  This isn’t a great start for HBO Max when it comes to their original films, but that doesn’t mean I’m throwing in the towel just yet.  The streaming service still has a few more films to release in the future, so I’m hoping that one of them will be a lot better than this.  It’s worth watching for Rogen’s performance and that’s about it.

“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” stars Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Brandon Routh, and Jason Schwartzman.  Released on August 13, 2010, the film is about a slacker musician who must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes.

The film was directed by Edgar Wright, who also directed films such as “Shaun of the Dead”, “Hot Fuzz”, “The World’s End”, and “Baby Driver”.  It is based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley.  You want to know what it feels like to read a comic book, play a video game, and watch a music video at the same time while being high on drugs?  Then have I got a film for you.  Two months ago, I reviewed a film that is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, which is Christopher Nolan’s “Inception”.  Today, I’m reviewing another film that is also celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, and it’s something that I remember fondly.  Back in the day, I usually go to the movies with my mother even though I was old enough to drive.  Then one day at the mall, I convinced her that I would see it on my own at the built-in AMC theater while she does her errands, and the rest is history.  That was the day that lead me to feel comfortable with navigating the cinema and pay for the tickets and snacks all by myself, and I got this film to thank for it.  It also got me interested in Edgar Wright’s other works, so bonus points for that.  Despite not being as successful as Wright and Universal Pictures had been hoping for in terms of the box office, the film went on to become a cult classic and became well-known by critics and audiences for its transmedia storytelling, which is combining many different techniques to form a compelling narrative.  I believe that this is one of the films that I shared my thoughts on earlier on Facebook more than five years ago.  You know, before I decided to make my blog.  Now that I have my own website, I decided to give this one the proper review it deserves, and what better way to do that than during its tenth anniversary celebration?  Like my other classic reviews, I will do my best to not give away any major spoilers in case you haven’t watched the film nor read the source material it’s based on.

The film tells the story of Scott Pilgrim (Cera).  He’s a 22-year-old slacker who lives with his roommate Wallace Wells (Culkin) and plays for a garage band known as Sex Bob-Omb that consists of him and his friends Stephen Stills (Mark Webber) and Kim Pine (Pill).  He’s also dating Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a high-school student who’s also a “Scott-aholic”.  One day, Scott takes an interest in Ramona Flowers (Winstead), a young woman who works as an Amazon delivery girl.  In order to date Ramona, however, he must challenge and defeat her seven evil super-powered ex-boyfriends.  Why did they have superpowers?  I have no idea.  He also attempts to help the band win a competition that is sponsored by record executive Gideon Graves (Schwartzman).  In addition to combining action and comedy with romance, the film represents a narrative that uses visual elements and easter eggs from comic books, video games, and music videos to create a surreal and somehow irresistible experience that felt fresh and exciting.  After a decade since its release, it still has that same appeal that will satisfy those who are curious as well as people who grew up reading comics and playing arcade games with their friends.  This is a film that’s never afraid to have fun and be creative with its bizarre concept, and it’s all thanks to Edgar Wright’s superb sense of direction.  Wright had a clever way of mixing the fundamentals of action and comedy with a substance that audiences can relate to, resulting in a blockbuster that’s both riveting and heartfelt.  While the “romance” part can be a bit corny at times, it didn’t get to the point where it made the entire film unwatchable thanks to the chemistry between the cast.  Its screenplay by Michael Bacall and Wright did well in showcasing the basics of teen awkwardness and its coming-of-age themes like taking responsibility for one’s own mistakes, learning to let things go, and of course, understanding the true meaning of love.  I believe that people who either experienced that phase themselves or are experiencing it right now should be able to relate to its themes while they drown themselves in the sea of geek culture.  The cast in the film did a great job with their performances, especially Cera and Winstead as Scott and Ramona respectively.  I think there are some critics who had mixed feelings towards Cera’s performance, but honestly, I thought he nailed his character perfectly.  Scott has a sense of awkwardness that makes himself likable and flawed and leads him to make some pretty dumb mistakes, mostly the ones that involve love.  Michael Cera was able to successfully manifest this type of personality through his mannerisms and tone.  I guess you can say that this is my favorite performance from him so far.  Kieran Culkin also did really well with his role as Wallace Wells in terms of the humor, and the actors that portrayed the seven evil exes were some of the best parts of the film, especially Evans and Routh as Lucas Lee and Todd Ingram respectively.  These actors knew how to have fun with their characters without taking themselves too seriously.  The real cherry on top of the colorful sundae was the visual style and the soundtrack.  Not only did the style offer a unique and dazzling perspective on the genre, but it also worked extremely well with the teen-related humor, the references from specific comic books and video games, and the nicely-choreographed action sequences.  They made the film look like the holy grail of geek fandom.  The visual effects looked amazing back when it first came out, and after rewatching it now, I’m glad to say that they haven’t aged a bit.  My only concern is that some of the visuals may have a negative effect on people who have experiences with epilepsies, so if you’re one of them, proceed with caution.  I also have to give props to the film’s amazing soundtrack for its mixture of rock music and video game music.  Interesting fact: the film’s score was provided by Nigel Godrich, who is known for working with Radiohead as the band’s producer, which would explain why the film is so obsessed with rock and roll.

Overall, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is something that you have to see to believe.  Not just for the story, the action, and the comedy, but for the uniqueness in its narrative.  This is one of my favorite films of the 2010s because of what it brought to the experience.  The visual style and the soundtrack are the two major things that made the film special in its own right, and they are backed up by its cast, Wright’s direction, and its themes.  It still holds up well after a decade, and I hope it continues to hold up in the years to come and maybe inspire others to provide their own sense of imagination in their own narratives.  If you haven’t seen it yet, I recommend that you do so.

“Howard” stars Howard Ashman, Sarah Gillespie, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bill Lauch, Alan Menken, Peter Schneider, Jodi Benson, and Paige O’Hara.  Released in the United States on December 18, 2018, followed by a Disney+ release on August 7, 2020, the film chronicles the life and career of songwriter Howard Ashman.

The film is written and directed by Don Hahn, who produced several Disney films like “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast” and directed “Waking Sleeping Beauty”.  You ever wonder why we have songs like “Under the Sea” and “Be Our Guest” stuck in our heads for years?  Well, you have Howard Ashman to thank.  Known for writing song lyrics for projects like “Little Shop of Horrors”, “The Little Mermaid”, and “Beauty and the Beast”, Ashman became one of the elements that carried Disney out of the dark ages and brought it back to its glory days with the Renaissance Era in the 90s.  His success at Disney came at an unfortunate end when he tragically died from AIDS in 1991, one year before the premiere of “Aladdin”, his last film as a songwriter.  However, his legacy still lives on due to him creating some of his best songs that have us hitting the repeat button over and over again until it breaks.  This documentary shows us how he became famous in the first place along with his personal life.  It made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2018 before premiering in limited theaters in December.  Two years later, it finally made its way to Disney+ for everyone to see, and by that, I mean everyone who has a Disney+ subscription.  I haven’t reviewed a lot of documentaries on my blog, but after talking about “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” back in 2018, I decided to give the genre another chance by reviewing an in-depth look at one of the people who were involved with some of my favorite Disney films.  “Hamilton” and “Black Is King” were able to convince more people to subscribe to the streaming service, so let’s see if this latest Disney documentary can do the same.

Told through archival footage and interviews from Howard Ashman’s friends and family, the documentary provides an in-depth look at Ashman’s career as well as his personal life, ranging from his work in theater to working for Disney to his untimely death from AIDS.  While most documentaries use on-camera interviews of people talking about their own experiences, others like “Howard” and Hahn’s previous documentary, “Waking Sleeping Beauty”, use audio interviews to narrate specific events that they experienced themselves.  As someone who hasn’t watched a lot of documentaries aside from “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, I find this presentation to be quite unique, and it was very smart of the filmmakers to use the speech bubbles to indicate who’s talking.  As for the actual film itself, it definitely looked like that Don Hahn took plenty of effort to showcase Ashman as an inspiring songwriter and a human being.  It’s not exactly 100% impactful, save for the last 10 minutes that were best described as “endearing”, but it’s a fascinating and heartfelt look at the lyricist who defied the odds to create some of the memorable songs that live in our hearts forever.  It was nicely edited together with the interviews, the behind-the-scenes footage, and some of the visual sequences that describe certain parts of Ashman’s personal life, and the musical score by Alan Menken and Chris Bacon successfully added a subtle touch to the ups and downs of Ashman’s career.  I think one of the moments that interested me the most in this documentary was the fact that Howard actually started out his career writing, directing, and providing music for Broadway productions like “Little Shop of Horrors” and the adaptation of the 1975 comedy film, “Smile”.  I usually know him for his involvement with Disney, but after seeing what he had done in the world of Broadway, it made me appreciate the guy even more.  So if you guys are wondering why Disney chose Ashman and Alan Menken to provide the songs for “The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Aladdin”, there’s your answer.

Overall, “Howard” has enough information and passion to create an intriguing and touching tribute to Howard Ashman’s accomplishments.  It’s close to being as impactful as “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, but its sheer amount of heart and honesty is enough for me to classify this film as a well-deserved addition to the Disney+ family.  Maybe someday I will check out the other documentaries that relate to Disney like “Waking Sleeping Beauty”, but until then, this is a good start in my quest to discover the studio’s secrets.  If you’re one of the people who are curious about Ashman’s personal life, I believe this film is the appropriate option for you.

Greetings, fellow followers, this is moviemanMDG, and today, I’m going to be talking about something different.  That’s right, there’s no movie for me to review (for now, at least) and there’s no “Movie Talk”.  It’s just me talking about something that I haven’t talked about before: the status of my blog so far since the pandemic started back in March.  If you can’t already tell, the world is still at a standstill thanks to the you-know-what and everyone is still wondering when this whole mess is going to disappear.  Not only is it affecting a bunch of businesses like restaurants and cinemas, but also my blog.  While I do have some extra time working on my crossover projects and my additional stuff due to the pandemic closing down the cinema that I’m working at, my film reviews are a different story.  For those who are new to my blog, the last film that I reviewed in the theater before the pandemic trapped me inside my own home was the superhero film “Bloodshot” starring Vin Diesel.  Spoiler alert: it was mediocre.  Ever since then, I’ve been trying to keep my blog alive by reviewing the latest films that made their way to several streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ as well as some older films that caught my attention.  It felt different reviewing films at home compared to the experience of watching them in the theater, but it’s better than nothing.  As I was working on my blog, I kept asking myself what will my plan be for the rest of the year during these troubling times.  Well, in today’s special update, I am going to answer that question by providing my upcoming plans for my blog/business in terms of my reviews, my crossovers, and a special milestone.

Let’s start things off with the main purpose of my blog: my movie reviews.  As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been spending a few months reviewing specific films on multiple streaming services as well as some classic films that I haven’t talked about before in my blog.  Most of the films I’ve watched were either tolerable or fantastic.  Others, not so much.  There are plenty of films that are still set to hit theaters during the fall season, but since most of the major theaters are still closed, there’s a good chance that they will be delayed indefinitely like the live-action remake of “Mulan” or pushed back to next year with the other 2020 films like “F9” and “Godzilla vs. Kong”.  If the theaters do manage to reopen during the pandemic (with the proper conditions, of course), it will probably take a while for me to go back to reviewing theatrical films for the sake of my health and my family’s.  So, there’s a good chance that I will be extremely late for reviews of upcoming films like “Tenet” and “The King’s Man”.  If not, then I will continue to review movies on the streaming services, both old and new, until I feel confident enough to return to my second home: the cinema.  This August marks the end of one of the worst summers of our lives, but it also offers plenty of new choices that should keep us from going insane.  While I may not be able to look at certain films that are set to come out in a small amount of theaters like “Unhinged”, “Antebellum”, and “David Copperfield”, I am planning on reviewing several films that are premiering on a couple of streaming services.  We got the first original film from HBO Max, “An American Pickle”, starring Seth Rogen coming out as well as the latest action film from Netflix, “Project Power”, so be on the lookout for those reviews.  We’re also getting a couple of films that will be appearing on Disney+ in August like “The One and Only Ivan”, “Magic Camp”, and the new “Phineas and Ferb” film “Candace Against the Universe”.  I’m definitely planning on reviewing those movies for the families who are still struggling with their film choices.  Throughout September and October, I will be attempting to review “Bill & Ted Face the Music” since the film is releasing simultaneously in theaters and through video on demand as well as the upcoming film from writer/director Aaron Sorkin, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”, which is set to premiere on Netflix this October.  There are also a couple of streaming films that make me question whether to review them or not like the Netflix film, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”, and the Disney+ original, “Secret Society of Second-Born Royals”, both of which are set to come out in September.  If you want me to review those films, don’t be afraid to let me know.  As for the classic films, I might be planning on looking back at an underrated gem that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this August.  I’ll give you a hint: it’s “Scott Pilgrim”.  I’m also open for any suggestions on what classic film I should talk about for my blog, so if you have one, let me know and I’ll do what I can to check them out.

The next topic I want to talk about are my crossovers, or in this case, my upcoming crossover, “Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Frozen Adventure Chapter Two”.  I’ve been spending some more time working on it since the beginning of July, but not without a day off or two, and so far, I only managed to complete the first two parts.  It took a lot of brainstorming and creativity to get them done.  There are only a couple of things I can share without giving away spoilers, such as the plot and the direction I’m going for.  For those who haven’t been following my crossovers, “Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Frozen Adventure Chapter Two” is the second half of the “Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Frozen Adventure” story arc.  It was originally set to appear as one big crossover event before I decided to split it into two separate chapters back in late May/early June.  Like “Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Frozen Adventure” (now renamed “Ed, Edd n Eddy’s Frozen Adventure Chapter One”), the crossover will combine the main plot elements of “Frozen” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” with a story that puts the friendship between the Eds and Sora, Donald, and Goofy to the test.  The crossover will also include a flashback sequence that showcases how the Eds first met Sora, Donald, and Goofy in order to provide some more depth in their friendship.  My personal goal in “Chapter Two” is to continue the representation of a friendship being torn apart by people’s different beliefs while maintaining the themes that made “Frozen” and my past “Ultimate Ed-Chronicles” crossovers special.  I also want this to serve as a conclusion to phase one of “The Beginnings Saga” that started with “The Rise of Maleficent”, with phase two beginning with “Edventures in San Fransokyo”, so be prepared for plenty of surprises.  As of right now, the crossover is still set to be released on my blog around Thanksgiving, so if you guys are still stuck at home during that time, you’ll know what you’ll be watching with your families.

The last thing I will mention is the fact that this year marks the fifth anniversary of my website.  Better late than never.  I created my own website back in October 2015 in order to share my movie reviewing skills and my creativity with the world, with my very first review on it being Guillermo Del Toro’s “Crimson Peak”.  Ever since then, I gathered many followers and my interest in reviewing films continues to grow and grow by the minute.  It’s pretty amazing to see how far I’ve gotten considering the fact that I created my blog using the Weebly website, and I have you guys to thank for inspiring me to keep going.  I wouldn’t have gotten that much attention without you.  As of now, I don’t have a lot of big plans to celebrate this milestone, but I’ll let you guys know if I come up with anything.

So there you have it.  These are my upcoming plans for the rest of 2020 in terms of my website.  I’m still reviewing films despite the closure of movie theaters, I’m still working on my crossover project, and I’m still going strong after five years of working on my blog.  Once again, I would like to thank you all for visiting my site every now and then during this difficult time.  I always aim to please people with my sense of humor and my source of entertainment.  The future still looks pretty uncertain because of the pandemic, but I can easily bet that whatever lies ahead, we can get through it together.  With that in mind, please remember to stay safe, wear a mask, and practice good hygiene.

“Animal Crackers” stars John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone, Raven-Symoné, and Patrick Warburton.  Released on Netflix on July 24, 2020, the film has a couple using the mysterious box of animal crackers to save their circus.

The film is directed by Scott Christian Sava and Tony Bancroft, an animator who is mostly known for directing “Mulan” with Barry Cook.  It is loosely based on the graphic novel by Sava.  Everyone loves the taste of animal crackers.  They’re basically crackers that shaped like your favorite animals.  You can eat them without worrying about being called a heartless monster.  But what if this harmless afternoon snack has the power to transform its user into an animal?  Imagine the sales going through the roof if that’s actually the case.  This latest animated film from Netflix went through plenty of challenges to get itself out to the public.  It had already made its debut at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 12, 2017 and in China a year later, but the U.S. release is a different story.  Originally set to hit theaters, the film faced several delays because of their respective studios facing financial difficulties.  It was scheduled for a 2017 release by Relativity Media, but it was cancelled due to the company facing bankruptcy.  It was then set for a fall 2017 release by a new film studio known as Serafini Releasing, but the studio was unfortunately shut down, resulting in that release date being cancelled.  Sometime later, it was announced that Entertainment Studios would distribute the film and have it release in August 2018.  The deal was later dropped in June 2018.  It was possible that the film would never see the light of day until Netflix swooped in to save the day as usual.  This is why Netflix is still the best streaming app to get during the pandemic.  Now that it is finally released for every child and every parent to see, let’s see if this animated comedy is a performance worth remembering or it it’s something that should’ve stayed hidden.

The story follows Owen Huntington (Krasinski), a down-on-his-luck husband who’s stuck with a miserable job at a dog biscuit factory run by his father-in-law (Shawn).  His life soon changes when he finds out that his uncle and circus owner Buffalo Bob (James Arnold Taylor) has passed away and left his rundown circus to him, along with a box of animal crackers that can magically transform the user into any animal.  With the help of his wife Zoe (Blunt), his daughter Mackenzie (Lydia Rose Taylor), and a bunch of circus performers, Owen will have to use the crackers to bring the circus back to its glory days while trying to prevent them from falling into the hands of his evil uncle Horatio (McKellen).  As one would expect based on the plot alone, this is another film that attempts to entertain its younger viewers with its sense of magic and deliver a thoughtful message about the importance of family.  Given the circumstance that we’re still in right now, this is something that we all need to keep ourselves from going insane.  But does it mean that it’s also watchable?  Is it something that adults can enjoy with their children?  I was a little bit concerned on how it will turn out because releasing a certain film to the public a couple of years after they were completed is usually one of the signs that signal their downfall in terms of their quality.  However, after I watched it for myself, I was genuinely surprised to see that there was an attempt to tell a decent story that’s based around a bunch of magical crackers.  Even though its plot wasn’t as majestic as the actual circus, its script was tolerable enough to keep things from being too formulaic and keep the kids’ parents distracted from its sense of predictability.  As usual, this is another animated film that features a bunch of well-known celebrities voicing their cartoon characters, such as Krasinski, Blunt, and DeVito.  While the actors did put on a good show with their vocal performances, especially McKellen as the villainous Horatio, I couldn’t help but feel that Wallace Shawn was miscast as Mr. Woodley, Zoe’s father and Owen’s father-in-law, mostly based on his character design alone.  The casting of Krasinski and Blunt as Owen and Zoe respectively made sense because these actors are a couple in real life just like their characters, but Shawn?  I just didn’t see it, but that’s just me.  Speaking of which, I thought that most of the characters were likable in their own right, like Owen, Chesterfield the clown (DeVito), and Horatio’s minion Mario Zucchini (Gilbert Gottfried), but there were also a couple of characters that I found to be either generic like Horatio or intolerable like Mr. Woodley’s employee Brock (Warburton).  They’re not awful characters, but they’re far from interesting.  The film’s animation wasn’t too bad, either.  It’s not exactly superb compared to the films from DreamWorks and Disney when it comes to the quality, but it had a fair amount of razzle-dazzle to keep younger viewers engaged, with the prime examples being the circus sequence and the two musical numbers performed by McKellen.  I’m not joking, the actor who played Magneto from “X-Men” and Gandalf from “The Lord of the Rings” actually sang twice throughout the entire film.  He better get a good paycheck for that.

Overall, “Animal Crackers” may not have a fantastic story underneath its red clown nose, but it’s an enjoyable performance regardless.  Thanks to its respectable voice cast, its animation, and a tolerable script with a thoughtful message, the film is another fine addition to Netflix’s collection of family-friendly content.  This could’ve been a huge failure given the fact that it was shelved for three years, but because of the effort that was put into the film by Scott Christian Sava, I’m glad that it wasn’t.  It’s not a must-watch for everybody due to its run-of-the-mill plot, but I would say that like the crackers themselves, it’s a harmless treat that’s suitable for families who are hungry for more kid-friendly content in the midst of the pandemic.