Animation Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Animation

Assorted action figures of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, featuring vibrant green, blue, and orange colours.
Review

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem review – Turtle Power is alive and well

by Kambole Campbell

The pizza-loving, wisecracking anthropomorphic reptiles receive a substantial facelift in this charming animated outing, which embraces their adolescent spirit.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Vibrant fantasy creatures in colourful city scene, with bright pink, blue, and orange shapes.
Review

Elemental

by Hannah Strong

Opposites attract in Pixar’s take on the rom-com, but a tendency to play it safe means that Peter Sohn’s sparky sophomore feature never quite ignites.
Cartoon characters, smiling fairy with golden wings and a purple creature with long purple hair.
Review

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

by David Jenkins

Charming, if slight Dreamworks animated feature in which a kraken hides in plain sight as a gawky teen high-schooler in the run-up to prom.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A person wearing a red and black superhero costume flies through a colourful, abstract background with glowing shapes and energy trails.
Review

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

by Leila Latif

Miles Morales returns as the web-slinging hero of Brooklyn in this smart sequel which defies expectations.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Young woman with long dark hair in a school uniform, standing in a doorway against a bright blue sky with clouds.
Review

Suzume

by Alicia Haddick

Makoto Shinkai’s third feature continues his fantastical vision with a teenage girl who accidentally opens a magical portal, but fails to make the same impact as Your Name and Weathering With You.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Animated characters: a plumber in red overalls, a princess in a red dress, and a mushroom-shaped creature.
Review

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

by Michael Leader

Nintendo and Illumination team up to give everyone’s favourite fictional plumber an animated makeover, with soulless results.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Animated figure of a nude woman standing in a dark, forested setting, with mist or fog surrounding her.
Review

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

by David Jenkins

Pierre Földes’ debut feature is an animated adaptation of a several short stories by celebrated Japanese author Haruki Murakami.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Cluttered domestic scene with miscellaneous objects and storage boxes on a wooden surface.
Review

Marcel the Shell with Shoes on

by Michael Leader

A sentient shell sets out to find his family with help from a documentary filmmaker in Dean Fleischer-Camp’s effortlessly charming feature debut.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Animated characters, a man and a woman, in an emotional interaction. Warm tones of orange and blue predominate.
Review

Charlotte

by Lydia Figes

The artist Charlotte Salomon, who died in the Holocaust, receives a long-overdue biography through this inventive animated film.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A bizarre, fantasy-like scene featuring two eccentric, hairy creatures, one holding a parchment scroll and the other gesticulating emphatically. The image has a warm, earthy colour palette with brick walls and wooden furnishings as the backdrop.
Review

Pinocchio

by Kambole Campbell

Guillermo del Toro finally realises his long-gestating passion project, with charming results.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect