If you have been a follower of a page for a long time you will be aware of our love of occasionally enjoying childish activities. I think as adults we get so bogged down with serious things such as work, bills, chores etc and so it’s so important that we factor in time to have some mindless Juvenal fun! In fact, for my twenty-first birthday, my friends had organised for a disco-infused bouncy castle to be brought to my home that we could enjoy for the evening. The bouncing/dancing served as a relaxing way to forget about everything that was going on in the world at the time (which was during the peak of covid) which was really needed! Since a very young age, I have been a massive fan of cartoon movies, as a child, my favourite film was the first Toy Story movie. My parents still complain about the fact that I used to re-watch the film so many times as a child and would rewind the same section of the movie hundreds of times a day! For the past couple of days, the internet in our house has been down which has meant that we have not been able to watch any TV as this is linked to the WIFI. This has caused me to rekindle my love of DVDs, especially for animated movies and revisited one of my favourite DreamWorks animated movies Kung Fu Panda three. If you haven’t seen this film before it is the final movie in the trilogy of the Kung fu fighting panda and his friends as they fight invading villains. Dreamworks has mastered the art of creating animations that portray a wide range of emotions including comedy and action (in the case of Kung Fu panda) or other possible emotions. We were sent a preview screening of Spirit Untamed before it hit cinemas (which is available at https://rhysreviews.com/2021/05/29/spirit-untamed-movie-review/) which was a much more emotionally powerful and adventure inspired movie made by the same company.
It’s getting hard to believe that it has been almost three years since we were invited to attend the BAFTA Cymru awards hosted in the fabulous St David’s Hall. This was one of the most extravagant experiences I have ever had where everyone was suited up in their finest suits and dresses, with overwhelming media presence everywhere and the fanciest treatment for the staff at the venue. My evening got off to a fantastic start where I was ushered down the red carpet (which was later occupied by a plethora of famous celebrities) while receiving many compliments on the burgundy suit I decided to wear! We were greeted at St David’s Hall with drinks and were given ample time to network with the other creatives based in Wales. After the awards were given out and speeches were delivered, we were all ushered to the Raddison Blu hotel where the official after-party took place where were offered more drinks and food to enjoy. If you want to read more about all the wonderful benefits of attending the awards and the party that follow you can do so by checking out our blog from the event here at https://rhysreviews.com/2019/10/15/bafta-cymru-awards-blog/.We were able to attend this prestigious awards evening thanks to our membership with BAFTA Cymru which also entitles members to free cinema Monday to Thursday in a range of cinema, which most importantly for this review includes the extremely luxurious Everyman cinema located in Cardiff bay. We first visited the Everyman in August last year during one of the many lockdowns we collective experienced for almost two years and it was swanky then this time it offered the full VIP treatment! We went to watch the Disney adventure movie Jungle cruise (starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Whitehall and Emily Blunt) which you can read all about at https://rhysreviews.com/2021/08/10/jungle-cruise-screening-experience-review/. While a standard ticket for this cinema is rather expensive, they do provide visitors with a sofa and cushions to lounge on during the movie which makes it for the perfect place for your next date night!
With all this considered, we decided to go back to the luxury cinema to watch the brand new animated movie “The Bad Guys” that follows five of the most infamous villains as they try to rebuild their reputation. We are first introduced to Mr Wolf and Mr Snake (played by Sam Rockwell and Marc Maron respectively) who are on their way to committing another bank robbery. This opening scene sees our two leads sitting down to enjoy a calm dinner but as the camera pans we see that the other visitors are terrified and hiding away from the two villains which develop into a snake and wolf heading out directly into their next crime which was crafted perfectly and added a bit of humour to the start of the movie. From this, we are then introduced to the hacking mastermind Ms tarantula (who is voiced by the amazing Awkwafina) who managed to balance the line between technological genius and relatable character flawlessly. We then met the unhinged Pirana who is voiced by Antony Ramos (who is probably most well known for his roles in Hamilton and In the heights) and managed to give this hot-headed character a voice that managed to capture the anger in the character very well. This character is always ready for a fight and finds himself in some extreme situations but always manages to end up on his feet! My favourite character however would have to be Shark, played by Craig Robinson, who confusingly is dubbed as the master of disguise. The beginning of the film sees the shark dress up in drag (in a wonderfully sparkly red dress) to try and infiltrate an awards ceremony and to cause a distraction decides to pretend to be giving birth. Once the other bad guys have managed to steal the award, the shark suddenly remembers that he is not in fact pregnant and simply walks always. This character’s love for the over-the-top dramatics is something that I can personally relate to!
Unfortunately for the gang of villains animals, the heist at the awards ceremony does not go to plan and they end up being caught by the police. Before they could get arrested however the extremely nice, model citizen and guinea pig professor Marmalade decided to take the gang under his wing to try and rebuild there reputation. Marmalade is voiced by the unique Richard Ayoade whose voice matches the goodie two shows persona perfectly. However, as the movie progresses we learn that Marmalade is not as perfect as everyone thinks he is and instead is using the bad guys to take the fall for his criminal master plan which came as a total shock to the audience! After we learn of his evil intentions Richards’s unique voice manages to also work well with the bad side the character with careful but purposeful change in intonation to show the change in character well. The show also contains performances from YouTube sensation Lilly Singh which, as a fan of hers for a while, I was very excited to see! This was your classic children’s animated film with comical wickedness, two extremely short songs and a narrative of bad guys becoming the good guys by the end of the movie. However, as the movie progresses I do think it became more an more convoluted with sudden character turns/reveals, mind-reading applications and plot points that would confuse many of the younger audience members watching the film. I found myself getting very confused by the end of the movie so I can only imagine how some of the young children would have felt!
Overall this is a classic children’s animated movie that gives an alternative view of some of the most wicked animals known to man. It contains a happy ending with musical moments and slapstick comedy throughout which is perfect for any age in the audience. Everyman continues to be the bougie cinema experience that is perfect to help give you that VIP feels or for your next date night which can only benefit the viewing experience! I would rate the movie 3 out of 5 stars!
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