DAN DA DAN s.1 Collector's Edition (GKids)

Dan Da Dan
Season 1
(GKids)

by "Doc" Hunter Bush, MovieJawn Podcast Director and Staff Writer 

Dan Da Dan, season 1, comes to Blu-ray from GKids. Directed by five-year animation veteran director Fûga Yamashiro and based on the phenomenon manga of the same name, the first season is presented here on two discs, in all its chaotic, colorful, and extremely creative glory. This GKids release features a generous amount of extras offering insight into the making of the series, as well as some physical goodies for fans and collectors.

The Movie: 4.5 stars

When nerdy, somewhat isolated schoolboy Okarun--who believes in UFOs and the like, but not ghosts--and his more independent, somewhat standoffish schoolmate Momo--who lives with her occultist Granny, but thinks UFOs are nonsense--make a bet on which one is more real, they set off a series of events that will lead to Momo becoming possessed and Okarun being abducted by aliens who want to collect his "banana". Barely escaping those first encounters, the duo repeatedly find themselves caught in the crosshairs of outside forces both supernatural and science fictional, while also developing their relationship (whatever that may be).

When viewed as a whole, Dan Da Dan (alternately written as Dandadan) is unlike most things you're likely to encounter, but almost none of its parts is totally unique. Manga creator Yukinobu Tatsu threw together a disparate mix of ideas, concepts, and interests that he'd compiled in a series of notebooks and what came out was Dan Da Dan. Part supernatural / magical ghost hunting, part science fictional / high concept alien investigation, part angsty, hormonal teen drama, Dan Da Dan must be seen to be believed.

And honestly, you'll be doing yourself a favor. The animation in Dan Da Dan is incredible. Highly kinetic, but--as the special features elucidated--never without a basis in filmmaking fundamentals, it just looks cool. Pure and simple. I could talk about something like how Okarun's first run-in with Turbo-Granny in the abandoned tunnel evokes nightmare imagery, and it does, but dozens of films and television also evoke nightmare imagery without looking as cool and stylish as this does.

Reviewing something in a language that you don't speak is always an interesting line to walk (though this does offer an English sub option). I tend to default to a work's native language as long as the subtitles seem on point) because it gives me a better understanding of the emotional weight of what's being said. This is a personal call, and I don't expect everyone to agree with me, I just wanted to give anyone reading this an understanding of my barometer for the performances.

All of which is to say: I really enjoy the performances. I did click onto the English dub for an episode once I had a feel for the characters and the world, just for a taste, and that also seemed to be pretty solid. But the Japanese dub is where it's at for me. The characters are ...almost excessively dynamic (which is a feature, not a bug, to be clear) and the voice actors in both languages captured those kinds of wild emotional swings without anything feeling bewildering.

One last detail that I'd be remiss not to mention is the character designs, which are just incredibly interesting, unique, and above all: fun. None of the aliens, ghosts, or other creatures encountered by the small but growing group of oddballs looks the way you've seen them depicted before. The aliens are all different as are the ways in which the spirits and their abilities manifest. It's a shot in the arm and breath of fresh air to all involved genres.

The Packaging: 5 stars

Aside from two discs with numerous bonus features for fans, this release includes postcard-sized character prints, a 4'' sticker of Turbo-Granny in her Lucky Cat form, and a booklet filled with even more info: an episode guide, character bios, interviews with the main cast, transcribed conversations--one between series director Fûga Yamashiro and creator Yukinobu Tatsu and another with three of the visual directors--and an art gallery.

It's a wealth of fun information for deep-divers, all contained in a very sturdy cardboard slip.

The Video: 5 stars

Series director Fûga Yamashiro knows what he's doing. Aside from orchestrating an incredibly dynamic, wildly colorful series, all involved seem to feel he's perfectly captured what makes the Dan Da Dan manga so special. Having never read any of it, I'm inclined to agree with the experts, including the manga's creator Yukinobu Tatsu--who is hilariously depicted in the special features with a sunny-side-up egg character obscuring his identity. In adapting the various arcs that compose the first season, he paired them with specific thematic colors that appear more frequently for that story than the others. But at any given moment, Dan Da Dan just looks incredible.

Visually, this release is sharp, the colors are bright and deep with a lot of variance when applicable (for instance, Yamashiro wanted Turbo-Granny's eyes to appear to be glowing from within, which is realized with subtle coloring and lighting effects). The textures, whether based in reality like fog or dirt and grit, or entirely stylistic like pigment dots, come through fantastically, and it just looks incredible.

The Audio: 4.5 stars

I talked a bit about the audio performances above, but in addition to those, Dan Da Dan has incredible music. In one of the included bonus features, composer Kensuke Ushio talks about trying to match the somewhat, let's say, eclectic tone of Dan Da Dan. He equates the variety of genres contained in the main story with sampling.

Most interesting to me was his decision to record the score using vintage speakers for the natural distortion they provide, as he explains: "...like listening to something on an old TV". I didn't initially notice, but after hearing him say this, I went back to listen more closely. A lot of the score utilizes eerie tones and noises, with lots of echo and room in the mix, so it's hard to tell for certain, but I believe that like the visuals, there's a nice variety of texture to the score (and frankly, it's just super cool).

If I were wishing for anything from this release that I didn't get, it would be a disc or download code for the soundtrack. The closest I can approximate is being able to play the opening or closing sequences as bonus features on the first disc. Beyond that, I spent a little time this morning just listening to the mix, without the distraction of the visuals and it's extremely dynamic through my three-channel soundbar. Incredibly well-balanced and nuanced as well.

The Bonus Features: 4 stars

Both discs feature bonus features, which is nice for starters. The features themselves offer quite a bit of context and insight into not just how this specific series gets made, but the hurdles of adapting any previously existing work. The scene breakdown with series director Fûga Yamashiro was especially fascinating, as it shows just how much consideration and thought goes into any given aspect.

• Disc One:
• Interview with the Filmmakers (director Fûga Yamashiro and producer Kôhei Sakita) (HD, 10:16)
• Director Scene Breakdown (with director Fûga Yamashiro) (HD, 11:13)
• Opening Credits (HD, 1:33)
• Closing Credits (HD, 1:32)
• Disc Two:
• Interview with (composer) Kensuke Ushio (HD, 5:16)
• Commemorative Interviews (HD, 18:19)
• Teasers & Trailers (HD, 9:11)

Final Thoughts: 

For fans of anime specifically or animation in general, or enjoyers of weird, off-kilter stories, I cannot recommend Dan Da Dan enough. With an extremely varied assortment of influences sure to appeal to a wide swath of people, equally creative audio and visual approaches supporting excellently realized performances, what's not to enjoy?

As an added bonus the included subtitle tracks are quite expansive. There's an English for deaf & hard of hearing track, and traditional subs in English, Spanish, French, and Brazilian Portuguese. I didn't check these out, and wouldn't know enough about French or Portuguese to be much use if I did, but I really appreciated the variety. Film (and in this case, animation) is a global community, and it's nice to see that acknowledged. Highly Recommended

The Triplets of Belleville

"The Triplets of Belleville"

By: Hunter Bush

I've been struggling to get my head into this article. I think the issue is that I have no really strong "take" on The Triplets of Belleville. I just really like it. In an era where far too much animation feels homogeneous, the idiosyncrasies in director Sylvain Chomet's caricatures are profoundly charming, the instances of computer-augmented images feel deliberate and carefully chosen. The story is similarly impressive, what with its unusual central character(s), concepts, style and overall POV, but it's all done is an offhand, non-showy way. It's just really very good. Isn't that enough?

The greater part of Triplets is hand drawn and Chomet's style of caricature is fairly unique to long-form animation. It reminds me a little of Bill Plympton's style, but cleaner and for the most part less cynical/satirical. There are critiques of encroaching modernity and American gluttony, but it feels less meanspirited. There are a few instances of computer generated objects (vehicles, the ocean, elaborate fly-overs) but it's the way I generally like CG: as an ingredient, not the whole meal.

As a director, Chomet is fascinated with turn of the previous century entertainment and culture. Triplets of Belleville opens with a musical number featuring representations of Django Reinhardt & Josephine Baker (among, I'm sure, others with whom I'm less familiar). He also has a segment in the live action film Paris, je t'aime  about mimes falling in love and in The Illusionist (2010) an entire animated feature based on an unproduced screenplay from Jacques Tati about how rock 'n' roll killed vaudeville-era stage magic. Chomet's films are largely dialogue-less, so his captivation with mime makes sense.

His films all also have genuine heart in an adult sense. They're emotionally engaged and nostalgic - making them just the slightest bit sad - and don't shy away from complicated bittersweet feelings. In Triplets, a grandmother has to care for her young grandson after his parents pass away and in an effort to connect with the boy, named Champion, sets him on his way to a world class athlete. Champion only has one photo of his parents, posed around their bicycles, so Grandma gets him a tricycle in the prologue. Once the current timeline of the film sets it, Champion has become a cyclist competing in the Tour du France.

What no one could know is that someone is kidnapping cyclists and transporting them to Belleville (a New York City stand-in) where they'll be doped up with an IV drip of wine and used as the lynchpin of an underground gambling ring. It's really something to see this sinister yet still humorous plan reveal itself because, the film being mostly wordless, you have to just allow it to unfold at its own pace. Chomet balances the admittedly dark subject matter - international kidnapping, doping, gambling, there's even gunplay and explosions - with with his strange character designs and genuine charm, plus Bruno, a very cute fat dog who's as devoted to rescuing Champion as Grandma is.

Grandma is very devoted btw. She's absolutely badass in her determination. Champion is her whole world - she's been his coach presumably since childhood, whistle training him, massaging his muscles, managing his diet, all to help him chase his dream and maintain that connection to his parents. So when Champion goes missing, Grandma uses Bruno's sense of smell to track him to the dock and then rents a paddle boat (20 minute time limit!) and gives chase by *paddling across the ocean* to Belleville and resuming her search! I love Grandma. Watching her cresting the rocky waves in the middle of an ocean storm, Bruno sliding around the small boat's deck, I was smiling and cheering with tears in my eyes. It's just lovely.

But how unusual is it to have an animated film whose main character is not just female but, conservatively sexagenarian? On top of that, as I said, she's a genuine heroine. In fact, Bruno aside, the rescue party is ultimately made up entirely of old women who it cannot be understated, absolutely hilariously decimate the organized crime syndicate in a hilarious and spectacular low-speed chase in the film's finale.

The movie ends on an emotionally ambiguous note, with a now much older Champion seeming to watch the climax of the film on television at which time he remembers a few of the film's scant lines of dialogue; an exchange from his childhood that apparently translates to

"Is that it? Is it over do you think? What have you got to say to Grandma?"
"Yes I think that's probably it. It's over, Grandma."

It's bittersweet, nostalgic - making it just the slightest bit sad -, and just  really very good. Isn't that enough?

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This piece was written for inclusion in the MovieJawn zine, a fabulous publication from a fabulous site where you can find tons of other excellent movie-centric writings, a shop where you can subscribe to the quarterly physical zine, or listen to me on the  Hate Watch / Great Watch  podcast! Support the MovieJawn Patreon here!

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Jack Skellington in RUMBLE IN THE BRONX

I was rewatching the Jackie Chan-sterpiece RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (1995) and at one point there's a shot of the street featuring a very familiar face.

That's a Mylar balloon of Jack Skellington from THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993)! I love little stuff like that.

EVERYTHING OLD is NEW AGAIN 1

EVERYTHING OLD is NEW AGAIN
Vol. 1: January & February of 2018
by Hunter Bush
for MOVIEJAWN

Hello, all and welcome to Everything Old is New Again, my new and improved regular column on Moviejawn dot com! As Jerry Seinfeld once wondered aloud (about Tide detergent no less) "How can something be both New AND Improved?", well I can't speak about Tide, but as far as this column goes, I can actually explain.

Everything Old is New Again is where I take a look at upcoming movies based in some way on an existing intellectual property: Remakes of older or foreign films, Adaptations of stories from other media (most commonly bestsellers, but comicbooks & videogames aren't exactly rare) and Long-Gap Sequels to older films attempting to revive their fanbase. There'll be a lot of speculation and more than a little of my personal opinions as well.

I have, technically does this type of column before on MJ, but it was twice a year (six months apart) and didn't have a fancy title. There were, fair to say, some drawbacks in this format. The first being: I had to sift through a LOT of movie descriptions and trailers (if I was lucky) all at once and then, even after all that, sometimes the movies would get pushed back. Now, I'm not so egotistical as to think that anyone would be bookmarking my li'l old articles as firm proof of a release date, but as any decent person would, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret at having passed on the wrong information. Just so you know, I'm nothing even resembling a Hollywoo Insider, I'm just a guy toiling away over a laptop in a house in South Philly full of spooky bric-a-brac and the smell of good baking, so I'll still not have any control over if the flicks make it to screens (or VOD) when I've said they're supposed to, but in an attempt to keep on top of any last-minute changes like those, Everything Old Is New Again will be gracing your screens every other month.

Thus is it both New AND Improved.

Honestly, I just hope you dig it. Enough preamble, let's dive in.

JANUARY 2018:


5th :

MOLLY'S GAME - Based on Molly Bloom's book, Aaron Sorkin directs and adapts the screenplay about Molly's time running the most exclusive high-stakes poker game in the world. Jessica Chastain & Idris Elba lead the cast as Molly & her lawyer Charlie Jaffey, respectively. This one has the vibe of a pretty standard biopic, with a star-bedazzled cast (Kevin Costner as Molly's father, Graham Greene as the judge and Michael Cera as Player X, a composite of Hollywoo bigwigs like DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck & others) but trying to give to appearance of greater inclusivity. Melissa Strong feels in her review that ultimately Molly's Game falls short. What do you think?

DAY OF THE DEAD: BLOODLINE - This View On Demand remake of the late, great George Romero's 1985 original Day of the Dead seems to follow roughly the same plot: A med student / scientist (Sophie Skelton) hunkered down in a military bunker in a post-zombie-apocalypse world, working on a cure for the zombie virus with a Very Special Zombie (Jonathan Schaech) chained up to experiment on. As you may expect, things don't go well. This remake, from director Hector Hernandez Vicens, isn't getting the best reviews but for a $7 rental fee (on Google Play, Vudu & the Playstation Network) it sure beats braving the chilly aftermath of that Bomb Cyclone to hit a theater, right?


12th :

PADDINGTON 2 - Based on the long-running book series written by Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum starring the very polite anthropomorphic bear, Paddington. In this sequel to the 2014 Paddington, Pads wants to buy a pop-up book of London for his aunt who is also a bear who has always wanted to come to London but can't, so he takes odd jobs. Then the book gets stolen by Hugh Grant who's doing a very Count Olaf-y character (a la Lemony Snicket). Pads gives chase, but gets the slip and the cops think he stole the book so the bear goes to jail. I don't know if this mirrors any plots from any of the books, but with 150+ books since 1958, chances are... maybe? Either way, the tone works for me and with the added zany vibe of Grant's costume-swapping character, I'm sold.


19th :

MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER - Based on the novel The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart, this traditionally animated film from Studio Ghibli regular (and Secret World of Arrietty director) Hiromasa Yonebayashi follows the seemingly average Mary (Ruby Barnhill) a young girl who one afternoon finds the titular flowers that give you special, magical powers for one day. She attends what appear to be witch classes, meets Flanagan the talking fox (Ewan Bremner) and becomes integral to an older witch's plot to find the rare flowers. This seems like a pretty standard fairy tale story, but as with anything with that Ghibli pedigree, I am there for it. It also has a solid voice cast (which also features Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent) and some really cool visuals and character designs!

12 STRONG (THE DECLASSIFIED TRUE STORY OF THE HORSE SOLDIERS) - I've seen this trailer a bunch in theaters the past 2 months or so and every time, I'm struck by the thought "This should really just be called Horse Soldiers, that's a better title!". Based on the book (correctly titled Horse Soldiers) by Doug Stanton, this flick has a phenomenal cast, featuring two of my favorite Michaels (Shannon and Pena), William Fichtner, Rob Riggle and Chris Hemsworth (among others) playing the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. I'm usually skeptical of military films and all, but, like, Michael Shannon so... y'know. Yes, gimme them Horse Boys!


26th :

MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE - I know next to nothing about these Maze Runner movies, but from the trailer, there appear to be no mazes in this one and honestly not that much running. Based on the book series by James Dashner, the plot appears to be the Maze Runner & his friends (or maybe they're all Maze Runners?), having escaped from an oppressive society run by a company called WCKD, now have to break back in for some reason I didn't really catch. There's dialogue about a cure to a plague that the Maze Runner(/s) are immune to, but I can't imagine WCKD have a cure, as it's implied that Thomas Brodie-Sangster's character Newt will have to decide whether to sacrifice himself to make one, so... why? On the plus side: Walton Goggins, Patricia Clarkson, Giancarlo Esposito & Ki Hong Lee are among the cast. If I'm being honest, while I never like to say something "isn't for me" until I give it a fair shake, The Death Cure just looks soooo much like all these other young adult dystopia movies / book adaptations that it just makes me want to nap. Maybe one day I'll catch them on TV on a Sunday afternoon or something and regret skipping them, but then again maybe not.



FEBRUARY 2018:


9th :

MONSTER FAMILY - Based on the book Happy Family by David Safier, this animated film is the story of a regular-degular human family who mistakenly get an invitation to an all-monsters costume party (where the monsters dress up as humans, you dig?) where they get outed as monster impostors (better title) and cursed by a witch to become the costumes they're wearing. So Mom is a vampire, Sister is a mummy, Brother is a werewolf and Dad is a (farting. Ugh.) Frankenstein's monster and they can't turn back until they're a "happy" family. UGH. This one looks bad, gang. The writing seems immature and lazy: if the Franken-fart wasn't bad enough, there's a bit in the trailer where the Sister mishears another Mummy's name (Imhotep) as "Johnny Depp". UGH. Worst of all, the voice talent is pretty great, with Emily Watson, Jason Isaacs, Nick Frost and Catherine Tate all lending their pipes to ....whatever this is.

PETER RABBIT - If you're the kind of person who thinks things like "Y'know, those timeless children's books by Beatrix Potter sure could use a modern reboot", this may be the movie for you. Also you're a monster and I don't want to know you. For real, there's a scene where Peter Rabbit (voiced by Carpool Karaoke guru James Corden) makes it rain cabbage leaves like he's in a strip club! Get right the fuck out of town with that bizness! Now, I'm not saying this will be awful, but it sure is being presented to the audience that way. Casting Domhnall Gleeson and Sam Neill as your Farmers McGregor is a good choice though and the voice talent isn't lacking: Daisy Ridley, Margot Robbie and even Sia, among many others, all voice various critters

THE 15:17 TO PARIS - Based on the book by Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone (with Jeffrey E. Stern) this biopic tells the story of the three men foiling a terrorist incident on the titular train in 2015. Clint Eastwood directs Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone as themselves with character actors like Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer, Jaleel White, Thomas Lennon and Tony Hale playing various parents, teachers and etc. in the more historical autobiographical sections. This one is a bit of mixed bag for me. I like a lot of the people involved but I get some real questionable vibes from this (a Gung-Ho Patriotism vibe and an Award Thirtsy vibe specifically) that kind of leave me cold.

50 SHADES FREED - In this the final (?) film based on the final (?) book in E.L. James' 50 Shades series, Ana (Dakota Johnson) & Christian (Jamie Dornan) are living the married life. They have a gorgeous house (yet are going to have a gorgeous-er one built?) and still enjoy their oh-so kinky lifestyle until... something something kidnapping? Apparently Ana's old boss has some vendetta against her and Christian, both, so he kidnaps Ana's sister. Meanwhile Ana suspects Christian of infidelity possibly due to the reappearance in his life of Elena (Kim Basinger), the woman who first introduced him to BDSM. Cards on the table, y'all. I have never read (and have no plans to read) the 50 Shades books, nor have I seen any of the movies, so when this trailer played in a darkened theater, I honestly didn't know what movie it was I was laughing at. Afterwards when the titled rolled, the realization of what I'd been watching only made it funnier / more outlandish / better. I would consider actually seeing this one, if only because it looks batshit stupid crazy.


16th :

BLACK PANTHER - I am so excited for this movie, fam! Besides adding some much-needed diversity to the Superhero Franchise Blockbuster genre, after Chadwick Boseman's scene-stealing appearance in Captain America: Civil War, I'm so excited for him give BP his own film! Directed by Ryan Coogler, the story looks like it expands on newly King T'Challa (Boseman)'s place in the larger Marvel universe, debuting his home, the hidden land of Wakanda, and a boatload of amazingly-costumed supporting characters (the cast includes Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker as well as returning MCU alums Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis). Plot details are scarce, but it seems like a group of T'challa's enemies rise up and attempt to dethrone him possibly? My big takeaway from the trailers is how incredibly sick all the costuming is! Like the Amazons' armor in last year's Wonder Woman, this was a visual itch I didn't realize needed to be scratched until I saw this trailer. Design-wise, comics are an incredibly diverse medium but after a while, it's easy not to notice how similar everything looks. Obviously, that applies to the casts as well, so, on both fronts,  I'm incredibly excited to see Black Panther to shake things up!


23rd :

EVERY DAY - This one looks pretty weird, y'all and I'm ...kinda intrigued. Based on the novel by David Levithan, this is a movie about Rhiannon, a teenage girl whose been having relationship troubles with her boyfriend Justin until one day when they go to the beach and have a heart-to-heart, really opening up to each other. Only that wasn't Justin, it was some kind of wandering spirit called A that can inhabit people's bodies; a new one (wait for it) ... every day. Now A has fallen in love with Rhiannon and has to not only convince her of the truth but also find a way to stay with her. Now, I get the impression that this is gonna lean a little too far into Christian fiction for me (and way too far away from a horror movie, obvs) but I think this one could be a real fun stay-at-home and yell-at-your-TV movie night.

ANNIHILATION - I'm not the only Jawnie who's excited about this one! Based on Jeff VanderMeer's novel (the first of his Southern Reach trilogy), this film directed by Alex Garland (who also adapted the screenplay) follows Natalie Portman who plays The Biologist (no proper nouns appear in the novel) who is part of the 12th expedition into an area (known as Area X in the novel / apparently called The Shimmer in the film) where the laws of nature don't seem to function as we normally experience them. The Biologist's Husband (Oscar Isaac) was a member of the previous expedition and returned seriously ill. The Biologist and other characters played by Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh & Gina Rodriguez comprise a 12th expedition who explore The Shimmer to find what it is and what is happening within it. This is a killer cast, working with a smart, genre savvy director who isn't afraid to make challenging work, telling a story full of creativity, mood and invention; I will be in theaters for Annihilation!



These are by no means the only Everything Old is New Again -applicable movies coming in the next couple of months, but they're the more widely-available ones and the ones I found most attention-grabbing. What do you think? Any of these you'll be seeking out? Any you'll be skipping?