Fun

Rating: 7/10 (18 March 2008)

This is the first Disney animated piece(save for that one segment of Fantasia... and yeah, they are pretty darn similar, in some ways) to be inspired by mythology, not fairy tale. As usual, liberties are taken, and history buffs may want to abstain from intake of liquids during their viewing, so as to prevent spit-takes. It is a fun film, however. Woods clearly has fun with the part, as confirmed by the Trivia page, and any moment his character is on-screen is enjoyable(which is not to say that the rest isn't). DeVito more or less plays himself, but his self ain't bad. Torn is marvelous. Goldthwait is not bad at all. The plot is good, as is the moral to the film. The pacing is great. The visual style is fitting, characters reminiscing the depictions from the time. The animation is well-done, and both it, and the design, hold plenty of energy and creativity. The 3D elements are nicely done, and the use of color is effective. Dialog is well-done. Characters are, as well. Music choices are... interesting, in some cases. There are some well-integrated references here and there, herein, for us fans of mythology(the Greek of it, mind you). Comedy leans towards the positive(what exactly *is* with all the Jewish stuff, though? Not that I mind, mind you). The DVD has some good special features, including two videos(in addition to a short making of), one consisting of artwork, the other of clips, as the actual myths, in reasonable detail, are explained. I recommend this to any fan of mythology and/or the Disney feature-length musicals. 7/10