daisukereds

To a kid with toys, having a cupboard that could make them real was such fascinating idea! Seeing Darth Vader ducking it out with a Dinosaur was just the cherry on top. So, I remember this movie from my childhood fondly.. Coming back to it as an "adult", I can see and appreciate the layers of lessons in maturity, the weight of a life, one's choices, trust in others and much more.

What is more impressive to me is how such a simple (but very imaginative) premise, was so brilliantly executed! Can't imagine it took me so many years to enjoy it again.

I would easily recommend this to anyone of any age.

I'm going to be rather ash about this one.. considering the last half hour is a chore to finish, and I just wanted to move on (things you don't want your audience to experience).

The movie feels like 2 really slow hours of inconsequential plots that don't lead anywhere meaningful, and the pay off is the hope a generic romantic relationship between a pair you can't possibly ship together. Sadly, one of the leads is not like the other. One is innocent charming and endearing.. while the other is Masaki Okada, which I find to be a rather poor choice for ANY leading role! Portraying them all in a similar fashion (being borderline-annoying and aloof seems to be his selling points). Kaya Kiyohara is cutesy and the movie would benefit from focusing solely on her character.

The plot is painfully predictable. With too many obvious elements and outcomes. And repeating scenes can feel like a waste of time if not done well.. like in this one, which it does a lot and doesn't offer additional context or details to make them useful.

And there's the little things a nitpicker like me can notice.. a lack of care and quality ("time-stop" moment where everything supposedly freezes.. yet, while people are frozen and some even float mid-air, clothing and trees inexplicably continue swaying in the wind).

In the end, it has nice cinematography, nice places, and interesting ideas poorly used.. and it is too quirky at the beginning for my taste and without much substances. The conclusion is also kind of bad.. good songs, though!

The most advanced robot in the world learns emotions, falls in love and becomes a destructive weapon.

While this is a "spectacle over plot" kind of movie, it is still impressive as a whole.

An almost 3-hour package of some very appealing creative ideas, decent acting, catchy songs, excellent choreographies (they even involved Woo-Ping Yuen of Matrix fame), computer graphics, and great execution.

Still, it isn't perfect. The plot is thin in parts, but it manages to touch on more interesting elements. Personally, the bollywood structure of prolonged musical scenes to complement the story, is something that takes too much time away from the movie and I rarely enjoy.. but I understand the appeal, and they always manage to look great.

On $40 million budget, it is impressive on what they managed to deliver. Naturo himself would be jealous!