Valiant

Valiant is a bird, critics are pointing out, and, they seem to indicate, it's certainly no prince. In fact, they're taking turns at firing potshots at Disney's latest animated feature. (The film was produced by a British company; Disney is distributing it.) It's digitally animated, not hand-drawn and voiced by such top-name British talent as Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Jim Broadbent, Tim Curry, John Cleese, Hugh Laurie and John Hurt. Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel concludes that it's watchable. But try explaining all of this not-particularly funny adult history, humor and clutter to a child. Likewise, Kyle Smith in the New York Post warns that the movie will fly over the heads of actual youngsters. And Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times suggests that the film may be trying too hard to fly high. She writes: Valiant wants to be the Saving Private Ryan of animated war movies. Instead (and the characters are just as hard to tell apart) it's their The Great Raid.

This animated movie was hillarious! The voice talents were terrfic, the animation was brilliant, and the cinematic style was on the right track.