The Legend of Sarila (2013)

It's pretty bad.The animation looks quite good at times, but sometimes it looks horrible, its quite inconsistent in that regard.The characters, the plot, the pacing, the editing and the voice acting are awful, its just a mess of a movie but its not funny bad because its competently made (well, if you compare this to other awful animated movies).Honestly, I just watched it because the cover said it was a Frozen rip- off and I was quite surprised when I found out that it wasn't.It was quite a boring experience, I wasn't really interested in watching it, but it's short so I guess that's OK.

Spoilers are likely (Not like you frankly give a damn...)It is the year 1910 in Northern Canada. The Inuit shaman Croolik (Played By Christopher Plummer) has denounced Sedna, Goddess of water And The dead, so he can call upon the Spirit of Darkness. With the goddess withdrawing the region's fauna, Croolik's village is suddenly threatened with a famine due to a lack of game. Our orphan hero Markussi (played by Dustin Milligan), along with arranged couple Putulik (played by Tim Rozon) and Apik (played by Rachelle Lefevre) set out to find the eponymous land of Sarila, where animals are said to be plenty, in order to avert the famine. Along the way, Markussi learns that he has his own shaman abilities, while Croolik makes it his personal mission to undermine the heroes' quest whilst continuously trying to frame his estranged wife (Played By Geneviève Bujold) for his survival and benefit.You walked into this review expecting it to be negative, and while it is, let's first list of the film's (surprising amount of) pros. This film is admittedly better-presented than most of the atrocities i've reviewed; Christopher Plummer and Geneviève Bujold have clearly taken their performances seriously as an estranged couple driven apart by evil itself, while Olivier Auriol's musical score does it's best to keep the audience enticed audibly. Got those? Good, because now here comes the shredding.Right off the bat (as pointed out by I Hate Everything), this film's plot is one of (if not the most) formulaic in the entire animation medium, running in a pattern that any small child can point out with ease. That's right, the film constantly shifts between the perspectives of Croolik and the heroes in a pattern that sees Croolik executing a step in his sad excuse of a "master plan," followed by a section of the heroes' journey, usually with an action set piece thrown in. Also, this film boasts TERRIBLE production design. Even about a film following a nomadic people in the far north, where snow and ice are abundant, the film's backgrounds are in desperate need of detail. The film's environment is very flat with little terrain that desperately cries for that precious detail. It doesn't help that Sarila, which is supposed to be the film's scenic highlight, looks like something right out of a CalArts film project. And while Plummer and Bujold do their best to keep this failed project afloat, the mediocre screenplay upheld by the poorly-realized chemistry between Milligan, Rozon and Lefevere still lingers behind their talent and holds them back from completely saving the film.With it's exotic Inuit setting, Sarila looks poised to be brimming with originality, right? You couldn't be more wrong. The film rips two pages right out of the book of Dreamworks, those being The (underrated) Road to El Dorado And Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. Anything that looks "original" are actually sprinkled on from several other movies, such as Brother Bear and Ice Age. Plus, the film's re-branding as "Frozen Land" means that this film will forever be remembered as a mockbuster held back by a lackluster script, abhorrent production design, awful pacing, a formulaic plot and poor chemistry between it's star-studded cast, among other things.Call me demanding, if you desire. As a critic, i should be used to this kind of mob mentality bullshit.3/10.

The Clan has been without a steady food supply for some time due to poor relations with the spirit world. It is up to the young members of the Clan to embrace a challenge requiring purity of mind and heart. In this way, they may enter a mythical land and gain what is needed to set the Clan back in good standing with the spirits while bringing old, tiresome hatred out from it's shadows so it can be dealt with openly. While the animation is a bit dated, it lends a charm to this script and is in keeping with both the simplicity of the story and it's target audience. The script is likewise as simple and far-fetched as are the minds of most little ones, but does a fine job of including the whole family from grandparents to grandchildren. The acting is par with the production. It's refreshing to NOT be bombarded with Disney-like gender bashing and agenda crunching. Sadly this film did not enjoy the wide release it may have otherwise shared. Compared to the junk issued from Hollywood that is high in production, low on substance, we have here quality at a minimum cost that won't infect your kids with attitude and avarice. Good, silly fun with a few fine messages for all viewers.

Man, what the hell, I will open up my heart with you guys right here right now.I was NOT expecting much of this movie, actually I thought it would be pretty crap, I even prepared some beers and some snacks, sure... I thought "I'm really gonna need to feel my belly in order to take the emptiness of this movie" (this thought was good I need to write that, duh, I'm doing it already), anyway... All that bacon with bbq and beer does not hold me any longer and I started to give this movie a chance, those Inuit guys are hilarious, oh my god, I almost threw up (I actually kinda did a little bit on the carpet but it was OK, almost can't tell the difference only get a little bit darker with the taint), when they start to run, man, got to tell you, nobody can stop them! THE ANIMATION IS VERY GOOD, AWESOME QUALITY AND I EVEN GONNA INVITE ALL MY FAMILY FOR THE NEXT SESSION. I know understand a bit more of INUIT culture and Nancy Savard as director? This dude really knows what the is doing, some scenes really keeps you on thinking, oh my god, then you notice that it is just a movie, but sometimes you even lose track of this, you really feel yourself living that, oh my god. Well, not the part of starvation, that part I really did not feel. Enjoy the movie holmes.