Toys in the Attic (2009)
In an attic full of discarded junk, a pretty doll called Buttercup lives in an old trunk together with her friends, the marionette Prince Charming, lazy Teddy Bear and the plasticine creature Schubert. When Buttercup is snatched and taken off to the Land of Evil, her pals set out to rescue her.
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Good start, but then it gets ruined
A Masterpiece!
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
In the attic, little girl Andrejka's toys come alive. The doll Buttercup lives with her friends in a suitcase. While the friends are out to work, the Head attacks her with bugs. She tries to find her friends and is lured out by the Black Cat. Buttercup gets lost and taken by the rag-monster to be imprisoned by the Head in the Land of Evil. Grandma throws away plasticize Laurent. Teddy Bear and Sir Handsome set off to rescue Buttercup. Madam Curie is a communist mouse who organizes the masses to battle the Land of Evil.This is visually imaginative and unique. The story is straight-forward. The material looks like stuff found under the couch. It has a grotesque amateur beauty. I don't think the story is anything special. It's Toy Story with less fun. The characters are interesting but lacks charisma due to the stiff facial expressions. This is a fascinating attempt.
Imagine how it would be if a filmmaker like Jan vankmajer decided to make one day a remake of "Toy Story". I'm pretty sure that the result would be easily something like this.Even when (by concept, at least)"Toys in the Attic" is a kid's movie, it still has plenty of surreal and weird scenes which seem to be quite uncommon in this kind of films (At least, in the Hollywood kid's flicks)However, considered that it was directed by Jiří Barta (Who is also the same director of the magnificent "Krysař", an incredibly dark version of the "Pied Piper of Hamelin" fairytale) that shouldn't surprise me, specially considering that Barta and vankmajer share more than a common element in all their work, a unique quality that made each film and short directed by them a fascinating and surreal experience.And obviously, this movie isn't the exception of that rule. I enjoyed it a lot, but I'm sure that adult viewers will appreciate it more than the kids (In fact, I'm sure that a couple of scenes from this movie could easily scare some little children. Or perhaps they will find this boring, something which is a shame) I highly recommend this movie tor anyone who is interested to see a kid 's film told from other kind of perspective.
Jiri Barta's amazing new film is not just a masterpiece of animation: It's a celebration of imagination and invention! Discarded items, from antique toys to rotten potatoes, take on a life of their own when discarded in the attic of a Czech home during the Cold War. Repurposed and re-imagined into new tasks and roles, Barta's vision explodes with enchanting creativity and visual splendor. This newly created, English-Adaptation ads new dimension to the film with terrific performances from a stellar voice cast, and an informative new opening sequence which describes some back history of the principal characters. TOYS IN THE ATTIC is truly an amazing film not to be missed while it's on the big screen!
Jiri Barta returns to film making after a 20 year absence. He also hits one out of the park.This is one of the surprises of the New York International Children's Film Festival. I didn't expect to like this but I did. Actually other than it losing its way in the last 10 minutes this is a wonderful film.The best way to describe this is Toy Story meets Princess Bride.When the big head in the land of evil gets designs on Buttercup he sets a plan in motion to steal her. Its then up to her friends to find away to get her back.Its amazing. Its wonderful stop motion magic. Just track this down, its great.