seanboud

The first half was solid, but it became mind-numbingly inane and treacly in the second half. The "message" was oh-so-clear, I squirmed a bit having it rammed down my throat.

The animation was absolutely fantastic. I was amazed by some of the textures and such. I refrain from saying it was a high-water mark for CGI, but it was very, very well done. The artists did a wonderful job. The underwater animation was AMAZING.

It is a shame the screenwriters, director and producers didn't do as well with the meat of the movie. It's almost disgustingly cute (but not quite) so I believe a lot of the flaws are glossed over by folks who see it and get starry-eyed.

Good kid stuff, but they punted the back half of the film.

The story is simple and has probably been retold in every heroic setting possible. It's also a bit of wish fulfillment for those of us that grew up pumping quarters into arcade video games.

In my opinion the acting is above average for a movie like this. It is much helped by veteran actors Robert Preston and Dan O'Herlihy. Lance Guest does a great turn as Alex as well.

The effects were not appreciated at the time, I think, but hold up fairly well. They were drawn on that Holy Grail of computers to us children of the 80's; a Kray Supercomputer.

The score is well done, the humor timed well and the overall good feeling I get from watching it never fades. You can't go wrong with this gem.