Norm of the North

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Norm of the North

Post by James » January 15th, 2016, 2:27 pm

Review is up. Made a little AV history with this one!

http://animatedviews.com/2016/norm-of-the-north-film/

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Dan » January 15th, 2016, 2:30 pm

And glorious history it is, James. 8)

I would've added, "Be warned. Rob Schneider is the lead in this movie." :wink:

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Dacey » January 15th, 2016, 2:36 pm

I would've been happy to spare James this by seeing it myself. All he had to do was ask. ;)

Also, people are going to be WAY more interested in this now as a result of this review. :wink:

(Plus, Bill Nighy is in it, so it can't be all bad...can it?)
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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Ben » January 16th, 2016, 4:12 am

Seriously, I didn't even watch more than 20 seconds of the first teaser. Shame The Nut Job got lumbered in with this...I haven't seen it but that looked a bit of fun. Same with Free Birds - those two films are on the "lower scale" of CG moviemaking to be sure, but they both looked like cartoons to see at some point. Guess I can wipe Nut Job off the list.

But a Fun Factor of 2, though, eh?

Might give this one a go then... ;)

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Dacey » January 16th, 2016, 2:18 pm

Image
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Re: Norm of the North

Post by EricJ » January 16th, 2016, 2:33 pm

Dan (Lord Akiyama) wrote:I would've added, "Be warned. Rob Schneider is the lead in this movie." :wink:
Y'know, he wasn't THAT bad in Judge Dredd, when he was still stuck in other people's movies, but...
Ben wrote:Seriously, I didn't even watch more than 20 seconds of the first teaser. Shame The Nut Job got lumbered in with this...I haven't seen it but that looked a bit of fun. Same with Free Birds - those two films are on the "lower scale" of CG moviemaking to be sure, but they both looked like cartoons to see at some point. Guess I can wipe Nut Job off the list.
Guess you can. Lionsgate may be too "big" a studio to call this Delgo or Legends of Oz, but it shares the same quality as Free Birds or Nut Job in being a dreary, generic (dare we say "obnoxious"?) third-party acquisition from a minor studio to an indie distributor that looked around, checked the coast was clear, and suddenly thought they were "The mainstream family hit of the season!" because there was either no tentpole Disney/Pixar out, or because it was January, and they could double-down on a wide release.
(Oh, unless you're going to defend "Hoodwinked", as well?)

And besides, I still look at the early posters thinking it was Bernard, not Norm, and we should be so lucky. :(
Last edited by EricJ on January 17th, 2016, 4:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Bill1978 » January 16th, 2016, 3:32 pm

Oh wow James, what a damning review. You have zapped any interest I had from seeing this film (which was minimal at best). I normally check out all animated films that get theatrical releases out of curiosity. Even though they had a bad rep i got some enjoyment from The Nut Job and Free Birds that I didn't mind purchasing them for my collection. Sounds like I should skip this and avoid it for as long as possible ie until there is no other new release PG or G option when choosing a video to rent to watch with my godson.

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Ben » January 17th, 2016, 5:38 am

Dacey wrote:Image
Thing is...I'm never sure if people are scoring the title under discussion or the actual review! In this case, it absolutely makes sense that they are scoring James' review!

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by droosan » January 17th, 2016, 6:37 am

It's too bad; I'm acquainted with a few people who'd worked on this .. and I know they could've delivered better quality, given a comparable time & budget as most larger studios would've devoted to an animated feature. But audiences (rightly) judge a movie as it is .. not as it might've been.

Kinda relieved I'd turned-down an opportunity on an even lower-budget DTV animated feature gig a couple of months ago, now. :|

Though, I've certainly contributed to my share of poorly-received cheap stuff, over the years; after all, 'low-paying' work is still preferable to 'no-paying' work. :mrgreen:

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Dacey » January 17th, 2016, 12:16 pm

Thing is...I'm never sure if people are scoring the title under discussion or the actual review! In this case, it absolutely makes sense that they are scoring James' review!
(Perhaps this is something we should consider making "more specific" in the future? Like "How would you rate the film," or something to that effect?)

And I keep hearing that Norm was initially going to be an obscure straight-to-DVD, with Lionsgate supposedly "saving it" in order to cash in on the four-day weekend. And two sequels are apparently already in production!
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Re: Norm of the North

Post by EricJ » January 17th, 2016, 4:37 pm

Dacey wrote: Perhaps this is something we should consider making "more specific" in the future? Like "How would you rate the film," or something to that effect?)
Something like other sites such as Netflix's reviews have, ie. "Was this review helpful: Yes/No?", with maybe a star system.
Good review, in that perfectly encapsulated a lousy movie.
And I keep hearing that Norm was initially going to be an obscure straight-to-DVD, with Lionsgate supposedly "saving it" in order to cash in on the four-day weekend. And two sequels are apparently already in production!
Told ya: "Empty-theater season" delusions of grandeur and Monday-morning fantasies, that's what brings 'em down every time!

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by James » January 19th, 2016, 9:43 am

As bad as that review made it sound, I don't think it quite did justice to my feelings! There are movies I don't like that I can objectively see why others might like, or where I can overlook my issues and see some good qualities. Norm of the North literally had nothing -- NOTHING! -- in it I can point to as worthwhile or likable. Almost every decision feels like the wrong one. I've never watched any of those cheap knock-off animated movies that try to trick you into thinking they are something more popular, but I can't imagine them being much worse than this.
Dacey wrote:...(Plus, Bill Nighy is in it, so it can't be all bad...can it?)
Nope. Terrible having to hear the lines he has to say with his voice.
Ben wrote:...Shame The Nut Job got lumbered in with this...I haven't seen it but that looked a bit of fun. Same with Free Birds - those two films are on the "lower scale" of CG moviemaking to be sure, but they both looked like cartoons to see at some point. Guess I can wipe Nut Job off the list.
The Nut Job was a masterpiece compared to this! The animation was passable there. Here it looks like they didn't spend the time or money to get it to 2016 expectations.

Free Birds I actually gave a somewhat favorable review to. It's Best Picture quality compared to Norm!
Ben wrote:But a Fun Factor of 2, though, eh?

Might give this one a go then... ;)
Ha ha! That 2 was purely because there was only one other group in the theatre with me when I saw it, two parents and a four or five year old kid. The kid was having fun and would jump up and dance every time a song started.
droosan wrote:It's too bad; I'm acquainted with a few people who'd worked on this .. and I know they could've delivered better quality, given a comparable time & budget as most larger studios would've devoted to an animated feature. But audiences (rightly) judge a movie as it is .. not as it might've been...

...Though, I've certainly contributed to my share of poorly-received cheap stuff, over the years; after all, 'low-paying' work is still preferable to 'no-paying' work. :mrgreen:
Very true. It's the higher-ups making those "time & budget" decisions that should take the blame for a mess like this. Hopefully the regular joes doing their job just trying to make a living don't take these things too personally.

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Dacey » January 19th, 2016, 11:17 am

I've never watched any of those cheap knock-off animated movies that try to trick you into thinking they are something more popular, but I can't imagine them being much worse than this.
Speaking as someone who's seen all of Ratatoing, I can assure you that they can. ;)

But if you need proof of that, the studio has put that--and several other of those "movies"--online in their entirety...

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Ben » January 19th, 2016, 9:12 pm

Painful.

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Re: Norm of the North

Post by Dacey » February 24th, 2016, 2:56 pm

"Arctic Shake" sing-a-long? YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/ ... uray/30086

;)
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