Who payed the critics

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The first must-see film of the year.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

My three and four (now five) year olds LOVE this movie. It's terrific for little ones, and I prefer this to many more popular and money making films that cast a wider net that targets a broader age spectrum but also exposes little ones to more fearful subjects and tidal waves of verbage that they don't understand...and vocabulary/behaviors that I don't want them to imitate. I was surprised to read that this is the all-time lowest grossing animated feature film, but there you go. We watch it on Netflix.

In this world, crayons are an elite ruling class who create "doodles" as lesser lifeforms dependent on the crayons for bright colors (monetary wealth). Crayons recharge their color via a rainbow waterfall which we find out that only they can absorb. When one unfinished doodle (ironically dressed in the garb of royalty, when he is in fact an upstart in the face of the crayon aristocracy) attempts to bypass the crayons and absorb the bright color himself, he finds he cannot directly absorb it and dams up the waterfall. The crayons then, selflessly, attempt to distribute their remaining color among other doodles but feel their own color resources dwindling without access to the rainbow.The climax relies on a cowardly crayon (yellow, naturally) who then reaches out to the oppressed doodles to work together, indicating the proletariat has no mouthpiece without the bourgeoisie to give it to him.Essentially, it decries a populist attempt to bypass a power bottleneck as selfish and promotes the ruling elite crayons as some sort of necessary filter between resources and the doodles (people) who depend on it for life.Probably not on purpose, as the rest of the film isn't clever enough to suggest there's any sort of intended subtlety. It's more likely that I watch this too much on Netflix with my kids, but there you go.

The Hero of Color City is one of my new all time favorite animated movies! The story is about a boy named Ben. When he falls asleep, his crayons come to life! There's are lots of color, music, and magic! When I first saw this movie, it blew my mind away! The animation is well done. What's makes this movie more interesting is you hear the voice of Lighting McQueen from Cars in this movie, Owen Wilson. This movie is great for young kids and it's not dark or violent at all. The music is flawless, and the songs are well fitting. This movie has some things that could make you laugh. I like how this movie has a river that has a mix of colors like, red, blue, orange, green, yellow, and purple. An unforgettable adventure! You don't want to miss it!

As a parent who has had to sit through a lot of children's programming over the years, I really liked this little movie. The premise is cute, and there's a few jokes aimed at the parents in there. It's not so teeth-rottingly sweet as to be nauseating to Mom and Dad, the music is catchy, and the children's drawings come to life is an interesting concept that's not overdone. I've found myself asking my two year old if he'd like to watch the crayon movie again! The voice actor's list has some of my favorites on it including Sean Astin (from Goonies and The Lord Of The Rings) who I would never have pegged, although I knew it was familiar and I actually came to IMDb to see who the voice actor is. It also stars Owen Wilson and Christina Ricci, Craig Ferguson and Wayne Brady. Put the movie on for your kiddos- mine love it!