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STAN LEE PRESENTS: MOSAIC (ADVANCE REVIEW) |
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Wednesday, 03 January 2007 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | ANCHOR BAY | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 1.78:1 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND SPANISH DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 72 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | NR | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 01/09/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 01/04/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
When a notable anime company such as Mook Animation Inc. works on a Western animated movie, it certainly worth fans taking notice. An action packed adventure about a girl acquiring super powers, Mosaic is an all new animated movie that is sure to attract fans of Spider Man, The Fantastic Four and X-Men. Featuring the voice of Anna Paquin (X-Men the movie trilogy, The Piano), the main character of Maggie comes to life in this animated movie from the creator of Spider Man, The Fantastic Four and The Hulk and co-creator of X-Men: Stan Lee.
Set in the present, Maggie is an aspiring actress who lives in New York City. On a dark and stormy night, everything changes when she wakes up with chameleon-like powers and discovers her father’s life is in danger from a murderous being wishing to annihilate the human race and have his kind reclaim the planet. Maggie is soon thrown into a world of excitement, danger and the fantastical as she discovers the existence of a chameleon like race, a people in need of help, and an ancient prophecy that may feature her as the hero!
Action and adventure in high animated fashion with comic book flair, Mosaic is an exciting super-hero ride with an appealing young heroine. It bears a lot in common with Spider Man. Both Maggie and Peter Parker are two people who find themselves with incredible powers. Both, rather than go the usual angst ridden route of many super-heroes, instead first show a very real youthful zest in their discoveries. They each have a fun-loving nature and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour. Maggie isn’t some angst ridden reluctant hero. She is an intelligent and brave young woman who rises to the occasion when she finds out her father is in danger and an ancient race may need saving, or stopping, depending on their true motives. If anything, Maggie’s problem might be that she is too enthusiastic and not fearful enough. She’s reckless and it can lead to trouble for the young heroine. Lucky for her, a handsome young man, with powers of his own and ties to the chameleon-like race, is there to help her. Now she just has to figure out who the bad guy is and how to control her powers to stop him before the planet is doomed!
The exciting and fast-paced story was written by famed comic book writer Scott Lobdell, who wrote for such titles as The Uncanny X-Men, Excalibur, The Fantastic Four, and Daredevil. Known for his more character driven plots, Mosaic is no exception. Despite all the action, he manages to weave a story about a young girl growing up and learning responsibility.
As far as it being a comic book-like character, the story doesn’t hold a lot of surprises. It stays pretty close to the formula of comic book story telling. To that extent it has a certain predictability. However, there are so few female lead super-heroes that it is a nice change of pace to have a female lead and have it done well.
Anna Paquin does a fine job voicing Maggie. The overall voice talent is well done and the movie features all original songs composed by William Kevin Anderson. The animation itself is dynamic with a fine glossy quality. The opening sequence is done in a series of comic book panels coming to life before your eyes. The cityscape in the opening scene of the movie is eye-catching. The quality of the animation isn’t surprising when you hear who helped produce it. It was none other than Asian companies Mook Animation Inc. and Enzo Animation (Peach Girl TV). This isn’t the first time Mook Animation has done a Western animation. The company also worked on X-Men Evolution and the Ultimate Avengers movies. It is known for its work on such notable anime series as R.O.D. TV, Eureka Seven, Gungrave, Inu Yasha the Movie 2, and Kashimashi.
EXTRAS:
This disc contains plenty of bonus features, including an introduction to the movie, characters and story by the creator of Mosaic, Stan Lee, featurette Chameleon Traits: interview with Stan Lee, featurette Architecture Traits: an interview with director Roy Smith, Mosaic-ku! DVD game based on the popular Sudoku, a 16 page comic book: The Condor by Stan Lee, a sneak peek at the upcoming animated movie The Condor, and a Mosaic character art gallery.
IN SUMMARY:
Mosaic is a dynamic action adventure featuring a brave and fun-loving heroine that is sure to delight fans of Spider Man and the Fantastic Four. |
