| Capsule Review The Hero of Color City (2014)
Directed by Frank Gladstone.
Voice Cast: Christina Ricci, Craig Ferguson, Rosie Perez, Wayne Brady, E.G. Daily, Jessica Capshaw, Sean Astin, Owen Wilson, Jess Harnell, Tara Strong, David Kaye, Jeremy Guskin, Zoe Bright, Sophia Eraklis, Tom Lowell.
2014 77 minutes
Rated: (nothing objectionable).
Reviewed by Dustin Putman, 2014.
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"The Hero of Color City" was made for five-year-olds and is unashamedly derivative of "Toy Story." The computer-generated animation is second-tier next to the big dogs at Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, but there will be no arguing that it isn't the cinematic equivalent of a rainbowor, for that matter, a box of crayons. One of those coloring instruments is the perpetually fearful Yellow (voiced by Christina Ricci), who yearns to be as cool as Blue (Wayne Brady), as headstrong as Red (Rosie Perez), and as organized as Green (Craig Ferguson). In the bedroom of their slumbering young owner, Ben (E.G. Daily), Yellow and her pals are transported by way of his crayon box to the candy-toned land of Color City. Their world is threatened, however, when Ben's unfinished drawing of King Scrawl shows up to steal their bright hues. "The Hero of Color City" includes some unexpected references2008's "Gran Torino" ("Get off my lawn!") and YouTube videos ("Double rainbow!"), for startersbut the gist of the story is simple and sweet enough, if on the forgettable side. Its most egregious moment might actually be its last, a lame, inappropriate mid-end-credits tag that turns into a PSA for recycling crayons at crayoncollection.org.
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