issue 11// vol 45 A poignant, socially _ relevant children’s movie > ‘Smallfoot’ film review Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor kek YY mallfoot is woke. The film (directed by Karey Kirkpatrick) is a children’s movie; however, it is suitable for all ages. The premise of the movie is unlike any other I have seen before—yet the messages are startlingly relevant to our lives off screen. The plot centres around Migo (voiced by Channing Tatum), a lovable and cheery yeti. Migo’s set to take his father’s job to ring the daily sun gong, as per tradition, to call for the sun to rise. After a goofy miss, Migo finds himself on the other side of his village’s mountain. A plane crash occurs and suddenly Migo is faced with... a human! However, traditions in Migo’s yeti civilization are written on stones, which are carried by the village leader, called the Stonekeeper. One of the stone’s rules is that there is no such thing as a “Smallfoot” (human). Migo goes back to the village to tell everyone what he saw, but nobody believes him except a small group of rebels. In a desperate effort to prove himself, Migo and his friends set off to challenge everything they’ve ever known to be true, even if the rules were set in place to keep them safe. There are many unique voice actors in Smallfoot, including: Zendaya voicing Meechee, Migo’s friend and love interest; Migo’s dad Dorgle, voiced by Danny DeVito; Migo’s unlikely human friend Percy, voiced by James Corden; and Migo’s friend Gwangi, voiced by LeBron James. These recognizable voices alone make Smallfoot very fun to watch. The animation is simple but cute, with Screenshot of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ trailer Eh Rw AA CO The Queen biopic you have been waiting to see >» ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ film review Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist keen ueen is arguably the greatest band of all time. Incorporating opera in their music created a lot of the greatest hits in rock and roll history. They created rock anthems such as “We Are the Champions’, “We Will Rock You’, and one of my favourite songs, “Another One Bites the Dust”. We have waited for a biopic about Queen fora long time. Now the story of how Freddie Mercury formed the band, and the story of his personal life, comes to the big screen in Bohemian Rhapsody. The film starts with Mercury (Rami Malek) being a baggage handler at London Heathrow Airport. Then he discovers the rest of the band including Brian May (Gwilym Lee), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), and John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello), and they create epic music which had never before been heard at that time. While their record label thinks that they will not do well, the band gets their music out to the world, all leading up to their famous performance at the charity concert Live Aid in 1985. Before I saw the film, I'd been thinking that they were going to address Mercury being bisexual and having AIDS. However, many people told me that they were not going to fully address those aspects of his life, despite the film’s preview showing a hint that they would. One person also told me that the film’s timeline of events might be inaccurate. After seeing the film, I'd say it has everything that I was expecting to see in it. The filmmakers balanced the story of Queen with Mercury’s private life. Mercury a style that looks like a cross between Wreck- It Ralph and Monsters Inc., regarding the fluffy creatures and the pink, chubby-cheeked humans. Migo, curious as ever, goes to great lengths to prove that the Smallfoot is real. He goes down into a human village and meets Percy, a wildlife TV show host. Though neither of them can communicate with each other at first, and though they both have been taught to fear each other, they surpass what has been expected of them and become friends instead. Together, they work to change stereotypes about each other's species by introducing one another as friendly races. They even bond over playing Candy Crush. The musical bits are forgettable, sounding just like any other cheery song A | if UAliA\s wrote hints of his bisexuality in their songs and the film addresses his illness as well. We do not know that he has AIDS until the day before he passes away in 1991. The film not only shows his relationship with Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker), they also show his relationship with his personal manager, Paul Prenter (Allen Leech). These romances lead to Mercury’s girlfriend, Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), breaking up with him after she finds out that he also likes men. Mercury being more famous caused him and the rest of the band to have disagreements with creative decisions. However, all the members of Queen contributed to the success of the band. Mercury had the idea of the six-minute- long epic song “Bohemian Rhapsody”, May had the idea of “We Will Rock You” because he wanted to make a song that everyone could perform, Deacon created the infamous riff in “Another One Bites The Dust”, and Taylor wrote songs that were underrated. Malek’s portrayal of Mercury is great because he gets the accent right and does his signature dance moves exactly how Mercury did them, especially during the end of the film. In my opinion he should get the Academy Award for Best Actor in the Academy Awards next year. Mike Meyers makes a surprise, unrecognizable appearance as Ray Foster, the head of the band’s record label. Foster refuses to release “Bohemian Rhapsody” as the first hit single of the band’s fourth album A Night at the Opera. Bohemian Rhapsody has everything that you would like to know about Queen. It isa film that you must see for yourself. Now that it has been made, we can wait for the biopic about The Beatles. Image via Warner from an animated film. The plot itself does a good job keeping the underlying messages subtle but obvious enough that children can derive the point and take it home. Smallfoot urges people to challenge traditions and the status quo, to challenge authority, to never stop asking questions, and to fight for the truth. The message is a model for anyone watching. It is an unexpectedly bold movie which could be making statements about many things, particularly government and/or religion. Tam excited for more movies directed at children that fight social constructs—this will be a remarkable feat in fighting all stereotypes that keep humans divided.