Just as things were seemingly returning to normal – albeit slowly for some – it would seem that we may be going back to studios possibly shifting release dates for their more prominent properties. Or maybe “Clifford the Big Red Dog” is simply an outlier. That said, for the time being, there’s plenty of films on the docket worth keeping an eye out for in a month full of original content and few titles (such as the well-regarded “The Suicide Squad“) based on existing properties.

Continue reading 13 Films To Watch In August: ‘Suicide Squad,’ ‘Candyman,’ ‘Coda’ & More at The Playlist.

Earlier this year, comic book writer/artist and filmmaker Dash Shaw presented his latest animated film, “Cryptozoo” at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival to much acclaim. Shaw was primarily known for his inventive comic book work but then quickly moved into animated filmmaking with “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea,” which was critically acclaimed and had its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

Continue reading ‘Cryptozoo’ Trailer: Dash Shaw’s Fantastical Sundance Animated Film Features Lake Bell, Zoe Kazan, Michael Cera & More at The Playlist.

It’s remarkably rare that anyone makes a hand-drawn animated feature for adults, let alone one as strikingly surreal and seriously minded as Dash Shaw’s “Cryptozoo.” 

READ MORE: 25 Most Anticipated 2021 Sundance Film Festival Premieres

This Sundance premiere – honored with the fest’s Innovator Award in its NEXT section for “pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling” – takes place in an alt-history 1960s secretly populated by “cryptids,” including fantastic beasts like the Kraken, the Loch Ness monster, and Sasquatch. 

Continue reading Dash Shaw Talks ‘Cryptozoo,’ Animation Influences & Dream Politics [Sundance Interview] at The Playlist.

For the first time in recent memory, the Sundance Film Festival recruited just three members each for its competition juries. Even in the context of a virtual festival, that might have been a mistake after one film dominated the Dramatic category winning four awards. In very much a surprise, the crowd-pleasing “Coda” took the Grand Jury-Dramatic, Grand-Jury Audience, Directing (Siân Heder) and a special extra honor for its ensemble.

Continue reading ‘Coda’ Dominates 2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards at The Playlist.

Outside episodic television, adult animation is seldom procured at studios in the U.S. Still; the medium has found stateside keepers of mature content among independent creators. Dash Shaw, alongside fiercely autonomous storytellers like Don Hertzfeldt and veteran Bill Plympton, is one of the most visionary American animation filmmakers pushing past the thematic and aesthetic boundaries imposed in family-friendly fare.

READ MORE: 25 Most Anticipated 2021 Sundance Film Festival Premieres

In “Cryptozoo,” his follow-up to the hilarious disaster teen comedy “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea,” Shaw, who’s also quite prolific in the comic book arena, has gone bolder and more intricate in a kaleidoscopic adventure best dubbed as the “Jurassic Park” of mythical creatures.

Continue reading ‘Cryptozoo’: Dash Shaw’s Spectacular Animated Adventure Is the ‘Jurassic Park’ Of Mythical Creatures [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

The fact there are even 72 selections for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival is something of a miracle. The fall festivals had the benefit of movies that mostly shot before the pandemic hit in March. Outside of three selections originally set to debut at Cannes (a silver lining for Sundance), most of the narrative pictures premiering in January were shot at least partially after the virus hit North America. When there is a will, there is a way.

Continue reading 25 Most Anticipated 2021 Sundance Film Festival Premieres at The Playlist.