The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979)

 

This is a 1979 animated film based on the book by the same name by author C. S. Lewis. The film adaption was written by David D. Connell and Bill Melendez, who also directed. Voice actors are Rachel Warren, Reg Williams and Victor Spinetti. You can find the full cast on Internet Movie Database. 

Four children enter a wardrobe playing hide and seek, and then they find themselves in a strange world of Narnia full of snow and friendly magical beings. The world is sent into winter by an evil queen and only Aslan can save them. 

For those not familiar with the story, this tale is both amazing, adventurous and also scary in places. The story is much darker than this animated film. It's an old fashioned form of animation so modern younger audiences should expect that. It's on for 1 hour and 35 minutes. The animation is made by CTW (Children's Television Workshop), Bill Melendez Productions and TVC London. A British and Spanish animation. I rate this quick simplified kids version of the epic story a nice 8/10.

My personal likes about this is a place where talking animals and legendary creatures live happy together. Oh I even like Mr and Mrs Beaver.

My personal dislikes is the queen, also called White Witch and Jadis. 

Blood Strawberry   

Fruits Basket

"Fruits Basket" is a Japanese animated TV series from 2019 to 2021. The production company is TMS Entertainment. While there is an earlier version made in 2001, I'm focused on reviewing the 2019-2021 version as it's true to the book it's based on. The author of the original book version, Natsuki Takaya was involved personally in this recent TV series.

The voice stars include (both Japanese and the English dubbed version) Manaka Iwami and Laura Bailey, Nobunaga Shimazaki and Eric Vale, Jerry Jewell and Yuma Uchida. More can be found on the list at IMDB. 

A teenaged girl named Tohru has become homeless after losing both parents. Her grandfather is staying with relatives who simply dislike Tohru and she's got no choice but to live in the woods in a tent. There she's discovered by members of the mysterious Soma family who take her in to stay with them. She learns that there is a Soma family curse and a connection with the Zodiac. 

This is a rural modern fantasy with shapeshifting and romance. It explores the emotions of each character and how Tohru is welcomed into the Soma family, where she goes from outsider to friend. It's both sad, funny, dark and magical. This updated series is more serious than the original cartoon 2001 series aimed at being more lighter. I rate this an enjoyable 9/10.

My personal likes about "Fruit Basket" are the many sweet characters and cute animals.

My personal dislikes is the evil head of the household Akito Sohma. 

Blood Strawberry