Ultimately, Incredibles 2 matters because Bird understands we as an audience are fond of Bob, Helen, Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack because they in turn love one another with selfless transparency. They’re the reason any of this has resonance, the reason we’ve been eagerly longing for a new adventure featuring each of them for over a decade.

Pixar’s latest animated offering Coco is a pleasant enough diversion, offering colorful visual delights that are as imaginative as they are gorgeous.

[Just] because Cars 3 is unlikely to win any awards or be remembered as one of the year’s great animated features doesn’t make it any less entertaining. Lightning’s return to the motor speedway is worthy of appreciation, the film’s eventual victory as unexpected as it is absolute.

Not only is Kubo and the Two Strings an original tale, it is one that is both culturally sensitive to its Japanese origins as well as universally accessible to viewers the world over. It is a movie that works beginning to end, practically every piece one worthy of cherishing as events work their way towards their heroic conclusion.

I’m just about done giving them a chance, and the next time this gaggle of crazy critters ambles back on-screen I think I’ll choose to stay home.

Finding Dory doesn’t need to go beyond what the first film did, doesn’t need to reinvent its own wheel. What Stanton does is to instead remain true to his characters, never belittling them, never undercutting their personal truths, and in doing so, crafts a portrait of family and togetherness so rewarding, it’s practically priceless. In other words, much like its titular character, it keeps swimming, and in doing so teaches all of us life lessons that we likely already knew yet still could use to revisit all the same.

The Good Dinosaur is a children’s fable that is more than content to be exactly what it is and little more. None of which means adults won’t find plenty to cherish, they just won’t latch onto it as strongly as younger viewers undoubtedly will, and for my part I have no problem with that whatsoever.

“With kids, what’s the first language they speak? Well, that’s emotion…Even if they don’t understand the specifics of what is being talked about, if they see a character is upset or fearful or happy, they respond to that.”

What’s fascinating is just how many levels this ingenious bit of storytelling virtuosity works on. The youngest of minds will be mesmerized by the dazzling colors and the enchanting characters, while more seasoned viewers will be just as deeply engrossed by the complexity of the themes being examined.