Smash and Grab is adorable, heartwarming, and incredible for how short it is. This is the second Pixar SparkShorts I’ve ever reviewed, and once again, the quality is evident. This is better than some whole-length movies.
It was difficult limiting this to only ten favorite articles. Ultimately, it boiled down to a quirk of memory. Which ones, upon looking through the year, evoked the strongest memories, the most potent feelings.
Last year, I took a look at some of my favorite and least favorite pieces of media I reviewed for 2022.
The Church on Ruby Road marks the beginning of Ncuti Gatwa’s tenure as the Doctor, and while the episode was a mixed bag, Ncuti did such a good job.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is inescapably a nostalgia grab of a movie, relying on people like me and our fond memories of the original film. If it weren’t for that history, I’m not sure it would’ve been that big of a deal for there to be a new kid’s movie about chickens attempting to escape being eaten.
Klaus is a heartwarming, magical, wonderful film that does what the best Disney and Pixar movies manage and is instantly a classic.
The Giggle marks the end of Doctor Who’s trilogy of specials, and, like each one, I enjoyed it a lot and found a core issue. This one is perhaps the most flattering flaw on paper, though, even if I consider Wild Blue Yonder to be the stronger episode overall. Simply put, The Giggle is too short—way, way too short.
If Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder had been a novelization, it would be in my top ten favorite Doctor Who stories across any season, with any Doctor. Full stop. I love it when Doctor Who leans into horror and the weirder side of the universe.
Doctor Who: The Star Beast marks the return of so many things. The return of Russell T. Davies as showrunner. The return of David Tennant as the 14th Doctor. And a continuation of Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble story that had originally ended in a tragic mindwipe after she helped save the universe.
Elemental marks Pixar’s first romance-focused story since Wall-E, and as a fan of romance stories—yes, most people also find that surprising when they find out—I have to give it a glowing endorsement right off the bat.
Before listening to The Storage Papers, I never thought a podcast could scare me as much as The Magnus Archives. That the mind-melting, the dark-is-dangerous thrill it gave me was the peak of horror storytelling.
Luca serves as another reminder of why Pixar has the reputation it does. Yes, stuff like The Good Dinosaur and the Cars franchise unsettled that a little, making it guesswork if the newest Pixar movie will be worth the time, but Luca is worth the time.
