Touches You

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is pretty much based off of a comic in how the style of animation is done and the script. Stan Lee wrote the script. It starts out with a typical way of a murder happening and someone who gets their hands on something they have no clue how to use.Maggie is pretty beautiful and seems well put together in what she wants to be and who she is. Sometimes she acts like a teenager though she has the body of an adult. The only thing she doesn't have seems to be her father's attention most of the time. He always seems to busy with his work to stay for her full performance. It's basically the typical idea of superhero background. Father gets attacked and she gets her powers after. We get the whole Spiderman genetics detail of her body changing too when she transforms. There are a lot of things that seem like a copy of Spiderman and they do make fun of it once in a while. One bad thing about this, she talks to herself a lot. She always seems to have to give explanations of why she is doing something.Mosaic is basically the gateway to the other side. The person that explains all that has happened to her and what the Chameliel world is like. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the love interest (Not saying yes or no to that) because of how he acts. He's actually rather cute as well in his 'normal' face. He and her make a cute couple… anyway. He knows much and yet seems to always be surprised when she one ups him.The artwork is actually very beautiful and detailed, much again like a comic book. I fell in love with the art style in this for it was also very colorful and bright even in the darker parts.The voices seem odd, almost like they are disconnected from their bodies. It's somewhat like a radio show this way with the artwork done afterwords. It isn't bad, just different. Another thing that seems interesting is that they explain a lot and they tried hard not to have cuss words.The only problem is that it doesn't have an ending. It actually keeps it open and I have not found anything more about the show giving a second movie.

Just saw this on TV, for FREE, thank goodness. If this movie was aimed at 12 year old girls, (as the juvenile characters and tone would seem to indicate) that's an insult to 12 year old girls. I'd like to think that even *they* would appreciate a well-written story that's smart and engaging. Mosaic was boring.The main character comes across as, well, a dumb 12 year old girl trapped in the body of a fully grown woman. She acts like a childish simpleton, with little-girly mannerisms, a vapid smile, and a terrible, superficial "what a fun sleepover!" vocal delivery, even during serious situations - the voice actress, Anna Paquin, SUCKS. Her tone is too fluffy and clueless and it sounds like she isn't paying attention to the meaning of the dialogue/scene, or really interacting with the other actors in a convincing way. I know in animation the actors are usually recorded separately, but *good* voice actors can overcome that disadvantage. Too bad they went for a Celebrity Name instead.It's more than a little disconcerting to see a character who behaves/sounds so young/immature, drawn with the body of a playboy model. I assume this was done to try to appeal to boys who might otherwise be bored silly by the slow-moving plot and lack of action? Well, good luck trying to make a movie for both little girls AND big boys. That makes for a squicky experience I like to call The Britney Spears Effect.The previous reviewer who said the main character wasn't overly sexualized, must've missed the scene where Maggie walks straight towards the "camera" until her chest completely fills the frame. There's no good reason for that...it's just plain gratuitous and tacky.What can I say about the story? Generic superpowers, generic villains-wanna-takeover-the-world plot. I'd like to see more female superheroes starring in movies, etc. But this one ain't exactly a great role model for girls. She only reinforces the stereotypical male fantasy object - a ditsy busty blonde, sweet and kinda dumb, more interested in romance and shallow pursuits than real adventure - who'll help out the men in her life, in a cute, non-threatening way, but always rely on her guy to lead the way and tell her what to do. Sure she has some heroic moments where she saves a few people, but it feels contrived, not triumphant.She has the ability to shapeshift and turn invisible, but persists in changing back to her normal form constantly, EVEN WHEN SHE KNOWS PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR HER AND EVEN WHEN SHE'S SPYING ON THE BAD GUYS (who, of course, catch her). It would be so easy to hide from them, but then I suppose the producers/animators wanted us to look at the purty girl as much as possible. It just makes her look...stupid. Plus, if I remember correctly (bored as I was), it's the Mosaic character who comes up with the plan to utilize her abilities at the film's climax. (Oh yeah, did I mention that - unlike every other movie about a superhero/ine - "Mosaic" is not even named after the main character? If you need more proof that she's useless...)And how about that whiplash at the end of the movie, when we're supposed to believe Maggie's mourning the death of someone she "loved", (would you believe they actually used the cheesy clichéd "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" scream?) and the next second she's all smiles again, perky and joking around, and reciting Shakespeare (badly) for her audition. There is no emotional honesty here. Consequently the viewer can't get emotionally invested.Bad writing, superficial characterization, clichéd scenarios, and really basic unimpressive animation. Waste of time.ETA: If I may reply to pharmstock's comments directed at me: Regarding "over-sexualization", I said nothing about "super-heroine garb", actually. And I have no problem with the way women are portrayed in Batman The Animated Series. I wouldn't compare that smartly written, stylishly animated series to "Mosaic" at all. As for Buffy The Vampire Slayer, maybe she acted a bit "ditsy" in the first season but the character was created to subvert the horror cliché of the dumb, helpless blonde. She was a Valley Girl...easy to understimate, but smarter and stronger than she looked. I don't see what that has to do with "Mosaic". You can't take Buffy's most superficial characteristics, omitting the *reason* for them, give them to another character for *no* good reason, and then try to justify it by saying, "well, Buffy did it."

The beginning credits for this animated Stan Lee production contains scenes of superhero ripoffs of other popular characters like Batman, Captain America and the Hulk. Not a good omen, I thought, of an original superhero film by Stan Lee. Imagine my surprise when I found that this film had a freshness and joy to it I found contagious. Is the movie great? Nope, but I'll get to that in a minute.Let me focus on the reason the movie works: the hero. None of the powers Maggie (Anna Paquin) gain are original. Shape shifting, invisibility, wall-crawling, super-strength...they've all been done before. In fact, before this film I would have argued that there were no original heroes left to be had. Somehow, this combination of powers with the character of a high-school female drama student seemed original to me. Yes, we've seen teenage heroes before but I really found myself taken with how Maggie's reactions to her abilities seemed more real than scripted. There are very, very few original female superheroes (Wonder Woman and the Invisible Girl are all that come to mind right now) and a majority of them are thinly-veiled excuses to have chesty woman in tight, revealing clothes. The character of Maggie is never used in an overtly sexy way (though when she turns invisible her outline looks rather naked and she has a dream of being in her underwear) and she is written with more depth than would be expected from a direct-to-DVD animated feature.Unfortunately, the rest of the film doesn't support its main character. From writing to animation, everything else is lackluster. It would be nice to see someone put more effort and money into animating these direct-to-DVD films (Ultimate Avengers I and II) beyond the level of..well..direct-to-DVD animated fare.The tone of the movie tries to go beyond Saturday morning fare with some mild swearing and scenes of violence but Batman: The Animated Series routinely found ways of being far more sophisticated without cursing or on-screen bloodletting.So, why do I give this an 8 out of 10? Is the main character that good? Yes. I think strong, smart, realistic female superheros are rare and must be embraced even if the films they are in aren't up to par. Stan Lee struggled for a while after Marvel with characters that never found the glory of his original run at Marvel. Mosaic is the first project that I feel touches that magic everyone felt in the 60s when Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Hulk, and the X-Men first hit the shelves. I can now say I can't wait to see what's next.The Fuzzy Dan Speaketh

Stan Lee's new animated direct-to-DVD movie, 'Mosaic' is nothing new or amazing, despite the Hype-Master's -- er -- hype. It isn't bad, but there are a few cringe-inducing moments, mostly when overly-expositional dialogue is forced into the script. The plot concerns a high-school drama gal, Maggie, who gains strange chameleon powers from an artifact her father finds on a case at a museum ( he's with Interpol ). Anna Pacquin voices Maggie, and does as well as she can with some contrived dialogue. The other voice actors range from so-so to adequate, again hindered by the script. The animation, script and concept are 1990's Saturday morning cartoon quality. The artwork is occasionally brilliant, but mostly serviceable. All in all -- meh. It was only ten bucks, but I'd wait for it to go on sale.My copy came with a small comic book, and there are some amusing extras. That Stan, what a card.