OTHER REVIEWS
Sherlock Gnomes
"'Sherlock Gnomes' even boasts a few moments of genuine inspiration. Whenever Sherlock Gnomes enters his famous 'Mind Palace', in order to sort through every piece of information he has in his enormous brain, the animation shifts to dynamic 2D black-and-white, and the film takes on a playful, buoyant energy." WorldProNews
"Another clever idea... is when the movie goes inside Sherlock's head space. These segments, designed by Neil Boyle, are beautifully done in hand drawn animation and are a welcome treat." The Scene Magazine
"One very pleasant surprise was the use of 'old-school' 2D drawn animation to show the inner workings inside Sherlock's head (the end credits call it his 'mind palace'). In one sequence his Baker Street digs become an M C Escher maze of curling staircases, all rendered in a 'pen and ink' style that recalls master animator Richard Williams." WeAreMovieGeeks
"Depp's voice performance as the quirky Sherlock Gnomes...takes off during fantasy sequences done in a lively black-and-white line drawing animation style that illustrate his peculiar brain and way of thinking." LATimes
"...cartoon dream sequences illustrating Sherlock's leaps of deductive logic serve to shake up the movie every now and then." Entertainment
"...it has occasional fun ideas, such as rendering the inner workings of Holmes's mind in hand drawn black-and-white." NYTimes
"...clever 2D black-and-white sequences." Hollywood
"Visually, the film – directed by Kung Fu Panda’s John Stevenson – is bright and colourful and many of the characters are realized with nice, authentic touches. But, ironically, the most effective sequences are the zippy black-and-white ones when Sherlock takes us through his brilliant deductions." Now Toronto
"While the film’s primary CGI animation is certainly competent, its periodic interludes into a creative black-and-white mode to illustrate the inner workings of Sherlock’s brain — which feel like an M.C. Escher illustration brought to life — are much more interesting to watch." Deseretnews.com
"Remember those scenes I mentioned where we take a look inside Sherlock’s mind? Well, those have a special kind of black and white 2D animation. Once again, I can't exaggerate how much I love these scenes and how they’re the best in the movie." AminoApps.com
"...the whole film should have been done in this style." Letterboxd
The Last Belle
“Lashings of dramatic irony and virtuoso slapstick.”
Nick Bradshaw – Sight and Sound
“It’s a real genuine gem of a little animated British comedy… It is just pure inventive pleasure from start to finish. If you can find a way to see it… go go go.”
Nosferatoes blogspot
“These 35,000 hand-drawn, hand-painted cels add up to a beautifully made, funny and bittersweet story which could possibly be described as the missing link between Chuck Jones and Richard Curtis.”
Stephen Cavalier – Imagine Magazine
“This film is loaded with charm. Neil Boyle has created a wonderful film that entertains thoroughly as well as leaving a more appreciative audience with a reminder of what the craft of animation can achieve in terms of both film making accomplishment and technical perseverance.”
Steve Henderson – Skwigly Animation Magazine
“To me, the real star of the short is its setting, London. The Tube stations, crowded DLR train , and drab buildings outside the city centre are all beautifully done and remarkably authentic.”
Mike Bastoli – Big Screen Animation
“The Last Belle’ has been fifteen years in the making. It has been a hard labour of love… and it has paid off. From the nightmarish descent into the London underground at night – a cerebral and painstakingly constructed sequence – to the precision of the musical score; never has the adage ‘patience is a virtue’ been more applicable.”
WeAreHQ.com
"A fun and topical masterpiece of animation."
News Cinema