April Animation Preview: Jesus, Hatsune Miku, and Talking Sneakers!

April is upon us, which is exciting for two reasons: first, it's my birthday month! Second, there are more animated movies coming out! Weeeeee!

In Theaters

Greasing the runway for Easter is a big religious animated movie called The King of Kings, which hits theaters April 11. This movie follows Charles Dickens (yes) as he narrates the life of Jesus to his son. A strange framing, to be sure, but I imagine it'll get some traction from being a timely release and perhaps thanks to its stellar voice cast, which includes Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, and Oscar Isaac. Faith-based releases have been making waves in recent years, and The Chosen TV show has been a big hit, too, so I'll be curious to see how a younger-skewing movie like this performs.

The King of Kings

On April 13, an omnibus film for the anime Kaiju No. 8 starts its event-style release. The movie is called Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon, and it serves as a recap of the first season of the show, followed by a new episode. As you might guess from the title, the show is about kaiju (huge monsters a la Godzilla). Kaiju No. 8 follows a young man who wants to join the force that fights against these massive monsters, but he gains the power to transform into one. I'll be glad to check it out -- always happy to get an intro to an anime through a solid omnibus movie.

April 17 brings us the latest from GKIDS, the great-looking Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can't Sing. This movie is based on the SEGA-published mobile game Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! It's a rhythm game featuring iconic turquoise-haired Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku (amongst others) where players tap along to the beat. Even reading the plot synopsis, I find it a bit hard to summarize what this movie is about. Here, teenagers discover an alternate world where virtual singers look over them, and they find (you guessed it) one whose voice isn't cooperating. Expect colorful visuals and catchy songs.

On April 18, Disney alums Rob Edwards and Chris Jenkins bring us Sneaks, a movie about a designer sneaker who must leave this life of luxury (read: fancy shoebox) behind when his sister is kidnapped by a shady shoe dealer. Adventure awaits in the big city, where the sneaker, named Ty (voiced by Anthony Mackie) meets all kinds of other footwear. Is it the best idea for a movie? No. But is it the worst idea for a movie? Maybe! The trailer got a couple laughs out of me. And the cast has some fun big names like Macy Gray and Laurence Fishburne. However it turns out, should be an interesting watch.

Sneaks

At Home

If you missed out on the wonderful The Colors Within during its theatrical run in January, it hits Digital on April 1 ahead of a physical release in May. So worth checking out if you haven't seen it yet.

Anime

I usually don't touch on anime releases, since there's way too much for me to keep track of, and I'm sure other sites have it handled. But, I want to mention the release of two shows that I've covered here because of their theatrical releases. 

On April 6, Witch Watch starts its rollout. In the US, it'll be available to watch on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and I think other places, as well. (I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH!!!)

Queen of my heart, Nico (from Witch Watch)

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX starts on April 8, when it'll hit Amazon Prime in the US. I was a little shaky on its theatrical program, but by the end of it, I was pretty thoroughly hooked. I think I'll keep up with the whole season.