Animation Tidbits #3: What’s Cam Looking Forward To? 5/22/17

 

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this quick editorial!)

So, I know it’s soon to do another editorial like this, but I found a slew of animated films to be on the lookout for, and since the Annecy Film Festival is right around the corner, I decided to do another list of films I’m looking forward to. Now then, let’s take a look at some of the films that will be competing at the festival first.

 In This Corner of the World

First up is the Japanese animated film by director Sunao Katabuchi, In This Corner of the World. This character-focused film that is about a young woman named Suzu during World War Two is a beautiful and emotionally-driven experience. While the story is said to be a fictional tale that takes place during that period in time, it is apparently based on real life events of said historical period. I love the soft watercolor look to everything, and that should be no surprise due to the director having previous award-winning films under his belt like Princess Arete and Mai Mai Miracle. I can’t wait for Shout! Factory to release this in the states with Funimation helping out because I will definitely be going to see this film when and if it comes to Austin.

Zombillenium

Like with Icarus from the previous list, Zombillenium has probably one of my favorite settings for an animated film. It’s a French animated film about a theme park where all the ghosts, ghouls, monsters, skeletons, and mummies are, in fact, real monsters. One day, a human named Hector, a safety regulations officer, is threatening to shut down the park. That is, until the vampire manager of the park decides to bite him and bring him on board as an employee. First off, the art style has this great comic book/cartoony style that is very eye-catching. Then again, this is based on the comic book series by one of the directors of this film. I feel like this setting could lead to some very interesting social commentary, with how the monsters work and live at the park, and how some of the monsters could symbolize labor laws and so on. I also get a vibe from something like a good HBO/FX drama, where it’s about the life and the days of the characters in their environment. Unfortunately, I don’t have a traditional trailer for this film, but instead, a music video. It’s done by Arthur DE PINS, one of the directors and the creator of the comic. I bet you that this was a huge excuse for not only a fun music video, but a tech demo to get funding for the film. It’s for a song called Nameless World by a French Rock Band called Skip the Use. This is also one of the films competing for the grand prize at the Annecy Film Festival, and it’s the only animated film competing at the Cannes Film Festival. I hope it turns out to be a fantastic flick.

UDATE: Here is a teaser for Zombillenium!

Bird Boy: The Forgotten Children

Well, GKids just got the rights to bring this film over in the fall, so I might as well talk about it next. Plus, I can’t pass up a GKids distributed film. This dark yet cartoony animated film from Spain is directed by Alberto Vazquez and Pedtro Rivero. If you are into the foreign animation scene, then you know about Alberto Vazquez, who is releasing a new movie called Unicorn Wars. And yes, that is a real movie. This guy is known for combining great animation, with cute designs and strikingly dark visuals. I can see it catching some people off-guard, but I think challenging what defines animation in terms of visuals is breathtaking. It might not be the first animated film to have super dark visuals and a story to boot, but it’s something I like to see going on from time to time with animation. I can’t wait to see who they get for the main cast, and I hope they can bring over his new film in the future.

The Swallows of Kabul

This one caught me by surprise. This French-animated film, based off the book of the same name, is being directed by two female directors. One of them is an actress-turned-director by the name of Zabou Breitman and designer/animator Eléa Gobbé-Mevellec. It’s also being produced by Les Armateurs, who worked on The Secret of Kells, The Triplets of Belleville, and Ernest & Celestine. Its watercolor art direction brings out some very beautiful visuals, and the character designs are fantastic. Then again, when one of the directors worked on The Prophet, The Rabbi’s Cat, and April and the Extraordinary World, it should be no surprise that it looks great in motion. Even though I know the story will be a bit more mature than your typical animated film, I don’t find the designs or the animation to be distracting. The teaser also does a good job at getting me intrigued about the story, as I’m curious to know what happened after the guard Atiq watched as his eyes were set on a beautiful woman who is the newest prisoner in a female prison. This is another good example why European animation can be so wonderful. Hopefully, in the future, we can hear more about the film.

The Breadwinner

While Wolfwalkers is in the early stages of development and funding, we can look forward to Cartoon Saloon’s upcoming film, The Breadwinner. This beautifully animated film from the studio that made Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells is based off the book of the same name. It’s also being partly produced by Angelina Jolie. I’m a tad concerned about that part, since I have found her recent projects to be pretentious and lackluster, but just by the teaser trailer alone, the film looks impressive. I also enjoy the fact that they went full frontal with the casting, since they hired multiple actors of Afghan descent to be the major characters. It’s a wonderful-looking movie, and I can’t wait to watch it later this year.

Loving Vincent

This is probably the most visually striking of the films listed in this editorial. How many animated films can you think of that are painstakingly painted by very specific animators and artists that recreate and pay tribute to one of history’s greatest artists? I love the idea of someone going around asking about the legacy and impressions the artist left on people that he met. It’s such an impressive feat to watch what was going to be a short film directed by director Dorota Kobiela, and has now become this hugely passionate animated film celebrating the beauty and history of art from the infamous painter, Vincent Van Gogh. After it hopefully does well in the Annecy Film Festival, I will patiently wait for theater showings in my neck of the woods.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

While this entire list has been mostly following smaller and foreign releases, it doesn’t mean I’m not looking out for the bigger releases. While we have gotten this trailer a few months back, I wasn’t really thinking about it until recently, as I was thinking back to The LEGO Batman Movie. It’s honestly going to be interesting to see how people react to another LEGO movie in one year. One kudos that I will give this film instantly is that no one has to watch the TV show with the same title to watch this movie, since neither the film nor the show are connected in any way. It also helps that personally, The LEGO Ninjago Movie gave off a strong first impression with good laughs, good animation, and solid voice work. It also helps that the film has a director that has worked in different positions on action-focused cartoons before, like The Powerpuff Girls Movie, Batman: The Animated Series, Tron: Uprising, Samurai Jack, and a lot of Cartoon Networks’ biggest and most popular cartoons. Now, I am concerned with how much emotional substance will be in this film, and how it’s going to have a slew of characters to introduce in one go, but I think Warner Animation Group has been pretty spectacular these past few years. Hopefully, The LEGO Ninjago Movie can be another feather in their cap.

Well, that’s it for this list. I probably won’t have enough to talk about for another one for a while, and I plan on doing an editorial on Blue Sky’s Ferdinand instead of adding it to a list, since I’m excited for it, but not fully on board with it due to the studio. Thanks for reading, and I hope you all get excited for these films as well!

Worst to Best Animated Films of 2016 Finale

Welcome back to the final part of the Worst to Best Animated Films of 2016. If you have not seen the previous part of the list, here is a link. These are the final ten films that I love, and would watch many times over. I consider them new classics that everyone should check out and support. Honestly, I would just tell you to buy them all, but that’s just me. Let’s get started

10. April and the Extraordinary World

I know everyone is in a bit of a bum mood, since the future of Studio Ghibli is up in the air as Hayao Miyazaki works on his supposedly “last” film, so instead, I want to turn your attention to what some have considered a French Ghibli alternative. April and the Extraordinary World is a fun Castle in the Sky-style action adventure film set in a world where science never got past the steam age. It’s filled with high-flying action, sci-fi technology, and it’s just a fun adventure with fun characters. I still think some of the chemistry between characters could have been better, but I really loved watching this film. If you need your Castle in the Sky fix and to see how to do Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow better, then definitely watch this movie.

9. Long Way North

Let’s call this the polar opposite of a Disney princess film. This French film about a Russian princess wanting to redeem her grandfather’s legacy is simple, yet complex. It’s easy to get into and well executed. The film can be very quiet and atmospheric with a honestly dark edge to the adventure she goes on to find her Grandfather’s ship. Granted, some of the voice work isn’t the best, but the film is gorgeously animated, and it has a great cast of characters with a story that shows the darker side of events like this. I was a tad disappointed that this film wasn’t seen by more people, since I truly think it’s a fantastic film. It’s easily the best film Shout! Factory has distributed, and I highly recommend you support this film by buying a copy.

8. The Boy and the Beast

Man, I don’t know why people aren’t more willing to say Mamoru Hosoda is the new “Miyazaki”, because films like The Boy and the Beast are why he’s one of my new favorite directors. This tale with themes of father and son relationships, different family situations, and parents being up-front with your children is masterfully fused with the beautiful animation, great action, and likable characters. I think the pacing could have been better in the third act, but that shouldn’t detract from how amazing this movie is. I can’t wait to see what Hosoda does in the future.

7. Only Yesterday

Yes, it’s technically a 2016 release since we never got it when Disney was bringing over all of the Ghibli films. Luckily, GKids decided to be awesome and help us out with bringing over probably one of my favorite Ghibli films to date. I love the more mature tone, the characters, the setting, and the voice cast. I adored Daisy Ridley as the lead, and I found her character to be rather complex and interesting. I’m sure everyone in their life has wondered if they feel like they got what they wanted out of their life. Sure, it can be a tad slow, and I can totally understand if someone finds this film boring, but I found it unabashedly fascinating. Easily one of my top five favorite films from the studio, and I think Isao Takahata’s best movie from the ones that I have seen from him.

6. The Little Prince

Talk about a victim of circumstance. This amazing and mature CGI/stop-motion film from France with the director of the original Kung Fu Panda got screwed out of being in theaters, and whether it’s true that Paramount wanted the studio to pony up more cash for distribution and advertising or not, The Little Prince deserves more attention than it got. Yeah I get the complaint about the third act and such, but in the end, I loved my overall journey with this film from beginning to end.

 5. Moana

In some regards, Moana had a disadvantage coming out right after the huge hit that was Zootopia, and being another Disney princess film right after the monster that was Frozen. Luckily, Moana I think does better in terms of an overall experience, while being progressive for a Disney princess film. Moana is a fantastic lead, Maui is a blast, the villains are hugely memorable, and the overall story is well-told. Sadly, it does take that dip in quality in the third act, and brings up very outdated Disney story elements, but I would call it safe than lazy, like some reviewers would argue. In the end though, Moana is a super fun adventure film, and is easily one of Disney’s best offerings in a year where they were doing pretty well.

4. My Life as a Zucchini

Probably the most real and “human” animated film from last year. This Golden Globe/Oscar-nominated stop-motion film about a kid living in an orphanage is well animated, emotionally touching, charming, and it does feel human. Even with the English dub, the actors still bring in that calm and quiet spirit. The child actors were, once again, a situation where they would make or break the film, and well, they pulled it off. Granted, I wish the film was longer than 70 minutes, since I really enjoyed being with these characters and I liked the lead’s relationship with the police officer. It’s just an amazing film, and I would highly recommend checking out this award winner.

3. Zootopia

While Moana is a fantastic film that I could watch over and over, Zootopia is the better movie. While it might not be super subtle with its themes, its clever writing, world building, hugely likable characters, great designs, and a fun sense of humor lifts itself up from such a problem. It was also a bigger risk, since it was Disney’s first animated film in a long time to use bipedal animals. If there was one film to take home the most awards for Best Animated Feature, I’m glad it was Zootopia. Sure, I wish Kubo and the Two Strings took the award, but hey, at the very least, I agree with Disney winning Best Animated Feature this time.

2. Miss Hokusai

 

If there was a film that I wish could have gotten more acclaim and nominations, it would be Miss Hokusai. This down-to-earth, character-based film just won me over in an instant. I loved the daughter interacting with everyone and dealing with different situations in life, I loved the different art styles used for different parts of the story, I love the voice cast, I love Richard Epcar as Hokusai, I just loved this movie. Yes, there were some characters who you obviously knew were there for a very specific reason, but I don’t care. I love films like this since it shows animated films can be more than just wacky comedies, and that more adult animated films can be more than stoner comedies. It’s easily one of my top five favorite films GKids brought over, and I would recommend following the director and seeing what he does next.

1. Kubo and the Two Strings

It should be no surprise that the film that had probably the biggest fighting chance of dethroning Zootopia at the Oscars is my favorite animated film from 2016. Kubo and the Two Strings surprised me in how much I loved it. I was not surprised by Finding Dory being great, I was not surprised by Kung Fu Panda 3 for being great, I was not surprised Moana was great, and you get the idea. I was surprised at how well-animated it was. The voice acting was amazing, the music was fantastic, the visuals were awe-inspiring, and the themes and tone of the film made it a darker family film. I love how it’s about life, and how you can’t live in life without hardships. The action was fantastic and well-choreographed.  I’m so upset this didn’t do better, and even if there is nothing wrong with Zootopia winning the Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, Kubo and the Two Strings deserved it more, and rightfully deserves the spot as my favorite animated film of 2016.

Well, that was 2016, a fantastic year for animation, and I know 2017 hasn’t been that great so far, but keep your hopes up and go see the smaller releases. Thanks for checking out this long list and I’ll make sure to get these out sooner rather than later next time.

Animation Tidbits #2: What’s Cam Looking Forward To? 5/5/17

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this editorial!)

So, in my personal life, I love to make emails about a bunch of upcoming films for my family, who may or may not know much about what’s coming out. I recently did an email with all the upcoming animated films that are being released here in the states or somewhere around the world where I hope they get a stateside release. I decided to make a series of Animation Tidbits, where I show off some trailers or clips of upcoming animated films that have caught my eye. Now, some of these are already well known, but I’m sure many people have not heard of many of the films listed in this editorial. Let’s get started.

Early Man 

Up first is the trailer for Nick Park’s newest stop-motion feature, Early Man. I mean, I love Aardman Entertainment and all of their films. I don’t see why I shouldn’t be up for this one. While I don’t usually get super-hyped for big-named cast members in general anymore, I think Early Man has an incredible cast, including Tom Hiddleston (Marvel films, The Night Manager), Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Timothy Spall (The Last Samurai, Enchanted, and Sweeney Todd), and Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones). Unfortunately, I have to wait until 2018 for this promising flick.

Coco

While Cars 3 doesn’t technically look terrible, and it does seem like Pixar wants to make a good movie from this flawed and merchandise-spewing trilogy, Pixar’s original film is what I’m looking forward to more. Yes, it’s another animated film based on Day of the Dead, and I do know the pointless turf war Coco fans and The Book of Life fans brought up with each other on Twitter with the two films’ directors, but it’s Pixar. I know their recent track record has been bumpy, but I usually feel like I can be excited and love their original content. The voice cast for this film is also pretty stellar with Benjamin Bratt, Gael Garcia Bernal, Renee Victor, and newcomer Anthony Gonzalez. Hopefully, this becomes another great original film in Pixar’s line up.

Wolfwalkers

I’m patiently waiting (badly) to hear a release date, and for GKids to pick this film up. Wolfwalkers is the next film by two-time Oscar-nominated director Tomm Moore, who was the director of Song of the Sea, and The Secret of Kells. The animation looks beautiful, you can sense and feel the atmosphere and Irish cultural elements, and it’s a downright gorgeous 2D animated film. I do wish the movie-going world would give this director and the super talented team at Cartoon Saloon a lot of support.

Gatta Cenerentola

Or as it’s known in English, Cat Cinderella. This is the first obscure film that I hope gets an English release. It’s an Italian CGI animated film, using mostly motion-capture for the animation. It’s a modern dark take on the Cinderella story, and it looks amazing. I know the movements can come off as clunky, since motion-capture can be finicky if not done correctly, but I think the tone, setting, and the idea will elevate it. Plus, it has a gorgeous art style, and I could listen to that song in the trailer all day.

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales

If you watched the amazing Ernest & Celestine, the art style should look familiar to you, since one of the directors of the film, Benjamin Renner is behind this film. It’s based off of his comic, and while the trailer is in French, you can pretty much understand what is going on. It has good animation, a great sense of humor, and it’s just adorable. Hopefully, GKids can pick this one up.

Calamity

One of my favorite films from last year was the French film, Long Way North. While I think it went under the radar way too much last year, the same group that made Long Way North are back with another female lead-driven film. While it might be based on the historical figure, Calamity Jane, the filmmakers are taking on the character in their own story. I know that might be a bad idea in some cases, but Long Way North was so fantastic, and these guys know what they are doing.

 Icarus

While I love a lot of the films on this list, I think Icarus has me the most excited in terms of the setting. It’s a mixed-media animated film, using CGI and beautiful 2D animation. It makes the three Greek Gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Aphrodite not just Gods, but Newspaper Journalist Gods as they try to weave interesting tales out of Greek Mythology for the paper. First off, the idea itself is awesome. I could see a lot of commentary about journalistic integrity, and how a lot of sites like to use clickbait-style headlines for not very interesting stories. I also love the combination of CGI and the lovely 2D animation. You just watch the trailer, and you get a lot of great visual eye candy. It also helps that there is a Pixar Veteran directing the film named Carlos Volgele. I just love the idea, and I definitely want GKids or Shout! Factory to bring it over.

Well, there you have it. These are the animated films that I am looking forward to at this point in time. I will do these from time to time when I find enough films to warrant a list like this, but do expect more of these. I might do these more so than a “Most Anticipated Films of –insert year here-“lists. Thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a good day!

Worst to Best Animated Films of 2016 Part 3

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this editorial!)

Welcome back, everyone, to part 3 of this very long list. As usual, if you haven’t seen part 2, here is a link to it. I’m counting down the worst-to-the-best animated films that I saw from 2016, and we shall now move onto the films that are really good, and I would start highly recommending them as not just rentals, but purchases. These are the films that you should have in your movie collection.

18. Batman: The Return of the Caped Crusaders

I think it’s safe to say that The Return of the Caped Crusaders was the most universally loved of the films DC put out in 2016. While yes, it did go off of nostalgia of the Adam West TV series, it still was able to hold its own with very clever writing and commentary about how Batman has been portrayed in recent history. The jokes are hilarious, and the cast of actors are all pretty good. The film does start to lose steam in the final act, and sometimes the actors deliver some clunky lines, but don’t let that get in the way of you from checking out the best DC film from 2016.

17. Mune: Guardian of the Moon

I consider this to be the The Book of Life of 2016. Mune: Guardian of the Moon has a really great CGI visual style, a cool world, and it does that thing I like about foreign animated films, and dips into both CGI and 2D animation. I love the idea about how everything is a cooperative effort, and one side can’t do everything without having some setbacks. I also think it does the foreign CGI animation the best alongside The Painting, since it looks great with a truly unique visual style. It’s a shame though, that it suffers from the same problems that The Book of Life suffers from in that the lead characters aren’t that interesting and the token female is very bland. The world also need a tiny bit more fleshing out, since the beginning of the film sort of rushes you into it. They also could have taken out some characters, and they would not be missed. Still, I overlooked those flaws, because I had a blast watching a film that also gave off a bad first impression. Once GKids releases this film in August, I would definitely recommend watching it.

16. 25 April

If you wanted something to compliment your copy of Hacksaw Ridge, then this is the film for you. 25 April tackles a real-life battle from World War 1 known as the Gallipoli Campaign. Like a lot of foreign animated CGI films, they use motion-capture, but pair it up with a rather colorful and vibrant comic book-style art to the characters. However, you shouldn’t think this is going to be nothing but rainbows and cupcakes that spew kittens. Why? Because the battle they show is brutal, violent, but since it’s animation, it also brings in some very pretty and creative visuals. I was really hooked on the characters, and learning a bit about the history of the battle since I’m not fully familiar with what went on during the first World War. However, the motion-capture movements can come off as wonky, and there are a few odd decisions in the story that did take me out of the viewing experience. I haven’t seen an official US release announcement of the film yet, but I hope to hear about it soon, so hopefully, everyone else can check out a rather unique film.

15. Your Name

When I was making this list, and everyone was saying this was the best film of 2016 along with the best animated film of 2016, I knew I was going to upset everyone when I put Your Name so “low” on the list. I still very much enjoyed the movie. The animation was gorgeous, the scenery was beautiful, I enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads, and I think the overall idea and experience is one everyone should check out. Unfortunately, I found the story to fall apart by the second half. They also needed to explain some elements better, like the body-swapping, and what exactly is going on in the second half after the big twist. I was still invested by the end, and I still enjoy this movie, but personally, this film was overhyped. It’s flawed, but I still liked it, and people should indeed go support it.

14. Phantom Boy

You mean the duo of directors behind A Cat in Paris made a new movie? Of course, I’m going to watch it and buy it. This tale about a sick boy who can leave his body, and gets wrapped up in a crime thriller is one of the more fun animated films of 2016. The kid is great, the police officer is great, and Vincent D’Onofrio is just perfectly hammy as the villain. It has the same charming chemistry and alluring atmosphere that kept me invested all the way through A Cat in Paris. It does have some issues, like I think they could have gone deeper and more complex with the lead’s ability to leave his body, and the ending is sort of confusing, but I still had a fun time with this creative crime thriller.

13. Kung Fu Panda 3

Be prepared everyone, this is the last good DreamWorks film we are going to get for a while. Seriously though, all joking aside, I really did like the third film with its emphasis on the father-to-son relationship, and the father-to-stepfather relationship. It was really the heart of the movie on top of the great humor, fun action, and gorgeous animation. There is a reason why this is one of DreamWorks best franchises. Unfortunately, it fell a tad flat, due to a weak if enjoyable villain, and it had a few too many familiar story elements from the previous films. I still love this movie, but it’s one of those films that got hit by the sequel-itis bug, and couldn’t fully escape it. Even then, I really loved this film and it showed you can have good movies in January.

12. Finding Dory

I know this was also a very popular movie, since it was one of the most financially profitable films of 2016, but like Kung Fu Panda 3, Finding Dory did fall into a tiny bit of sequel-itis that holds it back from me fully enjoying it. Sure, it’s just the first 20 minutes, but still. I also just love Finding Nemo so much, and no matter how good this film was going to be, it was never going to top the original. However, even with all that said, Finding Dory is still really good. I love Dory’s story arc, and how the themes are aimed more at adults than the children, the animation is downright amazing, the colors are vibrant, the voice cast is perfect, and the characters are very memorable. It’s a movie that touches the heart and soul, even if it wasn’t my favorite film of the year.

11. The Red Turtle

While it is a bummer that this film didn’t make more money, since it’s one of the most unique films of the year, it’s understandable, since for some reason or another, people don’t really know how to react to films with minimal or no dialogue. It means that with no witty or creative dialogue to rely on for the overall experience, the film’s animation and story has to be tight. For the most part, The Red Turtle does succeed in completing such a task. It’s a beautiful and emotional meditation on life, and how one goes through the hardships and challenges that life can put in front of you. I think the story could have been a bit tighter, and some elements could have been explained better. I also don’t see myself watching this Oscar-nominated film a lot, but I still really think people should support it.

Stay tuned for the final part of the list coming out in the future.

Should We Worry About The New Academy Award Rule for Animation? (Probably Not)

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this editorial!)

Warning: This entire article is obviously subjective, and my solutions are not the end-all-be-all solution to the problem.

Recently, the Academy of Motion Pictures put down a new rule for the Best Animated Feature voting, where instead of just the individuals of that branch of the Academy voting, everyone else from the other branches can throw their vote into the ring as well. Obviously, for many animation viewers and lovers, concerns were raised, since now anything is possible in terms of what animated films can get into those five precious spots that are meant for the best of the best from each year. So, should we worry? Why should we be worried? Is there anything truly worth being concerned about? Well, personally, I would say no. Why would I say that? If you will give me some of your time, I shall explain myself.

So, let’s start with the concerns. People are afraid that this new ruling will allow films that are much weaker, in terms of critical receptions from both film reviewers and movie-goers, to slip on through due to less educated members of the Academy picking and voting through one of those films. I can also understand this fear, due to the film line-up this year. For those that are not paying attention, 2017 is not looking like a strong year for animation. DreamWorks has the recent financial hit, The Boss Baby, and the upcoming Captain Underpants film, Illumination has Despicable ME 3, Pixar has Cars 3 and Coco, Sony Pictures Animation has the underwhelming Smurfs: The Lost Village, The Emoji Movie, and The Star, and Blue Sky Studios has Ferdinand, to name a few. It’s not the greatest line-up from other years, like 2016 or 2015. The other concern is that it will be much harder for indie animated films from companies like GKids, Sony Pictures Classics, and Shout! Factory Kids to break through. “They will get thrown under the bus, because the bigger studios will throw around their budgets for marketing their films for award season, over companies that don’t have those massive budgets”. The possible results for the Oscars in 2018 could be set up like Coco, The Boss Baby, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Spark, and The Nut Job 2.

Listen, I get it. This may open the floodgates for less knowledgeable people and even more marketing and big studio manipulation into an already flawed system. It could very well turn into a quantity-over-quality set of nominees. I perfectly understand the fear and cynicism. However, should we actually worry? Let’s look at the last couple of years of the Best Animated Features nominees. 2010 had Toy Story 3, How to Train your Dragon, and The Illusionist. 2013 had Frozen, The Wind Rises, Ernest & Celestine, The Croods, and Despicable Me 2. 2014 had Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, How to Train your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. 2015 had Inside Out, Anomalisa, Boy and the World, Shaun the Sheep Movie, and When Marnie Was There. And recently, 2016 had Zootopia, Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life as a Zucchini, and The Red Turtle. While some of the films are odd nominees, what do a lot of those nominees have in common? For the most part, they are critically acclaimed films. I highly doubt, as flawed as the Academy system is, they are going to waste their time with movies that are not getting great reviews. It only takes a Google search to see what films have those nice little Rotten Tomato and IMDB scores. While the scoring systems on those sites are definitely another can of worms to deal with that other people on the net have already done, one can look at those scores, or do a little research as to which indie-animated films on the submission list are getting the most buzz around different critic guilds and word of mouth, and watch those. I doubt there is going to be an individual in the Academy that will say “oh yeah, Spark and The Boss Baby truly deserve it over the upcoming The Girl Without Hands and The Breadwinner.” Even with this new rule, I am not convinced that the organization is going to let the weaker nominees through.

Now, am I saying we should just sit back, open up a bag of sweet maui onion potato chips, and not worry? Well, I would say yes for 80% of what I have said. If we want smaller indie-animated films to keep on getting nominated from companies like GKids, we are going to have to make an effort to support these films. Sure, you could go to five different viewings of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but you know Marvel and Disney won’t need help to make that film a hit. Instead, if possible, go and find a theater playing some of the smaller releases, like My Entire Highschool Sinking into the Sea. Why not support something like The Breadwinner or The Girl Without Hands instead of wasting your time with a highly regarded bad movie for a bad movie night? If we want to make sure they don’t get swept under the carpet, then we need to start either supporting these smaller releases in theaters, and If you like them, spread the word on social media, or purchase the DVD or rent the film, and spread the word. You can’t complain about the smaller/more original releases when you don’t go out and support them. However, those distributors need to start expanding into more than just specific theaters that show off arthouse/indie films. I get that these things cost money, but sometimes, you have to bite that bullet, and make that investment.

Listen, I’m not saying what I suggest is going to be correct. As usual, this is a subjective opinion saying that I wouldn’t be too concerned, but still support the smaller releases. I understand the concern, but I don’t think it is as cataclysmic as many people say it is. If the Academy was selecting films like Norm of the North or Strange Magic for Best Animated Feature in previous years, or Gods of Egypt as Best Film, I would be more worried. For the most part, good taste and popular public opinion are going to win over corporate greed and cynicism. Still, if you think you need to put up the good fight and support the smaller releases, then do so. Personally, the only big animated films that are coming out in 2017 that have a chance at making the shortlist are Coco, The LEGO Batman Movie, and possibly The LEGO Ninjago Movie, and Ferdinand, but that last film mentioned is a risk since it’s from Blue Sky Studios. I’m sure GKids has a few spots pinned down for some of their films coming out like The Breadwinner and The Girl without Hands. Who knows, maybe Sony Pictures Classics and Shout! Factory Kids will have something up their sleeve this year. Keep enjoying animation big and small, but only you can make smaller films successful.

Worst to Best Animated Films of 2016 Part 2

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this editorial!)

Welcome back, everyone, to part 2 of this very long list. As usual, if you haven’t seen part 1, here is a link to it. I’m counting down the worst-to-the-best animated films that I saw from 2016, and we shall now move onto the films that are middle of the road, disappointing, and at the very least, visually interesting.

27. Monkey King: Hero is Back

Want an example of one of the worst dubs that I can ever think of? This movie is the prime example of a distributor that didn’t really care about pushing out a good dub for this popular Chinese-animated CGI action flick. It sounds like they were rushing to get this out, and ignored the level of quality. Even then, a good dub wouldn’t have saved the other problems this film has, like its very Hollywoodized version of the legendary folk tale, horrible jokes, the multiple times the kid should have died but didn’t, and the better than most, but still middling animation. The fight scenes are fun to watch, and out of all the Chinese-animation schlock that Lionsgate, for some reason, likes to bring over, Monkey King: Hero is Back is watchable. It’s the most watchable one out of those films, but that doesn’t mean much when the rest isn’t worth sitting through.

26. Justice League vs. Teen Titans

Man, it was kind of tough to say this was better than The Killing Joke, because I don’t like this one a lot either. Not only is the title misleading, since the Titans don’t fight the actual League members, but rather fight Trigon-possessed version of them, and get floored by them, but it also focuses way too much on quite possibly the worst character in the current DC-animated film universe, Damian Wayne. Yes, I get why he is as he is, and he does get a good fight later on in the film, but they focused way too much on the guy when it wasn’t really his story. This left the film with very underdeveloped characters that I hope get more screen-time in the upcoming Teen Titans: The Judas Contract(spoiler alert: They do.). I do like some of the characters and the scenes in Justice League vs. Teen Titans, but if this was supposed to be the one reason why we got Young Justice season 3, or anything Teen Titans-related, then I feel scammed, because I had to support a bad movie to get good stuff!

25. The Angry Birds Movie

Talk about a film that had no reason to be anything but terrible, and ended up a rather decent experience. While I don’t think it’s a great movie, it probably had more effort put into its writing and characters, than any of the previous films on this list. For the most part, I still enjoyed the film’s dialogue, the jokes, and Red and his cohorts were fun to watch. Yeah, everything starts to dissolve into terrible film tripe when the pigs show up, the Mighty Eagle played by Peter Dinklage was pointless and easily the worst part of the movie beyond the celebrity cameos, but by the end, I was enjoying myself due to the voice work. While definitely a mediocre film, it’s the best video game adaptation to have come out to put a lot of the video game film adaptations to shame.

24. The Secret Life of Pets

While I’m fine with this film doing well in the box office, since it shows “original” films can do well, The Secret Life of Pets still feels so painfully average. It doesn’t do anything in its story well, but it’s not bad either in what it does. I can see why people were so upset with this film’s success, due to how unoriginal and bland it can be. It also doesn’t help that it had 100 different characters who had no real personality to them. Everything was well voice acted and animated well, but the writing was weak, and the characters needed more time to either be fleshed out or taken out of the film altogether. While definitely leagues better than most films from 2016, The Secret Life of Pets will be yet another example of Illumination Entertainment having a great idea, but no noteworthy execution of said idea.

23. Trolls

Honestly, this film was much higher on the list at one time. I loved the art style, the animation, the voice work, and some of the fairytale-style ideas. I also loved the idea of happiness that it attempted to show throughout the film. Because of all this, it rose above such horrible first impressions with that very first teaser trailer. However, as time went on, I kept bumping it down the list. It might have great ideas, but it never takes full advantage of them. About 80% of the characters don’t have any real character to them outside of their celebrity voices, and much of this otherwise-solid movie felt very manufactured. Like, really? Did we need Gwen Stefani as one of the characters, when she barely has a voice or role? Still, it’s an enjoyable watch, but I get why some were not so happy about this film.

22. Belladonna of Sadness

Yes, this one counts, since it was never released in the states, even though it came out in the 1970s. Belladonna of Sadness was the final film from this adult animated trilogy that was started by the grandfather of all anime creators, Osamu Tezuka. It’s a beautifully abstract animated film, with all the trippy sexual energy you would see in an animated films from the 70s aimed at adults. Unfortunately, due to how limited the actual animation is, and how uncomfortable the beginning of the film is, its sexual themes will probably turn off a lot of people to this film. It’s the one film I can think of where I will agree and disagree at the same time if you love or hate this movie. It’s a bizarre and interesting experience that is definitely worth checking out if you are into film or animation history.

21. Sausage Party

Just like Trolls, Sausage Party was higher on the list at one point, but as usual, I thought about it and bumped it down a few pegs. It was mostly because while I found the film funny, a lot of its humor was “miss”, since I’m picky about my stoner humor, and of course, the controversy revolving around the abused animators really does bring this film down. It’s a shame, too, because there was a lot of effort put into its themes and writing, it was a hilarious parody of Pixar-style films, and it’s great that this film opened the door for more animated films to be aimed at adults. It’s still a blast to watch, but your mileage may vary depending on who you are, but hey, that’s comedy.

20. Storks

This was an amusing surprise, and a sad tragedy that this film didn’t do better in terms of box office numbers. I won’t deny that I get why people are split on this film, but at the very least, I sat through the entire film and found it to be a really great comedic watch. Yes, its world-building and characters are not well fleshed out, but it had the best comedy of the comedy-based animated films of the year. It had beautiful, fast-paced animation, a great comedic cast of actors, and it’s an entertaining experience. I wish it was better, since it doesn’t reach The LEGO Movie or Shrek 2, in terms of animated comedy heights, but I’m definitely going to be watching this one again in the future.

19. SING

Oh, hey, look, another Illumination Entertainment film is low on the list. While I do admire that the studio was branching out in 2016 with two new films that are not Despicable Me-related, it still had plenty of the flaws you would find in these films, with underdeveloped characters, stories, and, once again, a great crowd-pleasing idea that isn’t taken fully advantage of. It was really aggravating, because this film’s advertising was everywhere, to an extremely nauseating degree. Even then, I still had fun watching this movie. The animation was great, the designs are solid, the contestants are relatable and likable, the music is fantastic, the actors did a great job portraying their characters, and it was a film I’m glad was better than what I was thinking it would be. I always like being surprised. I just hope Illumination can step up their game with future films.

That is it for Part 2 of the list, be prepared for part 3 in the future.

Worst to Best Animated Films of 2016 Part 1

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this editorial!)

Welcome, one and all, to my worst to best animated films of 2016! As a whole, 2016 was fantastic, and if it wasn’t for the theatrical release of a couple of films, it would have been a perfect year. The ground rules are the same as last time. They had to have been released in the states in 2016. This means any foreign films that are released in 2016, but not in the states, do not count. I will also be very strict with straight-to-DVD releases, since the only way they are going to show up on this list is if they had a lot of hype or praise put behind them. If I tackled every straight-to-DVD release, it would be one gigantic pile of schlock and garbage that would be wasting not only your time, but mine, as well. The films also need to have had theatrical releases or digital distribution releases, so that means films like Belladonna of Sadness and The Little Prince make the list. It’s once again, my opinion and my opinion only, because I’m the only one making the list! If you disagree or agree, that’s perfectly fine. I just request you don’t be a jerk about it. Let’s get started with the worst shall we?

37. Norm of the North

If there was one movie this year that would make me want to curse loudly into the heavens, and want Hollywood to be shut down, revamped, and run by more competent people, it would be Norm of the North. This has everything that is horrible, not only about the animation industry, but the film industry overall. It doesn’t have a story, no likable characters, horrible animation, and is the most offensive, cynical, creatively bankrupt, and condescending film I have seen in a long time. It’s Jem and the Holograms 2015 levels of insulting. The only reason it’s not the worst film I have ever seen is because to me, Delgo and Violence Jack are worse, but this is still the third worst animated film of all time, and easily, the worst animated film of 2016. Anyone who worked on this should be ashamed that it got released in theaters, when it had no right to be.

36. Underdogs

The smartest thing this film ever did was stay straight-to-DVD, because this movie is just as bad as Norm of the North. However, it ruins that notion with one smart move of being put directly on Netflix. It might have slightly better animation, but it’s still not cinema-worthy, which makes me think that the Weinsteins knew what they had. The animation is clunky, the designs are ugly, the voice acting is nonexistent, since none of the actors are putting in the effort, it all sounds like it was done in a day, the plot is terrible, there are story bits that are never brought up again, the villain is stupid, the film tries to end on a Rocky-like ending when it doesn’t deserve it, and you can really see why The Weinstein Company tried to cover this film up. Hope they don’t pull this kind of garbage with Leap!

35. Bling

It’s a film that is surprisingly forgettable, but is just as aggravating to think about, when I do remember this cheap Korean knock-off. Yes, I did say that the fights can be decent, and James Woods is the only enjoyable thing about this film. However, Tom Green sounds like he got hit by a tranquilizer, there are way too many fart jokes, too many side characters, bad humor, a horrible moral that pushes materialism over actual love/being in a loving relationship, and no one does a believable performance. Then again, if I was told I was going to be voicing a character in a movie that had the writer behind the first Alpha & Omega in it, I would also not give a rat’s behind in giving a good performance.

 34. The Wild Life

It’s quite shocking that Lionsgate had the utter gall in 2016 to release two obviously straight-to-DVD-made animated films into theaters. While The Wild Life does have better textures, better designs and animation than the previous films on this list, it’s still pretty robotic, and you can just feel the film try to be more animated than it can be. The story is stupid, the characters are one-note to a huge fault, it’s not really funny, the villains are even more pathetic than the one in Underdogs, and, well, really, Lionsgate? Was this film worth bringing to the theaters, when you are pretty much fine with wasting money on buying straight-to-DVD garbagefests? I respect the film stayed away from a lot of the tropes that make bad animated films, and at the very least, it was trying to be as good as it could be. But just because I say that doesn’t mean it’s a good movie. Just ignore this film.

33. Ice Age: Collision Course

Finally! We get to talk about a film that rightfully deserved to be in theaters. Sadly, it’s Ice Age: Collision Course. I don’t get why these are made, and Fox shouldn’t have greenlit this one. Hopefully, with the film underperforming, it means they can put a stop to the franchise, because if the next film is anything like Collision Course, then so help me, I’d rather eat the script to the director’s cut of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, than sit through another Ice Age film. The main characters are pointless, Nick Offerman as the main villain is wasted potential, the film relies way too much on butt and poop jokes, they make modern day references when there are no reasons to, everyone is annoying, and all the actors in this film are wasted on such a stupid, heartless script. Simon Pegg was great, but even then, his material couldn’t save the film. Avoid this one at all cost, and I feel badly for any parent who bought this movie and has to watch it with their kids.

32. Ratchet & Clank

The good news is that they got the look of the game down perfectly. The bad news is that this is a horrible movie. Sure, it’s not Norm of the North terrible, and it is at the very least, watchable, but that’s no excuse. It’s probably the biggest flop in terms of animated films from 2016, when it had the easiest job in terms of being a video game movie. It looks like the game, but the animation and texture quality is still not up-to-par, the lead duos don’t get a lot of screen time, the other characters can be annoying, the jokes are more miss than hit, and I feel like fans of the games are defending this film for no reason. It’s a bad movie, no matter how you look at it.

31. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

This is probably the prettiest film on this entire list. It also has the most realistic-looking humans that you will see. Sadly, in terms of the context of the main Final Fantasy XV experience, it’s all seems very pointless. You see characters die who had no real development to them, the big celebrity voices they hired had no purpose other than name recognition, and due to this being a prequel, you are just stuck wondering if you should be invested with anything or not. The fight scenes can be decent, but let’s just say when I do start to play Final Fantasy XV, I will have fonder memories in that game than Kingsglaive.

30. Batman: The Killing Joke.

If there was one animated film in 2016, that could be considered the most disappointing, it would probably be Batman: The Killing Joke. All this hype for a film adaptation of one of comic history’s most infamous stories, the original 90s Batman animated series’ actors like Tara Strong, Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamill were reprising their roles, and it was getting an edgy R rating. Too bad it became one of 2016 and DC’s biggest laughing stocks. The additional 30 minutes added to the story was pointless, the infamous sex scene was creepy and terrible, the actual Killing Joke part got hampered by the additional story, the animation was terrible, and the whole film felt like it rode on the hype without being worth it. Oh, and this film had no right in being rated R. It was nowhere close to that level of shocking or mature. I get some people are trying to defend Batman and Batgirl’s notorious sex scene, but come on. There is no reason to defend this film. If you like it, more power to you, but for me, I don’t think I could ever muster up enough effort to watch Batman: The Killing Joke ever again.

29. Snowtime!

A film that could have been a harmless bit of fluff, ends up being just that, but with an unneeded tragic third act. I don’t think I have ever seen such a horrible change of tone in any film from 2016. It also doesn’t help that the film has boring characters, and any potential in being more than fluff is wasted. It’s not a great film, but considering that it’s higher up on the list, you can tell I have seen worse.

28. Batman: Bad Blood

This just felt like a Marvel filler movie. And I mean, in a way that this felt like this story was told just to make way for a better future story. Then again, this was right after Batman vs. Robin, which is a great watch. I just got bored watching the movie, and while it does do some firsts, like introduce Batwoman in the new DC animated film universe, but it’s not enough. Don’t get me wrong, Bad Blood still has good voice work and some fun action scenes. I just don’t see myself watching Bad Blood in the near future.

Thanks for checking out Part One! Stay tuned for Part Two in the future!