Worst to Best Animated Films of 2020 Finale

(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/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this editorial!)

Good gravy, let’s finally get this one out of the way! Here were my top 10 favorite animated films from 2020! If you haven’t seen part 1, part 2, or part 3, I will make sure to hyperlink them. I apologize that life got in the way of making this one happen so late. 

10. The Wonderland 

While Keiichi Hara’s follow-up to one of my favorite films of 2016 Miss Hokusai doesn’t quite reach that level of quality, his new film, The Wonderland is still a whimsical adventure via a coming-of-age tale. It has some truly beautiful landscapes and a creative fantastical world that may be Hara’s own take on Alice in Wonderland. The villain isn’t the most interesting, and there are some jokes and moments that irked me, but I was so happy to catch this film before everything came crashing down with the pandemic. 

9. The Willoughbys 

This dark family comedy may suffer from a majority of the children in this family being underdeveloped in favor of the oldest son getting the majority of the development, but considering how little came out during the pandemic, I’ll take an overall vibrant and funny experience. What it may lack in some story strength makes up for some of 2020’s most vibrant CGI stop-motion-style animation, some very clever jokes, a fantastic cast, and it was just another step in showing what kind of experiences Netflix, flaws and all, are going to be offering in the feature animation scene. 

8. The Croods: A New Age

While I wouldn’t call 2020 or 2021’s DreamWorks’ best year for animation, out of their four recent films that they have released, The Croods: A New Age is their best one since 2019’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Who would have thought that a sequel that was in start/stop production hell would actually result in one of the better DreamWorks sequels? They expand on the world, the new characters are likable and bring in some substance to the overall story, the jokes are more creative, and the sequel leaning into the more absurd world that the story takes place in leads to a better overall product. I don’t know what they could do with a follow-up film, but if it’s as much fun to watch as this one, I wouldn’t mind seeing a third film. 

7. On Gaku: Our Sound 

While Lupin III: The First and Wolfwalkers were going to always be the more approachable GKIDS-distributed films of 2020, I still wish On Gaku: Our Sound had received more love. It’s a truly, by the definition, indie animated feature among the bountiful animation scene in Japan. Its offbeat atmosphere, quirky humor, and laid-back approachable story stick out from the flashier big-budget fare. That many of the people working on this were first-time animators is an impressive feat and while the use of rotoscope is obvious, the fact there is no other film quite like it out in 2020 is impressive and rather fun. It’s a film that introduces a real deal shot in the arm that the animation scene always needs. 

6. Lupin III: The First 

I remember how worried I was to see the franchise’s first step into CGI, and boy howdy, they didn’t miss a beat. Not only is it a fantastic foray into CGI animation, but it’s also a Lupin story that’s actually compelling and entertaining! For those that are fans of the franchise, getting both good animation and a good story isn’t always a given or is balanced with each film and special. With the return of the iconic dub cast, thrilling action, stellar writing, and some of the best CGI from Japan, Lupin III: The First shows a promising future for the franchise and the future of theatrical CGI animation from Japan. 

5. Onward

Remember when everyone was dunking on this film, and then everyone ended up liking it? I sure do. While it might not be one of the higher-end Pixar films, this touching story about two brothers and their journey to strengthen their bond and to try to get some closure with their dead father does elevate it as one of the more intimate and personal Pixar stories. The fantasy element even has a fun way of approaching the metaphorical and literal theme of losing and finding magic in life. It’s a film that has gotten better on rewatch, and I feel badly that it became one of the first victims of the pandemic. 

4. Over the Moon 

Netflix had a tough challenge of following up their acclaimed year of animation from 2019 where they had both I Lost My Body and Klaus, so Over the Moon was such a surprise with how much I fell in love with it. It is a touching story about grief, personal change, and dealing with loss, with some fantastic music, vibrant animation, and a fantastic lead. It was directed by Glen Keane, and this was his first time directing a feature film! Over the Moon also has a very witty script from Keane and the late great Audrey Wells. It also gets bonus points for having moments of gorgeous 2D animation. With Pearl Studios now on their own, making films with a promising lineup of future projects in the works, Over the Moon was an out-of-this-world first impression of what they could do after their relationship with DreamWorks ended. 

3. Ride Your Wave 

Masaaki Yuasa is a master director. I mean, I could leave it at that, but that wouldn’t be super satisfying as this is, until we finally see Inu-Oh this year, his best and most approachable movie. It’s a romance that of course has its own Yuasa twist that makes it his take on the “Shape of Water” romance perspective about a college girl finding her way in life. It even has the tamest visuals of Yuasa and Science Saru’s work. You can tell they toned it down from the immense visual overload that was 2004’s Mindgame and his more recent work with Lu Over the Wall and The Night is Short, Walk on Girl. Whether you like his more out-there premises or his more grounded ones, Ride Your Wave should be in your animation collection. 

2. Soul 

Even with a year like 2020, having a Cartoon Saloon, a Peter Doctor/Kemp Powers Pixar film, and a Yuasa film in the top three spots should be a sign of how good the good stuff was. There are definitely some understandable arguments about some of this film’s execution of plot points, and I understand where they are coming from with some of them, and maybe it’s because 2020 was just an entire mood year, Soul hit many people in a way that most animated films, Pixar or otherwise, do. Until Disney and Pixar can break the chains and do more adult-tinted animated features, this is the most adult film Pixar has ever put out, with an extremely philosophical story about life and what drives a person. With earworm tunes, an incredible performance from Jamie Foxx, and a rather ethereal tone, Soul ranks up as one of Pixar’s best. 

1. Wolfwalkers 

I mean, was there any shock here that it would be number 1? While it is technically tied with Soul, there is just something extremely special anytime we get a Cartoon Saloon film. It has some of the studio’s best animation yet, with its mix of gorgeous 2D visuals and rough pencil style reminiscent of the 70s and 80s Disney/Don Bluth that looks like it was filmed on wood grain. It is a touching story about two young girls, the themes of discrimination, anti-colonialism, sexism, freedom, family, and environmentalism, Wolfwalkers stands out from the pack in a year that had very little competition for the major titles everyone was looking forward to. Now, I do wish they would simply sell Wolfwalkers as an individual release instead of holding it hostage with Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells, though seriously, pay for an AppleTV+ subscription and watch this incredible flick.

The Other Side of Animation 202: The Croods: A New Age Review

(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/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

The procedure of what goes into making an animated film is often a chaotic mess of management, talent, and simply trying to be prepared for unexpected roadblocks. That includes people leaving, directors changing, redoing certain scenes or sections, maybe redesigning or rewriting entire story beats and characters. It’s a hot mess that requires you to be ready, and that means being canceled and then brought back to life after a few years. This is what happened with a certain sequel to a DreamWorks film. So, let’s talk about The Croods: A New Age.

Directed by Joel Crawford, this sequel to the hit film from 2013 went through quite the production cycle, as it was announced that a sequel would be getting made back in 2013. It continued to be in production for 2014 and 2015, but then got canceled in 2016 after the Universal buyout of DreamWorks Animation. There were some doubts about it from Universal’s side of things, but they changed their minds in 2017, because it then went back into production. However, the original directors, Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco were replaced by Joel Crawford, which makes The Croods: A New Age Crawford’s first real directorial gig for a feature film. It was officially released on November 25th, 2020, and then got a Home Premier release a few weeks later. It had a budget of $65 million, and has raked in quite a hefty sum of cash to the tune of $115.3 million. As for its critical reception, it’s gotten pretty positive reviews, but nothing outwardly glowing. Well, at least I can add to the glowing praise of this film.

So, our story picks up a little bit after the first film. The Croods, which include Eep, voiced by Emma Stone, Grug, voiced by Nicolas Cage, Ugga, voiced by Catherine Keener, Thunk, voiced by Clark Duke, Sandy, voiced by Kailey Crawford, Gran, voiced by Cloris Leachman, and Guy, voiced by Ryan Reynolds are back as the main focus of this new film. As the family travels from place to place, there is some tension within the family, as Guy and Eep are about to make their relationship official. That is, until one day, the prehistoric family runs into a large wall. They of course make it through said wall, and find a bountiful and beautiful paradise full of fresh water and food. Unfortunately for them, they get caught in a trap, and find out that there was already a family living there. These are the Bettermans. The Bettermans include the husband Phil, voiced by Peter Dinklage, Hope, voiced by Leslie Mann, and their daughter Dawn, voiced by Kelly Marie Tran. It turns out that Guy used to know the Bettermans, and shenanigans ensue as the Bettermans try to get Guy to hook up with Dawn, and for the Croods to leave. Will things settle down? Will Guy and Eep split up?

I’ve talked to my co-host of the animation podcast I am on, that DreamWorks sequels are for the most part, better than the original. Luckily, this is the case for this film. Instead of trying to be a somewhat grounded drama/comedy, The Croods: A New Age leans more on the comedy, but it still keeps around a lot of the themes of the original film, and even adds a few new ones. On top of the themes of always trying something new and dealing with the ever reliant force of change, with the Bettermans and their walled-off way of living, you have themes and commentary about immigration, discrimination, classism, racism, colonialism, and toxic mannerisms and dynamics. It’s a much deeper film than you would think, but I give DreamWorks credit for being creative with their premises, and pulling through with most of the topics they tackle with these sequels. It makes for a more fun movie as it also avoids a lot of the typical pitfalls that the previous film and most animated films fall into. For example, there is no love triangle. They make Dawn, Eep, and Guy be themselves while also giving some fantastic chemistry between the characters. It might have the over-protective dad trope, but the dads honestly get some of the more entertaining development and some of the funniest jokes in the entire film. Speaking of jokes, The Croods: A New Age is honestly quite funny! I found myself loving the expressive animation, and plenty of the best jokes were not shown in the trailers. This was a very comfort food-style film to watch during the holidays, because I found myself glued in front of this amusing experience from beginning to end. Not just because it was funny, but it had a story that, while it could have been better in some spots, was a lot more interesting and entertaining than I was expecting from a sequel that was greenlit, canceled, delayed, and then finally released. That’s a better fate than most films that go through production troubles. 

Speaking of animation, I don’t know what DreamWorks did to half their budget from the first film, because the animation looks fantastic. I don’t know if it’s just the upgrade in animation tech from 2013 to 2020, Universal cracking down on DreamWorks’ bloated budgets from the past films, but whatever they did, they did a good job at keeping up the quality of the visuals. It’s such a vibrant film with the continuation of the previous film’s lovely color direction. I even like that they went more cartoony with the designs of the animals and humans. They seem to be more fun to animate, because the previous film was cartoony, but had more grounded movements and expressions. I think everything in this film looks better in general in every way possible.

In terms of the sound, I think the music is pretty good! We might not have Alan Silvestri, but we got Mark Mothersbaugh, who I think fits the tone and personality of the film. It’s a quirkier sounding soundtrack, and due to the more comedic tone, it fits! The voice cast is also fantastic, but that’s not a shock. The original cast of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman are fantastic as usual, and Cage gets to be a bit more of his “Cage self” in this film than the previous film. Peter Dinklage and Leslie Mann are also delightful foils to the Croods, but my favorite performance has to go to Kelly Marie Tran as Dawn. Anytime she and Emma Stone were on screen together were some of my favorite moments, because Kelly seems to be having a lot of fun voicing the character.

Sure, this film has clunky moments, some of the jokes don’t work, it can be a touch loud at points, and it has some old tropes still laying around, but it set out to be a substantial sequel full of laughs, and it accomplishes it. It’s one of my favorite animated films from last year and one I can see myself easily wanting to own in the future. If you have yet to watch this film, then I recommend doing so. It’s a tight film, and I’m glad DreamWorks is continuing its progress in making good sequels. Now then, it is 2021, and we have to look at new films sooner or later. This means we must start with Netflix’s Charming.

Thanks for reading the review! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! If you would like to support my work, make sure to share it out, and if you want to become a Patreon supporter, then you can go to patreon.com/camseyeview. I will see you all next time! 

Rating: Go Check It Out!