Now this looks like Suess. Blue Sky Studios (Robots, Ice Age) nailed it, at least from these pics from Horton Hears A Who.
It used to be cool when some animated epic came out, like A Bug's Life, then next year another one would come out. Now, they're all over the place. Over the Summer, we actually had a three week span when 3 new animated movies came out - Monster House, Ant Bully, and Barnyard. They all pretty much sank, especially Bully. Monster made the most (of those 3) but I'm sure their budget was enormous. And Barnyard did okay. Cars is the animated king of the Summer (240+ million) followed by Over the Hedge (around 150 million) which is cool. I enjoyed them both.
This week we have Everyone's Hero. Every time I see that damn commercial I wanna put me head through a wall. Or at least slit my wrists. "I GOTTA GET BABY'S BAT BACK!" It's BABE Ruth, you asshole kid! Then we'll have Open Season. Then Flushed Away. Hopefully the better of these won't get lost (leaning towards Flushed Away as the "better."
Which also brings me to my theory I blogged about before that someone is ripping off someone. We've got Flushed Away, about rats. Then next summer we have Pixar's Ratatouille. About rats. Years ago we had the Bug's Life/Antz showdown. And don't forget Shrek & Monster's Inc came out the same year (both monster heroes, work with me). And who could forget Finding Nemo & Shark Tale (adventures of sea life). Or Madagascar/The Wild. Or Robots & Cars (both metal...okay, I'm reaching).
Anyhoo, what's your favorite animated movie? Mine would be the Iron Giant, by Brad Bird, who also directed the excellent Incredibles. I also enjoyed Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Shrek (1), and Ice Age. And if you can find it, there's this animated film from England called When The Wind Blows about the aftermath of a nuclear war. Haunting, amazing.
So, what's your fave?
11 comments:
The Secret of NIMH. A close second would be Grave of Fireflies.
It seemed to be a can't miss formula - animated movies for the kids that feature familiar voices to bring in the adults .. but just as with any good idea, Hollywood has already ruined it with saturation ... I have very little hope for Horton Hears a Who, which definitely had no need to be remade
I'd mention an old french animated sci-fi epic called Light Years, but that would just be me trying to look all uppety and such.
Iron Giant is wonderful though.
Akira is wonderfully drawn, but painfully obtuse and plain boring at times.
The Myazaki (sp?) guy does some really interesting stuff. My Neighbor Totoro really captivates me for some reason.
Iron Giant was terrific. I would also include Ice Age, Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monster's Inc., Shrek and Finding Nemo. That's the family list. Something that falls into the more adult category is Akira and Ghost In the Shell.
Does Gumby and Pokey count? Well, then --
Road to El Dorado
The Emporer's New Groove
The Triplets of Belleville
Heavy Metal... heh, oh that Shark one was kind of cute... whatever's free on HBO
Thank You Mask Man
Thank You Mask Man - classic!!!
Thank you Masked Man. Lenny Bruce cartoon. Forgot about that one, Crymes. Best cartoon short ever.
Among my faves:
Iron Giant
Nemo
Bambi (just gorgeous artwork)
Thank You Mask Man (lovd that one)
A Close Shave
B
Crap, forgot about W & G. I'd throw The Wrong Trousers in the mix.
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