Squashing the Little Guy?: New Academy Rules May Affect Non-CG Animation

Oh the Academy... At it again...

Up until now, animated features were nominated by two branches: The animation branch, the majority of the branch being animators and people who are waist-deep in that world. The other is the short films branch.

A new rule now says that everyone has a say. Everyone from every other branch of the Academy. Now the actual voters who pick the movies will have more of a say on what gets into the race in the first place.

That's... Troubling, to say the least...

The animation and shorts branches were responsible for getting some little indies into the limelight for a good few minutes. In their attempts to give more mediums a chance, they made at least one controversial decision. The Lego Movie, arguably 2014's greatest animated film, was completely snubbed. Why? Those same pickers wanted traditionally animated works and stop-motion filling some of those slots. The Lego Movie snafu was so big, it was a bigger trending topic than the Oscar nominees on the morning it all went down.

Now as frustrating as that hiccup was... Without these nominating folks, would the likes of Song of the Sea, Ernest and Celestine, any Studio Ghibli film, and so on... Would the likes of those ever have a chance at getting into the race? We know very well that the voters - a whole other group - don't watch most of the films, let alone the animated choices. We also know very well that a chunk of them either have contempt for the medium and/or are tone-deaf.

Do we all remember that leaked ballot back in 2014? Do we all remember that one anonymous voter who nonchalantly called Song of the Sea (an acclaimed Irish animated film) and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (an acclaimed Japanese animated film) "obscure freakin' Chinese f*ckin' things that no one freakin' saw"? Another close-minded individual abstained from picking an animated feature, saying he was done with those things since he/she was 6, and whenever his/her kid wanted to see one... He/she would drop them off at the theater and hang outside on their phone. This past race had a real gem, a fellow who said that he doesn't like animation or even animators! And went on to talk about his "turtle fetish"...

Academy, alright.

Now they'll have more of a say...

Will this push those "obscure freakin' Chinese f*ckin' things" out of the races for good? Will future marvels that aren't from the big guns have a hard time even getting nominated for Best Animated Feature?

Eric Beckman, founder of GKIDS, doesn't seem to think so. In speaking to Cartoon Brew, he expressed hope that the Academy will still nominate a diverse range of features each year. However, the Brew's piece mentions a Wrap article that hints at the whole rule change being a conspiracy to squash "old school" forms of animation (read: traditional, 2D, and stop-motion) out for good.

The committees have been under increasing criticism in recent years for shunning films like The Lego Movie and showing a marked preference for hand-drawn or stop-motion films over CG movies…The move should substantially increase the number of voters in the category, and perhaps lessen the bias toward old-school animation.

Bias towards "old-school animation"... Give me a bloody break.

Like the industry doesn't have a CG bias, 99% of the damn time.

It might be too early to tell, but... I don't like the sound of this. The Academy has shown time and time again that they are stuck in 1987 when it comes to evaluating animation. The Academy has never given it much consideration before then, even. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs should have been nominated for Best Picture of the year it was given a general release (1938, ceremony in early 1939), several of Walt's early films should've been nominated in their respective years. No, it took the Academy until the early 1990s to do it... And then they wouldn't do it again for another 18 years, creating the token category we have now.

Ever since Toy Story 3's nomination in 2010, no animated film has been in the Best Picture race. Inexcusable, but the Academy group is like most Americans - they think animation in almost every form is inferior to films shot with flesh-and-blood people in real-life locations. Imagine an art show only nominating photographs for Best Artworks of the Year. I don't need to spell it out for you animation fans of course, but doesn't that sound so absurd? Who in their right mind thinks a painting is simply inferior because it's not a capture of a real-life subject?

C'mon... Get. With. It.

The Academy Awards are really just an overblown advertisement for Hollywood, it is not the great decider of film excellence. It's an excuse for movie companies to put sexy "Winner of 5 Oscars" blurbs on DVD/Blu-ray jackets. That being said, I felt that some indies and traditionally animated films getting nominated gave them some spotlight that they probably wouldn't get elsewhere. Now, that might be a thing of past.

Maybe.

The Brew and others warn that this rule change could mean that the 5 nominees of this year will be The Lego Batman Movie, Emoji Movie, The Boss Baby, anything mainstream and CGI regardless of quality. Those folks in the feature animation and shorts branches don't have a bias, they want to spotlight high quality works of every kind of animation. Now, leaving out Lego Movie in 2014 - I agree - was a big mistake. If I were them, I would've swapped Big Hero 6 (a very good movie, don't get me wrong) for Lego. That way, we still would've had the 2D Song of the Sea and Kaguya in the race, alongside the stop-mo Boxtrolls.

Honestly, this news and the reports of the change being due to fear of "bias towards old-school animation" is another slap in the face, in a year that I think is - so far - kind of a bummer to begin with. Yeah, I'll say it now, the first quarter of 2017 has been relatively dour and I'm not quite sure on the rest of the year's mainstream output. Couple that with all these photoreal/live-action remakes of animated classics coming out left and right, studios setting up shop only to make the same ol' same ol', things like Emoji Movie happening... Yeah... I'm bummed right now. Not going to lie.

It might've always been this way in some way or another, but I never thought it was this... Worrisome.

What say you?

Pony-Sized: Super-Quick 'My Little Pony' Teaser Debuts

Welp, looks like Lionsgate will promote the My Little Pony feature-length film the same way they promote their other animated releases...

Yes, the teaser for My Little Pony: The Movie is finally here.


At thirty seconds long, it's really more of an announcement for the movie than a teaser that establishes anything. You also gotta love how it outright announces its "all-star" cast and the Sia song that will apparently be in it. I've actually never watched Friendship is Magic, though I understand why it has the big fanbase that it has. It's certainly appealing in its looks.

Anyways, I doubt that this trailer will get anyone outside of the fan base and girls under the age of, like 6, interested. That's not a dig on the show or the fan base, but you know how the cookie crumbles... Most "normal" folk would take one look at the show and assume that it's just a toy commercial for girls. They're totally not in on it, they'd be completely puzzled if you told them "Oh yeah, the new My Little Pony show is actually good."

What do I think? I... Can't say. It's just an announcement teaser, really. That said, it is a new wide-release "2D"/traditional-style animated film, TV show adaptation or not, so there's that.

What say you?

Going for Gold: Netflix Plans Their First Animated Feature

Netflix is finally getting in on the animated feature action...

Their first entry will be an animated feature for...

Adults.

Not a family film, not something to rack up bucks and sell toys everywhere. No, an adults-only animated film from Archer creator Adam Reed and executive producer Matt Thompson. Thompson will direct, the script is being handled by Expendables scribe David Callaham, and the dynamic Lord-Miller duo are involved as well...

It'll be an R-rated, comedic, revisionist take on American history. It's titled America: The Motion Picture... Channing Tatum has been cast as George Washington.

While other up-and-coming studios and new-to-animation companies are starting out with tried-and-true family films, Netflix is aiming higher. They seem to know that there's an audience for adult animation here in America, good adult animation. They happen to have fostered BoJack Horseman, which is above your usual Family Guy/[adult swim] stuff, an adults-only animated series that actually is "adult," not stuff that's only "mature" if you're 12 years old.

That all being said, I'm not sure what direction America: The Motion Picture is going to take. Will it be brilliant while also being gratuitous and happily immature? Or will it really have something to say? It's clearly aiming to be comedic, and given these guys' backgrounds, I'm not expecting too, too much out of this other than some wit and some creativity. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I'd say it's a good step forward. I also don't doubt that Sausage Party's success probably helped make this a reality, among other things.

Will it not be a CG film? Probably, for Archer, Frisky Dingo, and Sealab 2021 weren't CG cartoons. I expect the art style to resemble those, but it would be cool if it was something different. All I keep thinking of, actually, is a Robot Chicken skit that meshes the Revolutionary War with 300... And ironically Zack Snyder said not too long ago that he was thinking of making just that. (This wouldn't be the first time Robot Chicken was rather prophetic about Hollywood.)

Definitely an exciting development, and I'm looking forward to seeing where Netflix goes with their original feature animation...

What say you?

Mountain Splat: Paramount Animation Launches New Nick-Heavy Slate [UPDATE]

During their presentation at CinemaCon earlier today, Paramount revealed some big changes to their animated movie slate...

Their animation presentation was overall pretty short, but footage from next year's Amusement Park was shown. Reactions seemed rather mixed, some said it looked like kids-only fluff, others said it looks like it could have some substance. The release date is now August 10, 2018. It used to be July 13, 2018. The change was obviously going to happen. Hotel Transylvania 3 recently landed in the mid-July slot. Smart move, Paramount.

Paramount will team up with Nickelodeon to do more animated pictures, no shock there. Ever since they established the animation label in 2012, Paramount's plan always included lots of Nick-based features. They started on a Nick-based movie, the successful Sponge out of Water. A third SpongeBob movie has been on the slate for quite a while, it is no longer opening the same exact day as The Lego Movie Sequel. It's now set for August 2, 2019. Another smart move right there...

They have also announced a movie based on the current Nick hit, The Loud House. I'm sure that will raise the roof somewhere... That film is currently set for February 7, 2020. Will it be a traditionally animated picture? Or a CG'ed take on the show? Hopefully the former, even if its success won't mean anything for 2D's future here in America outside of TV show adaptations.

The plan is to release six animated movies between 2018 and 2020. So far, that's four...: Sherlock Gnomes (1/12/2018), Amusement Park, SpongeBob 3, and The Loud House.

The next two? They will also be Nick pics (slated for 3/22/2019 and 7/31/2020, respectively), and the sixth? Probably one of the films they announced some time ago, like Beastlies, The New Kid, Shedd, or maybe something else. Hopefully something original and/or fresh.

I'd say it's a smart strategy, because if they do the Nick films in 2D, it won't cost them too much. They can make easy profits off of those, and save the $70 million+ budgets (should they go that high) for the more "event"-type pictures. One thing is for certain, Paramount Animation is not a studio. It's a group, with various studios doing different features for them. Just like Warner Animation Group!

That all being said, what will the other two Nick movies be? My guess... One of them will be The Fairly Oddparents, as that show is still going. Like SpongeBob, it just won't stop, and it's now their second longest-running animated show. In terms of currently-airing shows, maybe Rabbids? An animated Rabbids movie was talked about before, but Sony was set to do that. I kind of doubt Pig Goat Banana Cricket is a candidate, because that show seems like it's on ice these days.

As for an older Nicktoon? Maybe, although Hey Arnold!'s long-delayed "Jungle Movie" is going to be a two-part TV movie this coming fall. Some Nick classics like Rocko's Modern Life are coming back, but will they get the theatrical movie treatment? Who knows, who knows... Maybe it'll be that rumored Nicktoons team-up movie, apparently the thing was indeed pitched, but never made it past that stage. Or maybe... It's possible that it'll be a feature-length pilot for an upcoming Nick series.

Maybe it won't even concern a TV show. Nick's name has been attached to numerous family movies released by Paramount, including the likes of Rango and The Adventures of Tintin... So one of those pictures maybe is not a Nick show-based movie. Amusement Park looks to carry the Nick name, and will get a Nick show next year, so yeah...

UPDATE (3/29/2017)

BoxOfficeMojo lists the untitled 7/31/2020 Paramount/Nick film as a "Hybrid", while the 3/22/2019 Paramount/Nick flick is labelled as "Animation"... So the 2020 film is a live-action/animation hybrid? Welp, so much for Paramount being done with those. They said they'd move on from those because of how badly Monster Trucks turned out, but hey... Maybe it'll be a live-action/unreal animation hybrid. Still boring to me, but it's what they want to do.


What say you?

Alive and Howling Elsewhere: Trailer for 'Wolfwakers' Surfaces

The American animation industry may have little to no use for traditional animation when it comes to wide-release theatrical movies, but in other countries... It's a whole different story.

Game-changing Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and founder/director Tomm Moore, the good folks behind The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, are readying a new fantasy epic called Wolfwalkers. The same studio is also working on another traditionally animated film that should be out by the end of this year, that picture is The Breadwinner. When Wolfwalkers debuts... I don't know.

We've seen things from Wolfwalkers for a little while now. A film that Moore describes as the "final panel of Cartoon Saloon's "Irish folklore triptych," it tells the story of a young apprentice hunter named Robin Goodfellowe, who is set to help her father exterminate the last pack of wolves in the area. After saving a native girl in the forest, she meets the Wolfwalkers. She becomes one of them, putting her life at risk.

Today, a sort of "concept trailer" was posted by Cartoon Brew...


Like the last two films from this studio, it looks very atmospheric. The teaser also promises an intense, beautifully-directed story that isn't afraid to go down some dark paths. The staging of the deer running through the woods is a standout moment, the kind of staging that you can indeed get in a traditionally animated picture without conspicuous CGI.

Once this film is completed, I have a feeling GKIDS will probably handle the US distribution, like they did with Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, and presumably The Breadwinner. I'd argue that right now, Cartoon Saloon is leading a sort of 2D charge on the other side of the Atlantic, while keeping innovation in animation alive. They don't blow mega-budgets on these things (Kells and Song, combined, cost less than $15 million to make), and yet they look every bit as dazzling as the hyper-real films we churn out here for roughly $80 million apiece. They're more exciting to me, because they truly take advantage of animation as a medium, instead of trying to closely recreate real life. If only context-ignoring executives here in the states got the memo...

What say you?

Weekend Box Office: 'Lego Batman' Hovers, 'Rock Dog' Flops

One animated film did well, another did not.

The Lego Batman Movie slipped down to #2 and dipped 41%, showing that at this rate, it probably won't have The Lego Movie's legs. That's fine, for it still has already made nearly 3x its budget. The Lego Batman Movie now sits at $133 million domestically and $226 million worldwide. Some places around the globe haven't gotten it yet. Australia, where most of the movie was made, hasn't even gotten it yet. China's getting it soon, along with Japan.

Down in 11th place is Rock Dog, opening with a paltry $3 million. This comes as no surprise, because Lionsgate doesn't put any marketing oomph into pretty much every animated film they release. Reviews suggest that this Chinese animated picture is a cut above the likes of The Wild Life and Norm of the North, but they did little for it. The film also sadly flopped in its own country due to a complicated problem concerning the theater chains over there. Perhaps this one will find a new life.

Moana eased 21% and fell to fifth place, with the physical media (meaning, Blu-ray and DVD) release right around the corner. To date, the picture has made $246 million stateside and $580 million worldwide. Six-oh-oh, here we come!

Sing fell to #21, stabilized and sunk 37%. It's up to $267 million here, and $550 million everywhere.

The Red Turtle saw a little expansion because of the Oscars, domestically the pic has only made $595k. Unfortunate, but expected for a film like this. It's playing in no more than 115 theaters.

Monster Trucks still exists. Down to #35, slipped 45%, $32 million here and $61 million everywhere.

GK finally released the nominated Swiss-French stop-motion film My Life as a Zucchini here. Playing in 2 theaters, it collected $28k.

Trolls' gross hasn't been updated since the 23rd. Apparently it's still showing somewhere, despite being on all the formats. What's the verdict on this one, DreamWorks bean counters?

Frontrunners: Best Animated Feature Nominees Announced

It has begun...

Five films have been nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar...

The choices are no surprise, really. Zootopia, Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life as a Zucchini, and The Red Turtle. Two are universally-acclaimed Disney animated features, one is a stop-motion adventure from a beloved house, another is a stop-motion film from a mainstay distributor, and the last one is a French production with help from none other than Studio Ghibli. In a year of strong mainstreamers and very strong indies, this batch isn't too bad.

We could perhaps argue that something like Your Name. or April, and the Extraordinary World deserved the last indie slot over The Red Turtle, or we could argue that Finding Dory was better than Moana, but overall I'm pretty content. Dory not making it is a bit bittersweet for me. I can acknowledge the movie's issues, at the same time it would've nice to see a film about disabilities at least be in the running. But a spade is a spade, I felt Moana had a tighter story structure and a little more verve. On the bright side, Life, Animated is up for Best Documentary, a film about how the Disney animated classics greatly helped an autistic boy through his life. Kind of evens things out, for me.

I'll be very happy if either Zootopia or Kubo take it home. One is Disney Animation at their greatest (I have it close to the Walt films I hold so near-and-dear), the other is a LAIKA masterpiece. Both near-perfect films, and of course the Academy Awards lived up to their predictability by not giving one of these two marvels a Best Picture nomination. I guess Toy Story 3's nomination will be the last time the Academy puts an inferior cartoon movie on the level of a "real", "legitimate" live-action movie... Despite having one more slot, but no. Nine it is. What else is new?

On the bright side, Kubo and the Two Strings broke some ground! It is the first caricature animation film to get a nod for Best Visual FX since The Nightmare Before Christmas... Way back in 1993, when there was no "Best Animated Feature" category. The Jungle Book is also up for that, though the movie is technically a 99% fully animated movie with one live-action element. Given the acclaim, it could've been up for Best Picture or Best Animated Feature, but the latter category is obviously for animated movies that aren't trying to be exact recreations of real life.

Best Animated Short... One mainstreamer (Pixar's Piper), a VR short by Feast director Patrick Osborne (Pearl), a film made possible by Pixar's Co-op program (Borrowed Time), and two indie entries (Blind Vaysha and Pearl Cider and Cigarettes). I'm rooting for Borrowed Time, not only because it was a great Western piece for adults that was smart (American adult animation not relying on gratuitous violence and sex?!), but because I heard from a reputable source that The Walt Disney Company gave Pixar guff over this project. I want it to win, even if it doesn't teach a lesson or two.

Anyways, it seems obvious that Zootopia takes home the feature statue. What takes home the other statue?

To recap, I'm rooting for:
Feature: Zootopia and/or Kubo and the Two Strings 
Short: Borrowed Time
Docu: Life, Animated

What say you?

Another Breed of Superhero: First Look at DreamWorks' 'Captain Underpants'

Have no fear, your first look at DreamWorks' other 2017 release is here.

Captain Underpants...

Who would've thought, right? I bet many aren't digging the idea of a movie based on the Dav Pilkey book series, others probably aren't shocked that DreamWorks opted to adapt them. Even though DreamWorks has shown for over eight years that they can tell good stories that don't fall back on cheap toilet humor and such, some people out there still believe that every new DreamWorks movie is a fartfest. Captain Underpants moving forward more than "confirms" that for them.

For those not in the know, Captain Underpants is exactly what it says on the box. Two fourth graders hypnotize their school principal, whose is described as tyrannical, into becoming a superhero. A big man with no powers who is only wearing a curtain cape and underpants. It's as ridiculous as it looks, folks. Being a 90s kid, I remember the books being a big staple at every book fair at my elementary school. It was a big deal back then, and other schools weren't as welcoming to the series as mine was. They went as far as banning them, due to their fear of them being inappropriate for young readers and also fearing that they would encourage them to... Yes, disobey authorities.

It has quite a history, and it actually kind of seems like prime material to turn into a silly animated comedy. The first look at the film, provided by Entertainment Weekly, shows something that I think actually has some potential...

No different from the style used in Blue Sky's The Peanuts Movie, what they've got here looks pretty good and is pretty much the illustrations of the books brought to the big screen. What wasn't stated in the report is this: DreamWorks actually outsourced this production to Mikros, who have houses in Canada and France. A smart idea in hindsight, because spending Trolls money ($125 million) on this kind of movie isn't a good idea.

That's not all, though. Director David Soren (who directed DreamWorks' Turbo) said that the film will not only be irreverent like the books, but it will also have a lot of fun with its own visuals: Stylized CG isn't the only thing you'll see in it, you'll also see traditionally animated (!) scenes that will look like comic book panels come to life, and also sock puppets of all things, and more. A real mixed-media kind of animated feature.

Soren also revealed that the story will feel like something made by the two fourth grade protagonists. Back when it was announced, my question has always been, will DreamWorks be able to keep the series' style funny and not cringeworthy for a whole 90-or-so minutes? Unlike some of the DreamWorks movies of the 2000s, Captain Underpants isn't a series that uses toilet humor to get a laugh. It's a series that is pretty much built around grossness, I mean c'mon... That's in the title alone! Just looks at the volume titles, too. The movie could be like the cinematic equivalent of a Ren & Stimpy episode. In another way, it could subvert superhero movies, since those have been dominating.

I know, it's the last thing feature animation in America needs, but it's here, so I say... Might as well hope for the best. With the first look now out, I wonder when the teaser will surface?

What say you?

A New Candidate: Amazon Enters Feature Animation, Options 'Emily the Strange'

A new competitor is entering the world of feature animation. A big one that is part of a massive company... Amazon Studios.

Amazon Studios has been around for about 6 years, and up until now they've been doing TV shows. Their latest film, Jim Jarmusch's Paterson, is set to debut a few weeks from now. A good-sized theatrical release. They've got other films in the pipeline, and now their first animated film is in development, a film based on Emily the Strange.

Created back in the early 90s by skateboarder Rob Reger, the rebellious goth girl first appeared on clothing and other merchandise, and then later got her own graphic novel series in the early 2000s. A feature adaptation has been in the cards for a while. Universal and Illumination were set to make a live-action film based on the series a while back, but the rights eventually reverted back to Dark Horse Comics.

The new animated film take, according to The Hollywood Reporter, looks to "keep the authenticity and edge of the property". While it is still in the early stages of development, it's interesting to see Amazon Studios finally getting into the animated features business. We saw Netflix swoop in earlier this year when they acquired The Little Prince for stateside distribution after Paramount quietly dumped it.

If anything, it shows how streaming could make a real dent in the animated features world. More than anything, I find it interesting that Amazon optioned Emily the Strange of all things. It's definitely an out-there character and series, and the aesthetic of the comics and related animated shorts is pretty good material for animation. I just wonder if it'll be a traditionally animated film or a CG one, because I think 2D would suit it, plus because it's Amazon, perhaps they could get away with doing a 2D film and not have to worry about having to pull a big gross out of hat.

What say you?

Oceanic Epic: 'Moana' is a Thrilling, Fun, Familiar Adventure

The big epic Broadway-style musical has returned with Walt Disney Animation Studios' 56th animated feature, Moana...

Warning, spoilers ahead...

How is it? If this past spring's Zootopia was the studio's grand new dish, Moana was the menu favorite... But this menu favorite was served up in a way that made its familiar elements feel fresh and fun again. No doubt about it, Moana is through-and-through a 90s Disney Renaissance film, and it is definitely a Ron Clements/John Musker film. Does it really do anything new? Not really. It's certainly more Little Mermaid than it is Treasure Planet. But is it executed very well? I think so.

Moana works off of Oceanic folklore to create a very cool, sometimes wild, and sometimes surreal fantasy adventure that only animation can do. Our main heroine loves the ocean, adventure, and doesn't quite want to fit into the mold that her society wants her to fit into. Long ago, demigod Maui stole the heart of the island goddess Te Fiti, a small green glowing stone. This unleashed hell on the islands, and little by little Moana's home island of Motunui is decaying. Crops are dying, the land is falling apart, soon it'll be curtains for her people...

Upon her grandmother's death, Moana sets sail to find Maui, intending to take him and the heart stone to where it belongs. Maui is hesitant, because of the dangers out there that want the stone, and because he doesn't have his legendary magical fish hook to fend for himself. What ensues is a buddy comedy on water, Moana and Maui really don't get along at first, not dissimilar to Tiana and Naveen's relationship in The Princess and the Frog. Little by little, as they work together, they begin to bond. While Moana is determined to undo the mistakes Maui has brought upon the islands, Maui is incredibly stubborn and quite arrogant. I really liked how these two worked off of each other, and it makes for some pretty good comedy too.

Also supplying some comedy is a stowaway rooster, Heihei. Dumber than the average chicken, Heihei is never overused in the way some Renaissance era sidekicks were. There was very little lowbrow humor, too, the tone was surprisingly pretty even for a 90s-style picture. Certainly more even than Frozen, in my humble opinion. The pacing was also pretty shocking too, the first act refreshingly takes it time while the middle feels a little bit wonky in places. Am I just too nuts about pacing? Rarely do I ever say something's so well-paced these days.

Visually, the film is indeed very nice. While I'm getting tired of photoreal computer animation, the lighting and color work in this film is still resplendent. Its most exciting parts, visually, used traditional animation along with other unexpected visual choices: Maui's tattoos, folk art-like cut-outs during the 'You're Welcome' song sequence, and the psychedelic visuals of Tamatoa's brilliantly over-the-top 'Shiny' number. I will be brutally honest though... I really wish this film was done in traditional animation.

This is not a dig on CGI or the sheer work that the Disney Animation team put into this movie's look, but it's a just a personal choice. I'm really beginning to sour on computer animation that's trying to be photoreal while trying to keep that unreal quality that makes animation so unique, but this is another rant for another day. The colors, character animation, lighting, and imagery still wows. The water too, just... Amazing...

What I particularly liked was how adventurous it was. Coconut-wearing pirate creatures pulling a Mad Max: Fury Ocean on our heroes, a whole seabed-like land full of weird monsters, a big battle with a lava monster, the ocean being a character, it was pretty imaginative and epic. I wasn't watching an animated Broadway musical set in a few key locations, it was like a Broadway musical and a sprawling trek, in the way something like Aladdin was. The cast is refreshingly small for this kind of narrative, but the faces we see are nonetheless entertaining and likable.

Bolstering all of this is the music from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i, and Mark Mancina. The tunes follow the 90s beats, but are very enjoyable and leave you humming. 'Shiny' is a grade-A villain song, just our campy crustacean baddie basking in his collection. Moana's 'I Want' song is good stuff, as is the epic 'We Know The Way', some of the more emotional ones in the latter part of the middle third are sharp. Moana's grandmother returns in spiritual form to sing her the song of the ancestors, the scenes concerning Moana's grandmother in particular really hit home for me, having lost my grandmother a few years back, the sequence in question almost mirrored how it happened. Her reunion with her granddaughter is one of the film's most poignant moments.

Moana is in every way a work of Disney animated comfort food. It has the big songs, it has the spunky heroine who wants more, the music, the occasional over-the-top fun, a memorable baddie, some sadness, and a good touch of comedy. For me, this balanced all of the elements better than many of the Renaissance films did. At the same time, it bucked a few trends from that era. Our big epic battle with the lava witch isn't quite what one might think, there's really no towering bad guy to stop.

Tamatoa is a temporary monster that they have to trick, while the lava witch Te Ka is an enraged Te Fiti who needs her heart back. Really, most of the conflict is Maui's doing, and he's cocky to boot. Thankfully there are no twist villains either, because that could've been a mistake and would've felt quite redundant. The comic relief sidekick isn't overbearing or noisy, nor does this fowl in question interrupt deeper moments. In fact, Moana puts him in a pot and locks it in the boat's compartment, he stays put for a little while!

While not a particularly mind-blowing work, Moana is more than a pleasant diversion. It certainly does have things on its mind, and the telling of them is quite subtle. One of them I liked is Maui's initial search for more power, resulting in the stealing of the heart-stone. Self-discovery and confidence are also the name of the game too, and even a little dash of empathy. The film is not a joke-a-thon matinee or Redbox rental, and to be fair, none of the Disney animated films made under John Lasseter's watch have been just that. Moana basically continues the winning streak without anything really new to bring to the table. It certainly isn't the ambitious and wild Zootopia, nor is it the exciting and sprawling Wreck-It Ralph, but everything in it coagulates so well. Again, comfort food, but prepared with passion.

Soooo, what about our short film?

Inner Workings is a zippier Reason and Emotion with some dashes of Team Emeryville's recent mind movie, and in terms of the animation and directing, it's a lot of fun. As I've said before, I absolutely love the off-kilter style they went for, and the presentation itself compliments this style. If Disney Animation is going to stick with CGI, they might as well move away from whatever style they're using and go for looks like this, but that's also another ramble for another day. The 80s vibe was very cool, and there was some good humor in it, too. Some jokes were stretched a little thin, and perhaps the brain was a little too much of a worrywart, but it was overall very enjoyable and a real visual treat.

Quite the double-bill, and the perfect capper to Walt Disney Animation Studios' great year. Two new films, both great, both successful, I say we animation fans got the goods.

Weekend Lookout: 'Moana' Makes Big Waves

To the shock of no one, Walt Disney Animation Studios' new, big, epic musical about a princess that happens to star The Rock is going to come in like a tidal wave...

Collecting $15.6 million yesterday, it's almost on par with Frozen's opening Wednesday - $15.1 million. Frozen went on to score the biggest 5-day Thanksgiving week gross: $93 million. If Moana follows a similar trajectory, it could very well top Frozen. This means it could make roughly $65-70 million for the three-day alone. It's all set, and will be locked and loaded when Rogue One rolls in next month.

In the long run, I don't think it'll pull a Frozen. Frozen was one of those leggy phenomenons that came in out of nowhere, had little-to-no major competition (Walking with Dinosaurs? Hobbit 2? Zzzz?), and impressed. Moana is sure to be very leggy in its own way, but I'm not quite sure if it'll make it to $400 million domestically. Ahead are some prime hits, like Disney's own Rogue One, Illumination's Sing, and maybe something else. I'm ready to be wrong on this one, though. One thing's for certain, I think... It'll breeze past the big three-oh-oh.

It's great to see directors Ron Clements and John Musker score a huge hit again. Their last three pictures either flopped or underperformed.

Sadly, I probably won't be seeing the film until next Friday due to plans and such. So far, the reception is outstanding and I've heard nothing but great things about it.

This situation will be the opposite of what happened in 2002. That year, Walt Disney Feature Animation readied two films: Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois' weirdo sci-fi family drama Lilo & Stitch, and Ron Clements and John Musker's sci-fi quasi-steampunk retrofuturistic adventure Treasure Planet. While Lilo hit big, Treasure Planet crashed and burned. A shame, because Treasure Planet - in my opinion - is a pretty good film.

In a way, this year is a teensy bit similar. We have one Ron & John movie in the autumn/holiday season, while the more experimental flick came out first - Zootopia. Zootopia cleared $1 billion, Moana could do it if it has the oomph worldwide. Imagine that! Disney Animation releasing two films in the same calendar year for the very first time in 14 years... And getting monstrously good results.

Give it time, I think we'll be hearing about what the duo are going to tackle next. The reason Moana arrived 7 years after their previous film is because it wasn't going to be their next. After the release of The Princess and the Frog, Ron and John wanted to adapt one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld stories - Mort. It had a lot of promise, but by late 2010, Disney couldn't quite secure the rights. Ron and John then pitched three ideas to John Lasseter, Lasseter okayed the Oceanic adventure...

Thanksgiving Gross Update...

Moana did quite well on Thanksgiving, though it fell a bit behind Frozen. Suffice to say, it still can make more than $85 million for the five-day...

I got to see footage of it today. Remember how I said I won't be able to see the full movie until next Friday at the earliest? Well, I'm currently down in Walt Disney World, and I checked out the roughly 15-minute preview at Disney Hollywood Studios. This alone got me more excited for the film than any of the trailers or TV spots, but it's no surprise, for marketing isn't made to get people like interested. It's worked so far, so can't complain there. Just a personal sidenote.

The wait - because life gets in the way sometimes - to see this one is going to be a little bit of a bummer, but I'm going to try my dardnest to see it as soon as possible!

Friday gross...

$21 million, a good $5 million behind Frozen. Not bad, not bad. The five-day should now be in the low 80s... Still #2, topping Toy Story 2. Three-day weekend gross should be in the high 50s...

The three-day...

$55 million estimated. $12 million less than Frozen, $20 million below Zootopia, just a million less than Big Hero 6. Very solid opening... Where could it land? Well, let's look at Tangled's multiplier. $200 million off of a $68 million five-day, that's 2.9x. If Moana does that, $234 million in the bag. If it plays like Toy Story 2 did back in 1999, we get $248 million. Cool, cool.

Worst case scenario, I think, would be Good Dinosaur legs. If it plays out like that Pixar film, which is doubtful at this point, it would still pocket a fine $181 million domestically. I've seen some here and there worry that Moana isn't cutting it. No worries, it's doing quite fine!

Since parts of the world aren't getting Moana for a little while, it's only at $16 million overseas. Like most fall Disney Animation and Pixar releases, the international roll-out will be staggered. Poor Japan, as usual, has to wait til March to get it. I'm so sorry for reminding you of this...

Elsewhere in animation land...

Trolls eased, thankfully. Down 40%, now at $135 million domestically and $291 million worldwide. It's little by little climbing. No numbers for Storks yet, as that's pretty much on its way out.

Actuals

Moana actually made a little bit more than Big Hero 6 for the three-day. $56.6 million, barely eked by $82 million for the five-day. Great launch! Make Trolls' 40% dip 39%. $291 million worldwide, c'mon pick up some steam!

The Secret Life of Pets and Storks are pretty much on their last few legs, the latter looks to make around $180 million worldwide when all is said and done. The former inches up on $875 million worldwide.

Going Inward: Another Look at 'Inner Workings'

Disney has been unusually zip-mouthed on Inner Workings, the very cool-looking short that's set to debut with Moana this coming Wednesday...

Entertainment Weekly interviewed director Leo Matsuda, and he went over some things that he already mentioned about the short, like how it's personal to him and both sides of his family (Japanese and Brazilian). He also mentioned how the encyclopedias he read as a kid inspired the short, how the short is ultimately about balancing things out in life, and that it'll be set in a "surreal", Wes Anderson-inspired (!) 80s California...

In addition to that, here are some stills...

I'm really digging the stylized design they went with. Even though I have praised Walt Disney Animation Studios' current output, I do think that their CG should branch out. This short makes me think of Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom, which definitely clashed with Disney's then-new house style that was developed in the post-war years. Even the Mary Blair-tinged films! Ward Kimball's abstract ideas dominated the whole short, a style that was definitely at odd ends with what we saw in many of the features of the era, to say nothing of all the short films. Some works pushed into new directions (Mars and Beyond immediately comes to mind), and eventually we got an animated feature that looked unlike any previous Disney animated production... Sleeping Beauty.

Basically, I'd love to see a new Walt Disney Animation Studios film go down an Inner Workings-esque route. Just something completely different, but still very appealing and palatable to audiences. Visually, the newest stuff is nice, but outside of Zootopia I think it's also nothing too special. Frozen, Big Hero 6, and what I've seen of Moana (minus the 2D tattoos) have great lighting and color work, but in terms of the character design and art direction, it's nothing really new. I don't want to say bland because the work is there, the sweat and dedication is on the screen, but...

Zootopia at least played with a very cool-looking city set in another world, and had excellent character designs that translated well to CG. Zootopia to me was Disney Animation's most visually exciting film since Wreck-It Ralph. That film worked off of three different styles of art direction (and even had some variety in its character animation, like the Nicelanders moving like 8-bit characters), it's quite something.

Matsuda confirmed that his short didn't use any new techniques, and that it isn't going to be a Paperman-esque leap forward, but some 2D is still there. Whatever was used, I love the style of the CG, I want to see more of that in the modern Disney feature animation. Hopefully one day we'll get a CG equivalent of Sleeping Beauty, the out-there work of a concept artist blown up into a roughly 100-minute movie.

Another interesting bit is that this short was actually set to be attached to Zootopia... It was delayed because the studio "needed all hands on deck", pushing this short back a bit. I still think Disney could've filled the gap by putting a classic Mickey short in front of the movie, but hey.

What say you?

Ready, Set, Go: The Eligible Films in the Animated Feature Race [UPDATE]

That time is upon once again folks...

The Oscar prelude...

Note: The real list was released today - November 11th... What follows is the original article, and then the update, for a lot of the films on the Variety list ended up being on the official list...

Variety has released the (note: unofficial, but still very likely) list of 21 eligible animated features aiming for the five nomination slots. As usual, I'll list them and some premature predictions. Alphabetical order, let's go!

First up is Rovio and Sony ImageWorks' The Angry Birds Movie, based on that app we all know. It wasn't all that well-received, it's not award winner material. After The Lego Movie's snub, I'm not sure the Oscars would consider another big brand-based movie, especially one whose critical reception was nowhere near the unanimous praise for the brick flick.

Next up is April and the Extraordinary World. GKIDS knows how to score with great independent animated features, as their other releases put up a good fight in previous Oscar races, even imported films that were around 2-3 years old! April and the Extraordinary World blended sci-fi, steampunk, and adventure into a beautiful traditionally animated story. With the way the Oscar nom-pickers are now, I can see this being a very strong candidate... But GKIDS has other strong contenders on hand.

Then we get to Finding Dory... Here's where things get a little tough... The Academy has shown little love for non-Toy Story Pixar sequels, but with one of them (Cars 2) the reasons are obvious. Monsters University on the other hand got good enough reception, but Disney themselves didn't push the Pixar prequel, they poured all the Oscar love into "grand event" Frozen from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Monsters University should've gotten into the race, not fluff like Despicable Me 2 and The Croods. Anyways, Finding Dory's critical reception, not to mention its box office, is significantly better. The film also explored disabilities, and was very resonant. And of course, it is Pixar in good form. Those right there guarantee it a nom, right?

No, actually... Ever since the changes to the Oscars were implemented, things have been different in animationland. After 2013, the folk who pick the nominees for Best Animated Feature made it their mission to make more diverse choices. This is why The Lego Movie got left out of the 2014 race, and why LAIKA's stop-motion film The Boxtrolls - a pleasant but unspectacular film - got in. It also made room for great films like Song of the Sea and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Finding Dory, being a "good" mainstreamer and a sequel in this new climate, was already not quite locked. In 2011, it would've been.

Disney also has two other animated biggies, both from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Zootopia I think is a guaranteed lock given the film's quality and the fact that it tackled timely issues, it's one of the best-received movies of the year. Some have worried that the Oscars could last-minute view it as a Lego Movie-type, but I don't think so. In a year where most of the mainstreamers have been good enough, Zootopia has quite a few advantages. Moana is the one to look out for, for it is a big musical in the Renaissance tradition, it's about a princess (and the marketing is emphasizing the "girl power"), it has all those ingredients they love, is sure to be a box office smash. Oh, and the guy behind Hamilton was a driving force in the film's soundtrack.

(Okay, I guess we can ignore alphabetical order from this point onward...)

If Moana gets Frozen-level reception or higher, I think it's a lock. Zootopia and Moana getting into the race could squeeze the Pixar sequel out, for the three other slots need to go to films that would normally get pushed out by mainstreamers. Since the likes of Kung Fu Panda 3 and The Secret Life of Pets weren't spectacular, there's lots of room. Sing could be a potential candidate. No Illumination film has gotten unanimous praise yet, and early buzz on this feature - screened at the Toronto International Film Festival a few months back - is quite good... But will it be loved enough to get a nod? Since both aren't out yet, Moana and Sing are kind of up in the air, though I think the former has higher chances at locking a slot than the latter. Kubo and the Two Strings is definitely a lock. LAIKA, stop-motion, it's excellent. It's in.

GKIDS is loaded. They have acclaimed films from all around the world, like Phantom Boy and Miss Hokusai. My Life as a Zucchini, a stop-motion film from France and Switzerland, shouldn't be counted out either for it tackles some weighty themes. The last of the GKIDS releases is Mune: Guardian of the Moon, which is definitely more kid-oriented and cutesy. I don't think one really has a chance.

Sony Classics is readying The Red Turtle, which goes wide in January 2017. That's a co-production with Studio Ghibli, so that has a very good chance at getting in. Your Name is the current anime sensation, a blockbuster in Japan that has gotten lots of praise. That is being brought here via FUNimation. Shout! Factory has the 2D Long Way North, which could get in, but the other indies seem stronger. The Little Prince got lots of love, is thankfully eligible, and it's stop-motion... But I still feel that others have a greater chance at getting in.

The rest are the mainstreamers. Ice Age: Collision Course? Nope. Sausage Party? Nada, despite the aggressive push it's getting. Trolls? Nope. Secret Life of Pets? Not really. Ratchet & Clank? Forget it. Storks? Also not really. The Jungle Book is not counted, despite the fact that everything in that movie except Mowgli is CG. I must give the animation branch props for focusing on animated movies that know they're animated, not VFX trying to emulate real life... But still, it's kind of a contradiction, and this is coming from someone who didn't love the film.

Anyways...

The Angry Birds Movie - 5% chance
April and the Extraordinary World - 90% chance
Finding Dory - 80% chance
Ice Age: Collision Course - 0% chance
Kubo and the Two Strings - 100% chance
Kung Fu Panda 3 - 50% chance
The Little Prince - 70% chance
Long Way North - 70% chance
Miss Hokusai - 80% chance
Moana - depends on quality, will update
Mune: Guardian of the Moon - 10% chance
My Life as a Zucchini - 75% chance
Phantom Boy - 90% chance
Ratchet & Clank - 0% chance
The Red Turtle - 90% chance
Sausage Party - 50% chance
The Secret Life of Pets - 50% chance
Sing - depends on quality, will update
Storks - 50% chance
Trolls - 50% chance
Your Name - 80% chance
Zootopia - 100% chance

Buckle up, I think it's going to be a wild race...

Update...

The real list is here, as of November 11th... It includes a record twenty-seven animated features...

Here are the ones I missed, all which are foreign/independent features:

Bilal - From last year, a UAE-produced animated feature based on the real-life Bilal ibn Rabah.

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV - Based on the long-running video game series, this opened theatrically in Japan this past summer.

Monkey King: Hero is Back - Another entry that is actually over a year old. The Chinese animated feature that at one time held the record for biggest animated movie in that country.

Mustafa & the Magician - Apparently an Indian production. Can't seem to find much on this one.

Snowtime! - Another 2015 film, from Canada. I've heard good things about this one.

25 April - A New Zealand production about the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign. This also came out at festivals last year.

I can't say much about these inclusions, because I feel their changes at getting in are similar to some of the other indies that I already went over.

You'll also notice that Norm of the North, The Wild Life, and Ratchet & Clank are completely absent. Not submitted, I see...

Reviews for Moana are already pretty good, so I think it's chances are very high at getting in, but some reviewers seem a bit dissatisfied with the story. From now on, I think this and Finding Dory will compete for a second slot for The Walt Disney Company. I think Zootopia easily locks one, so for the other slot, it's either Disney Animation's Oceanic odyssey or Pixar's return to the big blue. Who gets in?

Anyways, revised:

The Angry Birds Movie - 5% chance
April and the Extraordinary World - 90% chance
Balil - 25%
Finding Dory - 80% chance
Ice Age: Collision Course - 0% chance
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV - 25% chance
Kubo and the Two Strings - 100% chance
Kung Fu Panda 3 - 50% chance
The Little Prince - 70% chance
Long Way North - 70% chance
Miss Hokusai - 80% chance
Moana - 80% chance
Monkey King: Hero is Back - 15%
Mustafa & the Magician - 15%
Mune: Guardian of the Moon - 10% chance
My Life as a Zucchini - 75% chance
Phantom Boy - 90% chance
Ratchet & Clank - 0% chance
The Red Turtle - 90% chance
Sausage Party - 50% chance
The Secret Life of Pets - 50% chance
Sing - depends on quality, will update
Snowtime! - 25% chance
Storks - 50% chance
Trolls - 50% chance
25 April - 25% chance
Your Name - 80% chance
Zootopia - 100% chance

The plot thickens...

Oncoming Nerds and Apes: 'Nerdland' and 'Spark' Get Release Dates

Two features have locked release dates...

Titmouse, the house behind Adult Swim favorites like Metalocalypse and China, IL, completed Nerdland a while back and it screened at festivals earlier in the year. Now, it has a concrete release date. Previously, we learned that The Samuel Goldwyn Company was distributing the picture sometime next month. The official date is now December 6th.

But the catch? A very limited Fathom Events theatrical release, it's actually going to be a VOD release. Kind of a shame, because it looks like it cost nothing to make, and could probably make a small profit as an indie theatrical release. Little Prince route it is.

Perhaps it finally getting something of a release is all due to Sausage Party's success, which is good, hopefully that film succeeding makes the industry more confident in adults-only fare. Like I've said, if it's going to take a string of raunchy immature comedies to get to the good stuff, I'm all in. A new trailer has also been released...

Getting a wide release on the other hand is ToonBox's Spark. Like Nerdland, Spark was finished a while ago and even screened at a festival towards the beginning of the year. It was always meant to open between The Nut Job and its sequel. Open Road Films, distributor of the Nut Jobs, has finally picked it up. They will release the film on April 14, 2017. That's one week after Sony's Smurfs: The Lost Village, and that pic opens a week after DreamWorks' The Boss Baby. C'mon guys, space 'em out!

Spark is lower budget, so they don't have to worry. Smurfs: The Lost Village should cost around the amount of Sony Animation's more recent films, it'll mostly get its help from the worldwide box office given the fact that the Smurfs themselves originate from Europe. It's The Boss Baby I'm worried about, being a $120 million DreamWorks flick... but then again, Fox is probably willingly dumping this and Captain Underpants. I just hope, even though DreamWorks is now part of Comcast, that the animators don't get hit for these films flopping, should the films do so.

Spark is also one of three animated movies that Open Road is unleashing next year, alongside ToonBox's own The Nut Job 2 (5/19/2017) and Mass' Blazing Samurai (8/4/2017). No proper trailer is out, yet. I've only seen a clip months and months ago that unfortunately got pulled, wasn't too bad.

Anyways, it's good to see films locking dates. As far as 2017 animated movies go, we're still waiting on Blue Dream's Animal Crackers and Parallax's Musical to get distributors/dates. There's probably a couple others at the moment that could be squeezed in as well, but 2017 is almost rounded out.

What say you?

Inner Struggle: See Footage from 'Inner Workings'

Walt Disney Animation Studios' Inner Workings, the short that will be attached to this fall's Moana, is making the rounds at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In speaking with Toronto's CP24, director Leo Matsuda and producer Sean Lurietalked about the story, and they showed... Some footage!

The CG side of the film is some of Walt Disney Animation Studios' oddest work to date, and that's great! The use of 2D and other styles for the heart and brain is quite exciting too, making it unlike the more recent Disney Animation shorts. Rest easy, it's not another love story. It looks like it'll be very clever, funny, and gorgeous to look at.

I just hope that shorts like these pave the way for Disney Animation films that experiment with bold styles again. Remember how, in the 90s/00s, we got stylized things like Hercules and Atlantis sitting cheek-and-jowl with things like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tarzan? Walt's career had all kinds of visual styles: The European storybook-influenced look of Snow White and Pinocchio, the more abstract works like Fantasia, Dumbo and The Three Caballeros, the Mary Blair aesthetic that dominated most of the 50s films, the scratchy Xerox look of the 60s, Bambi's stunning naturalism, and Sleeping Beauty's one-of-a-kind art direction. I'd like to see WDAS' CG do that, really push some boundaries with character designs and art direction.

Either way, it's good to have a first look at this thing in motion.

What say you?