2013 in Animation - Review

It's been quite a year for animation, with cavemen, time-travelling turkeys and fiesty princesses entertaining cinema-goers of all ages; let us have a look of what we saw this year. 

The Croods

 

 Released in late March, The Croods was a fun, relatively simple affair, which, whilst not setting the world on fire, was visually stunning and pretty funny, at that. Dreamworks also gifted it with a decent voice cast, including Emma Stone, Nicholas Cage and Ryan Reynolds. It was certainly a lesser effort from Dreamworks, but miles better than a lot of the other animations released this year; as shown in the box office figures, with Croods picking up a neat total of roughly $587 million.

Epic

 Another middling effort from perhaps Hollywood's most mediocre animation studio, Epic promised big things with its absurd title and massive cast (including, but not limited to: Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Beyoncé and Pitbull) but amidst all the bright colours and faux-whimsy was a rote plot with thinly sketched characters. Aziz Ansari's whacky Mub was a highlight, but even that was overshadowed by the lack of dramatic momentum and originality.

Despicable Me 2

(At the time of writing) the second highest-grossing film of the year, Despicable Me 2 was a runaway hit, whilst (similarly to Epic) it lacked true inspiration, the Minions were as funny as ever and the visual set-pieces were bigger than last time. The main plot was nothing special for sure and the pacing was a bit off in the middle act, but Despicable Me 2's incredible box office total of nearly $920 million shows how much love the world has for Gru and his Minions.

Monsters University

My favourite film of the year, Pixar's prequel to the 2001 hit Monsters Inc. proved  to be another hit with the public (close to $744 million), as it reintroduced us to two of Pixar's most-loved characters: Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan. There was a plethora of new ones introduced too, making for a frenetic and vividly detailed time in Monstropolis. It may lack the magic of Pixar's soaringly lovely past, but it was still a delight to welcome the monsters back to the big screen.

Turbo

 A wildly depressing disappointment, Turbo proved to be one of this year's biggest let-downs, wasting the talents of its charismatic voice cast (Ryan Reynolds, Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Lion, whichever you think is stupider), Samuel L. Jackson etc.) and its astounding visuals to deliver another derivative, dumb 100 minutes, with only a few sparks of humour and inspiration. My opinion is reflected in the box office, where Turbo only earned $282 million, resulting in a general consensus that (excluding merchandising and home-media sales) it was a financial flop. 

The Smurfs 2

Another monotonous, bland entry in a summer full of them, The Smurfs 2 was nowhere near matching the box office success of its predecessor and even less successful critically. It had another decent cast mired in the trite affair that was the film's plot. Being dragged along to this sequel was one of the most unpleasant viewing experiences of my year.

Planes

I'm sorry to keep echoing a variation of this phrase, but whilst visually, it was vibrant, bright and fun, the story was second rate. Julia Louis-Dreyfus proved to be a nice addition to the voice cast and there were flashes of humour, but the continuation of John Lasseter's Cars universe was a mostly forgettable affair, for me.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

A surprisngly solid animated entry, Cloudy 2 delivered on the plucky promise of the original, with typically zany visuals and the same affable characters. It was nearly as funny too, with plenty of visual gags and silly food puns (which I enjoyed) it may not be spectacular, but it made time fly on a hot summer afternoon; with this kind of film, what more can you ask for?

Free Birds

I didn't actually see Free Birds, but judging by the opinions of a few friends it was pretty bad. The leading trio of the voice cast are incredibly likeable and talented, but the original prose seems pretty lacklustre (or lackluster to American folk) to me. Couple that with the fact that, here in Britain, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, you can see why it was received poorly by critics and the public alike.

Frozen

The titan of 2013 animation, Frozen was a brilliant reminder of Disney's uncanny staying power as well as its capability of producing great characters: those including the hilarious (and much derided for his role in the film's marketing) Olaf and the two new Disney Princess Anna and Elsa - both of whom were fun and memorable in their own right. It featured the best Disney songs since The Lion King and was probably the best Disney musical since then too.

As for The Wind Rises, that hasn't been released in the UK yet, but I'll do a review when it does - around late-February I think!

If you're still reading now, thanks! Be sure to vote on our new polls for January!

Poll Results - December

The results are in for December! Over the course of the month, Animation Central has run four polls to determine: 

• Which of John Ratzenberger's Pixar characters is your favourite?
• Who do you prefer, Anna or Elsa?
• Which of the games/settings in Wreck-it Ralph is your favourite?
• Which of Shrek's gang is your favourite?

You can vote now in our four new polls, details at the bottom, polls on the right!

Now to the results:

Pixar poll - Which of John Ratzenberger's Pixar characters is your favourite?
This one was difficult for me, as the Pixar legend voices so many brilliant characters, but I eventually made a choice, although apparently it wasn't the most popular! The Abominable Snowman proves to be his most popular character, which isn't surprising, considering his funny turn in Monsters Inc. and the fleeting, yet hilarious, cameo in Monsters University.
My vote: P.T. Flea.

Current film poll - Frozen - Who do you prefer, Anna or Elsa?

A real test of character for Disney zealots: do you prefer the plucky, brave heroine Anna or the powerful, introverted but still caring Elsa? Apparently, you guys prefer Elsa, who got a whopping 80% of the votes (!). Whilst Anna is amiable and sweetly funny, Elsa was featured a lot less in the marketing giving her an obscure sense of mystery, which you guys seem to like.

My vote: Elsa.

Disney poll - Which of the games/settings in Wreck-it Ralph is your favourite?

A more widespread result here, with "Sugar Rush" winning with a 29% margin over "Hero's Duty" in second place. Sadly, Ralph's actual game "Wreck-it Ralph" came last; poor Ralph.

My vote: Sugar Rush.

 

Dreamworks poll - Which of Shrek's gang is your favourite?

Puss in Boots came out on top with 50% of the votes going his way, swiftly followed by Gingy, then Pinocchio in third. The Three Little Pigs, Donkey and Shrek came in a joint fourth. None of the others (including Fiona, the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Blind Mice and Dragon) recieved NO VOTES.

My vote: Gingy.

 

Our four new polls for December:

Pixar Poll: Which Pixar film has the best score?

Current Film Poll (Frozen): What's your favourite song from Frozen?

Disney Poll: What is your favourite Disney musical?

Dreamworks Poll: Who is your favourite of the "Famous Five" in the Kung-Fu Panda franchise?

Vote now! - Polls on the right

Poll Results - November

The results are in for November! Over the course of the month, Animation Central has run four polls to determine: 

• Which of the future Pixar feature films are you most excited about
• Your favourite "foodimal" in Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2
• Your favourite of the seven dwarves
• Your favourite of the Guardians

You can vote now in our four new polls, details at the bottom, polls are on the right.

Now to the results:

Pixar poll - Which of the future Pixar feature films are you most excited about?  
Unsurprisingly, Inside Out came out on top here, with The Good Dinosaur a close second and Finding Dory trailing behind in third. I would've thought that Dory could give Inside Out a run for its money, but 2016 feels like a long way off now so I expect the release dates have a factor in people's decisions; but of course Inside Out is the film to look forward to if you're a Pixar fan...
My vote: Inside Out (of course!)

Current film poll - Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 - Which Cloudy "foodimal" is your favourite?

This was an odd one. Thanks to a couple of last minute votes, the "Leek in the boat" one, with "flamangoes" coming second and "other" third. Of course I couldn't include all the foodimals, but I tried to include the most memorable ones from the film.

My vote: Leek in the boat.

Disney poll - Which of the seven dwarves are your favourite?

It was a close one for a long time, with Grumpy and Dopey leading the way. Dopey came out on top in the end, by one vote, with Grumpy retaining second and Bashful sneaking into third. I was slightly surprised at Grumpy, but Bashful and Dopey are endearing and as likeable as any other character.

My vote: Dopey, naturally.

Dreamworks poll - Which of the Guardians is your favourite?

This one was a tie with the Sandman and Jack Frost managing to grab the same amount of votes each. The Easter Bunny drew second with the Tooth Fairy and, heartbreakingly, Santa Claus recieved no votes! Did you guys not like Alec Baldwin's accent in the film or was it the tattoos? Who knows...

My vote: Sandman.

Our four new polls for November!

Pixar Poll: Which of John Ratzenberger's characters is your favourite? 

Current Film Poll (Frozen): Who do you prefer: Anna or Elsa? (KILLER question, I know)

Disney Poll: Which of the games in Wreck-it Ralph would you want to live in?

Dreamworks Poll: Which of "Shrek's gang" is your favourite?

Vote now! - Polls on the right

Frozen Preview and Expectations

So, for North America and various other parts of the world, Frozen has arrived. As many of you go off to see it this weekend, the UK and many other parts of the world have to wait a week or maybe even later (Frozen hits Japan March 14th!). Meanwhile, I'll be whittling away the time by taking a look at what I expect from Disney's 53rd Animated Classic.

Olaf
WOAH, he's looking forward to Olaf! Let's face it, you cannot blame Disney for putting Olaf at the forefront of their marketing campaign. His antics will entertain kids and they are the demographic for animated films, like it or hate it. Plus, he has a goofy voice, unique design (yeah he's a snowman, but which other snowmen can fling themselves around without dying?) and seems to be very funny. I've laughed at his role in the trailer and he might even have the potential to be useful to the story too, who knows?

Olaf has spearheaded the Disney marketing for the film.

Two brand new princesses
For those of you who read my earlier article about Disney Princesses, you'll know that I love them. I think they're symbolic of many of Disney's greatest films, such as Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. So, the fact that we get two new princesses is great. Add that to the fact that Anna and Elsa both look like great fun and have good designs (with Elsa particularly), what can go wrong? Whatever happens in any Disney film, the characters are usually pretty good fun.

Frozen gave us a wealth of new posters.

The return of the musical
Nowadays, the Disney musicals from Disney make sporadic appearances. Sure, we had three on the trot from 2009-2011. But the last time we had one before that was Home on the Range, all the way back in 2004 (nearly ten years, I know). Many of the classic Disney animations are musicals, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella, to contemporary treats like Tangled, so it can't be a bad thing that this one will have a few songs (even Rotten Tomatoes says they're catchy).

(Left to right) Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, Olaf, Anna, Hans.

 Ultimately then, I have high hopes for the latest Disney feature. We know that the animation will be impeccable and the voice cast is top notch, but we'll see about the rest in due course. In the mean time, Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the 53rd Animated Classic in the star-studded Disney pantheon.

Poll Results - October

The results are in for October! Over the course of the month, Animation Central has run four polls to determine: 

• Your favourite Pixarian
• Your favourite CGI Disney movie
• Your favourite Monsters University fraternity/sorority
• Your favourite Dreamworks movie

You can vote now in our four new polls, details at the bottom, polls right.

Now, the results: 

Pixar poll - Who is your favourite Pixarian?
This was very close, which is understandable. All the main Pixarians have their merits, but Pete Docter came on top, one vote in front of 2nd place Brad Bird. John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich came in a joint third. 
My vote: Brad Bird.

Current film poll - Which Monsters University fraternity/sorority is your favourite? 

Unsurprisngly, Oozma Kappa stormed to victory in this one, with Roar Omega Roar in a predictable second place and Python Nu Kappa in a mildly shocking third place. Of course we all prefer Oozma Kappa...

My vote: Oozma Kappa.

Disney poll - What is your favourite CGI Disney film?

There was a bit of an error in this one, without thinking I put The Princess and the Frog and 2011's Winnie the Pooh on the list, so sorry about that! Anyway the results, Wreck-it Ralph won by a decent margin, followed by Tangled, which also had a sizeable amount, then Bolt, which won third place with a last minute vote. 

My vote: Wreck-it Ralph

Dreamworks Poll - What's your favourite Dreamworks animated movie?

This was a very widely spread poll. How to Train Your Dragon won, with only a few votes, followed by Shrek and Shrek 2 in 2nd place. Third place was a massive tie, with The Croods, Kung-Fu Panda 2, Madagascar 3, Rise of the Guardians and Kung-Fu Panda all getting a vote each. Pretty incredible.

My vote: Shrek 2.

Vote now in our four new polls for November!

Pixar Poll: Which future Pixar feature film are you most excited about?

Current Film Poll (Cloudy 2): Which of the "foodimals" is your favourite?

Disney Poll: Which of the seven dwarfs is your favourite?

Dreamworks Poll: Which of the Guardians is your favourite?

Vote now!

Newt

The Pixar fanbase will all know about Pixar's shelved project Newt (stylized as "newt" - which is what I will be calling it, for the purpose of this article). Directed by Gary Rydstrom - a prominent member of Pixar's "Brain Trust" - production was halted because of similarities to Blue Sky's Rio and to a lesser degree Crest Animation's Alpha and Omega. This was probably the right decision, but I think Pixar could've done a better job with that story line than the other two studios. Rio was entertaining (although far from spectacular) but Alpha and Omega was poor. Read more after the jump.

All hope is not lost. Someday, we may see a bit of footage from newt. The word cancelled isn't used. Only shelved. That makes me think that we may get something in the future. Probably not the full movie, but I'd like to see how it would've turned out. I also would like a feature film from Gary Rydstrom, who directed the original short film Lifted (which was attached to Ratatouille) and the hilarious Hawaiian Vacation, which very much eclipsed Cars 2. 

It's due to art like this which makes me want to see a snippet of newt so much. The character design is stunning and memorable and I love the realistic sheen of his skin. Moreover, newt was an original film. It would've been Pixar's fourteenth feature, preceeding Monsters University. Having two original films inserted inbetween Cars 2 and Monsters University would've helped dispell the sinful claim that Pixar are sequel crazy. Let's explore that a bit shall we.

The wonderful picture above shows that in fact Pixar have only released 4 prequel/sequels, out of fourteen. Compare that to say, Blue Sky, who have released 4 sequels out of 9 films - if we include the upcoming Rio 2. That's a massive difference. So, Pixar critics, why aren't you attacking Blue Sky?

This concept art is similarly lovely. It displays the potential newt had, animation-wise. It's colourful, detailed and very natural. I loved the jungle scenes in Up and the vibrant day care scenes in Toy Story 3, so, after the dark tone of Brave, I would have liked to have seen another bright feature. 

Whilst I'm glad that Pixar didn't send this one to theatres - critics would've ripped apart the recycled plot, especially after Cars 2 - I hope we see it someday. Perhaps, thinking wishfully, we could get parts of newt to appear as a bonus feature on a future DVD release. Thinking even more ambitiously, Pixar Canada or Disneytoon Studios could make a direct-to-video release. 

What do you think? Do you like newt's concept art? Do you think Pixar should've completed and released it? Leave your thoughts below, or contact me on Twitter: @animationctral.

Also, vote on our four new polls at the side of the page now!

Poll Results - September

The results are in for September! Over the course of September, Animation Central have run three polls to determine:

• the Pixar film you want to get a sequel
• your favourite event of Monsters University's Scare Games
• and your favourite Disney princess

You can vote now on our four new polls, details at the bottom of the page. 

Now to the results:

Pixar poll - Which Pixar film deserves a sequel?
The runaway winner - unsurprisingly - was The Incredibles, which was asking for a sequel with an ending like that. Second was Brave and a last-minute third place was Toy Story 3. I have to admit, you guys did well on this one. Whilst I think Brave finished sweetly and doesn't really need a sequel, The Incredibles is most worthy.
My vote: The Incredibles.

Current Film Poll - What was your favourite event of the Scare Games?

This one was very nearly a tie, with Event 1 (the sewer chase) outplacing Event 2 (capture the flag) by just one vote. Event 5 and 4 were in joint third place, with event 3 not receiving any votes at all. Bummer, eh.

My vote: Event 1 (Sewer Chase).

Disney Poll - Who is your favourite Disney Princess?

Merida won this one, with Belle a close second. Unsurprising, considering Beauty and the Beast's enduring popularity and Merida's modern, unique style. Third was Rapunzel, closely followed by Aurora and Tiana in joint fourth. Those last two votes were very late, but ultimately not enough to have a big impact on the result.

My vote: Rapunzel.

Vote now in our four new polls

Pixar Poll: Who is your favourite Pixar director?

Current Film Poll: Which Monsters University fraternity/sorority is your favourite?

Disney Poll: What's your favourite CGI Disney film?

Brand-new Dreamworks Poll: What's your favourite Dreamworks film?