Why Cloudy 2 and Frozen have a lot of weight on their shoulders

Let's get this straight. This year has not been a bad one for animation. We've had a lot of animated films, particularly this summer. We had The Croods, which was vibrant and full of life. Despicable Me 2 gave us plenty of laughs thanks to those plump little yellow things. Monsters University was both funny and heartfelt, with plenty of nostalgia to boot. Then we had the likes of The Smurfs 2 and Planes, which weren't as entertaining. Turbo and Epic sort of cover the middle ground, they were enjoyable enough but not fantastically original or memorably funny. All this begs the question, have we really seen any sensational animation this year? 

 If I'm honest, I don't think we have. Monsters University came closest with it's colourful mix of humour and heart, but it wasn't as good as Up, How to Train Your Dragon or Toy Story 3. It's a tall order I know, but last year's Frankenweenie and Wreck-it Ralph came closer to accomplishing that feat.
This "issue" could be attributed to any number of things. Let's face it, even Pixar cannot make hit after hit. They're probably the most consistent - although Disney haven't really made a middling-bad feature since Chicken Little all the way back in 2006! 
There's also a bit of a lack in originality in Hollywood this year. Sequels have proved the most successful. Which is why five of the nine big animated releases this year have been part of a franchise. This had consequences for a few of the original films. Whilst The Croods did very well - nearly $600 million worldwide - Turbo suffered, barely recouping it's budget. It may still be up for a release in a few territories, like the UK, but I doubt it will fare much better there. Families across the globe have been drawn in by Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University and let's face it, Turbo's marketing wasn't great. 
It's not just the marketing and visuals, quality is clearly coming into it. Smurfs 2 and Planes both underperformed, clearly because the films weren't good enough. Admittedly Planes doubled it's budget, but I expect Disney were hoping for more than they've got so far.

So this leaves Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Frozen as the only wide release animations this year. I have high hopes for both - Frozen in particular. Cloudy was a great film, visually stunning and featuring lots of likeable characters, but it didn't gross a huge amount, although I expect the film's popularity will have swelled since 2009.
Then there's Frozen, an original film, but, crucially, it's a Disney film. Having the Disney brand behind it is a huge asset. Plus, it's CGI which is the most popular form of animation these days. Take The Princess and the Frog, a fun and entertaining film in it's own right, but it flopped compared to Tangled. It didn't do too badly, but its gross looks small compared to Tangled's.

In all honesty, I think both Sony and Disney have successes on their hands here. Cloudy 2 looks fun, vibrant and a perfect distraction for kids. It's the kind of loud, frenetic adventure which will give parents a chance to rest whilst their children are engaged by the bright colours and funny voices. I quite like the puns shown in the trailer, so I'm confident that I'll enjoy it.
Then Frozen looks like a proper animated film. It looks like something which will appeal to both children and adults, like Bolt, Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph. I've been excited for this for a long time, the marketing has been good and the story is extremely interesting. There's an eclectic mix of characters too, which has worked in the past (see Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story and The Lion King). Elsa looks particularly interesting to me and I think Olaf will appeal to kids in a big way. Disney have a winner with this one.
All eyes will be on Cloudy and Frozen when they're released. I'm not so sure about Cloudy but I think Frozen could have a chance at being the best animated wide-release this year. No pressure really then Disney.