HomePosts tagged 'Loving Vincent'
Worst to Best Animated films of 2017 Finale
February 4, 2019 February 4, 2019 camseyeview Lists	Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, Coco, In This Corner of the World, Loving Vincent, Mary and the Witch's Flower, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, Napping Princess, The Breadwinner, The Girl Without Hands, The LEGO Batman Movie, Worst to Best Animated Films of 2017
Here we are! The final part of the Worst to Best Animated Films of 2017! You know the drill. If you have not yet seen part 1, 2, or 3, then I will make sure to hyperlink them into this paragraph. The final stretch really showed how strong indie films were in 2017, and I hope more people are able to see them after this list. Now then, let's get started!
10. The LEGO Batman Movie
While it may have had too many hurdles to jump over during the award season to get nominated or win, LEGO Batman was still able to combine both a very funny comedy, a great homage/tribute to everything that is Batman, and still have a pretty good story attached to it with probably one of the best versions of the caped crusader.
9. My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea
I don't think 2017 will have a weirder or more entertaining dark comedy than My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea. It might have relied too much on abstract visuals in the third act, but I found this to be the best comedy in the animation scene of 2017. You just don't see them get this weird and unusual.
8. Bird Boy and the Forgotten Children
The foreign indie films got pretty dark in 2017, and Birdboy's tackling of depression, drug abuse, struggling with inner demons, and death was probably the darkest film in terms of the animation scene. It might focus a bit too much on the symbolism at times, but the animation is beautiful, the atmosphere is somber, but hopeful, and it was just another great example of animation being able to tackle more adult subjects.
7. Napping Princess
While it might mess up the mixing of both the dream and real world in the third act, I found myself loving Napping Princess. It was creative, it had good animation, the dialogue was funny, the characters endearing, and it was fun to get a non-anime franchise adventure film! I highly recommend this one!
6. The Girl Without Hands
For a mostly one-man team, The Girl Without Hands is a beautiful and dark fantasy tale that actually warrants going into it with the mind of a child reading one of these fairy tales. It's a gorgeous minimalist experience that is told through striking visuals. I wish more people got to see this visually stunning flick. Go out and buy a copy now!
5. In This Corner of the World
To me, this was Shout! Factory saying that they want to be taken as seriously as GKids with foreign animation distribution. In This Corner of the World was a film that caught many off guard with the cute water color art style, but also combined it with the horrors of the bombs dropping on Japan. Yeah, it might be an intense thing to see such cute designs go through such horrific situations, but the story is still powerful, the female lead is a great character, and the animation is incredible. Definitely give this one a watch!
4. Loving Vincent
While many indie/foreign animated features can go into the style-over-substance territory, Loving Vincent balances out its unique art style with a somber tale of trying to find reasoning behind the suicide of the famous painter. This is one of the few films of this decade that rightfully deserves being called unique. You can tell this was a loving passion project, as it respects and pays homage to the famous painter. It definitely deserved that Oscar-nomination.
3. Mary and the Witch's Flower
You could say that Studio Ponoc's first film is a bit too reliant on Studio Ghibli tropes, but I welcome them with open arms. Yes, they should be able to stand out as their own studio, but until Ghibli is done with Miyazaki's two films and Goro's one film, I say let the Ghibli heritage run wild! Mary and the Witch's Flower is a delightfully whimsical tale that was one of GKids most successful hits. It has great animation, another strong female lead, and it just made me smile while watching it. I'm fully on board with Studio Ponoc, and I can't wait to see what they do next after Modest Heroes.
2. Coco
While Pixar has become more inconsistent with its quality, and the big fiasco and departure of John Lasseter, Coco still shows that when Pixar put their minds to it, they can craft a touching tale about family. Coco was one of the few films I saw back in 2017 that caught me off guard with how intimate it was. While it might not beat Inside Out or Up, Coco is one of Pixar's top five best films!
1. The Breadwinner
While there were many incredible animated-features in the foreign scene in 2017, The Breadwinner was the full package. It has incredible animation, a mature storyline, two different visual styles, had a great female director and producer, and was a powerful tale of perseverance in a troubled country. I was so mad that I was the only one in my theater when I saw this, because it truly deserved more love, to make more money, and to be seen by many more people. It's as of this date, still on Netflix, and it's available on DVD. Please do whatever you can, and go watch this incredible film. Good job Cartoon Saloon, you are three for three now.
The Oscars Relationship With Animation
February 1, 2018 February 11, 2018 camseyeview Editorials	Academy Awards, Coco, Controversy, Ferdinand, Loving Vincent, Oscars, The Boss Baby, The Breadwinner
So, I'm sure no one saw the Oscar nomination reveals and no one cares, even though we all care and get mad no matter what happens. All joking aside, in general, the Oscars this year is exceptionally fantastic. It has lots of variety in films, directors, actors, and movies. I know some are bummed out about Wonder Woman not headlining any awards even though it was one of the most important films of the year, but I get it. However, out of all the categories to cause uproar, it was the ghettos of the Best Animated Feature category. The five officially nominated animated films for this category are Coco, Loving Vincent, The Breadwinner, Ferdinand, and The Boss Baby. I'm sure reading and knowing that, the Sesame Street song of "One of these things is not like the other" pops right up in your mind as you stare at those five films. Of course, the one that's causing the biggest issue for many is The Boss Baby. Out of any movie, this is the one causing the biggest stir. Does it deserve such hate? Or is the problem deeper and grayer than black and white?
Let's get the personal subjective opinion out of the way first before we can get into the more layered conversation pieces of this editorial. In my personal opinion, I think The Boss Baby can be a very charming and a very funny movie with some downright amazing and trippy animation. However, seeing it as an overall film, it's not great. It has a weak story, forgettable characters, and the film's lineups of jokes don't bring in many laughs. It only was a financial hit because it lined up its release with the very popular Alec Baldwin Donald Trump skits from SNL. It's a mostly flat experience, but it's also fairly harmless with a solid amount of creativity. It simply needed more fleshing out in the story and world-building department. It is a tad distracting to see an organization that's all about awarding and giving attention to the best of the best from every year, nominate a film with a 52% overall score on Rotten Tomatoes and was not a critical or audience hit. I could think of 10 or so films that could take its spot. In short, I don't like that it took one of those spots.
Now then, let's dive into the conundrum of the category of "Best Animated Feature". The first question that comes up is what should be considered for a spot in this category? Well, since film is a visual medium and The Boss Baby does have some rather impressive animation, should that be enough to just have amazing animation? On the other hand, film does rely on a good story, writing, and characters. The Boss Baby, in terms of critic and audience reaction to it, was found to be lacking, so that should disqualify it from the running, despite having amazing animation. Does that mean the five contenders should have good writing, story, and characters? I mean, we kind of expect high quality animation for these awards. Even with this current conundrum, the voters wouldn't be dumb enough to vote for something like Norm of the North. But does that mean we should sacrifice the quality of the animation if we look at these award nominees in terms of story, writing, and characters?
Okay then, so, what about the Academy itself? Can a lot of this be put on them? Well, we saw this coming when they announced that the voting pool was going to be open for all Academy members, and my overly hopeful editorial from last year thought it wouldn't change. It's not like it was a surprise that this could have happened. With this side of the argument, does that mean the Academy should bring back the voting limitations? On one hand, they probably should. You have a branch for the people that work in animation for this reason. Why on earth would you let outsiders who don't know jack, and don't even watch every film (which is funny since most foreign animated films are at the very least, 75 minutes long) into an area that was specially made for one group of voters and only that group of voters? You don't tell a football player to bake a cake for a baking competition, why would you want anyone else, but the animation section of the academy to vote on this category? Then again, the entire point of opening up the voter account to non-animation individuals was to open up nominees of more casually popular films. I know that sounds like a bad idea, but then again, don't we constantly criticize the Oscars for nominating and awarding critically acclaimed films that no one gets to see until like, the last minute on demand or a month before the awards? Shouldn't we have more than what the critics got to see in limited screenings? You could argue they opened up the voting because animation is getting more recognition, since a lot of the most successful films of every year are animated films. At the same time though, the Academy is cynical about praising the best of the best, so why would they choose a film with such negative reviews to nominate, besides the obvious fact that DreamWorks marketed that film hard to the Academy?
So, how would I solve this? I don't know if I have a right answer to this situation. I mean, yeah, the obvious solution would be to gate off the animation section again, and have them vote for that section only. That way, something like The Boss Baby doesn't get through again. Or, maybe the Academy needs to do something like the Annies, and have a US theatrical feature category and a foreign animated feature category to make it fair for both sides. I feel like the Academy needs to define what qualifies for certain categories, and not let it be handled by how much a studio is willing to give to individual voters. I feel like being more limiting would be regressive, and if we want to see improvement, and have more diverse films getting nominated, we need to be open to change. Maybe talking about how studios bribe/market their films to voters should be its own discussion, along with how if you are an Academy voter, you should watch every film being nominated. In the end, let's be real, Coco is going to win, and The Boss Baby won't. Let's keep the conversation going though. What do you think about The Boss Baby being nominated? Do you think it deserves it? Doesn't deserve it? Or do you think it's a bigger problem with the Academy in general?
My Two Cents On The Submissions For Best Animated Feature at the 90th Academy Awards.
November 24, 2017 camseyeview Editorials, Lists	2D animation, A Silent Voice, Academy Awards, Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, Captain Underpants, CGI animation, Cinderella the Cat, Coco, Despicable Me 3, Ethel & Ernest, In This Corner of the World, Loving Vincent, Mary and the Witch's Flower, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, Napping Princess, Oscars, The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, The Breadwinner, The Emoji Movie, The Girl Without Hands, The LEGO Batman Movie
The recent line-up of animated feature films for the Oscars next year have popped up, and for the first time, I decided to break down the chances each of the contenders have to make it into the five spots. Overall, the line-up is pretty strong! I know that sounds weird, since the mainstream big budget films from the bigger studios have not been all that great, but if you look at the indie film offerings, you have quite possibly, the best line-up of smaller animated films of this decade so far. It's probably just as good as 2013 with the wide variety of indie animation. Now then, I'm going to break it down into different categories with films that have spots already filled, films that have amazing chances, films that might have a chance, and films that have no chance. Little side note, I find it hilarious that none of the Weinstein-animated films like Guardian Brothers and Leap! are not on the list. Thankfully, that is great, because screw Harvey Weinstein and his horrible take on animated films. Now then, let's get started!
100% Certified Spots
Coco*: While it just came out, the amazing amount of hype this film has gotten and the early positive previews, this is probably the only Pixar film that has a chance at making it into one of the five sacred slots for Best Animated Feature. Plus, it just looks like a great movie. Way more than most of the films released this year from bigger companies.
* Despite the recent controversy of now ex-head of Pixar John Lasseter's leave because of allegations, I don't think it would be fair for everyone else who made Coco suffer because of his actions.
Loving Vincent: While not getting as wide of a release as Coco or other big animated films, Loving Vincent has been a critical darling and a constantly talked about movie since making its runs in festivals. Plus, winning one of the three major prizes at Annecy Film Festival sounds good as well. It's just a unique film that has caught the film world by storm.
The Breadwinner: We have a movie being made by a veteran of the Best Animated Features section, Cartoon Saloon, which had The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea nominated, the distributor GKids, and so much universal acclaim from reviewers and people who have seen it combined, it would be a shock if this didn't make it onto the shortlist. Plus, it got a lot of attention during the Animation is Film Festival, and won the main prize there.
75% Possible Contenders
In This Corner of the World: Lots of festival buzz and highly positive reviews. It probably has the best chance out of Japanese animated films, besides Mary and the Witch's Flower. Plus, what Academy voter doesn't love a war time-era film?
The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales: It's being directed by one of the directors of the Oscar-nominated Ernest & Celestine. Plus, it's under the GKids banner, and they have had two or so films in the running before for Best Animated Feature. Though I am concerned with how it doesn't have an official release date yet for 2018, I would hate for it to be viewable after the awards.
The Girl Without Hands: Another festival favorite, and an almost entirely a one-man job. That alone is very noteworthy. Plus, high reviews and again, GKids. The beautiful and stylized animation doesn't hurt either.
Mary and the Witch's Flower: Let's check off the boxes. GKids? Check! Made by ex-Studio Ghibli individuals? Check! Director of Oscar-nominated When Marnie Was There? Check! I think that covers it. Though I'm concerned that the release is just a month away from the awards, but we shall see.
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children: Another well-received animated film being distributed by GKids, and won a couple of awards including the GOYA award for Best Animated Feature, and has gotten mileage for being an animated film with a twisted edge to it and dark themes under the cute designs.
50% Maybe?
Ethel & Ernest: As much as I love this movie when I watched it, with no real release date, I don't know if its legacy as Raymond Brigg's work will make it noteworthy enough to make it into the sacred five slots. I love this movie, but man, they should do something to compete.
A Silent Voice: I loved this movie, and I think it has more of a chance than Your Name did last year, because it was released in theaters in the states months before the award show, but that might not be enough, since most people, unless they are film or animation fans, know a lot about this movie. The biggest amount of coverage it got was when it beat out Your Name as Best Animated Film of 2016 from the Japan Movie Critics Award. I just hope the distributor in charge of the theater distribution for this film makes a big enough push for more people to see it.
Cinderella the Cat: To be perfectly honest, this was a surprise to see on the list. I have been following this film for a while, and all I know about it is the positive reception it has alongside that one review from Variety.com. However, since there has been no news on a US distributor, I don't know how much its positive foreign reception will win people over.
Window Horses The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming: This is a cute and utterly charming movie about a girl trying to find peace for herself, while finding her father. I don't hear too many people talking about this one, but it has enough festival buzz for a chance to make it, but it's an uphill battle to get past some of the other indie/foreign films.
The LEGO Batman Movie: While I do love this movie, and think it came out at the right time, due to people still grieving about what happened three months earlier in 2016, the original didn't get nominated (still sort of annoyed by that), so what chance does this one have? Plus, while I do love it, it's not as good as The LEGO Movie. It doesn't have the full heart and soul the previous film had. It's a great and hugely entertaining watch, but I don't know if they will give it a pity vote.
Napping Princess: Personally, this is one of my favorite movies to watch in 2017. However, it's probably the GKids film, along with another on the list, to get the least amount of talk or push. It's a fun adventure movie with some great characters and sequences, and some festival buzz, but it's critically one of the less loved films of the 2017-distributed GKids films. Not going to stop me from enjoying it, but I can see it having more of a struggle than the others that I listed above.
Captain Underpants: This was one of the biggest surprises of the year, and while I am confident in putting it in the 50% range, it would sound odd, wouldn't it? Oscar-nominated Captain Underpants. I don't know how they will take this one seriously enough to consider it.
25% Very Slim Chances
The LEGO Ninjago Movie: While it was still much better than most of the films on this list, it was also the least liked of the three films, and underperformed. It wasn't a bomb, but it did not rake in as much cash as they were expecting. Plus, it's the only one that you can consider to be more of a cash grab than the others. It also has the weakest story and writing out of the three LEGO Movies.
The Boss Baby: This film is mostly noteworthy for coming out around the same time as Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump skits became the funniest bits of comedy for a while, so that probably helped push this movie's financial success, but outside of that, the film itself was not well received, and in general is not regarded as one of the best animated films of the year. I know some have put it high on their list, but that's only because they haven't seen many movies.
Cars 3: Unlike The Boss Baby or the next entry, Cars 3 doesn't have that much to say "yeah, this movie deserves an Oscar!" it's more emotionally investing than the second film, but it still has a slew of problems in terms of its story and the ending. Plus, it underperformed because nobody wanted another flipping Cars movie! It's not a horrible film, but I doubt it will have a chance.
Despicable Me 3: While a financial hit all over the world, Despicable Me 3 has too much going against it. For one, the story is not great, the characters are now barely there, and any advantages they had with improving or pushing the story forward, they don't take, and just keep staying in that safe circle because it worked for them in the past. Sure, they got one nomination with Despicable Me 2, but that was a pity nomination in a rather underwhelming year. If SING and The Secret Life of Pets couldn't get a nomination, then Despicable Me 3 won't either.
Ferdinand: Listen, I don't like picking on Blue Sky Studios, because I think they are a super talented group of people. However, they are having the same problems as Illumination Entertainment has. It's why I put Ferdinand low on the list. Granted, the movie looks better than a lot of their offerings, but I just can't find myself trusting that it's going to be a great movie. Plus, Blue Sky doesn't have much notoriety in the Oscar races.
My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea: I love this movie. It's still my favorite animated comedy of 2017 so far, but looking at it now compared to the other contenders, I don't see it getting nominated. It would be awesome, and GKids is behind it, but it's too indie for its own good, and I think GKids has had better animated offerings now than back then.
0% No Chance in Hades
The Emoji Movie: Come on, I might not think it's the worst animated film of the year (that goes to The Guardian Brothers), but it's still really terrible, and it has no chance in Hades in making it. Even when Sony sort of knows it doesn't have a chance, then that is saying something.
Sword Arts Online: The Movie – Ordinal Scale: Yeah, sorry, but nope. It's a film based on a pre-existing anime, and those never get nominated. It didn't happen then, and it won't happen now.
Moomins and the Winter Wonderland: I have a fondness for The Moomins, and I do love the cast they are building it up for, but I highly doubt it will have enough people knowing the source material to care. I love weird and unique foreign stuff, but this will not have one of those sacred spots.
The Star: I do not think the organization is going to let this one get a chance. It looks cheap, the advertising is not giving the film justice, and I just don't see it making it. I love the cast, and I wish they were in a better movie, but I'm sorry, The Star is going to have to shine somewhere else.
There you have it, my guess as to what films have the most to the least amount of chances to get those five spots for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. As of right now, I am fairly confident that I am going to be correct with these placements, and hey, if any of the films that haven't come out yet turn out to be good, then I am all for pushing them up the ranks. Do you all have any guesses? What five films would you love to get chosen for the Oscars?
The Other Side of Animation 106: Loving Vincent Review
November 10, 2017 camseyeview Film Reviews	2D animation, Dorota Kobeila, Good Deeds Entertainment, Hugh Welchman, In This Corner of the World, Loving Vincent, paint
While CGI animation is and was a groundbreaking discovery in the world of animation, it has lost its luster. I mean, these days, you expect an animated film made with CGI to be exceptional or at the very least, theatrical quality. The same goes for when 2D animation was in theaters. It's an even bigger deal these days when an animated film hits theaters, and it's not even close to being theatrical quality. Sometimes, you get a CGI-animated film that elevates itself or does something super creative, but for the most part, CGI animated films are nothing super special. This is why today's review of Loving Vincent is so impressive to me. Originally launched as a crowdfunding project, Loving Vincent, directed by Dorota Kobeila and Hugh Welchman, is being heralded as the first fully-painted animated film. After many years, and over a hundred different animators working their blood, sweat, passion, and tears into the film, it got a festival release during 2017, winning one of the major awards at the Annecy Film Festival, alongside Lu Over the Wall and In This Corner of the World, and had a more wide-release into theaters in September of this year. So, what do I think about this movie? Well, let's pick up your paint brushes and find out.
The story takes place a year after the death of artist Vincent Van Gogh. The story revolves around Armand Roulin, played by Douglas Booth. He is sent by his father, Postman Roulin, played by Chris O'Dowd, to deliver a letter to Vincent's brother, Theo. While delivering the letter, Armand decides to take it in his own hands to find out what exactly happened for Vincent to kill himself.
So, what is great about this movie? Well, I think it would be tough to talk about this film and not start with the animation. It's easily the best thing about this movie. While technically, they use more than paint to make this film work, it's still really impressive and mind-boggling that they got this to work. While it could be considered partly rotoscoped in terms of animation, it's probably the best-looking animated film of the year. Everything looks so breathtaking in this painted style, and you can't really believe that they made this insane plan work. Every frame is beautifully rendered in the art style used by the painter. Sure, they had to cheat a little with some of his iconic paintings, but they still pay huge respect to the artist and his work. It technically uses two different painting styles. You have the usual style that Vincent used in his work, and for flashbacks, it goes into this more "realistic" black and white painting look. Both styles mesh well, giving you this other-worldly experience that is jaw-dropping to see in motion on screen. That's saying something in a year where The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, Mary and the Witch's Flower, and The Breadwinner exist in terms of beautiful animation.
Now, in terms of the story, this is where I have seen people split on this part of the overall experience. I have seen criticisms thrown at the film that it was more style over substance. The plot meanders around, and the mystery goes nowhere. Well, personally, I disagree. As Armand goes around the town where Vincent stayed, he tries to find out what may have driven the painter mad. Some people have complained that you are not given an answer to the mystery, even though you technically are given a couple of reasons. People didn't treat him well; they laughed, mocked, and loathed his talents. No one treated him with respect. Even the people that supported him had underlying motives. Another complaint I hear is that there is no true ending to the mystery. There is no pure answer to the overall story. Well, you know what? Life doesn't always give you answers, for as much as we would love to be able to explain everything that happens. Things aren't always neatly tied up. It won't matter how smart you are, or how much you know, sometimes, there is nothing conclusive. It's bittersweet, since this painter worked for eight years, only sold two paintings, and only got famous after he killed himself. Sometimes, the world doesn't want you to know why it does things. With that in mind, it was interesting and fun to watch Armand try to solve the situation, while talking to the various individuals who all had different opinions on Vincent. Vincent was brilliant, he was mad, they felt sorry for him, they laughed at him, and you get the idea. I was kept invested till the very touching end of the movie.
I also liked the actors in the movie. I thought the cast, including Robert Gulaczyk, Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn, Saoirse Ronan, Helen McCrory, Chris O'Dowd, John Sessions, Eleanor Tomlinson, and Aidan Turner all put in very believable performances. Combined with the amazing animation, you felt every emotion and facial movement they gave on-screen. I know a lot of it was on a stage, but that's even more commendable. The music by Clint Mansell was also very fitting, giving calming numbers, intensive music during transitions and more serious moments, and touching moments when needed. Then again, when you are the composer behind Requiem for a Dream, the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror, The Wrestler, Black Swan, and Noah, you should expect some phenomenal music.
If I had to complain about something, it's the fact that some characters only appear once, and are not really seen again. They don't offer much to the overall story and mystery, and I wish there was more to them than just certain one-off sequences.
Loving Vincent is a loving tribute to one of the world's greatest artistic minds, and simply a wonderful movie. It's easily my new favorite animated film of the year so far, and it's a triumph in filmmaking and animation. I understand some people won't agree, but you know what? In the end, my opinion is all that matters to me, and Loving Vincent is one of my favorite movies of 2017, one of my favorite animated movies of the decade, and quite possibly one of my favorite movies period. I can't wait to buy this movie on Blu-Ray and watch it again. I don't really get that with a lot of movies, and I'm happy this was not simply a case of style over substance. If you can watch it, go see it. We need more films this ambitious and creative. Sadly, it's time to go back to an animated film that tries harder, but still doesn't hit the landing. Next time, we review The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the review, and I will see you all next time.
2017 in Animation So Far
August 11, 2017 August 12, 2017 camseyeview Editorials	A Stork's Journey, Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, Blame!, Captain Underpants, Cars 3, Despicable Me 3, Editorial, GKIDS, Justice League Dark, Loving Vincent, Ocean Waves, Rock Dog, Sahara, Seoul Station, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Spark a Space Tail, Teen TItans: The Judas Contract, The Boss Baby, The Breadwinner, The Emoji Movie, The Girl Without Hands, The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie
So, it's been over half a year now for 2017, and it's time to look back at the year so far. I thought it would be interesting, since I don't really talk about all the big movies until I do my Worst to Best list for every year. I'll be setting this up differently as well, with the execution of this article. I'll be doing separate little segments for what were my favorites so far, the biggest surprises so far, the most average films so far, the biggest disappointments so far, and the worst. At the end, I'll put down some films that I am looking forward to, and hopefully some films that will come out in the states in the near future.
Best Animated Films (so far)
My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea: Trippy, unusual, darkly comedic, and the definition of pure visual LSD, this indie film is the best animated film I have seen this year. With a great voice cast, a fun sense of humor, and a unique experience, I can't wait to buy this movie for my collection.
LEGO Batman Movie: While I respect the comments that it relies too much on Batman references, and it doesn't have the full heart of the original film, I went in wanting this to be a fantastic film, and that is what I got. Outside of My Entire High School, I haven't laughed so much or enjoyed a theater-going experience this year as much as I have enjoyed LEGO Batman. It's clever, the characters are likable, and I was smiling like a fool from beginning to end. Yeah, I have my issues with the film, but it's actually good, unlike a lot of films from 2017.
Ethel & Ernest: This is such a simple movie, but it's so good. It's nothing super grand, or some characters going on a big adventure, it's just the life and times of Raymond Brigg's parents. It feels like such a personal film, and the team that made the movie obviously cared very much about the book the film is based on. With wonderful performances, multiple touching moments, and gorgeous animation, I am impatiently waiting for this film to get a US release.
Ocean Waves: Finally, after what seems like a century, the US finally gets a legit release of the last Studio Ghibli film to be brought over. While it is disappointing that there is no English dub for this film, it definitely has a lot of elements that would have made it hard to translate to English. It's also a slower-paced and more realistic film about teens growing up during high school. It has its flaws in terms of story pacing and characters, but I still loved watching it, and when it hit it out of the park, it really hit it out of the park.
Biggest Surprises (so far)
Captain Underpants: Who knew a film everyone was dreading ended up one of the most fun movies of the year? With characters that have charm, great animation, and an obvious amount of passion and soul put into the end product, I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Not to say it doesn't have its problems, but I had more fun watching this than most of the animated films from this year. It knew what it wanted to do, and I respect that.
Justice League Dark: It's no surprise that DC has had an amazing year in 2017, and kicked it off with a fun and more mature story of magic, demons, and the return of Matt Ryan as John Constantine. It's a film that takes advantage of its situation, and while it does have some pacing problems because of the 70-minute runtime, it's still a blast to watch, and actually see some charm in the drab DC universe.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract: This is pretty much an apology letter for Justice League vs Teen Titans as everything that was so good about this movie should have been in the previous film. Everyone has ample screen-time, the action is good, and I don't want to strangle any of the characters. The main villain is definitely weak, and there are some predictable story beats, but it's so much better than I was thinking it was going to be. I'm glad I was surprised.
Biggest Disappointments (so far)
Cars 3: You would think by the third film, they would know what to do with this cash cow of a franchise. While I was definitely more emotionally invested in this one, and love that they just retconned Cars 2, I wouldn't call this a great animated film by any stretch of the imagination. It's definitely more of a sport movie than the previous films, but there is a bit too much going on, and it doesn't know how to pace itself. The villains were weak, and the ending had some elements that I would call shenanigans on, since they just leave it open to make another Cars movie. While not the worst Pixar film by any means, it's a shame the film didn't live up to the extremely false advertising.
Despicable Me 3: Second verse, same as the first. Despicable Me 3 was better in a lot of ways to the previous installments, but was hugely flawed. It once again had way too many plots going on, and none of them get enough time to be fleshed out. It results in a movie that can be entertaining, but completely hollow at the same time. I don't know how many more films they can make with the current style before people just turn on them. At the very least, Trey Parker's portrayal as the villain was super entertaining. I'll have more to say when I review it in the future.
Blame!: Since CGI animation in anime already has a tainted reputation for low quality products, you would hope a film like Blame! could show how to do it well. Sadly, all that you get is a rather boring and sometimes fun sci-fi world builder. The characters are bland, and even the higher quality movements can't hide the fact that CGI animation in anime can and will be distracting.
Seoul Station: While not a terrible zombie movie, I have no urge to rewatch this film. It has its moments and its social commentary, but since this film is supposedly connected to the fan favorite Train to Busan, then I think it needs to be more than just where the zombie outbreak started.
Smurfs: The Lost Village: While the trailer for this gave off both a good and bad impression, I was still hopeful that this would be a pretty solid film. Sadly, what we got was a rather predictable and yet again boring film. There is just nothing there for kids or adults. It's way better than the live-action films, but that's not saying much for a film that's not willing to take risks.
The Boss Baby: While I don't hate this movie, it's obvious they went with one gimmick and didn't really do much else. Alec Baldwin is the best part of the movie, but that's not enough for this film to be good. It has good animation, and I liked a lot of the lines and jokes, but everything else felt so hollow, and lacked substance. We are sadly getting a sequel for some reason, but hopefully, it can be a Madagascar situation where they get better with each sequel.
Sahara: Probably one of the most disappointing films to hit Netflix. I was thinking they got a French animation gem on their hands, but instead, they got a French dud. While the CGI animation is pretty solid, the colors are vibrant, and there are points where the film does slow down, it doesn't make up for an annoying cast, an English dub that forced me to watch it in French, and a film that's not really interesting to watch. It definitely could have been a lot better in terms of story and characters.
Rock Dog: This film went through so much political baloney, that it's hard to really trash this film. It has no focus, tone is an inconsistent wreck, the animation isn't theatrical quality, and the side characters are pointless. It's a shame, since it's not a cynical cash grab, and it tried to be earnest in its intentions. It just didn't pan out, and all we got was a mediocre film.
The Worst (So far)
The Emoji Movie: While I know this is everyone's favorite punching bag, it's just a forgettable bad movie, people! It's not super offensive outside of the concept, but it's not super amazing either. It's probably the most forgettable bad animated movie of 2017, that got pushed into the limelight because people call it the death to cinema. I'm working on a review of it right now, and I'll say this, calm down, people!
Leap!: Yes, technically, I should wait to talk about this film when it's officially released, but on the other hand, since it's already available in an English format, and The Weinstein Company is simply redubbing and recasting for no reason, I have a right to say this movie is still 100% terrible. It's an enjoyable type of terrible, since some choices in terms of animation and plot points are insane, but it's otherwise bland and really forgettable with a terrible sense of humor, and animation that can be rather creepy-looking. I'm sure this had good intentions behind it, and I can't say it's the worst movie I have seen this year, but it's still something I never want to watch again, but I sadly have to, since if I want to be fully fair to this film, I need to watch The Weinstein version.
A Stork's Journey: I don't get why this film had to get a limited release. Was anyone asking for this badly animated film? Its mean-spirited characters, bad pacing, and predictable plot also bog down the experience. It has one little scene that works, but that's about it. Just avoid at all cost.
Spark: a Space Tail: Unlike the film mentioned above, I found nothing redeemable, or enjoyable about this movie. Open Roads didn't give this film a wide release, and is now considered one of the biggest bombs in the animation scene. Even with that distinction, it has horrible animation, terrible characters, boring action sequences, a bland story, and it has no real reason to exist. Not even Patrick Stewart could save this. Until I say otherwise, this is still the worst animated movie of 2017.
Well, that was a bummer way to end the list, how about we close the editorial up with some movies that are coming out this year that I'm excited for? And yes, a lot of them are GKids films.
The Remaining Films I'm Looking Forward to Through 2017
Coco: While Cars 3 did not fully deliver, Coco will hopefully be the one Pixar film to be fully satisfying with its themes of Day of the Dead, family, and music with a great art style, and gorgeous animation.
Mary and the Witch's Flower: GKids recently picked up the rights to this film, and I'm not really surprised. It's got veteran Studio Ghibli members, and GKids has a great connection with the famed studio. The first movie from Studio Ponoc looks really promising with beautiful animation, awesome character designs, and just a huge amount of creativity. I think this could easily be an Oscar contender for Best Animated Feature.
The Breadwinner: Probably the other Oscar contender for Best Animated Feature is yet another GKids-distributed film, based on the famous book. Cartoon Saloon is once again on a roll with a touching story, great animation, and they are mixing it up this time with two different styles of animation. It looks great, and I trust anything these two companies, GKids and Cartoon Saloon will put out.
The LEGO Ninajgo Movie: Well, so far, the two LEGO Movies we got have been pretty fantastic, can't see a reason why not to be excited for this one. It's also nice to see it be a mostly action-focused film, since it seems like we can't get an action anything in animation these days. While the recent trailer probably showed off too much in terms of jokes, I'm still looking forward to the next LEGO Movie.
The Girl Without Hands: While I'm sort of disappointed this one-man film is not coming to my neck of the woods, I will wait for a DVD release, since I really want to see this visually ambitious and mature animated film. I have talked about it a bit on an Animation Tidbit, so I won't go into much detail there.
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children: I have talked about this dark animated film as well, so if you want to see more of my thoughts about this Spanish-animated film, you can go to the link I put above for The Girl Without Hands, but none the less, I am looking forward to see how this dark tale unfolds.
In This Corner of the World: A big Annecy Film Festival winner about a young girl as she grows up during World War II. It has a luscious watercolor art style, a vibe that feels similar to a Studio Ghibli film, and a sad, but endearing story.
Loving Vincent: Hey look, another film I talked about in an Animation Tidbit editorial. It's a beautifully abstract film, with a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and tons and tons of paint put into the overall project. I can't wait for this film to get a wider release in October.
That is it for now, let's hope more amazing films come out, and I will make a new list in the New Year covering the worst to best of 2017!
Animation Tidbits #3: What's Cam Looking Forward To? 5/22/17
May 22, 2017 camseyeview Editorials, Lists	Animation Tidbits, Bird Boy: The Forgotten Children, GKIDS, Loving Vincent, Shout! Factory Kids, The Breadwinner, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, The Swallows of Kabul, Zombillenium
(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. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this quick editorial!)
So, I know it's soon to do another editorial like this, but I found a slew of animated films to be on the lookout for, and since the Annecy Film Festival is right around the corner, I decided to do another list of films I'm looking forward to. Now then, let's take a look at some of the films that will be competing at the festival first.
In This Corner of the World
First up is the Japanese animated film by director Sunao Katabuchi, In This Corner of the World. This character-focused film that is about a young woman named Suzu during World War Two is a beautiful and emotionally-driven experience. While the story is said to be a fictional tale that takes place during that period in time, it is apparently based on real life events of said historical period. I love the soft watercolor look to everything, and that should be no surprise due to the director having previous award-winning films under his belt like Princess Arete and Mai Mai Miracle. I can't wait for Shout! Factory to release this in the states with Funimation helping out because I will definitely be going to see this film when and if it comes to Austin.
Like with Icarus from the previous list, Zombillenium has probably one of my favorite settings for an animated film. It's a French animated film about a theme park where all the ghosts, ghouls, monsters, skeletons, and mummies are, in fact, real monsters. One day, a human named Hector, a safety regulations officer, is threatening to shut down the park. That is, until the vampire manager of the park decides to bite him and bring him on board as an employee. First off, the art style has this great comic book/cartoony style that is very eye-catching. Then again, this is based on the comic book series by one of the directors of this film. I feel like this setting could lead to some very interesting social commentary, with how the monsters work and live at the park, and how some of the monsters could symbolize labor laws and so on. I also get a vibe from something like a good HBO/FX drama, where it's about the life and the days of the characters in their environment. Unfortunately, I don't have a traditional trailer for this film, but instead, a music video. It's done by Arthur DE PINS, one of the directors and the creator of the comic. I bet you that this was a huge excuse for not only a fun music video, but a tech demo to get funding for the film. It's for a song called Nameless World by a French Rock Band called Skip the Use. This is also one of the films competing for the grand prize at the Annecy Film Festival, and it's the only animated film competing at the Cannes Film Festival. I hope it turns out to be a fantastic flick.
UDATE: Here is a teaser for Zombillenium!
Bird Boy: The Forgotten Children
Well, GKids just got the rights to bring this film over in the fall, so I might as well talk about it next. Plus, I can't pass up a GKids distributed film. This dark yet cartoony animated film from Spain is directed by Alberto Vazquez and Pedtro Rivero. If you are into the foreign animation scene, then you know about Alberto Vazquez, who is releasing a new movie called Unicorn Wars. And yes, that is a real movie. This guy is known for combining great animation, with cute designs and strikingly dark visuals. I can see it catching some people off-guard, but I think challenging what defines animation in terms of visuals is breathtaking. It might not be the first animated film to have super dark visuals and a story to boot, but it's something I like to see going on from time to time with animation. I can't wait to see who they get for the main cast, and I hope they can bring over his new film in the future.
The Swallows of Kabul
This one caught me by surprise. This French-animated film, based off the book of the same name, is being directed by two female directors. One of them is an actress-turned-director by the name of Zabou Breitman and designer/animator Eléa Gobbé-Mevellec. It's also being produced by Les Armateurs, who worked on The Secret of Kells, The Triplets of Belleville, and Ernest & Celestine. Its watercolor art direction brings out some very beautiful visuals, and the character designs are fantastic. Then again, when one of the directors worked on The Prophet, The Rabbi's Cat, and April and the Extraordinary World, it should be no surprise that it looks great in motion. Even though I know the story will be a bit more mature than your typical animated film, I don't find the designs or the animation to be distracting. The teaser also does a good job at getting me intrigued about the story, as I'm curious to know what happened after the guard Atiq watched as his eyes were set on a beautiful woman who is the newest prisoner in a female prison. This is another good example why European animation can be so wonderful. Hopefully, in the future, we can hear more about the film.
While Wolfwalkers is in the early stages of development and funding, we can look forward to Cartoon Saloon's upcoming film, The Breadwinner. This beautifully animated film from the studio that made Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells is based off the book of the same name. It's also being partly produced by Angelina Jolie. I'm a tad concerned about that part, since I have found her recent projects to be pretentious and lackluster, but just by the teaser trailer alone, the film looks impressive. I also enjoy the fact that they went full frontal with the casting, since they hired multiple actors of Afghan descent to be the major characters. It's a wonderful-looking movie, and I can't wait to watch it later this year.
This is probably the most visually striking of the films listed in this editorial. How many animated films can you think of that are painstakingly painted by very specific animators and artists that recreate and pay tribute to one of history's greatest artists? I love the idea of someone going around asking about the legacy and impressions the artist left on people that he met. It's such an impressive feat to watch what was going to be a short film directed by director Dorota Kobiela, and has now become this hugely passionate animated film celebrating the beauty and history of art from the infamous painter, Vincent Van Gogh. After it hopefully does well in the Annecy Film Festival, I will patiently wait for theater showings in my neck of the woods.
While this entire list has been mostly following smaller and foreign releases, it doesn't mean I'm not looking out for the bigger releases. While we have gotten this trailer a few months back, I wasn't really thinking about it until recently, as I was thinking back to The LEGO Batman Movie. It's honestly going to be interesting to see how people react to another LEGO movie in one year. One kudos that I will give this film instantly is that no one has to watch the TV show with the same title to watch this movie, since neither the film nor the show are connected in any way. It also helps that personally, The LEGO Ninjago Movie gave off a strong first impression with good laughs, good animation, and solid voice work. It also helps that the film has a director that has worked in different positions on action-focused cartoons before, like The Powerpuff Girls Movie, Batman: The Animated Series, Tron: Uprising, Samurai Jack, and a lot of Cartoon Networks' biggest and most popular cartoons. Now, I am concerned with how much emotional substance will be in this film, and how it's going to have a slew of characters to introduce in one go, but I think Warner Animation Group has been pretty spectacular these past few years. Hopefully, The LEGO Ninjago Movie can be another feather in their cap.
Well, that's it for this list. I probably won't have enough to talk about for another one for a while, and I plan on doing an editorial on Blue Sky's Ferdinand instead of adding it to a list, since I'm excited for it, but not fully on board with it due to the studio. Thanks for reading, and I hope you all get excited for these films as well!