An Animated Digression

and why I watch the independents

It’s Oscar Qualification time again. Many new animated films are released late in the year so that they will be eligible for nomination. So, this week’s post is not about comics.

The live action films do not interest me at all this year. I can’t work up enthusiasm for a single one. I prefer the cartoon world.

I saw one big studio release, THE WILD ROBOT from DreamWorks, at its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It looked interesting and was not a remake or sequel to another film.

Sequels are not always bad. PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH (also from DreamWorks) was the best animated film I saw last year. It was released 14 years after the original film so it was not really a sequel at all. It was not necessary to see the original PUSS IN BOOTS to follow the action or understand the character relationships. The film was charming, funny, beautifully animated, had appealing characters, great voice performances (I loved the Cockney Goldilocks and bears) and was gorgeous to look at. It uses the same rendering technique used in THE WILD ROBOT. If you have not seen THE LAST WISH, I recommend that you do.

I thought that THE WILD ROBOT was overrated. Its big reveal raised a lot of questions. Spoiler: What happened to the other goslings of Brightbill’s age? Bird flu? Hungry foxes? This was never explained.

The story problem may be in the original book; I can’t tell, since I deliberately did not read the book before seeing the film. Some characters were unnecessary. The opossum could easily have replaced the fox. The beaver was not funny and not necessary. Two characters are dei ex machinas who enter when the story requires it and exit when they are no longer needed. (Spoilers: Hawk, Old Goose). There were at least three story climaxes. The robot battles were completely out of character with the rest of the film. The film is gorgeous to look at, but its premise is deceptive. Technology destroys things, but makes you better? Really?

THE MEMOIRS OF A SNAIL was the only other animated film that I saw in a theatre. I love the detail in clay animation and wanted to see it at its best. The film is gorgeous, but I did not like the main character. The story point is that she does nothing while others live their lives around her, and literally ‘comes out of her shell’, after a life changing event—for someone else. I thought the twin brother’s story was far more interesting and the biggest event in his life took place off camera. The story was a conte cruel with no relief until the very end and I got the impression that things would not go better for the heroine even after she got the good news. Perhaps Adam Elliott did not like his main character either.

I avoided seeing INSIDE OUT 2 or MOANA 2. I have no reason to see sequels to pictures that I felt only had a few decent moments in the originals.

Of course your mileage will differ. I liked (and like) to joke that if you want good box office, take what I like and do the exact opposite.

There are one or two independent animated films and one mainstream film that I will view in the Academy screening room. FLOW is very highly rated and I am always interested in seeing films that do not depend on dialogue.

THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP from Warner Brothers is the only hand drawn film on my list, and it looks like the old Warner characters, with full animation (actual cartoon pantomime acting, not slavish copying of bad live performances by the animator —I’m looking at you, WISH) and sufficient inbetweens for smooth movement. Is it too much to ask for a few laughs as well? We shall see.

I’ve heard about one or two other independent films that are worth seeing but those are my choices for now.

I prefer to read comics now because the good ones are an artist’s personal view and use original characters and stories.