Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Upcoming Animated Films - My Thoughts (Part 2)


Part two!



Brave
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Release Date: June 22
  • We all know Pixar disappointed many critics, movie-goers and fans with Cars 2, but I see that film as a gap filler of sorts. Apparently it's a franchise that will fund future projects at Pixar. Ambitious projects like this. This film is the first original non-sequel production from Pixar since Up. The teaser trailer for this film is one of Pixar’s best teasers, but the trailer itself was a bit underwhelming. Like most of the trailers for Pixar films, it was a bit of a mess. I have high hopes for this film. It’s cool to see Pixar taking on the fairy tale genre. As always, they try something new rather than repeating themselves. The animation looks wonderful, as always. Pixar’s character designs have always been flawless, and the character designs in this film prove it. Anyways, what matters most is the story. There are complaints that the film looks too similar to the Disney fairy tales. I have a feeling this film will have a fresh take on the fairy tale genre, and it's supposed to be dark and gritty. Pixar isn't afraid of injecting dark moments into their films, so Brave will probably be no different. I expect this one to garner a PG rating, something Pixar films don't normally receive. If this film turns out to be a classic like the other Pixar films, then Pixar won’t be going away any time soon. Cars 2 will just be a minor bump in the road.
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Studio: Blue Sky Studios
Release Date: July 13
  • This fourth installment in Blue Sky’s Ice Age franchise exists for a reason. It’s most likely going to top $800 million at the international box office since this series is so popular around the world. It should be an enjoyable if not forgettable romp, or maybe it’ll be something worth checking out.

ParaNorman
Distributor: Focus Features
Studio: Laika
Release Date: August 17
  • The premise of this film sounds like a lot of fun, and the trailer was decent. I can’t say too much about this film because there’s not much that has been revealed. It’s the second film from the studio who brought us Henry Selick’s brilliant Coraline in 2009. The art direction looks very cool with a pinch of Tim Burton. If this is a success, we’ll see more stop-motion animated films like this. Stop-motion really works for these kinds of stories. Again, I can’t really comment on it.

Finding Nemo 3D
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Release Date: September 14
  • I decided to include this re-release because if this re-release goes over well along with the re-releases of Monsters, Inc. and The Little Mermaid, then we’ll see more classic Disney films coming back to theaters, the way they should be seen. I’m not too fond of them re-releasing the Pixar films, as I believe they should bring back the Golden Age classics to theaters like Pinocchio and Bambi, but not in 3D. I thought the post-conversion 3D for The Lion King was impressive, but I saw that re-release because I wanted to experience the film on the big screen. Since Finding Nemo is computer animated, I can only imagine how the 3D conversion will look. It’s a film with elaborate art direction, so if the 3D is done right, the re-release will do incredibly well. One major complaint I have is the fact that these classics are being re-released in 3D. All I will say is, converting these films to 3D is unnecessary. They should just re-release them as is, without using 3D to get people to see them. Anyways, this re-release indicates that the film will finally debut on Blu-ray sometime this year. It’s about time! Now all of the Pixar films will be available to own on Blu!

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