Not So Golden

It's old news by now, but yes… The Golden Globe nominations are out… And I'll put it bluntly, I'm not pleased with the animation results.

Only three nominees this year. A paltry three, instead of five. Who made the cut? The Croods, Despicable Me 2 and Frozen. Aside from Frozen's nomination - which I'm totally fine with - my reaction is a resounding, "Are you kidding me?"

No offense to anyone who enjoyed or loved The Croods or Despicable Me 2, but where is The Wind Rises? Oh wait, that's nominated for Best Foreign Film. Sheesh, these people like to put animation in its own category, yet don't nominate what is arguably the year's greatest animated film as Best Animated Feature. Who would've thought?

Where's Ernest & Celestine? Apparently that wasn't good enough, or they didn't even see it. Then again, we are talking about the same people who completely snubbed ParaNorman last year yet allowed the much inferior Hotel Transylvania to make the cut. Apparently box office plays a major role in this ceremony too, sorry, I don't follow it enough. I should know…

Anyways, if box office performances are taken in account, then… (and this is the biggest question…)

Where is Monsters University???

Did the voters truly not care for this year's Pixar offering? Or was it a clear case of them thinking, "It's a sequel/prequel, and Pixar totally fails at making those!" Probably the latter, but maybe the former. Monsters University garnered better critical reception than The Croods and Despicable Me 2, I certainly felt that it was way better than The Croods. I didn't see Despicable Me 2, but I for the life of me don't understand the appeal of The Croods. Good as the animation and art direction was, I couldn't get into it. All I saw was a good-looking movie with a bland story, one-dimensional characters and major tonal imbalances. Was it trying to be a good for-the-whole-family adventure? Or a slap-happy gabfest for little kids?

Basically, meh to this line-up. It should've been five slots, that way we get both Monsters University and The Wind Rises in. If they can't nominate The Wind Rises, then they need to rethink their ways a bit. I don't care if The Wind Rises was made in Japan, it's still an animated feature-length film. It should have been nominated for Best Animated Feature, simple as that. By leaving that out, they also leave out the praised Ernest & Celestine. Had it been five slots, those two could've gotten in and could've sat alongside the three American films.

Oh well, we'll see who wins… I'm guessing it'll most likely be Frozen, since that got the best reception of the bunch, is well-liked and touted as a new Disney masterpiece, and it is the safest choice. After all, Brave took the grand prize last year. Predictable, but damn… The results this year are disappointing as all hell. Hopefully the Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature are a little more balanced…

What's your take? Do you think the choices for the nominees are just fine? Or do you think certain films got snubbed? Who do you think will win? Sound off below!

Animation Box Office Update (October 2013)

We are now in a rather slow month for box office, though this month may be blockbuster month one day thanks to the success of Alfonso Cauron's Gravity - which I finally saw yesterday and greatly admired -  and we'll start seeing bigger films open during this month. Heck, it may be ripe for big animated films! LAIKA and Reel FX could make that month a goldmine, amongst other studios...

Anyways, The Croods and Epic aren't playing anymore. Both distributed by Fox, the former was a big hit and a box office bounce back for DreamWorks, the latter did adequately but was overall an underperformer. The Croods had all of March, April and May to itself before Blue Sky's little forest people flick showed up, thus allowing it to grow very strong legs and gross north of $187 million stateside. It was a real success story worldwide, with a hefty overseas gross (not bad for an original animated film!) making for a grand total of $585 million. Turbo raced into theaters next and sadly, didn't win any races. DreamWorks suffered another loss with this one, as it has taken in $82 million domestically and so far, $224 million worldwide. It recently opened in the UK and other European markets, but it won't help it in the end. Since DreamWorks considered Rise of the Guardians - which actually doubled its $145 million production budget - a bomb, this is an even bigger loss.

Thankfully Epic wasn't as costly, the $93 million film managed to scoop up $259 million worldwide - a decent little hit for Fox and Blue Sky. It did very well in home media sales on its first week out, so that's a plus. I think this one didn't take off for a number of reasons. Opening it against Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover Part III ensured that no teens would find themselves seeing it, and since the film seemed to appeal more to kids than adults, legs weren't as strong. It didn't help that Monsters University was also right around the corner, along with another big smash. It's also kind of unfortunate because animated films based on William Joyce's books or ideas never seem to gel at the box office. That's mostly marketing's fault, anyway...

Monsters University was expectedly big, being a Pixar film. Its $82 million opening was great, but legs were weaker than usual this time around - probably due to Despicable Me 2's unstoppable Minionmania and possibly underwhelming word of mouth from the adult crowd, either that or it didn't appeal to families as much. It's a bit of a conundrum right now, but Despicable Me 2 may ultimately be the reason why Monsters University didn't grow the typical Pixar legs and gross anywhere near $300 million stateside. Attendance-wise, it's a bit low on the Pixar list, clocking in at #10 out of 14. Still, $267 million is not too shabby and $737 million worldwide is pretty damn big.

But my goodness, Despicable Me 2... In a matter of hours, this thing will have made more than $900 million at the worldwide box office - and its domestic total was no average one. This was the first animated film since Toy Story 3 to make over $300 million at the domestic box office, showing that animation is huge hit material when done and marketed right. All it needs to do is beat Shrek 2 and it's the world's second highest grossing animated feature (not counting re-released films, i.e. The Lion King) behind Toy Story 3... It only makes me wonder how much Minions and the inevitable Despicable Me 3 will make. (Unless the novelty wears off by 2015...)

I bet Illumination, a relative newcomer no less, is very happy. Four consecutive hits, all profitable, and one of which is not only the second highest grossing animated film ever but also the most profitable film ever released by its distributor.

What about the annoying little blue pests? The Smurfs 2 has only taken in $70 million domestically thanks to a very bad opening weekend, and not-so-great word of mouth. Planes got in the way, the first film had the luxury of having all of August, September and October to itself. It only just proves that animation isn't a kiddie thing and kids-only animation isn't surefire box office gold. Despicable Me 2 made $300 million because of adults and teens, not just kids and their parents. But those who are ignorant towards animation won't realize that...

Planes also underwhelmed on opening weekend, being a kids-only film. Adults and animation fans swiftly avoided the cash-grab spin-off of the Cars series, and apparently the bad critical reception did little help to entice anyone with some interest in the film. But Planes had all of August and most of September to itself, the little film has crept up on $88 million domestically and $191 million worldwide - exactly what Disney wanted. I won't be surprised if the second one underperforms next summer, though right now it has little-to-no competition. Kids and families seem to be there when there's nothing else playing, hence something like Escape from Planet Earth having good legs at the box office.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 stayed flat, opening with a little more than what its predecessor pulled in back in 2009. However, the legs aren't as good. Still, it's on track to make more than $110 million domestically. Animation isn't in any slump, hopefully this film's success will teach our seemingly animation-averse press that.

So now that leaves Free Birds and Frozen. One's obviously going to be a hit (now that Disney marketing served up an excellent trailer last week), the other could go either way. The marketing for Free Birds - handled by distributor Relativity Media - is pretty slipshod, resorting to the usual "From the producer of Shrek" devices, touting the cast and putting out posters with lame-o puns next to the character profiles. I enjoyed the teaser trailer, but I felt that the second trailer was pretty bad. I have a feeling the film won't be anything like what it's making it out to be. (Apparently this one has quite a different sense of humor.)

Free Birds will probably open with above $20 million, since the marketing is at least making it look like a treat for family audiences whilst also playing up the Thanksgiving angle. In fact, I'd be curious to know how many people avoid it, thinking it's a 90-minute PETA commercial. The legs will definitely be cut off by Frozen, which by now should open with at least $45 million. (Boxoffice.com seems to think that it'll open with $38 million, their reasoning being the lack of big name voice actors and the "animation slump". Ugh...)

So far, 2013 has had its ups and down. Two films were big, one was a surprise success and the rest... Well I think this year has taught a valuable lesson: It's high time the studios start aiming for unique films, whilst also attempting to get more adults into the theater. Not everything has to be a cutesy family comedy. Rango did it two years ago, now it's time for some exciting originals like The BoxTrolls, The Book of Life and 2015's eclectic batch of animated features to change the mainstream animation field...

For Future Reference...

Well, the summer animation battle has pretty much come to a close. Yes, Planes might have been out for ten days, but it's pretty much over... So, what are the results and what can they teach distributors in the far future?

The Hollywood Reporter's click-bait title of an otherwise okay box office article would lead you to believe that there was an animation "curse". The Los Angeles Times also gets it dead wrong with their headline, suggesting that the recent string of duds is the result of the amount of animated features out there rather than the quality. Hollywood cranking out too many? Think again.

When will people realize that animated films that bomb do so for a good reason? Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is more than going to make these people eat their words (pun shamelessly intended), as its inevitably going to be a big hit. Why's that? It's a sequel to a film that critics loved, audiences of all ages loved and one that's just well-known. The sequel is being marketed right, and many are excited for it. It's clearing $120 million this autumn, guaranteed.

So with that, let's look at the last 5 animated releases...

Monsters University kicked things off to a good start after Epic quietly walked out of the gate (a film that was saddled with its own problems, its performance doesn't really have too much to do with its scheduling), with a big $82 million, certainly a good-sized debut for a Pixar film. So this film was on its way to $300 million domestically, right? Well, along came the minions. Despicable Me 2 opened with $83 million and got an even bigger boost from its Wednesday opening, and in no time in passed $300 million at the domestic box office - the first animated film to do so since Toy Story 3! It will end up with a sub-$400 million gross, which is great for this sequel. Universal calls it their most profitable release ever...

But did Monsters University and Despicable Me 2 perform well together? Well... Sort of... Monsters University, by the time its out of theaters, will have scored below a 3.3x multiplier. That's one above the lowest for a Pixar film: Cars 2. I think Minionmania really sucked the audiences away from Pixar's prequel, plus it's possible that families gravitated towards the Illumination film because Monsters University certainly was one of Pixar's quieter films, one that didn't have a lot of action or spectacle. Despicable Me 2 on the other hand had the laughs, but also the minions, lots of fun action and everything else. Perhaps Monsters University was released a little too close to Despicable Me 2, which was undeniably going to be a titan.

However, both films did very good and that's all that matters. Both were highly anticipated, both delivered, and both certainly appealed to audiences enough. The next three films... Well, that's a different story.

I will give props to Fox marketing for this...

Turbo was shackled by its concept and the marketing didn't differentiate it from everything else, plus it was opening inside the Despicable Me 2 tidal wave. The Smurfs 2 had little to no adult appeal, plus families already saw three other films before it. Had it opened in August, maybe it would've done a little better. Planes? Obviously that wasn't going to be big to begin with.

You need to give adults and teenagers a reason to go see your animated film, and that also includes parents who might not want to subject themselves to something like The Smurfs 2 in the theater. You not only have to have one that's good for them, but you need to make it look good to them. Monsters University is a prequel to a beloved animated classic that adults and children adore. Despicable Me 2 is a sequel to a recent animated hit that both adults and children loved. No surprise those two did very well, and they are the first animated films to cross the $250 million mark since the original Despicable Me... Three summers ago!

It all boils down to the content of the films, the marketing and timing. Perhaps if these studios spaced their films out a bit more, I think all of them would've done okay business. Why wasn't something like Epic or Turbo an autumn release? Or a Christmas release? What about... Mid-August?

Now, what does this mean for the future?

2015 is crammed. Monster Trucks kicks off a similarly large animation battle that'll end in late July with the Smurfs three-quel. I think this isn't going to be pretty, and many other planned 2015 animation releases haven't even been scheduled yet, such as Aardman's Shaun the Sheep, Rainmaker's Ratchet & Clank and if one is coming, a Planes three-quel. (Going by what Blue Sky Disney's Honor Hunter said recently, there will be definitely be a third one.) That year's holiday season is going to get a bit hairy as well.

Which makes me wonder, how come studios aren't spacing their work out a little more? Shouldn't someone opt for an August release? Or an April one? I don't know, it just seems like a couple of them may underperform because they're being released so close to each other. We also don't know what the quality be like on films like Monster Trucks and B.O.O.. Also, 20th Century Fox's plans to open their own animated releases on the same days/months as some Disney or Pixar films (i.e. Blue Sky's Peanuts vs. Finding Dory in 2015, How To Train Your Dragon 3 vs. Dia De Los Muertos in summer 2016) could possibly backfire, or their plans to release them very close to whatever Disney or Pixar is releasing. People will go see the films that will appeal to them the most.

But aside from the timing, we need better quality films from all the studios and a much more diverse selection of films. I know that's a lot to ask for, but you can't just throw a cute family-friendly animated film out there expecting it to do well just because it's cute and it'll appeal to family audiences. You need to get the adults in the theater too! To do so, you got to make a film that will appeal to them or market it so that it will appeal to them!

Next year might just prove my point, look at what we're getting: The Lego Movie, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, The Good Dinosaur, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Big Hero 6. To me, those movies are guaranteed hits because they'll appeal to adults and some of them are sequels to beloved films (How To Train Your Dragon 2 might just pull a Despicable Me 2 next summer), and there's potential money to be made in films like Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Rio 2. The Boxtrolls and Book of Life are the risky types, but I've rambled about this before - we need to make these films successful. Things people should get excited about after seeing a trailer or commercial. It's time we really make more kinds of animated films successful with mainstream audiences, in theaters! More adults-only animation! A diverse selection of animated films from the big studios! Family films, adult films, independent films! Animation is more than just family films and silly comedies. That's another story, though...

So yeah, maybe some studios might want to look into the quality of their films and the timing. Some studios might want to try something new and not follow a formula. Not to sound like a broken record here, but look! Rango did it!

In the mean time... Shut up, press. And to the LA Times writer, animation is not genre. How many times does it have to be said?

Animation Box Office Update (July 2013)

Well July is almost over, and the big summer animation showdown is halfway done! The results so far?

Despicable Me 2 became the first animated film since Toy Story 3 - which came out three summers ago, let that sink in - to cross $300 million at the domestic box office. Man, what a wait! With $354 million in the tank overseas, the sequel has now crossed $660 million at the worldwide box office. It should end up with an even bigger total by the end of the summer. Minionmania is a force to be reckoned with!

The only downside is that this film really take quite a bite out of Monsters University. That film is looking to finish up with less than $265 million. Now that's a great total for any animated film, especially a Pixar film, but... This is a prequel to a beloved film whose adjusted domestic gross is nearly $370 million! This had the potential to make around $300 million with that great opening weekend behind it, but those Minions really wooed audiences left and right.

With that, Monsters University will have the second-to-lowest multiplier for a Pixar, even worse than Brave's. Again, competition did a lot of damage. Had it opened a month in advance (with Epic being an autumn release or something), do you think it would've made it to $300 million? Or somewhere close to that?

On the bright side, it has made $321 million overseas and now the film sits at $576 million. Considering how the big the first one was, this could've grossed even more. But it's still good, considering that it came nearly 12 years after its predecessor. The film should end up with around $650 million by the end of its run, making it Pixar's biggest since Toy Story 3.

Turbo seems to be picking up some steam, as it's actually quite a few millions ahead of Rise of the Guardians, which ended up taking in a little over $100 million domestically. Still, The Smurfs 2 and Planes are in the way, though it could still do okay enough through the next few weeks in order to pass $100 million. Or maybe not. I just don't want to know what DreamWorks will do in response. Wall Street is already pounding them, which is no surprise. Hopefully a solid overseas gross saves this film.

Epic has now grossed $106 million domestically as it should end up getting below $110 million by the end of its rather weak run, which is just a little bit more than what Guardians took in. Poor William Joyce... His recent film adaptations just can't do that well, can they? Oh well, at least he got an Oscar for one of his short films. Worldwide, it's made a decent $243 million. With Spain being the only market left to open in, it should settle for under $270 million for a final worldwide total. For a film that cost $93 million to make, that's not too, too bad. It's not great, either.

What's your on take on this? Will Turbo at least break even? Or will it be another money-loser for DreamWorks? How much more do you think Despicable Me 2 will make? Sound off below!

May Animation News Roundup

Alrighty, here are a few things that slipped through the cracks a.k.a. animation news that I did not cover yet...

The UK recently got a new trailer for Turbo that is very similar to the last one we got, but it does show off some new footage.



Anyways, I still think this film looks like fun. It's just surreal that this concept was actually pulled off well, because I'll admit, long before the teaser showed up, I kind of trashed it. I didn't think that this crazy cartoonish idea would work for a feature-length film... But it seems like it will, and the titular snail is likable enough. Yes the Ratatouille vibe is there, but I don't think DreamWorks was aiming for a very original story here... Just a sit-back-and-relax one. Some of the jokes are pretty funny, some are not. Overall, it looks enjoyable.

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A teaser for Rio 2 has finally arrived. Just in time too, since Blue Sky's Epic opens this coming weekend...



It's your typical teaser: Nothing on the plot, but we do get to see Blu and Jewel's children and we get a nice little scene with Nigel at the end. To me, he was one of the best things about the film so it'll be fun to see him return. Also, the new Blue Sky Studios logo is pretty cool!

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The next bit of news is a bit... Interesting. Al Pacino had provided the voice for a villain named Eduardo in Despicable Me 2, but he's left the project over creative differences (!) and the film opens in less than two (!!) months, so the studio already got a replacement... Benjamin Bratt. First of all, what "differences" did Mr. Pacino have with the studio? And wasn't all of his work recorded already? I guess he didn't want his voice in the finished film since he left over such differences... I don't know, it all sounds silly to me.

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The other day, Disney released a sizzle reel for DisneyToon Studios' Planes, a sizzle reel that's actually kind of impressive... Well, visually...

It's surprising that Disney would dedicate a whole reel to a film that was really meant to be a cash cow from the start, and a direct-to-video one at that! Yes I did admit that it could be good after hearing what The Rotoscopers had said about it (they saw a test screening of the film last month), and the animation is surprisingly not too bad for a DisneyToon production. I will say one thing, it looks much better than the Tinker Bell movies! What the dialogue and writing will be like, I have no idea. The teaser only has a few lines along with the first clip, which is cheesy, but not horrible. It could be a bit of harmless fun.

That doesn't mean I'm looking forward to it, though. I can simply take it or leave it at this rate...

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For a while I didn't think this film was going to arrive this year since we've heard very, very little about it... It looks like we're actually getting Walking with Dinosaurs 3D (well according to the trailers, it's now Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie) in theaters this holiday season... The film, based on the BBC series of the same name, has been listed for quite some time but yet we didn't hear too much about it. Here's the international trailer that first appeared at the beginning of the month...



There's also a domestic trailer that just debuted recently, but it's really nothing special. It's loaded with cheesy first-person narration, making the film seem like Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron's poorly-written cousin. If anything, this film better not have any dialogue whatsoever. If it doesn't, then it will be the film that The Land Before Time and Disney's Dinosaur should have been. That, and the first excellent animated film that's about prehistoric beasts... Unless Pixar's The Good Dinosaur claims that title. (Your mileage may vary on Land and Dinosaur.)

Like Dinosaur, the beasts are animated but everything else is live action. The CGI is questionable, considering that $65 million was spent on this production. The movements are a bit wonky and they kind of clash with the backgrounds, not to mention, there doesn't seem to be much exaggeration or caricature like there was in Dinosaur. The animation of the dinos just seems restrained. Other than that, the adventure itself seems cool. It was said that it'll be more of a film for movie-goers than an accurate representation of dinosaurs, and this trailer pretty much seals the deal.

Disney veteran Barry Cook is the director of this film along with documentary veteran Neil Nightingale, and it comes out on December 20th. This will be an interesting one to track.

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What are your thoughts on the different trailers? What do think of the whole Al Pacino fiasco with Despicable Me 2? Did the Planes sizzle reel impress you? Or do you think the film looks deplorable? What is your take on Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie? Sound off below!

March Animation News Roundup

The month isn't over yet, but I thought I'd cover a few things I missed over the last few weeks. It's a been rather slow month for the blog, so I apologize. Been toying around with a new one that's not necessarily meant to be like this. This one is what I call the "extra rambly" blog, where stuff I deem not so suitable for this blog goes...

Anyways, what's my take on a few new things?

First up, the official trailer for DreamWorks' Turbo! Just in time for The Croods too, which is getting positive reception. The Chris Sanders-Kirk DeMicco film looks like another winner for the studio.

Since it's not on YouTube yet (DreamWorks is removing trailers that anyone is posting on copyright grounds for some reason), you can watch it on iTunes Movie Trailers.

What do I think of this trailer? I can buy the silly premise. Some have said that this film is essentially Cars and Ratatouille combined... Yeah, maybe the film has similar plot elements to Pixar's rat tale but it seems a little simpler. The snail just wants to go fast and race with cars, unless the movie reveals that there is more to that. Nice animation, good color scheme and some surprisingly funny parts. Yes, this film actually looks decent! I'll gladly take back any skepticism I had towards it.

The release date of the film was also changed. Originally set to open on July 19th, it's been moved two days forward, so you can catch this new DreamWorks film on a Wednesday!

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Next up... A new trailer for Despicable Me 2!

I will be honest, I enjoyed this trailer as well. Sure it looks a bit generic and it will be harmless at best, but it looks funny and cute like its predecessor. I'm also glad that it has a decent plot too. This ought to be an enjoyable flick at best.

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Who is scoring Pixar's The Good Dinosaur? Looks like John Powell is no longer onboard, this time it's none other than Thomas Newman!

Newman also provided the scores for Finding Nemo and WALL-E. Both scores are pure excellence. I have no doubt that his Good Dinosaur score will also be fabulous. I was really excited to see what John Powell would bring to the table for a Pixar film, but I'm fine with Newman assuming the job.

And of course, The Good Dinosaur opens on May 30, 2014.

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Last but not least... The piece de resistance of recent animation news... A new hand-drawn Mickey Mouse short!

I could probably ramble about this for paragraphs and paragraphs... Let's just put it this way: I'm glad to see that Disney is bringing Mickey and friends back in a proper fashion. They haven't gotten such treatment since House of Mouse, and that was over a decade ago. If you ask me, this is the best Mickey short since 1995's Runaway Brain. The design... The design is great.

It mixes the look of the original shorts (down to the title cards, too!) with a minimalist new style. This style has already gotten praise, but it's also gotten a lot of detractors. It certainly is a lot more modern, but I think it does its job. It's modern enough for today's audiences while still having a classic feel to it.

The short was designed by Paul Rudish, who worked with Genndy Tartakovsky on his three animated shows: Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars. He is also the co-creator of Tartakovsky's unfairly canceled Sym-Bionic Titan. I always admired Tartakovsky's style, so it was nice to see Disney Animation try it on for a Mickey short. This is actually the first in a series of 19 new shorts which will air on television.

If anything, Disney should attach one of the shorts to their upcoming Frozen or maybe another film on their slate. People need to see good hand-drawn animation like this, and I could care less what Bob Iger said at the shareholder meeting concerning traditional animation... It's coming back. It may take some time, but it is coming.

Aside from the design, the short itself is funny. The lack of dialogue made it work for me, proving that you can still entertain without exposition. Everything else works well... The Cinderella bit was also priceless.

The series starts on June 28th on the Disney Channel. Definitely looking forward to this...

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What's your take on this news? Did you like the trailers for Despicable Me 2 and Turbo? Or not? Do you think the new Mickey Mouse short is genius? Or is it the opposite? How do you feel about Thomas Newman providing the score for Pixar's upcoming film?

Sound off below!