Twenty Fourteen

And so in a matter of hours, a new year comes… Another batch of assorted animated entertainments will be making the waves from the cold January to the equally cold December. Our big studios, minus three, are ready to roll their work to the cinemas.

Disney Animation will take us to the action-packed streets of San Fransokyo in their first Marvel film, Big Hero 6. DreamWorks will take us back in time with two classic characters that were seen on the small screens in the late 1950s with Mr. Peabody & Sherman, revisit Berk for more fiery action with How To Train Your Dragon 2 and then introduce us to the alien Boov of distant planet Smekland in Home. Blue Sky will head on over to the Amazon with their fun feathered friends for Rio 2.

Pixar, Illumination and Sony Pictures Animation don't have any trips to take us on in 2014. Pixar pushed their prehistoric epic The Good Dinosaur back to late 2015, Sony Animation shuffled Genndy Tartakovsky's cool-sounding take on Popeye to the "to be determined" section of their slate, Illumination moved the Minions to summer 2015.

It's a shame in some ways, but given many circumstances, it's easy for me to swallow. Again, I'm used to waiting for Pixar films and I know that the "one a year" thing may be detrimental to the development of their productions. I'd rather them take their time than rush out a film, so we don't get a not-so-great film and hear more doomsday naysayers crying. Minions does not really intrigue me, so I could care less that it's been moved. (I'm more interested in Illumination's upcoming original film that they have slated for 2016!) Sony has two films I am not interested in coming in 2015; The Smurfs 3 and Hotel Transylvania 2.

Thankfully, others will be there to fill the void.

Reel FX, makers of Free Birds, are going to do a complete 180 from their goofy turkey movie and give us the potentially awesome The Book of Life. A fantasy-adventure about a young man who must face his fears while traveling through three fantasy worlds that's told through a plethora of songs, it's said to be unlike any computer animated film we've seen over the years. Warner Bros. finally makes a return to feature animation after years of duds, bad decisions and one-trick ponies, thanks to the hilarious-looking The Lego Movie, which offers a lot of promise thanks to its fun trailers, the fact that Phil Lord and Chris Miller are directing and the fact that it's… Well… Lego! Then LAIKA also comes to save the day with another stop-motion masterpiece in the making, The BoxTrolls, which will plunge us into a Victorian setting and take us to a world beneath ours, a world full of quirky little trolls.

We also have the North American releases of Hayao Miyazaki's swan song The Wind Rises and the French traditionally-animated charmer Ernest & Celestine arriving soon. Hopefully these two films are modestly successful, and help motivate studios to invest in unique smaller-scale animation and animation from all around the world.

No Pixar? No Sony? No Illumination? No problem. We have others to make up for that, and they'll return in 2015. Other than these mainstream releases, there's The Nut Job, which looks derivative as hell. Planes: Fire & Rescue, I can do without. Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return? Eh.

That's only the theatrical front… Hopefully a majority of the films have good writing and character work, and are at least unique. Of course, this passing year is teaching a lesson. Diversity wins, and you need to give audiences something new if you want to get ahead. Copying Pixar or Disney or the family-friendly formula can only get you so far, so hopefully a good amount of people take note!

Television animation should more or less be the same; Cartoon Network will probably continue investing in weird, surreal shows while Nickelodeon will continue to try following in their footsteps. Disney seems to be on-and-off with television animation, but they'll keep their successful entries going whilst trying to launch new ones. Maybe we'll see more Wander Over Yanders next year, and see them do well. Adult Swim will give us the usual that they've been giving us for nearly a decade, Fox will continue with Seth McFarlane derivatives and "throw 'em against the wall and see if they stick" experiments. Netflix and other venues will expand television animation, as DreamWorks' TV unit already jumped in with their Turbo F.A.S.T. and tons of other content that'll soon arrive.

Pixar will still be around throughout the year. Even though they don't have a feature film for the big screen coming, they'll have a short film out in Party Central, a Monsters University-based film that oddly doesn't have a release date for some reason. Another Toy Story television special is definitely coming, it was announced back in 2012 that a second special would show up sometime around springtime 2014. An Easter special, perhaps? Or will we wait till late 2014 and end up getting a Christmas special? In addition to these productions, we'll see more Toy Story Toons and Cars Toons.

But of course, what was going on this year - with more independent animation slowly rising and things like Kickstarter helping projects get off the ground - should make this year even better. Glen Keane's Motorola project should be out, too. We'll see a lot of unique things make the waves as well, alongside the big stuff.

I think this year will be a pretty good one. What do you think? Does what 2014 have in store excite you? Or are you disappointed? Sound off below!

Storming In

Blue Sky has officially announced that a fifth Ice Age is happening, and just in time for the holidays, too! (I bet you are all cringing right now…)

When does the fifth installment come out? July 15, 2016…

Makes sense, since Ice Age movies are now July releases. It's been that way since the third one, which raked in the most money out of the four. But wait a minute!

Blue Sky was supposed to have Anubis - a co-production with Fox Animation Studios based on Bruce Zick's ancient Egyptian-themed The Anubis Tapestry: Between Twilights - ready for summer 2016… Well, it's been moved to March 23, 2018. That was one of the dates Fox secured for a future animated release... Remember? Fox unveiled that massive animation slate where each release was simply called "Untitled Fox/DWA/Blue Sky" back in May? One of the dates on that big ol' slate was 3/23/2018.

Now that slot has been filled! Which slot will be filled next?

Anubis' will also be the first Blue Sky film to be a March release since 2008's Horton Hears a Who!

What do you think of this recent rescheduling? I for one am a bit disappointed, but hey… It's freakin' Ice Age, the last one grossed over $800 million at the worldwide box office much like its predecessor. These films really smash the overseas box office, make no mistake. Of course Blue Sky was going to make another one, and soon… I just wish we didn't have to wait so long for Anubis. Out of all the films on Blue Sky's upcoming slate, that one intrigued me the most. Rio 2 looks like the usual, I'm very much on the fence with Peanuts and 2017's Ferdinand could go either way.

Anyways, what's your take on all this? Sound off below!

Another Year, Another Race

It's that time again, people. The studios have submitted their animated features to the Academy Awards… 19 to be exact...

The players, and they chances they have at being nominated:

The Apostle - No, not the world's very first animated feature film ever made (it's lost forever) that happened to be unearthed, but rather a Spanish stop-motion (!) animated film from last year, a visually interesting one to boot. But it being an awesome film does not guarantee a nomination that easy. 30% chance…

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 - While it wasn't as warmly received as the first film, it still got good reception thus it has a chance to get a nomination. The first didn't get one, though - 2009 was a very, very strong year for animation. 40% chance...

The Croods - Reviews were generally positive but mixed for this film, audiences and animation fans on the other hand really seemed to love it. (The acclaim it's getting from those circles truly baffles me.) It has a good chance at getting a nomination, since competition isn't that strong this year. Rise of the Guardians and Madagascar 3 had a lot to go up against last year. This year, one of those two definitely would've gotten in. 40% chance...

Despicable Me 2 - The first film was shut out of the 2010 race because of the amount of nominations, I'm not sure if this will make the cut either. It could make it, because it did get good reviews and was a really big success. 40% chance...

Epic - One animated film of quite a few that got middling reception this year. Blue Sky only had one nominee in their history, Ice Age. I don't think this will make the cut. 20% chance...

Ernest and Celestine - This will be the Cat in Paris/Chico & Rita of 2013. It's gotten a lot of acclaim, but there is one thing… The Academy didn't nominate a single non-US/UK film last year, despite some strong entries like The Rabbi's Cat and The Painting… But the offerings on the American front are mostly underwhelming, so this does have a very, very good shot. 85% chance...

The Fake - A South Korean-produced drama (hand-drawn, obviously), but the Academy is picky when it comes to foreign films. 35% chance...

Free Birds - Fat chance, given the film's poor critical reception. 0% chance...

Frozen - Very high chance, given Disney's recent streak of good films (Tangled would have definitely been nominated in 2010 had their been five slots) and the very positive early reception. Pretty much a guarantee at this point. This may be the one to take it home, if it's better received than Monsters University, the best-received American animated film of the year. 100% chance...

Khumba - The studio behind Zambezia made this film (that was a runner last year), it's actually their second film. Again, given the Academy's picky ways of choosing foreign films if choosing any at all, this probably won't make it in. I will say, the character design is nice. 10% chance...

The Legend of Sarila - A Canadian-produced computer animated film about Inuits trying to find a new home so they don't starve… The story seems okay, but the animation looks very dated. I got an Ice Age vibe from seeing the human characters. 10% chance...

A Letter to Momo - The second feature-length film from Hiroyuki Okiura, who worked on many well-known anime films from Ghost in the Shell to Paprika to Metropolis. But no Japanese animated film outside of Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli has a chance at getting nominated, but with the rule changes, it could sneak its way in. 40% chance...

Monsters University - It's Pixar and it got positive reception (the best of an any American animated film released this year so far), enough said. Winning chances are also very high. 100% chance…

Planes - Definite no. The polar opposite of this year's Disney and Pixar offerings. Received as a mediocre film, and it's a film that was meant to be a direct-to-video release. 0% chance...

Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part III: The Rebellion Story - That title is a mouthful, but this is an anime film based on a magical girl series. 10% chance...

Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury - This adult-oriented offering expectedly comes from Brazil. Visually interesting, that's for sure. 25% chance...

The Smurfs 2 - As the old saying goes, "When pigs fly…" 0% chance...

Turbo - It got okay critical reception, but I think the Academy would prefer The Croods if they wanted to pick one DreamWorks film. 20% chance...

The Wind Rises - Being Hayao Miyazaki's swan song, a definite yes. It may even just win given the rather underwhelming critical reception given to most of the American animation released this year, but it's not certain just yet because Frozen may be the best-received American animated film of the year. Anyways, this was a weak year in general so this is definitely landing itself in the nomination pool. 100% chance...

In all, I think this is what will end up happening…

Ernest and Celestine

Frozen

Monsters University

The Wind Rises

A Letter to Momo

The winner? Right now, I think it's down to two films: Frozen and The Wind Rises. Monsters University, if you ask me, won't easily win because the rules have changed. It's possible that the voters will have actually watched the non-Pixar films before the ceremony; if that were the case last year, Brave would not have won.

Ernest and Celestine could possibly get it, but when's the last time the Academy gave the little gold statue to an animated film released outside of the US and UK? Spirited Away got it for 2002, and that's it. But with them actually watching it, it could… It could…

A Letter to Momo is the least likely to win, it's there because a lot of the American competition was weak. I can see them choosing that over other 40% chance nominees like The Croods and Cloudy 2.

What do you think? What are your animated Oscar predictions? Sound off below and cast your vote in the poll!

Peanut Positivity

A new film based on Peanuts is something to celebrate, right?

For a while, it seemed like this new film - simply titled Peanuts for now - would be a disaster in the making. Not because it's supposed to be computer animated, but because we all think that Blue Sky Studios (Ice Age, Rio, Epic) will go the cynical route make it resemble the kiddie Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs. A lot of us assume that they are just going to modernize it and make it hip, in order to get the quick buck.

However, Charles Schulz's son and grandson are penning the screenplay with short film director Cornelius Uliano. Horton Hears a Who! and Ice Age: Continental Drift director Steve Martino is set to direct, and now a producer has been named: Paul Feig of Bridesmaids and The Heat fame, who is a huge Peanuts fan...

Now that seems alright. The film may turn out to be respectful to Schulz's iconic strip, if not great. However, will all of these talented folks have to obey the rules? Will these people have to go by to the notes that the execs give them? Or not? Blue Sky's track record, in my opinion, isn't so hot. That being said, I think they're capable of making a masterpiece on the level of the greats (any studio is, really), this very film could be it because honestly, I don't see Rio 2 being their greatest feature.

Also... Peanuts is something that you simply can't mess up for a movie adaptation. Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs, if you ask me, aren't great to begin with. That all being said, they didn't deserve to be "hipped up" they way they were in their respective recent movie adaptations. Nostalgic takes on those characters would've fine, not stuff with toilet humor and pop culture references that'll make them look dated in 5 years. As far as I'm concerned, the Chipmunks were a fun novelty and an okay cartoon show (both the 1960s cartoon and the 1980s one), The Smurfs television show (emphasis on "television show", I'm not talking about the original comic strip) was nothing more than just another Hanna-Barbera cartoon... One that just happened to be big. But Peanuts... That's a whole different ballpark, you simply can't screw any movie adaptation of it up.

Plus, even though I see all mediums as equal, Peanuts should be a hand-drawn film. I just can't see it working in computer animation...

What do you think of the upcoming Peanuts film? Do you think it could be good? Great? Or do you think it'll just be an insult? Sound off below!

October Animation Tidbits

Tidbits, tidbits...

We got our first official trailer for Rio 2, after two teasers...



Cute. Colorful. That's about it, really. No doubt the family audiences will eat it up next April, and the plot at least isn't a rehash of the original. I'm just on the fence about this one. Also, what's with Blue Sky's recent iPod product placement?

But oh well, Nigel is still funny.

~

Evan Goldberg dropped some more details on Sausage Party, his upcoming R-rated animated collaboration with Seth Rogen...

First off, he says it's an "existential mock-Pixar movie".

"... We are very, very proud of it. It's our opus. It's like Mr. Holland's Opus! It’s our take on a Pixar movie. It is very, very R rated."

It's all in good fun, though, as he also said, "I wish there were fifty Pixar movies every year. But listen, someone should take those motherf*ckers down a notch. Those high and mighty bastards. We're mocking all animated movies, with a special eye on Pixar."

A mockery of the current American animated feature landscape sounds ideal for an R-rated animated film, but here's hoping that the film is a fun send-up and will also be really funny regardless of any lowbrow or juvenile humor. This will be what Shrek almost was, a great parody of what's big in animation right now.

~

Also, Frozen images... Boy do they look stunning!

Elsa's kingdom... With a Mike Giaimo sky! He's the art director of this film, and he was originally going to direct it back when it was actually called The Snow Queen. It's much like Pocahontas' color scheme, which gravitated towards heavy blues, lavenders and purples.

This one is just stunning... It's my favorite of the bunch. The pointedness of everything combined with the icy atmosphere. It just perfectly sums up Elsa's character.

These images alone make me anticipate this film even more now, not some poorly-edited slapdash trailer that assumes that audiences can't sit through two quiet minutes of anything animated. Of course, we know that Disney marketing won't make Frozen look like a grand must-see event spectacle, instead opting to bombard you with jokes, silly snowmen and one-liners. Like I said in my post regarding spoilers in Pixar trailers, I'll just stick to images and the teasers for these films and quite frankly... I'm fine with that.

Where did these images come from? Disney Russia's Facebook page... Why not Disney's other pages for different countries? If they don't come the other pages (American, European, etc.), I'll only shake my head in disbelief. At this point, I believe Disney's ever-so-wise marketing department would do that.

~

What's your take on the new Rio 2 trailer? What do you think of the Frozen images? What do you think of Sausage Party and the writers' plans to mock Pixar films?

Sound off below!

More From the Animated Birds

More stuff on Free Birds and Rio 2...

The theatrical trailer for Turkeys... I mean, um... Free Birds, arrived yesterday alongside Frozen's trailer...

While I'm looking forward to this film, I think this trailer is just another typical animated film trailer that doesn't make the film look that good. In fact, I think the first trailer is much better in terms of the editing and structure. Also, the "Hold Onto Your Nuggets" tagline? Please...

Oh well, that's typical animation marketing. I have a feeling that this film will surprise me in some way. What do you think of the trailer? Are you looking forward to this film? Or not?

USA also gave us a first look at Rio 2 earlier this week...

From the images and plot details, it sounds decent. There's probably going to be lots of wacky comedy and whatnot (expected from a Blue Sky film), and probably lots of pop music to go with the samba. Also, the daughter having an iPod (pictured above) only reminds me of the iPod's prominence in the studio's previous feature, Epic.

Anyways, it's great that they aren't completely rehashing the first film, which I did enjoy very much. I like the idea of more macaws and Nigel returning, he was one of the best things about the first film if you ask me. I'm not exactly sure if I'm looking forward to this sequel or not, given that 2014 has us animation fanatics spoiled with the likes of How To Train Your Dragon 2, The BoxTrolls, Book of Life, Big Hero 6. I guess if this was coming out this year, I'd be anticipating it more.

I'm just getting tired of the American animation marketplace being saturated with goofy family-friendly comedies, but Rio was one done right and maybe the sequel will be the same. What do you think?

Not Quite...

I happened to catch this little animated film that came out at the end of the spring. It came and went, and it seemed like it would either be great or mediocre from the trailers. Yes... Epic...

First things first, the animation, the art direction and the visuals in the film are very pretty. At times it's even stunning, with some very lovely shots (that sadly don't really last too long, given the pacing of this film) and great character design. This is a William Joyce-based story after all, and the animators came up with neat designs for the Leaf Men and all the various creatures. The scale? Yes, it's pretty big, even if the story doesn't match it. It's just pretty to look at, and the way the little creatures see the humans is pulled off well, one of the film's more unique elements.

But the story is pretty rote, with the typical good-vs.-evil plot with a romance between the teen leads shoehorned in. I didn't really connect with the characters that much, even though the writers try hard enough to get some emotional content in there, mostly with M.K.'s relationship with her father or Nod not living up to Ronin's expectations. I felt that the characters were just forgettable and they just lacked depth. I felt that a lot of the elements in this film were basically pulled from other films - especially animated films - and thrown into a blender. I'm okay with ideas reheated from other films, but only when it's done with finesse. For instance, there were many elements in Wreck-It Ralph that were reminiscent of other animated films, even a lot of the classic Disney films... But the characters are well-defined, the writing immerses you into the various video game worlds and it tries other things alongside the tried-and-true things.

It was just bland and kind of hollow. Oddly enough, the comic relief characters didn't annoy me as much as I thought they would. In fact, they can be funny from time to time though Aziz Ansari's slug's voice does tend to get annoying, and it does clash with the fantasy setting. It didn't bother me though, since everything else around them isn't colorful or compelling. But in all, they are in the wrong film and the overall picture has tonal issues. They don't really explore M.K.'s relationship with her father, even though there is stuff in there that's ripe for some good drama, and it ultimately feels out of place in this film.

I'm also surprised that Christoph Waltz delivered the flamboyant evil villain performance in such a by-the-books way. Seriously, he was just another power hungry villain that's all bark and no bite. I liked his design enough, and all the Boggans looked pretty menacing... But again, despite the great design work, the characters themselves didn't seem to have real personalities beyond their looks. It's a shame, because it's a Chris Wedge film and the design is where the effort really went. This could've been a world that you could immerse yourself into, but it's too bad that the story didn't really support it nor did it flesh out much.

Now that's not to say it's bad, it's just on the mediocre side. It's good for a rental, but a film of this scale and the source material they used should've made for something more than a quick watch. It's interesting to note that Fox initially allowed Wedge to shop the adaptation to someone else, and Wedge went to none other than Pixar to make it. Now imagine if Pixar made it: You'd have the lovely look and the character designs, but a compelling story and some good humor, tearjerker moments and everything you'd come to expect from a Pixar film. It also would've been their first adaptation, something they could look into one day.

As a whole, epic this is not. Leaf Men should've been the title for obvious reasons, but the film just smacks of the typical style-over-substance problems. With a sharper script and more-defined characters, this could've been a magical yet compelling animated fantasy for the whole family. Alas, it's just a quick watch...

Fox's Answer

It looks like 20th Century Fox is taking cues from Disney, who had recently announced release dates for four untitled Pixar films and four untitled Walt Disney Animation Studios films. That list went all the way up to November 2018! Now, 20th Century Fox has unveiled their upcoming slate for their two animation studios, and that one goes up to December 2018!

/Film and fellow animation news site and podcast Animation Fascination have revealed the details! Now, DreamWorks and Blue Sky's 2013-2016 schedule hasn't changed much, it's still the same. (minus one thing, but we'll get to that!) In addition to the projects that are scheduled for release from 2013 to 2016 (and early 2017, since Fox grabbed an April date for Blue Sky's Ferdinand a couple weeks back), these are the new dates that the distributor secured for both DreamWorks and Blue Sky's upcoming films...

March 10, 2017

June 16, 2017

July 21, 2017

November 3, 2017

December 20, 2017

March 23, 2018

June 29, 2018

July 20, 2018

November 2, 2018

December 21, 2018

There are two big issues with this slate...

Head-To-Head

DreamWorks' How To Train Your Dragon 3 is still scheduled for a June 17, 2016 release. That's the same day Pixar's summer 2016 film (presumably Dia De Los Muertos) will open. DreamWorks got the date first.

June 16, 2017 was nabbed by Disney first for an untitled Pixar film. Now Fox has this date...

Fox also changed the date for Blue Sky's untitled Peanuts film. Once scheduled for a November 6th release (same day as Disney/Marvel's Ant-Man), it's now opening on November 25, 2015... The same day as Pixar's Finding Dory!

Is it possible that Fox wants to pull a 1988 Universal on us and release a DreamWorks or Blue Sky film the same day a Disney or Pixar film comes out? Back in 1988, Universal famously released Don Bluth's The Land Before Time on the same day as Disney's Oliver & Company. The two high-profile releases went head-to-head in quite a box office battle, as both films were big. Domestically, Oliver grossed $53 million and Land took in $48 million. A year later, United Artists released Bluth's All Dogs Go To Heaven the same day as The Little Mermaid, but that whole strategy proved to be unwise in the end since Disney's critically acclaimed film crushed Bluth's at the box office. In 1991, Amblimation's An American Tail: Fievel Goes West was left in the dust as Beauty and the Beast broke records left and right.

With Disney becoming a titan again, distributors mostly avoided releasing the animated films they had on the same day as a Disney production. It didn't help that most of the stuff they had was much inferior to Disney's product at the time. Since the 1990s, we haven't seen such a battle happen. Times are different now, and the competitors to Disney and Pixar have above-average films that also make a boatload of money.

Do you think Fox will go through with their plans and release animated films the same day as the ones Disney plans to release? Do you think on Thanksgiving week in 2015, Finding Dory and Peanuts will open the same day? Or do you think someone is going to end up moving their films?

The competitive field has just gotten more interesting...

DreamWorks or Blue Sky?

Right now, "Untitled Fox/DWA/Blue Sky Film" is listed next to each date on the schedule, implying that Fox has no idea what dates Blue Sky picked and what dates DreamWorks is eying down... A sort of anything goes approach. Going by DreamWorks and Blue Sky's patterns, I think this is what will happen...

March 10, 2017 - DreamWorks Film
June 16, 2017 - DreamWorks Film
July 21, 2017 - Blue Sky Film
November 3, 2017 - DreamWorks Film
December 20, 2017 - DreamWorks Film *or* Blue Sky Film

Wait... We have another problem here. Blue Sky hasn't released two films a year nor have they released a film during the holidays. Unless they start doing so by 2017, DreamWorks will occupy the December 2017 slot... But that would mean that four films will be released by the moon boy studio that year! Remember when that was supposed to happen for 2015? Didn't quite pan out, now did it?

I have a feeling that Blue Sky will ultimately end up releasing two films a year. Pixar is doing it, Disney is doing it, DreamWorks has been doing it for years... Now it's their turn.

Anyways...

December 20, 2017 - Blue Sky Film
March 23, 2018 - DreamWorks Film
June 29, 2018 - DreamWorks Film
July 20, 2018 - Blue Sky Film
November 2, 2018 - DreamWorks Film
December 20, 2018 - Blue Sky Film

So why do I think it'll be this way? Well, DreamWorks has been aiming for dates that are not too far Disney or Pixar's these days. For instance, in 2015, their B.O.O. opens just two weeks ahead of Pixar's Inside Out. In 2016, their Mumbai Musical comes two weeks after Disney's untitled March release and Trolls arrives weeks before Disney's untitled Thanksgiving week release.

Blue Sky also aims for April or July, the last time they released something in March was in 2008.

I'm just a bit shocked that the slate isn't clear cut. Surely it would note which studio's film will be hitting theaters on each date, right? Maybe an update will straighten things out, but this is what I'm assuming for now going by what happened in the past.

~

Anyways, it's not surprising that Fox has already fired back with their own big upcoming schedule but it looks like they are content with going head-to-head with Disney. Perhaps they are very confident since Blue Sky's films normally do incredibly well overseas and The Croods has made a whopping amount. This could either work out well or backfire horribly. What do you think will end up happening? Sound off!

Animation Box Office Update (May 2013)

Blue Sky's Epic was no dud over the holiday weekend, as expected...

Early on, I had predicted Rio numbers for its entire box office run. It looks like this film will perform just like that colorful comedy did two years ago. Over the weekend, the film took in a solid $33 million. While that isn't terribly great for a big animated release, it's not necessarily bad either. Puss in Boots opened around the same region back in October 2011. Luckily, Fox opted to release this film on Memorial Day weekend, which helped it climb to $42 million. Right now the film is on par with Rio, but it probably won't make as much in the end since big competition is less than a month away...

DreamWorks' The Croods has taken in $563 million to date. It's currently DreamWorks' second highest grossing non-sequel film, behind the original Kung Fu Panda ($631 million) which wasn't a 3D film. I bet 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks (especially!) are happy... A real rebound after Rise of the Guardians, a film that (in my opinion) deserved to be the bigger hit. From the beginning it looked like The Croods would essentially be the DreamWorks equivalent Ice Age franchise, a safe bet that'll explode at the international box office. I'm surprised DreamWorks hasn't already announced a third film, but the sequel is already in the works and a TV show is on its way...

The other animated release that came out this year happened to be a clunker... Escape from Planet Earth did solid business domestically given the lack of family-friendly fare after the relatively unsuccessful re-release of Monsters, Inc. back in December. I didn't expect it to be a hit to begin with, since it looked like strictly kids stuff... But it couldn't double that $40 million budget. For some odd reason, the other films Weinstein planned to release this year have been off the schedule for months: Leo the Lion, The Trick or Treaters and Santapprentice.

Will the animation box office get a real boost in the coming months? Monsters University is undoubtedly going to be big, but how big? I keep thinking $300 million domestically since this is a follow up to a beloved Pixar film that came out nearly 12 years ago. I think that it'll get a Toy Story 3-sized boost since nostalgic teenagers and college students will flock to see this, not to mention it's a college film! But Box Office Mojo and BoxOffice.com's predictions say otherwise... I think it'll clear $300 million. Despicable Me 2 on the other hand might as well, but I really can't see it hitting $300 million... I think it'll come very very close though. But whatever they make, they'll be BIG. Of course it'll be exciting to track both...

Turbo ought to do well enough since it looks like fun, despite being crammed between Despicable Me 2 and The Smurfs 2, which of course will do good business. Planes will cap off the summer with a good-sized gross... $100 million might even be in play for this one.

What are your predictions? Will Epic gross as much as Rio? Or not? What are you predicting for Monsters University, Despicable Me 2 and Turbo? 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!

Another Switcheroo

20th Century Fox adjusted their animation schedule a bit today, moving some DreamWorks films while also announcing dates for two new Blue Sky films...

As I had predicted, one of the four DreamWorks films once slated for release in 2015 got moved. Which one was it? Trolls. I saw it coming because Trolls currently has no names attached to the voice cast, whereas B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations and Kung Fu Panda 3 do. Trolls is now scheduled to open on November 4, 2016. B.O.O. now occupies the film's original June 5, 2015 spot, which indicates that Fox and DreamWorks will let Sony Animation occupy the September 2015 spot with Hotel Transylvania 2... Or Popeye. The Penguins of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda 3 remain in the same place. I had a feeling that this was going to happen, because there was no way DreamWorks was going to have four animated films ready for release that year.

Blue Sky has two new films on its upcoming slate: Anubis and Ferdinand. The former is scheduled for a July 15, 2016 release while the latter is pegged for April 7, 2017... Talk about thinking ahead!

Anubis, based on Bruce Zick's The Anubis Tapestry: Between Twilights, has been in the works for quite a while. The plot and Ancient Egyptian theme are ripe for animation, so this one could work out pretty well... That is, if it isn't anything like Epic where the the setting seems compelling but there's hip-talking characters and celebrity/paycheck-seeking celebrities doing the voices. But then again, I might be judging that book by it's cover. I may end up really liking that one so, we'll see!

Ferdinand seems to have come out of left field, and I'm not really sure what they will do with the classic 1936 book. I expect Ice Age-esque goofiness and comedy, but they could surprise us.

So now DreamWorks' upcoming slate (2015 onwards) looks like this...

The Penguins of Madagascar - March 27, 2015
B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations - June 5, 2015
Kung Fu Panda 3 - December 23, 2015
Mumbai Musical - March 18, 2016
How To Train Your Dragon 3 - June 18, 2016
Trolls - November 4, 2016

Hopefully we'll hear about what DreamWorks is planning to release in 2017 sometime soon... The optimist in me hopes for Me and My Shadow, rather than something like... I don't know, The Croods 2?

It also seems like Blue Sky will continue to have one film ready for release each year.

What do you think of these recent changes to the schedule? Do the two new Blue Sky films sound good to you? Do think DreamWorks made a good decision moving Trolls? Sound off!

"Epic" Box Office Predictions

The next big animated film will be out of the gate soon, following the super-successful The Croods, which grossed north of $500 million worldwide so far with a sturdy domestic take. In a few weeks, Blue Sky Studios' Epic hits cinemas nationwide. Will it be another big animated film? Or will it do poorly and not attract audiences on opening weekend?

From what the marketing has shown and what's been revealed, there are a few problems that may affect this film at the box office. Let's get those out of the way...

#1. Don't Be So Vague... And Self-Important!

Epic... I never liked that title, never did. Leaf Men, the original title, was far superior. This is once again another vague re-titling that'll probably hurt the film more than anything. Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole should've taught the film industry a lesson... But when a film does badly due to mistakes made by the studio, nobody seems to learn. Rise of the Guardians also proved that vague titles aren't the way to go, and that one only caused confusion... But this title has other problems.

The title of this film is even worse because the word "Epic" can really be about anything... People have poked fun at this film as far back as the release of the first teaser in June 2012. When someone says to you, "There's a movie coming out that's called Epic", what would you think of? A big, big movie? Action and lots of things going on? Battles and stuff? Gladiators? Lords of the Rings-style thrills? An adventure about tiny leaf men and bugs in a hidden world in the woods? Leaf Men was the better title. Why they changed it, I don't know. The title they ended up using almost makes the film seem... Well... Pretentious. Imagine if another animation studio titled their film Mindblowing or Amazing or something. It would just seem self-congratulatory and cocky. Epic is not a good title, not at all.

#2. Action, Epic Scope and... Hip-Talking Slugs?

The film looks to be different from the past Blue Sky films which were definitely more goofy and comedy-based than anything. Well at least it seemed that way...

The trailers start out great with the moody tone and yes... Epic-looking action sequences. But then when the characters talk, we have a problem. Aziz Ansari's slug character talks in a "hip" tone ("Imma sluuuuug... No shell up in hurr!") and we also see that our cast includes the likes of Pitbull, Beyonce Knowles, Steven Tyler, Johnny Knoxville... An all-star cast alongside the likes of Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrell and Christoph Waltz. Yeah... I can sense that some of these actors were doing it for the paycheck. Looks like big names were cast just for the sake of it... So I expect the performances here to be nothing special. When will studios get it? Cast people who know and realize the characters that they are voicing, don't cast an obvious big name that probably doesn't give a crap about voicing an animated character to begin with!

But I digress... While families will no doubt care about these annoyances, I think most adults will cringe. I know I did and several other animation fans are on the fence about the film because of the "hip" dialogue and all-star cast, and what looks like mere pandering. This looks more like one of the mid-2000s DreamWorks films, which isn't good because that tone clashes heavily with everything else that's on display here: The jaw-dropping visuals, the fantasy setting, the action and the apparent stakes. If you're going to make an animated film, don't turn the adults off with forced humor and dialogue that's already dated. The film will mostly likely appeal to families, but will it get any other demographic in the seats like the best and most successful animated films do? Pixar movies don't make more than $200 million because of kids and families. Adults are flocking to see these things too! When most adults aren't interested, you get a lower gross.

Despite the odds, I think this film will be a small hit and a profitable one at that. Why? What could work in this film's favor at the box office?

#1. The Somewhat Balanced Marketing

Like I said, the use of humor in the trailers will get the kids and families coming in. Also, the marketing doesn't make the film look cold, super-serious or anything of the sort. Plus, there's a lot of appealing bug characters. It'll certainly appeal to the family audiences and a few others. Even overly cutesy stuff has the power to bring in audiences of all ages, just look at The Lorax! It may not make for a big opening, but it'll still be good-sized.

#2. Barely Any Real Competition

This is the first family-friendly film since The Croods that's not carrying a PG-13 rating, it's from a big studio and the marketing campaign is big enough. This film opens the same weekend as Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover Part III, two films that the family audiences will definitely not be seeing. Sure, both films will suck away all the teens and adults... But there will still be an audience there on opening weekend for this film, plus Memorial Day ought to give it a boost since kids are out of school. If Epic wasn't opening against those two films, it could have a better chance at getting a bigger opening.

So now that the pros and cons are out of the way, what do I think this film will end up making domestically?

What will it open with? Somewhere north of $30 million, for sure. It has appeal and families will eat it up since there's nothing else for them that's not PG-13 until Monsters University comes out. $40 million, to me, seems a bit out of reach for this. $40 million is becoming something of a new benchmark for animated films on opening weekend these days. DreamWorks' films usually open with less than $50 million nowadays, and Disney's Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph didn't make more than that amount on opening weekend either (Frozen could possibly break the mold), ditto Blue Sky's recent films.

So I think Epic should open with around $37 million. If it gets anything higher than $40 million, I'll be very impressed.

Multipliers for animated films are usually good, so Epic should score something below 3.5x but above 3.0x. I think it'll pull a 3.4x multiplier and finish up with around $126 million at the domestic box office. This isn't a big total for an animated film, though it's not much lower than what the likes of Rio, The Smurfs and Hotel Transylvania took in. It's also significantly higher than Rise of the Guardians' $103 million total.

Basically, I think it'll make this amount because it's the first big PG-or-G family film since The Croods, the marketing is balancing the action with cutesy/funny stuff and since it's a big animated film from a big studio, the success is kind of built in from the beginning. I think it'll be a smaller hit out of the animated pack this year, grossing a competent and respectable amount.

Worldwide? Who knows, because this is where things get a wee bit unpredictable. An original animated film that's not a sequel can make more than $200 million overseas. Even Rise of the Guardians could do it! I think a total that's higher than $200 million is guaranteed for this film, $300 million is also possible. Blue Sky's first non-Ice Age film to get that amount was Rio back in 2011. Recently, DreamWorks' The Croods - also distributed by Fox - topped that amount overseas with ease, but I don't quite know if Epic can reach that. I think it'll gross between $200 million and $300 million, though it's possible that it can top that amount. That would make for a final worldwide total of more than $320 million, which would put it below the Ice Age films and Rio.

Either way, it's a good-sized success for the studio depending on the budget. Blue Sky's films normally cost less than $100 million to make, and there's currently no budget info on this pic. I don't quite know what Fox or Blue Sky would consider a success if the film happened to cost up to $150 million to make. Would a minimum of $320-340 million be good enough? Or will the bean counters call it a disappointment/flop? DreamWorks' Rise of the Guardians made $303 million worldwide, more than doubling the $145 million production budget yet it was deemed a flop. I understand that marketing is also factored in, but still. If Epic costs the usual $90 million, then Blue Sky has a hit on their hands. If it's bigger budget, I'm not sure how they'll react to a $320-340 million total.

How do you think Epic will do at the box office? Will it be a hit? An unexpected animated blockbuster? A big flop? Or a disappointment? Sound off below!

February Animation News Roundup

Some quick bits of animation new from this past week and then some... Stuff I didn't go over and such...

Relativity Media's first animated release, Turkeys, is apparently very far into production. Far enough that the release date moved up a year. Originally slated for a November 14, 2014 release, the Reel FX production will hit theaters on November 1, 2013. In its original spot, it was scrunched between Disney's untitled animated film and DreamWorks' Happy Smekday!; here it has room to breathe. That being said, I was never looking forward to this long-in-development picture. A story about two turkeys going back in time to stop the Thanksgiving tradition of eating turkey does not appeal to me at all... Though it may just play with that idea and make for a fun comedy. After all, director Jimmy Hayward co-directed Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, so it has potential.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2's trailer is coming on the 27th. It's about time we see a little something pertaining to that film. It seemed like it didn't even exist until some very pretty concept art showed up not too long ago. Will it be a good follow-up to the original? Or a mediocre cash-grab sequel?

Rio 2, though we knew it was coming, is officially on track for an April 11 release in 2014. Some other countries get it first a few weeks earlier. The cast has been announced and new plot details have emerged. In the sequel, Blu and Jewel have settled down with three kids. But when it's time for them to fly, they take them on a trip to the Amazon. However, Blu must fit in with the new neighbors, as he fears that he'll lose his wife and children to the "call of the wild". It certainly sounds like it'll be harmless fun, just like the first one. I expect nothing more, plus we'll probably get a trailer before Epic this spring.

Illumination is going forward with their planned re-imagining of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. A release date has not been set, but I think it'll probably show up for the holidays of 2015 or 2016. How it will compare the 2000 Ron Howard film is up in the air, but the Chuck Jones classic will never be touched. Expect it to be sugary-sweet, packed with hit-or-miss humor and loaded with lots of padding. Illumination also announced an untitled, original project for July 3, 2015. What a shocker... Between Despicable Me and Dr. Seuss, it'll be nice to see what the original concept is. Maybe it's that untitled cryptozoology project they mentioned a while back... Or maybe something new.

DreamWorks seems to see a lot of potential in their upcoming summer release Turbo, that questionable story about a snail becoming a racing champion after a freak accident. A series based on the film called Turbo F.A.S.T. (which stands for Fast Action Stunt Team) will debut as a Netflix exclusive series this autumn. It'll be a new addition to Netflix's recent original programming plan. It'll also be the first family-friendly original show for them. This is no different from DreamWorks' TV spin-offs of Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon (the latter of which has gotten a lot of praise), so it seems reasonable that they'd create a TV series based on this film, but perhaps a bit premature.

The best news concerns Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen. Christophe Beck, the man who composed Disney's beautiful Paperman, will be providing the score for the upcoming fairy tale adaptation. Color me excited once more, and hopefully we'll get some real posters and promo artwork that'll wash those horrid fake ones away.

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Out of all these of announcements, which one excites you the most? What are your thoughts on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Turkeys? Do you think DreamWorks is counting their chickens before they hatch with their planned Turbo Netflix series? Or do you think it'll pay off? Are you anticipating Illumination's Grinch? Or not?

Sound off below!

2013's Animated Film Line-Up: What We Know So Far

Now that 2012 is almost over, let's take a look at next year's offerings. What do we know so far about the animated films opening in twenty thirteen? What do you think of the results so far?

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Escape from Planet Earth
Distributed by The Weinstein Company
Studio: Rainmaker Entertainment
Opening February 24, 2013

I’ll be completely honest here, the trailer didn’t make my eyes burn. That says a lot coming from an animated film from a distributor who is notoriously bad when it comes to animation. That doesn’t mean, however, that I liked it. Escape from Planet Earth looks so generic in every way, and the animation is nothing special. Also, is it just me, or does this film look like a giant commercial for 7-Eleven?

The Croods
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Studio: DreamWorks Animation SKG
Opening March 22, 2013

With the two trailers we have gotten alongside numerous images, The Croods looks like it’ll be another beautifully-made animated film that goes the safe route. It’s got that written all over it from the seemingly phoned-in story to the hit-or-miss gags. That being said, the trailers for this might be totally misleading and the film will turn out to be a smart, heartfelt animated adventure for the whole family. It’s what I’m personally hoping for, especially since this was directed by Chris Sanders and the fact that DreamWorks’ recent films are impressive. Please prove me wrong again!

Epic
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Studio: Blue Sky Studios
Opening May 24, 2013

So both trailers have a generally moody tone, grand-scale visuals, lots of action and pretty animation. But... There’s still an annoying, wisecracking slug that’ll induce more frustration than laughs. Also, our lead seems rather cardboard and the motives of the villains are unclear. However, this film is not out until May, so maybe another trailer will clear things up. Or, the film itself will be better than what the trailers suggest. For now, it just seems like Fox is trying to tell audiences, “This is no Ice Age” though the irritating slug contradicts that.

Monsters University
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Opening June 21, 2013

Only a teaser and a promo of sorts (haven't seen what they attached to the Monsters, Inc. 3D yet), but the viral marketing is good and the stills we have gotten shows that this will probably be a more comedic film from Pixar, but with the same doses of heart and sincerity that define their films. When will we get a good, full trailer? I'm guessing somewhere around the release of Oz: The Great and Powerful. Disney better start marketing this one if they want another Toy Story 3-sized success.

Despicable Me 2
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Studio: Illumination Entertainment
Opening July 3, 2013

The recent trailer shows that it’ll be about aliens. You can either say it’s cheap and desperate, or an attempt to do what the first film didn’t. Either way, it looks like cute fun much like its predecessor. I’m not expecting anything more out of it, I’m just hoping it isn’t as shallow as The Lorax. Fun brainless animated comedies aren't always a bad thing, but a lot of animation fans probably dislike them because there's too many of them and a lot of them are forgettable. Despicable Me wasn't to these eyes, so hopefully this one will deliver.

Turbo

Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Studio: DreamWorks Animation SKG

Opening July 19, 2013

The teaser was cute, I'll admit that. How the story will play out is beyond me. Again, this could take its crazy premise and do good with it. I trust DreamWorks with it, so I'm hoping the next trailer delivers. Not much we can say about this at the moment, but a new trailer will probably be out in February or March. I'm thinking March more than anything, since DreamWorks' The Croods opens the 22nd.

The Smurfs 2

Distributed by Columbia Pictures

Studio: Sony Pictures Animation / The Kerner Entertainment Company

Opening July 31, 2013

What do we know? It'll be just like the first one. Egh.

Planes
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Studio: DisneyToon Studios
Opening August 9, 2013

All we know is what the story will be, and that John Lasseter is involved with the project. (Lasseter, I admire you, but this is your weakness!) There's a teaser as well, that does have competent animation, but that's about it. That being said, I don't expect anything good out of this. Yes, I do have a thing against the direct-to-video Disney sequels. Planes can be okay fun for all I care, but like I said, is a theatrical release really necessary?

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Distributed by Columbia Pictures

Studio: Sony Pictures Animation

Opening September 27, 2013

Very little has been announced about this sequel to Sony Animation's 2009 hit, and now that it's on track for an earlier release (it was originally penciled in for February 7, 2014), we should be getting some details by now. The original directors aren't returning so I'm not getting my hopes up. The same applies to Hotel Transylvania 2.

Ignore the "Spring 2014" at
the bottom. This is an older
image.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Studio: DreamWorks Animation SKG

Opening November 1, 2013

Just some story details and an image of the two leads themselves. A teaser should arrive by March, following DreamWorks' 2010 film pattern. Until then, we don't know much.

Frozen

Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures

Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios

Opening November 27, 2013

Aside from some lovely concept art and other cast and crew details, there's no teaser or anything. Here's hoping one comes soon. I don't want to have to wait until June to see a teaser.

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D

Distributed by 20th Century Fox

Studio: Animal Logic / BBC Earth / BBC Worldwide

Evergreen Films / Reliance Big Entertainment

No word on this one. Not for a while. Will it still be distributed by Fox? Is it still on track for a December 20th release? We haven't heard anything for a long time. Interestingly enough, this will be co-directed by Barry Cook (who directed Mulan, co-directed Arthur Christmas and worked at Disney as an effects animator).

Unscheduled 2013 Releases

Currently, the three Weinstein Company animated releases scheduled to be released this year are up in the air. Leo the Lion, The Trick or Treaters and Santapprentice originally had release dates set but have disappeared. It's possible that the Weinstein Company may jump ship on these films and give them to another distributor, if not, maybe these said films aren't even in production yet. We saw a teaser poster and got some information on Escape from Planet Earth many months in advance, but nothing for the planned August release of Leo the Lion. No cast details or anything else. Methinks these will go direct-to-video.

Another odd case is Dino Time, a 2010 South Korean animated feature that was supposed to be released here in the states earlier this month. The dreadful, vomit-inducing trailer showed up before every (exaggeration) family-friendly film. It was being distributed by Clarius Entertainment, a company that only has two film listings on IMDb (this one being the first of which). Commercials were released as well, but sites like Box Office Mojo had no mention of the movie. Apparently it's been quietly pushed back to 2013, but this one may end up going straight to video. It was going to be a very limited release anyway.

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What do you think of 2013's animated output so far? What films are looking forward to? Which ones will you skip? Sound off!