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!

December Animation Tidbits [#2]

Another round of bits...

How To Spoil Your Dragon

A recently released image showing Cate Blanchett's
character.

How To Train Your Dragon 2's trailer is right around the corner, but we all may have to avoid it. I got word from a good friend of mine, who found a source suggesting that the trailer might spoil a major twist in the film. It's said to be all Fox's doing, and that the people at DreamWorks begged the marketing department not to spoil said "mystery".

Attention Animation Fans: There is a new HTTYD2 Trailer coming out soon. Don't watch it unless you want the story's big mystery spoiled.
— Mygames19 (@Mygames19) December 14, 2013

I know the source isn't exactly reliable, but for those who don't want to be spoiled, it's better to assume it is. http://t.co/W3ZUb99Wxl
— Mygames19 (@Mygames19) December 14, 2013

If this turns out to be true, all I can say is: Really Fox? Really?

People just don't have a clue when it comes to marketing animated films, do they? That teaser was so excellent, suggesting that Fox was going to market DreamWorks' films correctly since Paramount did poorly at doing so in their final years with the studio. I mean come on! This is a highly anticipated sequel to a highly acclaimed animated film, and this is what you're going to do?

I hope it's all a rumor…

Moana Madness

Like that logo for Walt Disney Animation Studios' upcoming Polynesian-set adventure? Well, it's fake. You can tell too, with the two swooshes above and below the "Moana" text looking so basic and the Disney logo being in white, which contrasts heavily from everything else.

Also, people thought that these were newly leaked pieces of concept artwork… They aren't…

And it seems like people are just discovering this upcoming Ron and John project. I don't mean to brag (if you've been reading prior to May, you have the same bragging rights), but I've known about this for a while.

The good thing is, people know it exists. It's presumably not due out until 2018 (going by Blue Sky Disney's notes), but it's good that the word has gotten out somehow. The only post-Big Hero 6 film that Disney has officially mentioned or announced is Zootopia, but they didn't outright say that the film is set to open on March 4, 2016. Smart move, because if you ask me, picking a date for an animated film very early on might be detrimental to the production.

Keane Gets Work!

Wow… Already! Apparently he's set to work on a commercial for Motorola, going by a mysterious email Cartoon Brew's Amid Amidi received.

Now, how long until it's announced that an animated feature enters development at Glen Keane Productions?

90s Revival

On January 20th, Cartoon Network will take us back to the City of Townsville with a Powerpuff Girls special titled "Dance Pantsed"…

As the poster implies, this special will be done in a completely different animation style and will also feature Ringo Starr as a character named Fibonacci Sequins, an over-the-top mathematician. Hmmm, I wonder if he'll sing a song! Oh wait, he will! "I Wish I Was a Powerpuff Girl"!

Color me excited.

Also, the premise…

In 'Dance Pantsed', why is Mojo Jojo kidnapping a mathematician, an opera singer and a badger? To steal Chemical X, of course, and to finally take over Townsville. But when the Powerpuff Girls thwart his plan, he invents an evil video game called “Dance Pants R-EVILution” to control their minds and bodies to fulfill his evil plot! The Professor must visit his dark dancing past to save his girls so they can save all of Townsville!

It's good to see Cartoon Network revisiting one of their classic 90s shows, and while the new art style might leave some fans upset, I'm certainly looking forward to it. Here's hoping the writing is as good as the original show. Plus, Ringo Starr… You can't go wrong.

~

Will you check out the How To Train Your Dragon 2 trailer when it comes out? Do you think it will end up being spoilerific? When do you think Disney will officially announce Moana? What do think Glen Keane will work on next year? Does the upcoming Powerpuff Girls special excite you? Or not?

Sound off below!

Eyes on the Prize

DreamWorks has quite a lot of confidence in their upcoming Netflix series Turbo F.A.S.T., which is based on their unfortunate underperformer from this past summer, Turbo. The traditionally-animated series - a DreamWorks and Titmouse co-production - is set to arrive on Christmas Eve; now DreamWorks has a Netflix-based Croods series in the works as well, according to a Variety report on DreamWorks' latest ventures into television animation. It makes sense that this would be the next one in line, since the film was a huge hit for the studio. It's the second highest grossing non-sequel animated film behind Kung Fu Panda, with an impressive $587 million.

Teaming up with Netflix was a very smart move, because those 300 hours of programming will function as something of a little safety net for the studio since the high costs of their films proved to be quite detrimental to them recently. Again, the $145 million Rise of the Guardians lead to a schedule reshuffling and massive layoffs, Turbo created some more trouble after it failed to recoup its $135 million budget. Also, the company felt that making a show for Netflix was a good idea because it wouldn't impose the limitations that cable networks bring, thus the creators have some room to breathe - plus they want to have more ownership of their franchises.

This is very vital for their expansion. DreamWorks is trying to become something of an empire, looking into a television channel, theme parks and other things. Roughly $130 million films can't just keep them afloat, the aftermath of Rise of the Guardians certainly proved this. What they do, business-wise, is truly a big risk, and they're the only non-Disney animation studio making films that cost more than $120 million to produce. Blue Sky, Illumination, Sony Animation and Reel FX are wisely conservative with their budgets because they don't have a mega-corporation like Disney to back them up if a film fails.

Anyways, DreamWorks intends to build franchises with these shows and help sell more merchandise from apps to toys, which - in addition to video sales - could end up fueling theatrical sequels. Jeffrey Katzenberg also stated that home media sales and other things are factored in and that Turbo will be profitable, so it's possible that Turbo could become a full-fledged franchise thanks to the television show. Now the bigger question: Is Rise of the Guardians profitable now? I heard Blu-ray and DVD sales were pretty good, not sure about merchandise sales though. If they can make Rise of the Guardians a part of this new franchise extension strategy, that would be great. The film actually outgrossed Turbo both domestically and worldwide, plus it begs for a theatrical sequel more so than The Croods or Turbo, methinks.

The trailer for Turbo F.A.S.T. shows that it has potential, perhaps it'll do something really cool with the film's bizarre premise. The film shackled such a weird idea to the same underdog story we've seen before, perhaps the show will go all out with the idea of racing snails. That would be nice, plus the animation doesn't look too bad. After all, Titmouse produced it. Maybe this is what Turbo should've been to begin with, a TV series with a strange premise. It seems like you have more creativity with television animation these days, hence fare like Adventure Time, Regular Show, Wander Over Yander and other off-the-wall and surreal shows.


I don't know, I think it looks impressive for what it is. Perhaps DreamWorks can add more to the worlds they have created with these new shows.

Maybe this kind of thing will open up new doors for television animation.

What do you think?

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!

BluWorks

It looks like an older DreamWorks animated film is coming to Blu-ray this spring…

According to Amazon, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is going to hit the format on March 11, 2014. This makes it the first DreamWorks hand-drawn film to get a Blu-ray release, as it is one of four hand-drawn films produced by the studio. This implies that DreamWorks is intending to release everything else in their library that isn't on Blu-ray yet all throughout next year.

Currently, the following DreamWorks films aren't on Blu-ray in North America: Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Shark Tale and Over the Hedge. The three Aardman films - Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Flushed Away - also aren't on Blu-ray in North America. It made me ask a couple times, "What's taking them?" You can rent all of them on iTunes or Vudu or whatever… Except Over the Hedge. That film seemed to fall off the face of the Earth. Nowhere to be found… Could it be a rights issue? It is based on a comic strip.

As for Spirit, I'll pick it up. I happen to like it, I like the fact that it's mostly dialogue-free and does have a pretty decent story. There are a few things about it that kind of irritate me, but I look past that and admire some of the great animation, the surprisingly effective use of Bryan Adams' songs and some genuinely good moments. I liked what they tried to achieve with it: A mostly silent story set during the Old American West of a lost horse trying to get back home and having quite the adventure. While a money loser when it opened, I'm sure it probably got a bigger fan base later on. I think it's a solid, good film.

Anyways, do you think DreamWorks will release a lot of their films on Blu-ray this coming year? Or not? Sound off below!

Take Off

The poster for How To Train Your Dragon 2 is finally here!

To be honest, I thought those teasers that were unveiled yesterday were for individual posters. Maybe one with just Hiccup, and one with just Toothless, but no - both are on here. It's a nice poster, one that implies that the sequel will be much more action-packed and perhaps a little more serious. After all, Kung Fu Panda 2 was just that in comparison to the original. The plot synopsis hints at something epic, now that the dragon has been… Ahem… Trained. It should do what a good sequel does: Go all out now that you've established everything in the first one.

Now let's hope that a new trailer is coming soon…

Tease, Tease, Tease…

DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox are going about marketing How To Train Your Dragon 2 in some pretty interesting ways. First off, they unleashed a teaser that was a full sequence rather than a selection of parts from the film, doing what Disney used to do for trailers (think The Lion King and Pocahontas); though it's possible that the sequence won't be in the movie itself and that it's just a custom-made bit for the teaser, much like what's used in Pixar's teasers.

Still, it was a nice change of pace and the teaser did its job right, it made the movie look good. I have a feeling that this film's marketing will be the antithesis of the first film's shoddy marketing (the very marketing that brought in a $43 million gross as opposed to $60 million), coupled with the fact that many people saw the original and are anticipating the sequel.

Now, DreamWorks continues to go the mysterious route… Today they have released three teasers…

Of posters…

Yep, much like Marvel's "teaser of a teaser" strategy, DreamWorks is doing this with posters.

I assume the full posters will be unveiled tomorrow or sometime this week, and maybe a trailer is right around the corner! That would be awesome…

(via fellow Rotoscoper comrade Max de Hartog)

Move Panda, Move...

Now that Disney has announced the official release date for Star Wars: Episode VII, I think it's high time that 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks move a certain production out of the holiday season…

Kung Fu Panda 3 was initially announced as a March 2016 release, only to trade places with the tentatively-titled Mumbai Musical. Since last autumn, Kung Fu Panda 3 has been a Christmas 2015 release. The December 23rd date was locked many weeks before Disney announced the Lucasfilm acquisition.

But a year has passed and things have changed, as always in the ever-changing film world - especially in the animation world!

DreamWorks is adamant that they'll release three films every calendar year; next year we're getting Mr. Peabody & Sherman (March 7th), How To Train Your Dragon 2 (June 13th) and Home (November 26th)...

The other two films slated for release in 2015 are The Penguins of Madagascar (March 27th) and B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations (June 5th). The first one is good where it is, the second is crammed between Paramount Animation's Monster Trucks and Pixar's Inside Out, the latter of the two competitors could possibly hurt it. However, if Fox markets the ghostly film right and it turns out to be good, it should have no problem making a profit. Ghosts are an easier sell than done-to-death underdog stories about racer snails, anyway.

But Kung Fu Panda 3 opens five days after Episode VII. Episode VII will obviously appeal to everyone: Families, children, adults, teen moviegoers and everyone else in-between. Kung Fu Panda 3, like any good animated film, is aimed at the whole family as well along with mass audiences in general (no, not just children - contrary to stupid popular belief)… Having it open so close to such a hugely, no scratch that… Enormously anticipated film that's going to appeal to everyone is not a smart move.

DreamWorks needs to move it… But to where, is the question.

November 2015 is already loaded. Blue Sky's Peanuts, also distributed by Fox, is staying where it is (November 6th) since it may be a holiday-themed film and it is celebrating the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Pixar's The Good Dinosaur? Forget it, that's not moving, and that was delayed from a summer 2014 release!

September? Nahhh, Hotel Transylvania 2 is opening in the late spot that Sony Animation made successful for themselves.

DreamWorks also won't open a movie so close to another one of their own films, when it almost happened, it never did. Summer's too crowded as it is, and February is also taken by Paramount Animation's SpongeBob sequel… Unless they opt for another weekend, but for something like this?

If another, DreamWorks ought to be brave and try October. That's right, October.

I don't buy the whole "everything outside of May-July and November-December is the dumping ground" theory. If you release a damn good movie anytime, with the right marketing behind it, it'll do well. Just look at Gravity… The little October release that's on its way to gross $250 million domestically and possibly over $600 million worldwide.

Maybe it's time that the studios start looking into the other months. I also don't buy the "kids are in school" excuse, because Sony's animated films did well in the late September spots. Kung Fu Panda 3 can be a good-sized hit in October, because it'll have a lot of room to breathe and it'll continue to do well when Peanuts and The Good Dinosaur open, Star Wars: Episode VII on the other hand… Just… Not a good idea. Then Mission: Impossible 5 opens two days later. It's in trouble...

While the film will no doubt do well overseas, it needs to do well here. Kung Fu Panda 2 unfortunately lost a chunk of potential moviegoers because Paramount released it the same day as The Hangover Part II, which stole most of the teen and adult audience. Don't forget the lazy marketing campaign and general lack of hype. I'm hoping Fox corrects those errors for this third film; but the thing is, it's great that it is happening. Kung Fu Panda 2 managed to get sturdy legs and climbed to $165 million domestically, though logically it should've greatly increased from the original - perhaps even crack $300 million domestically.

Anyways, if DreamWorks wants the best possible success, then they should shoot for mid-October. April isn't wise, because The Avengers: Age of Ultron will annihilate it a few weeks later. May is off-limits, ditto July.

October 2015 it should be. What do you think? Do you think it's fine where it is? Or should it move? If not October, then where? 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!

October Animation Tidbits [#4]

Another round of tidbits…

~

An adaptation of Captain Underpants has been on DreamWorks' docket for a long while, and given its commercial potential, it's understandably moving forward. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that a director has been attached, and a writer. Rob Letterman, who co-directed Shark Tale and Monsters vs. Aliens - will helm it, Nicholas Stoller (writer of The Muppets and its upcoming sequel) will pen the screenplay. Seems like the right duo for this kind of film.

Of course, when I was young, the books were a staple at my elementary school's annual book fairs and I imagine they were huge with every other school too. While I didn't really bother with the series back then, it'd be interesting to see how it's pulled off in feature-length form. It will be DreamWorks' first potty humor-loaded flick since the Shrek 2 days, which will make it a draw for kids and fans... Anyone else? Maybe not, making it kind of a gamble for DreamWorks.

~

Even though this film is not out until next summer, a teaser is already up... Yep, Planes: Fire and Rescue...

I will admit, it's nice that this won't be Cars with airplanes like the first film was (I didn't see Planes and I don't really plan to), plus the animation does look like nice for a roughly $50 million DisneyToon production.



Yeah, surprisingly, it doesn't look half bad. Yes, the Planes films are mostly for kids, they are pretty harmless as a result. I thought the first one looked positively lame, this one just looks... Okay. Not that I plan on seeing it or anything, but please oh pretty please Disney, this stuff shouldn't be theatrical. Keep it out of the cinemas!

Other than that, its existence doesn't really bother me in the slightest. What bothers me, personally, is how furious and enraged some people are getting over this franchise. Listening to some people, you would've thought that the Cars series is the worst thing since cancer or something...

Whoever is angry needs to consider that Pixar isn't making these films, neither is Disney Animation. They've both got cool stuff in the works, these little cash grab flicks aren't really affecting them or animation that much; why worry about this when you can anticipate something like Big Hero 6 or Inside Out?

~

Well, whaddaya know? More Frozen stills, straight from Stitch Kingdom...

All fine-looking, and they give you a good idea of what this film is like. That, and the current trailer that's out. That being said, the stills showcase the fine animation and art direction. It does have a bit of a Tangled-esque look, but of course it'll be different in the story department and what not.

~

Some reviews for Reel FX's debut film Free Birds are in… And they are unfortunately not so positive… (Though it'll be interesting to see where it lands, I thought the first teaser had some pretty funny bits.)

Rotten Tomatoes holds three rotten reviews, plus recent screening results have been pretty negative. A real shame, because I'm rooting for Reel FX and I do hope this one makes them enough so that they can embrace the risky stuff that they have in their pipeline.

I figured for a while that Free Birds was meant to be a sort of safe film, one that would do well enough and secure them enough financial backing to make The Book of Life, which sounds intriguing from what I've been hearing. Of course, as you all may know, they have two other films in the works: An adaptation of the not-so-family-friendly Beasts of Burden and a rather dark-sounding film called W.I.S.H. Police, the latter appropriately being from the directors of Nocturna.

I have a feeling that Reel FX's future works will be more akin to Rango (especially The Book of Life) and LAIKA's films, rather than stuff from Sony Animation or Illumination. They seem to have that ambition, so we'll see how that all plays out - cute family-friendly turkey movie notwithstanding.

~

What's your take on a Captain Underpants movie? What do you think of the Planes: Fire and Rescue teaser? Bad? Evil? Okay? Meh? What do you think of the Frozen stills? Do you think Free Birds will be a dud? Or surprisingly decent? Sound off below!

Figuring Fox's Animation Slate Out

In an attempt to fire back at a very confident Disney, who announced a giant upcoming animation slate that ended in fall 2018, 20th Century Fox grabbed dates for animated films from DreamWorks, Blue Sky and Fox Animation. Their slate capped off a month after Disney's...

Disney's slate consisted of four (wisely) untitled Walt Disney Animation Studios project. Two of which will hit theaters in spring and autumn 2016 respectively, the next two will be released in spring and autumn 2018 respectively. The other four films on Disney's animation slate were untitled Pixar films; one slated for summer 2016, another for summer 2017, one for fall 2017 and the last one for summer 2018. All of the projects were "untitled".

DreamWorks' animation slate, at the time, concluded in November 2016 with Trolls. Nothing was set in stone for 2017 or 2018 just yet, though Blue Sky Studios shocked some by announcing a spring 2017 release date for their upcoming Ferdinand. At the same time, they unveiled that their 2016 release would be Fox Animation's long-gestating Anubis. The film is now a co-production between Blue Sky and Fox Animation. Fox Animation is basically the revived animation wing that 20th Century Fox shut down in 2000 after Don Bluth's Titan A.E. bombed at the box office, now they're doing various projects. Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox was one of them...

Shortly after Disney announced their full upcoming animation slate, Fox then announced theirs... The following dates were...

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

Next to each was "Untitled Fox/DWA/Blue Sky"...

Also notice that there's 5 releases set for 2017 and 2018...

DreamWorks releases three films a year maximum, and they'll begin doing that regularly starting next year. Their plan is to lower the budgets on their films, especially after how badly Rise and the Guardians and Turbo both did at the box office. I honestly can't see DreamWorks releasing four films in a calendar year; too much workload, it could affect quality and also... It almost happened, but didn't.

So that leaves Blue Sky and Fox Animation, assuming that "Untitled Fox" means " Untitled Fox Animation Studios Film", and they've got a few projects on the docket.

Fox Animation is currently working on The Book of Life with Reel FX Creative Studios, that'll be released next October. After that, they'll collaborate with Blue Sky to bring Anubis to the screen in 2016. Three other animated films are in the works there: Welcome to the Jungle, Mr. Men and King Kong...

It's possible that one of these three untitled projects will be co-productions with either Blue Sky or Reel FX. If things go well with The Book of Life, then Reel FX and Fox Animation may collaborate again.

Also, we have no idea whether Fox is including films like Alvin and the Chipmunks sequels on this slate or not, the day the slate was unveiled, they did announce that the fourth film in that series (ugh) was slated for a December 2015 release. Do they consider those films animated films? Or hybrids at least? Or not? If they do, then the December 2017 or December 2018 release could be another Chipmunks film, as much as we don't want it to be.

That being said, since there's 5 slots, Blue Sky may have to ramp up their schedule a bit. Two films a year could very well be their game plan. I will admit, I do give them props for taking their time on films, as they release one film almost every calendar year. (Averted in 2010.) But that may change...

But as I learned over the last couple of months, nothing really is seemingly set in stone. Dates constantly change, and sometimes unthinkable release dates are picked for animated films. Who would've thought that Disney would pick the now-lucrative March spot for a Walt Disney Animation Studios film after years of usually picking summer or pre-Thanksgiving November? They haven't touched the spring spots since 2004! DreamWorks shuffles films on their slate constantly, so we may see a big change with the 2015-2016 section in the coming months.

Who knows... But one thing's for certain, Blue Sky might have to get two films out a year. Either that, or Fox Animation will have to really step up and make more films than they usually do...

Either way, it's big doins' for Fox, animation and all of the studios that make the films for them to distribute...

Going Way Back

The trailer for DreamWorks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman has finally arrived!



It's a pretty decent trailer at best, no great shakes. That being said, I already like Mr. Peabody and I think Ty Burrell did a good job voicing him, judging by what we have been given. The design of the WABAC machine is great, and the brief glimpses at the time periods the characters will be visiting look nice. The animation works very well too, combining a simplistic, retro character design style with some good art direction.

Best of all, the film does not look like a stupid Alvin and the Chipmunks/Smurfs-style modernization of the original. Sure, it's a little amped up for today's audiences, but it looks to be fun rather than something that'll bombard you with toilet humor (save for the stupid Sphynx butt joke at the end) and pop culture references. I knew DreamWorks would do this film right.

Also, Patrick Warburton! Seems like it's been a while since he's been in an animated film! Well... A big one at least, he was in Space Chimps and the Hoodwinked! sequel, but yeah...

It looks like a fun little diversion, a nice little treat before the epics of How To Train Your Dragon 2. What did you think of the trailer? Sound off below!

October Animation Tidbits [#3]

Tidbits on time-travel, three fantastical worlds

and shadows...

~

USA Today gives us our first look at DreamWorks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman, which opens March 7th. The trailer, according to director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), will be released just in time for the debut of Free Birds this come November. Check out the images and see what you think!

Personally, I like the design of the Egyptian setting and the WABAC Machine's interior, but I like that the film is going to have the character design style and simplistic charm of the original segments, but in the world of computer animation. The rest of it, art direction-wise, looks very nice. It's also nice to see that Ancient Egypt will be prominent setting, judging by the selection of stills they have picked.

Also, I think - going by what I've read and what I'm currently seeing - this will be a bounce back for DreamWorks. The Croods was a letdown for me, I have not seen Turbo but I'm not dying to see it either, this looks like it'll be DreamWorks' first good film since Rise of the Guardians. (Hey, with the pipeline they have, not everything will be up to par.) I know that's a radical opinion, because it seems like everyone adored The Croods. Oh well, I wasn't too fond of it.

~

The big news today for me concerns Reel FX's second animated feature (their first is Free Birds), The Book of Life. Recently, distributor Fox moved it from October 3, 2014 back to the October 17th spot, as opposed to the film's original October 10th spot. My Rotoscoper comrade Morgan got this bit of news earlier today; the plot and the full cast!

"An animated comedy with a unique visual style, The Book of Life is the journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears. Rich with a fresh take on pop music favorites, The Book of Life encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future."

I'm surprised that there's no mention of the Day of the Dead backdrop (it's possible that it's been removed in order to not make it seem similar to Pixar's upcoming similarly-themed film) or the Romeo & Juliet-style story, but three fantastical worlds? I wonder if they'll come in different unique animation styles, the synopsis alone promises an animation style like no other. Aron Warner, who is producing Free Birds, also noted this a while back. Remember when I compared it to Rango? Yeah, I'm pretty it will definitely be the next Rango for the computer animation medium.

Also, a "fresh take on pop music favorites"? Are we talking pop classics? Or more recent stuff? I hope it's classics, and it'll definitely be interesting because, as Morgan pointed out, it could go a Moulin Rouge!-esque route or something of the sort. Crafting a story around many songs sounds like a great idea, I just wonder what songs they will use.

The cast consists of Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Kate del Castillo, Ron Perlman, Cheech Marin,  Hector Elizondo Placido Domingo, Ana de la Reguera, Eugenio Derbez, Gabriel Iglesias, Ricardo (“El Mandril”) Sanchez, Danny Trejo...

Ice Cube? Channing Tatum? A bit star-studded, don't you think? Oh well, hopefully all of them are invested in their roles because I'm tired of animated films having casts with celebrities who are only in it for the paycheck (*cough* Epic *cough*) and sound so uninterested in the film itself. On the other hand, there's a lot of top talent here and unexpected faces. Quite the mix!

But I'm still excited nonetheless, it sounds wicked and wildly different... Just what I expected!

I'm glad they are hyping it now, which may mean that a trailer will be attached to Free Birds. Cross your fingers!

~

Henry Selick's The Shadow King can't seem to catch a break...

Originally, this stop motion film was going to be released by Walt Disney Pictures this month, but after Alan Horn was named Chairman of the company last summer, the plug was pulled. Apparently Selick and crew were way behind schedule, though supposedly the film is actually halfway done. Selick then shopped it to LAIKA, since he directed Coraline for them, but they strangely rejected it! Earlier in the year, K5 International had picked up the film but we have not heard anything since...

Now, it seems like it's not on the schedule anymore. Selick is now off to direct a live action film based on Adam Gitwiz's A Tale Dark and Grimm, a Hansel and Gretel continuation where they enter eight other Grimm fairy tales. A pretty cool idea, but if you ask me, that should be an animated film - it screams animated. He also has an adaptation of The Graveyard Book in the works for Disney, so I assume that we won't be seeing his next stop motion film anytime soon. What a bummer...

That is, if someone picks it up... I hope it happens...

~

What do you think of the Mr. Peabody & Sherman stills? Are you looking forward to the film? Or not? Does The Book of Life excite you? What do you think of the plot and the cast? Do you Henry Selick will ever get The Shadow King completed any time soon?

Sound off below!

Reinventing Spree

Jeffrey Katzenberg has been getting rather ambitious lately, hasn't he? Well, in a business sense, yes.

He really wants DreamWorks to thrive (and they need to, given two of the last three films being money-losers at the box office), so he's trying his hardest to have the company expand beyond feature films and tie-ins. He wants theme parks, he wants DreamWorks to have their own channel, the company is acquiring different things left and right, now he really wants to make big bucks off of last year's Classic Media acquisition. He stated during a Q&A at MIPCOM 2013...

"It’s not, 'What are we going to do with those 6,100 episodes we have'... although we’ll get value out of those... the real opportunity is to take every one of those franchises and reinvent them. And that’s what we will set out to do."

"I think that the Classic Media library is for DreamWorks what the Marvel library was for Ike Perlmutter when he bought it for $175 million 15 years ago."

Talk about thinking big. Every... One... Of... Those... Franchises...

Classic Media - well now it's DreamWorks Classics - owns several properties and licensing rights to lots of different things... Over 450 different characters!

Gumby, Voltron, Jay Ward cartoons (Rocky & Bullwinkle, George of the Jungle), Lassie, Filmation's library (He-Man), The Lone Ranger, the UPA cartoons (Mr. Magoo), Casper the Friendly Ghost, Felix the Cat and so many others. The list goes on. It was a smart and rather low-priced acquisition, one that'll let the company expand further into the realm of television, since they are planning to create hundred of hours of original programming for Netflix (Turbo F.A.S.T., based on their box office disappointment Turbo, will premiere in December) and tons of episodes over the next five years. New TV shows are a go, a notable one being a series based on The Croods, which made close to $600 million at the worldwide box office.

It was rather quietly announced that DreamWorks was looking to make a feature-length animated film based on Lassie a few months back, plus their film based on Mr. Peabody & Sherman is right around the corner. Many of the other Classic Media properties seem ripe for animated features, since the big thing nowadays is to reinvent older characters for modern audiences. Thankfully, DreamWorks seems to be doing it right with Peabody unlike... Say... Sony and Fox with The Smurfs and Alvin and the Chipmunks respectively. However, things like Voltron - as pointed out by others - would make for potentially good animated films.

This also leads me to ask, will DreamWorks rerun most of the classic shows on their upcoming channel? Or will we see tons and tons of new shows based on the different characters? Will we see new shows based on He-Man, Lassie, Felix the Cat, Mr. Magoo, Gumby, Casper and many others?

Will we see DVD and Blu-ray sets of the classic shows? I mean, they have the entire UPA library and the UPA was one of the most notable studios during the Golden Age of Animation. I think their work, from the great shorts they did to the Mr. Magoo cartoons, needs a big set or a series of sets with all the shorts in chronological order. I'm probably asking for too much, aren't I?

But with all of those shows and properties, DreamWorks' slate will only get bigger... And it won't concern films anymore. Looks like the acquisition will pay off soon, and perhaps help DreamWorks out of their current situation.

What do you think?

"Home" First Look - Sort Of...

A113 Animation got some leaked material for the third 2014 release from DreamWorks Animation, Home.

Here's two rather blurry stills that show off the general look that the studio is going for... (I'm not sure where these actually came from. Expo? Press event?)

That logo is not what I was expecting, but you do get the feel for the futuristic setting with the hovering cars. A bit on the William Joyce side, maybe? It kind of reminds me of the art direction for Meet The Robinsons. The bubbles don't help either.

And here we have our two main characters...

I've been very much on the fence about this film. I have no doubt that it may end up being a solid film when all is said and done, given DreamWorks' recent films (except The Croods, I didn't find that film to be good), but I'm just so iffy on it. Between the stunt casting (Rihanna, really?), the title change and the adorable sci-fi-tinged look of it, I'm not so sure about it. The plot from the book it's based on, Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday, does sound good - though it seems like a little bit has been changed given the current plot synopsis.

"An overly optimistic alien race named Boov, and its leader, Captain Smek, invades Earth to hide from their mortal enemy and make it a new home. Convinced they are doing a favour, they begin to relocate the human race, but one resourceful girl, Tip, manages to avoid capture. When on the run, she is accompanied with a banished Boov, named Oh, who accidentally notified the enemies of his whereabouts."

Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin have also been added to the cast, coincidentally the main Boov character was named "JLo" in the book. They changed his name to just "Oh", which was pretty smart if you ask me, considering that JLo herself is now part of the cast. It would've been pretty lame to have the alien's name be JLo with JLo herself providing a voice for someone else. That just would've elicited a "Really?" reaction. Anyways, Lopez will be portraying Tip's mother and Martin will be voicing Captain Smek.

Other than that, I'm not sure if I like the look just yet... But those stills probably say nothing about the art direction of the whole thing. I'm more interested in seeing more of the Boov, their enemies, perhaps their home planet and other things. For now, the film looks like it's visually emulating the likes of Meet The Robinsons and films like Planet 51 and Escape from Planet Earth. William Jardine also pointed out the Planet 51 similarities on his blog.

Oh, and DreamWorks (or Fox)... Whatever you do, just change that damn title! I'm more than tired of this "vague, bland and short" title trend. It didn't work for Epic, it's not going to work for this. Happy Smekday!, even though that was not a great title by any stretch, at least gives you some idea of what this film is about and gives it a little identity.

Ugh, stop with this bad title business already...

What's your take on the film itself? What did you think of the stills? What do you think of the title? Sound off below!

2015... The Real Big Year

Earlier in the year, I talked about how 2014 would not only be a better year for animation than this year, but also just a great one in general. The best one since the bursting-with-goodness 2010...

Things have changed since then, with some big changes taking place recently. It seems like 2015 is now going to be that great year (and such a big year for blockbusters and must-see movies in general), but 2014 is not without merit. Many potentially fine films are opening that year: How To Train Your Dragon 2, The BoxTrolls, Book of Life, Big Hero 6. The likes of Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Home also sound good, there's some of the usual (Rio 2), and then some potentially poor by-the-books stuff (The Nut Job).

It's just that the year was kind of gutted, mostly because of Pixar's The Good Dinosaur's migration to the autumn 2015 spot and Sony Animation's Popeye going to the TBD pit. Minions was pushed to 2015, Disney's long-gestating Phineas and Ferb film went from a potential 2014 release to an undecided one. Losing the Pixar film did a good number on the year, losing Popeye, for me, was also disappointing. Minions? I'm okay with that film moving, and I hope the Phineas and Ferb film finds a date soon. (Show co-creator Jeff "Swampy" Marsh says it's just "on hold".)

Anyways, what does 2015 have to offer?

The Big Studio Offerings

For starters, the Emeryville crew will release two original films...

Many people are disheartened that Pixar doesn't have a film ready for release next year, but the good thing is, two films in one year will more than make up for it... Two original films...

Of course, we all know that The Good Dinosaur (opening November 25, 2015) ran into some major problems. The director had to be removed, the producer left the project and things seemed to going haywire at Pixar. But instead of hastily getting it ready for next May, Pixar opted to delay the film to the autumn of 2015 so they can not only get a new director but also fix the problems that they have with it. With more than two years to do that, we may actually get an excellent film in the end.

Pete Docter's Inside Out remains in the summer 2015 spot - June 19th to be exact. Sequel Finding Dory originally had The Good Dinosaur's current release date, but now that's been moved to make way for the recouping dinosaur film. People may say the studio is on the decline, but what would be a better "comeback" than two back-to-back great, original, non-sequel films? These two films don't sound like what we've seen before: A world where dinosaurs don't go extinct and what goes on inside your mind? Pure Pixar...

Pixar has made 2015 a much bigger year than it was for animation.

What's next?

DreamWorks has three projects ready for 2015. The Penguins of Madagascar (opening March 27, 2015) is probably the least interesting of the trio for me, since it's really just a cash grab though a full-length Penguins film could deliver a lot of fun. I just hope that it's a one-time thing, because I really can't see the Penguins being part of a big, enthralling story. It's pretty much a franchise film in my eyes, but since Madagascar 3 was marked improvement over the first two, anything is possible.

B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations (opening June 5, 2015) should be another good original story, one that suggests a more spooky atmosphere than the other DreamWorks films. Maybe it won't be some giddy, goofy comedy about ghosts... But rather something better. Horror is so well done in animation, and recent examples like ParaNorman prove that... But B.O.O. is probably just going to be a comedy "for fun" kind of film, but it's possible that it may dip into some darker waters. Kung Fu Panda 2 wasn't afraid to do so, then again Guillermo del Toro was working on that film.

Kung Fu Panda 3 is the one I'm really anticipating, given the quality of the second film and how much potential it has. I'm sure DreamWorks will make it a grand finale, unless a second trilogy is a go. With how big the sequel was in scope in comparison to the original will ensure that this will be even bigger, and hopefully it's a little darker much like how the second film. Raise the stakes, develop Po more and even give the Furious Five some major development (something I felt was kind of lacking in the second film), balance the humor and drama, and you'll have a fine third entry. I think DreamWorks can do it.

Of course, with DreamWorks, something could change. Their schedule is always shuffling and changing, so I wouldn't be surprised if one of these films ended up in 2016 with a 2016 film ending up in 2015. You never know, but for now, that's a decent trio of films.

But the other big studios don't have much to offer in my eyes.

Blue Sky's Peanuts? Pass for now, because I fear they'll go the Chipmunks/Smurfs route with it, only spitting on the beloved creations of Charles Schulz. Paramount Animation enters the ring with SpongeBob SquarePants 2 and Monster Trucks. Neither one really piques my interest, because another SpongeBob film seems too safe and the other one (for now) sounds like a commercial for a toyline, though Chris Wedge is directing the latter. I'll be surprised if Monster Trucks ends up sounding like something cool. Illumination's got Minions, I'm not really interested in that one either, or most of their upcoming films in general. Sony Animation? The Smurfs 3 and Hotel Transylvania 2. *yawn*

Walt Disney Animation Studios is sitting out for the year, as 2014's Big Hero 6 will be followed by Zootopia in March 2016.

Warner Bros. Animation may or may not have Storks ready for 2015, their second film from their revived feature animation studio. To be directed by former Pixarian Doug Sweetland, it sounds like it has potential, but very little is known about it. Will it make it to 2015?

It's also likely that DisneyToon will make a third Planes for a summer 2015 release. Ugh...

Most of 2015's most exciting animation releases, for me, are the ones from the smaller studios and the ones that aren't the big guns.

Aardman returns - with a stop-motion film no less - with Shaun the Sheep. Aardman's never made a poor quality film, even Flushed Away managed to be good despite the DreamWorks meddling. Their last film The Pirates! Band of Misfits was an irreverent, overlooked treat. Arthur Christmas was also very good, a fine Christmas film and a fine film overall. Shaun the Sheep should be another charmer from the studio, plus it'll probably be silent for the most part. Another plus!

Sony wants the Ratchet and Clank movie out in 2015, and that has so much potential being based on the long-running video game series. (Personally, I'd like to see someone make a Jak and Daxter animated film!) They'll get away with a lot too since the games aren't exactly family-friendly. Again, we need more adult-oriented animation like this. Other than that, so much potential lies in this because the games do call for an animated feature adaptation. It should do what several live action films based on video games have failed to do, and then some.

If Reel FX Creative Studios has a "one-film-a-year" plan, then Beasts of Burden should be out in 2015 as well. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, it'll be very different and not like your usual animated fare. More animated horror, and one that'll certainly not be for all ages! Their 2014 offering, Book of Life, also sounds very fresh and exciting. Reel FX plans to take some big risks for their future endeavors, and I like that.

Paul McCartney recently announced an animated feature based on a children's book he wrote with two others: High in the Clouds. That's expected to be released in 2015, and since Paul is no stranger to animation, this ought to be great. And of course, different and original. A lot of the animation that Paul has been involved with in his post-Beatles career is fresh, unique and exciting to 21st century eyes. Imagine a whole film based around his ideas and music? Just... Awesome...

The Adventures of Tintin's sequel should also arrive in 2015 as well, since Peter Jackson will be done with The Hobbit by late 2014. One can hope, right? The first film was a solid fine action film that was rooted in classic Spielberg escapism and it was also definitely more on the adult-oriented side. Thankfully it did recoup its costs with its big overseas grosses. I'm all for another round of good old-fashioned action-adventure fun, but of course another round of the hilarious Captain Haddock and various hijinks.

Then we have Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's R-rated comedy Sausage Party, which could either open up the door for more theatrical adult-oriented animation or it will only inspire suits to invest in similarly raunch fare that sets adult animation back 15 years. Either way, the film itself sounds like it could be weirdly hilarious and perhaps a send-up of Pixar's approach to filmmaking. This Is The End was rip-roaringly hilarious and fresh, this ought to be as well.

Now this last film is a possibility... Henry Selick's The Shadow King was canned by Disney when it was halfway done, and LAIKA sadly rejected the half-complete stop motion film. It was acquired by K5 International earlier in the year, and it doesn't seem like it'll come out in 2014 (The BoxTrolls and Book of Life occupy the ideal spots for this film). Maybe 2015, perhaps?

Since a lot of these films don't have release dates, it's possible that not all of them will debut in 2015, but it seems likely that they will at the moment.

So... In 2015, we'll be getting some good/great stuff along with some competent and unexciting stuff from the big studios - the usual. It looks like the smaller studios will rule the creative roost, but will their efforts pay off at the box office? I sure hope so! Last year gave us three rather unconventional stop-motion films, this year will give us more than three eclectic films.

Do you think 2015 will be that big year for animation? Does it excite you? What films are you looking forward to?

Sound off below!