Reaper: As Pricklepants has posited, I’d pick either Kung Fu Panda 2, Happy Feet 2, or Winnie the Pooh. We’ll have to see whether enough animated films are released this year to warrant a 5 or 3-entries category for next year.
I have a very strong feeling that the Academy will include Winnie the Pooh for nostalgia sake and just to have a 2D entry among the nominees. I’m also having high hopes for Puss in Boots, even more so than Kung Fu Panda 2 or Cars 2, because it has a very promising ‘swashbuckling adventure’ premise if they pull it off right. Happy Feet 2… will have to see a teaser before making an opinion.
MissCarrera: Actually I love both Cars and Wall-E. As I said many times before, Cars was responsible for starting my love affair with Pixar. Wall-E was the peak of my romance with Pixar because it’s the third time it impressed me after the previous year’s Ratatouille. Up was still pretty good, but it was when I started to get a little jaded with the melodramaticness. Toy Story 3 pretty much did me in, but I’m still holding hopes that Cars 2 will be a fun and breezy summer flick and not drowning in tears like TS3 did (for me). I understand that we have a few TS3 fans here, and I respect their opinions, but on a personal level, I’m not the biggest Pixar fan at the moment after I emerged from viewing TS3. I’m holding out for Brave to renew my ‘faith’ and respect for the studio.
And MissCarrera, I understand that you are willing to give Cars 2 a chance to be as good as, if not better than its predecessor. Perhaps you should have also the same faith for Happy Feet 2? Were you not impressed by the first? If not, then perhaps the sequel might be better? I’m willing to give it a chance, and I’m a huge supporter of the Aussie studio Animal Logic, and I’m really eager to see if the teaser/trailer lives up to my expectations.
In fact, I must credit Cars and Happy Feet for starting my interest in animated films, back in 2006. I have not looked back since.
You’re right, TDIT I will try to have a more open mind. I just wasn’t impressed with the first film so I’m not looking forward to it at all. You are correct though, it is a new movie so I may like it, we will have to see. It’s nice to hear that Cars started your love for Pixar, I actually feel very much the same. Before then I liked their movies but I am a lot more into them than I was before. About Toy Story 3…what didn’t you like about it? Don’t worry, I won’t flame you about it. I enjoyed it but I liked the other two better.
I seriously doubt they will nominate Pooh. I’m super excited about the movie, but I cannot imagine it being an award winner, the academy will view it as “too simple” or “too short” or “just another Pooh sequel” the way far too many disney fans have been. Happy Feet 2 is impossible to judge at this point, seeing as there haven’t been any teasers, posters, or even plot details as far as I know. I’m reserving judgment on Puss and KFP as well until I see them, but I think Cars 2 has just as good a chance if not better of being nominated.
Thanks for your courteous reply, MissCarerra, and yes, I agree with you regarding the above statement. If you want to know, you can read my constructive criticisms in the ‘Things that can be improved in Toy Story 3’ thread.
But in a nutshell:
Overtly melodramatic ending (they could’ve made Andy’s lingering gaze and little gasp more subtle).
Minor character cast overload, something which I fear will happen with Cars 2 as well (a screenwriting maxim is that every character has to serve a purpose, and if they’re just there as decoration, cut them out).
Unremarkable score (though I plan to give it a second chance on its own).
Repeat of themes from first two movies (trust, abandonment, letting go, etc.)
Cars 2 subtly averts this by taking the series in a new direction and genre entirely. If the first is a road trip/survival movie, the second is a spy thriller flick. There is also a very nice role reversal with Mater, now he’s the ‘Other’ in a strange land, and the irony is that the entire world is foreign to him, having lived all his life in Radiator Springs.
Good points, I feel that the Academy might just nominate it for the nostalgic factor and that the fact it’s in 2D, but yeah, I can see how they might be a little jaded after so many Pooh movies that they may want to give the title to a more original movie.
I share this sentiment, but more as a ‘Pixar is a definite shoo-in’ point of view. This is why I always play the ‘Devil’s Advocate’ around here. It’s not that I hate Pixar (I love the studio with all my heart and I want it to succeed), but I find that people all too often seem to think that just because a film’s from Pixar, it’s a sure-win, instead of judging each film on its own merits. So I take it down a notch every now and then. I do this for every other studio as well, if one reads my reviews.
GREAT point. That is something I dislike in movies. I too fear that may happen in Cars 2. If you look at the first movie though there were a fair amount of characters but it didn’t seem to bother me because they didn’t try and put too much emphasis on them. Plus, they are cutting down the roles of some of the original characters (which I don’t like but anyways…) so there will be room for the new ones and it might not be totally overwhelming.
The only bad thing about this film that I can come up with is that people will say tht Pixar has sunk to Dreamworks’ level, which is not true, of course.
How? Well, first I saw a post somewhere saying that Cars is like a bad Dreamworks picture, which is totally bogus, but anyway…
Another person said that Kung Fu Panda was made so that parents would have a way of introducing Kung Fu movies to their kids.
I can see someone saying Pixar is doing the same with Cars 2, only with spy movies this time.
I like the fact that the movie is going to have more action in it than the first one,I also like the darkness of this one. I am so far loving all the new characters (with the exception of Holley),and I like the international feel of the movie,I mean that’s gonna be really cool seeing the diffrent car-fied locations in the Cars world. I also appreaciate Mater and Lightning’s frendship being a big part of the story,I think that’s what’s gonna be the emotional backbone of
the story…
Okay,now here’s the negative. Even though I’ve gotten over my intense hatred of Mater I still wish this was more about Lightning. I mean,after all the race is why they’re over there in the first place right? But I think the reason why it’s like that is because whoever sold the most is gonna have the biggest part,which happens to be Mater.
(Really I thought Pixar was better than that).
It also annoys me how it’s like what? 7…8 weeks before the movie comes out and they’ve only released one clip…comeon guys the movie is next month…I want new stuff. You’ve heard me complain about it dozens of times and I’m still not happy with it. The fact that Sally (a terribly underrated character who didn’t sell the most,like the rest of the characters in RS who arn’t going) has been completely forgotten about (Look at my avatar) . She deserves a bigger part than that. I think if her and Holley were partnered together that would’ve made for a more interesting story…but I think that’s extremely unfair to cut down a important character’s role just because she didn’t "sell" as much . It’s not like Pixar’s broke…look at the doe they just made from Toy Story 3. [b:1bo9xkiv][i:1bo9xkiv]Billions[/i:1bo9xkiv][/b:1bo9xkiv]…and then it’s like all of a sudden it’s "Oh I like Holley better than Sally cause’ Sally not gonna have a big part in Cars 2!" or "Oh I like Holley better than Sally cause’ she’s prettier!" or "I like Holley better than Sally cause I didn’t really like her from the first movie!" or "Cause’ she’s with Mater and I’m a big Mater fan,so I might’is well jump on the bandwagon too!" But at least the rest of the RS characters are gonna [spoil:1bo9xkiv]come later on[/spoil:1bo9xkiv] so I guess that’s something to be positive about,it’s better than nothing… Oh,and one more thing wit h this being "international" and all they could’ve put a African-American character to have a more significant role…just sayin’…
So with that being said I’m still going to see the movie,but I’m not as excited about it as I was with the first one…but I am still excited though…
Ok this is offically the longest post I’ve [b:1bo9xkiv][i:1bo9xkiv][u:1bo9xkiv]ever[/u:1bo9xkiv][/i:1bo9xkiv][/b:1bo9xkiv] made…
African-American? There are enough American cars alreaady, and as to why Africa is not represented…if Africa in the Cars world is anything like Africa in our own, it’s not a country that has a chance to enter the World Grand Prix. Anyway, does any African nation even make cars? Maybe Africa is like Antartica in that world, unsuitable for automobile life.
Also, of course Mater sold! For the same reason Homer Simpson stuff sells. People like things that they can associate with themselves, and Mater has average intelligence, so…though I would’ve expected Holley to be more like Bo Peep…
I’m disappointed about Sally being cut too, but hey, there’s Carla…she’s something, I guess…and aanyway, at least Sally is in the movie, which is more than we can say sbout Doc.
I think seeing more of the world of Cars is fun…I just hope there’s enough room left over to make aa Cars 3…
I’m not sure about car manufacturers in Africa but that doesn’t really matter does it? I don’t believe in their world they come from fctories like in our world. I can totally see there being cars living in Africa, I mean why not?
I honestly dont know all that much about it. Still. I mean, I know a little more than I did say, 6-9 months ago. It definitely looks shiny, and by shiny I mean fun to look at. I like all the British characters for sure. It leaves me wondering how all these characters and places are gonna fit together into a cohesive story. I dont view that as a problem, as of this moment it intrigues me more because I wanna see how they’re going to pull it off. At this point I am getting more and more excited to see it.
Um, I cant say I have too many problems with it based on what I know. 2 of my 3 favorite characters wont be in it, but I wont blame Pixar for that because in one case (King) there’s no point in him being there and the other (Doc) that isnt anything anyone could control…looks like even if Doc WAS gonna be in it, he’d probably have a reduced role. There does seem to be a plethora of minor characters but I wont know till I see the movie, how much screen time is spent with them. Some of them may just be characters who happen to have names and have maybe one or 2 lines in the whole thing. (Like Tex. Or Fred) I remember the first time I saw Cars I felt there was a little too much Mater, which is a concern for me since this movie will focus so much on Mater, but after repeated viewings, I didnt seem to care anymore, so I’m hoping it will happen in this case too. I’m also hoping they didnt try to turn everything he says into a joke or a reflection on his intelligence. I cant say I’m really expecting them to do that though.
You know something,you are comming off as VERY predjudice…and I’m not okay with that…I just was expressing something that I thought would’ve been good for the movie,that’s all…
Anyways, why shouldn’t there be African-American voices? It is meant to be quite international and all that.