'Enough With The Fluffy Animation!'

Archives
#1

[i]'Is

anyone else noticing that every other movie in the cinemas lately seems to be a 3D animation with animals in it?

Usually something to do with a group of differing wildlife who get together and have a whacky and hilarious

adventure? So have we. And it’s getting beyond a joke. Here’s what’s got us feeling quite irate of

late?

At the time of scrawling this, Barnyard: The Original Party Animals and Open Season are at positions

three and four on the UK box office chart. The former is about a farm that goes crazy with animal fun as soon as

the farmer leaves the premises, the latter is about a domesticated bear who ends up in (wait for it)? the

wild!

‘Hang on’, we hear you ask. 'Isn’t that exactly the same friendly-animals-in-nasty-places idea

that fuelled The Wild which came out earlier this year. And wasn’t The Wild an almost identical clone of the

previous year’s Madagascar?’ Yes and yes. We might also point out that the premise of the disastrous Barnyard

is, in essence, ‘Toy Story on a farm.’

There is undoubtedly an unprecedented degree of creative

bankruptcy among these titles. Let’s not forget Over The Hedge and Hoodwinked, both of which emerged this year

with the same character: a squirrel who reaches ridiculous degrees of hyperactivity when he drinks coffee. The

Hoodwinked one was called Twitchy, the Over The Hedge one was called Hammy. One is ripping off the other, but

it’s unlikely that either really cares.

Why? Because they’re both making a spectacular amount of money

  • that’s why. Not only have nearly all these movies given decent box-office performances, they’ll all go on to

sell spectacular numbers of DVDs that will be lapped up by unfortunate parents hoping to buy themselves an hour

and a half of peace.

But that’s not where the real money’s made. For every meaningless gopher, koala

and donkey that can be squeezed into these productions, another fluffy toy hits the shelves. Better yet, each one

has their own key-ring, pencil case and yo-yo, all of which means major cash-in-pocket for Mr movie exec. As the

viewing public, it’s our duty to point out the fact that the motivation behind such flicks has very little to do

with telling a decent story.

Let’s hope Aardman Animation can raise the bar a bit with this winter’s

Flushed Away. Then we’ll all be looking to Pixar for Ratatouille next year. Both look promising, even if they

are both about rats? (sigh).'[/i]

Source:

[url]http://movies.uk.msn.com/features/Animatedmovies2006_article.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0[/url]

#2

Normally,

criticism of animation annoys me. However, the writer of this article has a point. It seems most of the animation

out recently is about “critters”, which doesn’t seem original. While I have much higher hopes than the

writer about Flushed Away and Ratatouille “raising the bar”, I do have to agree. In fact, I think that

Pixar’s staying away from traditional “woodland critter” characters is what helps make it

interesting.

#3

I actually pretty much agree with this. There

ARE too many CGI animated films focusing on the same premises. That’s why I haven’t seen any of them. The

characters are usually poorly developed, the animation is trying its best to be quirky (but is failing miserably)

and the story is exactly the same as its predecessors. Pixar and, to an extent, Aardman Productions don’t create

films like that- that’s why I like them.

There was a ‘making of’ documentary about Madagascar in the

weekend, and they showed Dreamworks studios (it’s horrible there! Seriously, it’s comprised of several large

tower block type buildings) and the director and other important people who were involved in the making of

Madagascar. All the way through, I was thinking 'no wonder Madagascar is not a smudge on any of Pixar’s films-

the people who made it are overly competitive and actually quite rude to others!’ According to the director, at

Dreamworks, they make a film aiming it at adults rather than at children, which is what makes their films so

unique. :unamused:

Forgive my rant- it’s just that Dreamworks seems, IMO, to be exactly fitting of what

this article is complaining of, although of course, they’re not the only culprits.

#4

I also agree with the writer/author of this in-depth

article. It has become apparant that many companies have lately been attempting to “copywrite” other

productions, so to speak. Not only is it a dirty – yet hidden – act of vandalism, it also tends to exhibit a

company’s true intentions and lack of imagination. To many executives and “big-time” studios, making

imprints and/or copies of successful movies is a quick and easy way to earn a few extra dollars.

Of

course, all this planning and plotting on the executives’ parts simply show how ineffectively they sometimes run

a company, letting millions of dollars worth making a film slip through their pockets like water. Unfortunately,

this case of “story ignorance” is quite common in many top companies today. The odd companies out

include: Pixar, Big Idea Studios (which actually went bankrupt a few years ago), and, as you guys mentioned,

Aardman Productions.

I do agree with you guys in that there may be hope for [i]Flushed

Away[/i], that it is rather unique and “out there” story-wise and production-wise. If Nick

Park is, indeed, producing/directing this film, then I have no doubt that it will be a hit. However, we will

never know until the thing comes out…

Surprisingly, I still continue to view and

review potentionally over-rated and under-rated films, as bad or as flashy as they

may be. Happy Feet and Surf’s Up may not be great, but

I’ll go see them anyway. Meet the Robinsons is probably just another poor attempt

of Disney’s to gain some extra revenue, but will that keep me away from the theater? Of course not. Why? I

don’t know. :stuck_out_tongue:

Until then, I await the release of Ratatouille. :smiley:

#5

All we

need now is another “Cars” :unamused: :mrgreen:

#6

Pixfan- Aah, but cars aren’t cute and fluffy, are they? It’s no wonder Pixar were

the first to make a CGI film with cars as the main characters!

#7

One of the lecturers at my school told me

that AntZ was created by someone who left Pixar on poor terms during the first year of production on A Bug’s

Life. Because Bug’s Life had a 4 year production schedule, he apparently said "Give me enough money and we

can put out a bug movie in three years", so the company poured cash into AntZ to usurp the limelight from A

Bug’s Life.

Amusingly, Bug’s Life still kicked its backside at the box office XD

#8

I have to admit, I kind of guessed that Cars will not fair that well B.O wise because of the number of CGI

flims both DTDVD and theatrical that came out before June.

Ironically enough most of the current CGI flims

are using the “Dreamworks Formula” that was started with sheak that mocked “Disney Formula”.

I don’t like Dreamworks that much if at all. I tried watching ‘Madagascar’ and ‘Over the hedge’ to at least

give them a benefit of a dough but I could not stand ether one of them.

#9

Let’s just hope they don’t think pixar is ripping off dreamworks , because if anything ,

it’s the opposite since it takes pixar 4-5 years to make a movie while everyone else does it in a rush . Wow

… that’s a BIG run off sentence .

Mitch - I actually can’t wait to see happy feet , but only because

Robin Williams is in it .

Pixfan : If that happens i won’t see it and I will protest in front of the

persons building . Who’s with me ? [size=75]lol[/size]

#10

[b]Yeah but Pixar movies are better then dreamworks

[size=150]BIG[/size] time.[/b]

#11

[b]Of course

[size=150]Pixar[/size] movies is better then dreamworks!! :smiley: [/b]

#12

Sorry about the dodgy post people. Don’t know why did it

come up with dodgy link that looks like this (??!!)

Anyway, if I be very

honest, I am too sick & tired of animation films. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great but I hate the fact

that they all are similar (not bashing Pixar btw) Am I the only 1 who actually thought the bear in 'Open

Season’ was actually the bear in ‘Over The Hedge’? I was like "They’re making a

sequel?!"

Luckily Pixar didn’t follow the same plot storylines. The only other decent animation

films IMO so far (that are not by Pixar) are ‘Shrek’ (1 & 2), ‘Over The Hedge’, ‘Ice Age’ (1 & 2)

& ‘Robots’

#13

This seems, to me, to really be building up a return of 2D animation. Most people are thinking along the

lines of ‘all CGI animated films are the same’ (apart from a few exceptions) and so this creates an opening for

hand drawn films.

#14

I’m simply going to see it because it looks like a

hoot – hilarious sequences mixed with engaging characters equals my “cup of tea”. The plot-line for

Happy Feet also promises to be rather unique compared to other computer animated

films that have been released thus far.

We must remember, though, that story is the key to any successful

film. Famous actors, beautiful animation, and unforgetable characters mean nothing to a production if the plot is

not sufficient enough for its audience.

Quoting John Lasseter: [i]"Story…is…the most

important thing here at Pixar. Always has been. Always will be. That’s what

entertains audiences."[/i]

Good ol’ John. :slight_smile:

#15

lizardgirl: I certainly hope

you’re right! I miss 2D animation. Nothing against computer animated (or Pixar especially) but I’m getting

kinda sick of all these computer ones and no one even seems to be bothering to do 2D movies anymore (not counting

cheesy sequels that go straight to DVD)…

#16

Yeah, I believe there should

be a mix of 2D and 3D films, because 2D animation really has been abandoned. I’m all for embracing new

technology, but in this case, the old ways should not be made obselete (sp?). It’s quite saddening in a way,

though at the same time, I guess certain companies, Disney in particular, can actually make more money out of it,

as it makes the old Disney classics more appealing.[/b]

#17

As far as 2D films are concerened…

GO FROG

PRINCESS!!!

#18

yeah and i miss when they all used to sing

cute little songs !
Good times… Good times

#19

Also in the works is

Kung Fu Panda, starring Jack Black and a bunch of big names (yes, let’s spend the budget on Angelina Jolie and

Dustin Hoffman and not on making a decent story! Blegh, I don’t know that yet - but I can sense it

coming).

My fingers are crossed for Frog Princess but I have the sinking feeling that the only reason

it’s even happening is because Disney have remembered that 2D fairytale based animation was lucrative for them

previously, and as such have gone back to it without fixing any of their issues XD

#20

lizardgirl - Yeah, 2-D

animation is becoming something of a fossil burial bed now-a-days, although…there are still a few companies out

there who continue to procure up some of the old style of animation.

For example, a friend of my dad’s

recently finished production on a little film of his that he animated himself:

Romeo and Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss

So, as you can see, the

2-D style of animation isn’t completely dying out. Let’s hope that it returns in full blast sooner than

later… :wink:

vimfeugo - Haha – I’m really looking forward to

Kung-Fu Panda, actually. Although it doesn’t appear to have any strong points

(story, characters, etc.), I’ll probably see it anyway…just for laughs. :smiley: