Man, I wish I had Netflix!! I probably won’t see it for a while. 
I agree that The Secret of Kells is incredible…kudos for the members who gave it an Oscar nomination.
As for this thread, as much of a good movie How To Train Your Dragon was, this is still a Pixar fan site.
Kells was a good movie, mostly because of the amazing artwork and designs. I’d be willing to hand over extra cash for the Blu-Ray.
I think the best animated movies of 2009 were Up and Coraline. I was glad to see both (!!!) be included on AFI’s Best of list. Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Secret of Kells, and The Princess and the Frog are in the second tier, but still good and worth watching more than once.
Ah, that may be true. But being a Pixar fan and liking another studio’s film need not be mutually-exclusive. 
Anyway, here’s the shortlist for the ‘Best Animated Ghetto Award’ this year:
thebestfilms.net/2010/11/83r … shortlist/
[size=75]Obviously, the art designer must have been inspired by Wall-E, How to Train Your Dragon, Despicable Me and Alpha & Omega’s posters.[/size]
While it warms my heart to see all my favourite films up there, one film caught me by surprise. I saw this on a TV news item a few days back. Not content with manufacturing toys and cars, ‘The Dreams of Jinsha’ is China’s entry into the animation market. Variety’s review makes me mighty curious to watch it, and its themes of cultural heritage, abuse of power, and the horrors of war are pretty resonant.
I’m sorry for the digression, but it pleases me to see small-timers like The Dreams of Jinsha, Secret of the Kells, and Legend of the Guardians from foreign countries go up against the big boys from ‘The Three Kings’ (Pixar, Dreamworks, and Blue Sky). Naturally, the Academy will favour the more high-profile films (Already, The Town and Inception have been snubbed in preference for the more traditional biopics and boxer movies like The Social Network and The Fighter 
). So I’ll be rooting for the underdogs just as much as the toys and dragons.
Do you mind if I ask where the “ghetto” part came from? Haha.
I’m interested in the Chinese film. Some of the clips posted by the studio on youtube are several years old, so they might be completely unfinished… It’s hard to tell. The animation looks about the quality of a TV series, but nevertheless I still want to see it.
Now, Summer Wars–that’s a movie I want to see!
True, but a true animation(not just PIXAR fan) would choose the best animated film, not the best PIXAR animated film. 
HtTYD was more enjoyable for me. TS3 is in my top 100, but…HtTYD is in my top 20, so, that’s the difference. TS3 made me cry more, but they were funeral tears, not fun, enjoyable, happy tears. Sorry, PIXAR, Unkrich, Pixar Planet, and Toy Story. I’m sorry, but HtTYD tops TS3.
If a movie can make me cry without any of the obvious subjects, like death, illness, war, or animal abuse, then I consider that to be quite the feat! Toy Story 3 succeeded in its final scene. I was weeping.
I’ve thought about this, and if either film wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, I will be happy. They’re both about equal, I suppose. TS 3 might be ahead because of 2 certain powerful scenes, the humor, and the adorable character Bonnie. My favorite part of HTTYD were any of the scenes between Toothless and Hiccup, regardless of dialogue. Their connection was developed very well, and that was the best part of the movie IMO.
I understand that a lot of people(especially here…) liked TS3 better. I just think HtTYD was a better movie, regardless of taste. But I still like it better, as well. If that makes sense.
I like how to Train your Dragon it’s a good film.I love Toothless, he’s just too adorable and Hiccup is a very likable chactacter too. I love the scenes where it’s just Hiccup and Toothless. I love the scene were he first gives him the fish- just too cute <3 x
But I voted Toy Story 3 because I like the characters more, it’s got a better story and for me it’s overall a better film.
How To Train Your Dragon for me… I saw it on Bluray last week and it just reboosted my love for that movie. It is everything I’d want in an animated feature.
Nothing wrong with TS3 either, HTTYD just fits my tastes more than TS3 does.
Woah…why do my posts keep disappearing 
Anyway, HtTYD’s score is stuck in my head right now. Even if that’s totally random.
Toy Story 3 easily, this franquise is a legacy to all hollywood history
agree that Dragon was good, but please, I’ve seen that story before, Brad Bird made The Iron Giant, which is similar to Dragon, the events in that film comes closer to the ones in Dragon, and the heart feeling it owns is similar to the ones in ET, good, but not great
how can’t someone love SO LONG (score) from TS3, one of the finest ones from pixar together with Define Dancing
I’d counter that Toy Story 3 had a similar plotline to Toy Story 2 (in fact Lotso’s backstory is an exact copy of Jessie’s, only his abandonment was accidental). The themes are also similar; Toy Story dealt with jealousy and how you don’t necessarily have to like each other straight from the start to eventually become close friends. Toy Story 2 was about abandonment, the loss of a loved one (figuratively), and moving on and making the most of the times we share with our friends and family. Toy Story 3… well, it’s about the same, only the stakes were raised for the climax, the threat of which is the very lives of our heroes themselves.
HTTYD might not have the most original storyline around- It’s basically ‘A Kid and his/her X’ from any number of films like Old Yeller, E.T., Iron Giant, Lilo & Stitch, etc., with some life lessons about understanding and befriending the ‘Other’, which again, features in films such as Pocahontas, Dances With Wolves, Avatar, etc.
But neither is Toy Story 3. The Brave Little Toaster, Good Will Hunting, Meet the Robinsons, A Goofy Movie, and of course, Toy Story 2 had similar plots and themes about coming-of-age, letting go of the past, look to the future, etc.
themes are similars, but the develop of the story is what makes it different, Dragon follows the same steps as the ones from the iron giant, with the same heart, however its end is too risky and beautiful, but TS3 was marvelous, it had a happy ending, and I argue about Lotso’s back story being similar to Jessie’s, Daisy never grew up, and Emilily did, I recognize that there are some similitudes between TS2 and TS3, but how they tell us is what makes it unique
TS3 FTW
I would contend your “too risky” statement about Dragon’s ending. What I mean is, I personally wouldn’t call it “too risky”, but a brave decision that makes the whole circular narrative more powerful. If given a choice between whether Hiccup survives unscathed or the actual ending, I think most people would choose the latter, even though it’s a more ‘unhappy’ ending, because Hiccup emerges a different person (both internally and externally) and it’s more ‘realistic’. Hiccup’s sacrifice makes the conclusion more bittersweet with him losing something, but gaining another thing (a loyal dragon friend) in the end.
TS3’s ending was also rather unconventional. I thought Andy was going to take Woody to college, and one day, Woody would be reunited with his friends once more and all that. But again, TS3 went for the more bittersweet route (and more permanent sacrifice), and the movie turned out so much more the better for it.
Both movies had heartbreaking, powerful, and bittersweet endings. Both certainly had took a huge risk, but they were both rewarding and had huge emotional payoffs for the audience.
I don’t think Dragons was way too risky or familiar at all. I loved the ending. 
I didn’t like Ts3’s ending(don’t shoot!) quite as well.Dragon’s ending was easier for me to accept, and I thought Hiccup’s leg being gone just reminded us how much he and Toothless were a like. It was the most emotional part for me. At this point I don’t care. TS3 will win the Oscar, and none of the underdogs really ever had a chance. I don’t know why I even bothered supporting any other movie. Reality is evil, but it is still reality.
Yes, and something REALLY needed to be said about the similarities between Toy Story 3 and The Brave Little Toaster. 
It’s not that it bothered me, but watching the two side-by-side…they have some extremely similar moments and underlying themes.
I haven’t seen Brave Little Toaster( 
), but I could see that.
You should, IV. It’s one of the films that inspired John Lasseter to do animation and influenced his works, especially with regards to anthropomorphic (living objects) characters.
And yes, I agree with you. This year I have a mild resentment for Pixar getting all the glory while other equal-quality fare gets neglected.
Agreed, Czarine! The entire Toy Story series is a trilogy much like the Brave Little Toaster (it, too, had two sequels) and they cover pretty much the same themes as between an object and its owner. Not to mention the junkyard climax of Toy Story 3 (especially with the magnetic crane) had some similarities with TBLT.
I need to see it. And, I think TS3 deserves best picture, but not best animated(which shouldn’t exist, IMO). I think Tangled deserved a best animated nom, and HtTYD deserves to win. Just throwing that out there.