We're starting the Awards season and while the Oscar nominations won't be announced until a few weeks, other major awards have already announced their nominees, including the Golden Globes and the Annie Awards. I'll post my predictions for the Annie Awards at a later date but, for now, let's begin with the Golden Globes.
I must say, I'm very disappointed with this year's nominees for Best Animated Feature. First, I thought there would be five nominees instead of three, and that one of those nominees was going to be Pixar's Monsters University. The fact that Pixar got shut out for the first time with a film that's superior to both of its predecessors (both of which were nominated) is befuddling considering the fact that the film is better than two of the three actual nominees. Well, now that I got that out of my system let's begin with the predictions.
The Croods
I’m still not able to understand the whole hype and love for The Croods. Okay, it's not a terrible film, but, awards material? I don't think so. Both DreamWorks films released this year were very disappointing and a step down from the excellent offerings the studio has released in recent years (How To Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda 2 and the underrated Rise of the Guardians). I could have understand The Croods being nominated if there were five nominees (as the Golden Globes don't have a tendency to nominate international films in this category), but it getting a nomination over much better films is infuriating. Sure, the film has splendid animation and the world that the filmmakers created is awe-inspiring, but, in terms of story, The Croods does not offer anything new, or even good for that matter. Most of the jokes and humour fell flat and most of the second a act felt overlong and slow. Just compare this film to co-director Chris Sanders's previous film, How To Train Your Dragon, and you can see that The Croods its not a film worthy of the awards and recognition it's getting. This is easily the weakest nominee of the bunch and its chances of winning are very slim.
Check out William's interview with Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco, the directors of The Croods, here; check out his review of the film here and Damien's here.
Despicable Me 2
After the hit that Despicable Me was in 2010, Illumination Entertainment needed another after two very disappointing features. That hit was the sequel to the 2010 film, and Despicable Me 2 offers plenty of the fun, humour and craziness, like the first did, but with even more minion madness. Despicable Me 2 is a delight from start to finish and while it may be a little more superfluous than the original, it more than compensates with all the Minion antics that will delight everyone in the family. I think it's the film's greatest accomplishment that the Minions aren't annoying and, even though we see much more of them in this film, we still like them and they have not overstayed their welcome. If that had happen, the film would've been a complete failure, but thanks to clever humour and use of the animation, Despicable Me 2 turns out a complete winner (and a box office juggernaut, with $918.6 million) and a much better and more entertaining film than the one above.
Check out William's review of Despicable Me 2 here; listen to our podcast about the film here.
Frozen
Over the past six years, Disney Animation has been undergoing a sort of revival, releasing great films and continuing their rise to the top of animation, just like the old days. With Frozen, WDAS has created a fairytale for the ages, taking everything they learned from the past and merging it with contemporary themes, making a film that is not only a homage to the Disney greats of the past, but which also cements WDAS as a leading animation studio again, launching it to a glorious and bright future. With very strong and relatable characters, superb songs and breathtaking animation, Frozen is easily the best animated film of the year, something critics and audiences alike have agreed on, with a critical reception that's very high and word of mouth which is very enthusiastic (not to mention box office receipts that continue to grow by the day). Frozen is a cut above the rest of animated films released this year and deserves the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature.
Check out William's review of Frozen here.
What about you? Do you agree or disagree with my predictions? Sound off in the comments section below!
To be honest, I think the weakest of the lot here is Despicable Me 2. The Croods was a flawed film, and obviously inferior to Monsters University and Frozen, but I found myself enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would and, ultimately, more than Despicable Me 2. Mind you, I still liked DM2, it was a very fun film, but in my opinion the story was even more of a mess than The Croods' was.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, all in all, disappointing nominations, MU definitely deserved a spot here. Oh well, on the bright side, it doesn't look like Disney will have much trouble taking home the prize.
As I said above, I can’t understand the allure of The Croods, I wanted to like it but, even if I enjoyed some parts of it, overall it left me disappointed. But you’re right, Frozen should have an easy win :)
ReplyDeleteWell ... Do not be so sad to me about Pixar, they have won the award every year, and even the "Cars 2" received a nomination failed.
ReplyDeleteSo one year would not be able to win. It's not so bad ..
Finally, Disney will be able to take their first award.
I wish to also win FROZEN Annie Award, and an Academy Award.
Without a doubt: Frozen will win the Golden Globes. DM2 and The Croods are way to weak to even begin to compete with Frozen.
ReplyDeleteGlad that Disney is getting rewarded for doing so great lately!