2011 So Far

With the end of the year just over a month away, and Christmas approaching even faster, now seemed as good a time as any to take a retrospective look back at 2011 in animated films.

Now, first of all, a few have pointed out that my reviews are mostly positive, don't get me a wrong, I can be a particularly nasty blighter some times, particularly when I strongly dislike a film, however, I, obviously, am very passionate about animation, Disney and Pixar in general, and hate to fault it, furthermore, I purposefully avoid films that I know will be bad or that I have no interest in seeing, so I'm generally complementary in my reviews, yet, even by my standards, 2011 has been a brilliant year for animation thus far.

Cars 2 For Your Consideration Campaign Begins

As awards season rapidly approaches, Disney and Pixar begin the promoting of the Emeryville studio's latest feature with the above For Your Consideration Oscar adverts. Cars 2 is being promoted for consideration in the categories of Best Animated Feature, Best Song and Best Score.

However, due to the outpouring of negative and mixed reviews for Cars 2, Pixar face an uphill battle for the first time ever, just to get nominated; especially against such firm competition this year as Kung Fu Panda 2, Tintin, Rio and more. Personally, I thought Cars 2 was very, very good and was reviewed very unjustly, however, it is hard from Pixar's strongest and the studio that have won the prestigious Best Animated Feature Oscar consecutively for the past 4 years, will struggle to win, if, of course, they get the nomination.

Rio Review - A Film That Easily Takes Flight

This latest review is of a film that, as regular blog followers will know, is one of the animated films I have been most looking forward to this year, Rio. Rio is the sixth film from Blue Sky Studios, the animation company famous for the Ice Age trilogy, however Rio is far removed from director Carlos Saldanha's more comedic Ice Age films and is a far more musical endeavour than Blue Sky Studios' previous films.

Angry Birds Rio Review - No Need to be Angry, This Bird Can Fly

Following up from my review last week of Doodle Jump Hop, I have decided to write my second ever A113Animation Game Review. This newest review is of Angry Birds Rio, a continuation of the wildly successful Angry Birds franchise, to help promote Blue Sky Studios' next animated film (out next month), Rio.

Doodle Jump Hop Review - An Egg-celent Way to Spend Your Easter

This is the very first of a new breed of A113Animation Reviews, namely of an animation linked game. As those of you who follow the blog will know, I am soon uploading a review of Angry Birds Rio (released today), however, as previously reported, Illumination Entertainment and Lima Sky have united to promote IE's upcoming movie, Hop. That is what this very review will deal with:

Angry Birds Rio Gameplay Trailer

On the day that we get our first look at the gameplay for my most anticipated game of all time, Batman; Arkham City (sequel to the smash hit, Batman: Arkham Asylum), we also get our first look at the gameplay for a game that I am also very much anticipating, Angry Birds Rio (above)!

Rather than just the continuation of the already awesome Angry Birds formula that many people (including myself) may have though AB: Rio would be, it appears to be somewhat different. The setting for one and some of the background characters you can see are completely new and look brilliant. It also seems more objective based as a game, having to specifically free the stolen birds and... correct me if I'm wrong, but is that a boss battle with Rio's villain Nigel that I spy?

I'm very much looking forward to this game and can't wait for it's March 22nd release date!

Another New Rio Clip

As predicted yesterday, the roll out of Rio videos continues as we get another clip of Blue Sky Studios' upcoming feature animated film, Rio. The film, due out next month, looks great and this clip gives us another little look at the film's main human protagonist.

Stay tuned for more Rio updates and, as the end of the video suggests, updates of Angry Birds Rio - I will even be uploading a review of the game after it's release on the 22nd!