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John
THANK YOU. For the article and that amazing piece of film that these Mel Brooks loving eyes had somehow never seen. Hilarious.
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Ceballos
“Do you know anyone among the anti-animation population?”
How about all the voting members of the Academy? (They didn’t have the guts to count an animated movie among the year’s five best, so they expanded the field to 10.)
I’m glad you blogged about this, because this is one of my biggest pet peeves. I totally understand that most cartoons are aimed at children because they find the vibrant colors, slapstick action, etc. appealing. However, animation is a medium NOT a genre. I shouldn’t go to a video store and see movies listed under “Comedy”, “Drama”, “Thriller”, “Animation” because an animated movie can be any (or all) of those things.
The fact remains some of the most original and inventive stories are being told using animation. Those stories are for everyone, not just for kids. Unfortunately, that bias still exists, though I’d say more adults are open to watching a Pixar movie than any other animated production.
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crispy
I keep trying to explain to people that UP at it’s most basic is a story about an old man. Yes, it is animated and there are talking animals (sorta). But let’s be honest, a movie about an old man is not kiddie entertainment.
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Sergiu
I don’t like animation, but I have to say that Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir are amazing, The other 3 are pretty good also but not something to recomend.
Anyway the majority of animations are for kids and also pretty bad, hence I really don’t want to look at any movie of this kind. Except for those that are higly praised by the critics, but even then it’s not a quarantee for a decent movie. -
Yogurt
I partially agree with you. Several of the films you listed were excellent. However, MANY of the animated films out really are only worth seeing if you are 11 or under. The Disneyfication of the genre where every animated film must resort to inane musical numbers is still unfortunately alive and well. Nothing ruins a movie quicker than when they all start singing and dancing. This isn’t Bollywood.
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Christine
Amen, Yogurt. Unless you are Flight of the Conchords, a Broadway performer or have some sort of neurological disorder there is no good reason for you to be breaking into song.
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Christine
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LauraBC
Studio Ghibli films totally changed my views on animation. You need only look at ‘Graves of the Fireflies’, ‘Spirited Away’, ‘Only Yesterday’ etc to see the brilliance in storytelling and the art of their craft.
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JunieGirl
Not liking animation as an art form is akin to saying “Paintings are fine, but keep those sculptures away from me!” It is simply another medium of expression.
I do agree that most of the animated movies that are released are pap for kids, but the ones Lisa referenced are amazing and worthy of anyone’s attention.
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.person
i heard the question tossed around, ‘why are the most inventive films nowadays animated?’ i think execs know exactly what they’re doing, and can put as much effort in telling a live action equivalent of the films mentioned. but, from a philosophical standpoint, if you keep turning out films for both kids and adults to see, it eventually puts them on an even intelligence level; i cite recent number one films like g-force and paul blart as cause for such concern. and though i think pixar’s intentions are of the best, this lessons the chance of any true subversive thought or paradigm shift from becoming popular…adults are easier to control if you get them to think like kids.
but really, i think the reasons are pragmatic: if you get a mass audience to accept synthetic actors and locations, the shift eliminates the need for real ones, cutting budgets, time, etc. soon, there may not be a need for real actors, everything will be numbers and pixels.
either way, it’s all very disconcerting, and why i tend to stay away from pixar…but not because they suck.-
E.B. Berman
What the bozo . . . ?
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t3hdow
So…you’re saying that you hate CG movies, because you fear they’ll replace real life actors/locales? That’s never going to happen because of one basic thing: cost. The best in CG animation (and even non-CG animation) cost millions to create. A theater, filled with animated films that cost 50+ million bucks worth of special effects will bankrupt Hollywood.
I hear the same predictions with the porn industry too, but that’s an even sillier scenario, because most adult films cost less than a million to make and single scenes are shot only in a day.
This is before you consider hiring a much bigger number of computer animators to compensate for the escalating demand for their work in Hollywood, and cutting the massive number of behind-the-scenes workers that make the film industry thrive. In both cases, sacrificing real actors for CG is a surefire financial disaster. Sorry to burst your conspiracy theorist bubble, but that’s not going to happen.
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E.B. Berman
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BOB COBB
Go back to original style animation like the Sword in the Stone!!!!!!!!!!!!
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zachariah
saying animation creates nullified thought and lessons the need for real actors is like saying reality tv is actual reality and not a doctered facet of real life scenarios. as an artist and a student of film i can say all you need to do is see anything by Hayao Miyazaki or John Lassetter. Same for the comic book medium, after reading Frank Miller and Alan Moore you really do stop seeing it as a kids’ medium and an actually art form.
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jybphotography
In general, animated movies (even some good ones) don’t hold my attention, BUT Persepolis, Sleeping Beauty, and Emperor’s New Groove are some of my favorite movies. There are always exceptions to every generalization.
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Eve
With me, animated movies are like all movies: some are amazing, and some are terrible! Saying that you are cautious with animated films because a lot of them are only worth watching if your a little kid, or have a little kid sense of a good movie? Well, it’s the same with live-action films!
Look at what the film is about, and the subject matter, and stuff. Don’t immediately become skeptical just because it’s animated.
And by the by, I love Mel Brooks, and I’d never seen that one before. I like it! -
alex kenji
Hand drawn animation!
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Joshua
i’m beginning to hate this blog.
putting brad bird in the same category as francis ford coppola, or even zack snyder, is an insult to the craft.
animation films are nice, and can be beyond cute…even good. they are not the same as movies.
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Suzyactiondoll
Yeah. Zach Snyder is a hack. It’s an insult to mention him in the same sentence as Brad Bird or John Lassiter. Comparing Copolla to Bird would be like comparing Warhol to VanGogh. Cuz’ Warhol is deep and VanGogh was just a cutsey hack.
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Suzyactiondoll
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Joshua
also, why start this blog? will Lisa and Owen even read these talkbacks. I doubt it. reviewers on EW NEVER respond to the comments on their reviews…especially music…why not take less time blogging and more time directly responding to comments on reviews…?
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'Up' and Pixar: Who's afraid of animated movies?
What do Up, Coraline, Waltz with Bashir, Persepolis, and WALL-E have in common? Here’s a count of three:
1. They’re some of the most thrilling films of the past few years, titles I enthusiastically recommend to anyone in search of the good stuff.
2.They’re all made using techniques of animation.
3. At some point they’re each likely to provoke the reaction, ’Oh, I don’t like animated movies.’ Or, ‘my husband won’t go to an animated movie.’ (I heard this one again just the other day.) Or, ‘I thought it was for kids.’
So then I go, ‘No no no, these are deep, engrossing movies with important ideas and characters to care about!’ I cite The Simpsons as one of the late 20th century’s greatest cultural achievements. I talk up the technological sophistication and visual grandeur of the medium. I urge the dubious husband to man up and try Up.
Then I despair, go home, and watch South Park, The Simpsons, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Do you know anyone among the anti-animation population? Are you one of the animation resistant? Will you please explain why? While you think up a good excuse, here’s a classic– one of the pithiest, funniest short animations from the prehistoric pre-Pixar days of 1963: