This year we've seen a record number of major CG-animated features released, and a few of them have done quite well. Yet, when I talk to civilians about their favorite so far, they tend to get stuck picking a favorite. Despite the huge success of Cars and Ice Age 2 and Over the Hedge, there hasn't been a film that has really seemed to capture the audience's imagination. With only two major animated features to go for 2006, I think I see the one that will be that breakout emotional hit, and you might be surprised by my pick . . .
Happy Feet! No disrespect is meant to Flushed Away, a film my friends tell me is much better than some of the negative press is indicating, but the dancing penguin movie is the one I think is going to surprise many of us in the industry.
When I've related this idea to industry insiders, they look at me as if I've lost my mind. For many of us, the film has three big strikes against it: more mo-cap, more Robin Williams' schtick, more penguins. Haven't we already had too much of all three, they cry?
I thought the same thing, till I watched the recent trailers with an open mind, and since I started having some conversations with people outside our industry. Despite little advertising till the last couple of weeks, I've had people telling me this was the film they were looking forward to (especially women).
Please, bear in mind that I haven't seen the film, and I have no idea if it's any good. I'm not saying this film has any more merit than any other film released this year. I'm not touting it. I'm just making a prediction.
I post this because we've had a few discussions on this blog and elsewhere about the idea that, when it comes to predicting hits, "nobody knows anything" is the common mantra. And I've argued that there are some films, despite our animation prejudices, that simply have more intrinsic appeal than others (and others that, from the start, clearly lacked that appeal and therefore should never have been made). Whether it fits our concept of a great animated film, I think Happy Feet has that appeal. And in about a month we'll get to see . . .
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12 comments:
I don't expect to get emotionally swept away.
But the trailers have seemed routinely silly enough to make me psyched for the movie. William's schtick doesn't seem to be an "add-on" (like in Robots), but seems a central theme.
Whith the number of films in general (animated and live action), many are bombing big time, like Clint Eastwood's "Flags of our Fathers". Granted, "Flags" coming out during Halloween, well...they could have chosen a better timing...
And this week looks very very tough for "Flushed Away" competing with "Santa Clause 3" and, well, "Borat". I know someone will say 'Borat' is for a different audience all together, but I say competition is competition none the less. It's got 91% on the tomatometer....
I have to agree with you Kevin. I don't know if Happy Feet will be THE movie of the year, but it will do very well. My wife and I saw the trailers for Happy Feet, Surf's up and Flushed Away all at the same time. She coulkdn't stand or even understand the trailer for Surf's up and she likes Wallace and Grommit, but Happy Feet is the film she really wants to see. And she hates Robin Williams.
I look to her as a better barometer than anyone in the industry because she's not IN the industry. She's closer to being THE public than any of us.
When the "Happy Feet" promos started several months ago, I knew that it wouldn't fade fast. People like the ads, that's for sure. I'm not a Robin Williams fan or a mocap fan so I personally am not waiting with bated breath to see it, but the ads make non-industry people laugh and they'll go see the flick when it opens.
You might be right. It certainly has a freshness to it. It's always an eye-opening experience for us animation people to sit in a theather and see a "real" audience spontaneously react to something they have never seen before and completely deconstruct all the principles that our opinions were based upon.
so far as for story and character content, i just saw Over the Hedge, and it is one of dreamworks best and most original films. it may not have made as much as Cars but in some ways it was more enjoyable.
Over The Hedge/Cars and looking forward to Happy Feet, Robin Williams and all.
I know Happy Feet has been the only animated film I've been really interested in seeing this year. I didn't even feel very motivated to see Cars. I'm over the CG animated films to be truthful. But this looks SO CUTE!!! Have to see it! Love penguins, love dancing, love Robin, love the cuteness factor. I'm there!
I will say I find it interesting that the "happier" films seem do do better at the box office lately than the more serious dramatic films. It says something about peoples' present state of mind, I think.
"Happy Feet" may be the animated smash hit of the year, but...
I don't care how cute the penguins look or how funny the film seems to be, I can't support/will not support anything done with the use of mocap on principle! As an animator,I feel that is like shooting myself on the foot.
And I guess I could ask the rest of the animators to do the same, but this is America and everyone can choose to do as they please.
Rufus
So, Rufus, I assume you didn't see Lord of the Rings or King Kong?
The truth is the public doesn't care if it's mo-cap or key framed or magic. They go to see films on the basis of whether they think they're going to be entertained or not.
I didn't like the mo-cap in Polar Express or Final Fantasy and couldn't even watch the commercials, but I was thoroughly entertained by Monster House and din't care how it was animated.
I think the sooner animators except that mo-cap is a tool (like rotoscope) that can be used well or abused the better off we'll all be...of course there are still some that haven't given up on the illusion of Disney not using rotscope. Oh, well.
Rufus, the mocap angle on Happy Feet is a big part of why I'll be watching this film closely. So far the mocapped animated features haven't exactly set the world on fire with their pleasing acting and movement, nor with their success. And they've also all been at least as expensive as quality key-framed features.
Happy Feet appears to me to be the first feature where the use of mocap was absolutely crucial to getting the film done given what I understand of their budget and crew size/experience. I think this film will say more about the viability of mocap in feature animation than any of the previous mocap films.
If this film does succeed, and if that success convinces other producers to move away from traditional animation techniques and towards mocap, then that would be a huge shame. Cleaning up mocap data isn't what I got into this business to do.
I agree with Steve that it's just a tool, but producers are only too happy to throw the baby out with the bathwater when they become seduced by a new tool.
I've seen the trailers at the cinema, and tried to listen to what people were saying. The most common things were : " So funny " and " gotta watch this movie" .
So, even if I find the idea of the movie a bit silly it seems people outside animation doesn't. It may be a big hit.
Just saw the film at the ASIFA screening. It's . . . very . . . interesting. Not at all what I expected. Starts out extremely cute, then gets serious. Amazingly, it's a message/environmental movie. It will be most interesting to see how the public responds.
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