New trailers for Turbo, Despicable Me 2, Epic, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

The past few weeks have been great for trailers.  We've gotten new ones for four different movies put together for your viewing pleasure.

First up is Dreamworks' "Turbo" a movie about a snail who wants to race in the Indy 500:

Next up is Illumination Entertainment's "Despicable Me 2" a film that's been teased for awhile now but until this trailer we knew almost nothing about.

Next up is Blue Sky's "Epic" which keeps looking better and better the more of it I see!

And finally we have Sony Pictures Animation's "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2", a film that I have not been looking forward to but was surprisingly entertained by the trailer.

3 New Disney Blu-rays Announced

     Disney has announced that three new Blu-Rays will be coming out June 11th.  They are “Atlantis: The Lost Empire”, “Lilo an Stitch”, and “The Emperor’s New Groove”.  Each film will come in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and include the sequel movie for each franchise.  This means “The Emperor’s New Groove” comes with the lesser known sequel “Kronk’s New Groove”, “Atlantis” will come with “Milo’s Return”, and “Lilo and Stitch” will have "Stitch Has a Glitch”.

     I for one am excited for “Emperor’s New Groove”.  I’m also interested to find out if Disney will release “Stitch: The Movie” and “Leroy and Stitch” on Blu-ray since no note of them has been made.  Honestly I was surprised when Lilo and Stitch was included in this list because Disney doesn’t seem to be spacing out their fan-favorite movies as much as they should.  The Disney films left to be released on Blu-Ray are:

Saludos Amigos

The Three Caballeros

Make Mine Music

Fun and Fancy Free

Melody Time

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.  

One Hundred and One Dalmations

The Jungle Book (TBA 2014)

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Spring 2013)

The Sword in the Stone

Robin Hood

Oliver and Company

The Little Mermaid (Fall 2013)

Aladdin

Hercules

Tarzan

     With only a few huge releases left, Disney seems to be relying on bundling the sequels with the original releases as an enticement to potential buyers.  It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out and what they do when the run out of IPs to re-release.

5 Great Animated Series You Can Watch On Netflix

     Netflix really is a great service (no they’re not paying me).  One of the things it’s best at is compiling every episode of great TV shows for your convenience.  Below is a list of five terrific animated shows Netflix has for your viewing entertainment:

     #5: Shaun the Sheep:

     In 2007 Aardman animation, the studio responsible for claymated classics Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit, created a series of seven minute mini episodes about a sheep name Shaun.  Shaun, who had previously appeared in the Wallace and Gromit short film, “A Close Shave” is a lovable little sheep who constantly gets into trouble with a local farmer.  It features no dialogue but is consistently hilarious and a must for fans of any of Aardman’s previous offerings.

Great Episodes to Start With:

Pretty much any of them.

     #4: Hey Arnold!:

     No channel was more lively in the 90s than Nickelodeon.  Not only did it boast the likes of Rugrats and Ren and Stimpy, it also featured a little show about the adventures of everyone's favorite football-headed kid.  Hey Arnold proved that kid shows could be smart while still having good morals and stories.  It touched on some deeper issues for a children's program but did so in a tasteful way and it's one of those animated shows that still holds up after all these years:

Great Episodes to Start With:
Stoop Kid
What's Opera Arnold
Das Subway

     #3: Arthur:

     Oh Arthur, what can I say?  You’ve given me years of quality entertainment with your lovable characters and surprising parodies.  While guised as a typical kids show, Marc Brown’s Arthur provides a lot of references and jokes for adults as well from references to films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and episodes parodying the animation style of the likes of South Park and Dexter’s Laboratory.  The first 6-7 seasons are an enjoyable blast of nostalgia.   Newer seasons lose their luster and are a little too politically correct.  Still, for old fans and new fans alike Arthur is a great show with a lot to offer:

Great Episodes to start with:

The Contest

Binky Rules

Arthur Rides the Bandwagon

That’s a Baby Show!

#2: Phineas and Ferb:

     Back in the 90s Disney was one of the hubs of animation, not just in the movies but also on TV.  Sadly, the last ten years haven’t been too good on Disney Channel’s animated shows.  Luckily, Phineas and Ferb has been turning that all around since it began in 2007.  The show centers on half brothers Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher as they find the best ways to spend their summer vacation (which usually involves inventing some crazy contraptions) and their older sister Candace who is constantly trying to “bust" them.  Also included is their pet platypus Perry who is actually a secret agent who battles a local super-villain-in-training named Heinz Doofensmirtz over control of the Tri-State Area.  It’s wacky, fresh, and smart.  Some complain this show is too formulaic but I think they constantly find fresh ways to reinvent themselves which is why Phineas and Ferb rests at #2 on my list.

Great episodes to start with:

Rollercoaster

It’s About Time

She’s the Mayor

#1: Avatar: The Last Airbender:

     If there’s one show that has reinvented animated kids shows in the past fifteen years, it’s “The Last Airbender”.  Not only does it perfectly blend comedy and action that can be enjoyed by all ages, it tells a great story or a young boy’s journey to free the land from oppression.  It starts a little slow at first but those who stick with it will find themselves treated to one of the best animated series in years.

Great episodes to start with:

Start at the beginning.  It’s a sequential show and is best watched in order.

Oscar Nominated Short Films

Y’all are in for a treat.  Yesterday, I talked about the animated films and shorts nominated for the academy awards at the Oscars.  Today, I’ve compiled links of all the nominated animated short films for your viewing pleasure.

Fresh Guacamole:

     This is by far the shortest of the nominees but it has an intrinsic charm to it.  There are a lot of visual puns and it is animated really well.

Adam and Dog:

     Adam and Dog is a captivating short exploring the themes of friendship and trust.  Without spoiling anything, be sure to watch this one to the end.

Head Over Heels:

     Head Over Heels explores the interesting relationship of a husband and wife who live together, one on the ceiling, and one on the floor.  It’s a charming short that is sure to tug on your heartstrings.

Maggie Simpson in: The Longest Daycare:

     In this Simpsons short, Maggie is left at daycare where she must protect a butterfly from an evil baby who likes to kill them with a hammer.  There is no spoken word in this short but I found it surprisingly enjoyable, despite being only a very casual Simpsons fan.

And finally... Paperman!

     If there’s a single short you need to watch this year, Paperman is the one.  Not only does it pioneer a brand new form of animation that seamlessly blends 2-D and 3-D, Paperman also has a touching story and a great presentation.  I remember going to Wreck It Ralph and seeing this before it started.  By the end of the short I had decided that even if Wreck It Ralph was bad (which it wasn’t) I would’ve been satisfied by Paperman’s offering.  It’s a gem, be sure to enjoy it.

I hope y'all enjoy these shorts as much as I did!

The Oscars

I may be a few weeks late to the scene but Oscar season has come and gone yet again.  For me there are only a few categories of note:

Best Picture

Best Animated Short Film

Best Animated Film

This year, best picture didn’t interest me much.  I was ecstatic that the wonderfully charming “Paperman” won Best Animated Short and not surprised that “Brave” won Best Animated Film.  It seems like every year they’re nominated, Pixar always comes out on top and while Brave was certainly a good movie and definitely worthy of joining the likes of The Incredibles and Spirited Away, I though it lacked the originality of some of this years greats such as Wreck-It Ralph and Pirates: Band of Misfits.  

Out of the five animated films nominated for Best Animated Picture the only one I didn’t see was Frankenweenie.  From what I've heard and seen from trailers it's a dark movie about a boy who tries to bring his dog Sparky back from the dead with science.  It looks like it's full of Tim Burton's unique style and I look forward to seeing it eventually.  

Brave was great and I believe it will be remembered for years to come.  For those of you who haven't seen it yet (and shame on you) Brave follows Merida and her quest to change her fate.  It was a fantastic film with beautiful animation and a lot of heart, exactly what we've grown to expect from Pixar.  It truly deserved to win best animated feature.  

LAIKA's Paranorman was a great film whose dark nature was a great reminder that animation doesn’t have to be just for kids.  I loved watching the weird and creepy adventure of Norman, a normal kid who can talk to ghosts.  It had a lot of strangely funny parts, combined with some actual scares and a really fresh animation style.  

Pirates: Band of Misfits was hilarious and provided that British humor that only the folks at Aardman seem to be able to bring to animation.  Watching The Pirate Captain (yes that is his actual name) and his lovable crew fight Queen Victoria and her militia was very entertaining.  

And of course, Wreck-It Ralph.  Ralph was in my mind the most original animated movie this year, possibly in the past decade.  It follows retro video game villain Wreck-It-Ralph as he tries to prove that bad guys can be good too.  It was one of my favorite movies of the year and a must see for any animation or video game fan!

Overall, it was a great year for animation and I highly recommend everyone the least bit interested to watch all these movies!

This was an excellent year for shorts as well.  Fresh Guacamole was strangely mesmerizing, The Longest Daycare was surprisingly entertaining, Head Over Heels was charming and unique, Adam and Dog was a unique look at a classic story, and of course Paperman was excellent!  They were all worth seeing but Paperman stole the show for me.  It was truly charming while adding a unique visual style and presentation.  I was very impressed this year!   But more on those tomorrow...

3 New Cars Toons

Disney has posted three new Cars shorts on its website.  These are shorter than the previous Mater's Tall Tales but still very entertaining.  I feel the Cars universe works very well as shorts, lets hope they continue making them.

The shorts, "Hiccup", "Spinning", and "Bugged",  are available on Disney's website.  Check them out!

"Hiccup"

"Spinning"

"Bugged"

What's this?

So I bet you're probably thinking, "what is this blog about?"  "Who's this Chris guy and why should I care?"  Well I'll tell you who this Chris guy is and why you should care.

In any class or job you take they always start the day off with introductions.  So here goes.  Hi.  My name is Chris.  I'm a college student studying art.  What does this have to do with animation?  Well in all honesty, nothing.  I am not an animator nor do I have any real desire to be one.  What I do have is a passion for animation, a passion I've decided to share with the rest of the world in hopes of finding other, like minded people.  I decided to start this blog because I have never found a single go-to place for reliable movies reviews, tips on underrated films and shorts, and news all in one place.  I hope to try all of that and maybe even succeed at a few of them.

Over the next week I'll be updating this blog with movie reviews, animation news, fun and interesting videos, and entertaining lists.  I hope these will be helpful to other animation fans out there who share my same interests.  So anyways, here goes nothing...