Animated films disappointed in 2011, especially with “The Adventures of Tintin” marking a bad month for Steven Spielberg. Many animation purists don’t consider motion-capture to be animation and fans of the “Tintin” comics thought the approach was not in-keeping with the spirit of the book. I quickly tired as the story contained little if any moral or importance and the dizzying action sequences blended together into what became a boring slurry.
The biggest surprise was the critical failure of “Cars 2” from animation powerhouse Pixar. The movie looked great, but the story was even less engaging than its predecessor. It is extremely unlikely that Pixar will get an Oscar for their efforts and might even be closed out of the nomination race altogether. This is even more likely given Spielberg’s “Tintin” could take a nomination despite an attitude against its style and animation techniques.
“Puss in Boots” was much better than anyone could have expected. The spin-off from the “Shrek” series was efficient and entertaining if not particularly emotionally engaging.
Cineaste’s got their own animated family feature with “Rango.” That film was made with film critics in mind and with all the cinematic references scattered throughout, it sure helped if you had a working knowledge of classics like “Chinatown” and their ilk.
Sequels went for piles of cash and, at least, one came up lacking as “Happy Feet Two” had a short domestic run. It is important to note that “Happy Feet” actually did win the Oscar back in 2007. Don’t look for a repeat. What might take home Oscar gold, however, is “Kung Fu Panda 2,” which was as good if not better than the first “Panda.” It had me excited, yes, I’m actually excited to see the next installment where Po (voice with much awesomeness by Jack Black) searches for his parents.
