In Contention

Tag: animation

  • TELLURIDE: ‘La Luna’ is Pixar’s best short in years

    Yesterday before the 3D screening of Wim Wenders’s “Pina,” the audience was treated to Pixar’s latest animated short (which was also shown to audiences, I believe, at the D23 convention last month). I felt like it deserved some notice here, because it’s my favorite short from the studio in quite some time.

    I greatly admired “Day & Night,” which was attached to last year’s “Toy Story 3.” I wasn’t too keen on “Partly Cloudy” (which accompanied “Up” in theaters) and “Presto,” which tagged along with “WALL-E,” was cute and a nice ode. But the last Pixar short that I really got all that jazzed about was “Lifted,” Gary Rydstrom’s nifty, though admittedly slight, 2006 UFO abduction spoof.

    “La Luna” is my favorite since then, and probably since “Gerri’s Game” way back in 1997. It’s a delightful piece about finding your own way and eschewing expectations for your own identity, all built within a typically magical and imaginative narrative, and it doesn’t stoop to being blatant about its message. It’s also rendered with some of the best animation we’ve seen yet from the studio.

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  • Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba

    Disney held it’s big premiere for “The Lion King 3D” today at The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, fit with live African bongo music, a green carpet (made of fake grass) and a “Hakuna Matata” dress code. Not a bad way to spend an early Saturday afternoon, and I’ve been looking forward to this for a little while now, I must say.

    First thing’s first: the 3D. It’s actually quite wonderful. I was struck by how much the conversion had to work with, as there is a lot of depth built into the film as is. Whether it’s the foreground/background of the ants and zebras in the prologue, the use of Red-billed Hornbill Zazu in flight or just the opportunity to lend striking separation in sequences like the pulp Nazi-inspired “Be Prepared” number, there was just a lot of opportunity to make the 3D effective. That’s always helpful.

    The movie, for me, is a perfect one, and my favorite animated film ever. I’ve always been taken by it’s story, taking cues from Shakespeare and painting one of the studio’s most indelible, thematically potent gems. I haven’t seen it in a theater since the summer of 1994, and I was choking up five minutes in.

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  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 53 — BAFTA fallout, foreign language and animated short races, Banksy in L.A.

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk.

    In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

    We’ve got another 10 days left in the 2010-2011 awards season, not that anyone’s counting. That means three more episodes of Oscar Talk and Anne and I will exit stage right, but for now, there is still, as always, plenty to chew on. Let’s see what’s on the docket today…

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  • Infographic: The animated history of the Oscars

    Check out the full infographic, courtesy of Border Stylo, after the jump.

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  • OSCAR GUIDE: Best Short Film (Animated)

    Once again this year, Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International are teaming up to bring the Best Short Film nominees to a theater near you on February 11.  It’s the third straight year of this partnership and it remains a stellar way of getting these otherwise fringe categories out to the masses.

    This year’s animated short field features a typically varied mixture of styles and approaches.  But it is, I feel, a less impressive line-up than we’ve seen in recent years.  Nothing really stands out as profound or instantly worthy of awards consideration, but there are certainly particulars of each that warrant praise.  What’s more, it could be perceived as a relatively open race.

    The nominees are:

    “Day & Night” (Teddy Newton)
    “The Gruffalo” (Jakob Schuh and Max Lang)
    “Let’s Pollute” (Geefwee Boedoe)
    “The Lost Thing” (Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann)
    “Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)” (Bastien Dubois)

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Precursors begin, ‘Grit’ unveiled and Oscar hosts tapped

    • The biggest news of this busy week may well have been the announcement of James Franco and Anne Hathaway as this year’s Oscarcast hosts.

    • Unless you count “The Social Network” dominating the National Board of Review as bigger news, that is.

    • Or, for that matter, our first look at the Coen brothers’ “True Grit.”

    • Speaking of which, Kris reported on the current eligibility status of Carter Burwell’s score (still up in the air).

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  • Animated, live action short fields narrowed to 10 each

    Via AMPAS press release, the 10 live action shorts shortlisted this year are:

    “Ana’s Playground”
    “The Confession”
    “The Crush”
    “God of Love”
    “Na Wewe”
    “Seeds of the Fall”
    “Shoe”
    “The Six Dollar Fifty Man”
    “Sma Barn, Stora Ord (Little Children, Big Words)”
    “Wish 143”

    Animated shorts after the jump.

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  • 11/29 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Animated short qualifiers, chatting up Sakamoto, forecasting good things for ‘Lincoln’

    • Todd Gilchrist talks to the Oscar-winning composer of “The Last Emperor,” Ryûichi Sakamoto. [Cinematical]

    • John Lopez, like everyone else, I imagine, is already forecasting a major Oscar presence for Steve Spielberg’s Abraham Lincoln film. [Little Gold Men]

    • Exclusively revealing the 33 animated shorts qualifying for this year’s Oscar race. [Cartoon Brew]

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  • 11/5 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Boyle on ‘127 Hours’ faintings, best in animated villainy, lead actresses must suffer

    • Steve Pond gets Danny Boyle’s thoughts on this rash of faintings at screenings of “127 Hours.” [The Odds]

    • Sasha Stone calls 2010 (so far) one of the best years for film in recent history. [Awards Daily]

    • “Megamind” gets Josh Wigler thinking about the best animated villains of all time. [MTV Movies Blog]

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  • DreamWorks’ ‘Megamind’ brings out the best in Will Ferrell

    Was I just in a really good mood Saturday night or did DreamWorks’ “Megamind” send me out of the theater with a legitimate smile on my face?  The 3D never gets in the way, the concept is sound and crisp, the voice talent is top notch and it doesn’t feel like everyone’s just going through the motions (probably because Will Ferrell was passionate about the story, which he had a hand in conceiving).

    Most importantly, it was a damn good time at the movies.

    I’m fairly high on animation in general this year.  Pixar’s “Toy Story 3,” of course, is one of the year’s best, as is DreamWorks’ own “How to Train Your Dragon.” Disney’s “Tangled” manages to stay fresh and progressive within the familiarity of the studio’s classic fairytale offerings and Sylvain Chomet’s “The Illusionist” is as touching as they come (with the year’s best score to boot — though a recently filed lawsuit over the copyright of the title could keep the film off the books this year).

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  • INTERVIEW: ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ producer Bonnie Arnold

    Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, Bonnie Arnold was a product of the Watergate generation of journalists, fired up by the state of current political affairs. She sought her undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia and soon took off to grad school at Boston University, where some dabbling in broadcasting was enough to light a fire of passion for the film business.

    “I got an internship at WGBH and started to get a little taste of what was going on and what other jobs might be available,” she says over lunch on the DreamWorks campus (as they call the Google-esque environment, with its health initiatives, yoga classes and mind-settling landscaping) in Glendale, California. That job led her back to a job in Atlanta with a television station and producer David Picker, who was working on the first season of “American Playhouse.” As soon as she set foot on location, Arnold knew this business was for her.

    “The minute I saw what went on behind the scenes of a film production, any menial job on that set was exciting to me,” she says. “Now it seems there are film commissions in every city in every state in the country. At that time there just weren’t. But Atlanta being a major airport, and Burt Reynolds bringing a lot of work there, Georgia’s a big state with mountains and the beach, there were a lot of advantages. I felt like I could be a bigger fish in a smaller pond.”

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  • Toasting the DVD release of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’

    If you haven’t heard by now, Paramount Pictures is launching full speed into a Best Picture campaign for the animated hit “How to Train Your Dragon,” and why not?  When you’re talking about Pixar-level acclaim and a highly respectable box office take, it’s worth it to test those waters.

    A lovely soiree last night toasting the forthcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of the film was an early stop on that journey.  Last year you’ll recall the studio put together a similar event for the “Star Trek” home video release.

    The party was held at the new Red O restaurant on Melrose and among those in attendance were DreamWorks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg and voice talents Craig Ferguson and America Ferrera.  Ferrera was a delight to chat with, eager to dive into the recently announced sequel.  I also had a nice talk with her fiancee, Ryan Piers Williams, a film buff and himself a filmmaker (Edinburgh hit “The Dry Land”).  The film’s directors, Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, were also in the crowd, as well as, randomly, actor Robert Forster.  Mostly though it was a room full of BFCA, LAFCA and HFPA members, so the aim was clear.

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  • Disney previews holiday titles: ‘Secretariat,’ ‘Tangled,’ ‘TRON’

    Last night on the Disney lot the studio held its annual holiday showcase, previewing material from major films set to hit theaters this fall.  Outside the theater there was a massive illuminated “Secretariat” display across from a live horse prancing around in circles, which itself was just steps away from a “TRON Legacy” light cycle.  If you’re gonna roll out the hype, spare no expense.

    First up there was a rather arbitrary teaser for the only completed film featured, “Secretariat” (which I’ve seen but can’t write about until Monday).  Done and done.

    Then came the “TRON Legacy” showcase, introduced by director Joseph Kosinski.  We were treated to 23 minutes of the film (including much of the segment shown at Comic-Con in July).  Most of the effects were in place though the sound had not yet been punched up by Skywalker.

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  • ‘Megamind’ poster

    DreamWorks Animation’s “Megamind” is set to battle Disney’s “Tangled” for early holiday audiences this November.  The most recent trailer spoiled the movie for a great many but at least the poster is safe and, well standard.  Is there something that’s supposed to be subconsciously attractive about yellow, though?  Because consciously, it’s not doing it for me.  Check out the full image after the jump.
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  • ‘Fur of Flying’ clip

    If you go see “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” this weekend, you’ll be treated to one of the new stereoscopic 3D Warner Bros. cartoons, “Fur of Flying.” A clip of the short has been lingering on the net for a while and I never got around to posting it, so I figured today was as good a time as any.  I can’t wait to sse it (and the other shorts WB has been cooking up.)  Maybe we’ll be seeing it pop up in the Best Animated Short race.  Take a look at the clip after the jump.

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  • ‘Tangled’ trailer

    Disney’s latest throwback, “Tangled,” could make a real dent this fall, which could harness a nomination for Best Animated Feature Film by season’s end.  But it’ll have DreamWorks’s “Megamind” to contend with in the same frame.  Gerard doesn’t seem to think it’ll make the cut, and I’ll confess I’m not entirely impressed by the latest trailer, but I’m looking forward to the film regardless.  Check out the trailer via Apple by clicking the link below or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • 9/10 Oscarweb Round-up

    • Jeffrey Wells, meanwhile, re-posts his thoughts on James Solomon’s screenplay. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Pete Hammond reports extensively from Wednesday’s “Tangled” event on the Disney lot. [Deadline]

    • Tim Gray on Venice’s unique role in film history. [Variety]

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  • ‘Megamind’ trailer

    DreamWorks has already released a couple of trailers for the animated “Megamind,” but the latest (via Apple) is probably the last full-length one we’ll get in advance of the November 5 release.  I really liked what I saw of the film at Comic-Con this year and given that we’re likely to see five nominees in the animated feature category this year due to a rule change broadening what is considered feature length, it could have a fighting chance.  But the competition is stiff, and not just from the usual suspects.  Check out the trailer by clicking the image below or watch the embed after the jump.

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