In Contention

Tag: Ponyo

  • THE LONG SHOT: Cartoon network

    Mary and MaxAs the year winds down, and critics and entertainment journalists search for neat blanket tags with which to label the year that was, “the year of animation” is a phrase that is getting increasingly bandied about – some going so far as to declare 2009 the greatest year of all time for animated product. (Certainly, TIME magazine has fed that narrative, by naming a trio of ‘toons the year’s three greatest films.)

    It’s up for debate whether such talk is a result of extraordinary across-the-board quality, or sheer numbers. Make no mistake, this year has turned up more visible animated titles, in a broader range of artistic formats, than any in recent memory.

    Confirmation of this deluge comes in the Academy’s official listing of 20 titles in the hunt for the Best Animated Feature Oscar – the largest number since the category’s inception in 2001, and one that ensures the first five-strong slate of nominees since 2002.

    Of course, 2002, despite the higher-than-usual proportion of contenders, was hardly a banner year for the medium: “Spirited Away” may have taken a well-deserved Oscar, but the amount of filler it had to beat in the process – including such already forgotten snoozes as “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” and “Treasure Planet” – was proof positive that quantity doesn’t equal quality in this particular race.

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  • ‘Coraline’ leads the field of Annie nominees

    Coraline“Coraline” and “Up” both received nominations in eight categories.  “The Princess and the Frog” showed up in five while “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” showed up in four.

    “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (3),  “Monsters vs. Aliens” (3), “9” (2), “Astro Boy” (2) and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” (2) brought up the rear with mentions in three and two categories respectively.  “Ponyo” also only landed two nods, for music and direction, so that’s probably worth noting.

    I’m listing per category, by the way, because it’s weird to me to have two separate “nominations” in fields like character design and production design, one per person.  Why not just one for the film with the artists listed as nominees?  It makes sense for vocal performance nods, but not really otherwise.  Anyway, to be fair, I guess “Coraline” leads the whole field with 10 total nominations, while “Up” has nine.  “The Princess and the Frog” has eight, with that in mind.

    Anyway, check out the full list of feature nominees after the jump (and the full list of all nominees at the Annie website).

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  • We can officially add ‘A Christmas Carol’ to the animated list

    Gary Oldman in A Christmas CarolYesterday we covered the animated feature film race and the potential for the category to have five nominees this year, largely dependent on Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” being submitted as animation (a decision completely in his hands).  As it turns out, the film will indeed be submitted for consideration.

    That, along with “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” brings the tally up to 16 titles.  Some are expressing doubts that “Tinker Bell” can qualify, but I’m told the film “looks great, is made professionally, and will receive a theatrical run in LA, so those are the criteria.”  Still, being right on the edge, this thing could go either way.

    I’m still waiting on confirmation that the French film “A Town Called Panic” had a qualifying run or will have one (mass confusion), and ditto Summit’s “Astro Boy,” but that would be 17 and the absolute ceiling (by my calculation) on the number of submitted titles.

    Assuming five nominees, here’s what I’m thinking…

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  • How the animated category could go to five

    Tinker Bell and the Lost TreasurePete Hammond has gone ahead and written the column I was going to write today, but you snooze you lose.

    Recently there was some discussion about the animated feature film category in our comments section.  The number of potential submissions is right on the edge.  By my count in the Contenders section, there are 16 films listed, which is the magic number that would yield a five-nominee slate.

    The field was widened recently with a planned qualifying run from Disney for “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” at the El Capitan prior to DVD release.  To me, that smells like a studio trying to inflate the number of qualifying titles in order to get a wider field of contenders, because “Tinker Bell?”  Really?  One would expect it to just hit shelves as an afterthought.

    Anyway, there is one other title that could possibly be submitted: Zeitgeist Films’ “A Town Called Panic.” I called Zeitgeist yesterday to find out whether the company had run the film or would attempt to do so to qualify it, and the gist I got was that they just weren’t interested.  I expect a phone call if things change on that front, but for now, it’s unlikely.

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  • Animated feature forecast: could be ‘Cloudy’

    Cloudy with a Chance of MeatballsOver at The Odds (The Wrap’s new Oscar blog, in case you haven’t been reading), Steve Pond brings up the fierce competition of this year’s animated feature category and brings up an intriguing tidbit worth considering.

    In looking through Time Out London’s list of the 50 greatest animated films of all time, collected by the magazine’s editors and filmmaker Terry Gilliam, Pond takes note of the complete absence of both “Up” and “Ponyo.” These are two films considered very much in the thick of this year’s toon Oscar race, of course.

    However, after that aside, he comes to the two animated films from 2009 that did make the list.  The first is Henry Selick’s “Coraline,” but, well, hopefully the other note will provide some insight to those puzzled over my animated feature film predictions.

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  • ‘Ponyo’ saves the world

    PonyoOkay, not quite the world, but a very small part of it. The small, picturesque Japanese fishing port that inspired the setting for Hayao Miyazaki’s “Ponyo” has been spared a drastic redevelopment (a landfill and bridge were on the cards, apparently) thanks to the film itself. Variety reports:

    Miyazaki conceived the idea for “Ponyo,” which earned $170 million at the Japanese B.O. last year, in a two-month stay at Tomonoura port and his animators used it as a setting for the toon. It has since become a mecca for “Ponyo” fans, boosting revenues of local businesses.

    The International Council on Monuments and Sites has named Tomonoura as an endangered historical area because of the project.

    I have yet to see “Ponyo” for myself (thanks, sleepy Brit distributors), so I can’t speak to its other virtues, but any film that keeps the world prettier is okay in my book.

  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘District’ shines

    District 9*All historic figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Internet hype doesn’t always translate into box office success, but “District 9” was able to live up to the buzz and debut with a strong $37 million and the top spot this weekend. For a film that cost a reported $30 million to make, this is obviously a huge win for Sony and one of the bigger surprises of the summer. As a buddy succinctly put it in a tweet: “’District 9’ might be the only movie this year I want to see that I didn’t know I wanted to see six months ago.”

    Credit the fantastic marketing and an interesting/original concept in a summer-friendly genre for the success. The first two weeks of August are typically robust but then the month just dies and only two movies released past the 14th of the month have debuted higher than “District 9” (“Freddy vs. Jason” and “Mortal Kombat”). Audience reception is fantastic so I can see this one sticking around enough to reach $85 million or so. Now, who else is going as Wicus with a prawn arm for Halloween?

    “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” takes second place after a 59% drop to $22.5 million. That actually could have been worse so Paramount will take it. The running total is already $98.8 million and that’s enough to encourage the inevitable sequel. Might I suggest the title “G.I. Joe: The Recasting of Channing Tatum?”

    Third place goes to “The Time Traveler’s Wife” with $19.2 million. I’ve got nothing to say about this because quite frankly, this movie bores me. I like Rachel McAdams so I wish she’d hurry up and make a movie that looks halfway tolerable again.

    “Julie & Julia” dropped a respectable 38% to $12.4 million and that should be the largest drop it experiences during its run. No other direct competition comes into play until “All About Steve” after Labor Day so I expect Meryl and Amy to be the number one choice for adult females for a while.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘G.I.’ dough

    G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars

    Paramount secured what is likely to be the last blockbuster opening of the summer with “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” this weekend. For a film that was plagued with bad buzz a few months ago and was withheld from most critics, a $56.2 million start is a fantastic result and on par with other kid-friendly action films like “Fantastic Four” and the early August start of “XXX.”

    Of course, legs will be atrocious and a total gross of around $120 million is the likely tipping point, but Paramount will be more than happy to take that to the bank along with solid international grosses. It may not be a “Transformers”-like success, but the studo must have known Stephen Sommers is no Michael Bay. And Marlon Wayans is no Shia LaBeouf.

    Sony’s “Julie & Julia” had a solid bow in the runner-up spot with $20.1 million on nearly half the screens of “G.I. Joe.” To be honest, I thought it would be bigger, but this is a film that could definitely play well through Labor Day. Reviews are good enough and older audiences are the only demographic left who don’t necessarily rush out on opening weekend. “Mamma Mia!” only debuted with $27.8 million en route to a $144.1 million finish, let’s not forget. Forget 3D, perhaps this was the film to usher back smell-o-vision.

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  • 7/16 Web Round-up

    Emma Watson• Emmy nominations unleashed, Denis Leary robbed again. [Emmys.tv]

    • Xan Brooks and the “Antichrist” debate.  One more time around. [The Guardian]

    • Jonathan Romney, meanwhile, tries to break down the mind of Lars Von Trier. [The Independent]

    • 25 new faces of independent film. [Filmmaker Magazine]

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  • Could ‘Mr. Fox,’ ‘Carol’ join toon Best Pic hopefuls?

    Fantastic Mr. FoxJoBlo has an exclusive first look today at the central character from Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” a Scott Rudin-produced animated Roald Dahl adaptation.  The film was recently shifted from Fox over to Fox Searchlight for the purposes of distribution, lest a small, niche film such as this be lost in the shuffle.  But I have also heard murmurs (none of them confirmed, mind you) that the film will be pushed for a Best Picture nomination now that there are 10 slots up for grabs.

    What is confirmed, however, is that Henry Selick’s “Coraline” will be campaigned for the top prize by Focus Features (while Richard Curtis’s “The Boat That Rocked,” recently speculated in this space as being primed for Oscar, will not).  And of course, Disney/Pixar will be hitting the pavement in favor of “Up.”  Before long, the question becomes, “Well if they’re going for it, we should, too.”  Which leads me to wonder…

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  • Disney sends all-star auteur team to Comic-Con

    Tim BurtonWell, this is impressive. Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Tim Burton and Robert Zemeckis have all lined up to help represent Walt Disney Studios at Comic-Con in San Diego later this month, in the interests of showcasing a range of new and/or revived Disney features at the geek mecca. This is the first Comic-Con for all four filmmakers, so it’s quite a coup for Disney to assemble them in one place.

    Burton and Zemeckis will be joining a panel on 3D filmmaking (the first time Comic-Con has broached the subject), which will include discussion, not to mention exclusive footage, of their respective upcoming 3D features “A Christmas Carol” and “Alice in Wonderland.”

    Meanwhile, Miyazaki and Lasseter are set to participate in an animation panel (which also includes such veterans of  hand-drawn Disney animation as “The Little Mermaid” duo Ron Clements and John Musker), in which a range of upcoming animated titles — including “Toy Story 3,” “The Princess and the Frog” and “Ponyo” — will all be previewed.

    Both sound likely to be hot tickets. Kris, of course, will be on site in San Diego and covering the whole shebang for your reading pleasure. Lucky man. (Full press release after the cut.)

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  • McWeeny on Ponyo

    Frankie Jonas (voice) in PonyoYesterday was confession time as I got into my own disconnect with the cinema of Hayao Miyazaki, a brand well-respected and certainly cherished the world over but somehow lost on me.  His work “nevertheless represents an imagination that…is a welcome dose of creativity in a business sorely lacking it year after year,” I wrote.

    With that in mind, the following passage from Drew McWeeny’s Motion/Captured review of the film, which closed the LA Film Fest last night, struck me right between the eyes.  I don’t have kids, mind you, but I hear what McWeeny is saying.

    And while we’re on the subject, I like that Drew has made his work such a personal endeavor.  I was at the screening he attended.  His son, Toshi, was right behind me and you could sense his engagement.  So maybe I’m reading it with more of an insider’s take than everyone else will, but that doesn’t affect the truth of his sentiments.

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  • Miyazaki’s ‘Ponyo’ closes LAFF

    Hayao MiyazakiI’ve come to the awkward, “I’m the only one” conclusion that, despite my best efforts, the cinema of Hayao Miyazaki just doesn’t paddle my boat.

    Looking back over the animator’s past works again throughout the week in preparation for this write-up, and having taken in his latest, “Ponyo,” just a few weeks back, I still find myself struggling to maintain an interest in these films.  “Ponyo” is probably more in line with “My Neighbor Totoro” or “Kiki’s Delivery Service” than the director’s more ambitious fare, but it nevertheless represents an imagination that, despite my aversion to the work, is a welcome dose of creativity in a business sorely lacking it year after year.

    “Ponyo” is a loose adaptation of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” though Ariel’s mermaid has been swapped for Ponyo’s gold fish and there isn’t a villain within earshot.  But a narrative lacking an antagonist is par for the course for Miyazaki, perhaps one of the reasons I never warmed to his work but still a brazen way to go about visual storytelling business.

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  • Miyazaki’s ‘Ponyo’ US trailer

    I’ll write more about “Ponyo” when the film closes the LA fest next week.  For now, we’ve got a new trailer (that I’ve been rather slow to post).  I imagine most Miyazaki devotees will be head-over-heels in love with this thing.  I don’t count myself in their ranks, though I have the utmost respect for the filmmaker’s uncompromising imagination.

  • *chirp* *chirp*

    Wow, there is quite literally nothing worth discussing today.  This has been a pretty eventless two-week spread, actually.  I have no interest in writing about the baseless “G.I. Joe” speculation.  Nothing to offer the “Taking of Pelham 123” discussion because I’ve yet to make my way to a screening.  Nothing to say about the limited releases that I haven’t already said.  Nothing to say about “Ponyo,” which I saw earlier in the week, until LAFF amps up.

    Nothing.  Just the healthy anticipation for the approaching fest, an upcoming look at “Public Enemies” and finally running an interview piece with Denis Leary that was a Santa Monica delight last week (even though we don’t cover TV — but I couldn’t resist an hour with the man).

    Call this an open thread to discuss what you will.  I got…nothing.

  • Disney’s ‘Ponyo’ gets a poster

    Retitled for domestic release.  The animated feature category could be stacked this year:

    Ponyo

    (Courtesy: AICN, via /Film)