Hey guys! So 2009 was a very strong year for animation. It was a year with 5 films nominated for Best Animated Feature Film and all 5 I enjoy. There were also strong films that I personally think could have gotten a nomination in another year like Ponyo (I know you’all disagree with me on that one but oh well!), 9 and A Christmas Carol, to name a few.
Not only are the 5 films nominated very strong but they are also really different so I had a lot to say about each. I ended up making 2 videos about them (my editing software was also giving me all kinds of grief so I got up what I could in 2 batches). The first video is about Princess and the Frog and Secret of the Kells.
Basically I’m hot and cold on Princess and the Frog. There is a lot I love about it and then things I really don’t like. I love the animation, the character of Tiana, vocal performances and 3 of the songs. I don’t like the voodoo elements, the convoluted story or Prince Naveen. He is not Tiana’s equal. All in all, that puts it in the middle of my Disney rankings. It’s certainly worthy of the nomination and worth a watch even with some major flaws.
Secret of the Kells is beautiful and looks like illustrations from a book. It is only lessened in my opinion because I think Song of the Sea by the same team is much better. Maybe an unfair comparison but I can’t help it when they are so similar. Nevertheless, Secret of Kells has a beautiful look to it. I like the story and the lead character Brendon is very appealing. The Aisling of the forest is beautiful with stirring music from Kila.
The next video has the remaining 3 films- Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline and Up. You all have heard my thoughts on Up ad nauseam but I did get a little emotional when talking about it and how it reminds me of my Grandpa who I love. It’s a special movie to me and I filmed the review several times but each time I started to tear up. That was my honest response so I left it in. 🙂
Fantastic Mr Fox is a very creative film directed by Wes Anderson. I love the world building and the story is a lot of fun based on Roald Dahl’s book. I really like the characters like Ash, Mr and Mrs Fox. The story is unpredictable even for someone who has read the book and it is extremely creative. It is actually my favorite Wes Anderson film and while I don’t find it super funny I do enjoy it.
Coraline is a film from Liaka and I liked it much more this g0-around. I always enjoyed it but for whatever reason I really was charmed while watching it this week. It is directed by Henry Sellick who did Nightmare Before Christmas and it has the same dark tone and style of that film. I love the character of Coraline. She is sincere, quirky, endearing, inquisitive and in the end loving. She ends up getting presented with another version of her family through this magic portal and it leads to some big scares but also a huge heart. I love that she comes to accept her parents for who they are, even though they aren’t very good people in a lot of ways. She still loves them anyway. It’s really surprising and visually inventive.
In this case, I clearly think the right film won because Up is my favorite movie. If I was going to pick a second place I would pick Coraline, but I can see people’s arguments for all 5. What would you pick? Thanks so much for your comments and for watching the videos. It has been a great series both on the channel and this blog and next up is 2010 where my Tangled got snubbed (wa, wa, wa,….). I look forward to watching the Illusionist for the first time. Thanks!