So I finally finished my video on the 2012 Oscars. Sorry this one took me so long (and it was a pain to edit today also!).
In 2012 we had 5 nominees and they all have their strengths.
Brave– I recently talked about that in my Pixar review. It is a flawed film that doesn’t deliver what it promises in the first 15 minutes. It is supposed to be an epic legend but turns out to be a domestic dispute between a mother and a daughter. I don’t mind that but it is a letdown when we are promised something mythic. I do like Merida, the music and the animation is top notch. I personally feel they took a lot of the lessons from Brave and used them to make Frozen better.
Paranorman- My favorite Liaka film and a film that made my top 50 animated films (so clearly I like it). I really like the character of Norman and the fresh take they have on the bully narrative with the bullied becoming the bully. I think it is very scary and funny with unique world building and character design.
Frankenweenie- This was a new one for me. I had avoided it because I really don’t care for Tim Burton’s style of movies. However, I must admit that I thought it was charming. I really liked the relationship between Victor and Sparky. It makes you want to cry when he loses his dog and all the homages to the classic horror films are a lot of fun. I also enjoy how they made it in black and white. Overall a very entertaining film with a lot of heart.
Pirates Band of Misfits- One of Aardman’s best films with incredible attention to detail it is an underrated film. They pack in the laughs and yet still tell a good story with the Captain wanting to win Pirate of the Year and his interactions with both Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria. If you haven’t seen it trust me it is worth a watch!
Wreck-it Ralph– A film that starts out and ends strong but gets mired in a bland Sugar Rush world in the middle section. Most people love this film but I think it is good but not perfect. I like the character of Ralph but Vanellope I find annoying. With the power cord train station they promise you all the worlds of the video games and yet spend 75 minutes in Sugar Rush, which to me is a disappointment. But it is still an enjoyable film. The villain reveal is done very well and I love Sergeant Tamora.
Like I said in the video, I think most people would pick Wreck-it Ralph for 2012 Oscar. I can totally see that. Of course, Brave won in a bit of an upset. I personally would give it to Paranorman but I know I’m in the deep minority on that. They are all enjoyable films. 🙂
What would be your pick?
I have three movies which I could have seen winning that year: Wreck-it Ralph, Paranormal and Rise of the Guardians (which is easily my favourite DreamWorks movie). Brave had impressive animation, but not much more to it. With so many stronger movies it shouldn’t have won.
Yeah Rise of the Guardians is a really good film. I can totally see an argument for any of those 3 winning.
I prob would have given it to Pirates or Frankenweenie, tbh. And I’d have loved for Rise of the Guardians to be nominated!
Oh yeah I forgot about Rise of the Guardians. I really enjoy that film also.
It’s interesting more people have picked Frankenweenie than I would have thought. What a cute movie. 🙂
I don’t think I’d have used the word, “cute” to describe Frankenweenie, lol, but I did think it was well-made!
I think the relationship between Sparky and Victor is very sweet or cute. Yes it has dark sensibility but I found it very gentle and sweet.
Surprisingly, I still have yet to see Paranorman, but I’ve seen everything else. I actually agree with Brave winning. However, I wouldn’t have minded if maybe Pirates won as well as funny and enjoyable as it is. I mean I agree that Brave might not necessarily be one of Pixar’s best, especially when comparing it to ones like Inside Out, Finding Nemo, etc. Bot to mention it was likely a little too similar to films like Brother Bear and Mulan. Still, I thought the music was enjoyable, the story was still enjoyable even though it probably could have been better, and I like how the mother and the daughter end up learning their lessons in the end. Nevertheless, I respect your opinion. Now, onto the last couple years. Just curious, will you review the 2015 Oscars when that comes around and say whether or not the film won or not for that year?
I agree with you on Brave. It has its strengths. I really don’t mind watching it.
I will definitely be doing 2015. I will do an animation lookback for all the animated films like I did last year.
I’m really surprised I thought I would get tons of hate for my more lukewarm thoughts on Wreck-it Ralph but so far not. Awesome!
For sure! Just curious, I’m trying to remember, did you do a top 10 animated films list last year, or how did you organize your animated lookback review that you’ll be doing for this upcoming year?
I did but it was before I saw Song of the Sea and so in February I did my animation lookback series of videos. They didn’t get many hits but I’m still proud of them. This year will be much better because I have better editing software and can use clips/images much more effectively. But here are last years videos if you want to take a look. http://54disneyreviews.com/2015/02/22/animation-lookback-2014-videos/
I did it by category (best character, best villain, overall favorite, best artistry etc). I will definitely do that for 2015. Hopefully there won’t be anything like Song of the Sea which was released in LA in December but didn’t come to Utah till February. That makes end of the year stuff hard but I’m excited. Thank you for asking.
Oh, these videos. Oh, now I think I recall watching these. My bad for not recalling them before now. Still, thanks for reposting that link!
Thank you!
You’re welcome!