DreamWorks owns the top of the Best Animated Movies of 2011 List
2011 was a good year for animated film. Not a great one. Just good.
Pixar fumbled and Dreamworks upped their game. Winnie the Pooh and The Lion King 3D brought a strong old-school flavor, but it was Tintin, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots which garnered the top slots.
Arthur Christmas
While a new Pooh film made have made from adults nostalgic, it was the sensibilities of Arthur Christmas which really impressed me.
The family centric story and Arthur’s journey to find an identity resonated well within the confines of the twist on Christmas mythology. Only $46 million U.S. doomed my hope for a sequel.
Kung Fu Panda 2
DreamWorks Animation is now hot on the trail of the current trendsetters over at Pixar as KFP2 offered a touching origin tale for Jack Black’s Po, and top-notch baddies in the shape of the nefarious Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman).
Puss in Boots
In some ways, this seemed like a silly premise, but the western blend with the Shrek fairy tales truly delivered a great adventure with plenty of heart.
Puss (Antonio Banderas) was paired with Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) against Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and the end result stood on its own and extended the universe for further Shrek films.
The Adventures of Tintin
While there is a proposed Tintin trilogy, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson seem unlikely to bring audiences more Tintin adventures. The interesting motion capture may not hold up well in the coming decade, but it SHOULD be remember for moving the technology forward.
Comments on others, why they flopped and/or how they are good:
Rio
This was no Ice Age and Jesse Eisenberg’s voice is grating without the facial expressions to offset his pitchy tone.
Cars 2
Disney knows how to make money: sell toys.
WALL-E was truly amazing and Cars 2 was…well, a sequel to the first film, adding new cute characters with pleny of Mater jokes to make kids laugh.
Rango
Johnny Depp as a cowboy lizard – what could go wrong? Well, just about everything.
Hop
Well, Hollywood can make an Easter Bunny film and well, it was entertaining. Sadly, just like most Easter baskets, it was full of hollow candy with little else to offer.
