Animation’s Naughty Dog…

A naughty dog? What in the world does an undisciplined canine have to do with the medium? Recently, I've been getting into a video game series called Uncharted. The developer of said series happens to be called Naughty Dog. Let's go back a little ways and look at something that put this very developer on …

The Complications of the Animated Oscar

The Oscars and animation... The nominations are now out, and once again it's the same old predictable game. There are nine Best Picture nominations, as a tenth slot is inexplicably missing. All of the films on there are filmed with real-life cameras on real-life sets with real-life people, or films that have a lot of …

Pixar Generalizations and Complaints That I Don’t Like!

Loving certain works of entertainment can come with a price. I know that very well as a fan of animation, and especially the legendary Disney animated classics "canon". Back in August of 2015 on my mainline news blog, I ripped five generalizations about the body of work apart. Now, I want to do the same …

Conflicted on Nominations

The time is almost near... The nominations for the 89th Academy Awards ceremony will be out soon... I've talked a great deal about the Best Animated Feature category in the past, but this year - more so than any past year - I'm a bit conflicted about two mainstreamers. Now, before we go any further, …

Why ‘Borrowed Time’ Should Win

The nominating process is underway, and the debates are firing... Now it's my turn. What do I think the Academy should give the little golden men to? Well, I want to talk about short films... Or, a short film to be specific. Borrowed Time. *SPOILERS ahead, for anyone who hasn't seen this film yet* Made …

Breaking Down the Later Disney Renaissance, Part 5

This is it folks... We're at the end of the Disney Renaissance. Or, more appropriately, the time where most people mark the end of Disney's esteemed Renaissance era of animated features. We're at the last film in a streak of box office successes, the end of an apparently idyllic time that soured a bit in …

Breaking Down the Latter Disney Renaissance, Part 4

Two prestige pictures, one zany comedy, what would it take to turn that fading candle into something akin to forest fire? Perhaps the answer was... Something that was more of an action picture and less an adventure-comedy love story. An adaptation of the legend of Hua Mulan was perhaps yet another thing that would make …

Breaking Down the Later Disney Renaissance, Part 3

Was it possible that the very directors who played a big part in the launching of the Disney Renaissance would be the ones to save it? I'm talking about Ron Clements and John Musker. They joined Walt Disney Productions in the mid-to-late 1970s, getting their kicks on features like The Rescuers and The Fox and …

Breaking Down The Later Disney Renaissance, Part 2

Before I go on about the latter half of the Disney Renaissance, I'd like to talk about an element that characterized the earlier Renaissance that you don't see very often these days in the land of theatrical animation. This element, I feel, faded away with the very feature I'll be reviewing today... Start with Beauty …

Is Disney Marketing Going a New Route?

Earlier, I had complained about how Disney mishandled a few of their 2015 and 2016 releases. To me, it seemed like their marketing department couldn't handle so many big, tentpole, "event" pictures at once. For every Avengers: Age of Ultron and Inside Out, there would be a Tomorrowland and a Good Dinosaur. The Good Dinosaur …