#kids have nimona and spider verse and barbie

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #595

Top Ten DreamWorks Animations

The animation landscape is in kind of a funny place right now. The big, exciting films aren’t really coming from the traditional, old-school classic producers; the likes of Spider-Verse, Pinocchio, and Nimona. And the studio that seems most likely to guarantee a big hit isn’t a traditional powerhouse, it’s probably Illumination, the brand behind Minions and (depending on how long Barbie’s legs are) the biggest film of 2023, Super Mario Bros. Disney – of course still the biggest of Big Fish – hasn’t quite climbed back to its pre-pandemic pedestal that gave it record-breaking hit after record-breaking hit; Pixar, even more damaged by a Covid-related switch to its films debuting on Disney+, has lost a lot of its lustre, and even when its films are great (Turning Red is a Pixar top ten) they don’t register in the zeitgeist the way they did ten or so years ago. And then there’s DreamWorks.

Back when Pixar was on the rise, the whole thing was the rivalry between them and DreamWorks Animation. Spinning out, mostly, from the rivalry Jeffrey Katzenberg had with Disney boss Michael Eisner, DreamWorks were the other company making CG animated films, and they pulled stunts like moving the release of Antz earlier than A Bug’s Life. After Shrek, which ignited a firestorm of self-aware animations with smarty-pants comedy, DreamWorks really felt like a player. For a long time it seemed like the two companies had a genuine running rivalry, the twin forces in Western animation. And then things sort of started to fade, to the point where I didn’t even know this summer’s Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken was a DreamWorks film until I saw the ident at the start.

And yet. And yet! Last year’s The Bad Guys was phenomenal, one of DreamWorks’ best in ages. And as for the years-later Puss-in-Boots sequel that nobody asked for? Well, blimey. So perhaps DreamWorks’ seeming lack in prominence is just part of the explosion in animation we’ve been seeing in recent years, the multiple films from multiple studios, the rise in popularity of more independent animations like those from Cartoon Saloon or Laika, as well as the wider Western appreciate of Ghibli. So for no real reason other than I haven’t done this already, here’s a big old celebration of a big old animation studio; one of the pioneers of CG animation, one of the true rivals to Disney in the nineties and noughties, and one that should be applauded not just for its willingness to upend the applecart, but also how it still feels free to make films tonally and visually distinct from one another. Yay for the kid in the moon.

Puss-in-Boots: The Last Wish (2022): possibly recency bias, but this film slaps. On one hand, it’s a well-told comedy and adventure story. It’s really funny, it’s bouncy and pacey, it has great voice performances. And the changes to the visual and animation style are brilliant, updating the tired and uncanny Shrek designs to great effect. But what’s amazing and surprising is how deftly it deals with its central concept, and how deep that concept is – this is a family film about the main character coming to terms with capital-D Death, who is personified to chilling effect. It winds all these threads up to such a surprisingly stunning effect that it really bodes well for the future of the company.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011): the Kung Fu Panda films are great; big, daft, beautiful films that are not only supremely silly but also have – right from the off – really good and exciting fight scenes. The second film improves on the first in every respect – Gary Oldman is tremendous as the villain – but it especially excels in the visual department. The choreography of the fight scenes and the kung fu is incredibly well done, but the dynamic and stylised effects that punctuate these sequences – and how effectively they were rendered in 3D at the time – is just brill, basically.

Shrek 2 (2004): ah, the old stalwarts. Shrek wasn’t the first DreamWorks film, but really the company is the House That Shrek Built. That first film is great, but it was its sequel that solidified and perfected the formula, both with the addition of the fabulously Zorro-aping Puss-in-Boots and also its pop-culture-referencing sight gags (fantasy settings where shops have punning names that riff on real-world places? Yeah, Shrek 2 is responsible for how widespread and irritating that gag became). The Shrek plot of “Shrek has cold feet, cocks up, tries to fix it” wasn’t stale; we had some great music numbers with poppy covers of classic hits, and a frankly outstanding finale that was both action packed and hilarious (“Be goooood!”). yeah, okay; the Shrek films haven’t aged all that well, both with the designs of the characters and the slightly dated gags; but this is the series’ zenith and remains a funny and entertaining film.

The Bad Guys (2022): another recent film that shakes up the standard look and feel of DreamWorks – with some great painterly textures – and is also just tremendous fun. It’s story of, well, bad guys who break good, and the various double-crossings and hijinks that inevitably ensue. It has some really entertaining and ingeniously-staged heist scenes, and the plot keeps you guessing. But above all I think it’s the performances that sing; it feels mature, not in tone or content, but in the sincerity of the acting and the believability of the characterisation. It’s like watching a Steven Soderberg movie. For kids. Starring a wolf, a fox, and a snake.

The Road to El Dorado (2000): an underrated gem, one which succeeds thanks to a kind of double act that’s relatively rare in animation. Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline as Miguel and Turio bounce off each other in remarkable and hilarious ways, a couple of conmen with hearts of gold. The 2D animation is bold and beautiful, the city of gold rendered in bright, colourful fashion; and it does a good job of sticking the boot into colonialism too. Funny, tender, and pretty.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010): I imagine a lot of people would have this higher. It does a great job building a universe, and Toothless – the titular dragon – is a delightfully charming creation, dog-like, cat-like, and lizard-like. The weird schtick of the adults being Scottish and the kids being American works well, and the voice cast is great. It doesn’t really do anything particularly new or innovative, but it’s got a brilliant central relationship and some terrific flying scenes, and has a nice little thread of disability positivism running through it too.

The Prince of Egypt (1998): another of their early 2D efforts that isn’t talked about nearly enough nowadays. This was supposed to be their debut, a bold musical epic that was going out-Disney Disney. In truth it doesn’t hit the heights of the best of their nineties output, but it’s probably up there with, I dunno, Hercules or Hunchback. It’s actually quite a dark and sombre tale – as befits the source material – although there are some bouncy songs. It does a great job, in fact, of depicting the scale of the Exodus story, and the performances are top-level. It’s the kind of story Disney excelled at in the nineties, but absolutely a story they would not touch, not even now; a relatively faithful Biblical epic that features rivers of blood and infanticide and the actual for-real Voice of God. Top.

Antz (1998): the first film out of the gate was almost a statement of intent. Packed with Hollywood stars, it’s not a musical but has some real-life pop songs; it’s set in the present day, has a saucy, adult tone; characters die. It harnesses the nascent CG technology to great effect, with an almost woodcut feel to the ants; and there are thousands of them, a feat that seemed impossible at the time. It’s funny, too, in a witty, wordy way that most Disney films weren’t. And whilst it may have lost the Battle of the Bugs in 1998, I’d say on balance it probably is better than A Bug’s Life.  

Trolls (2016): a film that I think is somewhat maligned due to it being a toy adaptation with a cheesy, poppy vibe. But it’s that vibe that contributes to its success. It’s colourful to a fault, but that’s it’s DNA; it’s filled to the brim with pop songs, but where other kids’ animations feel like they’re using them as a crutch this one leans into it. It’s like a kids’ disco in animated form, but it’s also delightfully weird, with all kinds of odd critters and bizarre jokes. And it’s gorgeous, with these fab textures, making everything look like it’s hand crafted out of fuzzy felt and yarn.

The Croods (2013): there were a few things bumping up against the bottom of the pile here. I didn’t want to have two films from the same franchise (apart from my classing Puss-in-Boots as a spin-off). I also totally discounted the Aardman films that DreamWorks put out – Chicken Run and Flushed Away would both otherwise be on this list. And, yeah, look; I’m not wild about the Madagascar trilogy. The Croods, though, I’ve got a lot of time for. It’s hard to do a caveman comedy in the shadow of The Flintstones, but this ploughs its own furrow by making things really basic, essentially neanderthal. Nic Cage is terrific as dad Grug, and even though its story is incredibly predictable (overprotective dad, rebellious daughter, rinse and repeat) it gets by on the strength of its performances and the wild invention of its neolithic flora and fauna (giant animal hybrids for the win!). Also spawned a cartoon series that my daughter used to devour.

#top ten #films #animation #dreamworks #shrek #puss-in-boots #trolls #dragons #moses #movies #cartoons

[psionotic]

My Favorite Culture 2023

It's New Year's Eve, so time again for my annual post to this platform! Here are the things I experienced for the first time in 2023 though of course not all of them are from 2023.

—Books—

Tell Me I’m Worthless. There’s something rotten in the haunted house of Albion, and it’s British fascism and increasingly normalized transphobia.

Station Eleven. The world ended, but a small troupe of survivors travel the wasteland, performing Shakespeare and making music.

Friday Black. A collection of science fiction stories that nibble at our social and racial conscience. “Through the Flash” has become one of my favorite short stories.

Klara and the Sun. Another Ishiguro novel narrated by an insightful, sensitive outsider? Check. Sad robots and sick kids? Ow my heart.

Piranesi. A stately, somber fantasy about truth, memory, and identity (re-)formation.

I also enjoyed: Kaiju Preservation Society, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr

Classics I read for the first time: The Scarlet Letter, Billy Budd, Bartleby the Scrivener, Clotel, Little Women, The Awakening, Immortality, Assassin’s Apprentice, Man’s Search for Meaning, The Witching Hour, ‘Salem’s Lot, The Remains of the Day, Between Two Fires, The Leftovers

I was mixed on: Fairy Tale, You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife

I was bummed out by: California

—Movies—

Godzilla Minus One. Yes, the best movie I saw this year is about a giant nuclear-powered monster. It’s also about found family, redemption, and reckoning with a nation’s trauma—and shame.

Barbie. The anti-Fight Club; an all-singing, all-dancing Jewel of the World.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Come for the visual and auditory wonderlands, stay for the kinds of character stakes that more literary films can only genuflect towards.

Nimona. An adorable sci-fantasy queer allegory anchored by the punk rock snarl of Chloë Grace Moretz.

The Menu. The world’s most feted, reclusive chef (Ralph Fiennes @ maximum menace) throws an invitation-only dinner for some jagoff 1%-ers. Things get weird and then very, very bloody. Also Anya Taylor-Joy is in this and she’s maybe my favorite working actress..?

I also enjoyed: Polite Society, I Tonya, Elemental, The Marvels, No One Will Save You, Two Distant Strangers, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Classics I saw for the first time: The Haunting (1963), In the Mouth of Madness, Escape from New York, The Warriors, Lady Snowblood, Stalker, Sicario, Hanna, Insidious, Devil’s Pass, Edge of Tomorrow

I was mixed on: Creator, Last Night in Soho [though AT-J does her best!], The Invitation

I was bummed out by: Totally Killer

—TV—

Reservation Dogs. Succeeded Atlanta and Derry Girls as the best show about loveable weirdoes living in fraught circumstances. Now all three are over and I don’t know what to do, except say, “Love you bitches.”

Poker Face. Natasha Lyonne in a Rian Johnson-channeling Knives Out-by-way-of-Columbo joint with fun mysteries, a delicious visual sense, and delightful guest stars playing against type.

Scavengers Reign. Spacefarers separated during an emergency land on an alien world. An alien alien world with a complex, baffling ecosystem. Each is transformed by their experience. Alternatingly beautiful, horrifying, and profound.

Cunk on Earth. In this very British documentary series about the rise (?) of civilization, comedian Diane Morgan (as Philomena Cunk) asks some of the smartest historians and critics some of the dumbest questions imaginable. We’ve watched this maybe ten times this year, and it just keeps getting funnier every single one. Best line: “…they’d probably have a stroke, wouldn’t they?”

I also enjoyed: Silo, Fall of the House of Usher, The Last of Us, Harley Quinn, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, What We Do in the Shadows, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Castlevania: Nocturne, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds, Last Week Tonight, Taylor Tomlinson’s Quarter-Life Crisis and Look at You, Game Changer

I was mixed on: Star Wars: Ahsoka. Apparently the only nu-SW I can really enjoy is Andor and The Last Jedi…? Sad, this is.

—YT—

Folding Ideas. The best video essay channel covered the Metaverse, BlizzCon, and the GameStop stonks phenomenon this year.

Hbomberguy. The best video essay channel put out only a single video this year, the nearly four hour “Plagiarism and You(Tube)” which broke the internet and ended at least two careers.

Jacob Geller. The best video essay channel put out a half dozen videos this year, covering horror games, “Art in the Pre-Apocalypse”, the non-evolution of execution methods, and more.

Double Fine PsychOdyssey. A 32-part making-of documentary, following an indie game developer trying to build the at-long-last sequel to their most iconic game. During the seven years of development they face personality conflicts, staffing issues, artistic disagreements, the implosion of their publisher, angry fanboys, COVID, near-bankruptcy, a buy-out attempt, and a thousand other obstacles. If you’re interested in game development this is a must, but it’s also highly recommended to anyone involved with or fascinated by making collaborative art under capitalism (theater, film, etc).

—Games—

Baldur’s Gate 3. This was an incredible year for games, but nothing tops Larian Studios’ masterpiece. As good a simulation of an excellent D&D campaign as is possible in the medium, they’ve done just about everything right: deep character creation, memorable side characters and relationships, decisions with consequences that really matter, epic story moments, and satisfying tactical combat through some clever simplifications to the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition ruleset. People will be talking about (and re-playing) this for a long, long time.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The follow-up to one of the most creative and joyful open-world games ever made is even better than its predecessor, with a more heartfelt story and an unsurpassed physics and building system.

Alan Wake 2. Remedy’s Stephen King-meets-Twin Peaks classic got its loooong-awaited sequel. One half survival horror, one half hallucinogenic crazy train, all disturbing surreal goodness.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns. A little X-COM, a little Fire Emblem: Three Houses, marrying satisfying card- and turn-based tactical combat with some lovely character work. I never always knew I wanted to go stargazing with Illyana Rasputin, or watch movies with Nico Minoru, and this year I did both of these. (I also went fishing with Blade and joined a book club with Wolverine, so…).

I also enjoyed: Remnant 2, Dead Cells, Marvel Snap, Dead Space (2023), Resident Evil 4 (2023), Spiritfarer, Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart, Super Mario Wonder, Mario Kart 8 (booster courses)

Classics I played for the first time: Psychonauts, Portal 2, Rayman Legends

I was bummed out by: Diablo 4 [congrats to my once-favorite developer for earning this spot two years in a row!]

—Albums—

boygenius: The Record. Supergroup of queer indie-rock darlings put out their first LP and it’s top-to-bottom majesty. “Leonard Cohen” and “Not Strong Enough” might be my favorites now, but “True Blue” was my song o’ the summer and I must have spun it up a hundred times.

Mountain Goats: Jenny from Thebes. The first concert I’ve seen post-COVID was the Sacramento leg of the Goats’ recent tour. “Fresh Tattoo”, “Clean Slate”, and “Great Pirates” are highlights.

Susanne Sundfør: Blómi. I think I prefer the more europop-centric installments in Sundfør’s arty europop oeuvre (Ten Love Songs is still my fave), but there are some lovely songs here in art-music land, including the title track and “fare thee well” .

I was mixed on: Janelle Monáe: The Age of Pleasure, Paramore: This is Why.

—Podcasts—

If Books Could Kill. Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri vivisect nonfiction bestsellers about politics, dating, manifesting, getting rich (quick!), and weight loss. Remember kids: Gladwell is a hack.

Just King Things. Two cultural critics who loved Stephen King as teens take up the Roland-ian task of reading and discussing every King book, once a month, for as long as it takes (the current schedule goes through 2028, but Uncle Steve is still pumpin’ ‘em out, so could be a while).

Triple Click. Kirk, Maddy, and Jason’s weekly non-cynical discussions of games and pop culture is my mood-enhancer. They’re gamers, but not Gamers, you understand.

I also listen to: You’re Wrong About, Hard Feelings with Jennette McCurdy, WTF with Marc Maron, The Besties/The Resties, Strong Songs

#best of 2023