2014 was one of the least interesting years in animation I can remember from a studio perspective. Granted, I didn’t see Penguins of Madagascar or The Book of Life, but at the same time I didn’t really want to and neither Dreamworks or Fox even bothered sending either film to members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association for consideration for this year’s Critics Choice Awards. Yikes, if the studio has that little confidence in the movies what does that say about them?
The “best” animated films of the year that I saw were How to Train Your Dragon 2 and, I guess, Big Hero 6, neither of which really moved the dial and the former resulted in Dreamworks scrapping plans for two more Dragon films and deciding a third would suffice. So what do we have to look forward to in 2015? Will the new year be any better?
Well, in January we have the late entry Strange Magic with a story from George Lucas. March delivers Home, of which I can’t even bring myself to watch the trailer. Then, finally, in June we have the first of two Pixar films arriving in 2015, Inside Out from director Peter Docter (Up, Monsters, Inc.).
The rest of the summer is boring sequels such as Minions and Hotel Transylvania 2 before November shows us something a little more interesting in Peanuts and Pixar’s second release, The Good Dinosaur (new concept art directly below) from director Peter Sohn. Oh, and if you’re interested, December brings Alvin and the Chipmunks 4, aka Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip… seriously.
So are we looking at the chance for a better year in studio animation? Pixar is delivering two original stories and while The Good Dinosaur has had a rocky road to the theater, it’s a film the studio appears to be tinkering with rather than rushing to release. Of course, the last time they had a movie with this rocky a production it resulted in Brave and we all know how that turned out.
As far as Dreamworks is concerned, one film that has jumped around the release schedule a bit and finally landed in June is B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations from Igor director Anthony Leondis. It centers on a group of ghosts (voiced by Seth Rogen, Melissa McCarthy, Matt Bomer and Rashida Jones) protecting the world from evil hauntings. The studio already moved their Kung Fu Panda 3 from a Christmas release to March 2016 making it seem like B.O.O. will be their big stab at 2015… that is if Home is as uninteresting as it appears.
Of the lot, I’m certainly looking forward to Inside Out and I am really curious to see what Peanuts delivers, otherwise, I could take it or leave it. This past year of studio animated features left a rather sour taste in my mouth and as much as I just hope it was a down year, I’m also a little concerned I’m growing out of animated films altogether, something I hope not to be true.
