Best And Worst Animated Films of 2008
WALL-E, Bolt, Watership Down, Waltz With Bashir, Kung Fu Panda
Dec 11, 2008
It's that time again: which animated films released in 2008 stood out from the pack, and which ones should have been strangled at birth.
Some might say that animation was a pretty quiet field this year, based on the lack of films eligible for Oscar consideration. But there were a lot of movies that flew under the AMPAS radar: some never received a theatrical release, while others languished in direct-to-DVD hell. It made for rewarding, absorbing – and occasionally nauseating – viewing.
Without any further ado, here are the animated films that stood out this year.
Best Film
No contest: Disney/Pixar's WALL-E was a class act in a field that still thrives on repeating the same-old, same-old. The story of a lonely robot who stumbles onto the key to humanity's future, writer/director Andrew Stanton took massive risks with his comments on our bloated culture, and reaped the rewards. Several scenes are destined to become cinematic classics, especially the outer-space ballet sequence.
Not just the best animated film, but also one of the best of 2008.
Best Animated Short
Kunio Kato's "La Maison en Petits Cubes (The House of Small Cubes):" a heartbreakingly beautiful journey through one man's life. A masterpiece.
Honourable mention for Doug Sweetland's "Presto:" the hilarious tale of a rabbit who takes onstage revenge on his arrogant magician. The greatest cartoon the Looney Tunes gang never made.
Best Animated Documentary
Ari Folman's Waltz With Bashir. The story of one man trying to reclaim his past and deal with the horrors of war, Waltz With Bashir mixed brutal reality with dreamlike surrealism. A stunning achievement.
The "Not Coming to a Theatre Near You" Award
Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues. A highly personal juxtaposition of ancient tragedy and modern comedy, director/writer/sole animator Paley crafted a film that found humour through heartbreak and vice versa. Proof that a great story will overcome any obstacle.
This film deserves to be seen, and it's a tragedy that it likely won't.
The "How Did They Get It Right?" Award
Disney Animation's Bolt. Many observers dismissed this film based on its troubled history, worrying casting (Razzie bait John Travolta & Miley Cyrus???) and less-than-stellar initial artwork.
However, it was a surprising return to form for Disney Animation, and a touching story to boot. Directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard lured fine performances from the entire cast, although Disney animator Mark Walton stole the show as a hyperactive hamster.
A close runner-up is DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda. Despite allegedly running through countless writers and directors during the development process, DreamWorks Animation pulled it together after the costly failure of Bee Movie. Let's hope DWA CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg doesn't muck things up with Kung Fu Panda 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, Kung Fu Panda 4 . . .
Best DVD
A very tough call, but Warner Home Video's re-release of Watership Down takes the trophy. If the sign of a classic film is that it still seems fresh 30 years after its initial release, then this movie truly is a classic. Alternately funny, frightening and heart-wrenching, this is the greatest film Walt Disney never made.
The "Don't Believe the Hype" Award
Twentieth Century Fox/Blue Sky's Horton Hears a Who. This film had mounds of potential but squandered it by casting a star – Jim Carrey as Horton – who was clearly unsuitable for the role. Like a snowball that turns into an avalanche, this one mistake took down the entire film. The fact that the scriptwriters didn't trust Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel's immortal prose, and felt the need to add pop-culture jokes, made a bad thing even worse.
Extra points off for directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino's whining during the audio commentary. So your genius jokes fell flat with audiences; deal with it, bitches.
Worst Film
Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Yes, there were pretty explosions but the plot could've been used to rinse pasta, and an offensive gay stereotype proved creator George Lucas hasn't learned from the Jar Jar Binks debacle. The fact that Lucas also dreamed up many of the film's worst moments is a testament to his creative bankruptcy.
Dishonourable mention goes to Aristomenis Tsirbas and Evan Spiliotopoulos' Terra. This overly-earnest, leaden film provoked MST3K-style commentary at screenings; even the cast knew this was a stinker.
Worst DVD
Barbie and the Diamond Castle. Rife with cheap CGI animation, a weak plot and cookie cutter characters, this direct-to-DVD film was a blatantly cynical marketing ploy to sell more Mattel product.
A second viewing (the result of so many complaints about the first review) only confirmed the initial assessment. Barbie and the Diamond Castle is the visual equivalent of having 4 liters of aspartame poured down your throat: sickly sweet with a horrible aftertaste, and likely causes cancer in laboratory animals.
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