Summer animated movies run-down
casing this summer's feature-film toons
Animated Film Boy (that's me) let's you know what's hot and what's not in this summer's crop of animated movies.
CGI animated movies are big business. The success of such studios as Pixar (Cars, Finding Nemo), DreamWorks Animation (Shrek, Madagascar) and Fox/Blue Sky (Ice Age) has prompted others to crank out their own animated family film.
Last year was The Great Animated Film Glut of 2006, and with good reason. Everybody had a CGI flick out last year, and some studios even released 2 or 3 (Sony: Monster House, A Scanner Darkly and Open Season; DreamWorks: Over the Hedge and Flushed Away; Disney: Home on the Range, The Wild and Cars). It was inevitable that some would tank at the box office, and many did.
Despite that, 2007 promises to be just as glutted with CGI flicks as last year. The vast majority are family-oriented films, with the occasional adult-oriented movie (Paramount's Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight).
Here are some of the bigger animated movies coming this summer, and my assessment of their chances. I'll be updating this list as I find out more information.
DreamWorks Animation - Shrek the Third (coming May 18th): DreamWorks is betting big. The first two movies made a serious amount of coin (Shrek 2 earned $436 million in the U.S. alone) and the studio wants this one to do as well, if not better.
DreamWorks is also recovering from a bad 2006. Over the Hedge was a solid hit ($150 million) but Flushed Away was an outright bomb. The studio even had to apply for a $109 million write-down on the latter movie.
To further hedge their bets, DreamWorks is stuffing a lot of big names into Shrek the Third: along with returning voice talent Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Julie Andrews, and John Cleese, they're adding Justin Timberlake, Eric Idle, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Sedaris to the cast.
Shrek the Third is also coming out between two heavyweight movies: Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg thinks that parents will prefer to take their kidlings to his flick, rather than the other two. Only time will tell if he is right.
My take: It's a stretch to think Shrek the Third can match (or top) Shrek 2's box office. It's not impossible: Timberlake could bring in the teenage girls (especially if he sings) and the franchise is a proven winner. On the other hand, Shrek 2's DVD sales weren't that impressive, which doesn't bode well for future films. With a Christmas special coming out at the end of the year, plus two more flicks in the pipeline, could the Shrek machine be running out of gas?
Sony Pictures Classics – Paprika (coming May 25th): In a classic display of marketing stupidity, Sony Pictures Classics is dropping Satori Kon's celebrated anime into a limited release the same day Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens wide.
My take: Animes like Paprika share the same audience as swashbuckling thrillers like PotC. Everything I've heard about Paprika is golden: a great story, brilliant direction and solid animation. So why kill it by opening it next to a monster like PotC?
Paprika will die the death in theatres, thanks to the suicidal release date. I hope all those who hate on Hollywood CGI tripe will put their money where their mouth is and see Paprika.
Sony Pictures Animation – Surf's Up (coming June 8th): Sony Pictures Animation, responsible for last year's Open Season, now brings you Surf's Up. Despite the film's premise (a mockumentary on surfing penguins), Surf's Up has a real cut-and-paste quality. Take Happy Feet's penguins, Cars' plotline (washed-up veteran gives important life lessons to hot newcomer), and a poster concept lifted from Ocean's Eleven, and you get a whole lotta not much.
My Take: I expect Surf's Up to be a modest hit, at best. Don't be surprised if it bombs.
The Walt Disney Company - Ratatouille (coming June 29th): The Mouse House needs something to take on Shrek the Third, and so they called on Pixar. Ratatouille is directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and has Pixar's usual state-of-the-art animation. This studio has a 100% track record of producing hits.
My take: On paper, Ratatouille looks golden. If it lives up to the hype, then we have a winner. However, great films don't mean great box office, and many are wondering when Pixar's glass slipper will break.
Twentieth Century Fox – The Simpsons Movie (coming July 27th): America's longest-running animated sit-com finally comes to the mondoplex. Creator Matt Groening took his time with this one, but there is still a big audience that wants to see The Simpsons up on the silver screen.
My Take: People say The Simpsons has jumped the shark, and this flick should've come out 5 years ago. However, the TV show is still a ratings contender, and this flick has an automatic fanbase. If this movie lives up to the trailers, The Simpsons Movie should do well.
Paramount - Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (coming September?): Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman wrote the paperback for Dungeons & Dragons purveyors TSR (now Wizards of the Coast) back in 1984. After 23 years, 150+ sequels and countless gaming modules, Paramount is bringing the first book to the big screen, starring the voices of Lucy Lawless, Keifer Sutherland and Michael Rosenbaum.
If Dragons of Autumn Twilight is a hit, Paramount will automatically greenlight the sequels that make up the original trilogy.
My take: This one's for all the D&D fanboys (and girls) out there. Are there enough for this movie to do well? Weis and Hickman's latest Dragonlance novel debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List last year. I think many former-and-current RPG'ers will embrace this film, if it's done right.
Ominously, Paramount is dumping Dragons of Autumn Twilight in the September season. That's not good.
