Potential Academy Nominations for Best Animated Film: A Review.

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Work has been hectic for the past couple of months, so I haven't had time to make an actual blog post until now. I couldn't even state my shame about Donald Trump being elected, and I apologize about that.

But that's not the point of this post.

This post talks once again about films. No, I won't be doing an entire review this time, but I wanted to address all of the possible films that could be nominated for Best Animated Film at the Oscars.

Overall, this category has had films that I like and dislike. For example, I really liked Inside Out (last years winning film), but I thought Big Hero 6 (the 2014 victor) was only okay. I've also disagreed with films being excluded from the nomination, like the Lego Movie (which, in my opinion, deserved the 2014 victory much more than Big Hero 6).

So, let's briefly review all of the potential nominations that I've seen and will see, shall we?

Who is worthy of the little metal man?

Finding Dory- Disney/Pixar

The film centers around Dory remembering some specific details about her family, and her efforts to find them in a marine institute. Along the way, she reunites and meets interesting characters that help her in her efforts, including an octopus with 7 tentacles. 

I'm not going to discuss more details of the plot (to save those who haven't seen it), but overall, this film was rather good. Sure, only few of the side characters from the first film return, but that's okay; after all, it's nice to see characters be fish out of water... (was that bad? I apologize). 

My main problem with the movie is that one of the more major side characters, the octopus, doesn't reveal that much about himself. All you know is that he had a bad time in the ocean and wants to be in captivity. You don't really know specifically what happened to him, unlike Gil's scar in the previous film.

However, that is being nitpicky. This film is heartwarming, sad, and charming. It deserves the nomination.

Kubo and the Two Strings- Laika/ Focus Features

The film is about, well Kubo. He is a one-eyed boy who lives with his traumatized mother (who escaped from her with him) who travels to the city each day to tell stories with his ability to manipulate paper. During a festival, he stays out too late and that forces him to separate from his mother and go on an adventure to find his deceased father's armor. Along the way, he is accompanied by a snow monkey and an amnesiac former samurai cursed to be a beetle-hybrid.

Beautifully animated and full of action and charm, this film kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the time. Hell, it made me CRY near the end. I rarely cry in the movie theater! My only problem at all with this movie was how the dealt with one major plot revelation (that I won't reveal here); I just thought it could've been executed better.

This film is currently my favorite out of the bunch, and it definitely deserves the nomination.

Storks- Warner Bros.

The film essentially has two plots: A boy wants a little brother after having to deal with workaholic parents his whole life, and writes to the storks to do so. After the baby was created, a stork and a girl named Tulip (who was never claimed as a baby) go on an adventure to deliver the baby. Meanwhile, the kid's parents realize that they've been workaholics and try to connect with the kid.

This film was... okay. Not good, not bad, just okay. It's mostly just a tirade of baby jokes and other gags that are the equivalent of beating a dead horse (like a wolf pack turning into anything possible and the "oh-so-hip" pigeon (?) character who trails the stork). It doesn't help that, in my opinion, the scene that introduces the boy who wants a brother would've been MUCH BETTER put for being the first scene of the movie. However, the animation isn't that bad, and the voice acting is respectable.

And at least the plot was mostly coherent. Overall, though, it doesn't deserve the nomination.

Zootopia- Disney

This film centers around Judy, a bunny who dreams of becoming a cop. Her dream comes true, but the chief of police denies her potential. As some animals in Zootopia go missing, she has to team up with con Fox Nick and prove her potential.

This is currently my favorite Disney film of the decade. It's funny, it's beautifully animated, and it tackles prejudice and stereotypes in a way that kids can understand without toning down how it can hurt others. The only problem I have with it is a problem I have with other Disney films in this decade: the villain reveal. Disney has had a habit of making random people villains at the last minute. I guess that they're trying to not make villains obvious, but that's not being executed well.

Overall, though, this film is really good. it deserves the nomination.

Trolls- Dreamworks/Fox

The film centers on, well, trolls. They are a happy species that is predated upon by the Bergens, who essentially can't feel happiness. After one Bergen manages to capture a whole bunch of trolls, the princess of the Trolls, Poppy, must team up with paranoid troll Branch in order to save them.

By God, this film is a Smurf's LSD trip. It's colorful, characters are either happy or depressed, and the most cliched methods of deceiving enemies work! Also, this film uses a lot of popular music. That wouldn't be much of a problem on the surface, but only one or two songs are executed properly (no matter what you tell me, Hello is NEVER a good song choice for thinking about your crush who has no idea who you are). This film also has other cliches, such as Branch having a traumatic backstory that is the only reason why he's so paranoid.

Yeah... no, this film doesn't deserve the nomination.

Sing- Illumination/Universal

This film's plot is a little hard to explain in "bite-size" format, but here goes: A koala wants to save his theater, so he holds a singing contest. The film centers around him and some animals who hope to win the contest. Did that work? Good.

This film looks like it has potential. Sure, some of the animals who hope to win the contest have cliched backstories (like the "Dad- I don't want to join the family []!" cliche), but I haven't heard of a film that centers around a talent show before (No, Dairy of a Wimpy Kid 2 doesn't count), and it's an idea that I've been thinking about. It has potential.

Moana- Disney

Basically, a girl named Moana goes on a quest to save her people, and does so with a demigod names Maui.

I'm trying not to look too into the film, mostly because I'm going to be seeing it tomorrow, but like Sing, it looks like it has a lot of potential, with beautiful animation and a story surrounding a beautiful culture.

Also, some of the music is done by Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose work I'm a fan of.

In fact, I might work on a review of this film... we'll see.