Somebody didn't want to open until ONE week before the Oscars, so I had to hold off on this category. But now that I've seen all the contenders, precious few as they are, I can finally publish my picks for
Best Animated Feature of 2013.
Epic (Chris Wedge)
All superficial
FernGully
comparisons aside, this film deserved a fairer shake than it got
this year. It works perfectly fine within the confines of the formula
it applies, but thankfully avoids the same sort of immature humour
and forehead-slapping dialogue that plagued other American studio
toons this year (I'm looking at
you,
Croods and
Despicable Me 2!).
Even its exposition of character and backstory is handled with
relative elegance. Imaginative designs and expressive animation to boot.
Ernest & Celestine (Benjamin Renner, Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar)
In our modern culture where kids are
drawn to the theatre by cartoons with bold primary colours and comedy
of the lowest order, this European import makes a strong case for how
kid flicks should be handled. Its whimsy and gentility reminds us
that movies made expressly for children need not be childish. That,
and it's animated with a gorgeous watercolour aesthetic that feels
like a picture book come to life. An absolute charmer from start to
finish.
Frozen (Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck)
Though its formula is unremarkable and
its musical structuring imbalanced,
Frozen transcends as
mold-breaking family entertainment due to its progressive gender
politics (putting a feminist twist on the 'true love' trope), its
constructive depiction of people suffering from mental illness
(Elsa's depression is indeed 'crippling'), and even its implicitly
drawn subtext about gay repression (“Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let
them know.”). On top of all that, it's simply a delight to watch.
Monsters University (Dan Scanlon)
Okay, so Pixar's clearly in a bit of a creative lull right now, but that's not to say
Monsters
University isn't at least a brisk and mildly amusing diversion.
Even with a thin plot for which the stakes have never been lower (we
already know where our two buddies ultimately end up), Pixar's story committee has a firm enough grasp of structure and pace to
hold our attention and land a few laughs. The Oscar snub really stings, especially considering how awful some of the other nominees are.
The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki)
Beyond its linear biopic format, Miyazaki's [non]swansong is an artful ode to the winds of artistic inspiration and a poignant reminder that even products of impassioned creative genius can be warped for sinister purposes. Though conspicuously lacking in the fanciful whimsy and fantastical imagination on which Miyazaki has built his auteur status, this is perhaps his most mature work to date, eschewing the childlike worldview of his previous films and adopting a more adult writing style.
Just missed:
Nothing. Even two of my actual nominees feel like a stretch. Let's hope next year is better for animation.
