My Award nominations: Animated Feature

Best Animated Feature:

How to Train Your Dragon
(Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois):
Not since the first Shrek movie has Dreamworks attempted to make a film that's more about heart than it is about snark and pop culture references. Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois see to it that the evolving relationship between Hiccup and his new pet is done with tact, subtlety, and body language, which really is the most effective application of the animated medium. Technically, the film excels.

The Illusionist (Sylvain Chomet):
The film marks a wonderful meld of the endearing comedic stylings of classic French director/comedian Jacques Tati and the gorgeous visual film artistry of animator Sylvain Chomet. The story is beautifully told from adorable start to devastating finish with a gentle sense of humour and a meticulous attention to detail.

Megamind (Tom McGrath):
Easily the most cartoonish of this bunch, but who's to say there's not a place for cartoonishness when it's done well? Not all the jokes land but those that do are often laugh-out-loud funny, and the animation/character designs are (appropriately) absurdly over the top.

Tangled (Nathan Greno, Byron Howard):
Eschewing the more bankable style of obnoxious modernized humour that sells franchises like Dreamworks' Shrek, Disney has finally produced a completely charming family treat that can deservedly sit along side classics of the studio's 1930s-40s golden age and their 1990s renaissance. Warm, funny, blissful entertainment.

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich):
The film is just as witty and lovable as its two predecessors, but is even more upfront about complex themes. Its now-famous ending is more emotionally powerful than not only either of the previous films, but than any film in years. Toy Story 3 has elevated the series from a cute family franchise to one of the great movie trilogies of all time.

Review - Megamind

Megamind is the second animated feature we've received this year with the specific plot line of a super villain who comes to learn that

being good > being bad

The preceding one, of course, was Illumination Entertainment's Despicable Me. The first question that immediately jumps to my mind is “did we really need two of these movies in one year?”. If Megamind had been released first, my answer would be a resounding “NO!”. But since it's a marked (if unremarkable) improvement over the treacly stickiness of Despicable Me, I can at least stifle an indifferent “I guess so”.

The film starts out almost like a Kryptonian version of Monty Python's Life of Brian, wherein the possible destiny of one child (future super villain Megamind, voiced by Will Ferrel) is unceremoniously snatched away by another (future superhero Metro Man, Brad Pitt channeling George Clooney). In predictable fashion, Megamind (and us) are eventually lead to the discovery that he's been capable of being a good guy all along, while Metro Man, however charismatic and God-like – the animators go so far as to have him walking on water at one point! – turns out to be vain and selfish. There's also a bumpy love interest with reporter Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey) and a rivalry for her affections with cameraman Hal (Jonah Hill).

To say Megamind is better than Despicable Me is not high praise (nor is it intended to be), but what puts it a notch above and makes it watchable is the humour, which is decidedly amusing if nothing else. A number of the one-liners tickled hearty guffaws out of me, as did the vocal performances and the crisp, comic animation, which DreamWorks has become quite practiced at. Laughs cannot, however, save the film entirely from its inconsistent characterizations, which sees principal characters jumping erratically from sincere and sympathetic to snarky and sarcastic (yay for alliterations!).

In a field of five, this might be good enough to scrape a Best Animated Feature nomination, but with the number of eligible entries hovering just below that magic number of 16, it doesn't look like there will be enough positions to accommodate more than one DreamWorks film (How to Train Your Dragon is obviously in).

**1/2 out of ****