How "Cars" Lost The Oscar
Let me begin this painful entry by saying that I love Pixar. Their movies are wonderfully artistic and their storytelling is masterful. I'm glad there's at least one studio that cares enough to put the story first and animation second. Too often the market is crammed with garbage (Shark Tale and Ice Age come to mind) wherein the focus is on animation and the story is just something that's used to link sequences of main characters slapping each other around. I was completely prepared for Happy Feet, released over the holidays to theaters, to be just another in a long line of wastes. In fact, I assumed that it had been made specifically to cash in on the penguin fever caused by March of the Penguins.
But then it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in February, beating Pixar's Cars. I was shocked! How could a movie about simple penguins beat the work of unimaginably beautiful art and scale that Cars was? There's nothing revolutionary about animated penguins! I was convinced it was politics and Hollywood wanted to spread the wealth around instead of honoring Pixar yet again. So this week as Happy Feet came out on DVD, I rented it for the family as requested and begrudgingly decided to sit in on the showing.
You think I was shocked before, you should see me now. After watching it, I'm afraid to say that... Happy Feet really did deserve the oscar! I'm not joking! I really really liked it! I mean... I was blown away. It totally wasn't the movie I expected it to be. It had a story and a positive message and was more than half an hour long (If you know what I mean)! It didn't rest on the quality of the voice acting, but it rested on the quality of the story. To back that story up was jaw-droppingly complex and astounding animation. Everything was perfect. I swear, most of it looked like photographs I'd seen in National Geographic. I am shocked. A part of me is mad at myself for missing this gem in the theaters.
My friend iturtle is watching it right now at his place. I've been telling him all day that it's shockingly unique but he doesn't believe it. He's just like me when it comes to animated movies- If it's not Pixar, it's worse than made-for-TV crap. But ohh, how the tides are turning. I'm sure he'll comment on this entry with his official review of the movie. All I can say right now is that Pixar should be paying VERY close attention to Happy Feet. The toe-tapping penguins totally deserved the oscar on, if nothing else, a purely technical level. Happy Feet is an achievement of the order that Toy Story was 10 years ago.
Bottom line, I still like Cars better. And my favorite movie of 2006 remains Children of Men. But Happy Feet comes in a VERY VERY close third. I respect Happy Feet a lot. The company that produced it, Animal Logic (Which is based in Austrailia!), is now, in my eyes, held in high regard. I look forward to seeing what they have next and I truly welcome the competition to Pixar. Bring on the golden age of computer animated movies!
But then it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in February, beating Pixar's Cars. I was shocked! How could a movie about simple penguins beat the work of unimaginably beautiful art and scale that Cars was? There's nothing revolutionary about animated penguins! I was convinced it was politics and Hollywood wanted to spread the wealth around instead of honoring Pixar yet again. So this week as Happy Feet came out on DVD, I rented it for the family as requested and begrudgingly decided to sit in on the showing.
You think I was shocked before, you should see me now. After watching it, I'm afraid to say that... Happy Feet really did deserve the oscar! I'm not joking! I really really liked it! I mean... I was blown away. It totally wasn't the movie I expected it to be. It had a story and a positive message and was more than half an hour long (If you know what I mean)! It didn't rest on the quality of the voice acting, but it rested on the quality of the story. To back that story up was jaw-droppingly complex and astounding animation. Everything was perfect. I swear, most of it looked like photographs I'd seen in National Geographic. I am shocked. A part of me is mad at myself for missing this gem in the theaters.
My friend iturtle is watching it right now at his place. I've been telling him all day that it's shockingly unique but he doesn't believe it. He's just like me when it comes to animated movies- If it's not Pixar, it's worse than made-for-TV crap. But ohh, how the tides are turning. I'm sure he'll comment on this entry with his official review of the movie. All I can say right now is that Pixar should be paying VERY close attention to Happy Feet. The toe-tapping penguins totally deserved the oscar on, if nothing else, a purely technical level. Happy Feet is an achievement of the order that Toy Story was 10 years ago.
Bottom line, I still like Cars better. And my favorite movie of 2006 remains Children of Men. But Happy Feet comes in a VERY VERY close third. I respect Happy Feet a lot. The company that produced it, Animal Logic (Which is based in Austrailia!), is now, in my eyes, held in high regard. I look forward to seeing what they have next and I truly welcome the competition to Pixar. Bring on the golden age of computer animated movies!