This week sees a huge release of films including The Conjuring, R.I.P.D., Red 2 and Turbo. It's a weekend full of scares, action, and laughs but with all of that, there is the snail racing movie coming out tomorrow for the kiddies, and it's the newest from one of animation's biggest contributors. Animation has come an extremely long way in the last 20 years, and it's competition between different studios that drives that progress forward or sometimes backward. The film industry used to be dominated by Disney when it came to cartoon movies and animation. Sure, there were others that were putting out animation, but no one did it quite like Disney could. Then along came serious competition in 1998, Pixar was coming off of its huge computer animated hit Toy Story from 1995 and were about to serve up another helping of Pixar perfection on Thanksgiving Day 1998 with A Bug's Life. There was a company out there that hadn't yet made a name for itself like it's mother company had begun to, and decided to take charge and give Pixar a run for its money. Dreamworks Animation has been churning out animated movies since 1998 and began the battle of computer animation when it put out the rival film Antz in early October of 1998, to steal the thunder of Pixar's follow up to Toy Story. Some would say that Antz was a colossal failure, as it didn't beat out A Bug's Life financially, but it did make up its budget and then some, as well as kicking off the production of rival animated movies from Dreamworks Animation, to Pixar. In honor of Dreamworks' Turbo being released in theaters tomorrow, starring the voices of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and a long list of others, I'm going to count down the top ten films from Dreamworks Animation since their big debut into the scene of animation. In my opinion, especially recently, they are the only team that has been able to come close to the quality of a Pixar animated film. There are some Dreamworks Animation films that I would take over some of the Pixar films, and though they haven't quite gotten there yet in terms of recognition, they have done a tremendous job in competing and making quality films of their own for years now. There are quite a few Dreamworks Animation movies worth mentioning, but these are my definite ten favorite even though there are some I wish I didn't have to leave out.
10. Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Surprisingly, the first movie to ever grace two lists on Top Ten Tuesday is Monsters vs. Aliens. Kind of strange that this is the movie of all movies that ends up being so great that I can't help but mentioning it on more than one occassion but, here we are. It was mentioned on the Top Ten Tuesday: Don't Mess with the Prez for the character voiced by Stephen Colbert. I described his role as silly, and really everything about this movie is very silly. Some of my favorite comedic actors do voice in the film including Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Stephen Colbert and Paul Rudd. In addition, the voice of Kiefer Sutherland for the General W.R. Monger was great. When the world is being taken over by aliens, in this movie they call for the monsters. It's unfortunate however that the monsters are all so goofy and silly, that it seems out of their power to stop the disaster. However, it's a family film and of course the newly monsterized giant woman voiced by Reese Witherspoon finds a way to deal with her failed marriage and inspiring her new friends to work together to save the world. It's a really funny movie with a lot of great messages, and you really can't get too much more entertaining comedically than Seth Rogen's B.O.B. character. So stupid, but so funny.
9. Shrek (2001)
Before Dreamworks Animation became anyone in the scene of family films, they had Antz and a few well-recognized films like The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado. Shrek was a beginning of the phenomenon that has rocked the world and made an ogre of an impact, and is now one of the biggest film franchises ever recorded. Shrek was a simple family comedy about an ogre trying to find his place in his fantasy world, but struggles when he has to succeed in a task for the King of the land. Meeting his best friend Donkey in his travels, it becomes ever more difficult to figure out where he belongs in his story but in others as well. Shrek really hit it off with a lot of people, and I think it has to do with the fact that not only did the film have a heart but it also had an unreasonable amount of laughs. I remember seeing the film for the first time and just being wowed as a teenager at how funny the movie really was. When you're a teenager you start to think all of the animated movies and such are for children and babies, and you're too cool and old to watch them. This movie was the beginning of the hybrid family flick, in my opinion, that is as much for adults as it is for children. Shrek was proof that, if done right, you can throw in tons of jokes for the adults that zoom over kids heads and no one will ever complain or raise hell about it. Shrek is truly a landmark in animated film, and the box office records prove it. As well as the fact that there's four freaking Shrek films.
8. Bee Movie (2007)
This is one of those films that after seeing the trailer, I relentlessly bashed as being this and that and no one should see it, so on and so forth. You'll come to find out that I do this with a lot of movies, and it most often turns out that the movie I throw a fit about without seeing, I end up seeing and love. This is an example of one of those times, as I whined and whined about animated movies getting ridiculous when I heard about this one. I mean a movie about bees, and just bees, doesn't really sound like desperation at all does it? But leave it to Jerry Seinfeld, whom I rarely find funny, to take what sounds like a B-movie idea (get it?) and turn it into an A-movie success. The movie starts out on the right foot as Seinfeld voices his bee Barry B. Benson through a day in the life of a bee, and eventually the life of a worker bee. It's a really cute movie about being (oh my, the punnage) whatever it is that you want to be in life, and that if you set your mind to something, no matter the odds, anything is possible. Jerry Seinfeld really makes the movie single handedly, as there really isn't any other voice talent that stands out, but his jokes and ease of connecting the life of a bee to the life of a human make for an extremely relatable and humorous family film.
7. Madagascar (2005)
Madagascar is one of the few films here that I saw way later after its release in theaters, but I ended up really enjoying. It just wasn't on my radar at the time of its release and while I worked at Blockbuster I ended up picking it up one night to watch with my little cousins. I ended up really enjoying it, and a lot of the voice talent in the film really make the characters that they play for. Ben Stiller as Alex the lion is just classic family film character, because his tiny and panicked voice that he can do is perfect to align with the lion who has problems with confidence once he's taken from his pedestal at the New York Central Zoo. What Madagascar has going for it is a lot of the little things, because the story of the animals escaping and trying to get home is very simple, but it's what they do as extra that wins me over. The sarcasm and wit to the jokes in the film are much like that of Shrek where you know a lot of it is for adults as much as it is for children, and this movie does a great job at entertaining both age levels. It also is one of those movies that has a great heart and lessons to be learned, about home, family, and friends and I think this is one of the few family films that deserve its eventual sequels that it has received. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa came close to rivaling the greatness of the first, and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted was great fun. They never deviated from the path of what made the first film so entertaining, and thus they didn't end up with crappy sequels like the Shrek franchise eventually did.
6. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Oh Wallace and Gromit, how I adore you so. If you're unfamiliar with Wallace & Gromit, this would be the perfect opportunity for you to introduce yourself to the hilarity that is a bromance for the whole family to enjoy. I remember back when I was younger, when The Wrong Trousers premiered on TV and I instantly fell in love with the characters. It's a claymation film, as the original shows were, and despite its very simple style of animation it can be a very complexly written and performed show. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was the only feature film the original series ever spawned, but it was an awesome film and as silly as it was brilliant. The rabbits that get sucked up into the vacuum on occassion throughout the film are quite possibly some of the most adorable things I've ever seen. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit may not be a film that is enjoyable for all children as sometimes it's quite high brow as well as being a horror parody of sorts on an appropriate level, but it's definitely one of those that is more for adults than children despite the rating and subject matter of a were-rabbit.
5. Flushed Away (2006)
Flushed Away is another film that has the Wallace & Gromit look, style and even humor to it that most of the animated films do not have. I really like Flushed Away because of the sense of humor it has for itself being an animated movie, and just being downright silly. Hugh Jackman does the voice of Roddy, which is the main reason the movie is so enjoyable. He's an adventurer but at the same time he's kind of oblivious to the way of life that is not luxury. The movie teaches good lessons in equality and just showing that even though you may come from wealth or a good family, you can lose all of that in a moment's notice and you better know how to appreciate the little things. I think one of the main reasons I really liked Flushed Away over a lot of the other animated films during this time is because it was relatively unwatched and didn't seem to be anyone else's favorite. It is really funny, and has a great story, but not a lot of people have seen it as much as other films because it's got that claymation look to it, similar to Wallace & Gromit which seemingly a lot of nimwitted families don't like because British humor flies over the heads of those who don't want to think, even when watching an intelligent family comedy. Also, look for the Finding Nemo knock in here, because it's hysterical and goes to show the rivalry between Pixar and Dreamworks Animation and the competition they experience.
4. Shrek 2 (2004)
Rarely do sequels outdo the first film, but Shrek 2 is one of the few examples in film history that the sequel completely outdoes the original, no questions asked. Obviously, the first Shrek was a hit both financially and as a franchise opportunity so it took very little time for Dreamworks to come up with Shrek 2. Now, whoever would have thought the film with the ogres, donkey, and fairy tale parody characters would be the franchise that succeeds on an extremely high level. This movie is probably ranked in just about anyone's top ten for family films, at least if they're not die-hard Pixar fans, because it was that movie that even adults were telling adults at parties like, "hey, did you see that Shrek 2? We watched it with our Sammy and it was pretty funny!" It really takes everything you knew about fairy tales and family film and flips it on its head, delivering punch after punch of relentless humor that is funny for both kids and parents in two entirely different ways. I do have to say that despite this not being in top spot on this list, it is probably one of the most commercially successful and well made family films outside of the Pixar pantheon. I don't recall laughing nearly as hard at any Dreamworks Animation film the first time I saw it, except maybe my first choice, and even though it's lost some of its magic today after having seen it so many times in the last 9 years, it is still extremely funny. There's a reason that Will Smith knows every line to the movie in I Am Legend.
3. Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Another good example of when the sequel goes bigger and better than the first one does, Kung Fu Panda 2 is just about equal to its predecessor if not just that slight bit better. It doesn't blow the first one out of the water, and you'll see that reflected in my list later. I actually have not watched Kung Fu Panda 2 but the once I saw it in theaters, but I remember the ultimate showdown at the end where Po faces off with the villains being insurmountably better than the final battle of the first film. The fact that one of the Furious Five's deadliest foes is a killer peacock with an evil agenda, just goes to show the brilliance that is the Kung Fu Panda franchise. I can hardly even remember much else about the film, but I really do love the Kung Fu Panda movies and I really hope there is a third film. It is a perfect blend of action and comedy, to make for an experience that both kids and parents can enjoy, as well as boys and girls. There is action for the boys, and cute animals for the girls. Honestly, if you don't like Kung Fu Panda now is the time to get out, and that is my fair warning because this list is about to go down.
2. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
A surprisingly original and entertaining flick came out in 2010 that I don't think anyone expected to be such a huge hit. No one saw How to Train Your Dragon coming, and no one really thought it would be anymore than a boy's film dream to see dragons in animation action. I was one of those boys who loved dragons, and perhaps that is what drew me to the film outside of the voice talent featured, many of whom are Apatow crew like Jay Baruchel and Jonah Hill and some other funny actors including Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson. I had many reasons to see it, and despite that desire to see the film, I did not expect to see the film I saw. It's an incredibly heartwarming story of a boy who saves a dragon from his dragon-killing father and the town he leads. He builds a makeshift wing so that the dragon can fly, even though the dragon doesn't want anything to do with the boy voiced by Baruchel. By the end of the film however, two become one and they become a mighty team of dragon fighting power and conquer all of the challenges put before them. It's an incredibly strong and relatable tale of friendship and facing your fears, and it's told in an entirely entertaining story with dragons and training to be an adult in your community. If you don't at least smile once during How to Train Your Dragon, there is a fireball in the place of your heart.
1. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Skadoosh! I told you to get out while you could, but it's Kung Fu Panda time! There once was a time when I saw this film on DVD when I was working at Blockbuster and I expected just another talking animal family film. What I saw though was a brilliant adaptation of nearly every kung fu storyline blended into a talking animal children's story. It's funny, it has plenty of action, and it has a ton of heart. The story of Po is very touching and it hits on a lot of different important subjects for kids. Responsibility, respect, friendship, honor, loyalty and kindness are a few of the many things put on display in Kung Fu Panda. Add onto that the voice talent of a ton of high level celebrities and stars, and of course Jack Black as Po the panda. Black has a tremendous voice for the role of Po, and it's a wonder that he's never done anything like this after the success of the film. He has a great comedic voice that could be utilized very well in a ton of different roles, but for now it is solely Po and he rocks at it. If you haven't seen Kung Fu Panda I highly recommend it to anyone of any age and I know that you'll find something to enjoy. It's such a great movie and I've seen it so many multiple times. I know if I had seen it as a kid, I would have an entirely different appreciation of it, but my experience as an adult had to have been better. What a funny movie. And one thing I can tell after having seen this film, is that I have the noodle dream. I strive daily to achieve my noodle dream and I know that one day just like Po, I will conquer all of the complications put before me and become a kung fu master.
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