B.O.R.E.D
Box Office Reported Eloquently by Daniel

With the Florida animation department closing and Pixar apparently leaving Disney (say it ain't so) I just wasn't in the mood to write my typical trivial silly fluff. Instead what follows is a tongue-in-cheek (read: tongue-in-cheek, not silly, there is a distinct difference!) look at animation trends:

I'm a huge fan of animation, especially Disney films. I try to see just about every animated film that comes out. Recently, I've notice some trends in animation that I find quite fascinating. Some of them I like, while others bug me no end. So without further ado, I present the "Un-Official LaughingPlace.com Top #10 List of Current Animation Trends Based on the Musings by Daniel (Presented in No Particular Order)!"

#1 - It's a Buddy Thing
Lately, many animated films have departed from the typical romance/fairy tale angle to buddy storylines. Certainly Toy Story helped bring in the popularity of such stories, but even Disney lately with Brother Bear, Emperor's New Groove and Lilo and Stitch have capitalized on those themes. Even films that have love angles tend to play them down quite a bit (A Bug's Life, Atlantis: The Lost Empire). Personally I find more buddy films to be great as they tend to have less issues than the romantic films. People falling in love at first sight is not exactly my favorite message to send to children.

#2 - The Yo-Yo Effect
Animated films lately have also, to me, demonstrated a broader range of emotions than many did previously. Within five minutes you can have hilarious dialogue, somebody dying, mourning over the loss and a musical number. It seems audiences these days don't mind abrupt changes in emotion. Quite often this bugs me a lot, because I get emotionally de-attached from films if they juggle my emotions too much. I think some of this stems from studios attacking more dramatic stories and not having the follow through to add cute supporting characters or out-of-place jokes. Personally, I can't wait for directors to take a chill pill and not take me on an emotional roller coaster.

#3 - Crossing the Line?
Not surprisingly, lately animated films have also been skirting the line of what is or is not appropriate in a children's film. Disney wouldn't have had body function based humor 10 years ago, but now it seems almost expected. Even the mighty Pixar has stooped to it's level nowadays. The upcoming Disney film Home on the Range is carrying a PG rating for "crude humor." While I understand why audiences might find this type of humor entertaining, I can't stand it at all. I really wish filmmakers would take the high road, because in the end it's the clever material that stands the test of time.

#4 - Music Music Music
After Toy Story's success at Pixar, it seems that everyone decided to adopt it's musical direction. Instead of foreground characters singing, only disconnected (almost narrator-like) singers sang the film's songs. Disney has adopted the style, throwing in musical montages in many films lately. Dreamworks seems to have accepted it too, using it on the films Shrek and Spirit. While I love a nice animated montage, I think it's nice to have the foreground characters sing as well. To be honest the biggest reason is that lately they have been using pop stars to write the music. While I guess this makes it more contemporary, I much prefer a broadway style voice to a pop singer's shrilling vocal. I also don't understand throwing in pop songs when the film in set in different eras. Return to Neverland for example took place during WWI. In the middle of this dramatic setting, a very modern sounding pop singer starts breathy singing. Not only is it completely jarring, but it also compromises the integrity of the film. All in all, I understand why the standard Broadway musical is thought of as stale, but I much prefer that to the current offerings.

#5 - Too Many Characters Spoil the Film?
Toy Story featured in an assortment of hilarious characters. While I feel it juggled the characters quite well, lately it seems that animated films just can't get enough characters. Not only do animated films these days feature a huge amount of characters, but also quirkier and quirkier personalities. Atlantis: The Lost Empire felt like almost a buffet of random characters from various films, each with their own quirky nature. Finding Nemo throws in many characters that extend beyond the basic storyline. While it works ok in many films, I feel I would enjoy the movie more if it was simplified/edited down to a few important characters. Sometimes, I feel like there's just too many characters and I wish I could spend more time on the main characters (you know, what the movie is actually about?). While thankfully this isn't a huge problem yet, this is definitely a trend I hope most studios avoid.

Next week, see the final #10 (I gotta keep my readers you know)