A land of pure imagination

Sometimes–and by “sometimes,” I mean “most times”–I get really enthusiastic about animated movies. You know, the ones technically written, produced, and advertised for the 0-11 crowd?

But I don’t even care. I really love them. If it’s a film I want to see, I pay the ticket price without thinking twice about who it's "for." Because there’s something about the idea that a movie can be created for children and still be interesting to adults that I love. 

Think about it: these are movies that are visually-stimulating for both 6-year-olds and their parents. They're movies that make third-graders laugh, but sometimes make 30-somethings laugh too. And they have to have stories that are simple enough to resonate a point to kiddos and (if done it correctly) also be smart enough to make the grown-ups think.

Those are impressive feats.

What I don’t get, however, is why certain animated movies get more love than other ones. So, I've made a list of three movies that have come out within the last five years that I think should have been more acknowledged and why. Hopefully by the end, you’ll want to check them out too!

First up: Disney’s 2009 princess film, The Princess and the Frog

Everyone knows that princess movies–with the one possible exception of Mulan–are problematic. But I’m going to be totally honest and say that that definitely doesn’t stop me from loving them. And I adored The Princess and the Frog from the second I first saw it back in 2009. 

From what I’ve gathered, a lot of people have a lot of problems with this movie. “The African-American princess is a frog for most of the movie!”, “the villain was too dark!”, etc. But, y’all. This movie was Disney finally (finally!) depicting an African-American princess at all. Not just that, but a goal-oriented, young African-American woman with a dream she’s determined to accomplish through hard work and hard work only (she doesn’t even believe in fairytales). In the 1920s. In the South. She also has a rich, white best friend who, in something of a role-reversal from what we typically see, is the character taken less seriously for believing in silly things like wishing on stars. 

Not enough to convince you? The art–traditional, 2-D animation–is beautiful. The songs are written by Alan Menken (the man behind tons of classic Disney tunes). The prince and princess are of different ethnicities (neither white, btw). There’s a vague Peter Pan reference (at least, if you’re like me, meaning you see Peter Pan references in everything). 

And about that villain: y’all, voodoo is seriously interesting and also a big part of New Orleans culture. It’s awesome that Disney took the risk on incorporating it. And “Friends on the Other Side” is such a jam.

I definitely think this movie should get the love that other recent princess flicks–Tangled, Frozen–have gotten.

Next: Sony Animation’s 2012 Suess adaptation, The Lorax

I’ll start my gush-fest about this movie with the phrase I literally would not stop saying for a solid hour after I left the theatre (Scouts honor–ask Melany): “It was just so smart.” And it was (and is). The best way I can think to explain what I mean is by comparing it to another movie that had a similar goal, but did a much worse job of achieving it.

So, in 2006, Dreamworks released Happy Feet. And everyone who isn’t me seemed to really, really enjoy it. Because, hey! It’s a movie about dancing penguins! There’s a group of Latino penguins (wait, what?) that are hilarious! These black-and-white wonders tap to “Boogie Wonderland” and it’s a spectacular moment of avian performance!

Except, Happy Feet is not actually a movie about dancing penguins. And that’s the problem. I went into that movie wanting to love it (I repeat: tap-dancing penguins) and for about three-fourths of the film, I did. But then, suddenly, the film switched and hit me in the face with an environmental preservation message. Which is not a bad thing. But the way they did it was bad. If the people behind the film had made their political agenda clear the entire time, I would have liked it a lot better. End of story. How do I know? Because I loved The Lorax.

The Lorax never pretends it isn’t political. The movie starts with a song that discusses air and water pollution and the effects of consumer culture. The main antagonist in this film literally sells air to the people of Thneedville because the actual air is not fit to breathe. The main protagonist is trying to win the girl he loves over by finding her some real trees–because there literally aren’t any anymore. This movie has a message and it wants you to know what it is. The whole time.

And it is smart about it. Happy Feet told its audience to save the penguins in a way that felt clunky and patronizing because it took so long to mention it and then it was suddenly in your face. The Lorax shows the dangers of pollution (and consumerism) the entire time, but does so in ways that don’t seem so aggressive: super-catchy songs and complicated characters (seriously, The Once-ler is fascinating). It’s political in the same way Seuss himself was–by being subversive in the most obvious way.

I also personally think the animation in The Lorax is beautiful. The colors are so vibrant and the movements are so fluid. I love it.

Also, look at this bear:

Tell me you don’t want to watch this movie just because of that bear.

And finally: Disney’s 2012 love letter to arcade games, Wreck-It Ralph

I’ve mentioned my love of the animation in the previous two films, but it’s at the forefront of my love for Wreck-It Ralph. The story is wonderful as well (interesting in its Pixar-like way of taking us into a world we wouldn’t otherwise consider–that of video game characters–and with several great plot twists). But it’s the visual feel of this movie that made me head-over-heels.

Every decision in this movie was obviously so carefully made. To take the audience through the glass of the game in the first shot, to show various shots of the arcade from inside the game itself, etc–the animators clearly worked hard to give the audience the sense that these characters live lives inside these games, even when people aren’t playing them. 

And building on that, what I found most intriguing about this film was the mix of animation styles because of the different games being depicted. When you see Sonic the Hedgehog in this movie, he doesn’t look like “Sonic the Hedgehog in Wreck-It Ralph.” He looks the way he always looks. Pac-Man looks the way he always looks. And so on. The animators took the time to carefully craft each character shown, so that they looked the way they’re supposed to. And it pays off. The mix of animation styles is interesting and cool and gives the movie an extra level of authenticity. Add to that the fact that the animators played around with style even within their own original characters–Calhoun looks like she is from a game that is newer than the games Fix-It Felix, Ralph, and Vanellope Von Schweetz (amazing name) are from–and it's just amazing. Plus, the tongue-in-cheek references to the violence in video games today? Fantastic.

I actually don’t want to tell too much about the story of this film, at the risk of ruining some surprises for those who may not have seen it. But, you should definitely watch it. It’s beautiful and funny and heart-warming (of course). 

And also, this happens:

I hope y’all enjoyed my run-down of some of my fave “kids” movies of late! Now go forth and watch. No one will judge you.