claire tamayo,
Feature: 2019 Animated Spectacles
Movies with live actors can touch hearts but sometimes, it's the animated ones that make us feel the deepest of our emotions. From 3D animated sequels that ended decades-long trilogies to hand-drawn originals that retell already-famous tales, moviegoers of all ages saw a lot of these animated feature films last year. Here are three 2019 animated films that made us ride the emotional rollercoaster.
Toy Story 4
Movie poster for Toy Story 4. Source: IMDB
It has been 25 years since Woody and his fellow toys embarked on their first adventure. Its original audiences may have already grown up but this latest installment in the Toy Story franchise remains fresh as ever. This time around, with the help of his pals Bo Peep, Buzz Lightyear, and other new characters, Woody must rescue his current owner’s new best friend, Forky- a toy made out of a spork. In the course of doing so, he rediscovers more aspects of his purpose as a toy.
Instead of featuring the generic good-versus-evil that usually appeals to the young audiences, Pixar delivered a quest story that features deeper themes such as the purpose of one’s life, therefore, also captivating the older audiences. The plot premise was actually rather short and simple with subplots starring fresh-out-of-the-box characters. However, the light and brisk pacing keeps the ball rolling and consequently, steers the movie away from convolution. Emotions were induced at right moments and scenes were edited into the film at just the right time. This energetic storytelling holds the audiences’ attention while still giving enough content effective in communicating the themes.
Another good selling point of the movie is its characters. Most of the toys that audiences know and are all too familiar with have been set aside to give way to new ones. The film introduced the hilariously absurd and audience-favorite Forky. His repetitive line of “I am trash” resonates to the self-deprecating humor of the modern audience, who gives out a chuckle or two whenever he utters it. The film also reintroduced a new version of Bo Peep who mysteriously disappeared in the third Toy Story movie. This female protagonist is not only a love interest to the main character, Woody, but a lead persona essential to the direction of the story. Despite the porcelain composition, she is a tough and a rough toy, powering through every situation she gets caught up in and acting as the reliable leader in the group’s rescue mission, different from the timid and gentle Bo Peep in the first couple of movies. In addition, she displays natural and uninhibited connections with other characters in the movie, making her seem like a real person who deals with true people. Other characters also include the tumultuous Ducky and Bunny, the cleverly-voiced Duke Caboom, and the somewhat creepy yet piteous antagonist, Gabby Gabby.
Despite them, we still see a lot of action from the iconic duo Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Woody is still that dynamic risk-taker we have grown up to love. However, we see a simplified version of Buzz Lightyear in this movie. Instead of standing out in terms of courage and initiative as he did in the previous movies, he takes the role of a supporting character who regularly appears to be unsure of what he is supposed to do in this movie.
Also definitely note-worthy is the surprising up in the game of Toy Story in terms of its animation. The difference in the material of each toy can now be seen in stark contrast to each other, unlike in previous films, Toy Story 4 showed an incredible eye for detail in terms of the minor fuzz in Forky’s arms or the stitching of Woody’s clothing; everything is taken into account.
The fourth movie of course pays tribute to the previous films, from the opening sequence showing clouds complete with You Got a Friend in Me playing in the background to the flashbacks from the previous movies showing most characters and even Andy. This gives the audience the full bittersweet satisfaction of a much needed ending and conclusion to the Toy Story series.
Overall, Toy Story 4 delivered in terms of animation, plot, and characters, touching the hearts of the long time audience who grew up with Woody and the gang as a final goodbye, finishing the film and the series with the iconic “to infinity and beyond.”
You got a friend in me. Woody and Forky navigate their way back to Bonnie while discussing being a toy. Source: IMDB
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Movie poster for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Source: IMDB
Toothless, the last surviving Night Fury and alpha of all dragons, meets and falls in love with a Light Fury. However, as Berk becomes overpopulated with more dragons, Toothless and the other dragons are threatened by a menacing dragon hunter and his ally warlords. It is up to the chief and ruler of Berk, Hiccup to lead Berk in a quest to find the fabled “Hidden World” that will serve sanctuary for his constituents.
The third installment of the How to Train Your Dragon reintroduces the characters that have starred in the previous movies. Thanks to the continuity of time in the How to Train Your Dragon universe, audiences can clearly see the characters physically age throughout the movies. Despite this, looking at their personalities, it seems that the characters are just how they were when we last saw them. Once again, we witness Astrid and Hiccup’s scintillating romance matched with the wit and comedy of their friends and dragon counterparts who still have their original characteristics intact.
The real stars that shone bright in this movie, however, are the dragons. Other characters were not shed with that much light having their foundations already laid deep in the previous two movies. Human dialogues were just enough to establish a simple and linear story and a development of the main lead, Hiccup’s character. It was because of these creatures that audiences mainly felt threatened, concerned, touched, and enchanted. Their scenes are the heart and soul of the movie.
With well animated and choreographed battles between vikings and dragons and stupefying battle gear and armor designs, the battle scenes in this movie are borderline epic; one could actually mistake the movie for a video game. From vikings swinging their axes to dragons crashing through structures in mid-air, each strike is distinguishable from one another such that the fights are not just a chaotic mess but planned, effective, and clean. Therefore, these battle scenes did make the audience feel the threat the characters were in. Despite this display of violence, the said scenes still have short and momentary punchlines and clever editing that leaves the blood and other mature elements in obscurity. These make the film still friendly for kids.
Scenes where dragons carelessly fly around are also highlights in the film. Using the dragons’ body language and behavior in flight, the film was able to get hold of our feelings despite little to no exchange of lines. Through this technique, the film was able to develop a romantic relationship between Toothless and the Light Fury while making us feel their love grow from the day their eyes first met. Over and above that, photorealistic backgrounds were utilized in these scenes making them additionally breathtaking.
The movie itself is visually stunning, equipped with impressive scenery and realistic use of each element. The animation not only is smooth and colorful but it also shows how far the franchise has gone in terms of how the dragons move, the details to their scales and fire and even the humans’ hair and clothing are notable when compared to the first movie way back in 2010.
The movie earns a bonus because of its sentimental ending. Having enough build up from the last nine years since the dragons have begun their training in the first movie, the ending hits the right buttons to make its mature audiences shed tears. It is a worthy ending that makes the animated trilogy difficult to forget.
The show-stopping visuals and the condensed exposure of its human characters however, undermine the story itself. The theme itself swaying from action to romance to self-worth in seconds leaves the audience confused as to what the movie is trying to convey.
Generally speaking, the third How to Train Your Dragon movie is a light and fun thrill-ride, literally leaving the audience breathless and astounded from the visuals to the plot, the final installment of How to Train Your Dragon takes its audience on one final adventure before saying goodbye to the ever iconic human-dragon duos. It is truly a worthy closing to one of the best franchises from Dreamworks.
The Hidden World. Hiccup and Astrid stare at the wonders of the folkloric “Hidden World”. Source: IMDB
Klaus
Movie poster for Klaus. Source: IMDB
This take on the legend of Santa Claus takes us to Smeerensburg, a frozen town notorious for its occupants’ centuries-long feud. A self-absorbed postman, Jesper, gets assigned to that unfriendly town where he meets Klaus, a hermit carpenter who owns lots of toys. Together, they inadvertently spark kindness and prosperity in the town.
Netflix has, once again, surprised the world with another original movie we did not know we needed.
The movie can be enjoyed by all ages, following a feel-good plot with important lessons dropped here and there such as the importance of education, kindness, thankfulness, and even selflessness. In fact, the quote that the movie revolved in “a true act of goodwill sparks another” applies to the lives of the audiences no matter the age. Thanks to the characters who made the story come alive, the audience witnessed a touching story between a large variety of characters ranging from little children to adults.
However, like all movies, Klaus follows an archetype to successfully put through their Christmas movie vibe. Jesper being the main character and hero follows the typical rich-kid-turns-into-humble-person after experiencing a crisis plot line. Klaus, Jesper, and Mrs. Krum, one of the film’s antagonists, are also very similar to the Emperor’s New Groove main characters, Pacha, Kuzco, and Yzma respectively. Their body proportions, actions, and behavior are also almost the same.
The simple plot of the movie following the two characters are easy to follow, letting the audience enjoy the story in addition to the stunning visuals and smooth animation Klaus offered. In a unique mix between 2D and 3D animation, Klaus shows the variety in its characters through their elaborate and unrealistic proportions and their extremely animated actions, adding to the overall slapstick-like humor of the movie.
Despite being set in a place covered in snow, the movie presented the audience with delicate backgrounds, each setting with a matching color palette to express the mood. This was shown effectively as the movie progressed, Smeerensburg went from a dark, dirty, and bleak town to being beautifully lit and clean.
In addition to the backgrounds, the effective use of the camera especially in showing action was one of the main highlights of the movie, especially since controlling the camera when animating poses as one of the hardest parts of animating because the animator must take into consideration proportions, lighting, the character themselves, and also the background.
Overall, Klaus has proved to be one of the animated films worthy of recognition for its animation and art alone.
Merry Christmas? Jesper stares at the ruins of Smeerensburg in disgust of what he has to deal with until he reaches his letter quota. Source: IMDB
2019 has been a fruitful year for animations. With technological advancements and innovative new ideas, animated features keep up with the times. Audiences may grow up and mature but these kinds of movies will never fail to capture their hearts whether as manifested by tears accumulating on one’s eye or the wide and glistening grin. No one is too young or too old to enjoy these heartwarming films with their family and friends. //by Lester Amurao and Claire Tamayo
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