Board 8 > Gauntlet Crew Ranks (more!) Animated Films! - I've got horns for making lists

(+) Yeah! (+)

scarletspeed7 posted...

WickIebee posted...

Prison Break! Or at least the two main actors from it.

It's actually clips of Captain Cold and Heat Wave from Flash, but yes, same actors.

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cmon JONA answer me
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Knew about Wentworth Miller being Captain Cold, didn't know Dominic Purcell was also cast on Flash. Good information.
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19. 9

Inviso: 6
Snake: 9
Genny: 11
Johnbobb: 14
scarlet: 17
charon: 21
Stifled: 26
JONA: 27
Ermine: 27
Karo: 30
red: 32

Inviso:This movie was fucking amazing and Im glad its on this list so it might have a real chance to shine, while it wouldve likely been lost in the shuffle of animated movie 1. But yeah, this was awesome. It takes an extremely simple concept: a post-apocalyptic scenario with robots ruling the roost, and it manages to build an entire world around that is so few words, just through visuals. Plus you have the general idea of these little sack people trying to survive in a world designed for people ten times bigger than them. Thats always intriguing. Its just a visually stunning movie with a solid plot that doesnt try to push too far and go overboard on what its creating.

Snake: Feels like one of the darkest worlds ever put to animation but inbued with light thanks to its compelling cast of characters. The post-apocalyptic setting really set it apart from other animated fare and theres even elements of horror and mystery that keep you glued to your seat and ready to learn more. It doesnt pull its punches either when it comes to death and sacrifice.

Genny: 9 is one of those movies that is better in concept than execution. That's not to say it's not good, because it still is. The thought that went into every facet of every detail, and every pixel in the animation is amazing to behold. I just wish more effort went into making the characters unique and memorable. It really blows that one of the two I got attached to went out in a dumb way and there's no way to bring any of them back, but that's the point: that death is final because the soul isn't infinite like a machine. Still what a downer ending.

Johnbobb: Im not going to pretend to not have issues with 9. I think theres definitely some confusing logic behind the science/magic/faith of souls, which are somehow the basis of life (but from a scientific perspective, because they actually create bacteria?). The film seems to want to make you think just not too hard. That being said, its still a visual triumph. While the story is sometimes lacking, the detail in the environments, the machines, and the action sequences are all pretty incredible. The creators got a little unlucky with its release putting it out in the same year as three other darker-themed animated movies came out that year (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline and Mary & Max [Up came out this year too, damn good year for animation]), the first two of which had far superior marketing behind them. Its easy to forget about 9, but that doesnt stop it from being a thrilling experience.

scarlet: Conceptually phenomenal. But, like its protagonists, full of no real substance. A lot of fluff without meat and bone. A grand journey that reveals no purpose.
Rating: 55/100
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charon: A perfect storm of so much style and not enough substance. This film blows you away from the beginning but fails to materialize something to hold you there beyond the visuals. They are, of course, still staggering and will probably rival anything for some time to come but the story here is too weak and almost undeserving of such a world. There's an aura of mystery around what's really going on but I figured it out about half way through, well, almost. The dolls being extensions of a single person was a bit odd to think about since there was attraction and interest between 9 and 7. The concept here is unique and worthy of praise, but the execution is mired in inconsistency and left me disappointed by the end. Especially the end. Very poor ending here, it felt like they didn't really know where to go and that's never a good place to leave your audience.

Stifled: I think they could have done a lot more with this movie than they did. Like maybe spend more time with the characters to get to know them better. Because when most of them got wiped out, it didnt really strike a chord with me. I found myself just shrugging. That said, a lot of detail went into each character and the wasteland they traveled, so props to the animators. Also, the inventor that destroyed the world totally beats Voldemort. 9 horcruxes > 7.

Traviss opinion: No bright colors, no cute animals, no deal. He hopped off the couch and played the entire time.

JONA: Its a shame that the characters and dialogue dont really match how good the backstory and atmosphere are.
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Ermine: Overall I wasn't that impressed with this film and was mostly disappointed overall. The animation and background music are both well done and fit perfectly but mostly everything else leaves much to be desired. I will say I did enjoy the final 20 minutes but the first hour and a bit kind of just dragged on.

Karo: Nine miniature robots named after numbers awaken in a post apocalyptic wasteland and try to survive the mechanical monster that is hunting them for some reason. When one of them gets captured, 9 puts together a rescue mission to save him. This endeavor results in over half of them getting killed, including the guy they were trying to rescue, and them accidentally powering up (another) evil machine. Nice job, guys. Many questions are left unanswered, such as why was the Machine trying to steal the souls of the nine anyway? Why didn't the inventor just destroy the Machine's activation key instead of just leaving it around so some numbskull could reactivate the whole robot menace that ruined the world in the past? Why did the talisman suddenly spout bacteria? Hell, the talisman key in general never made any fucking sense at all, it just seemed like whenever the writers hit a dead end they went like 'its the magic talisman, bitch! that's why!' Once again, Tim Burton gets the chance to make another animated movie, and once again it is very disappointing. It makes you wonder if it was really Burton that made Nightmare Before Christmas so great in the first place.

red: There is little I hate more than a mystery that doesn't deliver, and this movie is a big giant mystery that doesn't deliver. With a deliberately bleak artstyle and same-looking characters, the movie certainly isnt a great attention getter. And the mystery just...doesn't make sense. Don't destroy the robot, but we are going to destroy it anyways. And then its going to rain bacteria somehow because reasons. This is somehow supposed to save the world, I guess? From what I understand this is a short that they tried to turn into a full movie. Unfortunaterly, the narrative and plot just wasn't there to stretch this out to a whole film. What you are left at in the end if a big "ok, that happened, I guess". Theres little fulfilment. For a movie that feels like its hiding something from you the whole time, the answers just feel like you wasted your time.
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I still stand by the one comment I made to JONA. There's one question that would make a better answer than the end of this film. What happens if the robot absorbs all the souls? Maybe due to it being all the souls of the scientist, his completed mind takes over and the Robot resumes being good, and then creates robotic life to inhabit the earth peacefully until the robots begin a civil war that wipes out robot kind in the long distant future.
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Outlier scores:

Ermine: 214
Stifled : 185
Inviso: 179
Karo: 169
Snake : 158
Genny : 135
JONA: 133
charon: 130
red: 126
Johnbobb: 103
scarlet: 95

A little over halfway through the rankings, and almost everyone is finally hitting the 100 point outlier score. A ways to go!
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#18 Hint: This film is the first to show up on the list that was ranked in the same spot by 3 different people.
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18. A Cat in Paris

Snake: 8
Stifled: 9
JONA: 11
Ermine: 16
red: 16
scarlet: 16
Genny: 17
Inviso: 25
charon: 27
Johnbobb: 27
Karo: 31

Snake: The concept for this film hooked me right away! Its hilarious and serves as a nice parody of classic thriller/crime plots from the 40s but theres also some other influence in here too. The gangsters for example feel plucked from a Tarantino flick. I really enjoy the flat animation style which really stands out amongst its peers.

Stifled: I didnt read the description before I started watching it, so I had no idea what to expect. Lighthearted talking animal flick? Some kind of dramatic indie take on The Aristocats? Was I going to have to worry about the poor meow meow getting killed? Thankfully none of those were correct. It was a...crime comedy with surprisingly dark themes and a bit of animal abuse? Huh. Well in any case, it was quite enjoyable, with an adorable ending. Steve Blum is always a win. Steve Blum with a cat that saves small children though? Big win.

Traviss opinion: He LOVES cats. He meowed like crazy every time the cat came on
the screen.

JONA: This meowvie had me lured in with its children's picture book-like artstyle, with some very kitty backgrounds and some smooth jazz meowsic. The artstyle also makes the movie have simple animeowtion, but it just fits the film. Add in a cat burglar and some detective work and you've got
something that's right up my alleycat. I also like the movies brief length that really helps the movie with its focus and doesnt let the film draguar but also doesnt make me feel cheetahd out of a full experience. The movie isnt purrfect though. The mooks felines of dialogue werent particularly funny and the scenes with Jeannes psyche couldve been subtler. A really enjoyable but simple movie. Its great style makes it a cat above the pack.

Ermine: Short but sweet. I'm not really a biggest fan of the animation, but I was really digging the background music used throughout the film, especially the song used right before the credits. I think music in movies is criminally underrated and can really take scenes that extra mile. While the plot and story aren't anything amazing, it was still a fairly good watch. There are a couple problems I have with it, such as the villain kind of being more or less a huge idiot. I think some of the issues I have with it would be solved if the movie was more fleshed out so I won't fault it too much for that. As it is, "A Cat in Paris" is a solid film.

red: A very simple movie that knows not to overstay its welcome. Its not a deep movie by any means, but is an entertaining story of a mother and daughter getting justice for their lost husband/father with the help of a good even though hes not so good thief. Also there is a cat that follows everyone around and is useful, because people like cats, or something. Nothing deep here, but not a total waste of an hour.
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scarlet: Style over substance. The film lifts references and plot beats directly from a number of great crime and heist films but without the heart that makes those films tick. Its almost as if a film critic watched Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs and To Catch a Thief and decided to make those stories palatable to younger viewers. The result is a sweet but ultimately toothless adventure with the very predictable plot right down to the twists and turns in the latter half.
Rating: 57/100

Genny: A Cat in Paris was good, I just wish there was more of it. It was over far too quickly in my opinion. I mean it gives you just enough time to get attached to the characters and then it's onto the next one in the list. I watched the version with Steve Blum so obviously can't go wrong with that VA. Still don't really get how the thief and the investigator end up together but I guess he seduced her with his voice.

Inviso: While this wasnt the BEST movie and it had some definite flaws, the fact that one of the artsy films on the list managed to entertain me gives it a bit of a boost. Its a bit of a confusing story, with a bunch of intersecting plotlines, but it all comes together nicely. The main guy is like Sly Cooper, dealing with his Carmelita whos both on his tail, and on the tail of the man that killed her husband. Theres a mute little girl, a BADASS cat, and a whole lot of idiot goons to get wrecked. And its short enough that it doesnt overstay its welcome. The characters do their jobs and the film feels complete. I wish the little girl was either fully mute, or not mute at all. It just feels like a bad plot device to make her mute and then she gets better at JUST the wrong moment. Still, solid film.

charon: A pretty simple adventure film, not quite what I was expecting. It's well done and competent I just don't really get moved or impressed by it that much. The strength of the film is the interaction between the main cast which is enjoyable, even if the overall plot is nothing too grand or exciting. It was also pretty short, clocking in at just over an hour. As far as the English dub goes we immediately recognized Steve Blum playing a Steve Blum character. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it was interesting to be able to catch his voice so easily.
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Johnbobb: How the fuck did this, Chico & Rita and Puss in Boots all get nominated Best Animated Movie while Winnie the Pooh got snubbed? Dont get me wrong, there are some decent ideas here (and to be honest, after watching this list getting through a movie without a fart joke seems like a rarity). I like the double-life cat, the mute protagonist and the lights-off animation change. But goddamn thats some ugly animation. I get not every animated movie can have a Disney-sized team of animators, but some of this is just painfully rough. Weird eyes and characters not looking at each other while talking. The worst is the writing though. Id expect a dumbed down narrative from a little kid comedy, but the repeated forced exposition for the entire first half of the movie made this one hour movie feel like it was already dragging half an hour in. Perhaps. Could be.

Karo: This is a foreign movie about a little girl and a burglar who end up together due to caring for the same cat. They both then tangle with another thief who was conveniently the same person who killed the girl's father. Basically characters chase each other all over Paris, the girl's mother acts like a fucking idiot, and thats all there is. It is cute in places, but neither the story or characters are particularly noteworthy, and the art style of the world and the hideous human beings populating it is just not appealing in the slightest. At least the title is accurate; there is a cat, and it is in paris. If you want something more than that, look the fuck elsewhere.

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Outlier scores:

Ermine: 216
Stifled : 194
Inviso: 186
Karo: 182
Snake : 168
JONA: 140
charon: 139
Genny : 136
red: 128
Johnbobb: 112
scarlet: 97

Still a 3-way battle for second place here. This really put distance between the bottom two outliers however.
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#17 Hint: Perhaps the most polarizing film in this project? I haven't done the math, but the gap here is most likely the widest from end to end.
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Meowwww

Every time Travis sees Cat in Paris on the menu, he immediately starts meowing. That and Cars 3 were his two favorites of this project by a mile.

Gonna guess a Pixar flick dropping next.
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I know it gets cliche to guess your own things but I honestly feel like this could be one of my top ones, especially if the last few rankings are an indication.
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Guessing Mary and Max
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JONALEON1 posted...

Guessing Mary and Max

This sounds right.

Ermine and scarlet Guess Update

9 (Film)

scarlet's prediction: 32
Ermine actual: 27 (5)
Total Difference: 80

Ermine's prediction: 15
scarlet actual: 17 (2)
Total difference: 99

A Cat in Paris

scarlet's prediction: 24
Ermine actual: 16 (8)
Total Difference: 88

Ermine's prediction: 17
scarlet actual: 16 (1)
Total difference: 100

Ermine manages to pick up significant ground as our triple 16s were unforseen by scar. As tight as the race has been for a long time. Can the top half of the list bring Ermine all the way back into contention?
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Leafeon13N posted...

JONALEON1 posted...

Guessing Mary and Max

This sounds right.

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17. Persepolis

Snake: 1
JONA: 2
Johnbobb: 12
scarlet: 13
Karo: 15
red: 15
Stifled: 18
Ermine: 23
charon: 30
Inviso: 31
Genny: 37

Snake: This animation style, first off, is incredible. Its emotionally affecting, and theres a certain language every frame speaks that you just connect to outside the characters. Marji is easily my favorite character on this. I love her rebelliousness and determination, but its also absolutely terrifying what she goes through during the Iranian Revolution which only gets worse as she grows older and teeth of tyranny seek in ever further. Its a revealing life story where not one gruesome detail is spared, and I feel all the more changed for watching it myself.

JONA: Marjane has a very fascinating life and its intriguing to see how she responds to her environments and situation. I also dig the black and white artstyle for most of the movie as it really hammers in the bleakness of the oppression and the contrast for the moments where there is color. Also, the movie can be charming and funny at times despite the bleakness and they dont feel out of place (besides that weird Eye of the Tiger part, although it felt in character for the narrator.) Its just such an engaging movie the whole way through.

Johnbobb: I was hesitant of this animation style. I thought it looked to simple, like an animated political cartoon. I was so, so wrong. The simplicity is incredible, and the subtle changes to the animation's color, lighting, movement legitimately shocked me. The story was compelling, the backdrop of the Iranian revolution was horrifying, and somehow it still manages to cheer you up just enough to make you sad again. I do think these were stronger earlier on though. As the film went on, the animation style had less variation, and the story slowed its pace (with my favorite part being the perspective of the revolution from when Marjane was a child).

scarlet: Im glad were finally watching some movies about non-superheroic graphic novels. Next time, hopefully we can watch one of the REALLY good ones. Like V for Vendetta. Sin City. 300. Road to Perdition. A History of Violence. American Splendor. Ghost World. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. No? Fine. In any event, Persepolis is truer to its original source material than virtually any comic-based film Ive ever seen, and thats especially impressive given the deep subject matter. Of course, its no Argo. And thats a fair comparison because both films are about an extremist regime and the effects it plays in the Iran of the 80s. In Persepolis, this is about the Islamic Revolution, and in Argo the extremist regime is the CIA. In either event, both were run by overreaching zealots desperate to impose their worldview on other unwilling participants.
Rating: 60/100

Karo: The story of a young Iranian girl who movies to France to get away from all the nutjobs in the Middle East. The most entertaining part of the movie was when Marjane was a weird little girl back in Iran, and all the mischief she got up to. The movie's complete lack of color leaves it feeling a little bland from a visual standpoint, though I guess it was to keep to the look of the comic I'm not sure if that was the best idea. Owing to the semi-biographical nature of the film, it does meander in places later on but still remains somewhat interesting.
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red: A frustrating story of an Iranian girl growing up inside and outside Iran. While you can feel for her plight a bit, shes full of fault and bad decisions herself, all the way to the near end of the movie where she gets an innocent man arrested. She struggles to fit in everywhere, partly of her own doing in many instances. The start of the movie suffers from a lack of characterization, moving at a pace that is probably a bit too quick. More time and care is taken to her time out of Iran, giving you a bit more understanding of her plight when you finally hit that point, compared to early on when people are dying and you aren't immediately sure who they are and what their importance really is.

Stifled: I will say first and foremost this movie is very well done. The art style was unique in the fact it was both weird and pleasing to the eye. The girls story was both heartbreaking and entertaining all at the same time. I was hooked from beginning to end. But heres the rub. I watch movies for escapism. Things that are depressing in nature, while beautiful in the case of this movie, just will not appeal to me in the same way fun and happy things do. Depressing is ultimately not my cup of tea. So I probably wont give this one a rewatch. But I will remember it fondly.

Traviss opinion: He wasnt very interested, and eventually took a nap.

Ermine: As with all types of films that are in the same kind of theme and vein as this one, I find it incredibly difficult to rank. I'm not the biggest fan of these types of movies mostly because they kind of make me depressed, especially so if I actually get into the film. Persepolis drags on a bit at the start but once it gets going I found myself pretty invested. The music used in the film is quite nice and does an excellent job at driving the scenes. The animation, while not in really a style that I enjoy that much, is very well done.

This is a movie that I can appreciate but at the same time kind of regret watching. I don't enjoy feeling depressed and down about my own life so it always makes ranking these types of movies incredibly difficult for me.
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charon: Describing how I feel about this film is difficult. On one hand, I appreciate the look into Iran's history from someone that was actually there for the past and present states of the country. It's weird to think of this country as being anything but what I know if from modern day happenings. The animation is unique and enjoyable. Connecting with the main character isn't a problem and you really can empathize with her pretty easily. All that said however, this movie meanders a lot. It feels longer than it actually is. There are bits in there that are not necessary. Granted, this is a biography in a way as well but as a film you have to know what to focus on and what not to. The ease in which she enters relationships is alarming to me, and not to sound like a "nice guy" here but good lord her choice of men is horrible. We get to see next to nothing about these guys but male stereotypes which leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Given that it's based on an actual person, there's no enjoyable ending to be found either. Just really hard to place this all too high.

Inviso: From a purely artistic standpoint, Persepolis is pretty good. I mean, its really similar to Grave of the Fireflies in terms of just telling a gritty story about a part of the world that we, as Americans, dont really understand from a foreigners perspective. And just like with Grave of the Fireflies, Im gonna predict Charon loves this one. Less because the story is depressing and more because the main character is totally a goth girl. My problem is that despite admitting the movie is goodI dont really want to watch it again. Its too much of a slice of life film for me to truly find enjoyable, even if the slice of life was cut out of the Iran/Iraq War. The art style is slightly off-putting and does make the movie harder to watch for me.

Genny: This one kind of hurts because Persepolis was beautifully animated, but the content is really boring. I'm of opinion that, if you can tell a story in a way other than animation then you should. Animation is a medium used to accomplish the fantastic, and to tell stories you couldn't by other means. I watched Persepolis and all I could think was, why wasn't this live action?
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Outlier scores:

Ermine: 222
Inviso: 200
Stifled : 195
Karo: 184
Snake : 184
Genny : 156
JONA: 155
charon: 152
red: 130
Johnbobb: 117
scarlet: 101

... a 4 player fight over second now? Everyone hits the century mark now as well.
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#16 Hint: More divisive fun ahead!
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Johnbobb posted...

Leafeon13N posted...

JONALEON1 posted...

Guessing Mary and Max

This sounds right.

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Genny said the same thing about Persepolis that I said about Chico & Rita. Surely Charon will be just as incensed with her as he was with me. >_>
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Johnbobb posted...

Johnbobb posted...

Leafeon13N posted...

JONALEON1 posted...

Guessing Mary and Max

This sounds right.

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I would not have enjoyed a live action Persepolis. The art style really added a lot to the presentation that live action could not have done.

Chico and Rita would make for an amazing live action adaptation, but I think animating it gave it character it wouldn't get from real life. It would be two different experiences.
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Yup called it, knew it would be one of my top ones that went out! 17 isn't all that bad a placement, I just don't get a lot of the complaints here personally.
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Espeon posted...

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Genny said the same thing about Persepolis that I said about Chico & Rita. Surely Charon will be just as incensed with her as he was with me. >_>

Only if I liked the movie would I bother defending it. Yes, I don't think animation has anything to do with the faults of this movie. It was just boring in general and would have meandered whether it was animated or live action. I really only mentioned your criticism since I ranked Chico and Rita in my own top half, of course.
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Ermine and scarlet Guess Update

Persepolis

scarlet's prediction: 22
Ermine actual: 23 (1)
Total Difference: 89

Ermine's prediction: 1
scarlet actual: 13 (12)
Total difference: 112

Ermine with the big oops here. Not sure even Ermine knows what he was thinking on that one.
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16. Penguins of Madagascar

Ermine: 1
Genny: 8
red: 10
Inviso: 12
Stifled: 12
JONA: 14
charon: 16
scarlet: 27
Snake: 28
Karo: 32
Johnbobb: 34

Ermine: This movie truly is a delight all the way through. I lose count how many times I laugh out loud... and that's after roughly 15 minutes. When you mix awesome characters, crazy hijinks and my perfect type of humor, you are gonna have a smashing success. I was so excited to hear this movie was coming out because over the course of the Madagascar movies I always had wanted more of the penguins. We did get more of them in Madagascar 3 which is one of the reasons that it was far superior to the first two movies but then they give us a movie STARRING them and that's literally just a recipe for success. There's just so many things that are right up my ally with this film I find it incredibly difficult not to give it my number one spot... so I won't. There's a few very tough competitors that were battling for my top ranked film here but I feel like there's just too many things that are positives for me in this movie for it not to win.

Even though the penguins themselves are awesome (specifically Private, followed closely by Skipper), I was very happy with the North Wind and their additions to the film as well. Short Fuse was definitely a home run for me. Freaking adorable little seal with a fiery attitude, god I want him so freaking badly. I really enjoyed that the movie focused more on Private near the end of the film and gave him so much time to shine. The moment when he escaped getting super blasted was sooo freaking epic and that's just one of my many favorite scenes.

Speaking about scenes, I find it VERY difficult to really pick one in particular that is my absolute favorite. There's just so many fantastic scenes... such as the Venice escape scene (Seriously, this scene is actually amazing and always has me laughing the entire time), the jumping planes scene, the Plan vs Plan scene... the list goes on. I kid you not, I have a permanent smile while watching this film all the way through from start to finish, it is always such a pleasure to rewatch.

I could gush on and on about this film for ages because it honestly is such a delight but the long and short of it is that it's just the perfect type of humor for me along with tons of awesome characters and just a really fun time with solid animation.

Short Fuse and Private are love <3

Genny: Penguins of Madagascar goes right after Boss Baby in the most surprising category on this list. I liked the penguins as side characters, but did I think they deserved their own movie? Heck no, but I'm sure as heck glad they got one. Private just wanting to prove himself valuable and Skipper not wanting to see him as anything other than his adorable mascot leads to the cutest and one of the most dynamic coming of age stories. Daryl is a weird but surprisingly effective antagonist, and even though Drake did the penguins wrong I really felt for Donald by the end. Also Daniel's celebrity pun shtick went on for just the right amount of time. P.S. North Wind ruled, especially the dog (wolf?). "Oh no we're dead, dead, DEAD" is my favorite line in all these movies.

red: This is the easiest movie to know if you will like or hate. Do you like the Penguins on Madagascar? If yes, you will enjoy, if no, stay away. While they were always more technologically advanced than the rest of their cast, here they meet a group of animals far more advanced, organized, and serious than they are and struggle to deal with it. You get a little backstory and feel for how the Penguins will do anything for each other. The Penguins themselves are generally less bumbling idiots than the main Madagascar cast, even if they are a bit full of themselves. This definitely makes them far more tolerable.
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Inviso: For a total spin-off movie, Penguins is a nice and fun little romp. I didnt go into it expecting some sort of ultra-moving film, and I didnt come out of it having gotten an ultra-moving film. It was just goofy fun and slapstick humor the whole way through. However, a lot of films do this wrong. They thing slapstick for slapsticks sake can just work on its own. Penguins took a cast of characters already quirky in their own right and utilized them to the best of their abilities. Creating the North Wind as a straight man to the Penguins and their bizarre antics worked even better. And I will admit that giving Private a more central role and allowing him to develop beyond just being generically cute was a good call. It was just a likable film. Nothing more, nothing less.

Stifled: Oh man, that group of penguins has charisma and chemistry to spare. I could watch them all day. But maybe next time, ditch the lame spy team. They dragged the pacing down a bit by being completely unlikeable. Dave and his gang of celebrity named henchmen was absolute gold to make up for that, however.

Traviss opinion: He loved it! It didnt really contain his usual favorite things (cats, cars, etc), but he watched the whole thing. He even danced to the credits music.

JONA: It basically takes whats good about Madagascar 3 and then focuses on the penguins, who were always the most enjoyable part of those movies. Shockingly, it ends up good.

charon: A surprisingly enjoyable film, this is evidence you can make a good spinoff featuring side characters. Unlike Minions, this one is clever and witty and offers a good plot to show the backstory of the penguins. I'd be willing to say this might be better than most of the Madagascar movies, maybe all of them, I'd have to revisit that thought though. It's strange since I found the penguins annoying and out of place in their home series. Opposite of Minions, where I tend to enjoy their home series. It could have been that perhaps these characters in small doses wasn't the right formula for them to succeed. I also enjoyed the supporting cast here too, especially Classified. WE'RE DEAD!
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scarlet: The best part about global warming is the inevitable demise of Madagascar penguin films. Whip out the hairspray and run your motor when you run into the post office, boys. Its time to put this franchise in the ground where it belongs.
Rating: 43/100

Snake: While I do enjoy the Penguins as characters, I didnt need to see a whole movies based on them. Largely forgettable.

Karo: So the penguins in the Madagascar crew get sick of the 'we like to move it' song (like everyone else in the world) and decide to go break into Fort Knox on a whim. They then get caught in a trap set for them by a vengeful octopus who somehow knew they would be there, because everyone knows the best place to trap penguins is deep inside a secure government installation.
They then meet up with a new arctic critter secret agent strike force, because if there is one thing the Madagascar series didnt have enough of it is mediocre talking animal characters. Though the two groups hate each other at first, they eventually learn to work together and save the day with the power of penguin cuteness. Yes, I'm serious, the villain is literally defeated with actual weaponized penguin cuteness. Okay.

The penguins were funny in the Madagascar movies because their scenes were limited in number. When you have nothing but penguin hijinks for an hour and a half, you'll want nothing more than for this quartet of tuxedoed avians shoved into a boat propeller in order to make the agony stop.

Johnbobb: This is one of the movies I least wanted to watch. Like, the actively shitty ones seemed like they might at least be interesting to watch. But this? Madagascar was barely entertaining on its own, so taking a subpar animated movie and then spinning THAT off just to get the chance to repeat a few dumb jokes from the original. Honestly the whole thing just reeks of a lack of creativity and plenty of lazy choices. Like the gondola chase, that couldve been a cool scene in a better movie, maybe with the soundtrack for it focusing on the actual gondola music instead of generic chase music. A better movie mightve had a female character without needing to make them bizarrely sexy and having their sole purpose be the love interest of a supporting character. And of COURSE it needed to squeeze in a fart joke.
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Outlier scores

Ermine: 237
Inviso: 204
Karo: 200
Stifled : 199
Snake : 196
Genny : 164
JONA: 157
charon: 152
red: 136
Johnbobb: 135
scarlet: 110

Large gaps between the top and bottom spaces now. Very close battles for those second-to spots however.
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Ermine and scarlet Guess Update

Penguins of Madagascar

scarlet's prediction: 11
Ermine actual: 1 (10)
Total Difference: 99

Ermine's prediction: 25
scarlet actual: 27 (2)
Total difference: 114

Ermine gets some of those points back as scarlet approaches triple digits with the number one blunder. I was admittedly a bit perplexed when I saw scar had Penguins out of the top 10 originally. I definitely double checked if I had the right list several times early on.
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#15 Hint: This movie was ranked in the top half just as many times as the previous movie and had a lower top outlier than it did.
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Did this manage to make me and Ermine the least compatible?
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Johnbobb posted...

Did this manage to make me and Ermine the least compatible?

Not even close. You're still in the top half of compatibility for him.
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v_charon posted...

Johnbobb posted...

Did this manage to make me and Ermine the least compatible?

Not even close. You're still in the top half of compatibility for him.

oh weird
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Oh no, it's dead. Dead! DEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAD!!!
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This was a movie where I realized I was the Josh Mathews of the group.
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15. The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Stifled: 5
scarlet: 10
red: 13
Ermine: 15
Johnbobb: 15
Inviso: 18
JONA: 18
Snake: 21
charon: 22
Karo: 27
Genny: 28

Stifled: Yes! Hell yes! A light-hearted pirate adventure where Umbridge is a samurai sword wielding psycho queen is exactly what I needed. Its the perfect blend of action, likeable characters, and sharp humor. I could watch this daily and be happy.

Traviss opinion: I think Travis would have liked this, but he was super grouchy the day I watched it and needed a nap. I look forward to the rewatch.

scarlet: What really made the film for me was the thoroughly absurd yet cohesive world it was set in. Even the smallest of characters had a backstory you could feel and sense. The humor was genuinely zany although sometimes clearly targeted at the dumber end of the child spectrum. Aardmans least mature and heartwarming movie, to be sure, but still one Id be willing to watch again.
Rating: 64/100

red: I feel like you need to turn off your brain a bit to enjoy this movie. But somehow, the movie actually did a good job of hitting the on and off switch of my brain. With a main character literally named Pirate Captain, you are given an immediate gag that kind of gives your brain a notice that it doesn't have to take the movie entirely seriously. And for whatever reason, it works as you encounter various historical characters with their won evil or not-so-evil just greedy motivations while Pirate Captain and his gang are on a quest to randomly win pirate of the year. Its not serious, its not some epitome of animation, but it works in a strange way.

Ermine: Better than I thought it would be. While it did have a bit of a rocky start, the film picks up immensely about half way through or maybe even a bit earlier than that. In general I'm not really the biggest fan of stop motion animation and I actually really dislike Chicken Run but comparing the two, I definitely vastly prefer this movie. The only stop motion films I really enjoy are Fantastic Mr. Fox and Shaun the Sheep, and while this movie doesn't even come close to reaching those two in terms of quality, I can say it was still fairly enjoyable. I think I am starting to enjoy the trope of the villains being surprisingly crazy evil. Similar to Captain Chantel DuBois in Madagascar 3, Queen Victoria being completely off the rails insane was quite amusing.

Johnbobb: Big bonus points for using one of my favorite Flight of the Conchords songs. Additional bonus points for having one of the best chase sequences on the list with the downhill tub slide. That one scene pretty much cemented this movies position for me, being a fresh and welcome change of pace after watching much less creative action filling a few of these. Sort of like Robots, the movie is quite flawed (flat characters, cliches, etc.) but its a lot of fun despite its flaws, with impressive claymation and goofy humor.
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Inviso: I seem to recall I was one of the few big fans of Aardmans work when we did the Dreamworks ranking, so I expect Ill have overranked this movie compared to the rest of the crew as well. But yeah, for whatever reason, I just find the British humor and animation style of Aardman and his team to be fun
EVERY time. Sure the film isnt AMAZING, but its unique, and its hilarious to see Queen Victoria as a big bad guy. Do I wish it was a little less cliched in the sell out so you can gain the approval or assholes department? Sure. But still, theres just a lot of heart and goofy characters in this film. Also, David Tennant as a socially awkward Charles Darwin? Brilliant.

JONA: Just a good, funny movie. I dont know; I dont have much to say about it.

Snake: There was nothing really funny here, maybe a few chuckles here and there. Nevertheless, its serviceable entertainment and I always enjoy this style of animation.

charon: I was pretty impressed with this film's subtle and simple charms. This is a pretty straight-forward story without a ton of depth or backstory to be had, hell even the main characters don't necessarily have proper names. I was surprised I was taken with this film, as sometimes the animation style of Aardman can leave me feeling lukewarm on a film. I really did like this one though, and as simple as they seemed I was still intrigued and excited to see what would happen to the characters within. I know that I'm partial to pirate themed media but at the same time, I feel I can be a harsh critic of the genre if I feel it's done wrong. I definitely felt some of that embellished swagger I enjoy so much from Disney's Pirates franchise coming out in this one. This one was just a lot of fun, and while it never tries to go that deep so I can't rank it beyond a certain point, it does what it tries to do very well.
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Karo: A reject group of pirates wants to win the prestigious 'Pirate of the Year' award, and it leads to a series of events that causes everyone to try and capture their pet dodo bird. This eventually leads them into mortal combat with the Queen of England and a great deal of marginally funny silliness is had.
Other than the rescue scene at the end, the movie seems completely without direction, relying on nothing but a chain of dumb gags to string the movie along to its conclusion.

Every crewmember other than the Captain pretty much has no real relevance to anything that is going on, and despite some potentially interesting characters in the bunch (such as the woman with the obviously fake beard), they are pretty much nothing but decorative set pieces as far as the story goes. It's a movie that might have had a bit of potential, but didnt quite know what to do with it other than to flail about awkwardly and as a result it lacks the subtle charm of other Aardman franchises such as Shaun the Sheep or Wallace & Gromit.

Genny: Pirates! was an odd one. I can't say I didn't enjoy it as it's significantly better than other animations in this same style. Look British humor isn't generally my cup of tea. I could leave it at that, but I'll go on. The portrayals of real life figures Darwin and Queen Victoria are just odd. Not in appearance (they're actually pretty accurate), just in mannerisms. Why does Darwin have a schoolgirl crush on the queen? Why does the queen go through the pretense of the "petting zoo" when she has the legal and royal authority to seize any property of theiving outlaws? Why does Darwin have a pet chimp and why do they resemble each other? Why do all the pirates aside from the Pirate Captain and his crew have actual names? And the answer to all these is of course "Because clever sophisticated humor". I just don't get it.
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I'm kinda surprised this lasted as long as it did. It seems like the kind of movie that wouldn't appeal to like, two or three people in our crew at the very least.
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Outlier scores:

Ermine: 237
Karo: 212
Stifled : 209
Inviso: 207
Snake : 204
Genny : 177
JONA: 160
charon: 159
red: 138
Johnbobb: 135
scarlet: 115

Not a ton happens here other than the next to top 4 juggling for positions. Sworn enemy Ermine ranked this movie at the same spot as Johnbobb!
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oh because i care so much about john liking pirates as much as I do -_-
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