Board 8 > Board 8 Ranks Animated Movies 3 - The Rankings

(+) Yeah! (+)

Xeybozn posted...

I like most artsy foreign/indie animation stuff, but Red Turtle just bored me to death. I feel like most of the acclaim it got was because people saw the Ghibli logo at the start and went in thinking "Oh, this must be a great movie".

Yeah. Ghibli is very hot or cold in terms of making either a whimsical and fun anime film, or making something dry and dull. This was definitely the latter option.

Sure, but the weird thing is that Ghibli wasn't really that involved in making the film itself. They didn't do much more than help fund it. Calling it a Ghibli film would be like saying (insert any post-2000 Ghibli film here) is a Disney film.

Xeybozn posted...

Sure, but the weird thing is that Ghibli wasn't really that involved in making the film itself. They didn't do much more than help fund it. Calling it a Ghibli film would be like saying (insert any post-2000 Ghibli film here) is a Disney film.

It FEELS like a Ghibli movie though.

17. Over the Moon

Ermine: 5
Karo: 11
Johnbobb: 13
Red: 24
Evillord: 32
Inviso: 35

Total: 120

Ermine: Despite thinking that it takes too long for our heroes to actually get to the moon, this movie really surprised me in a good way. It's weird... and things happen randomly to progress the plot but I can forgive it for those things because it was just very sweet and pleasant to watch and to look at. I wasn't too sure about the songs in the first half but I was definitely more sold in the second half.

I wish we had a bit more time with the supporting cast to get to know them a bit better. You get a lot of the main and her brother but not as much with anyone else. I personally would have LOVED to see more with Gobi. Yes dammit he's an Ermine character. He's ALMOST a bit too in your face but has enough depth to him that makes him really charming. I absolutely LOVED his song and that was basically the turning point from me thinking this was an alright movie into one I enjoyed a good amount.

If it wasn't for the slow first third... maybe even first half... and maybe fleshing out a few of the characters out more, like Gobi and Jade?... I think this could have been in the higher/top tiers for me.

Overall, a very fun movie with a lot of charm and energy. Slowed down a bit by random plot progression and first third but definitely picks up when GOBI arrives. Good stuff.

Karo: A young girl decides to build a rocketship and travel to the moon to meet the lunar goddess because this would somehow stop her father from remarrying.
So yeah, Fei Fei is this little genius who has enough scientific knowledge to launch a rocket into orbit using advanced magnetic levitation, yet somehow still believes that a lovelorn immortal woman lives on the moon with her magic rabbit.
Except surprise, surprise, that is exactly what is on the moon. The story goes completely off the (magnetic) rails at this point as Fei Fei and friends encounter a lot of weirdness and garish colors. This is where the movie should be full of magic and wonder, but inexplicably this is where the magic starts to leak out.
Thus begins a random quest for a macguffin that the goddess wants so she will a give Fei Fei a picture she needs for stupid reasons. The story flails around at this point searching for a purpose, and the writers seem so lost that we somehow end up with a zero gravity ping pong rap battle.
The film wants me to care about the mythology of Chang'e as much the protagonist does but I really don't. I care about the character of Fei Fei and the pain she is dealing with, and a lot of that seems lost once the cosmic moon bitch comes on the scene and makes the whole movie about her stupid ultraluminary ass.
The first 30 minutes of the movie are so perfect, and it takes until the very end until it reaches such heights again. When it is at its best it is a touching and heartwarming story of dealing with sorrow and loss, and while the weak middle act keeps it from reaching all the way to the moon it is still worth seeing.

Johnbobb: There's some cheesiness here, sure. There's a weird hiphop ping-pong battle. There's a pretty simplistic core story of a girl not wanting to accept her new stepmother and stepbrother, but where it shines is when it works in a combination of Chinese mythology and incredible space visuals. That, and Phillipa Soo is just absolutely fantastic here every moment that she's on screen.

Red: Do you want to talk about the moon while eating moon cakes with a moon stone with a moon creature with a moon obsessed moon family on the moon with a moon goddess to sell moon cakes to an angry moon to a moon palace on the moon. Moon moon moon moon moon moon moon moon moon moon moonmoonmoonmoonmoonmoonmoonmoonmoonmoon. By the time the movie is 10 minutes in you will have heard the word moon so much you just want to strangle every character every time they say the word moon. But don't worry we'll eventually go the moon where the animation budget runs out and you get an ugly moon palace and a generic moon goddess who is a villain but isn't really but also is horrible and then not at the same time. It never makes sense, the moon goddess absolutely does villain things but all is forgotten because moon.

Evillord: This was ultimately mediocre, but I did think the intro scene for the secretly bitchy Goddess was well-realized, and I liked that the main character and the Goddess had parallel character arcs. I appreciated that it was trying to deal with heavy subject matter like grief and acceptance, but it didn't do anything special with that.

Inviso: I dont know why this one annoyed me as much as it did, but here we are. I feel like this is one of those movies that is very much written for children, without necessarily expecting the parents to glean anything from itbut rather than have a lot of poop humor or whatever, this goes the route of having a fuckton of unnecessary, cutesy filler. Over the Moon is all over the place in both story and tone. The open segment features multiple songs in the style of a Disney princess movie, but the setting is in modern-day China. And that is annoying, but it could work if it maintained that theme throughout the filmbut it doesnt. Once the main character travels to the moon kingdom, where such a whimsical atmosphere would be more welcomethats when we get a modern pop diva concert number, followed by a ping pong rap battle. Its just so bizarre, and thats what I mean when I say the movie has these abrupt tonal shifts.

Then theres the plot. The basic premise is fine: little girl is upset that her dad is meeting a new woman who might replace her dead mom. Because of this, she wants to build a rocket ship to travel to the moon, to prove that her mothers old fairy tales are true. Im willing to let that slide, despite the inanity, because it might just be a cultural thing. Ultimately though, its part of the problem, because you build this girl up as a genius, whos able to build a rocket ship in the first place, and that character trait is almost WILDLY unexplored during the course of the film. It feels like Fei Fei ONLY has this intelligence as a plot convenience to explain her ability to reach the moon. Thats literally the only purpose it serves.

Also, were introduced to Fei Feis obnoxious, future step-brotherand he sneaks aboard her ship, screwing up the calculations. This character has no reason to exist in the plot of the film. He offers nothing and is completely disconnected from the main character. Yet for SOME REASON, despite being separated from almost the moment they arrive in the moon kingdom, the ending comes with the main character having learned to accept this little brother character. MAYBE shes more tolerant by being around the annoying space dog, but thats not a worthy instance of character growth and development. Really, she shouldve been saddled with him through the entire moon section of the movie, slowly growing to realize that he (and by extension, his mother) arent so bad. This would go a long way to making BOTH characters more likable, as they currently are not.

So yeah, this was a rough watch, and it very much felt like one of those films that does not even remotely care about an adult audience. But while a lot of kids movies in that vein go the route of lets fart and poop a lot to make kids laugh, this instead decided to go the route of bright, flashy colors, and lets be extremely safe and uncontroversial in ANY way. Basically, its boring as hell on top of having little in the way of substance. And that sucks, because I feel like this could have been a great story about coping with a new stepmom or something like that. Instead, this is a nothing movie.

Outlier Rankings:

Ermine: 276
Evillord: 255
Inviso: 190
Johnbobb: 184
Red: 174
Karo: 165

Thank goodness.

Just need to boot my 29 now, and even that's not a high priority just yet.

Gobi is the kind of character that SCREAMED "Ziggy is going to love this" as soon as he started interacting with everyone else. I do love how his song for the moon goddess makes them far less one-dimensional. I mean the fact that your first introduction to the goddess is Ultraluminary is... a bit worrisome, but I think the film pulled itself together by the end and became competent. Not much more I can say than that, unfortunately.

And yes I agree the little brother character was quite obnoxious. He made Gobi look better by comparison.

GenesisSaga posted...

I mean the fact that your first introduction to the goddess is Ultraluminary is... a bit worrisome

excuse you Ultraluminary is a bop

and yeah I'm in the park of "Gobi WAS too in your face and pretty eye-rolling, kinda like a lot of animated movie sidekick characters tend to be, but thankfully he didn't take too much focus.

The most annoying thing was probably the rabbit romance side-story, which was just completely unnecessary (and inevitable, the moment I saw that they had weirdly feminized the girl rabbit)

but the downsides weren't enough to take away from how pleasant the main experience was

After the other dialog-free films got butchered I thought Red Turtle would be soon to follow, so I ended up being pleasantly surprised it ranked that high. Over the Moon on the other hand deserved to go way sooner, it has all the same problems as Abominable really, they're almost the same movie. It's another one that feels like it managed to sneak into this placement because everyone hated all the films below it.

Johnbobb posted...

The most annoying thing was probably the rabbit romance side-story, which was just completely unnecessary (and inevitable, the moment I saw that they had weirdly feminized the girl rabbit)

it wasnt any more unnecessary than anything else in moon land, and was at least cute

Evillordexdeath posted...

Over the Moon on the other hand deserved to go way sooner

Nah, it didn't and it's better than all your favs.

You are within your rights to believe that :)

The moon was brightly colored and bland or dull moon colored and bland.

Felt like this weird mix where they wanted the place to feel magical but didn't have the animation budget to pull it off.

Also did not help that I watched it right after a different movie that took a very similar structure after characters go into space

Evillordexdeath posted...

After the other dialog-free films got butchered I thought Red Turtle would be soon to follow, so I ended up being pleasantly surprised it ranked that high. Over the Moon on the other hand deserved to go way sooner, it has all the same problems as Abominable really, they're almost the same movie. It's another one that feels like it managed to sneak into this placement because everyone hated all the films below it.

I agree that they have very similar plot points, but Abominable at least knew how to tie those plot points together into a decent narrative structure. Getting from point A to point B to point C makes sense in Abominable. Whereas Over the Moon starts at point A, and takes a completely circuitous path before eventually arriving at point D.

Sure, that's fair, though I do think the similiarity extends beyond plot and into theme and aesthetic. Both of them have superficial aspects of Chinese culture flattened into a generic American wannabe-Disney animation style and story structure, which comes off as pandering to the Chinese market. I think the reason I ended up rating Over the Moon slightly higher was that I felt the theme of grief came across a little better in that one, because it was what made the main character and the Goddess relate to one another (and because the viewer actually gets to meet the main girl's mom, which makes it easier to feel the sense of loss imo.)

See, I felt like the theme of grief came across worse in Over the Moon, because of just how muddled the plot was overall. Abominable, you have a girl who's become listless because of how her dad died and she hasn't quite gotten over it. The yeti showing up is a catalyst that drags her from her ennui and gets her to do the road trip she never got to do with her dad. It's logical storytelling. Meanwhile, Over the Moon has a strong opening premise: a girl who lost her mom and is now worried about her dad finding new love. But then it just becomes a complete mess through the entire middle portion, so that when the finale happens and brings everything back to the original plot, it doesn't feel earned.

16. Loving Vincent

Evillord: 10
Karo: 13
Ermine: 13
Johnbobb: 22
Inviso: 29
Red: 32

Total: 119

Evillord: As this film makes sure you know in the opening, every frame was hand-painted in a style based on Van Gogh's, which did end up being really cool. The narrative is structured quite similarly to Citizen Kane, with someone else hearing conflicting stories of Vincent's life after he's already gone. It was quite intriguing and captivating to watch, with a nice emotional payoff in the end.

Karo: In a quest to deliver Vincents final letter, a man interacts with various subjects of Van Gogh paintings and discusses the life and death of the great artist.
How the movie so vividly captures the soul of the eccentric painter without even showing him save for a few brief flashbacks is quite amazing,
The film is visually stunning to the extreme, and can be called no less than a miraculous feat of animation. Just thinking about how an individual detailed painting had to be created for every fucking frame is absolutely mind boggling.
It is a film as unique as its subject, and one that pushes the limits of what can be done with the art of animation.

Ermine: This one surprised me a bit by the amount I enjoyed it. I won't say it's a favorite of mine in the slightest, but as the movie went on, I found myself more invested in the story and characters. I enjoyed the different art styles and animation employed throughout the film and thought it was just overall a mostly enjoyable watch. Not particularly my thing... but still was alright, to say the least.

Johnbobb: If this ranking was solely based on how impressive and innovative the films were from an artistic perspective, Loving Vincent would easily be near the top. As it is, the movie is a gorgeously and uniquely animated depiction of an altogether dull and unmoving true story that really could've been told in a much better way.

Inviso: This wasnt the most interesting film Ive watched on this list, and the first half is definitely rough going to get through. However, I think the back half really picks up and manages to balance out the dullness. I dont know why the son of a postal worker gets QUITE so emotionally invested into the death of a random artist (who I dont believe wouldve been famous or beloved at the time). But that investment carries the film, because it adds an element of mystery. Suddenly, its not just a slow posthumous biopic about Vincent van Gogh (which, Im sorry, but this is not as good as Vincent and the Doctor), but rather a murder mystery with multiple suspects, and an investigation into what drove Vincent to kill himself, or DID he actually kill himself? The plot just kept unraveling again and again, bringing new suspects into the mix and new circumstances, and it made for an intriguing endgame, even if it took a long time to get that far.

Red: You want a movie that drags itself out and probably could have been done in half the runtime? This is the epitome of that. On top of that, most plot lines are left without much fulfillment and the movie doesn't really know what it wants to be. Are we a murder mystery? No not really. Is the main character going to end up important? No not really. Are any of the side characters going to develop much? No not really. Anything that might have hooked you ends completely unfulfilling and while the art style is a neat attempt to be unique, it cant save what is a weak and ultimately completely dull plot.

Outlier Rankings:

Ermine: 279
Evillord: 261
Inviso: 203
Johnbobb: 190
Red: 190
Karo: 168

Wow. Im 14/15 in terms of the top fifteen. Only my 20 remains outside (and only Abominable has been eliminated).

15. Onward

Karo: 10
Inviso: 14
Red: 17
Johnbobb: 21
Evillord: 22
Ermine: 29

Total: 113

Karo: So basically the whole thing is that this movie used to take place in a cool fantasy rpg world, but everyone became lazy and forgot how to do magic, and Dungeons & Dragons material is basically history books now.
These two elf brothers acquire some old magic shit and use it to try and bring their dead dad back to life, but they resurrect their father's ass and nothing else. This leads to a race against time to find the magcuffin they need to complete the spell before papa needs to use the restroom.
Sure it is the same old two dudes who end up on an arbitrary journey shtick, and the protagonists immediately scream out Buzz and Woody's high school years, but it is how they use the scenario and characters that really make this film shine.
The two brothers are the heart and soul of this movie, and seeing their relationship deepen over the course of the story is what really makes this movie special.
There are plenty of nerdy visual gags peppered about, including an epic encounter with a Gelatinous Cube that will certainly make D&D fans cheer.
It just goes to show that Pixar is still a talented studio when they aren't making uninspired sequels, and while in this film they may have rolled a natural 1 on an imagination check, they still scored a critical hit upon my heart.

Inviso: First off, is Chris Pratt just in EVERYTHING now? Not only do we have the news about Mario and Garfield, but Id forgotten just how prominent he is in several films on this list that have already come out. Second, while Onward is low tier by Pixar standards, thats still pretty solid overall. Its a film that at least FEELS like a unique concept (road trip movie about two brothers trying to spend one last day with their dead dad), and on paper, the main character gets a decent growth arc over the course of the film (gaining confidence as he embraces his wizard status, and general learning to appreciate his brother). The film is a BIT heavy-handed at times, or at least its a bit on the nose in a few instances, but overall, I feel like it nails the emotional element, and the ending feels deserved (getting to see his dad was never Ians reward, but rather Barleys for helping Ian grow as a person over the years). Its definitely not a masterpiece, but I appreciate it for trying to be different and unique.

Red: An original movie from Pixar? This is going to be great, right. This might be the most disappointing movie on the list. I don't even really want to call it bad, but it really feels like a very generic brother roadtrip movie. They wanted to try to do the pixar tug at your heart with the dad but on that front it was telegraphed fairly hard and ends up as mostly a miss. A unique world thats a mix of fantasy and reality ends up mostly underutilized, being used for plot convenience but with very little expansion beyond that. You are left with characters that just aren't very memorable and while I appreciate an original movie on a list like this, can't help but feel like the movie was a big miss and wasted potential.

Johnbobb: I remember seeing the initial trailer for this a couple years ago and thinking... "meh." It looked pretty uninspired, tbh. Things like the unicorns in place of raccoons, the people replaced by orcs or whatever, but it otherwise looked like a generic coming-of-age tween movie with a light fantasy skin on top. Once I actually saw it though-- yeah, ok, it still is kinda mostly just that, but it's not all bad. The relationship between the two brothers was surprisingly moving, with the different experiences of loss being the focus, delving into the not-insignificant difference between losing a parent you loved dearly and losing a parent you never got the chance to know. It's a dichotomy I've rarely if ever seen in movies, and the type of emotional chord I expect from a Pixar film, even if the rest of the movie didn't quite live up to it.

Evillord: This movie gets a lot of justifiable flak for having a formulaic plot, but it was fun to watch and pretty good in the fine details. I liked the dragon fight and the dad being only legs was used really well.

Ermine: I just gave a huuuuuge ass yawn before starting the write up for this.

I think that's all I need to say.

Outlier Rankings:

Ermine: 293
Evillord: 268
Inviso: 204
Johnbobb: 196
Red: 192
Karo: 173

Im actually kinda surprised this one outlasted Incredibles 2, as far as Pixar goes. Not that Im complaining; I just thought Onward was more maligned.

Onward is just..generic and safe.

Coco was always going to be a tough act to follow as far as original Pixar films, but I thought Onward was... solid. It won't stand out as one of their best, but it doesn't deserve to be lumped in with their worst either. At least the leading characters aren't as obnoxious as that of Inside Out or as utterly forgettable as the duo from The Good Dinosaur. It truly does stink that Disney seems unwilling to give an original Pixar story another shot on the big screen, and it's unfair that this is the scapegoat.

14. Raya and the Last Dragon

Red: 6
Karo: 8
Ermine: 19
Inviso: 20
Johnbobb: 23
Evillord: 36

Total: 112

Red: I really want to like this movie more than I do but I also don't want to excuse the movie wholly because it feels like the film on the list most impacted by the pandemic. This is a weird step down from typical Disney animation these days, backgrounds can be found to be a little plain, attention to detail is light, and it just feels inconsistent. Again, pandemic troubles, but at the end of the day pandemic or not it is what it is. We've got a couple of leads that are frustratingly stubborn, dragons with an animation style that is just slightly out of place with the world around them. I still very much enjoyed it, everything is just slightly flawed. Also I will forever be angry that they somehow forgot to put cats in Fang. The entire introduction to Fang was about how it was the city of fearsome cats and then you get to Fang and they didn't animate in a single cat. Again, pandemic, but still a frustrating lack of attention to detail that Disney doesn't usually miss. It is particularly grating when it is the climax of the movie.

Karo: A kung fu princess sets off on a journey to find the last dragon in order to heal the world so it is no longer Mad Max beyond Thailand.
However, the dragon in question is 'not really the best dragon', and thus the heroes must journey to the five kingdoms named after pieces of dragon anatomy to find all the magic crystals that will level Sisu up. After acquiring assorted Dreamworks characters, Raya finally has to face her arch nemesis and they all discover the magic of friendship and found the land of Kumbyadra.
Character wise, Raya and Sisu are both excellent, but everyone else not so much. The supporting crew of dipshits is no big loss, but the villain being this underdeveloped 'Dark Raya' is what really hurts. The story of her journey to the light is meaningless if we never get to know her beyond 'oh hey will the bitch with the bad haircut stab Raya in the back again'.
There is a regrettable lack of polish to the story, and the film kind of trips over its own message by repeatedly showing anyone that shows the slightest bit of trust getting immediately betrayed for the lulz.
The film is visually beautiful in the manner of Disney's recent offerings and the world they create is very vibrant and compelling. It just feels like we are racing from one place to another at breakneck speed trying to cram five whole kingdoms into a runtime of under two hours. I think it might have made a better miniseries instead of a movie, where we could explore the setting and characters further than we did here.
Still, it is quite enjoyable, and certainly preferable to more damn sequels.

Ermine: Hoo boy, where do we start with this one? The movie looks incredible and the style is awesome but that miiiiight be the most praise I give it? The overall story and lore are points in its favor as well.

The characters... Sisu in particular... man did they miss the mark. Elsa, the My Little Pony dragon is one of the most frustrating and annoying characters of this decade and I'm surprised at how many people can put up with her. If she was just annoying... it would be serviceable... but god her character sucks as well.

"Blah blah blah, you need to trust people more! Like me!"... she says this AS she gets tricked for being too fucking trusting and making things harder for everyone.

SHE SAYS THIS AS SHE GETS HERSELF KILLED BY NAMAARI BECAUSE SHE'S BEING TOO TRUSTING.

And then the movie has the gall to say that it's Raya's fault because she's wasn't trusting enough.

Go fuck yourself movie. Go fuck yourself for the message you were trying to send because good lord you did it in the worst and stupidest way possible that made absolutely no sense. Sisu was an idiot and ruined everything for everyone there. Not Raya. Well, Namaari is to blame too, but we knew how she would react. There was no god damned reason that Sisu should continue to be this trusting after she was literally tricked like 30 minutes earlier. It's absolutely mind blowing to me that they are trying to send the message that Raya was in the wrong here.

Despite these massive issues that completely bring down this movie, there's still a decent amount of fun to it.

Also... what happened to the cats that were in the Fang tribe in the first third of the movie? They were completely removed from every scene after a while. Did they forget that the tribe had a bunch of cats? What happened here LOL?

Inviso: Ah, the movie that got Lindsey Ellis cancelled. This feels like a good spot for it, because its not amazing, and it doesnt really do anything that different or unique, but its also not actively terrible or anything like that. I will say that I hate Sisu, which is kind of a major make-or-break character given that shes half of the movies title, but when Sisus not being wacky and trying to be your standard goofy sidekick, I guess shes not TERRIBLE. The message of trust over division is one we really need, especially in the modern sociopolitical climate, and though the plot was a little bit formulaic, I did appreciate that it didnt go IMMEDIATELY to Sisu is always right, trust everyone and youll be fine. The scene where the old lady tried to extort Sisu with threats of death was much needed, just to build up the struggles of trust in the world. It made the eventual breakthrough feel that much more earned. I just wish Sisu was a lot less annoying, and the plot took some more risks like that.

Johnbobb: I'm completely torn on this. On the one hand, Raya is great, Namaari is great, and the story of their friendship turned bitter rivalry in the midst of an ancient magical apocalypse makes for an excellent animated film on its own. Really just top tier Disney. BUT then they throw in an MLP-knockoff-looking dragon that doesn't fit the art style of the rest of the movie, voiced by Awkwafina at her worst, with some of the least funny lines I've ever heard in a Disney movie, and it drags the entire thing down.

Evillord: God, this movie was boring. It was really just going through the motions for the entire run time. The plot is basically just Trolls World Tour with the roles reversed, but somehow less entertaining. I liked the idea of Raya and Naamari having crushes on each other but being enemies, but I didn't really think they did anything good with that.

Outlier Rankings:

Ermine: 298
Evillord: 290
Inviso: 210
Johnbobb: 205
Red: 200
Karo: 179

So my entire top twelve remains intact, and only my 15 is outside of that (though I must admit, I thought my 15 would go LONG before my 20). Nice.

Raya was the movie I had ranked last, but I doubt it wouldve stayed there because I was saving the ones that looked worst for last. But it was 31/31 for me when I quit and I was surprised by how much I hated it considering how good Disney usually is.

PrinceKaro posted...
@Inviso

The scene where the old lady tried to extort Sisu with threats of death was much needed, just to build up the struggles of trust in the world. It made the eventual breakthrough feel that much more earned.

I'm guessing we didn't watch the same movie because that scene meant absolutely nothing. Sisu still was like YOU HAVE TO TRUST PEOPLE MORE... and then she gets herself killed and the movie pretends like it's Raya's fault for not being trusting enough.

It makes no fucking sense.

I will say I'm surprised a couple movies are still in this... namely Lego 2 and Zucchini

I mean, to be fair, Sisu DID get herself killed because Raya fucked up and spooked side-cut. I think what I meant was that the general message of the film is that SOMEONE needs to break the cycle of mistrust, and having the scene with the old lady con artist made it like "No, it's not just some easy Disney solution, where everyone is BFFs forever and ever after one kind gesture". Sisu's faith in trust was legitimately put to the test, and there were consequences she had to face for being wrong.

Zigzagoon posted...

Zucchini

Some people just like good movies I guess

Zucchini is excellent, but I am surprised it's still here given how almost every other remotely moody or "pretentious" animated film has bitten the dust already.

Nah, it's yawn

thesmark posted...

Zucchini is excellent, but I am surprised it's still here given how almost every other remotely moody or "pretentious" animated film has bitten the dust already.

I mean, it has to do with being able to tell a compelling narrative on top of being "artsy". Just a thought.

Zigzagoon posted...

Nah, it's yawn

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/5/AAYLMoAABzRH.jpg

13. Missing Link

Karo: 5
Inviso: 15
Ermine: 17
Red: 19
Evillord: 25
Johnbobb: 29

Total: 110

Karo: The latest film from underappreciated yet stellar stop-motion studio Laika. The story is about a self-absorbed British adventurer and the naive and surprisingly civilized Sasquatch he ends up on a mutually beneficial journey with.
The characterization is so strong that even this less than original plot shines like a star. You could literally have a story where they just go shopping at the supermarket and it would still be hilarious. Add in the amazing dialogue and comedic timing through the film and you have yet another winner from this studio. At least quality wise.
The fact that such a witty animated comedy flopped at the box office says volumes about the sheer stupidity of the American people and their unwillingness to do anything but to suckle on the comforting teat of tradition and repetitive safe rehashes.
I sincerely hope that Laika can continue to survive as a studio, they have a unique vision that would be a shame to lose, lest we end up with nothing in the animated scene but Hotel Transylvania 7: Vampires in Space and Toy Story 12: Please God Make it Stop.

Inviso: Aside from Boxtrolls, Laika has been very solid in their delivery of quality films over the years. That being said, while this is still a strong effort, this stands out as a lower tier than films like Coraline, ParaNorman, and Kubo. I thinks just the subject matter lends itself to some creepier and less visually-appealing designs than we got in those other movies. Plus a LITTLE too much immature humor, given the monstrous nature of the titular Missing Link. Its still a solid movie though, and Id put it in my good tier, as opposed to an acceptable movie. I liked the comparison between Frost and Susan, both trying to find acceptance with groups that want nothing to do with them. And Stenk served well as a weasely, recurring antagonist that never quite had enough of a bite to ruin his comedic potential as a character. Really, the main thing I think would have made the film better would be the removal of Adelina, who feels like shes there just to have a female character, rather than because she serves a decent purpose.

Ermine: Pretty decent movie all things considered. Characters were interesting and likeable and the style/animation worked. Well... other than all of the animals in the movie. Every animal's eyes were WAY too close together and made them look so goofy and weird. Most of the humans has pretty close together eyes as well but it didn't look off.

Pretty predictable all things considered though, could tell exactly how the movie was going to go from like the five minute mark. Still decent fun.

Red: Society of snobby people denies existence of easily found legend or something. Despite the rather underwhelming introduction for most of our characters the plot of finding the home of the yetis and the yetis turning out to be just as much of a bunch of jerks as the humans are was kind of interesting. A lot of the movie is a bit long winded but on this list being a bit more of an original non-sequel is enough to carry it pretty far, even if our characters are ultimately all a little flat.

Evillord: I didn't think there would be two movies in this project about bringing a cryptid to the Himalayas, but maybe that just speaks to how formulaic the scripts in children's animated movies tend to be. I liked the main character in this one though. Laika movies often make up for weaker stories with awesome stop motion animation, and thats true here, though I didn't think it was as mind-blowing as Kubo.

Johnbobb: No more yeti movies for a while. It's not bad, but goddamn there are three yeti movies on this fucking list, and of those three, Missing Link is the one I cared least about.

Outlier Rankings:

Ermine: 302
Evillord: 302
Inviso: 212
Johnbobb: 221
Red: 206
Karo: 187

:O

Holy crap. I can't believe my top 12 are THE top 12.

Sounds like Inviso is going to make a comeback on the outlier list.

12. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

Evillord: 3
Karo: 4
Inviso: 7
Johnbobb: 27
Ermine: 27
Red: 34

Total: 102

Evillord: I thought this was great. The ideas about growing up and clashing aesthetics were a good way to continue examining the premise of the first film, there were parts that really captured the feeling of being a kid playing with your siblings, and I laughed more at this than any other movie on this list. The Lego-based animation is a joy to watch and it's full of energy and life. I went into this with low expectations so it was probably the biggest surprise of the marathon. It reminded me why I enjoyed watching the first Lego movie so much.

Karo: This sequel expands on the lego world by asking the question of what would happen if more than one god-child was in control of the universe. So Bricksburg, which is now a post apocalyptic Mad Max wasteland, comes under attack from the forces of Sistar, a sparkly land of cuteness and pop music.
Sistar (where most of the movie takes place) feels new and different and helps to keep the sense of wonder that permeated its predecessor from dispersing. This is the rare sequel that doesn't just feel like a rehash of the first movie and it feels like it actually deserves to exist from this one simple fact.
There are plot twists, there are hidden antagonists, there is Emmett facing his dark side (literally), and there are full blown musical numbers. Yes, it is a musical now, and is everything you would hope a lego musical would be with singing about dating Batman and villain songs about not being a villain.
Though the curtain has been pulled back on the true nature of the lego world, it doesnt make it any less charming. The story of the two sibling gods, their conflict and eventual reconciliation though the strength of their love, is mega feels central and the heart of the movie.
I don't know if I would want to see a third part, but this second part at least was very enjoyable and a worthy addition to the lego universe.

Inviso: Full disclosure, Lego Movie 1 is perhaps my favorite animated film of all time (it topped my Western animation list the first time around), so having its sequel on this list is almost a double-edged sword for Lego Movie 2. On the one hand, its the same characters (for the most part), and a reasonable continuation of the plot from the first movie, which manages to retain a great deal of what made the first film so great. However, it doesnt QUITE land as well as the original movie, largely because the first movie was very much a meta-comedy. There was a lot of humor regarding the properties featured, and revolving around Lego themselves. Theres SOME meta-humor in Part 2, but I feel like the film really focused on going the musical route more than the comedy route, and the comedy is a bit more standard than the first film. It still winds up good, because the songs play well into the plot (even if the plot feels cobbled together), and the concept of the plot (brother and sister fighting, which creates a war of the worlds until Mom gets involved) is a solid one. Its a fun movie, but its always going to be compared to the original, which is rough for Part 2, thats all.

Johnbobb: This is basically the "sequels not as good as the originals section of the list" and I'm running out of things to say about them. The Lego Movie was great. The Lego Batman movie was great in similar and different ways. The Lego Movie 2: More Christ Pratt Than Anyone Asked For is just ok, and largely just kinda retreads the first, but in a way that is ultimately less memorable or fun.

Ermine: I didn't like the first Lego movie that much and I like this one even less. The one thing I hated most about the first Lego movie was the live action sequences. Like... I get it, I just think the acting is actually godawful and cringeworthy. It's dialed up to eleven in this one and it's like... oh my god, PEOPLE WOULD NOT ACT LIKE THIS. THEY DON'T SAY THE THINGS THESE HUMANS ARE SAYING, FUCK OFF!

Getting away from the live action sequences, Batman feels so forced sometimes and rarely does he say anything that actually makes me laugh. The Queen is a terrible character and I hate her. There are a few moments that are enjoyable... mainly the credits sequence which was actually pretty cool... but do I get to count that?

Red: There is a recurring theme of sequels in this list where they want to use the same marketable characters but be in a completely different world to make as little reference to the prior movies as possible. That is the Lego Movie 2 but it is possibly the worst in this regard as well the universe has basically been completely blown up none of these characters would have any value if you didn't know them from the first movie. And knowing them from the first movie is only useful to see how much they've killed their personalities to make pretty much everyone less likeable. Also with the twist from the first movie hanging over this things ugly head from the start the way the movie ends is basically written in bold letters right from the start. Everybody share yay happy happy fun times what a great original message we've got here.

Outlier Rankings:

Ermine: 317
Evillord: 311
Johnbobb: 236
Red: 228
Inviso: 217
Karo: 195

My write-up for Lego Movie 2 - your credits sequence shouldn't be the best part of the movie.

11. Toy Story 4

Inviso: 4
Johnbobb: 10
Evillord: 15
Ermine: 16
Karo: 20
Red: 33

Total: 98

Inviso: While I dont think this movie really needed to exist (the Toy Story trilogy was fine on its own), Im actually willing to cut more slack to TS4, because TS2 doesnt really feel like it advanced the overarching plot in a meaningful enough way to warrant a spot within the original trilogy. Anyway, I think Toy Story 4 is a solid capper to Woodys time at the main character of the franchise, and it was nice to finally have things go full-circle with him, starting out the series as jealous of losing his position as favored toyto finally accepting that hes not favored anymore, and therefore needs to let go. Getting Bo back was a positive choice, since she was a generic love interest in the first two films, and though Forky brings up some weird questions about sentience among inanimate objects, hes a funny enough comic relief character.

Where Toy Story 4 really succeeds is its villain. Gabby Gabby is introduced as lording over the antique shop alongside her ventriloquist dummy army, and she feels like a retread of Lotso, with all the associated bitterness that comes with him. However, it quickly becomes clear that, while she has antagonistic goals, shes not a bad toy. She was built with a defect and has never gotten to experience the love and joy associated with being a childs plaything, so naturally thats what she wants more than anything in the world. This isnt like Stinky Pete, or Lotso, where theyre just bitter and want everyone else to suffer because they have; her motives are selfish, but more about benefitting herself, rather than harming others. And unlike those other two, her downfall isnt some humiliation, but rather having her dreams crushed. In that moment, shes not the villain anymore, and shes able to find redemption in one of the only scenes on this list thus far to make me cry. Gabby Gabby really sells this movie for me, and Im happy to rank it this high.

Johnbobb: ah yes, the life of living with your immortal porcelain girlfriend in the secret civilization under the playground. We've all had that dream, Woody.

Evillord: After Toy Story 3 seemed to wrap the series up so completely, I was worried there would be nothing left for 4 to be about. That concept kind of ended up being what it was about, which I thought was a smart way to approach it and made for a surprisingly good movie.

Ermine: A movie that didn't need to happen.

I was really let down by the fact that the movie really didn't have much of the other toys at all... IE. Slinky Dog because he's the best toy.

That being said it was still enjoyable enough and I actually found myself enjoying Gabby Gabby as a character. Best addition to the film and is honestly what's carrying it this far in my ranking. The new comic relief are whatever... we already had good characters in the toys from the previous films... we didn't need these weird plushes.

Oh! I almost forgot. Forky sucks.

Karo: Hey, remember how Toy Story 3 had this really perfect ending to the series? Naw, we're just kidding, GIVE US MOAR MONEY OM NOM NOM
So what happens is Bonnie makes a homemade toy called Forky out of a spork and some popsicle sticks. When Forky has an existential crisis and runs off, the other toys have to go on the usual arbitrary journey to find him.
Said journey gives the series exactly what it was missing, more useless background characters. It also miraculously takes them to the exact store in the exact hick town that Bo Peep somehow ended up in after being sold. Bo's personality has been completely changed with little explanation given but it is a vast improvement, though honestly I'd rather have seen her role given to someone new instead of trying to redeem the most sexist character in the modern history of the Walt Disney company. I mean we even need a flashback at the start to remind people that Bo Peep actually exists and that Woody apparently still has feelings for her despite basically not giving a shit in Toy Story 3.
Speaking of Woody, he is also a character who acts different in this movie. In every other film Woody is an egomanical moralistic prick who has a very narrow view of what it is to be a toy and tries to force it upon everyone around him but now its like 'remember all that shit I always gave you about how our own wants dont matter and we just exist to be Andy's slaves? Well that doesnt apply to me, I'm outta here to live my dreams, bitches!'. Great Woody, now you are an egomanical moralistic HYPOCRTICAL prick.
That all aside, this is actually a pretty competent sequel from a production standpoint, much like the third film it is free from the incompetent directorial stylings of John McGropey Lasseter and has a great semi-villain in the tragically twisted Gabby.
I think one thing I miss a lot is how the characters used to meet actual toys from the real world, it gave a sense of realism. We have a bunch of parodies here like not-GI Joe and not-Polly Pocket but that is not really the same.
While the ending might not be as good as TS3, it IS an ending, and Disney, please leave it at that before you Shrek the franchise to death.

Red: What do you mean the Toy Story franchise had a completely satisfying conclusion with little in the way of loose ends? We can't make money from that. What about Bo Peep, some dumb idiots on the internet keep bringing up that we forgot about her? Start writing.
There's no reason for this movie to exist, all that we went through from the previous movies about how the characters are better together is thrown out the window. Oh and you wanted all your Toy Story favorites to have an adventure together? Nah we're going to split them up. This movie basically becomes the flagship movie of this list and the demand of studios to spit out marketable sequels and I hate it. We get a generic not really a villain villain that plagues this list and we end with the writers attempting to stick the series in a hole which it can't crawl back from the depths of hell out of. But don't fear because all this has done is forced Pixar to make a weird meta-spin off to milk the franchise for more later this year.

Outlier Rankings:

Ermine: 322
Evillord: 315
Red: 250
Johnbobb: 237
Inviso: 224
Karo: 204

Huh. Did not see that missing the top ten.

That is a franchise that will never die. Why make a franchise with the intent to sell toys when you can just continue a franchise that is literally already toys.

I actually liked Toy Story 4 more than 3. Never really got the whole "we don't need this movie" complaining; it's not like the other sequels were super necessary themselves.

Xeybozn posted...

Never really got the whole "we don't need this movie" complaining

They wrote the ending to 3 as an ending to the series. The toys had a fulfilling cycle.