What I think happened...

[Drtooth]

First off, I'd like to say Pixar's best films were monsters Inc and the Incredibles. They both showed (Incredibles more than the others) you can make a CGI film starring humans without the Humans looking awkwardly realistic. DId anyone see Everyon'e hero? The hum,an designs llook like they were ripped off of an incredibles "Background character" layout.

Cars was pretty good, but certainly not my favorite... maybe my least favorite... but it's still the best CGI studio there is. I think Over the Hedge and Madagascar are the BEST things to come out of DW since ANTZ, and Robots was cool too. All those others... they're like noise to me. Barnyard was cute, but not great. The others I didn't bother with... now even Aardman animation is doing it... which is very very sad. It looks good, and true to their clay work... but remember... last year's Oscars featured not a single CGI animated movie nomination. Somehow I want Cureous George to win becase it's the last American traditional animated film I've seen made in years.

 

[beaker]

First off, I'd like to say Pixar's best films were monsters Inc and the Incredibles. They both showed (Incredibles more than the others) you can make a CGI film starring humans without the Humans looking awkwardly realistic. DId anyone see Everyon'e hero? The hum,an designs llook like they were ripped off of an incredibles "Background character" layout.

Cars was pretty good, but certainly not my favorite... maybe my least favorite... but it's still the best CGI studio there is. I think Over the Hedge and Madagascar are the BEST things to come out of DW since ANTZ, and Robots was cool too. All those others... they're like noise to me. Barnyard was cute, but not great. The others I didn't bother with... now even Aardman animation is doing it... which is very very sad. It looks good, and true to their clay work... but remember... last year's Oscars featured not a single CGI animated movie nomination. Somehow I want Cureous George to win becase it's the last American traditional animated film I've seen made in years.

I really really liked Curious George...it looked theatrical, it didnt have that cheap straight to video "feature" were so used to.
It's funny, if ONLY Madagascar had The Wild's quality ...as Madagascar to me has some of the absolute worst cgi Ive ever seen in a cgi cartoon movie.

Yeah Cars of course looks breathtaking...but thats because you have hundreds of employees doing nothing but working on a one movie for three years. Thats what always upset me with Pixar, they could be doing so much more with that talent. As far as Im concerned, the Incredibles may be Pixar's last great film.

I loved Monsters Inc, both To Stories, Nemo, Incredibles...but Cars was so boring to me. The new rat one...I just can't fathom how a French rat in arestuarant could be interesting.

 

[Drtooth]

>>I really really liked Curious George...it looked theatrical, it didnt have that cheap straight to video "feature" were so used to.<<

While I haven't seen the movie yet, even the animated series on PBS has some of the best 2D animation I've seen in years.

>>It's funny, if ONLY Madagascar had The Wild's quality ...as Madagascar to me has some of the absolute worst cgi Ive ever seen in a cgi cartoon movie.<<

I will Disagree with you on the ironic... I felt that the fluidness of MAdagascar made the film pretty enjoyable. The Wild, while the animation breath taking, the animals are UGLY. If they split the difference, between stylized cartoon and hyperized reality, we'd really have something.

I think Disney saw the wrong soultion to their problems. Their newer films (after Lilo and Stitch) were total flops, denounced by critics and movie goers. Though I will say Brother Bear did Native American legend MUCH better than Pocahauntus, which was the worst film I've ever seen (until I made the Misjudgement of seein Junglebook 2). So, instead of making better films, they just make lame films in CGI. I really enjoyed Chicken Little. Didn't think I would. It was very cute... but you couldn't pay me to see Wild. Well, you could... I'm desperate for money.

I remember their first film, Dinosaur... boring. Dull... I could have stared at cheap plastic Dinosaurs that toy stores and Museum giftshops used to have for 2 hours and had more excitement. The idea to add Voices to the characters last minute ment a lousy script and available dlist celebrities, like Della Reese.

Now, one interresting aspect of the Pixar deal is that they intend to help Disney actually make some of the old school animations they used to have.

 

[beaker]

2d animation with cell mapped 3d animation(ie: pretty much every 2d movie in the last 5 years) ROCKS.

I LOVED Recess the movie, I LOVED Emperors New Groove. I even liked that one non Disney one from 2000 the Road To El Dorado. Of course stuff like Spirit, Brother Bear, Home on the Range and Treasure Island didnt appeal to me.

I mean Fantasia 2000, one of the MOST gorgoeus 2d Disney films, ever.

The glut of cgi animal films in the last few years I find sickening however.

 

[Marky]

2d animation with cell mapped 3d animation(ie: pretty much every 2d movie in the last 5 years) ROCKS.

I LOVED Recess the movie, I LOVED Emperors New Groove. I even liked that one non Disney one from 2000 the Road To El Dorado. Of course stuff like Spirit, Brother Bear, Home on the Range and Treasure Island didnt appeal to me.

I mean Fantasia 2000, one of the MOST gorgoeus 2d Disney films, ever.

The glut of cgi animal films in the last few years I find sickening however.

... I know what you mean. They used to be 'event' films. I haven't seen one this year. The last good one I saw of CG was The Incredibles. I really enjoyed that one.

 

[Drtooth]

2d animation with cell mapped 3d animation(ie: pretty much every 2d movie in the last 5 years) ROCKS.

I LOVED Recess the movie, I LOVED Emperors New Groove. I even liked that one non Disney one from 2000 the Road To El Dorado. Of course stuff like Spirit, Brother Bear, Home on the Range and Treasure Island didnt appeal to me.

I mean Fantasia 2000, one of the MOST gorgoeus 2d Disney films, ever.

The glut of cgi animal films in the last few years I find sickening however.

The glut wouldn't bother me as much, if every new studio weren't trying to pretend to be Pixar. I did see Cars, Ice Age 2, and Over the Hedge. They were okay... Hedge was my favorite. But Hoodwinked looked so awkwardly done, it could have been from 1993 or something. Not even my enjoyment of Pattrick Warburton would have made me seen that. Open Season? Feh!

As I said, they are fixing the WRONG problem with the Wrong solution. You don't make movies flashier, mate...you spend more than 5 minutes writing them. Same thing all over hollywood. They make too many bad films and whine about no one spending enough to see too many summer films, especially about 10 % of them are notable. I'm Talkin' to you Garfield 2 and Miami Vice.

 

[Marky]

The glut wouldn't bother me as much, if every new studio weren't trying to pretend to be Pixar. I did see Cars, Ice Age 2, and Over the Hedge. They were okay... Hedge was my favorite. But Hoodwinked looked so awkwardly done, it could have been from 1993 or something. Not even my enjoyment of Pattrick Warburton would have made me seen that. Open Season? Feh!

As I said, they are fixing the WRONG problem with the Wrong solution. You don't make movies flashier, mate...you spend more than 5 minutes writing them. Same thing all over hollywood. They make too many bad films and whine about no one spending enough to see too many summer films, especially about 10 % of them are notable. I'm Talkin' to you Garfield 2 and Miami Vice.

You're right about Hollywood and their cookie-cutter shlock factory.
As far as CG flicks, how about pushing the envelope a bit more? How about characters which aren't geometrially simplified polygons & spheres?

 

[Marky]

The glut wouldn't bother me as much, if every new studio weren't trying to pretend to be Pixar. I did see Cars, Ice Age 2, and Over the Hedge. They were okay... Hedge was my favorite. But Hoodwinked looked so awkwardly done, it could have been from 1993 or something. Not even my enjoyment of Pattrick Warburton would have made me seen that. Open Season? Feh!

As I said, they are fixing the WRONG problem with the Wrong solution. You don't make movies flashier, mate...you spend more than 5 minutes writing them. Same thing all over hollywood. They make too many bad films and whine about no one spending enough to see too many summer films, especially about 10 % of them are notable. I'm Talkin' to you Garfield 2 and Miami Vice.

You're right about Hollywood and their cookie-cutter shlock factory.
As far as CG flicks, how about pushing the envelope a bit more? How about characters which aren't geometrially simplified polygons & spheres?

 

[CensoredAlso]

As I said, they are fixing the WRONG problem with the Wrong solution. You don't make movies flashier, mate...you spend more than 5 minutes writing them.

Absolutely! Good writing is what has been missing from movies lately. There have always been badly written flicks, but they are even more in the majority now.

I'm seriously wondering if movies as a medium are on their way out. Not just with the writing, I mean like watching movies in a theater has become an unpleasant experience. Annoying commerials, unimpressive previews, noisy audience, not to mention OVER PRICED tickets and food.

 

[Marky]

Absolutely! Good writing is what has been missing from movies lately. There have always been badly written flicks, but they are even more in the majority now.

I'm seriously wondering if movies as a medium are on their way out. Not just with the writing, I mean like watching movies in a theater has become an unpleasant experience. Annoying commerials, unimpressive previews, noisy audience, not to mention OVER PRICED tickets and food.

Indy IV is Luacsfilm's last movie they're making for the theatre for those and many other reasons. They are going to bypass the theatre, making only tv, dvd, and downloadable content - a sarcastic yay follows the last item there.

http://zach.e53.org/2006/10/04/george-lucas-no-more-movies/