The Official Animation Challenge of April 2021!

[frbrown]

1. Beyond the Mind's Eye (1993) #BONUS Excuse Me While I Puke

WARNING: may cause eyes to bleed

Although I'm making fun of it, this actually had a lot of retro charm

[Onderhond]

Not going to log it officially, but since it's on an official list I could just as well put a little feedback here, as it was a rather interesting film and some might still consider it animation.



xx. 2.5* - Invention for Destruction [Vynález Zkázy] (1958) by Karel Zeman

Interesting mix of live action footage and cartoon-like sets and props. Though this film is often categorized as an animated feature, it's more of a trompe l'oeil that wants you to believe you're watching an animated film. Can't say it's entirely successful (the real actors are a dead giveaway), but it makes for some rather creative-looking scenes. The plot is an amalgam of Jules Verne influences. The core story (about an evil scientist building a weapon inside a volcano) is based on Verne's Facing the Flag, but Zeman doesn't mind borrowing royally from other Verne novels. If you're familiar with Verne's writings it's all a bit too random, but it's good enough for an adventure film. Not everything works and some parts are really outdated, but overall the film has retained a certain charm because of Zeman's unique approach. It's really like nothing I'd ever seen before, which at this stage has become a pretty big plus. It's still way too clumsy for me to love it unconditionally, performances are basic, the execution's pretty childish and the effects can be pretty crummy, but at least it was memorable.

blank canvases

01. 2.5* - When the Wind Blows (1986) by Jimmy T. Murakami
02. 2.0* - The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) by Will Vinton

[Lonewolf2003]

1. Soul (2020)



The way this deals with death and beyond is a bit weird/uncomfortable with some bizarre mythology regarding souls, plus overly cute-looking characters. Fortunately, the film mostly works a comedy with hilarious 'Family Guy' style comedy cutaways and lots of fun from an unborn soul attempting to walk for the first time and so on. The plot also changes directions so many times that the film is refreshingly unpredictable - if simplistic in the messaging.

And yes, it seemed to only make sense to go with my namesake for this milestone check:

Congrats, that’s a impressive achievement

[Onderhond]

03. 2.0* - The Humpback Horse [Konyok-Gorbunok] (1947) by Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya, Viktor Gromov, Ivan Ivanov-Vano

One of the earliest Russian animated films. I expected some Eastern-European Vinnie Pukh style doodling, but was pretty surprised to find a Russian carbon copy of the Disney school. Fluent, exaggerated animation, local folklore and a couple of songs combine into a decent, though somewhat outdated film. The plot serves a Russian variation on the ugly duckling story. When a simpleton catches a flying horse, only to set it free again right after, he receives two fine horses and a smaller humpbacked one in return. The smaller horse has magical powers though, which lands the boy a job with the Tzar. The art style is rather stylish, though I'm not a big fan of this type of exaggerated animation. The songs aren't that great, the plot is somewhat drab and the characters are one-dimensional, but there are a few standout moments and the film is nice and short. Not great, but better than expected.

blank canvases

01. 2.5* - When the Wind Blows (1986) by Jimmy T. Murakami
02. 2.0* - The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) by Will Vinton
xx. 2.5* - Invention for Destruction [Vynález Zkázy] (1958) by Karel Zeman

[3eyes]

2. Eleanor’s secret / Kérity, la maison des contes (Fr 09)

Charming French animation, good family fare.

[flavo5000]

We've barely started, but I thought I'd go ahead and do a quick update to get the leaderboards started. Traveller is off to the races in 1st but can that pace be kept? We'll have to see. On the Bonus Challenge side, only myself and frbrown have started to dig in despite several folks actually watching things that would apply to some of the challenges.

I hope everybody has fun with this one!

[mjf314]

There seems to be a little bit of a pro-earth bias in the challenges. There's a challenge for all 7 earth continents, but not a single challenge for Mars? I'm watching Aria, which is set on Mars.

[mjf314]

Spoiler

1. A Whisker Away (2020)
2. Ride Your Wave (2019)
3. Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)

4. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 1-4
5. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 5, 5.5, 6, 7

[dirty_score]

1. Yellow Submarine (1968) #BONUS Style Profile: Rotoscope



ROTOSCOPE: Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds segment

[Traveller]

06. The Boss Baby (2017) - 1/10
07. The Croods (2013) - 2/10
08. The Lorax (2012) - 3/10

Nothing even remotely noteworthy.

[Torgo]

02. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) - 2/10
03. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) - 1/10
04. Paddington (2014) - 2/10

06. The Boss Baby (2017) - 1/10
07. The Croods (2013) - 2/10
08. The Lorax (2012) - 3/10

I hope you enjoy the challenge, Traveller!

[dirty_score]

02. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) - 2/10
03. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) - 1/10
04. Paddington (2014) - 2/10

06. The Boss Baby (2017) - 1/10
07. The Croods (2013) - 2/10
08. The Lorax (2012) - 3/10

I hope you enjoy the challenge, Traveller!

I think he'll be happy that 2021 will give us Hotel Transylvania 4 and The Boss Baby 2: Family Business.

Also 2020 gave us The Croods 2: A New Age. Let the good times roll

[Torgo]

Well, with most of theaters of the world closed, none of those threaten to become box office hits. I suppose the inclusion on the BO list played a role for Traveller's viewing choices - otherwise I'm even more baffled.

The Boss Baby is a very special case, though, since it's an Oscar-nominated film!
When you were wondering how Shinkai's Your Name wasn't even nominated - the Baby was in charge here. Not the slightest chance, Makoto, sorry.

[Traveller]

02. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) - 2/10
03. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) - 1/10
04. Paddington (2014) - 2/10

06. The Boss Baby (2017) - 1/10
07. The Croods (2013) - 2/10
08. The Lorax (2012) - 3/10

I hope you enjoy the challenge, Traveller!

I think he'll be happy that 2021 will give us Hotel Transylvania 4 and The Boss Baby 2: Family Business.

Also 2020 gave us The Croods 2: A New Age. Let the good times roll

Oh my...

It's indeed challenging. I thought I would go through all the Box Office crap - inspired by sol - and then enjoy some hopefully better Animes, but it looks like I will have to mix things up already. I still have up to ten of these planned, and I'm not even counting the hybrid ones I won't log for this challenge (Alvin and the Chipmunks, here I come)...

[frbrown]

2. Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood (1979)

Scooby decides to leave his Saturday morning cartoon, and try something else, so we get a bunch of parodies of 70s sitcoms. Boring. Should have stuck to running away from monsters, Scooby.

Spoiler

1. Beyond the Mind's Eye (1993) #BONUS Excuse Me While I Puke
2. Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood (1979)

[mjf314]

It's indeed challenging. I thought I would go through all the Box Office crap - inspired by sol - and then enjoy some hopefully better Animes, but it looks like I will have to mix things up already. I still have up to ten of these planned, and I'm not even counting the hybrid ones I won't log for this challenge (Alvin and the Chipmunks, here I come)...

If you expect the box office films to be crap, why watch them at all? Why not start with the good stuff? There's enough good animation to last at least 20 challenges.

[ororama]

1. The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) * 86 min.

I agree completely with Onderhond, and would add that I almost always dislike Claymation.

*First time viewing

[sol]

It's indeed challenging. I thought I would go through all the Box Office crap - inspired by sol

Yeah, , um, I know that I said that before in a couple of places, but I sorta meant that in jest. I'm not planning to watch absolutely everything from the Box Office lists, just the stuff that looks decent and which I have nevertheless missed over the years.

Speaking of which:

Catching up on unwatched Disney and Box Office crap

1. Soul (2020)
2. Coco (2017)
3. Cheatin' (2013)

4. Toy Story 4 (2019)



While the plot feels overly similar to Toy Story 2, this entry introduces a quirky new element as the latest toy is made by the kid. This raises intriguing questions ("How am I alive?") that the film nevertheless avoids addressing, but it suffices as a comedic adventure. Much of the action is set at a carnival that looks absolutely stunning with glowing lights. Disappointingly though, most of the best characters from the first three films have little to do.

[flavo5000]

5. Lupin III: The First (2019)
Here's Lupin's big CGI blockbuster. While the visuals have a fancy new sheen, the plot is very much influenced by Castle of Cagliostro with a dose of Indiana Jones mixed in as well. It's a fun film that definitely feels like a step above many of the TV movies that have come out in the past couple of decades, and the CG animation actually works pretty well with Monkey Punch's cartoonish character designs. While maybe not quite on the level writing-wise as Castle of Cagliostro, it's still worth watching for Lupin fans for sure.


6. Megazone 23 (1985)
7. Megazone 23 II (1986)
8. Megazone 23 III (1989)
A friend of mine at work has been harping on me to watch this one for a while. He says it's one of his favorite anime of all time, so I figured it was about time. So this definitely isn't what I'd call one of the best anime ever, I can see qualities in it that show what my friend sees in it. It has a strong sense of world building with an interesting mix of cyberpunk and mecha aesthetic. The first two films felt suitably epic in an '80s sci-fi anime kind of way, but part 3 (actually split into two 50 minute OVAs instead of the single feature length of the first two) felt like a step down from the first two, feeling far too exposition heavy and full of techno-babble that made it drag quite a bit. Overall though I still thought the series in general was a solid watch.


9-10. Nu, pogodi! a.k.a. Just Wait! E1-21+Lost Episodes (1969)
Popular and long-running Russian animation featuring a wolf always in pursuit of a hare very much in the style of Tom & Jerry. The animation quality was quite good but much like Tom & Jerry, it got old after a while. On the positive side, my kids seemed to really get into them.


11. My Dog Tulip (2009)
This was a sweet, gentle story of an older gentleman and his journey into getting his dog laid... Really though, the film showed the love between a man and his pet more clearly and succinctly than any number of weepy Old Yellers or Marleys while also showing the unabashedly odd, quirky side of pet ownership as well.


12. Beyond the Mind's Eye (1992)
While I'm tempted to claim this one for the ugly CG bonus challenge like frbrown, I think I'll save it for later. But really, this whole thing is 100% '80s cheese. The Mind's Eye series was a big influence on that weird vaporwave trend that popped up on the internets a while back and may be just be too much cheese and chill for me to truly appreciate...

Living a Frame At A Time

1a. Mowgli's Brothers (1975)
1b. The White Seal (1975)
1c. Yankee Doodle Cricket (1975)
1d. A Very Merry Cricket (1973) #BONUS Creator Profile: Chuck Jones
2. Jewel BEM Hunter Lime (1996)
3. Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (2015)
4. Taishizen no makemono Bagi a.k.a. Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature (1984) #BONUS Creator Profile: Osamu Tezuka
5. Lupin III: The First (2019)
6. Megazone 23 (1985)
7. Megazone 23 II (1986)
8. Megazone 23 III (1989)
9-10. Nu, pogodi! a.k.a. Just Wait! E1-21+Lost Episodes (1969)
11. My Dog Tulip (2009)
12. Beyond the Mind's Eye (1992)

[frbrown]

3. The Simpsons: Season 3: Episodes 1-4 (1991)

Spoiler

1. Beyond the Mind's Eye (1993) #BONUS Excuse Me While I Puke
2. Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood (1979)
3. The Simpsons: Season 3: Episodes 1-4 (1991)

[mjf314]

Spoiler

1. A Whisker Away (2020)
2. Ride Your Wave (2019)
3. Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)
4. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 1-4
5. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 5, 5.5, 6, 7

6. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 8-11

[Onderhond]

5. Lupin III: The First (2019)

I think it's one of Yamazaki's weakest films, also the weakest Lupin I've seen so far. The character models just looked incredibly boring and lifeless. The film also lost a bit of the edge most other Lupin films have. Have you seen the Koike trilogy?

6. Megazone 23 (1985)
Overall though I still thought the series in general was a solid watch.

Yea, think I went through all three of them last year and found them pretty solid. Only thing I didn't like was the pop band stuff. I never quite got that fascination for mixing sci-fi and pop bands

[hurluberlu]

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009) [Rewatch] 7+ (=)

[dirty_score]

2. Belladonna of Sadness a.k.a. Kanashimi no Beradonna (1973) #BONUS Tentacles Ahoy

#BONUS Tentacles Ahoy: Nudity

[dirty_score]

@flavo5000 you can add Sight & Sound: Anime 50 Essential Films to the pile of unofficial lists.

[Onderhond]

04. 3.5* - Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part 2: Eternal [Gekijou-ban Mahou Shoujo Madoka*Magica: [Kouhen] Eien no Monogatari] (2012) by Yukihiro Miyamoto, Akiyuki Shinbo

Second film that covers the second half of the series. It's a big step up from the first one, mostly because it can dive right into the action and forgo the introductions. The combination of moe/kawai stuff and experimental fantasy remains very peculiar, but it's nice to see this film tilt more towards the experimental side. The plot continues where the first film left off. The relation between the aliens and humans is further explained and the film actually comes with some very interesting dilemmas, way more challenging than you'd expect from a film with chibi school girls. Then again, that's part of Shinbo's style. The animation is pretty awesome. The mix of different visual styles and techniques is inspired and the battles with the witches are simply stunning. The rest isn't quite on the same level and some of the more timid scenes see a sharp drop in quality. Overall though, this is pretty unique. Looking forward to the final part in this trilogy now.

blank canvases

01. 2.5* - When the Wind Blows (1986) by Jimmy T. Murakami
02. 2.0* - The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) by Will Vinton
xx. 2.5* - Invention for Destruction [Vynález Zkázy] (1958) by Karel Zeman
03. 2.0* - The Humpback Horse [Konyok-Gorbunok] (1947) by Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya, Viktor Gromov, Ivan Ivanov-Vano

[/quote]

[DudeLanez]

1. Byôsoku 5 senchimêtoru (2007, Makoto Shinkai) 7/10

[flavo5000]

5. Lupin III: The First (2019)

I think it's one of Yamazaki's weakest films, also the weakest Lupin I've seen so far. The character models just looked incredibly boring and lifeless. The film also lost a bit of the edge most other Lupin films have. Have you seen the Koike trilogy?

To be fair, other than his Doreamon movie, it's quite a bit different than anything else Yamazaki's done. Honestly I've never been a huge fan of Lupin's character models to begin with. As far as lacking edge, that's why I compared it to Castle of Cagliostro, a similar light adventure. But really, a lot of Lupin's TV movies are lacking an edge as well. And yea, I've seen Jigen's Gravestone of Koike's movies and really like it. I also watched the Fujiko Mine TV series that the Koike movies are spun off from and really dug it as well. Although those are almost a totally different series than the typical Monkey Punch Lupin stuff. Very different art style with a dark, neo=noir tone and lacking a lot of the comedy elements of the regular Lupin series.

6. Megazone 23 (1985)
Overall though I still thought the series in general was a solid watch.

Yea, think I went through all three of them last year and found them pretty solid. Only thing I didn't like was the pop band stuff. I never quite got that fascination for mixing sci-fi and pop bands

Yea, Noboru Ishiguro was just coming off Macross when he did Megazone and I think that show's emphasis on pop music + mecha just carried over a little. Megazone in general gives me Macross vibes mixed with the first half of Akira.

[Traveller]

09. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) - 7/10 Creator Profile: Studio Ghibli/Walt Disney Studios
So simple yet so beautiful - been a long time since I’ve seen such a sweet film that I wasn’t able to resist indulging in.
10. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) - 6/10 Creator Profile: Studio Ghibli/Walt Disney Studios

[Bing147]

4. The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979) #BONUS: Creator Profile: Chuck Jones

5. Chicken Run (2000) #BONUS Style Profile: Stop Motion



6. Akira (1988)

[flavo5000]

09. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) - 7/10 Creator Profile: Studio Ghibli/Walt Disney Studios
So simple yet so beautiful - been a long time since I’ve seen such a sweet film that I wasn’t able to resist indulging in.
10. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) - 6/10 Creator Profile: Studio Ghibli/Walt Disney Studios

Aw, your heart isn't completely made of stone after all.

[Onderhond]

To be fair, other than his Doreamon movie, it's quite a bit different than anything else Yamazaki's done.

Hmmm? He also did the Dragon Quest CG anime. And Destiny: Kamakura Monogatari is quite reliant on CG characters (though in a live-action setting). I actually had good hopes for this one.

As far as lacking edge, that's why I compared it to Castle of Cagliostro, a similar light adventure. But really, a lot of Lupin's TV movies are lacking an edge as well.

I've seen a bunch and I think few of them are clean/blockbuster material. I don't quite remember enough about Cagliostro, but knowing Miyazaki it was probably cleaner than most other Lupin stuff. He has the benefit of superb animation though.

[3eyes]

3. Kounterclockwise in Foreverland (14) - 2d check
African American animation starring a rap duo - Quite different from anything else I've seen (closest was a 2007 animated version of Dante's Inferno). Great fun.

Spoiler

1. Of stars and men (61)
2. Eleanor’s secret / Kérity, la maison des contes (Fr 09)
3. Kounterclockwise in Foreverland (14)

[Torgo]

3. Kounterclockwise in Foreverland (14)
African American animation starring a rap duo - Quite different from anything else I've seen (closest was a 2007 animated version of Dante's Inferno). Great fun.

Weird enough.
For anyone interested giving it a look, it's on Youtube and has amazing 12 votes on IMDb.

Spoiler

12. Beyond the Mind's Eye (1992)
While I'm tempted to claim this one for the ugly CG bonus challenge like frbrown, I think I'll save it for later. But really, this whole thing is 100% '80s cheese. The Mind's Eye series was a big influence on that weird vaporwave trend that popped up on the internets a while back and may be just be too much cheese and chill for me to truly appreciate...

This made me wildly curious. Thanks for the hint.
It's on the internet, too (of course, it's the most virtual thing imaginable!). Looks like the perfect thing to have on screen while being completely drugged out.

[pitchorneirda]

1. Tenshi no tamago a.k.a. Angel's Egg (1985, Mamoru Oshii) 6.5/10

2.1 Harpya (1979, Raoul Servais) [9 min] ~4/10
2.2 Na zdrowie (2018, Paulina Ziólkowska) [5 min] ~3/10
2.3 Nothing Happens (2017, Uri Kranot/Michelle Kranot) [12 min] ~6/10
2.4 Tifusari a.k.a. Typhoid Sufferers (1963, Vatroslav Mimica) [13 min] ~7/10
2.5 Metamorfeus (1969, Jirí Brdecka) [13 min] ~5/10
2.6 Afterlife (1978, Ishu Patel) [7 min] ~4/10
2.7 Kon a.k.a. The Horse (1967, Witold Giersz) [7 min] ~6/10
2.8 Tusalava (1929, Len Lye) [9 min] ~6/10
2.9 L'homme sans ombre a.k.a. The Man with No Shadow (2004, Georges Schwizgebel) [9 min] ~5/10

Typhoid Sufferers is also a DtC nomination, I warmly recommend it, easily the best of the batch, it's the visual adaptation of a Yugoslav poem depicting "hallucinations" of sick partisans marching through wastelands.

[mjf314]

Spoiler

1. A Whisker Away (2020)
2. Ride Your Wave (2019)
3. Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)
4. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 1-4
5. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 5, 5.5, 6, 7
6. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 8-11

Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 12-13

It's not enough episodes to count as an entry, but I just want to say that I finished it and it's a great anime. Anyone who has any interest in the slice-of-life genre or the iyashikei genre should watch it (be sure to watch all 3 seasons in order). I still need to watch the picture dramas and Avvenire, and then I'll be done with Aria.

[sol]

Catching up on unwatched Disney and Box Office crap

1. Soul (2020)
2. Coco (2017)
3. Cheatin' (2013)
4. Toy Story 4 (2019)

5. Madagascar (2005)



The four main characters we are saddled with here are almost unbearable. The character voices are terrible and the graphics look even worse with blocky character designs, especially for the lion and zebra, who receive the most screen out of the main foursome. Fortunately, the film has some wonderful supporting characters. Voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen, the arrogant King Julien lemur is a hilarious creation. The inventive penguins are pretty cool too.

[mjf314]

Spoiler

1. A Whisker Away (2020)
2. Ride Your Wave (2019)
3. Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)
4. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 1-4
5. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 5, 5.5, 6, 7
6. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 8-11

7. Aria the Origination (2008) episodes 12-13
Aria the Origination Picture Drama (2008) episodes 1-5

[hurluberlu]

5. Lupin III: The First (2019)

I think it's one of Yamazaki's weakest films, also the weakest Lupin I've seen so far. The character models just looked incredibly boring and lifeless. The film also lost a bit of the edge most other Lupin films have. Have you seen the Koike trilogy?

I actually side with flavo on this one, Lupin III: The First was mostly a fun watch. It is a little slow to start and to some extent you might argue it lacks the punch of the 2D in some signature scenes (eg car chase) but when it fully embraces its 3D potential for large scale adventure it is quite entertaining.

[dirty_score]

3. Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer a.k.a. Urusei Yatsura 2: Byûtifuru dorîmâ (1984)