The year in animation will be marked by three high-profile sequels — Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” Aardman’s “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” and DreamWorks’ “Trolls Band Together” — Pixar’s first rom-com, the effects-driven “Elemental,” Disney’s latest animated musical, “Wish,” from the Oscar-winning “Frozen” team, and the final film from Studio Ghibli’s anime legend Hayao Miyazaki, “How Do You Live?”
In terms of next year’s Oscars race, “Across the Spider-Verse,” “How Do We Live?,” “Elemental,” “Wish,” and “Dawn of the Nugget” have to be considered early favorites, but there are still plenty of possible contenders to emerge, especially among upcoming indie faves such as “Suzume.”
Here’s a rundown of upcoming releases with updates to come:
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Illumination/Universal, April 5)
“Teen Titans Go!” creators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic direct the video game adaption about struggling Brooklyn plumbers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) having their first adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom. But, in a twist, it’s Luigi who needs rescuing, not badass Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), who helps Mario find his brother after he gets kidnapped by the fire-breaking, egotistical Koopa Bowser (Jack Black) bent on world domination. The voice cast also includes Seth Rogen as the underachieving Donkey Kong. Illumination faithfully translates the iconic Nintendo world and its characters with eye-popping animation and appropriately game-like action. And the directors lend over-the-top humor and emotion.
“Suzume” (Crunchyroll, April 24)
Shinhai has made his most beautiful and ambitious fantasy romance yet, in which a small-town teen anxiously travels throughout Japan with a mysterious companion trapped inside a magical chair to save her country from a cataclysmic disaster. Both are drawn to closing doors that connect them to the past, present, and future. The director was inspired by the Great East Japan Earthquake and expertly makes use of both hand-drawn and more expressive and complex CG animation for character and effects. Musically, he re-teams with the rock band Radwimps, who provide a lot of songs on the radio during the road trip, as well as the lovely main theme song. Composer Kazuma Jinnouchi brings more musical expression to his score.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony, June 2)
Producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller follow their Oscar-winning, game-changing “Into the Spider-Verse” with the even more ambitious “Across the Spider-Verse.” Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos (“Avatar: The Last Airbender”), Kemp Powers (“Soul” screenwriter), and Justin K. Thompson (“Into the Spider-Verse” production designer), Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and Spider-Gwen get hurled into five different universes to battle The Spot (Jason Schwartzman).
These include the watercolor world of Gwen’s Earth-65, the India-influenced Mumbattan, Nueva York (defended by Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099), the underground world of New London (home to Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk), and some secret universe. The Sony Imageworks animation team invented a slew of new tools for translating hand-drawn techniques into 3D, including a watercolor simulation tool for Spider-Gwen, and 17 tools for The Spot, who evolves throughout the film, going from a rough drawing to a fully formed character, with each ink drop in his body looking and behaving differently.
“Elemental” (Pixar/Disney, June 16)
Pixar’s first animated rom-com from director Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur”) is set in Element City, where people made of the four elements — earth, air, water, and fire — coexist in a community rife with division. Tough, sharp-witted, fiery Ember (Leah Lewis) develops a friendship with her polar opposite, the laid-back, sentimental, and watery Wade (Mamoudou Athie). Inspired by the love story of Sohn’s parents, who immigrated to New York from Korea in the ’70s and ran a grocery store in the Bronx, it’s about the immigrant experience and getting to know your parents as people who fell in love, raised a family, and made sacrifices that kids take for granted. Pixar created new tech for the effects-heavy film to make fire and water look and behave convincingly as CG characters and how they overlap.
“Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” (DreamWorks/Universal, June 30)
On the surface, the latest film from director Kirk De Micco (“Vivo,” “The Croods”) looks like a cross between “Luca” and “Turning Red.” Ruby (Lana Condor) is a shy high school student who desperately wants to fit in, but her overprotective mom (Toni Collette) won’t let her go near the water when she wants to hang out with the popular kids at the beach. However, when she breaks the rule, Ruby discovers that she’s a direct descendant of the Kraken queens, who protect the oceans from the power-hungry mermaids, and that her grandma (Jane Fonda) is the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (Nickelodeon/Paramount, August 4)
Directed by Jeff Rowe (co-director of “The Mitchells vs. The Machines”), the film explores the Turtle brothers — Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Donatello (Micah Abbey), and Raphael (Brady Noon) — wanting to be accepted as normal teenagers after years of being sheltered from the human world. However, they wind up taking on a mysterious crime syndicate and an army of mutants with the help of human ally April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri). The ensemble voice cast includes Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, John Cena, Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, Ice Cube, Post Malone, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Natasia Demetriou, and Giancarlo Esposito.
“Trolls Band Together” (DreamWorks/Universal, November 17)
As Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) get closer in the third jukebox musical, his past comes back to haunt him. Poppy tries to reunite him with his brothers and get his former band back together. Director Walt Dohrn (“Trolls World Tour”) and franchise producer Gina Shay are returning. The glittery, psychedelic, hand-crafted animation is even wilder, and the music leans more into disco.
“Wish” (Disney, November 22)
Coinciding with Disney’s 100th anniversary comes the origin story of the wishing star, introduced in “Pinocchio” and later seen in “Peter Pan,” “Lady and the Tramp,” and “The Princess and the Frog.” From the team behind the “Frozen” franchise — screenwriter and chief creative officer Jennifer Lee, director Chris Buck, and producer Peter Del Vecho — it’s set in the magical kingdom of Rosas. When eternal optimist Asha (Ariana DeBose) turns to the sky in a moment of need and makes a wish, her plea is answered by a cosmic force — a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Alan Tudyk voices a pajama-wearing goat, and Chris Pine is rumored to voice a pivotal role.
Production designer Michael Giaimo (“Frozen” and “Frozen 2”) provided the key watercolor style inspired by early Disney artists such as Gustaf Tenngren and Kay Nielsen, with CG artists creating the new look. Fawn Veerasunthorn (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) serves as co-director, and Grammy-nominated Julia Michaels is the songwriter.
“Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” (Netflix, November)
The sequel to the most commercially successful stop-motion film in history picks up a few years later, where the happy-ever-after for Rocky (Zachary Levi, replacing Mel Gibson), Ginger (Thandiwe Newton, taking over from Julia Sawalha), and daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey) gets interrupted, and they’re forced to break back into the farm to save their chicken pals. Sam Fell (“ParaNorman”) directs from a script by Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell, and Rachel Tunnard, with Steve Pegram (“Arthur Christmas”) and Leyla Hobart producing.
“Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia:” (GKids, fall)
The sequel to the Oscar-nominated “Ernest & Celestine,” adapted from the Belgian children’s book series, reunites the grouchy, musical bear Ernest (Lambert Wilson) and the sweet, young mouse Celestine (Pauline Brunner). In the sequel, the mouse accidentally breaks her pal’s violin, and they travel to his home city to find the only artist who can repair it. Directed by Jean-Christophe Roger and Julien Chheng and produced again by Didier and Damien Brunner and Stephan Roelants.
“How Do You Live?” (Studio Ghibli, fall)
Miyazaki came out of retirement to make one last hand-drawn film about mortality and how to live as better people. It’s a loose adaptation of one of his favorite novels growing up, by Genzaburo Yoshino, and took nearly a decade to complete. It’s a large-scale fantasy intended as a goodbye gesture to his grandson. The novel is the story of a 15-year-old boy who, after his father’s death, embarks on a journey of spiritual growth with the help of his uncle’s journal. “How Do You Live?” will premiere in Japan on July 14 through Toho. GKids is speculated to be the North American distributor, with a fall release planned, but confirmation is forthcoming.
“Leo” (Netflix, fall)
The animated musical comedy written by and starring Sandler is about a 74-year-old Florida school pet who escapes with his turtle friend (Bill Burr) when he finds out he only has one year left to live. But instead of exploring the outside world, he gets caught up trying to help anxious students solve their problems. It’s directed by frequent Sandler collaborators and “SNL” writers Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim. The voice cast includes “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, Cecily Strong, and Jason Alexander. The animation is from Animal Logic (“The Magician’s Elephant”), acquired by Netflix last year.
“The Monkey King” (Netflix, fall)
Directed by Anthony Stacchi (“The Boxtrolls”), the adventure comedy from Pearl Studio (“Over the Moon”) is an adaptation of the classic Chinese tale “Journey to the West” and animated by Reel FX Animation Studios and Tangent Animation. It follows a monkey and his magical fighting Stick as they team up on an epic quest, where they battle gods, demons, dragons, and his ego. The voice cast includes Jimmy O. Yang as Monkey King and Stephanie Hsu.
“Nimona” (Netflix, fall)
The animated version of ND Stevenson’s best-selling graphic novel, set in a techno-medieval world, started at Blue Sky but was picked up by Netflix after Disney shuttered the animation studio following the Fox acquisition. Directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane (“Spies in Disguise”), it’s about a knight (Riz Ahmed) framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and the only person who can help prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shape-shifting teen who might also be a monster he’s sworn to kill. DNEG produced with Annapurna Pictures and did the animation.
“Migration” (Illumination/Universal, December 22)
The modern-day comedy follows a family of ducks who convince their overprotective dad to go on a dream vacation as they attempt to migrate from New England to the Bahamas. Oscar nominee Benjamin Renner (“Ernest and Celestine”) directs from an original script by Mike White (“The White Lotus,” “School of Rock”). The voice cast includes DJ Drama, Young Jeezy, T-Pain, and Kanye West.
0 Commentaires