Friday, December 18, 2015

Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Animated Feature 2012

The Contenders:

Brave (winner)
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
Pirates!: Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

What’s Missing

Here is a case where the right five movies were probably nominated, although it will surprise no one that I have a few suggestions. It’s Such a Beautiful Day is not the sort of film that would normally earn a nomination, particularly since the animation looks like something anyone could do, but I like the film as a project. I’ve seen both The Lorax and Hotel Transylvania, and don’t think either of them belong on this list. I haven’t seen Rise of the Guardians or Ice Age: Continental Drift, but also haven’t heard much about either, so I can’t comment.

Weeding through the Nominees

5: I don’t like having to bump Pirates!: Band of Misfits off the top, but it’s exactly what I’m going to do. There are some really good ideas in this movie and a lot of fun animation, but there are problems here that it can’t overcome. The primary problem that I see is making Charles Darwin a villain. We live in a world were about half of American citizens believe the world is 6,000 years old. Does further adding fuel to “Darwin is bad” nonsense in something designed for children make any sense? With this problem corrected…this might move up a single place.

4: Winner Brave almost certainly won based on its reputation, because it certainly didn’t deserve it. Oh, it does some things right. Giving us a female hero character that is fully capable of going her own direction is a good thing, and the film doesn’t specifically make her overly masculine to get her there. But the story itself isn’t that interesting. I had trouble really caring about most of the characters. Further, the comic relief characters of Merida’s brothers really don’t work for me at all. Without them, I’m not sure we lose much.

3: Frankenweenie is good, but it suffers from being so obviously a Tim Burton movie that it can’t move out of the shadow of its creator. I like it when kids’ movies go a little darker or at least attempt to do something that isn’t all peaches and cream, but Frankenweenie does this only on the surface. There are great homages to classic horror movies here, and this is a film I’d happily watch again. But it’s too insubstantial to really be taken that seriously, and so I don’t end up taking it that seriously.

My Choices

2: This may be the closest race I’ve done in two years of this feature. It’s at least the closest race I’ve done here in a very long time. By the narrowest of margins, I’m putting ParaNorman here. ParaNorman does everything Frankenweenie wanted to do, but does it better, more, and more substantially. This is a film that goes very dark, but tells a great story really well and gives us great characters to cheer for. It also throws in a wonderful little social joke at the end that would’ve been the focus of a lesser film. It’s a great film in every aspect.

1: I’m giving it to Wreck-It Ralph for a number of reasons, though. First is that the game industry was my home for 12 years, and I admit to a certain amount of nostalgia. But that’s a minor thing. Far more important is that Wreck-It Ralph does everything that Brave wanted to do with its female characters and does it more seamlessly. Vanellope has the exact qualities that Merida does…but instead of making that the focus of the film, it’s simply presented as a natural part of the story, as something unremarkable. That and Ralph really is a wonderful character.

Final Analysis

12 comments:

  1. I pick a favorite movie every year, and 2012 is notable for having a five- or six-way tie that I still haven't resolved.

    Wreck-It Ralph was one of the films. I've seen it three times and it's still in the running for my favorite film of 2012. It holds up very well on repeat viewings. Love Sarah Silverman as Vanellope! This is the one she'll be remembered for! And it's my duty to make sure everyone remembers how great this movie is!

    Hee hee. I said "duty."

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    1. If you haven't seen ParaNorman, I recommend it completely.

      The review I put up of Wreck-it Ralph was a rewatch, and I agree with you--it holds up beautifully.

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  2. Haven't seen ParaNorman either but second (and third) the vote for Wreck-it Ralph. If I come across this on the Disney Channel I can't help but stop and watch. One of those movies that makes me cry almost every time I see it. Just great all around.

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    1. Track down ParaNorman. This was literally a dead heat for me, and I went with Ralph based purely on nostalgia. ParaNorman would be an outright winner in this category for me in a lot of years.

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  3. I've seen all five noms and back then, I actually went with the un-nominated Rise of the Guardians for my winner. Now, I think I'm leaning more toward Frankenweenie, though those two plus ParaNorman and Wreck-It-Ralph are all real close for me.

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    1. This is one of the first comments I've seen on Rise of the Guardians either positive or negative. I guess I should track it down and give it a watch.

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  4. I'm with you--it really depends on the day for which I would give the top spot to: ParaNorman or Ralph. I remember wanting either one to win in their year and being bummed that the not-very-good Brave took the prize simply for being a Pixar film. I love both of the films though and would have been okay with either being in your top spot as long as both were in your top 2.

    Also, Rise of the Guardians is pretty good and could have taken one of the lesser films' spots.

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    1. And with that, I'll officially put Rise of the Guardians on my Letterboxd list of films I should watch that aren't on other lists.

      I really struggled with which of these two to put on top. Talk to me in a week and I might switch their position, but they were easily the best two animated films in 2012.

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  5. I'd rank the five nominees in exactly the same order you did, and for many of the same reasons. A minor difference I have with you is I feel Wreck It Ralph is head and shoulders above the other four nominees as the clear winner.

    I've also seen Rise of the Guardians. It's an interesting concept. Having a Russian Santa Claus and an Aussie Easter Bunny takes some adjusting, but once there I stopped thinking about it. I'd definitely replace Pirates with this, but it still wouldn't come close to unseating Wreck It Ralph.

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    1. I think I'm okay with that assessment. I admit that part of the reason I like ParaNorman as much as I do is that it goes far darker than a lot of other kids' movies, and I think kids actually appreciate that. It doesn't play softball with them, and I really like that aspect of it.

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  6. I got four words to describe Brave's win: Pure Pixar Lip Service. Brave isn't terrible, but better than Wreck-It Ralph? Not in my wildest dreams.

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