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Best Animated Films of 2016 (10+1list)

Best Animated Films of 2016

written by Souranath Banerjee

Animation films are pure magic!

On one hand animation movies are the enjoyment package for a complete family and on the other hand, perhaps there are no other medium in this world that gives an artist such freedom of expression and creativity other than Animation!

Similar Interest: Best Animated Films of 2015

And so, it’s time to celebrate some of the Best Animated Films of 2016! Enjoy!

10. Kung Fu Panda 3

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGPPfZIvtCw

kung-fu-panda-three-posterAfter a long wait of 5 years, finally the third one comes along where Po, the Panda gets a chance to show off his amazing Kung Fu skills!

Directed by Alessandro Carloni,  Jennifer Yuh Nelson, and voiced by Jack Black this DreamWorks Animation produced instalment is packed with enough action and fun! 

Far from being the last movie in the franchise, another 3 Kung Fu Panda films are planned ahead!

9. Moana

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKFuXETZUsI

moana-poster1“lassoed the sun with a fish hook and pulled the land from the ocean.”

A brilliant adventure from  Walt Disney Animation Studios that has the most amazing look and feel – a visual treat for everyone.

Directed by Ron ClementsDon HallJohn Musker and Chris Williams – and then there is Dwayne Johnson‘s eyebrows, I mean voice.

8. Sing

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYHBD9RF2dk

sing-posterIllumination Entertainment owned by Universal Pictures presents their second musical film, first one was The Lorax in 2012.

The story of the greatest singing competition of the year, featuring over 85 hit songs from the 1940s till the present day!

Directed by Christophe Lourdelet,  Garth Jennings, this one is a treat specially for music lovers!  

7. Sausage Party 

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBdeE7mzED4

sausage-party-posterTruth about life and death, about the world and it’s existence – well know it all from a sausage!

Directed by Greg Tiernan,  Conrad Vernon, the most unique concept I have come across specially for an animation movie. Seth Rogen is hilarious!

Presented by Annapurna Pictures,  Columbia PicturesPoint Grey Pictures, jokes a bit on the adult side but very much recommended!

6. Finding Dory

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKJA-VLpiCo

finding-dory-poster1

Pixar Animation Studio’s seventeenth feature film!

Ellen DeGeneres voices for the most popular animation character Dory, the blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss every 10 seconds or so!

Brilliantly directed by Andrew Stanton,  Angus MacLane, this is the second instalment of the superbly successful Pixar Animation StudiosWalt Disney Pictures presentation Finding Nemo (2003). 

5. Kubo and the Two Strings

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4-6qJzeb3A

kubo-and-the-two-strings-poster1Laika Entertainment famous for their earlier production Coraline (2009), this time presents the longest stop-motion animation film till date!

Directed by Travis Knight, this is the adventurous story of a boy named Kubo!

A unique blend of animation and origami, made out of 145.000 photographs, turned into one of the most visually spectacular film!

4. Ethel & Ernest

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXDlEw5u8u8

Ethel-&-Ernest-posterDirected by Roger Mainwood and produced by Ethel & Ernest Productions and Lupus Films, the tale of a family from the early 30’s in London! 

With the backdrop of WWII this hand drawn animated film is based on the award winning graphic novel by Raymond Briggs and the story (it is a true story) is based on the lives of Raymond Briggs’s parents. A brilliantly well-made emotional film – a must watch!

3. Your Name

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU47nhruN-Q

Your-name-posterThis year CoMix Wave Films presents the most successful anime film of Japan and also an artistic brilliance.

A surrealistic fantasy tale of two strangers getting connected in the most unconventional way possible!

Brilliantly directed by Makoto Shinkai, this is one film that cannot be missed this year.

2. The Red Turtle

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw7BggqBpTk

red-turtle-posterA man marooned on a deserted tropical island which is only populated by turtles, crabs and birds.

A superb film without dialogues, the first non-Japanese film to be produced by Studio Ghibli.

Directed by Michael Dudok de Wit, same director who made the best animated short film seen by me ‘Father and Daughter‘. 

  1. Zootopia

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWM0ct-OLsM

zootopia-poster1It’s the world of anthropomorphic animals and a rabbit becomes a cop. With her partner, a con artist fox, they solve the most mysterious case in town!

(click for the review)

Directed by Byron Howard,  Rich Moore and Jared Bush, a Walt Disney Animation Studios presentation and undoubtedly the best animation film of the year!

and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most innovative one. A must watch)

+1. Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McRfaIjicvg

Doctor-who-posterIn 1974, all six episodes of the original tapes for “Power of the Daleks” were erased from the BBC archive!

But luckily fans at the time recorded the soundtrack directly from the television and so after 50 years BBC America presents the animation version of the series – directed by Christopher Barry and perfectly synced with the original lost-footage audio. 

A brilliant Si Fi totally worth your patience.

A few other films that didn’t make the list but still worth your time are StorksTrollsThe Angry Birds MovieLeap!Ice Age: Collision CourseOne Piece Film: Gold and The Secret Life of Pets.

Similar Interest: Best Animated Short Films

Similar Interest: Best Animated films not for kids

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com,  www.imdb.com.

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San Andreas (2015)

San Andreas film review.

My Ratings: 3.5/5.

San Andreas staring Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino is the latest ‘disaster flick’ in town.

A deadly combination of earthquake, tsunami and VFX; our mother-earth opening up and swallowing it’s children, skyscrapers tumbling down without the slightest hesitation, gigantic waves sweeping away the secondary characters, cities wrecked, people slaughtered.

san-andreas-poster2Directed by Brad Peyton San Andreas is the perfect picture of havoc and destruction and we, the audience are thrilled by it.

Actually such ‘disaster’ films give us the satisfaction of experiencing a carnage without actually being a part of it; one feels the relief of being safe and acknowledges the somewhat unconscious gratification of leading a comfortable life.

But then again, these catastrophic films always tend to follow a few common plot points for success and San Andreas is no exception. For example:

1. Preference of muscles over emotions: A protective husband, an emotional father, a loving and caring man who can do anything for his family when put in crisis – that’s all fine but do you have enough muscles?

In order to rescue your family-members in time of such epic natural adversities, you must cast people who are ‘Rock’ solid in the muscle department (who better than Dwayne Johnson). I personally feel sorry for all those real-life fathers who wish to protect their children but doesn’t go to the gym that often!

2. A love story in the midst of all the danger: A smart/sexy girl gets stuck, desperately needs help and eventually gets rescued by her super-daddy (of course). But before all that drama, she has to fall in love with a guy (who generally is the helpful-decent type) and their sweet love story will give the audience the much needed breathing space from all the tension and destruction around. Alexandra Daddario is the perfect young, sexy girl in trouble and Hugo Johnstone-Burt becomes the dependable chap to fall for.  

3. The geeky narrator: There will be this guy (generally some professor or computer expert by profession) whose role is to predict the intensity of the disaster and keep on repeating how epic and dangerous the situation can get; basically scaring the shit out of the audience. In San Andreas we have Paul Giamatti doing exactly that. He also takes great catches when small children are thrown at him!

san-andreas-poster34. A selfish guy who is really selfish: Have to have a character who will be a complete contrast to the protagonist. He will only think of himself and even deliberately put other’s lives in danger; basically an asshole. These characters elevate the intensity of the selfless acts and gestures put together by our Hero. Ioan Gruffudd is that guy who gets to take the blame in San Andreas.

5. The VFX becomes a primary character: The use of visual effects in almost each and every shot has become a necessity for such modern-day ‘disaster’ film’s success. The realistic feel of danger and calamity can only be experienced with the help of such super-detailed effects punched with loud background music (chance of a mild headache after the show). And then the 3D glasses enhance the experience further.

Stereotyped may be, logical may not be, but at the end of the day San Andreas (which is actually the name of a earthquake-porne fault line that runs through California) is exactly the film that it promises to be. Tension, action, effects and a racy story line – overall a good entertainer.

If you like this genre, you will definitely like San Andreas.

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Furious 7 (2015)

My Ratings: 4/5.

‘This time it ain’t just about being fast’

The film Fast & Furious 7 (according to director James Wan it’s titled Furious 7 referencing the Seven Samurai) is exactly what it promises to be – sexy cars, hot girls, wacky action and also a perfect emotional tale of love and friendship.

Fast-and-Furious-7-Poster3Made as a sequel to the last installment (Fast & Furious 6), this time Jason Statham joins the party as the badass big-brother of Luke Evans‘s character and he is all set to take care of his brother’s unfinished business.

Jason Statham later teamed up with Djimon Hounsou are probably the deadliest opponents ever who had a face-off with our usual Fast & Furious gang Vin DieselPaul WalkerDwayne JohnsonMichelle RodriguezLudacrisTyrese Gibson (though Sung Kang didn’t have much scope for action this time).

Nathalie Emmanuel as the sexy hacker, Kurt Russell as the mysterious Mr.Nobody and Iggy Azalea in a cameo – all did hit the right notes. 

Fast-and-Furious-7-Poster1And thus in this twisted, adrenalin pumping ride for revenge we experience some of the best action sequences and i am sure by the end of the film you will be convinced that ‘cars do fly’.

Director James Wan who took a break from the horror genre ( his earlier films being Dead Silence (2007)The Conjuring (2013) and the Insidious series) did an awesome job with this brilliant action pact drama.

Credit goes to the cinematographers Marc Spicer and Stephen F. Windon for the dynamic action shots taken (especially in those hand-to-hand combat sequences) where the camera moves in perfect sync with the actors and enhances the impact of their actions.

Fast-and-Furious-7-Poster2Cool editing and exotic soundtracks to match the pace of the film, Furious 7 is a high-voltage power house of entertainment that keeps you to the very edge of your seat.

A respectful dedication to the beloved actor Paul Walker (who was killed in a car crash on November 30, 2013) while the film was half way in the making.

A must for the F&F fanclub but for those who are not a die-hard fan of the Fast & Furious franchise (like me), even they can enjoy this one as simply a cool action flick.

Fast & Furious 7 – a ride worth taking.

Note: Body doubles, stunt doubles, and CGI were used to complete the film following Paul Walker‘s death.

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