FAVORITE COMPUTER ANIMATED FILM

[Pulpmariachi]

I don't see how that's a problem. The Final Fantasy games are awesome (though I never finised X because I screwed up my sphere grid and had Tidus go into Wakka's or something like it so all my characters were weak. I had my friend help me and he just laughed at me and gave up, and so did I). VII is a great game with a great story and cool characters. Kingdom Hearts is awesome too.

The Final Fantasy movie was really cool. It had a great story and some awesome animation. Plus, Steve Buschemi did a voice. The ending was really a drop-off, but overall the whole movie was pretty cool.

[Quorthon]

The movie was cool, but here are the reasons Square lost 100 million at the box office (some opinion):

*For average movie goers:
-Why was it called "Final Fantasy?"
-Too science-fictiony
-Incredible visuals overshadowed plot, which was an unintentional problem. "Wow, look how real that looks... wha.. what'd he say? And what'd she say while I was asking?"
-Occasional stiff or animation
-some of the acting

*For gamers:
-No connection to Final Fantasy video game series, aside from a character named Sid or Cid
-Where'd the magic go?
-What's with all the technology, and where are the wizards?
-Lost in the animation, plot missed--when noticed, it didn't measure up to the quality plots of the games.
-some acting

I was annoyed by some of the acting and character animation--especially facial expressions. Overall, I liked the film, but could see why it would fail. My favorite was Final Fantasy III on the SNES (FF VI in Japan).

[HerBlackWings]

My favorite is Shrek (and Shrek 2). I loved the first Toy Story too, but Shrek is definately my favorite.

[Bartwald]

Having just seen Monsters Inc. I can say this is my third favourite in the poll - after Shrek and Shrek 2 (which were just funnier than this).

Still need to see Antz, though - and already have it on DVD.

[Heineken Skywalker]

admin said:

Having just seen Monsters Inc. I can say this is my third favourite in the poll - after Shrek and Shrek 2 (which were just funnier than this).

We have SHREK on dvd, but the problem I have with the SHREK movies, especially the vastly overrated and quite boring sequel, is all the modern references, hip sitegags and current pop music used on the soundtracks. That sort of thing becomes dated very quickly. Watch SHREK 2 and anything by PIXAR again in about five years, and you'll see exactly what I mean. All those modern hip gags in SHREK won't seem quite so fresh anymore. Hell, the MATRIX bullet-time joke in SHREK has already been done in a half dozen other movies. Yeah, that's still hilarious.
By the time SHREK 2 was released, that song they used at the end, was it Macarena or Livin' La Vida Loca? Some lame shit like that. Either way, by the time they used it in the sequel, it was already considered outdated and just plain annoying.
PIXAR on the other hand has done the smart thing by using original songs, when they have them, and limiting the amount of current references. Their movies are going to seem a lot more timeless in the long run.

[Quorthon]

You make a lot of good points, Heineken.

Here's what we were taught in Animation school:

--Whatever was popular 6 months ago--don't do it. At the time, that included, above all else, bullettime. You have any idea how easy that shit is to do in CG?
--Don't do what's been done, i.e., don't make X-Wings or Final Fantasy characters or the like. They've been done professionally before, and 99% of the time, far better than a single modeller could do.
--Be original.
--One teacher said this: "I will fail you if I see chrome UFOs, dragons, or Matrix shit." (Later, I did an overweight alien, drinking a beer and flying a kite from an intersteller station wagon--a rusty UFO)
--Pick appropriate music--not Popular music.

Pixar isn't the best animation studio for nothing. Finding Nemo is still my favorite--that is one movie that will remain timeless.

[Bartwald]

Get the point, Heineken. But when I'm first evaluating a film it's what I think at the moment that matters - and both Shrek films seemed to be the freshest and funniest of all computer animated films I have seen. We'll see what I think of them five years from now.

Oh, and it was La Vida Loca you were talking about there. Not a good song, what can I say.

[Quorthon]

That's what I don't like about Shrek--the use of the Popular music.

Cheesy.

What'd you expect from me?

[Heineken Skywalker]

See? You could've saved yourself a lot of animation school money and just asked me. I could've told you all that shit.
But seriously, your teachers were dead on about that stuff.

I hate to say it, but I see the same thing happening to FAMILY GUY. It's hilarious now, but they tend to rely on a lot of modern references. It's the funniest thing about the show, but it's also their biggest crutch. Why are LOONEY TUNES still considered classics? They didn't do very much of that, so the stuff remains timeless.

[Quorthon]

You'd also have to teach me the ins and outs of 3D Studio Max, Maya, and the principles of animation. As well as shot design, layout, and camera use!

Basically, I went to film school--for nerds.