Monday morning Oscar Picker

By: Brian Thomas
Date: Monday, February 26, 2007

As I’m writing this column to meet a deadline before the Academy Awards ceremony, it’s my chance to play Nostoondamus and see if I can pick the Oscar winner for Animated Feature Film. Is I pick wrong, it’ll be posted here in indelible electronic ink for all to see and I’ll suffer the inevitable lashing in the Comments section down below. If I’m right, you all have to log in and Bang me until this column breaks the Mania Bang record (whatever it is – is there a top Bangs of all time stat? Chip?).

So here goes. First we’ve got Monster House, a first time home run directorial effort for Gil Kenan. Oscar loves a Cinderella story. On the other hand, he’s British, which could go either way, since conservative Hollywood protects their own but thinks everything from the UK is classy (like Borat!). In the end, this feature is plenty of fun but doesn’t have any iconic characters (unless you count the terrific House) – and in fact, the characters aren’t really stylized enough to ditch that living mannequin feeling.

Then there’s Happy Feet. Everybody loves George Miller for either Road Warrior or Babe, but this ain’t either of them. Does anybody who hasn’t seen it know what it’s about? It’s about a misfit penguin that can dance great but can’t sing. He’s ostracized by the tribe until he uses his talent to save the day. That’s right, same story as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with an ecological message tacked on, and it’s even set near a frozen Pole. Besides, the whole penguin thing is over. Sorry, Surf’s Up, but you’ve got an uphill marketing battle awaiting you.

That leaves us with Cars, which may not be the greatest Pixar feature ever, but it holds up their tradition of technical excellence and solid sense of story. Plus, though John Lasseter won a “Special Achievement” Oscar in 1995 for Toy Story, he’s yet to win for a feature, so he may get rewarded with a lot of “filmography votes”.

As for the Short category, we’ve got one with Scrat the Ice Age whatchamacallit trying to get that acorn (aren’t these just remakes of Road Runner and Pink Panther cartoons?), and some European fables. Nice work, but I’m backing “Lifted”, a little comedy about a doofus alien going through training on how to abduct puny Earthlings. It’s directed by Gary Rydstrom, who has previously won a bunch of sound awards, so he’ll know how to behave on the podium.

How’d I do, Maniacs of the Future?

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Buena Vista has released a few of these cartoons on DVD on the Alice in Wonderland special edition and Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities. But until Disney gives Alice a Treasury volume of her own, this is the best source for these classic cartoons.

(O) ALICE IN CARTOONLAND (VCI) Even before creating Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney was a prolific producer of cartoons, and some of his most popular were a series in which a girl named Alice interacted with cartoon creatures in an animated world. Eleven shorts from the series, remastered from 35mm prints, plus three entries in the “Life Cartoon Comedy” series.

NEW DVD RELEASES

Here’s a rundown of the constant stream of anime comin’ at ya on DVD from around the world:

(O)   BAKI THE GRAPPLER Round 12: Last Blood (Funimation) The ultimate showdown is at hand. Baki steps into the ring, and the agreement is made that only one fighter will walk away. As devastating blows fill the arena, Baki's opponent begins to twist and gnarl into an unimaginable monster.
(O)   BRATZ: FASHION PIXIES (Lionsgate) Well, it was only a matter of time before the Rock Angels got into hallucinogens. Cymbeline has a secret – a pair of magical glasses that allow the wearer to see pixies! When she shares them with her friends, they all go out partying with unicorns and gnomes, and learn that (as the press copy puts it) “the battle between good and evil is even more important than good fashion sense”. Includes games, karaoke, music video and more.
(O)   CAPTAIN N: THE GAME MASTER (Shout Factory) All 26 episodes of the 1989 series produced by Nintendo in which a kid and his dog are recruited to help heroes from their video games (Megaman, Kid Icarus, etc.) fight a common enemy.
(O)   CAPTAIN SABERTOOTH (Indican) Norwegian feature about kids having adventures on a pirate ship.
(O)   ELEMENTAL GELADE Volume 5: Decisions (Geneon) As a last resort, Cou reacts with Viro, but this new bond creates mixed emotions for Ren. While the group continues to wonder about Viro's intentions, they must also find answers to Chaos Choir in order to survive. When the group arrives at Viro's childhood village, they find a lot more than they bargained for, as newer and more powerful enemies lie in wait.

(O)   ESCAFLOWNE THE MOVIE (Bandai) Feature adaptation of the TV series. Depressed high school student Hitomi Kanzaki wishes to disappear from her world. Her wishes are heard in the alternate world of Gaea where a battle for absolute control is raging. Hitomi is magically transported to this other world and is bestowed with the power to decide its ultimate fate! he alone has the power to summon Escaflowne - a warrior/protector that can end the fierce conflict that has been raging between the forces of light and dark.
(O)   FILMATION’S GHOSTBUSTERS Volume 1 (BCI Eclipse) Okay, where do I start? Well, as you all probably know, the 1984 supernatural comedy movie Ghostbusters was a huge hit. Inevitably, there were licensed products – toys, games, etc. – all coordinated with an animated TV incarnation. With all that money being made, producers Norm Prescott and Lou Scheimer (Archie’s Funhouse, Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids) made sure to remind everyone – including their lawyers – that back in 1975 they’d produced a live-action sitcom entitled The Ghost Busters, starring the F-Troop comedy team of Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch, along with Bob Burns as Tracy the Gorilla. Furthermore, they intended to produce their own cartoon series about the, ahem, original Ghost Busters. The outcome of all the legal wrangling was that both series were allowed, as long as Prescott & Scheimer referred to their’s as “Filmation’s” (after their studio) and the superior series based on the movie was entitled The Real Ghostbusters. 32 episodes on six discs, plus interviews, pilot presentation, script, an episode of the sitcom, and more.
(O)   GUNDAM WING: Endless Waltz (Bandai) Anime Legends edition of the grand finale to the Gundam Wing television series. Contains BOTH Theatrical + 3 OVA episodes.
(O)   HARE + GUU Volume 7 (Funimation) The bonds of love connect beyond time and distance, and bring Clive and Weda back together, while also connecting Haré with the grandmother he's never known. But reconciling Weda with her mother may take a miracle. From a thrilling spy mission in drag to literally turning life into a game, and trampling the city as a giant Guu Robo, you can trust Guu to insure that reunions are anything but routine!
(O)   JIN-ROH: THE WOLF BRIGADE (Bandai) Anime film based on Mamoru Oshii’s dystopian sci-fi movie trilogy. In an alternate history, a traumatized member of an elite para-military police force falls for the sister of a female terrorist courier who died in front of him on duty.
(O)   KODOCHA COLLECTION (Funimation) Volumes 1-6 of the hit romantic comedy.
(O)   THE LAND BEFORE TIME 12: The Great Day of the Flyers (Universal) Word is that this will be the last LBT sequel.
(O)   LITTLE EINSTEINS: Legend of the Golden Pyramid (Buena Vista) Just send five dollars and a copy of this column to the ten Einsteins at the top of the list…
(O)   MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: CHAR’S COUNTERATTACK (Bandai) 1988 Gundam feature in which an evil army tries to plunge Earth into nuclear winter.
(O)   PARADISE KISS Volume 2 (Geneon) Soap opera. Delayed from two weeks back.
(O) SAIYUKI RELOAD GUNLOCK Volume 6 (Geneon) Goku, Gojyo and Hakkai are finally fed up with the constant demon attacks. With demons trying to get Sanzo's scripture at every turn, the three come to the conclusion that everything is Sanzo's fault! Includes music clips.
THE WARRIOR
©
(O)   THE WARRIOR (Tai Seng) Hong Kong anime interpretation of the early years of Chinese hero Wong Fei-hung. Produced by Tsui Hark.

NOT ON DVD CORNER

(O) MIGHTY MOUSE (Paramount.) Paul Terry’s Terrytoons might have been considered the Poverty Row of cartoon factories in the 1940s, but they created at least one enduring classic character in this spoof of Superman (dubbed “Super Mouse” in early shorts until it was learned there was already a comics character with that name). Some of the 76 or so original MM cartoons have shown up on various DVD cartoon collections over the years, but there’s never been an official release – which we would hope would be a complete restored box set in chronological order with plenty of extras. And while we’re at it, let’s have the complete Ralph Bakshi TV series from the 1980s. With a Mighty Mouse feature currently in development (two members of the Gunn clan worked on a script), it may be that we’ll be seeing these announced by the end of the year. Then again, the movie might enter Development Hell, taking the DVDs with it. Since BCI Eclipse is releasing a lot of Filmation product, we may be seeing the uncalled for 1970s TV version first. There’s a petition up here. Tell ‘em Mania sent ya.

And be sure to check back next week—and every week—for Mania’s Anime Avalanche! And check in every Tuesday for the latest DVD Shopping List!

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at Anime Avalanche.