OT: "Wall-E" wins Oscar for Best Animated Feature

[wiley207]

Yep, Pixar once again outshines Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera as the king of cartoons.

Any comments? (I'm sure loads of CGI rants will load up :ysam:)

[Studio Toledo]

The Oscars was tonight, d'oh! Hardly pay much attention to what's happening these days, despite there being a Red Cross billboard near my house that told the date! :p

[Philo & Gunge]

Yep, Pixar once again outshines Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Friz Freleng, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera as the king of cartoons.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who ever said Pixar outshined the legends? The Oscars are for the year, not history. Had Jones or Clampett or Avery still been alive and made a new cartoon, I'm sure it would be embraced.

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything, but that was kind of an outlandish statement.

[Leviathan]

Plus, there's tons of Ocsar-winners that have nonetheless been doomed to obscurity

[wiley207]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who ever said Pixar outshined the legends? The Oscars are for the year, not history. Had Jones or Clampett or Avery still been alive and made a new cartoon, I'm sure it would be embraced.

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything, but that was kind of an outlandish statement.

Pixar's films (especially "Finding Nemo" and "Ratatouille") are highly overrated and are threatening the status of the "classics" in terms of popularity, sales, etc.

When "Ratatouille" won the Oscar last year for Best Animated Film, it was the worst moment in classic animation history, IMHO.

[Philo & Gunge]

Pixar's films (especially "Finding Nemo" and "Ratatouille") are highly overrated and are threatening the status of the "classics" in terms of popularity, sales, etc.
Touche. Well, I feel that in this somewhat bitter era in animation where we only get a handful of gems every year from animation, Pixar is really keeping the artform alive. I don't think they are truely affecting the classics, they are really in two different worlds. You can't blame Warner Brothers' refusal to use the Looney Tunes characters on anything beyond the Golden Collections and candy wrappers on the sucess a movie that wasn't even released by WB.

[wiley207]

Oh, have you not heard? "Ratatouille" is yet another entry in the endless list of CGI talking animal movies, a trend that is starting to become almost as bad as doing live-action remakes of classic cartoons! And it is also one of the reasons why WB canceled all future LTGC DVD releases (it was released to DVD around the same time, and totally beat LTGC Vol. 5 at the DVD sales, skyrocketing to No. 1 instantly while LTGC 5 bombed and got lousy sales!)

But on the other hand, "Wall-E" actually looks pretty good, compared to "Ratatouille." At least it's not yet another talking animal movie (like its competitors "Bolt" and "Kung Fu Panda" were). I'm gonna try and rent it or something. Though I gotta admit, it greatly reminds me of the THX bumpers Pixar did with Tex the robot.

And aside from that, I bet in a few years from now, only Pixar's films will be successful at box-office, while the CGI animated films by DreamWorks or Blue Sky or any other studio will bomb! Hey, it could happen. And then maybe the number of Pixar imitators will start to die down, and soon Pixar would be one of the only remaining CGI animation studios. I think it'd be GOOD if that happened.

[CueBallCat79]

Pixar's films (especially "Finding Nemo" and "Ratatouille") are highly overrated and are threatening the status of the "classics" in terms of popularity, sales, etc.

What?? No they don't. Whatever you're smoking would you mind if you send me a little.

When "Ratatouille" won the Oscar last year for Best Animated Film, it was the worst moment in classic animation history, IMHO.Dude, that doesn't even make sense. How is it the worst moment in "classic animation history" when the acknowledged "classic age" ended decades ago? And how does Ratatouille winning an order in any way taint the classics? And you're blaming the end of the Golden Collections on the success of the Ratatouille DVD? That's really reaching.

Well anyway, horray for WALL-E.

[Leviathan]

And it is also one of the reasons why WB canceled all future LTGC DVD releases (it was released to DVD around the same time, and totally beat LTGC Vol. 5 at the DVD sales, skyrocketing to No. 1 instantly while LTGC 5 bombed and got lousy sales!)


I don't understand how you can find a correlation between the two.

[CueBallCat79]

I don't understand how you can find a correlation between the two.

This is a lousy attempt to start controversy. I mean, it is possible that we can actually have a WALL-E thread that doesn't de-evolve into mindless Pixar/CGI bashing. Why is everything so absolute around here? Is it possible that some people can appreciate classic animation while at the same time (gasp) enjoying films like Ratatouille and WALL-E?

I dunno. Lets just let this film have it's moment.

[wiley207]

What?? No they don't. Whatever you're smoking would you mind if you send me a little.

Dude, that doesn't even make sense. How is it the worst moment in "classic animation history" when the acknowledged "classic age" ended decades ago? And how does Ratatouille winning an order in any way taint the classics? And you're blaming the end of the Golden Collections on the success of the Ratatouille DVD? That's really reaching.

Well anyway, horray for WALL-E.

Sorry CueBallCat, but I don't do any drugs and am totally clean.

And the success of the Ratatouille DVD is only partly to blame for the end of the Golden Collections. The economy's slump and our former president not doing much about it is a bigger thing to blame for the end of the LTGCs.

And I gotta admit, at least "Wall-E" deserved the Oscar, not like when "Kung Fu Panda" won the Annies :p

[Leviathan]

And the success of the Ratatouille DVD is only partly to blame for the end of the Golden Collections. The economy's slump and our former president not doing much about it is a bigger thing to blame for the end of the LTGCs.


No, I beg to differ, Mark. THIS is a lousy attempt to start controversy.

I mean we've gone off on a tangent from talking about how much Pixar sucks to whether or not Bush is to blame for the current recession. The random attempt to drag politics into a thread that has nothing to do with it has to count for something

[Richie]

Oh, have you not heard? "Ratatouille" is yet another entry in the endless list of CGI talking animal movies, a trend that is starting to become almost as bad as doing live-action remakes of classic cartoons!

Isn't a big part of the Golden Age of American Animation made up of entries on a huge list of hand-drawn talking animal short films? Besides, you're saying it as if every CGI talking-animal-movie was the exact same. The execution differs. Ratatouille is different from Shrek, or Finding Nemo, or Open Season. And personally I believe it's a pretty good movie on its own right.

Live-action remakes of classic cartoons DO suck, I will give you that.

[wiley207]

OK, I'm sorry. But let's get back on topic...

I don't think Pixar sucks AT ALL. I think they're VERY talented. Sometimes it's just that Pixar can get too commercial and overated at times, and I basically feel like Charlie Brown about Christmas on Pixar's overcommercialism. Not many people seem to know Pixar's talent or how good their animation looks; if they see Pixar's name on a film they'll see it no matter what. In fact, I've seen some crappy-looking amateurish CGI animation clips on YouTube passed off as Pixar works. I won't post a link, but type up "pixar jurassic fart" to see what I mean. It's an insult to the real Pixar, whom spends hard work and time on their films to make them look and sound good.

Here are my opinions on each Pixar film:
"Toy Story" - Loved it
"A Bug's Life" - Kinda liked it
"Toy Story 2" - Loved it
"Monsters Inc." - Didn't like it
"Finding Nemo" - Didn't like it
"The Incredibles" - Loved it
"Cars" - Didn't see it due to people saying it was Pixar's weakest film
"Ratatouille" - Didn't like it
"Wall-E" - Didn't see it yet, but it looks pretty good

[nickramer]

Congratulations to Pixar.

Now can we knock it off with the Pixar bashing, please!

[wiley207]

Now can we knock it off with the Pixar bashing, please!

That's what I did in my above post (After yours). Sorry, sometimes I get annoyed at the public only liking Pixar for its success and cause it helped break new ground for a form of animation, and not for their hard work and how their films look good compared to other CGI animations (dare I mention "Jurassic Fart" again?)

I mean, I like Pixar. Sure, I don't like a few of their films, but I like several of their others, and I think "Up" and "Toy Story 3" could be good (my only concern for "Toy Story 3" is that they get a good voice actor to voice Slinky Dog)

[nickramer]

I mean, I like Pixar. Sure, I don't like a few of their films, but I like several of their others, and I think "Up" and "Toy Story 3" could be good (my only concern for "Toy Story 3" is that they get a good voice actor to voice Slinky Dog)

I can think of one comedian to do Slinky, but you rather not like the actor I had in mind. Let's just say he's no stranger to Pixar.:o

[J. B. Warner]

I love Pixar, and I think Wall-E deserves its Oscar. Heck, it could have been nominated for Best Picture, it was that good. (And I'm not just saying that as a die-hard Pixar fan; even judged on its own merits as a standalone film, it's still brilliant.)

I love classic animation. I love modern animation. Heck, I just love animation in general.

[Matthew Hunter]

Why is Wall-E winning a bad thing? I haven't seen it yet, but are you guys hating it just because it's CGI, or due to a prejudice against Pixar? The only other nominee I saw was Kung Fu Panda, and I liked that film. Would you have been more satisfied if that film won? or Bolt?

[Leviathan]

I love classic animation. I love modern animation. Heck, I just love animation in general.

Sadly, some people don't. And because of that, talking about cartoons on the internet has become viciously politicized.

[Mr. Semaj]

I'm glad WALL-E won for Best Animated Feature. But I'm a little ticked that the Academy nowadays can't give an Oscar to an animated film in another category.

Somehow, cartoons always lose out to the most overrated live-action films of the year.

[CueBallCat79]

Somehow, cartoons always lose out to the most overrated live-action films of the year.

What doesn't?

[Smilodon]

I didn't think I would but I kinda enjoyed Cars.

"Cars" - Didn't see it due to people saying it was Pixar's weakest film

[Brandon Panther]

Honestly, I only watched the oscars to see Natalie Portman. She outshined Ben Stiller easily.

On a more on-topic note, I was happy to see Ollie Johnston acknowledged in the dedication part.

[WoodpeckerWoody]

Sorry CueBallCat, but I don't do any drugs and am totally clean.

And the success of the Ratatouille DVD is only partly to blame for the end of the Golden Collections. The economy's slump and our former president not doing much about it is a bigger thing to blame for the end of the LTGCs.

And I gotta admit, at least "Wall-E" deserved the Oscar, not like when "Kung Fu Panda" won the Annies :p

If you blame this on LTGC post-pone, then Disney should have called a quit with WDT after wave 6 or 7. and mybe we should flowed warners with E-mails over LTGC and Popeye.

[WoodpeckerWoody]

I'm glad WALL-E won for Best Animated Feature. But I'm a little ticked that the Academy nowadays can't give an Oscar to an animated film in another category.

Somehow, cartoons always lose out to the most overrated live-action films of the year.

I can agree with you there I haven't seen a live-action movie thats win Oscar for years as best-pictures to be any good.

[Dirty Skunk]

Oh, have you not heard? "Ratatouille" is yet another entry in the endless list of CGI talking animal movies, a trend that is starting to become almost as bad as doing live-action remakes of classic cartoons! And it is also one of the reasons why WB canceled all future LTGC DVD releases (it was released to DVD around the same time, and totally beat LTGC Vol. 5 at the DVD sales, skyrocketing to No. 1 instantly while LTGC 5 bombed and got lousy sales!)

They may not have been produced using CGI, but the irony that Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Pepe LePew, etc are all talking animals seems to have been lost on you.

[Douglas E.]

Even though Wall-E was incredible, I thought that Kung Fu Panda was the best animated film of the year. But then again "Panda" did win a million "Annies", so Wall-E winning is fine by me.

-Doug

(P.S. I also like animation in general J.B.)

[wiley207]

They may not have been produced using CGI, but the irony that Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Pepe LePew, etc are all talking animals seems to have been lost on you.

Yes, but the thing is, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes are highly anthropomorphic, while the stars of those CGI films often have very low levels of anthropomorphism, so they are essentially regular animals with human voices, when compared to the Looney Tunes.

[Marty26]

Pixar's films (especially "Finding Nemo" and "Ratatouille") are highly overrated and are threatening the status of the "classics" in terms of popularity, sales, etc.

When "Ratatouille" won the Oscar last year for Best Animated Film, it was the worst moment in classic animation history, IMHO.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who finds Finding Nemo to be overrated. That movie really could've had a much stronger plot IMO.

[Marty26]

I'm glad WALL-E won for Best Animated Feature. But I'm a little ticked that the Academy nowadays can't give an Oscar to an animated film in another category.

Somehow, cartoons always lose out to the most overrated live-action films of the year.

Didn't Toy Story win some Best Film awards in 1995?

[Keith Paynter]

Yes, but the thing is, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes are highly anthropomorphic, while the stars of those CGI films often have very low levels of anthropomorphism, so they are essentially regular animals with human voices, when compared to the Looney Tunes.

"I do not think that word means what you think it means." ("Inconceivable!!")

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphic - "Subjects for anthropomorphism commonly include animals and plants depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse, forces of nature such as winds or the sun, components in games, unseen or unknown sources of chance, etc. Almost anything can be subject to anthropomorphism."

The rabbit in Presto! may not be able to speak, but all of his actions and expressions are definite examples of anthropomorphism. Sorry, that dog don't hunt.

I havent seen KFP, but I loved WALL-E, and I argued this at the HTF: Those who don't 'get' WALL-E probably don't 'get' 2001, another film told in a virtually visual style. The emotions of WALL-E are just as relevent as the emotions of The Brave Little Toaster or The Love Bug.

[Daffysleftfoot]

I'm glad Wall-E won. It's not Pixar's best but I think it deserved to win for 2008. I'd also like to see that La Maison en Petis Cubes sometime. I'm not 100% sure if the story or the animation of that one is any good, but I do enjoy that it's a 2D that won out over other CG films. It shows that maybe the Acadamy is smartening up a bit and are actually awarding films based on merit and not just dismissing 2D as "old fashioned" like too many animation executives do.

My only complaint about the entire ceremony is that in the Those Who Have Left Us reel, they for got Harvey Korman. :mad:
What a bunch of jerks, or should I say "dum dums".

[A. Flea]

Thats because Wall-E was pretty much the only decent animated feature around in '08.

[Brandon Panther]

I'm glad Wall-E won. It's not Pixar's best but I think it deserved to win for 2008. I'd also like to see that La Maison en Petis Cubes sometime. I'm not 100% sure if the story or the animation of that one is any good, but I do enjoy that it's a 2D that won out over other CG films. It shows that maybe the Acadamy is smartening up a bit and are actually awarding films based on merit and not just dismissing 2D as "old fashioned" like too many animation executives do.

My only complaint about the entire ceremony is that in the Those Who Have Left Us reel, they for got Harvey Korman. :mad:
What a bunch of jerks, or should I say "dum dums".
Bill Melendez wasn't mentioned either.

On other boards it's been pointed out that Don LaFontainem the famous film trailer announcer wasn't acknowledged either. Goes to show you how much Hollywood thought of him.

[J. B. Warner]

Bill Melendez wasn't mentioned either.

On other boards it's been pointed out that Don LaFontainem the famous film trailer announcer wasn't acknowledged either. Goes to show you how much Hollywood thought of him.

Honestly, so many celebrities died in 2008, I wouldn't expect the Academy to remember them all. I have a hard time keeping track myself, frankly.

[Jack G.]

Pixar won, good.

I don't have any problems with them.
Their strong point is the story.
I've enjoyed the Toy Storys and The Incredibles.

However my preference is for cartoony hand drawn cartoons.
And it's very sad that there's almost no chance of them having another Golden Age.

Comedy, by the way, almost never wins Oscars because they are not "serious" films.
Too bad, because it takes lots of skill and talent to make a good one.

[WoodpeckerWoody]

Pixar won, good.

I don't have any problems with them.
Their strong point is the story.
I've enjoyed the Toy Storys and The Incredibles.

However my preference is for cartoony hand drawn cartoons.
And it's very sad that there's almost no chance of them having another Golden Age.

Comedy, by the way, almost never wins Oscars because they are not "serious" films.
Too bad, because it takes lots of skill and talent to make a good one.

I read it somewere that it is harder to make comedy than drama.

[dandu]

It's funny, I'd rather watch a bad low-budget movie than a bad blockbuster...

[wiley207]

I can think of one comedian to do Slinky, but you rather not like the actor I had in mind. Let's just say he's no stranger to Pixar.:o

Heh. I wonder what it'd be like if they have Frank Welker voice someone in a Pixar film? It seems Pixar is looking for good voice actors instead of random celebrities. Frank Welker would probably be a pretty good choice. And John Ratzenberger is a pretty funny guy in the Pixar films. Usually when they get celebrities, they tend to get GOOD ones that would fit with the character, like Tom Hanks or Tim Allen, or people that have had cartoon voice-acting experience like Albert Brooks. I remember in "Monsters Inc," they even had Frank Oz play one of the characters! Hiring a Muppteer to do a cartoon voice in a non-Sesame Street segment is actually only something Pixar would attempt nowadays (though Fran Brill was on "Doug" and "Courage the Cowardly Dog," and Jerry Nelson once did a guest voice on "Sheep in the Big City") I wonder what it'd be like if Fran Brill or Jerry Nelson did a voice in a Pixar film? They're really good with voices, and I think they'd sound great in a Pixar movie

[Brandon Panther]

I read it somewere that it is harder to make comedy than drama.
I believe it was actor David Niven that made that statement. He said something along the lines of, if you a drama movie turns out bad, the movie is still watcheable, but if a comedy movie turns out bad, then it's just a horrible film.

[Speedy Boris]

Eh, bad drama is just as painful as bad comedy. If you don't care about the characters in a drama, it just ends up being a whole lot of nothing on the screen and you impatiently wait for it to end.

But yes, comedy is hard to do right, especially in appealing to a wide audience. Dramatic elements can be universal, but not everyone laughs at the same thing.

Oh yes, back on topic, I'm quite happy that WALL-E won.

[Philo & Gunge]

Heh. I wonder what it'd be like if they have Frank Welker voice someone in a Pixar film? It seems Pixar is looking for good voice actors instead of random celebrities. Frank Welker would probably be a pretty good choice. And John Ratzenberger is a pretty funny guy in the Pixar films. Usually when they get celebrities, they tend to get GOOD ones that would fit with the character, like Tom Hanks or Tim Allen, or people that have had cartoon voice-acting experience like Albert Brooks. I remember in "Monsters Inc," they even had Frank Oz play one of the characters! Hiring a Muppteer to do a cartoon voice in a non-Sesame Street segment is actually only something Pixar would attempt nowadays (though Fran Brill was on "Doug" and "Courage the Cowardly Dog," and Jerry Nelson once did a guest voice on "Sheep in the Big City") I wonder what it'd be like if Fran Brill or Jerry Nelson did a voice in a Pixar film? They're really good with voices, and I think they'd sound great in a Pixar movie

To my knowledge, I've heard that Slinky has been recast already, Pixar just has not made it public who will be. I've heard a rumor that Bill Engvall or Jeff Foxworthy will be voicing Slinky, but I doubt it's true until I hear something offically from Pixar.

[Brandon Panther]

http://invaderpetblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-idea-for-oscars.html

Since the image tag's not working.

[Der Captain]

Congrats to WALL-E. It was the best cartoon movie from 2008 I saw. - In fact, it was the only one I saw, so I guess that stacks the deck.

Not my favorite Pixar flick (that would be "Ratatouille"), but it was pleasant.

[Jack G.]

It's funny, I'd rather watch a bad low-budget movie than a bad blockbuster...I'm with you on that one!
It's for me to explain why though.
I believe it was actor David Niven that made that statement. He said something along the lines of, if you a drama movie turns out bad, the movie is still watcheable, but if a comedy movie turns out bad, then it's just a horrible film.You know a comedy's bad when no ones laughing.
With drama there's a little more leeway.

[sumnernor]

I bought my Wall-E from the UK and assume all the "features" are the same. In playing the film - a number of times there is a 1-line display at the top and then it quickly disappears. Does it have something with the comment audio???

[Matthew Hunter]

I finally saw it. While I didn't find it as "accessible" as Pixar's previous films, I thought it was very good. It's refreshing to see any movie these days that tells nearly its entire story visually, rather than relying on gags and dialogue. The only down-side is that it isn't really a comedy, or a movie in which the characters (main or supporting) really resonate on a personal level. I sympathized with the characters and found them likeable enough in the context of the movie, but Wall-E as a character wasn't a Woody, or a Nemo, or a Remy, or a Lightning McQueen.

Great film in almost every way: Visually, soundtrack-wise, story and imagination...but I thought it cast aside something I really love about Pixar's stuff: a deep personal connection with some or all of the characters.