As I’ve mentioned many times before, 2010 is so far one of the greatest years in animation in history. But the rest of the year could make me change my mind. Before “Cats and Dogs 2”, there were 5 trailers, mostly of upcoming animated films. Let me give you a rundown of those films (all of which are in 3D):
“Alpha and Omega” (September 17) – Just a boring, unfunny trailer. The animation doesn’t look good, and (just like in “Cats and Dogs 2”), the mouths and the voices were sloppy.
“Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” (September 24) – Visually, it looks pretty amazing, and I like the animation, but it the story doesn’t seem too exciting, but I have hope.
“MegaMind” (November 5) – It looks like DreamWorks’s version of “The Incredibles”. The trailer isn’t funny or clever, and the plot looks predictable. DreamWorks has had a really good year so far. Are they do for a clunker?
“Yogi Bear” (December 17) – Combing live-action and animation, will hopefully be very funny, but the trailer just features a lot of slapstick. (But isn’t that what Yogi Bear is all about? I think so.)
“Rio” (April 8, 2011) – Blue Sky Studios’s third non-“Ice Age” film. The studio’s best are the “Ice Age” triology, and the trailer isn’t funny at all, but the animation is fantastic.
There’s also Disney’s “Tangled” (November 24) which, thankfully, has a little more guy appeal than “The Princess and the Frog”, so it has a chance to be a hit. Disney’s non-Pixar films in recent years have been good but not great, except for “Bolt” which was fantastic.