2006 is going to be a great year for animated films. Seventeen movies are on the schedule to be released this year alone! Already we've had our first release, the low-budget Hoodwinked.
January
Hoodwinked was created on a budget of less than $20 million, which meant that its opening weekend of nearly $17 million bodes well, another piece of good news for The Weinstein Company. It opened January 13. Hoodwinked is a wry retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with very modern sensibilities, and features Glenn Close, Anne Hathaway, and Jim Belushi. It's a mixture of animated people and animated talking animals, very much in the style of Shrek both visually and culturally. [Trailer]
February
On February 10, Curious George will get an updated look as he hits theaters, traditionally-animated and still mute. The budget for this film is reported to be around $40 million, and it is being produced by Ron Howard for Universal. The books were almost impressionistic in parts, with incomplete backgrounds and bold swaths of color. This film appears to update the look (and the story) to "modern" standards, and even provide a 3-D effect of sorts, but it still definitely stands out as hand-drawn among a large group of computer-animated films. [Trailer]
March
March 31 brings us two animated films, though some might object to the label for A Scanner Darkly. Warner Independent brings us this R-rated film based on a Philip K. Dick novel which was in turn based on Dick's personal drug usage. The style is truly unique, with animation layered on top of live footage. The human characters definitely look human in this one. The budget has been estimated at only $8 million. [Trailer]
Less controversial is Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, coming from 20th Century Fox on the same day. This is a sequel to the 2002 hit CG film Ice Age, and features the same three leading men, as well as some new voices, including Queen Latifah. What do a sabre-toothed tiger, a lemur, and a mammoth do when the ice age begins to melt? I guess we'll find out at the end of March! [Trailer]
April
On April 14, Disney releases The Wild, the plot for which seems to be a combination of Finding Nemo and Madagascar; hopefully there are some unique elements as well. Talking animals have worked well for Disney so far, but CG without Pixar hasn't done as well. [Trailer]
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
My wife despises the "new look" of Curious George, as well as the updating of the story evident in the trailer.
2 - El Bicho
Your wife is a smart woman. Curious George looks horrible with pupils. I hope they don't cut him huffing ether.
3 - Phillip Winn
I tried to explain that it could be worse, but our kids still love the books, so she won't budge.
4 - Sterfish
Reading this list, I'm reminded of Jerry Beck's comments about the large amount of films dealing with animals banding together for a big task. Despite that, I'm looking forward to a lot of these films.
Over The Hedge looks like a very fun film, based on the trailer. I'm very much looking forward to Cars not just because it's a Pixar film but also because John Lassiter is directing it. Happy Feet looks like fun as well and it has George Miller of Babe/Mad Max behind it. I'm also very intrigued by Meet The Robinsons (which is actually Disney-made unlike The Wild).
Overall, though, if even half of these films end up being good, it will end up being a great year for animation. One thing I'm curious about, though, is what anime films will make their way to the U.S. this year. Last year had two big films by two powerhouses of Japanese animation. I really don't know what there is to look forward to in terms of Japanese animated films this year.
5 - dannykino
A scanner Darkly is an awesome book, I hope the film lives up to P.K Dicks books (if u dont know his works- Bladerunner, Minority Report, Total Recall!!!). Looks pretty good anyway. I guess they maybe able to use CG to get rid of some of Keanus woodenness. Can't wait!!!
6 - Phillip Winn
Over the Hedge is such a darkly-written strip that I assume they're softening it *a little* for the big screen.
I did a decent bit of research for this article, and it seems that no Japanese animation is scheduled to be released in U.S. theaters in 2006. There's a large pile of stuff coming out on DVD, of course, but it looks like we'll be waiting until 2007 or later to see anything on the big screen.
A Scanner Darkly is a fascinating book, but I'm guess that Keanu still acts like a robot even when illustrated. :-)
7 - Megan LeeWoonChing
Hello. This is my first time here. I think that it is really great of you all to come up with all these animation movies and I hope that you will keep up the good work. May Father in heaven lead you and guide you in all that you do to give you success. REMEMBER: DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH WASTE (URINE, FAECES, GARBAGE, POISON, & ETC.).
I have done it so far. SO CAN YOU!
8 - Anonymous
I heard there is going to be a Simpsons movie as well.
9 - Phillip Winn
July 27, 2007 for the Simpsons, so it doesn't make this list.
10 - thomas
why did i not see any elfquest being at least made.
dreamworks should cut out the bad stuff and at least try to make a movie base on the comics of elfquest.