Last week we saw Disney rise to the top of the food chain with a film in a style not seen since 2004. A traditional cell-animated feature bearing the Walt Disney name charmed audiences on its way to a decent debut take. While the film is not the greatest, it is a lot of fun and I hope its success is a sign of things to come from the cell-animation division. This week sees that film, The Princess and the Frog, slip to second place as it gets steamrolled by the highly anticipated science fiction adventure film Avatar.
Its final weekend tally may have been shrunk by the blizzard that pounded the east coast, but there is no doubt that Avatar had a strong opening. So strong that its Sunday tally was underestimated by $4 million. That is a pretty wide margin of error — the studio must be very happy to see that. Its future is now in the hands of the people, and it looks pretty good. I have seen the film and it is an absolute visual feast. The story is a familiar one, perhaps calculated to more easily draw you into the alien world. In any case, it sets a new bar for the integration of live action and effects in a 3D environment. You may even forget you are viewing pixels.
The Princess and the Frog slipped to second place, with revenue dropping nearly 50%. I think this has some life in it yet, but I suspect it may die an early death in the face of the Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel. If my opinion means anything, I recommend you go check out the beautiful animation, jazzy songs, and classically inspired fun that Disney has created.
Sandra Bullock and The Blind Side continue to perform strongly and beyond expectations of most. I must say my lack of interest has slackened a little, but I am not yet sure if I will eventually see it on the big screen; however, I have a strange desire to see the previously mentioned chipmunk movie. Sandra Bullock seems poised to garner herself an Oscar nomination for her performance here. We shall see.
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Article comments
1 - Gar
jesus, I hope people are not that stupid in that they'll watch a godawful regurgitated pop thing like Alvin and the Chipmunks.
That movie won't be relevant in about 2 years.