Animal House

I tell ya, I was relieved to see some of my feelings about the current state of feature animation echoed in a recent article by Mike Hernandez of the NYT. Basically: too many movies with animals in them. Also: many of them suck. From the article:

The main criticism of animated movies within the industry and among consumers is that they are beginning to look alike. And the recent crop looks a lot like a zoo. Natalie Ward, 13, who was out shopping with her grandmother, Bonnie Ward, in Hollywood recently, was unimpressed with the latest offerings. “There are so many movies with animals,” she said, pursing lips tinged blue by the icy neon drink in her hand. “The ones about cows are too, like, I don’t know — boring.”

Ica Age was great. But how about Shark Tale? What a steaming pile of chum! And let's not forget Madagascar, The Wild, Open Season, Barnyard, etc. I watched Over the Hedge on a plane recently, and it was pure trash. What is it with these wisecrackin', namecallin', smartypants cartoon characters? Bugs Bunny wore it well, but these guys just make me want to turn them into roadkill. And this was a movie that got some decent notices! Well, there's more on the way, with two movies about rats and another one about penguins. Can't wait.

Fact is, animated features have often and historically featured animals in their lead roles. Just think about The Rescuers, The Aristocats, Lady and the Tramp, and on and on and on. It's not that animals are bad....it's the movies that are!