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| Gazing into the 2010 Crystal Ball |
Yes, we all know it’s
way too early to start even thinking about next year’s animation
awards contenders. Somehow, though, the devil sitting on our shoulder
made us take a quick little peek at what the toon scene is going to
look like in 2010. Here are six major titles that the animation gods
are smiling upon right now—but we all know how fickle they can
be! |
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How
to Train Your Dragon Talented animators Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois (Lilo and Stitch) return to the the world of big-screen animation with this great-looking adaptation of the book by Cressida Cowell. Set in a small Viking village, this DreamWorks Animation project about a reluctant young dragon fighter (voiced by Jay Baruchel) looks wonderful, has a great voice cast (Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Miller, Kristen Wiig) and offers a slew of fantastic creatures boys are going to pine for this spring. Release Date: March 26, 2010 |
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Shrek
Forever After The magic ingredient in this fourth chapter of the Shrek storybook is the nefarious elf known as Rumpelstiltskin (voiced by none other than former Beatle Paul McCartney!). Ah yes, the evil little guy makes a horrible deal with the green ogre, which has heart-breaking consequences. This second DreamWorks animated pic of the year is directed by Mike Mitchell, who also helmed the underrated Greg the Bunny TV series. (Maybe we can finally forgive him for doing Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo!) Release date: May 21, 2010 |
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Toy
Story 3 Back when the first two Toy Story movies came out, the Academy didn’t have the Best Animated Feature category, so this third outing for Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang could work like a charm. Directed by Lee Unkrich with a screenplay by Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine), next summer’s Pixar release finds our fave toys dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, departs for college! The blue-ribbon voice list includes Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Michael Keaton, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Whoopi Goldberg, John Ratzenberger, Bonnie Hunt, Laurie Metcalf, Timothy Dalton, Jeff Garlin, Jodi Benson, Ned Beatty and Estelle Harris. We kind of wish we could order our opening day tickets now! Release Date: June 18, 2010 |
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Around
the World in 50 Years Belgian director Ben Stassen teams up with his Fly Me to the Moon writer Domonic Paris again for this ecologically minded 3-D movie about a sea turtle who spends half a century traveling the world. The voice cast list cracks us up—where else are you going to find Tim Curry, Melanie Griffith, Stacy Keach, Ed Begley Jr., Kathy Griffin, Jenny McCarthy and Pat Carroll working together? The only celeb missing from this group is Al Gore! Release date: June 18, 2010 |
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Despicable
Me Co-directed by animation veterans Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud and Sergio Pablos, Universal’s offbeat fairy tale revolves around the adventure of three brave orphan girls who stop the evil Gru (the always funny Steve Carell) from stealing the moon. The crazy script was cooked up by Dario and Cinco Paul, the hot duo who penned Horton Hears A Who!. The hipster voice list also includes Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Ken Jeong and Miranda Cosgrove. Of course, we have to mention that it’s the unstoppable Julie Andrews who may steal the show as Gru’s mom! Release date: July 15, 2010 |
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Rapunzel Bolt director Byron Howard is tackling this CG-animated adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale along with Disney animation veteran Nathan Greno. Oscar-winning producer Glen Keane is also attached to this classy Disney project, which features the voice of Mandy Moore as the witch’s daughter who is cursed with going through a lot of hair product each day. Release date: December 10, 2010 |