I have to wonder, at what point can we call a year "Bad" for something, like did people decide that 1980 was the worst year of Pop Music in 1980 or only after a few years have gone by? It's easy to say that 2024 is a mediocre year for animated movies now, but we're just over half-way through, but like, what really has there been animation wise? 2023 was a pretty empty year for animated releases, but at least there were good movies released then. 2023 was no 2022, but it had some good stuff, but what has their been for 2024? There's been Inside Out 2, Which I still have yet to get to, and Kung Fu Panda 4, which seems to have gotten a mixed reception. It's telling when the best animated movies released are sequels and a documentary about a notoriously bad animated movie. Still, we have some new releases to talk about, so maybe we'll see something good?
Despicable Me 4
Released: July 3, 2024
Portion Written: July 28, 2024
I mean… it’s an illumination movie, what more needs to be said? Okay, that is a bit unfair, it's not like Illumination makes movies that aren't worth talking about, it's just... I feel like all my major problems with this movie are the same problems I have with the rest of Illuminations line-up that I've seen, it's just not trying to be anything that great. Granted, this is probably on the lesser side quality wise, and that mostly falls to the story. There is just too much going on, and a lot of stuff that just doesn't really get much of a resolution. The kids have a Karate class and that goes nowhere, the wife becomes a hair-stylist and that goes nowhere, the Minions become super-powered and that also really goes nowhere despite it being the most advertised aspect of the movie. I was waiting for them to show up in the climax and when they appeared I was like, "Ah, this is all this subplot is going to amount to, alright." I mean seriously, the Minion stuck in the vending machine had a more rewarding pay-off.
I feel like the story would have been better if it was just Gru and Poppy or Gru and Maxime, because I can imagine the former being a fascinating character study of Gru deciding whether he wants to return to being a villain or if he wants to stay with his family, and the latter would be a standard, but fairly entertaining, family-comedy film. Do I think this is the worst animated movie of the year? Honestly, no. Illumination movies just don't really get there for me, again they don't try to achieve greatness, and the benefit to that is that they also never hit absolute failure either. I can't really recommend it, but like... it's pretty innocuous.
And if anything, it got "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" stuck in my head, so thanks for that movie.
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
Released: August 2, 2024
Portion Written: August 2, 2024
At least it's better than Sponge on the Run.
Okay, that's a bit harsh, because I'm gonna be honest, I didn't think this movie was awful. There were some gags I actually liked here, even some dumb ones, like they almost felt like classic SpongeBob gags, and I'm not gonna lie, I did like Sandy's family, though I also just like Johnny Knoxville so take that for what it's worth. Is this movie great? No, it does have some issues, some of the effects, most notably the live action mixing were noticeably off and uncanny, the human actors just didn't feel right, the songs aren't really anything I'd want to listen to, I really don't get what the obsession with this stylized Computer Animation is, I think it looks ugly, and the movie is kind of... there. I mean, I wouldn't classify it on the same level as a movie like Mummies, but like, it really isn't something I'd probably come back to, but you know what, it is better than Sponge on the Run. I'll make jokes about its content, like Squidward being a bisexual furry (Only half kidding), but I don't think it's that bad, I can accept this movie's existence as a SpongeBob movie, albeit not a good one. I can't really recommend it on any real level, but like... I can't say I didn't have some enjoyment out of it, I'll go "Slight Recommendation" but take that with a grain of salt.
Ultraman: Rising
Released: June 12, 2024
Portion Written: August 17, 2024 (I watch these sporadically, shut up!)
On some level, I do have to admire this movie. There are elements here I can really appreciate, like the stylized animation, the choice to have a grey morality, honestly even the character relationships and drama I can kind of admire. Despite that though, this is kind of just another one of those movies where I have to ask, "Am I just getting jaded?", because I did kind of peg how a lot of this story was gonna go, for an Ultraman movie, I didn't assume that the movie I was gonna be reminded of most would be Mr. Baseball of all things. Even the animation, though I do recognize it as being of high quality, it often does just come off as Spider-Verse-lite. Still, I can't say this is a bad movie, it's quite well done, it's just, I think I would just rather watch The Sea Beast. I dunno, this was just another movie that failed to grab me, maybe I just had high expectations. Do I recommend it? Yeah, I arguably is one of the best movies I've seen all year, but like... honestly, if this is it, than this year just seems ready to accept the title of "Worst year for animated movies".
The Imaginary
Released: Dec 15, 2023
Netflix Release: July 5, 2024
Portion Written: August 25, 2024
Yet another movie that I just have to ask myself if I'm becoming too jaded or if the movie is just genuinely not that good. Something about this movie just does not entertain me, I dunno, maybe it's how the movie looks, something about the art-style and animation is just not pleasant to me, it's like putting an anime face on a real human head sometimes. Maybe it's the villain, who is holding onto an imaginary friend as an adult, which has a bunch of implications regarding the theme, maybe it's just that I wasn't a huge fan of Spirited Away, that could be a factor too. I dunno, something about this film doesn't sit right with me. I guess I'll withhold a full rating for now because, I mean how can I really rate a movie when I can't describe my reaction towards it? This... is a first for First Impressions, a movie I just straight up can't really articulate myself with, bound to happen sometime I guess.
Yeah, this year isn't looking to great for animated films, and if I'm being honest, I'm not really looking forward to the rest of the line-up for this year. We've got Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, and The Wild Robot, and honestly, I'm most dreading The Wild Robot. Hopefully I'm wrong on that one, but I dunno, this year's track record has been unimpressive so far. I don't even know if I'll be able to do a best list... maybe a "Movies that weren't complete trash" list... I'll think of something.
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