A Great Year for Animation

Ok, I have got to say that 2010 had some of the best animated films come out during that year then there have been for along time. I don't normally jump up and down over animated movies, but, boy, I got sucked into them this year. We had How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, Megamind, and Tangled. Those were some great films! I mean, 2009 had some animated hits, but they did not come close to those that came out this last year. Compare Ice Age; Dawn of the Dinosaurs to How to Train Your Dragon. Dragon soars over Dinosaurs, no question. And Up was a very cute film and one that I really enjoyed, but the story is not equal to some of these others.
If I were to list 2010's animated films in order of my preference, this would be the order:
1. How to Train Your Dragon
2. Megamind
3. Tangled
4. Despicable Me
5. Toy Story 3
How to Train Your Dragon is my favorite because of its plot, depth, and characters. It is a story for both young and old. The characters are relatable and, for the most part, aren't stereotypes. I really loved the story. It was sweet, exciting, heartwarming, and fun. The script was awesome and the animation was fantastic! Plus, I absolutely loved the score. I could listen to it over and over again. All of this combined made How to Train Your Dragon my favorite animated movie of the year, and, quite possibly, my favorite movie of the entire year. It's funny, because I wasn't all that excited to see it. My best friend's little brother wanted to see it and she was going with him. I just wanted to spend time with my friend and I wasn't all that happy about the movie, but I went and within the first five minutes, I was loving it. I convinced my family to see it and then lost track of how many times I saw it in the theater after that. I even went to see it on my very first date. I was very happy when we got it for Christmas.
Megamind was another show I wasn't extremely anxious to see. I thought the trailers looked rather cheesy. I didn't see it until it reached the dollar theater. My family had a free evening and we decided to go see a movie. We didn't realize that Megamind was on its first weekend there, so the crowd was crazy. I was hoping it was worth the lines and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I was surprised by how much I liked it. We don't get to see the bad guys perspective very often and the villian's viewpoint was pretty awesome. I really liked the character development in this movie. Each character changed and grew, for the better, or the worse. There was conflict, humor, tears, action, and love. What made this movie worthy of supervillian status? Presentation!
Tangled is absolutely amazing! I didn't see it until very recently, but I love it. It is such a clever twist on a very famous story and is worthy to be listed with the Disney Princess films. The script was very clever and fun. The movie had balanced action and emotion. The characters, especially Flynn Rider and Rapunzel, were a joy to watch and you really come to care about them a great deal. I'll admit it, this movie made me cry. I wasn't sobbing, but I definitely had tears in my eyes. By the end of the movie I was humming songs from it and as soon as I got home I started listening to them over and over again on the internet. "I See the Light" has made its way into my heart. I was taken away by it while watching the film. It's been awhile since a movie had a really beautiful love song in it. I'm really glad I finally got around to seeing Tangled.
Despicable Me was also a very pleasant surprise. I was afraid that all the best parts had been put in the trailers, because they were so funny. I mean, how many trailers have a line like "IT'S SO FLUFFY!" ? But the show was very cute and I really enjoyed it. Again, it had a great mix of humor and heart. The reason it didn't make it further up on my list is simply because I liked characters in the other movies better. Don't get me wrong, I loved these characters as well, but I didn't relate to them as well. But I did absolutely love this movie. The three little girls are adorable and so funny. Gru is hilarious and so sweet, especially for a villian. And then there are the Minions! Ha ha ha ha!!!! :D Enough said. :) This is another one we got for Christmas.
Toy Story 3 was not my favorite movie. I did like it, but at the same time there were a lot of things I didn't like very much. There was almost too much action in it for my taste. I would have liked to see more character development. It seemed like everyone was constantly running away and then getting caught again. It got on my nerves. Of course, there were things I loved about it too. I loved seeing the characters I've loved since I was little back on the screen, but I think that is one of the things that disappointed me. The fact that I have loved them and that when I was little I felt like they were real, like my toys would get up and start doing things, made me wish the movie had shown me more depth inside the toys. I wanted to come away loving them more than I did when I started watching the film. Instead, I felt like I needed to go back and find out why I loved them so much in the first place. It also felt like a repeat of somethings we'd seen in the previous Toy Stories. Spanish Buzz, of course, was hilarious and I loved that, along with tortilla potato head. It was great to see Woody be a hero again. And I did still love the toys. And older Andy was definitely awesome, from a teenage girls perspective. I admit that I cried in this movie as well. Overall, I really liked it.
So, yes, I love these films! They are spectacular movies and ones that I will love forever. It is so nice to watch films that reach all ages and are both fun and heartwarming. I've watched them with my teenage friends at late night parties, with my little friends, and with my family. No matter who I'm watching them with, I always enjoy them. Thanks to the amazingly creative people who made them. This was definitely a great year for animation!