As summer moves into fall, film studios have begun to look towards awards season. That is especially true in competitive genres like animation. KHOL film critic Jeff Counts watched two potential contenders and caught us up on the state of the race.
–
Animation is a film genre with a lot of built-in buzz. Whether this is due to family-oriented subjects or the long legacy of excellence (thank you, Disney), audiences get very excited about big-screen cartoons. The Oscar category of Best Animated Feature, which only began in 2001, is usually dominated by DreamWorks and Pixar and Mr. Miyazaki. But other big studios and indie outfits have gotten into the regular mix as well, resulting in an annual treasure chest of drawn art that challenges our notions of what feature-length entertainment can do.
“Transformers One” is, and I say this because I want to be very clear up front, a Transformers movie. Based on what has happened in theaters over the years in this franchise, nobody should be enthusiastic about an Optimus Prime and Megatron origin story. Michael Bay has always been good at spectacle with his live-action depictions of the shapeshifting Autobots and Decepticons, but the bad plots and terrible, sometimes culturally insensitive scripts have kept his Transformers movies from succeeding critically. This is why “Transformers One” is such a wonderful surprise. It’s director Josh Cooley at the helm this time and it’s obvious from the first minute that he has a better feel for the material. Moving the story from Earth to the Transformers home planet of Cybertron was a good call and removing people helps clarify the mythology. It’s all very silly, of course, the sentient robots who can turn into cars, but “Transformers One” lets the audience visit their reality instead of forcing us to imagine them noisily but somehow secretly kicking around in ours. It should have always been thus. With the uncanny valley gone, the rich possibilities of animation make the lore of the Transformers not just legible for the first time, but genuinely fun. The all-star voice cast is very good throughout and Brian Tyree Henry is the best of the lot as the conflicted D-16 on his decent into becoming Megatron. “Transformers One” is a character-driven winner, with enough grinding metal action to perhaps change your mind about the franchise.
Sticking with robots but shifting gears in just about every other way is DreamWorks’ latest “The Wild Robot”. It’s based on Peter Brown’s book series of the same name and tells the story of Roz, a service robot marooned on an unpopulated island who must learn to survive among the animals who fear her. I’ve spoken many times about the difference between the two heavyweights of modern animation. Pixar and DreamWorks both look amazing, but only Pixar gets the jokes right. A DreamWorks script, though voiced by the biggest names in the business, almost always feels like it was written by a committee of implacable suits at least ten years before the release date. They have just never gotten that part right, until now. With “The Wild Robot”, DreamWorks has writing to match its drawing, and the result is perfection. Roz, read by the incomparable Lupita Nyong’o, is an immediately endearing protagonist and the lush world of critters she crash-lands into is stunningly gorgeous to look at. The relationships she forms are rich and complex. The trials she endures are meaningful and often heartbreaking. Roz is the new Wall-E, another man-made hero with the impossible job of making man better by example. Bring tissues to this one and try not to need them. I dare you. This is one of the best movies of the year.
2024 is far from over, but the Animation class looks great if these two films are any indication. There is barely a human in sight in either of these titles, but the humanity on display is a comforting joy. Since 2001, only three animated films have ever been nominated out of the category for Best Picture. “The Wild Robot” will be the fourth.
