Reviews

As usual I go see a movie the second weekend it’s out. Hotel Transylvania was still very well attended at the matinee.

I’m not a fan of Genndy Tartakovksi’s TV work, so I went in with low expectations. The trailer didn’t help when I saw Dracula’s head held perfectly still while his mouth moved, making it look like limited animation. But that was just his character, and the animation overall was great fun. It was quick and loose, without being too rubbery, like Ice Age 4.

What the story did well was put Dracula square in the middle of multiple relationships that he had to juggle. There was his daughter, then there were his many monster friends who trusted him to keep the hotel free of humans, and finally he had to deal with Jonathan, the human packpacker who stumbles into the place and threatens everything. When his daughter meets Jonathan the reaction causes the real dilemma for Dracula. Most animated films don’t have such complicated situations. But the many elements allowed for a really fast moving story with many sudden challenges.

While I think Adam Sandler brought nothing special to the part, Dracula and Jonathan did actually have a chemistry that is rarely found in animation. The dialog had a classic snappiness, while being modern and relavant. I could feel the tension between them. A father meeting a boy who might be interested in his daughter is always a delicate situation. Top it all off with the boy being somewhat clownish, the dad being Dracula, and hilarity ensues.

The Mavis character was very appealing and sympathetic, but she didn’t add much to the story. That tends to be the way with the female romantic lead, doesn’t it?

All of Dracula’s challenges were excellent reasons for plenty of visual humor and exciting action. I was never bored in the movie. The myriad monsters allowed for all kinds of physical gags. It’s great to see a feature film go cartoony like this. I mentioned how it didn’t get too rubbery. In my Ice Age 4 post, I pointed out how rubbery is funny and rigidity is scary. Dracula stood very rigid (the straight man?) , and this was the perfect contrast, to Jonathan being limber and expressive.

It was totally worth going to. I rate it “Pay full price at the theater”, and I am looking forward to the DVD to rewatch some of the animation. I met Genndy back when he was going to direct animated features with The Orphanage. Now I’m even more sorry that didn’t work out.

Today is the release of “Ted” from director Seth MacFarlane. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, “Ted” is the story of a boy and his teddy bear brought magically to life. Similar to Jay Ward’s “Fractured Fairy Tales” this story takes the idea of a magical event and applies some real life considerations to how the story might actually turn out. The boy and the bear grow up together, but never actually grow up. They are like college room mates who never graduated.

The Ted character is a CG animated bear, with production shared between Tippett Studios in Berkeley, and Iloura in Sydney Melbourne. I was employed at Tippett, as part of the Ted animation crew.

First, this is a very mature comedy, so mature, that the studio Human Resources department held a special meeting with anyone on the show to remind us not to get too caught up in the subject matter, and to maintain our professional dignity.

I have to admit, I am not much of a “Family Guy” fan. It just isn’t my thing. But Ted is absolutely hilarious. I have never had so much fun in dailies. Watching the same scenes over and over again for weeks usually gets a little old, but during Ted I would find myself still laughing at a scene the 20th time I saw it. Most of the humor in this movie is verbal. There is plenty of action too.

There was motion capture used on the film. Macfarlane would put on a Moven suit, on set and act out the parts for the Ted scenes they were shooting that day. It was mostly used for scenes of Ted sitting and talking. So it was a lot of arm gestures and head and shoulder motion. That’s about it. For the larger action, it was all keyframe animation.

I have worked on many films with live actors interacting with CG characters, and I have to say Mark Wahlberg is by far the best at relating to something that isn’t there. All he had to look at was a stand in of Ted’s eye position. MacFarlane would stand off screen and speak his lines. I totally believe they are in the scene together.

SPOILERS AHEAD: Tippett Studios did two scenes that involved “humping” One is seen in the trailer, with Ted humping the card swipe station at the supermarket, (animated by Jimmy Almeida), and the other was Ted having sex with a woman. All we see is the woman’s legs and Ted’s butt (animated by James Brown) . The animators first had the real sex very fast and comical, like a rabbit, and the pretend humping slow and sensual. Each was a parody of the real thing. (And yes, they did shoot reference video when starting to animate the scene at the cash register). After going back and forth, Seth’s direction ended up being counter to what the animators first ideas were. The real sex was made to look natural, and the fake was more overacted and comical. Honestly, either way was funny, but for different reasons. The animators approach was intended to provoke laughter, from the audience. The directors approach was to do what was true to the situation. I think the comical humping at the cash register was done that way because Ted was really trying to make the female cashier laugh, not turn her on. And the actual sex, between a teddy bear and a woman, was funny just for shock value, so it didn’t need any extra clowning on top. You can see the register scene, with the mocap in this promo video:

There were also a few instances of scenes being re-animated because they had re-written the jokes for the scene. At one point, a joke involving presidential candidates seemed in danger as the polls indicated a change in front runners. I don’t even know what they finally chose for that scene. The effort to keep the comedy topical isn’t easy with a several month lag time from production to release.

The concept for Ted is not unlike the movie “Paul” Paul was the name of the flip flop wearing stoner alien who goes on a road trip with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Ted’s lines are much funnier than Paul’s, and Seth Rogan’s voice for the alien was just plain dull. Also, I didn’t understand how Paul got to be the way he was, but with Ted, his reason for being that way is built into the story. This is a movie you will definitely want to get on DVD for the extras. I’m sure there are tons of funny on-set stuff involving the crew, the bear stand-in, and outtakes.

The reviews are looking good. Scott Mendelson at The Huffington Post writes:

At the very least, it is the year’s funniest comedy and one of the best pictures of 2012. It is more than a funny movie, it is a great film. Call it the year’s happiest surprise, but Seth MacFarlane’s Ted is a genuine work of art.

There is something so very solid about stop motion films.   These are real models filmed with actual cameras.   Plastic, wood, paint, clay.  Actual sets with lights.  And what wonderful sets they build at Aardman Animation.  The Pirates! A Band of Misfits has the best sets yet.  I just wanted to freeze frame some shots to look over all the magnificent detail and texture.

“The Pirate Captain” was a likable fellow and his band of misfits were an interesting lot.  They sail to port so the Captain can enter into the “Pirate of the Year” contest, where they meet some even more exciting pirate captains who clearly outclass the hero of the story.  At this point it’s all very much fun.  In an attempt to raise his game, the Captain starts attacking every ship he comes across, to little success.   Then he captures the one and only  Charles Darwin, and a whole new adventure begins.   The Darwin character, however, had two problems.  First, they took great liberties with a historic figure, so it felt a little odd.  But more importantly, he just wasn’t a very strong character.  Over the middle part of the movie, the energy started to wane.  The story drifted a bit.   By the time we got to the exciting finish, I was a bit out of it by then.  However,  I loved Mr. Bobo, the non speaking monkey sidekick of Darwin.  That’s what I am all about.

UPDATE:  The voiceless characters that Aardman does are some of my favorites in animation.  But I have noticed that they all have the same deadpan expression.  They are all descendants of Gromit.  While I love that effect, it would be nice to see a silent character with a more mobile face, like Harpo Marx had.

I always enjoy the acting done in Aardman films.  The shots aren’t rushed.  They give time for small movement, and space between the words.   There is time for them to appear awkward and uncertain.  That is what tells me a character is thinking.  It’s when we see the emotion.   Also, the Aardman animators have a special touch with females.  In this movie, and in “Flushed Away”, I was struck by the extra hip movement they give the women.  It just looks right.  Pixar hasn’t matched them in that area.

In my rating system, I say go see it in the theater at a convenient time.  Or buy the blue-ray.