I know that it isn’t over yet, but I doubt my favourite films will change. Especially since, as I said not long ago, my 5 favourites have all been animated. And while I’d normally do a recap, or list my favourites with rankings, instead I’d like to give semi-casual, mini-reviews of my five favourite movies of 2016.
By the way, there’ll be spoilers. So if you haven’t seen any of these movies, please do so.
5. Zootopia
Beginning this is a movie that’s grown on me. I’d wanted an animated buddy-cop movie for years, particularly from a big-name studio, and was surprised when it was announced by Disney. Don’t mistake me, I’ve been more than satisfied by Disney’s recent (i.e. the last 7 or so years) output, going in really creative directions, but why not Pixar? Pixar’s known for high-strung masterpieces when on their A-game, after all! But you get what you get, so I watched it anyway.
I’ve found that my fondness for Zootopia has only increased over time. What was originally an enjoyable, yet nothing special, movie about an anthropomorphic bunny becoming a cop in an anthropomorphic metropolis turned into a layered look at police misconduct and discrimination on (an incomplete) re-watch this Summer. Zootopia went from fun to excellent immediately, and part of that’s because it has lots to say about subtle, hidden prejudices in a not-so-subtle way. It may be colourful and funny, and it may also be self-aware about past Disney tropes (in the case, it’s the “dreams come true” cliché). But it’s also not afraid to tackle profiling and police brutality.
And that’s exactly it: Zootopia isn’t afraid to discuss police profiling and brutality. If you’ll notice, I haven’t said anything about race, but rather the blanket term “discrimination”. The reason for that, as one particular podcast mentioned, is because the movie keeps its animal allegory purposely vague. The movie defines its characters as “predators” and “prey”, and I doubt that’s accidental. Zootopia could be about homophobia, or about immigrants, and part of the fun is keeping it general. So it’s not like the racism argument isn’t there, but it’s not the be-all-end-all.
The movie also isn’t afraid to deconstruct and lampshade the responsibilities of a police officer. This shows in the frequent distrust the Prey characters have of Predator characters, even if subconsciously. Even Judy herself, easily one of the most-likeable Disney protagonists, harbours some serious prejudices herself, and this surfaces in the third-act. Y’know, where she shows her ignorance by generalizing about Predators? I’m sure everyone’s had that conversation over whether or not what they’ve said was offensive, and it’s nice to see this movie doesn’t shy away from that.
Zootopia is also hilarious to boot. I think my favourites bits are in the DMV and with The Shrewfather. The former is relatable to anyone who’s ever been to a DMV and knows how slow they are. The best lines actually come from Judy communicating with Flash, and, being a sloth, he takes forever to get his words out. And despite not having seen The Godfather, the shtick with Mr. Big is so on-the-nose that it’s impossible not to laugh.
It’s tough ranking this in the pantheon of Disney’s animated features, especially since most of their best works have been musicals, but I thoroughly-enjoyed Zootopia. It’s easily the best of Disney’s non-musicals to-date, outshining classics like Lilo & Stitch and The Emperor’s New Groove and newer films like Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6, so I’ll give it that. But in terms of the Disney greats, it falls short. Still, I don’t want to detract from what it does well, which is all-the-more relevant with real-life incidents of police brutality and discrimination. It’s also an easy shoe-in for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, although only as a nomination (with some of the competition, I’ll be surprised if it wins.)
4. Finding Dory
Speaking of another surprise, we have Finding Dory. Pixar’s taken a lot of crap from people for being in their sequel phase, when: a. They don’t have a choice, since Disney owns the rights to half of their IPs and can demand sequels whenever they want. b. As long as there’s potential for a good movie, I don’t see why it’s a bad idea. Granted, a lot of their sequels that weren’t from the Toy Story franchise have either been pretty bad, like Cars 2, or mediocre, like Monsters, University, so the complaints do hold weight. Add in that every original property since 2011 that wasn’t Inside Out was mediocre, and you’re left with an impossible scenario: how do you make a sequel to Finding Nemo, arguably one of the studio’s best, and have it feel fresh and interesting? Well, why not flesh out a throwaway line about Dory’s family and make it the focus?
And it works! Is it Finding Nemo levels of good? No, it’s not. But that was a concept that was fleshed-out to its fullest potential. This film is a smaller story that’s told from the perspective of Dory. Either way, give it credit for making a worthwhile film that clearly didn’t need to be made!
What makes Finding Dory work are its themes of adversity and uniqueness. Finding Nemo was a film about parenthood that had two characters, Nemo and Dory, with disabilities. This movie expands on that, such that every side character has some kind of disability: there’s an octopus with a missing leg, a whale shark with bad eyesight, a beluga whale with a damaged cranium, a pair of morbidly-obese sea lions, a bird with a cognitive impairment and, of course, Dory’s short-term memory loss. This’d be an easy excuse for insensitive jokes in the hands of a lesser-studio, but Pixar pokes fun at everyone while playing to their unique strengths. As someone with a disability himself, as I indicated earlier this Summer, I love that it’s handled so well.
Which it really is. Disabilities can be constant challenges for people who have them. So treating them like jokes or something to coddle can be demeaning, which is something society at large still does. However, they can serve as a source of clever humour when treated respectfully, which is something not seen too often. Finding Dory mines jokes without feeling too mean-spirited, and placing its disabled comic-relief at the foreground in an attempt to find her parents isn’t only funny, it’s inspired. It also masks the fact that the movie is kinda sad.
Still, it’s not as fresh as Finding Nemo, as it’s a bit on the lazy-side for Pixar. I remember Bob Chipman comparing it to Monsters, University, and while I think that’s an unfair point of comparison, in some ways it’s accurate. Because while it’s better than Zootopia, and that’s saying little from Pixar, it’s not as inspired as its direct predecessor. It also didn’t need to exist, although I’m glad it does. If you’re curious to see more Dory, then you really can’t go wrong.
3. The Boy and the Beast
Now we get to the one film most of you haven’t heard of, and many more of you will probably never see. Like I said on Infinite Rainy Day, The Boy and the Beast had a troubled release in Canada: first, it lost theatrical rights from GKids Entertainment due to…reasons I don’t understand. Then it was picked up by Mongrel Media and scheduled for a limited run. And finally, its run in theatres was made moot by a direct-to-video release less than a week after it debuted. Factor in that there was a delay in shipping, and I was already in a bad mood when I received it in the mail.
Despite these setbacks, I enjoyed the movie like no one’s business. I’m not even really sure why, as it was a gender-swapped take on The Wolf Children’s parenting themes set to a more fantastical scenario. Nothing about the movie’s basic layout, save the third-act monkey wrench, I hadn’t already seen in that movie, and I was able to spot reused motifs. But I really did enjoy it in the end. And I think part of that comes from a need to see parenting stories from a man’s perspective that don’t focus too much on toxic masculinity without lamp-shading how dangerous it can be.
The Boy and the Beast can be divided into two parts. The first part is a coming-of-age tale akin to The Karate Kid. Because really and truly, the protagonist, Ren, is the literal outsider, an orphan growing up in a world he’s not familiar with. He’s the audience surrogate, we see the story through him. We grow with him, learn to like Kumatetsu and even take enjoyment from seeing the two of them bicker. That the movie is about getting in-touch with the living arts is only one facet, and stopping there wouldn’t do it justice.
The second part is where the story goes somewhat awry. To be fair, I didn’t mind having the final confrontation be a fight between two human. I actually thought the decision to make Ichirōhiko a literal manifestation of the whale in Moby Dick was brilliant, further showing the inner-struggle he faces with himself and aligning with the book that Kaede reads to Ren. But to those who unwilling to suspend their disbelief that much, it might pull them out of the movie. But it’s not a big deal for me, and it does wrap up nicely.
Still, there’s a lot to love about this movie. I can’t quite recommend it for those unfamiliar with director Mamoru Hosoda’s other films, but it doesn’t mean you can’t watch it solo. I honestly think some of you might actually like it solo because there aren’t as high expectations, so…yeah, maybe you should. Above all, it’s a great example of why hand-drawn animation is still a viable medium years after the West abandoned. It’s also one of the best of the year, even if, technically speaking, it came out in 2015. Because we’re weird like that when it comes to anime…
2. Kubo and the Two Strings
This was the sleeper hit of the Summer. I’ve gotta be honest when I say that, for all their technical prowess and imagination, Laika’s films have never quite wowed me. They make good movies, don’t get me wrong, but their retro-style of film storytelling doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t think the 80’s have held up film-wise to the extent many claim, and Laika adores the movies of that time period. Not to mention, their endings are so preachy and forced that they leave me disappointed and wanting more.
So I was pleasantly-surprised when I ended up enjoying this movie as much as I did. Perhaps it was the decision to make this a high-strung action-adventure film? Maybe it was that it was longer than what Laika usually does? Or could it be that the moralizing element was almost non-existent this time? All of those are contributing factors, but I think it’s the creativity that won out.
Because make no mistake, Kubo and the Two Strings is unbelievably creative. I’m not only talking in its Nippon-centric influence, that’s definitely a factor, but in that it finds inventive ways to use paper as its gimmick. That’s right: paper and music keep this film afloat, and that so many opportunities are explored with both, yet not enough that you aren’t left wanting, is a treat. But what’s even more of a treat is the life-like stop-motion animation on display. It’s not only impressive to see stop-motion puppets move like CGI characters, but it’s even more impressive when you factor in how hard that must’ve been to pull off.
Which is a shame that the story itself isn’t really all that impressive. It’s a basic hero’s journey tale, and I mean that literally. The movie plays with many of the tropes associated with the classic iconography associated with Joseph Campbell’s writings, and unless you’re ignorant to the ways of storytelling, you’ll be hard-pressed not to guess most of its plot-beats before or as they happen. It’s disappointing, but, honestly, I don’t mind that much. Film is a medium of narrative simplicity, and so many stories try to overreach these days that a light tale is welcome. And besides, the characters make up for it, particularly in how Kubo interacts with Monkey and Beetle.
Overall, Kubo and the Two Strings was a wonderful surprise from a studio I’m normally lukewarm on. I’d thought Laika had peaked with Coraline in 2009, and their previously successive films weren’t doing much to convince me otherwise. However, like I said, I was proven wrong here. It’s not only a fun movie for kids, albeit much older ones (it earns its PG rating,) but even adults will have a blast watching it. This couldn’t stay my favourite movie of 2016, although my #1 choice more than makes up for that.
1. Moana
If Kubo and the Two Strings was the sleeper-hit of the Summer, then Moana was the sleeper-hit of the year. It’s interesting because it came out the same year as Zootopia, and usually two projects in the same year from a single studio is a bad sign (see The Good Dinosaur VS Inside Out.) Factor in that the trailers for this film, while not awful, made it out to be only okay, and I was concerned. Still, I kept an open-mind, hoping that it’d at least meet my expectations. Sufficed to say, it did so and more.
I’m not sure where to begin: do I start with the excellent songs, where even “Shiny” is still memorable despite being the weak-link? Do I mention how gorgeous and life-like the scenery is? Do I talk about how, despite being conventional, Moana is the greatest Disney Princess ever? Do I talk about how Dwayne Johnson is the best part of the movie? Or do I mention how funny the film is, even making its pop-culture references feel natural?
I guess all of that’s good. The songs, like I said, are fantastic, with “We Know the Way” being the highlight and “How Far I’ll Go” a shoe-horn for Best Original Song at the upcoming Oscars. The animation, like I said, is gorgeous, with some of the best ocean scenery in a Disney movie. Moana, like I said, is a great character, and I like how she was voiced by a Polynesian teenager instead of a white woman in her 20’s/30’s. Dwayne Johnson as Maui is also a treasure, absolutely pitch-perfect casting. And the film is unbelievably funny.
The only downside I can think of is that, like Kubo and the Two Strings, the story isn’t too impressive. It’s basically a hero’s journey (or heroine, in this case), making it the most bare-bones of any Disney musical in memory. It goes the extra mile to jam a lot into it, unlike Kubo and the Two Strings, but it’s pretty much a typical adventure movie. You can guess where it’s going before it gets there, and a few details, like the final moment in Maui’s character arc, happen off-screen because “tension” (I guess.) It does have a clever twist involving pacifism resolving its climax, which is something I’ve yet to see in a movie like this, but the story’s definitely the weakest part of the film.
But it doesn’t matter. Moana’s fun and engaging and overcomes its familiarity. The general consensus seems to be in one of two categories at the moment, based on what I’ve seen. Most people who were cold on Frozen seem to be warm on Moana, while most people who were warm on Frozen seem to be cold on Moana, so it’s up in the air how you’ll respond. I’m one of the people who loved Frozen, yet think Moana is infinitely better, so take that as you will. (You should still watch it, though.)
It’s also tough trying to figure out where I’d rank this in Disney’s filmography. On one hand, this is easily Disney’s best in 22 years, although that sort of praise is little to go by. On the other hand, it’s not quite on-par with, say, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin or The Lion King, so there’s that too. But it’s still a fantastic movie. I’d say go see it, but you probably already have, so go see it again.
And yeah, that’s it. I’m not sure if my 5 favourite films this year being animated is testament to animation, or a damnation of live-action. Go see them, and I’ll see you at the movies!
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