illumination entertainment – Page 10 – The Animation Commendation

‘WWTBAM-Animation Edition’ Season 4 Contestants Roster

Hello, readers!

Well, I plan to start my 4th season of my Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-Animation Edition games next January 2018, so keep your eyes open for those videos as they come out. Below, you will find the roster of the contestants coming on to try their hand at the million! Five of them are familiar faces, whilst five are newcomers. (The contestants are listed below alphabetically by last name, not by the order of their appearance of the game show.)

Zora Catone (https://www.youtube.com/ZoraCatone, @ZoraCatone)
Brian Crawford (@disneycave1955)
Ben Daniels (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZEvnPge9Hzm1U_3qzjo4Xw, @BenjyDaniels)
Andrew Garrison (https://andrewthemovieguy714.wordpress.com, @TheMovieGuy14)
Milan Harrison (http://youtube.com/somedudenamedmilan, @milan_darling)
Jonathan J. North (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIXIceyRxNEE8vgAw6Ye-aQ, @jonjnorth)
Jonathan Pouliot (https://animatedleadership.wordpress.com, @jpouliot81)
Skyler Shuler (https://disneyfilmfacts.com, @Skylerhxc, @Disneyfilmfacts)
Amanda Sorrento (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGN1Ycs5zeSSWz5y9mTIifw, @MissFortuosity)
Tommy T (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFRDp0lGH_8btuIt2efMZ5w, @thedisquiz)

Hope you enjoy this new season!

Upcoming Animated Films in 2018

Once again, it’s time to take a look at what next year has to offer us in terms of theatrical animation! Many of us felt that 2017 wasn’t a great year for animation (at least, not for mainstream animation), so we’re hoping that 2018 can make up for it!

Check out my list below of the upcoming theatrical animated films set for release next year! Bear in mind that these are only the animated films with verified US/Canada release dates and that any and all dates are subject to change at any time. Enjoy!

Continue reading “Upcoming Animated Films in 2018”

45th Annie Awards Nominations Announced!

The nominees for the upcoming 45th Annie Awards ceremony have been announced and you can see the full list of nominees by clicking here. Pixar’s Coco is in the lead with 13 nominations! A few of the interesting categories are as follows:

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Cars 3
Coco
Despicable Me 3
The Boss Baby

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE-INDEPENDENT

In This Corner of the World
Loving Vincent
Napping Princess
The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales
The Breadwinner

BEST ANIMATED SHORT SUBJECT

Dear Basketball
Hedgehog’s Home
Negative Space
Scavengers
Son of Jaguar

BEST VOICE ACTING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION

Nick Kroll (Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie)
Anthony Gonzalez (Coco)
Saara Chaudry (The Breadwinner)
Laara Sadiq (The Breadwinner)
Zach Galifianakis (The LEGO Batman Movie)

What do you all think of the nominees? I’m really surprised that The LEGO Batman Movie didn’t get a nomination for Best Animated Feature whilst The Boss Baby did! Also, was Zach Galifianakis’ voicework as the Joker really THAT good to warrant a Best Voice Acting nomination? Glad to see The Breadwinner, The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales, and Dear Basketball getting love though!

WWTBAM-Animation Edition S3E1: “Because Ben Said So!” w/Milan Harrison

Season 3 of my Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-Animation Edition games has commenced! 10 contestants trying their hand at getting to the million point question and winning a gift card from me! Our first contestant is animation lover and YouTuber, Milan Harrison. Does the first episode end with a winner? Watch to find out!

LINKS:

Milan’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/somedudenamedmilan

Ben’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZEvnPge9Hzm1U_3qzjo4Xw
Ben’s blog: http://www.animatedgalaxy.blogspot.com

My Thoughts: THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (2016)

When the trailer for Illumination Entertainment’s The Secret Life of Pets was released, I was honestly surprised as to how positive/optimistic many people seemed to be towards it. Almost everyone I knew said that the film looked cute or funny or had an interesting premise or was a film that they were looking forward to seeing. I, on the other hand, seemed to be in the minority opinion!

I thought the trailer seemed kinda stupid. It seemed to be pushing the ubiquitous “funny jokes for kids” trope that we see in a lot of animation and I didn’t really find any of the jokes funny. The plot seemed very reminiscent of past films such as Toy Story and it seemed that the only reason Kevin Hart, Louis C.K. and Eric Stonestreet were cast as voices were just to have popular celebrities’ names attached to the film. Heck, I’m not even a “pets” person, so I couldn’t even identify with that aspect of the film that many pet owners seemed to readily identify with! I was much more looking forward to Illumination Entertainment’s Sing than this film.

Eventually, I ended up watching this film. Was I as disappointed as I thought I was going to be? Or was I surprisingly impressed? Read on to find out what I thought of The Secret Life of Pets.

By the way, there will be some SPOILERS!

Continue reading “My Thoughts: THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (2016)”

Upcoming Animated Films In 2017

As the year comes to a close, it comes time again to prepare ourselves for the animated films being released next year! So read on below to find a list of the theatrical animated films set to be released in 2017! Like usual, I’m only listing the ones that have confirmed US release dates at the moment, hence this list is mostly composed of films from the major animation studios. Enjoy!

Continue reading “Upcoming Animated Films In 2017”

‘Despicable Me 3’ Trailer Debuts!

Regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of the Despicable Me franchise, Illumination Entertainment is making a 3rd film! And the first trailer for Despicable Me 3 has recently debuted!

From what I see in the trailer, I feel that this film will be….okay, at best, something along the lines of Despicable Me 2 quality. The villain seems quite annoying and I know I’m alone in this, but I miss the Minions’ presence in the trailer. (Oh, and I love Gru’s singing voice!) Hopefully the film (which is set to be released on June 30, 2017) will exceed my expectations!

What do you all think of the trailer? Are you interested in a 3rd Despicable Me film? Let me know in the comments below!

‘The Secret Life of Pets’ Makes $104 Million at Box Office!

Illumination Entertainment’s latest animated film, The Secret Life of Pets, has topped the weekend box office with $104 million! It also broke Inside Out‘s record as the highest-grossing opening weekend for an original animated film!

I’m quite shocked, to be honest! When I saw the trailer, I just felt this was your typical, silly, stupid animated film that you get every now and then. But, many people thought the trailer looked cute and were looking forward to seeing it!

Have you seen the film? What did you think of it? If you haven’t seen it, do you plan on seeing it?

‘Sing’ Theatrical Trailer Debuts!

We’ve finally gotten a full-length trailer for the upcoming animated Illumination Entertainment film, Sing.

I’ve always been optimistic about this film and am still liking what I’m seeing. Yes, it probably won’t be an Inside Out, but I think it’s interesting enough to hold its own and is definitely a lot more intriguing than something like The Secret Life of Pets is.

Are you looking forward to this film? Let me know in the comments below!

Benedict Cumberbatch Set to Voice the Grinch!

In news that I’m quite excited about, actor Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to voice the character of the Grinch in Illumination Entertainment’s upcoming animated adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Set to be released on November 17, 2017, hopefully this will be the first film adaptation of a work by Dr. Seuss to actually be good! You can find more here.