The Trailer Park: An Animated End of the World

Even as a big fan of animated films, this week’s new movie trailers for upcoming CG-animated features are largely disappointing. They don’t generate much interest or excitement.

‘Ice Age: Collision Course’

I rather enjoy the previous ‘Ice Age’ movies, but the preview for the latest installment to the popular animated franchise feels a bit disappointing. I can’t really put my finger on anything specific, but the plot doesn’t sound all that appealing. Plus, the fifth entry in the series also seems overcrowded with characters and voice personalities, almost as if they’re all competing for screen time, jumping over one another to deliver the next gag or the next quirky little quip. I like that the filmmakers are trying to expand into uncharted territory by throwing in some sci-fi elements into the mix, but it frankly feels out of place. I’ll probably sit this one out and wait for the Blu-ray.

‘Storks’

Although filled with lots of cute little moments and offbeat humor, the trailer for this animated adventure drama from Warner Bros. sadly fails to build any excitement. At least, it does in this adult who just happens to love animated films. The whole thing feels as though it’s trying extra hard to be whimsical and eccentric, rather than offering any funny dialogue. It’s pretty obvious that this movie is geared toward younger audiences. It’s sure to deliver some colorful eye-dazzling visuals, but there’s nothing in the trailer that would interest parents into seeing it with their kids. Of course, I could be wrong and not every movie can match the mastery of Pixar productions. Who’s knows? It might actually turn out great, but I won’t know that until it hits Blu-ray.

‘Trolls’

Wow. Isn’t this movie about twenty years too late? Do kids still buy troll dolls? Do many even know what they are? I have a funny feeling that someone is making this movie because they have an investment in bringing the wacky dolls back to pop culture. As for the movie itself, the jokes are just as stale and old as the concept. The trailer has at least two references to characters losing control of their bowel movements when scared, and how much do you wanna bet there will probably be at least three more in the actual movie? I wonder what took so long to bring this production to fruition, but I’m guessing it’ll likely bomb. I’m not even sure I’d waste my time watching it on Blu-ray.

‘Pete’s Dragon’

I’ve always had a soft spot for the original Disney film, and this new live-action version appears to be a good deal of fun as well. It looks like a 1980s type of children’s adventure story and gets me feeling all nostalgic.

For more of the latest movie trailers, check out our trailers page.

7 comments

  1. Hm, I haven’t seen the clip for ‘Pete’s Dragon’ (I’m at work), but the still seems to imply we get a good look at the Dragon Elliott? That’s disappointing. I loved the first trailers, with just glimpses, and I wished they kept the design under wraps until the actual screening.

    • The dragon is shown in full in this trailer, and it looks horrendous.

      By “it,” I’m referring to: a) the awful design of the dragon, b) the 1990s-quality CGI used to create it, and c) everything about the movie itself.

      The movie looks insanely terrible. How the hell is Robert Redford in this thing?

      • NJScorpio

        It does all seem to hinge on the dragon design (and execution). Perhaps he had a lot of faith that it would be impressive.

        • I get that this is a remake of a movie that had a cartoon dragon interact with live actors, and I suppose the production team rationalized that it would be OK to make this one look cartoony too, but it really doesn’t work. It looks weird and creepy.

          • Hm, that’s unfortunate. I’ve seen the trailer now. As Scott Hunvald says below, ‘Dragonheart’ did quite the realistic CGI dragon 20 years ago.

  2. Thulsadoom

    Wow… The Trolls movie looks so bad, I even found myself skipping through the trailer… Then I discovered it has the voices of Russel Brand and James Corden in it, which cancelled out any possibility of redemption. 😉

    Ice Age could go either way. A couple of them have been okay. It’s a wait-and-see, but certainly not a cinema viewing.

    Storks looks amusing enough, in a harmless CGI movie for families, kind of way.

    Pete’s Dragon, again, could go either way. It all looks a little by-the-numbers though, with the typical ‘evil human wants to hunt it’ theme. And I agree with Josh, the dragon looks… out of place, given the the feel of the rest of the advert.

  3. Scott Hunvald

    I agree that the dragon in Pete’s Dragon looks out of place and I don’t like the design either, the green stands out too much against the live action. I was reminded about the 1996 movie Dragon Heart and how that dragon was rendered realistically and voiced by well by Sean Connery.

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