I don’t know how animation studios do it. It’s crazy to me how far in-advance they’re able to plan their movies when I don’t even know what I’m going to be doing for dinner (seriously, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated). And yet, here we are talking about what we’re going to be seeing in 2014. Anyway, the list!
The good news is that only four of the nine announced films are sequels. The bad news is that we get three of them before anything original and of those three only one looks decent (Kung Fu Panda 2).
Kung Fu Panda 2 – May 26, 2011 – The better-than-it-looks original gets a sequel and it keeps in line with the tone and style of the original. It’s almost Pixar and that’s the best compliment I can give.
Puss In Boots – November 4, 2011 – UGH.
Madagascar 3 – June 8, 2012 – DOUBLE UGH.
Rise of the Guardians – November 21, 2012 – So I’m not really sure what’s going on here. It’s about childhood icons who team up to battle an evil-doer bent on taking over the world? Whatever, it features the voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman and Isla Fisher. More than enough to get me to see it.
The Croods – March 1, 2013 – This one is set in a time when “nature was a work-in-progress” which basically means a bunch of dumb cavemen jokes until someone from the future (I’m guessing, the official press release says “an imaginative and resourceful newcomer “) helps them out. Again, one hell of a voice cast: Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, and Catherine Keener.
Turbo – June 7, 2013 – The story of a snail who wants to be the world’s fastest snail???? Awwwwwww! I’m so there!
Me and My Shadow – November 8, 2013 – As previously reported, an ambitious shadow gets stuck with the world’s most boring person until he decides to take things into his own hands. It’ll mix traditional animation with CGI and sounds like the most ambitious of all the films. Should be awesome.
Mr. Peabody & Sherman – March 21, 2014 – It’s based on the old cartoon about the world’s smartest person (a dog) and his time traveling adventure to set history back on its correct course with his “pet” boy. Robert Downey Jr. will be supplying a character’s voice. That’s all you need to know.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 – June 20, 2014 – The original cast returns for the sequel to the best animated movie of 2010 that didn’t involve toys. Honestly, I enjoyed HTTYD a lot more than Toy Story 3, so I am already super excited for this one. I wonder how many times I can twiddle my thumbs in three years.
Source: DreamWorks Animation
