Once upon a time, the only movie company that made animated movies people wanted to watch was Disney.
Going all the way back to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Bambi, The Jungle Book and forward to The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and The Lion King, Disney was the best at making and marketing animated movies.
Other movie companies tried with varying results: The most memorable were the likes of Charlotte’s Web, Fern Gully: The Last Rain Forest, Anastasia, An American Tail, The Land Before Time and The Iron Giant, but none were as consistent as the House of Mickey.
However, that all changed with the advent of computer generated imagery (CGI) animation. Suddenly there were other major players like DreamWorks (Shrek, Madagascar), Universal (Despicable Me, The Lorax), Sony Pictures (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Smurfs) and 20th Century Fox (Horton Hears a Who, Rio).
Both DreamWorks (Madagascar 3) and Disney (Brave) have had their time in the spotlight this summer and this weekend, it is 20th Century Fox’s turn as they release the third sequel to their tent pole animated franchise: Ice Age: Continental Drift.
Manny the mammoth, Diego the sabre tooth tiger, Sid the sloth and Scrat the squirrel are back, embarking on another adventure when their continent is set adrift as a result of Scrat’s infernal pursuit of the cursed acorn. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
The voices of Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah are back as well as Jennifer Lopez, Seann William Scott, Patrick Stewart and Wanda Sykes.
While Ice Age: Continental Drift may not match the business of either Brave or Madagascar 3, it will still do very respectable business.
Last week, I missed that Moonrise Kingdom opened at the Paramount Theatre. It is the new critically acclaimed comedy-drama from Wes Anderson, whose previous efforts include Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited.
Set in 1965, Moonrise Kingdom is the story of a pair of 12-year-old misfits who flee their summer residences in New England and run away into the wilderness. As various authorities try to find them, a violent storm is brewing off-shore and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.
Anderson has assembled another all-star cast playing eclectic characters including Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel and Jason Schwartzman. What is interesting is that Anderson co-wrote it with Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford Coppola.
And at the Landmark Encore Capitol Theatre, recent hits like Men in Black 3, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and others can still been seen for less. Go to www.landmarkcinemas.com and click on Encore, West Kelowna to find out their entire schedule.
And don’t forget that The Dark Knight Rises opens next Thursday at midnight (Friday, 12:01 a.m.)
Tickets are on sale now at www.landmarkcinemas.com.
