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The Vintage Tempest’s Top Animated Picks of 2016

There’s plenty of animated films to look at in the new year. Some are more interesting than others and herein, I make my Top Animated Picks of 2016 to look forward to.

There’s plenty of animated films to look at in the new year. Some are more interesting than others and herein, I make my Top Animated Picks of 2016 to look forward to. Instead of glancing at the films coming out of North America, I’m looking world-wide and the movies I see offered get diverse.

But before I get to the list, the following are my honourable mentions: Just because Finding Dory is PIXAR and I loved Finding Nemo, that does not mean this movie will be excellent. Thirteen years have passed (an unlucky number for the superstitious) since Nemo went home. In another film, I’m thinking the cat featured in Secret Life of Pets is the next Garfield. For the story featured in Henchman, I’m figuring this film can easily fit in the world of Mastermind although this movie is developed over at BRON Studios.

Animal Crackers Movie Poster

Animal Crackers (TBD)

Not to be confused with the Marx Brothers film of the same name, this animated fare looks at a life of the Huntington family who finds a magical box of said crackers who can change the eater into the animal they have pulled out from the box. This film has promise when there is an all-star cast assembled to provide the voices.

What’s especially lovable is the fact that it’s tough not to love a cartoon that Patrick Warburton is featured in; ever since Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, he does a great job at voicing one of my favourite characters from Toy Story. Not to be forgotten, the other stars include: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone, Wallace Shawn and Raven-Symoné.

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A Commentary on Justice League: Gods and Monsters

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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Can creators Alan Burnett and Bruce Timm do no wrong in Justice League: Gods and Monsters? If you’ve loved their work in Batman: The Animated Series or Timm’s presence with continuations in a shared universe like Justice League in the late 90s, then just maybe. When this video release comes with a disclaimer that the story takes place in an alternate universe, I’m excited at what kind of re-imaginings of the holy trinity of DC’s main heroes (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) that Timm has in mind.

I decided to purchase the steel book release that comes with an action figure of Wonder Woman as a New God, The sculpt is quite good for a mass market item, and the bonus material is worth watching first, especially the short, New Gods. Watching this first helps gets fans up to speed to this part of the DC universe that draws heavily on mythology before catching the main feature. It helps flesh out the world that the writing team will no doubt go back to look at. But before I could watch the main movie, I had to check out the sneak peek at the next DCU movie, Batman: Bad Blood.

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Who Do you Want The Rock to Play? Shazam or Black Adam

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

William_Batson_(Injustice_Gods_Among_Us)_001 According to Associated Press, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has stated that he will play a role in an upcoming DC Comics film. Many fans believe he has the charm and looks to pull off being Shazam. There is beauty in those words, and to picture this former WWE wrestler belt out those words on-screen will have some people cheering. But for Johnson, if he had the choice for which character to play, his preference is Black Adam, a supervillain and rival to the hero. He was an ancient Egyptian prince named Teth-Adam who was thought to have been virtuous, but was not when the powers he gained corrupted him.

For this fan, the hope is for Adam. The Rock played the nefarious Scorpion King, a character which started his rise to Hollywood fame. The two villains have Ancient Egyptian roots who share similarities in terms of how they were granted power. To have this tiny nod can go a long way since Johnson has moreorless prepared for the role. It will also please some fans of The Rock’s works.

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SDCC’13: Batman to team up with Superman in a Sequel!

void(0) DC Fans can rejoice. At San Diego Comic Con 2013, Zack Synder said he will be working on a sequel to Man of Steel and Warner Bros. confirmed that Batman and Superman will meet! The few details revealed confirms that Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane will reprise their roles and David Goyer will write the script. The creative team who brought this reboot of Superman to a new generation will be kept.

Production is expected to begin in 2014 for a Summer 2015 release. Now the big question is, just who will be the Batman? As most viewers will know, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has “retired” and the mantle may well be passed on to a younger passionate John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

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A Fun Look Back at Comic Book Films. Days of Future Past

“But it’s more about cross promotion and the product can be enjoyed more by spinning comic book films in new directions,” says Saunders.

Comic book films are very often a tough sell in a mass market that’s picky about what they like seeing. While Hollywood sees the medium as a readymade—a product that comic book readers are familiar with—to attract new converts requires a product that has to be easily accessible, if not understandable.

“For example, Walking Dead, flies off the shelves like bats looking for human flesh,” says Steven Saunders, a comic book writer and columnist for the industry for five years, “and Robert Kirkman takes concepts that’s been overdone and he makes it interesting.”

But with the box office these days, originality only goes so far. Saunders used to write for All The Rage, a gossip column about the comic book industry on Comics Bulletin and he would rather go watch the movie than to follow 40 years of comic book continuity.

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Man of Steel Delivers Plenty of Nolen-esque Appeal

Man of Steel has plenty of moments that will get fans past and present wondering about who this man embodying hope is.

Superman Poster Fans of Christopher Nolan’s revisionist theory in redefining DC’s superheroes for the big screen—to explore the pathos behind the hero—will no doubt love Man of Steel. This movie is a bleaker product. Its post-modernist outlook on life and in who can forge their own destinies is at the heart of this film. This edgier type of storytelling is great, and to add-on top Zack Snyder’s testosterone based action-reaction mode of visual storytelling only reinforces the idea that this tale is a comic book product. This movie is more like something Grant Morrison or Alan Moore would write. But for the two filmmakers, Nolan and Snyder might have squared off a few times in deciding which parts of the film needed the whiz-bang action versus analysis of the life of what Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) aka Superman is meant to become.