AV's Best Of The Year Review

[Dusterian]

Were you super happy to at least see that title blazed up there on the screen?

Were you excitedly hoping that would actually be the title?

You know I would have been!

[Dacey]

Yes, Dust. We know.

Personally, I actually like the title "Tangled," but that's just because I'm passionately anti-Disney classic and hate everything that Walt Disney stood for, obviously.

[carlminez]

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that Bolt, the 2008 Disney feature, was not even mentioned in the list?

With its 89 percent approval on rotten tomatoes and academy award nomination you'd think that this movie would deserve to be mentioned in a list of the decades best animated feature.

This is preposterous.

[Randall]

Dude, you should have said something, like, a few weeks ago. It was an honest error. Anyhow, you could do a write-in vote.

[carlminez]

I wasn't here a week ago! And what do you mean with "honest mistake"? Has "Ben Simon" or any other writer openly admitted that they simply forgot about Bolt?

You'll have to excuse but im like totally confused now.

[Whippet Angel]

??? What are you talking about?

If you're referring to the "Best of the decade" poll, Bolt is right there on the list (12 from the top).

And if you're referring to the "Best of 2010" article, well of course Bolt wouldn't be mentioned, considering the film is from 2008.

[carlminez]

Ah man, I confused the two! My mistake.

[Randall]

Thanks, Whippet. I didn't even double-check to see if Bolt was actually on the voting list. Now I'm really confused about carl's rantings.

And if Bolt doesn't make the "Best of the Decade" final list (and that wouldn't surprise me at all, really), don't blame the writers, blame the voters. Keep in mind it was a really strong decade, with dozens of films to choose from. The Pixar films alone could take up the Top 10 (and they probably will have healthy representation).

[carlminez]

Nothing to be confused of really. I thought the 2010 list was the list over the decade. My mistake. I was impulsive.

However, whether Pixar deserves to top the list at all could be discussed. To say that Pixar is overrated would be an understatement.

[Randall]

Okay, but don't freak out if Bolt doesn't get a mention in the best of the decade list. (I have no idea whether it is or not.) And like I said, it's voted on by readers, so the results will show a consensus. No need to get so steamed if the majority of people don't agree with you.

Pixar overrated? I would say that they deserve most of the plaudits they've received. They're not the end all and be all, but they've made many very fine films. Certainly I can't think of another American studio with a better track record.

[carlminez]

Well they get the best reviews, no doubt, but that shouldn't hinder your personal perspective.

I don't know. By the end of Wall-E I realized that i didn't care about any of the characters, and the end scene when Wall-e gets this new chip, this was probably supposed to be some sort of emotional climax but I found it about as emotionally touching as changing hard drives on my computer.

And when the main characters in Up was being chased by an old man, wielding a shotgun, surrounded by stereotypical dogs flying around in little airplanes, i couldn't help but wonder why I was the only in the audience laughing at that ridiculous scenario. In fact, Up was also preposterously overrated and dont even get my started on Toy Stoy 3.

Compare that with Bolt, the extremely underrated movie by the two modest beginners, Chris Williams and Byron Howard. Now, that is a good movie and it makes me sad to see this cute, independent feature being pushed under the rug to make room for the unyielding glorification of Pixar. Besides, the producer and famous Pixar-guru John Lasetter worked very closely with Bolt so doesn’t that make the movie atleast semi-pixarien?

[Dacey]

Out of curiosity, what's so "stereotypical" about dogs flying around in airplanes?

[Randall]

I don't really disagree with the Up and Wall-E comments. I found Wall-E a little cold, and Up began to lose me for a few minutes during that plane scene; but on the whole, Pixar still has the best record over the past decade. Dreamworks/PDI, Blue Sky, Sony, and others have all done great work, but Pixar has been the most consistent. And personally I loved Toy Story 3.

You seem to operate on a wavelength that doesn't allow you to enjoy Pixar stuff, and that's totally fine. I wasn't nearly as thrilled with Shrek as most of the planet was, so I know what it's like to be in the minority. But when it comes to Pixar, I generally like their films more than I ever expect too, and appreciate the unique quality of each (though what everyone saw in Finding Nemo I'm not sure, to tell the truth).

Re: Bolt--- I was totally unimpressed with it the first time I saw it, but liked it much better the second time. Still, it doesn't readily come to mind as a "Best of the Decade" selection for me. Never considered it for a second, actually.

[carlminez]

Bolt is a peculiar case. I don’t know if I find something in this movie that other people just fail to see, but it puzzles me that some simply didn’t like it at all. What’s not to like?

Well there are a few things not even I like about Bolt. Some of the shallow, annoying “comical relief” characters got too much attention, like Rhino, stealing the spotlight from more complex and important characters, like Bolt himself.

As mentioned, Bolt really made this movie for me. I’ve watched the film several times, analyzing every scene I just found something in this character that I don’t see in any other movies. He has this deep, contrasty personality, and he develops in ways that I didn’t even notice the first time I watched the film.

And how the directors at Disney managed to create such a wonderful character, and then let other simplistic figures like Rhino and the pigeons steal his attention, staggers my mind. But in my opinion, even if Bolt is the only good thing about this movie, it still makes it the best movie of the decade.

But Its true that Bolt is not at all a Pixar movie. Instead, it stands on its own sturdy legs, embracing good old family values and, for the first time in like forever, cute talking animals. Bout time says I, who has been longing for a good old dog movie for quite some time now.

[Ben]

Um, as the "Ben Simon" mentioned a few posts back (I've been away!), I did take a little umbrage to being referred to like that, especially since, even if it had been a mistake, you didn't even give us enough time to respond.

And then...it turns out it's your mistake for mixing up the Best Of...articles we had running! Listen...if you're going to start pointing fingers and calling things "preposterous", try checking the facts first. And just because joint-site articles may have someone's final name on it, doesn't mean that others aren't responsible for them as well.

Many of our features go through all our writers, or at least are posted so that more than one other can take a look and make suggestions. Seriously, as someone coming into a well established Forum board for the first time, you picked the exact wrong way on how to do it, especially for here.


You're obviously also way too entranced by what was a decent, though certainly non-stellar Disney cartoon. I enjoyed it enough first and second times I saw it, though I'm in no rush to see again, even if I would welcome another viewing and probably enjoy it. But it was the result of a troubled production history, and some of the cracks do show.


In terms of your debut rant, I'd usually say "welcome to the boards", but in this case I'm not too sure...