My Favourite Animated Movies

"Animation offers a medium of story telling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world." ~ Walt Disney

As a child we had only one television in the living area which worked only after we had slept at night. My mother was very strict and she made sure that we (me and my brother) were in the bed by 7:30 p.m. I have so many memories of playing outdoor games but not a single one of watching any kind of cartoon series. I have no complaints or regrets about it. In fact, I am thankful to her for giving up her dreams to raise us and make us good human beings. 

It was only after watching the movie 'Up' that I grew fonder of watching animated / cartoon series. Here is my list of favourite movies :

• Up (2009) :

This has to be my number 1. It won many awards including 82nd Academy Awards, 67th Golden Globe Awards, Annie Awards. The movie starts with such an emotional heartbreaking sequence that I had tears in my eyes. The story is about Carl Fredricksen (a widower) who goes on to fulfil his dream of watching Paradise Falls after his wife (Ellie) dies. Though they had planned to go together but that couldn't happen. Then how he and little Russell make it happen is an amazing watch. Hats off to Pete Docter for presenting it so beautifully that you can watch it irrespective of your age and still feel connected to it. 

Lesson learnt : Adventure is out there so live, love, laugh and enjoy the little things because you never know what's next! 

• Big Hero 6 (2014):

This one made me cry specially because it genuinely portrays loss, sorrow and depression. For me the star of the movie was BayMax (Robot). The story is about a teenager Hiro Hamada who after losing his brother Tadashi forms a superhero team to fight a masked villain. It is a fantastic movie with everything in the right place. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. 

Lesson learnt : When life seems impossible and you are surrounded with difficulties, never surrender and keep moving no matter how hard it may seem! Try to cop up and you will eventually succeed. 

• Inside Out (2015) :

This one is again by Pete Docter. After watching this movie I was so much in love with it that I downloaded its game from Play Store and played everyday for good six months. The story is actually superb. It wonderfully describes how emotions / feelings / moods can take a toll on our lives. The movie is about a girl named Riley Andersen whose parents shift from Minnesota to San Francisco and how she adapts herself to a new environment with 5 emotions : Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust playing a major role. This one truly deserved the accolades it received : BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics' Choice Award, Annie Award, Satellite Award, Academy Award etc.

Lesson learnt : Don't allow anger, sadness, fear, disgust take away your joy! Never let anyone dull your sparkle. When everything around you turns complex just remember the good things and do the happy dance :D 

• Kung Fu Panda Franchise :

Kung Fu Panda was released in 2008 followed by its sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 in 2011 and Kung Fu Panda 3 in 2016. The story of all the 3 films revolves around a panda named Po who is chosen as a Dragon Warrior. His journey from an obese panda to a powerful fighter is depicted excellently. Though this martial arts movie series couldn't win Academy or Golden Globe awards but its fun to watch.

Lessons learnt : Hard work, dedication and commitment pays off even if the world doesn't see your worth but still you can succeed with your will power. 

• How to Train Your Dragon Triology :

This consists of How to Train Your Dragon (2010), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014),  yet to be released How to Train Your Dragon 3 (2019). The storyline is about a young Viking Hiccup, son of the village chieftain, Stoick the Vast who is initially considered a misfit turns out to be the most courageous one in the group. He befriends a dragon named Toothless. This is one of the best dragon films. 

Lessons learnt : Sometimes you have to take risks in life beacuse nothing comes easy. 

• My Life as a Zucchini (2016) : 

For me this movie is heartbreaking and a bit depressing if you see it from eyes of a child. How issues of parents such as failed marriages,  drug / alcohol overdose, abuse and so on can affect a young one is unimaginable. The only thing I didn't like was the length of the movie, wanted it to be a bit longer.  The story is about Zucchini (Icare) who is brought to an orphanage and how he adjusts in the different environment. Though at the end he gets a new family but I wonder how many are actually lucky like him to get a second life.

Lessons Learnt : You don't have to be a perfect parent but a good one for sure. There is no rulebook you have to decide yourself what's the best that doesn't harm anyone in any way.

Ang Lee : A successful Director and his story

Have you ever wondered how powerful is this seven letter word "INSPIRE". It can fill you with the urge or ability to do something or create a positive feeling in you. There are numerous stories of ordinary people who went from rags to riches. They went on to become successful with their hard work, discipline, dedication, determination, sincere efforts, vision and what not. They might have had hard times but they din't let the spark die.

About Ang Lee : 

Born on October 23, 1954 is a Taiwanese-born American film director, screenwriter and producer. Lee has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice : for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and for Life of Pi (2012). He also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). He is the first person of Asian descent to win an Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA for Best Director, and is the only director to win both the Golden Bear and Golden Lion multiple times. 

Lee studied in the Provincial Tainan First Senior High School where his father was the principal. He was expected to pass the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination, the only route to a university education in Taiwan. After failing the exam twice, to the disappointment of his father, he entered a three-year college, the National Arts School and graduated in 1975. After finishing Republic of China Armed Forces's mandatory military service, Lee went to the US in 1979 to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he completed his bachelor's degree in theater in 1980. Originally, Lee was interested in acting, but his challenges with speaking English made it difficult and he quickly turned to directing.

During graduate school, Lee finished a 16mm short film, Shades of the Lake (1982), which won the Best Drama Award in Short Film in Taiwan. His own thesis work, a 43-minute drama, Fine Line (1984), won NYU's Wasserman Award for Outstanding Direction and was later selected for the Public Broadcasting Service. Lee remained unemployed for six years. During this time, he was a full-time house-husband, while his wife Jane Lin, a molecular biologist, was the sole breadwinner for the family of four. With Lin's support and understanding, Lee did not abandon his career in film but continued to generate new ideas from movies and performances. He also wrote several screenplays during this time. 

In 1990, Lee submitted two screenplays, Pushing Hands and The Wedding Banquet, to a competition sponsored by Taiwan's Government Information Office, and they came in first and second, respectively. The winning screenplays brought Lee to the attention of Li-Kong Hsu, a recently promoted senior manager in a major studio who had a strong interest in Lee's unique style and freshness. Hsu, a first-time producer, invited Lee to direct Pushing Hands, a full-length feature that debuted in 1991. Lee's three acclaimed first dramas opened the door to Hollywood for him. His Notable work includes : Pushing Hands, The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi.

My Take :

Few days back I saw Life Of Pi for the first time though it was released in 2012. I came to know about Ang Lee after I googled about the director. I realized every person has his/her own fights which is not impossible to overcome. Lee's father wanted him to have a respectable profession (teaching). As a kid he could not really concentrate on books or homework. He did OK to poorly at school because he would fantasize all the time, having a lot of fun in his head. Artistically, he was very repressed. He failed the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination two times. Even after having a degree in theater, winning an award for his thesis work couldn't help him much. He had to stay at home for 6 years without any work. During that time he was picking up the kids from school, doing the cooking and writing. In an interview to The Guardian he told when he sent those two scripts, that was the lowest point of his life. He just had his second son and when he went to the bank to try and get some money to buy some diapers, the screen showed $26 left. 

I personally feel it is very easy to say or read but choosing a different direction and getting failed is way too depressing. The stress affects relations and frustration takes a toll on everything. Still there are some people who show strength during tough times. They do not let negativity affect them and set example for the world. So his story taught me - No matter what happens never quit.!

Picture courtesy : dailymail.co.uk

"Everywhere can be home and everywhere is not really home and you have to deal with loneliness and alienation. I’m old enough to realize that eventually you have to deal with loneliness, anyway. I’m happily married, I love my children, but eventually you have to deal with yourself. I trust the elusive world created by movies more than anything else. I’m very happy when I’m making a movie." ~ Ang Lee

First Movie Trilogy I watched & liked..

Finally writing a post after 11 weeks (77 days) and I swear I missed this space but sometimes Life gives you so many things at the same time that you have to find time for things you love and fortunately or unfortunately I couldn't balance. But then I feel thats the reason I am back because the urge to write din't leave.  

I have heard and read about Book Trilogies but I came across a Movie Trilogy in February when I was searching for some romantic english movies. After someone suggested me to watch Before Sunrise (1995), I came to know about the other two sequels : Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). I have a habit of reading the Wikipedia page whenever I come across something I don't know or I want to know more about it. So I read their Wikipedia Pages except the plot otherwise it would have been useless to watch movie. Then I saw they had an IMDb rating of 8.1, 8.1 and 8 respectively which meant they are worth a watch. 

I watched Before Sunrise in February, Before Sunset in March and Before Midnight in May. The best thing about all of them is the script and the characters. The way they are written is very different from the other movies. There is simplicity. There is no fancy storyline but its more about thoughts, ideas, decisions and their consequences. Most importantly you don't feel characters are delivering dialogues, it seems they are just talking like we do in our real lives. All the 3 movies are directed by Richard Linklater starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Another idea that I really liked was that Before Sunset picks up the story nine years after the events of Before Sunrise and Before Midnight picks up the story nine years after the events of Before Sunset. This way you can feel the changes in the overall personality of the characters and the depth of the story. 

Few lines from the movie worth sharing :

Before Sunrise

• I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.

• You know what drives me crazy? It's all these people talking about how great technology is, and how it saves all this time. But, what good is saved time, if nobody uses it? If it just turns into more busy work. You never hear somebody say, "With the time I've saved by using my word processor, I'm gonna go to a Zen monastery and hang out". I mean, you never hear that.

Before Sunset

• Memory is a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past.

• Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we'd never learn anything.

• Even being alone it's better than sitting next to your lover and feeling lonely.

• You realize that most of the people that you meet are trying to get somewhere better, they're trying to make a little bit more cash, trying to get a little more respect, have more people admire them. It's just exhausting.

• I feel I was never able to forget anyone I've been with. Because each person have... their own, specific qualities. You can never replace anyone. What is lost is lost.

Before Midnight

• Like sunlight, sunset, we appear, we disappear. We are so important to some, but we are just passing through.