Animations form the bulk of box office fare this holiday season.
Contributed By Melissa Chen
PHOTO COURTESY OF TOUCHSTONE PICTURES
Gnomeo & Juliet
This animated Shakespeare-inspired comedy takes viewers on an adventure to the … lawn, where the garden objects are alive. A thrilling lawnmower race escalates into a full-blown feud between neighbors Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and Tybalt (voiced by Jason Statham) when one plays cheat and the other tries to exact revenge. When Gnomeo meets and falls for the beautiful Juliet (Emily Blunt), he is forced to make a choice between true gnome love and loyalty to his house.
Rango
The dream team behind the Pirates Of The Carribean franchise, director Gore Verbinski and actor Johnny Depp, helm this Western animation comedy about the transformational journey of a pet chameleon, Rango. In the midst of an existential crisis, Rango leaves homes and accidentally lands in the town of Dirt, a lawless outpost populated by the desert’s most wily and whimsical creatures. Adventure and mayhem ensue when he finds himself playing the reluctant hero as the newly hired town sheriff. Not suitable for very young children, though.
Mars Needs Moms
One boy’s mother is another’s treasure. Milo (Seth Green) realizes how much he loves his broccoli-feeding mom (Joan Cusack) when she has been abducted by Martians, who plans to put her matriarchal qualities to good use on their own offspring. His determination to rescue her leads him on a wild adventure to the Martian world, as he joins forces with an underground earthman, Gribble (Dan Fogler) and a rebel Martian girl, Ki (Elizabeth Harnois).
The Illusionist
Ah, how we miss the old-fashioned, hand-drawn type of animation—creator of the acclaimed 2003 animation The Triplets of Belleville, Sylvain Chomet, weaves a work of poetry and beauty about a father-daughter relationship in this movie about an illusionist stuggling to find employment in a fast-changing world.
