Introduction
Hello, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is here for yet another rather interesting adventure and this time, since this is the fourth 2024 Animated Movies Rundown, you might be able to guess how many animated movies we are going to cover. That is right, we are covering not one, not two, not three… but four animated movies!
The first movie, Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate, is the sequel to the beloved Megamind from 2010, seeing the titular villain turned hero (voiced by Keith Ferguson instead of Will Ferrell who was unable to reprise his iconic role due to scheduling conflicts) returned to face off his former villain team, The Doom Syndicate as they plotted to launch Metro City to the Moon. It has been 14 years since the last Megamind movie and it boggled my mind that this movie did not have a sequel until now, despite it being very popular. Now that it got released onto Peacock, which is only available in the United States, is this worth it?
The second movie, Butterfly Tale, is a 2023 Canadian-German collaboration that most of my audience have never heard of before, but you might be able to guess what the premise is based on my brief description: three insects (two butterflies and one caterpillar, of which the hero has an undeveloped wing) set off on a great adventure with dangers along the way. Honestly, that is all you need to pretty much predict this movie, but as you may know, while most foreign CG animated movies I have covered are predictable, you can find some really good ones if you search hard for it. Will this be the case, or is this yet another foreign CG animated movie that I will forget sooner or later?
The third movie, The Storm, by the same director and team behind 2017’s Dahufa and 2020’s Mr Miao, it centres around a poor man encountering a child whom he took up as his son. As the child encounters lost souls and discovers the secrets behind the world he was in. I had never watched the director’s previous movies, but this was a recommendation once again by my friend PotatoOfAwesome, who, like me, loves animated movies and is himself an animator. Now that I got a chance to see yet another Chinese animated movie, will this be worth the weird detour?
The fourth and final movie, The First Slam Dunk, is based on the legendary Shoen Jump manga series Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue who directed this movie, and this time centres around Shohoku High School basketball team’s point guard Ryota Miyagi as he joins the rest of the well-loved team to challenge for the championship in dedication to his late brother. I am going to be honest: I had never read the original manga series nor the beloved anime series, so this will be my first time watching something related to this legendary franchise. With this movie being so critically raved by not just Slam Dunk fans, but also the animation community, is this hype justified?
So, without further ado, let’s set off for yet another adventure!
Megamind vs The Doom Syndicate
Key Information
- Director: Mark Fogel
- Animation Studio: DreamWorks Animation
- Country of Origin: United States
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 1 March 2024 (in the United States)
Trailer
Story and Characters
Just to put a disclaimer, I had never watched the first Megamind movie, so I am going into this sequel rather blind. I might watch it someday, but I cannot guarantee it.
That said, judging from this movie alone, I am honestly in awe at how terrible the script is; in fact, this poor quality of a “script” if you can it one is unacceptable for foreign CG animated movie standards, let alone one by DreamWorks!
To keep it to the point, the writing utilised too many typical animated movie tropes, most of which are not utilised properly, this movie did not know how to bring the story forward and it kind of mocks at its target audience with significant plot holes that make little sense. This is not to mention terrible jokes and joke delivery, further reducing the quality of the movie.
And let us not forget about the characters! I know that some of the previous voice actors did not return, but even so, the quality of the voice acting is a massive downgrade and you can tell the performance was very half-hearted. I also do not understand some of the character development in this movie, or lack thereof, even if I am unfamiliar with most of the returning characters from the first movie.
I got to say, even as someone that has never watched the first Megamind movie, I can see from this movie that the sequel tie-up to the Megamind sequel series did not even bother to get the basics of storytelling right, which resulted in a rather painful experience storytelling wise.
Animation
While DreamWorks Animation did not directly get involved in this movie, it is rather their TV animation division that was in charge of the animation, so it is expected for the animation quality to take a hit. However, I did not expect a nosedive in terms of the quality!
The rendering in the movie, whether it is the characters or the backgrounds, are just not properly done, which resulted in a rather ugly and dated aesthetic that adds to the cheap-looking feel of this movie. The character designs just felt boring and not as great as the first Megamind movie.
Both elements alone should tell signs that the animation is bad, but what sealed the deal was the lack of animation quality. This movie was riddled with a bucket full of animation and lip-syncing errors that were beyond laughable at times.
While it is not WowNow levels of bad when it comes to animation, the animation in Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate is unacceptable, especially one that was supposed to be a sequel tie-in from the 2010 original.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
With how poorly done the writing and animation is, I am not even bother going to talk about its minor elements and move on to my level of enjoyment.
In terms of my level of enjoyment, while I did not like my experience and I was nearly in a state of awe over how bad it was, the thing was that it was not terrible enough for me to feel angry over the movie’s existence, which is normally a sign that this movie was the bottom of the barrel. For streaming service standards, at least this is not a Marmaduke or a Soccer Football Movie, but it is quite close to the standard of those two animated movies, unfortunately.
Overall Thoughts
That was honestly incredible… incredibly bad to say the least.
Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate is without a question a spit to the face of the Megamind fans who wanted a sequel to a fantastic superhero satire, filled with a lack of cohesion in the story, unnecessarily bad humour, lack of development in the characters, lower-quality voice acting and an under-rendered animation style that is unacceptable coming from DreamWorks themselves.
DreamWorks had been shockingly inconsistent this year as while they had produced Orion and the Dark and Kung Fu Panda 4 which had been excellent, this shocking low is a huge step back for them. Let us hope The Wild Robot puts DreamWorks back on track, and having seen the trailer, it is very likely they will. I hope I don’t jinx them this time with this prediction…
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Butterfly Tale
Key Information
- Director: Sophie Roy
- Animation Studios: Ulysses Filmproducktion, CarpeDiem Film & TV
- Country of Origin: Canada and Germany
- Rating: G
- Release date: 13 October 2023 (in Canada)
Trailer
Story and Characters
With so many foreign CG animated movies in existence, it can be difficult for these movies to stand out as most of these movies, particularly the family-oriented foreign CG animated movies, have similar concepts, similar story beats, similar characters and similar animation style. Therefore, unless executed well and with some unique elements that can make it stand out, these family-oriented foreign CG animated movies will be left forgotten by most of the animation community. Butterfly Tale, unfortunately, is one of those many that will left to the dust.
Firstly, the script might be the biggest issue I had with Butterfly Tale. Yes, it is very safe, predictable and generic, which is what I would say for most family-oriented foreign CG animated movies. However, Butterfly Tale has a relatively worse execution compared to similar but decent foreign CG animated movies out there (such as Goldbeak this year). This is because the script for Butterfly Tale is not just a nothing burger with the same animated movie cliches and similar writing concept we had seen in countless foreign CG animated movies, but this was further exasperated by the lack of focus and cohesion in the various storylines within the movie, making it quite difficult to watch.
In addition, the characters are not well done. Forget about how stereotypical and bland the characters are, but I am let down by how annoying most of them are. This was because the voice acting for most characters is not good, being either annoying (especially some supporting characters) or just not interesting.
Honestly, you could argue that the likes of The Canterville Ghost and Goldbeak, two other foreign CG animated movies, also have similar and generic concepts, but the execution of both movies in terms of writing, despite their flaws, are not too bad when compared to what I saw in Butterfly Tale. What a mess the writing is in this movie!
Animation
However, ironically for me, the one saving grace for Butterfly Tale has to be the animation, and I am honestly shocked by how competent the animation is, especially one from a German animation studio like Ulysses, who has already collaborated in last year’s The Amazing Maurice which has rather decent animation. In this case, the animation is honestly competent for what it is.
One complaint I had with this movie was the facial expressions in most of the characters, especially with the butterfly characters and the caterpillar sidekick: they looked rather uncanny and do not fit well with the character designs. Plus, most of the character designs are rather boring and uninspired, adding to how generic-looking Butterfly Tale is.
However, the background animation surprised me in how competent it is! While we had seen similar looking backgrounds in other animated movies, the background animation is good for foreign CG animated movie standards, and there are good detailing in those backgrounds. In addition, some of the action sequences are pretty well done despite the clear low budget this movie has.
Overall, the animation is equally good and bad in different manners, and at least the animation is not a complete letdown, especially when compared to other, worse foreign CG animated movies with more generic or worse quality animation.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
When I heard that this movie had the likes of Shawn Mendes and La Zarra, two prominent musicians that I recognised before, being involved in the movie’s soundtrack, I was very sceptical over how they will lend their skills in this movie. Unfortunately for me, the soundtrack overall is rather boring and uninspired, with the usual B-grade generic pop songs in the soundtrack which further adds to this movie’s generic and boring vibes. It’s not the worst animated movie soundtrack I had listened to, but it is pretty forgettable.
As for my level of enjoyment, while I did not enjoy it for the most part, I do not feel it is not the worst feeling animated movie I had seen this year. Yes, the writing is very bad, but thanks to the decent animation, it kind of soften the blow for me. Considering I covered loads and loads of foreign CG animated movies, I kind of built up my resistance for these types of animated movies it seems.
Overall Thoughts
Well, I am not surprised by the results, but to no one’s surprise, Butterfly Tale is yet another foreign CG animated movie that offered nothing new to the table to satisfy the target audience.
Butterfly Tale is yet another foreign CG animated movie that offers nothing much to stand out among the countless family-friendly foreign CG animated movies. The script is cookie-cutter generic, with a rather safe concept and even less cohesion that makes it pandering for the adult parent audience. The jokes are rather low-brow and mostly unfunny, the characters are pretty annoying and the voice acting is quite unimpressive. This is not to mention the rather generic-sounding soundtrack that we had heard loads of times in other mainstream and foreign CG animated movies.
With that said, what saved the movie was the pretty decent animation as, despite the generic character designs and uncanny facial expressions and designs, the overall animation quality is pretty good for foreign CG animated movie standards, with decent background animations and decent action sequences that prevents this movie from going stale real fast.
Still, even when compared to other foreign CG animated movies that I had covered, there are much better foreign CG animated movies that had better scripts, more well-realised characters and higher quality animation than what was offered in Butterfly Tale. In fact, Butterfly Tale sums up my issues with the German theatrical animation industry: safe, generic and uninteresting with not much advancement going on in that industry compared to its European counterparts.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
The Storm
Key Information
- Director: Yang Zigang
- Animation Studio: Coloroom Pictures
- Country of Origin: China
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 12 January 2024 (in China)
Trailer
Story and Characters
What I appreciate when it comes to most top-tier animated movies from China is that they are willing to take risks in terms of how they tell their story and how they animate. I definitely saw a lot of leaps of faith in The Storm, but I feel some of the risks, especially with its storytelling, did not pay off.
One big issue I had with the writing, first off, has to be how much of an exposition dump the movie is, especially at the beginning, which can be overwhelming for a majority of the audience. The issues with its world-building with this are further compounded by the fact that this movie had no idea how to convey its complex storyline, which resulted in a lack of cohesion and focus on the various storylines.
However, and thankfully, once the movie finds its footing in the second half, the various storylines fall into place and I managed to get through with how messy the storytelling is in the first half, making a satisfying ending to this movie overall.
The characters also make up for the shortcomings in the writing, as the characters are rather unique in terms of personality, considering this has a rather unconventional fantasy concept. However, they are well-developed and had so much personality that they pretty much saved the movie’s writing. Voice acting, as usual in most Chinese animated movies, is solid.
Animation
If I am let down by the movie’s writing to a certain extent, the animation helps to make up for it.
First off, while this movie looks like a 2D hand-drawn movie, The Storm is actually another CG animated movie that is designed to look like a 2D movie, which allows the animators to produce gorgeous background designs and unique character designs that are very original indeed.
The action sequences in this movie are also very cool, focusing on longer animation sequences that immerse the viewers into the world set in the movie. This was especially at the climax scene and if I were to be honest, I would go back and rewatch this movie for that sequence alone, because that is honestly among the top 5 best animation sequence of 2024 so far, and I am not taking this lightly.
Overall, the animation is top-notch and showcases the endless creativity the Chinese animation scene is giving us.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
The soundtrack, while nothing special compared to other Chinese animated movies, help to enhance certain animation sequences in this movie, which is honestly as good as what other Chinese animated movie soundtracks have to offer.
As for my level of enjoyment, while I did not enjoy much of the movie during probably the first 20 minutes, once I get through the messy storytelling, I found myself to be enjoying it for the most part, mainly because I was connecting with the characters and the animation is just breathtaking. While I wished I could watch this in a theatre because it would look even more spectacular there, I pretty much liked The Storm for what it showcases in Chinese animation.
Overall Thoughts
Well, I got to say, after being very disappointed with Warrior King earlier this year, I am happy to say that The Storm redeemed the Chinese animation scene for me.
Despite the rather convoluted world-building and issues in trying to convey its story, when the movie’s writing comes together towards the end, the risks in the storytelling pays off. With that said, characters are well-realised, especially with the two main characters, the animation is stunning and well-crafted and the soundtrack helps to enhance the scenes in the movie.
While not as strong as other top-tier Chinese animated movies from last year like Deep Sea and Chang An, The Storm is yet another great Chinese animated movie worth checking out if you can get past its problematic storytelling.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
The First Slam Dunk
Key Information
- Directors: Takehiko Inoue, Haruka Kamatani and Katsuhiko Kitada
- Animation Studios: Toei Animation, Dandelion Animation Studio
- Country of Origin: Japan
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 3 December 2022 (in Japan)
Trailer
Story and Characters
I will be very frank with you, I had never read the original Slam Dunk manga series, nor watched the anime, and I get for some of you, this would be your first Slam Dunk experience. However, whether you are a newcomer or a massive Slam Dunk fan, what The First Slam Dunk managed to achieve was to satisfy both sides of the aisle, which can be very tricky. This was something I noted in the Miraculous movie last year, but I did not see the same problems with this one.
This movie basically takes place in one single basketball championship match between Shohoku High School and Sannoh Kogyo High School, with flashbacks of Miyagi’s story. This movie excels in bringing forth the development of someone that is not as prominent as the other main Slam Dunk characters as Miyagi, while also having some fun focus on the other Slam Dunk regulars such as Sakuragi, Akagi and others. In addition, given this was close to two hours, it is enough time to cover the story without rushing through it, allowing the writing, pacing and character development to shine.
In fact, Slam Dunk fans will feel nostalgic over the exciting basketball action first seen in both the manga and anime, and that was helped by the contribution of the original creator, Takehiko Inoue. It was clear he had a vision on what he wants to do with this movie adaptation and this vision and dedication to the animation medium is apparent throughout this movie.
Yes, it is a typical sports movie, but the nearly flawless execution of the sports movie plot, not to mention focusing on someone who is not as significant in the manga and anime series as Miyagi to introduce him to not just die-hard Slam Dunk fans, but also newcomers who might be interested to explore this legendary series. The writing in this movie is just phenomenal.
Animation
There were a time people doubt foreign CG animated movies, even those from Japan where it seems the animators cannot figure out how to translate the anime style into the 3D CG medium. In fact, of the numerous foreign CG animated movies I had covered from all across the world, only a handful of these foreign CG animated movies managed to be great enough to compete against some of the top-tier mainstream and non-mainstream animated movies. Even so, the only top-tier foreign CG animated movies I had reviewed are I Am What I Am, Mosley and Deep Sea, among others.
Most of the time, this is because the animation quality of most foreign CG animated movies is not great, the animation style in most of these movies are safe and generic, and only a handful of foreign CG animated movies had stunning animation style and quality. Well, after seeing the animation in The First Slam Dunk, I think we might be at the peak of foreign CG animated movies’ animation quality.
Rather than just trying to fit itself into the square-shaped hole, the animators in charge took inspiration from the Slam Dunk manga series as a canvas to bring forth its rough, but energetic animation style to the big screen. Thanks to this style, the animators are able to emphasize every moment in this movie, even those not from the main basketball match itself.
The movie’s unique animation style also resulted in some of the best detailing from the characters and backgrounds in a while, even when comparing it to top-tier foreign CG animated movies such as I Am What I Am, Blue Giant (though that was partially animated in 3D CG during the musical sequences), Deep Sea and Chang An. It might look one-tone at first, especially for some of the Slam Dunk fans, but the level of detailing and the dynamic animation sequences makes it one of the best, if not the best foreign CG animated movie in terms of animation style and animation quality.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
The soundtrack, which is mostly rock and pop-based, makes the movie more exciting as the fast tempo songs emphasize the energy in the movie’s animation sequences. Considering that the Slam Dunk soundtracks are iconic in itself, I feel the soundtrack for The First Slam Dunk ain’t too shabby for what is considered.
As for my level of enjoyment, I came into this movie very excited, knowing that no matter what happens, this will be only the third foreign CG animated movie to get a “Straight Up Fire!” rating. While I can be harsh over these types of movies since I covered loads of them, when you are enjoying this movie as much that you watched it in a single sitting sums up how much I enjoyed this movie. Even as one that is brand new to this legendary series, I can understand why Slam Dunk is one of the most iconic manga series of all time, even as a newcomer.
Overall Thoughts
It’s very, very rare for a foreign CG animated movie to be so excellent, that it earns the “Straight Up Fire!” rating (the only two foreign CG animated movies that did are I Am What I Am and Blue Giant), but this movie does it for me.
Despite only a couple of nit-picks in the writing, The First Slam Dunk is an extremely exciting animated movie worthy of seeing in the biggest theatre possible. The main storyline and the story beats throughout the entire movie is just perfect, most of the characters are very engaging (even if this is my first time seeing the main characters from the original manga series) and are well-crafted in that you don’t need to watch the anime series to know the characters.
Most importantly, however, is that the animation, especially for foreign CG animated movie standards, blew virtually every foreign CG animated movie out of the water with a manga-like aesthetic that reminds viewers of its origins, with fast-flowing action and top-notch quality. The brilliant soundtrack adds an extra layer of oomph to the already fantastic basketball sequences throughout the movie.
I covered a whole lot of foreign CG animated movies, but with the exception of I Am What I Am, Blue Giant, Deep Sea, Chang An, the two Minuscule movies and Mosley, no foreign CG animated movie came even close to perfection… until The First Slam Dunk, and this is why it makes history as the very first foreign CG animated movie to score a perfect 20/20 on my Hot Sauce Rating. Seriously, I think we are at the peak of foreign CG animated movie, but to consider The First Slam Dunk as a foreign CG animated movie is an insult to how virtually flawless this movie is. Simply sensational.
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
Conclusion
Well, after all that, I cannot believe we explored four animated movies in today’s rundown, but they are all of varying qualities. This goes to show that with animated movies, you never know what is hot and what’s not until you see those movies for yourself.
After that, we really need to take a break from exploring various animated movies all across the world, so next time, I will cover something related to my current profession, with a sprinkle of animated movies to boot. Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
