Friday, September 10, 2010

Of Originality, Maturity, and Parakeet Porn

Three new CG animation films.

Featuring three different breeds of animals.

Riding on one story line.

Animal sex.

Ok, that's low of me. It's more about preserving life by mating. Forcibly, however, given a variety of situations. Did I make it worse?Rio, by Blue Sky, talks about a macau who thought he was the last of his kind. Then finds out there's a chick of his same breed and he sets off to look for her --with the intention to mate with her. Buuuut he's not her type. At first, of course.

Newt, by Pixar, is about 2 endangered blue-footed newts who have to mate in order to extend their lineage. And they have to do it in captivity. Again, the chemistry doesn't work out for these two players in the beginning.

Alpha and Omega, by Crest, plays up the mating thing along with pedigree differences thrown in. The girl wolf is an Alpha female (the compete snob from the highest order of the pack) and the boy wolf is an Omega male (the lowest low-life in the wolf pack). Naturally, they don't immediately cilck. Both wolves are also in a facility that aims to have them mate for specie preservation.

So anyway, Pixar decided to just pull out and cancel Newt because of the storyline sameness issue. Blue Sky quietly proceeds with its material. While Crest has just about hyped Alpha and Omega to the hilt --with a trailer and a website to boot. I do feel bad about Pixar. I'm sure Newt would've been great. But Crest is a newbie in the CG animation game (in my opinion anyway) and it does deserve a right to shine. Blue Sky, I'm lukewarm about parakeet porn, I'm sorry. lol!

One former boss once told me that there are no original ideas. It's only how it is said that makes it original. So I wouldn't have minded if all three films stuck to their guns and fought it out movie versus movie versus movie. More fun for kids that way. And if you look at the heart level of it all and ditch the monetary returns angle, these movies are being made FOR kids anyway.

I guess it's obvious that I'm not that squeamish about the mating storyline since I don't mind it being told three times. I'm sure each will be handled discreetly and hopefully, beautifully. Just like in Pixar's UP when Ellie couldn't have a baby. It took a while for me to explain that to the kids, but that film sequence was poetic and beautiful that it didn't jar their young minds. Kids are more mature than we think, you know. And of course, t's all in the brilliance of storytelling, and Pixar has always been good at that.

So Crest, with Pixar out of the picture, it's all on your shoulders now --you better make my 3D money worth it, darn it! *waves clenched fist in the air*

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