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VFX • ANIMATION nee list. Such films are being replaced by all-greenscreen extravaganzas, such as previous VFX Oscar winners Life of Pi and Alice in Wonderland, which have their origins in the cult-favorite Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow – a movie so visionary and so unsuccessful that Director Kerry Conran has not been heard from since. So, productions like Great Gatsby or Oz the Great and Powerful might have a chance. Don't expect Ender's Game or World War Z to make it past the bake-offs, which seem to be more about algorithmically programmed flocks of spaceships and crowd-simulated undead lemmings. " Animated Entries On the animation front, three movies made their return to the screen with phenomenal box-office success: Despicable Me 2, Monsters University, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. Earlier in the year, Epic was warmly welcomed, as was The Smurfs 2 during the summer. Finishing out the year will be Free Birds and Frozen. Some say the latter is the one to beat in the animation race. Could this really be the year that Disney beats out its seemingly invincible little brother, Pixar? "This has been an interesting year, and a year that has been coming. Interesting in that for a few years we have had leaders such as DreamWorks, Disney, Pixar, and then 'the other studios.' But, we finally hit a point with CG animation where I believe everyone is on an equal playing field now for the techniques that are used, the character animation, and the overall professionalism, says Jerry Beck, an animation historian and " cartoon producer. "The bar has been set high by the people at Pixar in the past, but we now have Universal, Illumination, Sony, and other studios, including Reel FX with Free Birds, that have reached the same bar. They are all clever, creative, and innovative in terms of their techniques. Now, it is about storytelling, the character animation, the personalities, and other aspects other than the technical achievements. " As Beck points out, looking back at 2008, some films, like Wall-e (Pixar) and Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks Animation) were front-runners, far ahead of the pack. But now, just a few short years later, the field is open with films like Epic (Blue Sky/Fox), Monsters University (Pixar), Despicable Me 2 (Illumination Entertainment/Universal), Turbo (DreamWorks), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (Sony Pictures Animation), and Frozen (Disney) – all of which have a very high artistic and technical level. "So you have to look at things that might give a 24 ■ CGW Novem ber / Dec em ber 2013 film an edge, he says. "The trick is a lot of " these films have incredible things in them that give them their own aesthetic edge. " While 2012 brought competition in animation from a number of stop-motion movies, this year the field looks wide open for CGI. Yet, the manga style of famed Japanese Director/Animator Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises, which Miyazaki says will be his last movie, could pose outside competition to the typical CGI features – maybe. "The Wind Rises is an adult film. It's about a real-life person, about an important part of Japan's aviation history, but it's not for family audiences, says Beck. " In looking back over the year, Beck points out that many of the animated films this year were aimed solely at children, which has the same issues as an animated film that plays strictly to adults. "We didn't have that problem in previous years, he says. For example, Kung Fu Panda plays for any audi" ence: Kids can get it, but adults get it, too. A few years ago, the same held true for Puss In Boots, "which was sophisticated and done well. Also, Rango. Kids got it, and the film had an adult sensibility. And, it won the Oscar that year. It did not play down to kids; it played for the general audience. That is what the best Pixar films do – Ratatouille, Up. But this year we had Planes, Smurfs, even Monsters University, all aimed more at children than grown-ups. That was the trend, and I personally do not like it. I like the animation aimed a little higher. " The Race Is On While many were caught unaware with Gravity, there were some films that received a lot of hype but failed to thrill audiences: After Earth, The Lone Ranger, and the CG Planes. Meanwhile, Pacific Rim started off a little slow but soon had people caught in its wake, and by the start of November, was number 10 on the year's highest-grossing list. It joins these releases in order from the top spot: Iron Man 3, Despicable Me 2, Fast & Furious 6, Monsters University, Man of Steel, The Croods, World War Z, Oz the Great and Powerful, and Star Trek Into Darkness. Yet, with a number of studios gearing up for holiday releases, there's sure to be movement on this list before year end. Until then, Iron Man 3 sits comfortably at $1.2 billion worldwide, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of all time and the 16th film to surpass the billion-dollar mark, according to published figures. Despicable Me 2 has grossed over $900 million, making it the fifth highest-grossing animated film of all time. Which visual effects and animated features will make this year's Oscar shortlist? It's difficult to tell. However, some experts in the industry have offered their thoughts on the subject, particularly why certain scenes or the film in general should at least be looked at during the awards season. .com ARTICLE: Go to "Extras" in the November/ December 2013 issue box for an extended story with more movies and commentary