5 Animated Films to Look Forward to (That Aren’t Disney)

With the summer coming to an end and How To Train Your Dragon 2 flying out of theatres, the next high-profile animated film won’t come until November, with Disney’s Big Hero Six, the studio’s follow-up to last year’s Frozen. For better or worse, it’s tough to think of another animated flick that’s getting more buzz right now. In an effort to draw some eyes away from that November release date, here’s a list of five animated movies we still have to look forward to in the interim.

The Book of Life (Reel FX/20th Century Fox)

Produced by Reel FX and distributed by 20th Century Fox, The Book of Life tells the story of Manolo (Diego Luna), a young man in love with a girl named Maria (Zoe Saldana). When two spirits bet on who will win Maria’s heart, Manolo or the charming Joaquin (Channing Tatem), Manolo finds himself on the ‘deader’ end of things, forced to make a fantastical journey back to the land of the living.

No animated flick this year has gotten me quite so excited in terms of visuals as The Book of Life, which invokes the gorgeous aesthetics of the Mexican Day of the Dead. The colours are to die for (no pun intended): absinthe greens and ocean-bottom blues, warm reds and vivid oranges. It pops like fireworks off the screen, all while maintaining a dark undercurrent that speaks to the macabre.

With songs by Paul Williams, a diverse cast and crew, and a sweet love story at its core, The Book of Life is one of the dreamiest-looking films I’ve seen in quite some time (at least, if it lives up to its trailer). Check is out on October 17th.

Song of the Sea (Cartoon Saloon)

The story is inspired by the selkies of mythology: seals who can shed their skin and live as humans on the land. Song of the Sea tells the story of Saoirse, the “last selkie”, as she and her brother Ben attempt a journey back to the sea.

Song of the Sea is the second feature film produced by Cartoon Saloon, an Irish animation company best known for The Secret of Kells, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film back in 2009. That alone is enough to garner it attention, since The Secret of Kells was a unique and thoughtful flick, and Cartoon Saloon is one of the few studios still interested in traditional-looking animation. The conceptual trailer is hauntingly beautiful, reaffirming the distinct visual style that made The Secret of Kells such a standout. The selkie mythology is relatively unmined when it comes to animation, which gives Song of the Sea the added bonus of traversing new ground. It’s definitely not to be missed.

The Canterville Ghost (Melmoth Films)

It’s tough to find information around the web on this one, despite Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry’s names attached to the thing. An adaptation of the Oscar Wilde short story, it’s all about an American family who move into a house haunted by the titular Canterville ghost. With Wilde, Laurie and Fry all involved, it’s bound to be funny and entertaining, especially if they keep Wilde’s wit intact. The only image that yet exists can be found on Melmouthfilms.com, showing off the fun, colourful design of the ghost against the bleak background of some castle grounds. If the final product is anything like that poster, we might be lucky enough to see another children’s horror film in the same vein as Coraline and Paranorman, of which there can never be too many.

IMDB claims that the film isn’t going to see the light of day until 2016, albeit with no source. The Melmoth Films website still says Christmas 2014, but with very little word out right now, it’s tough to tell what’s going on with it. Still, it can’t hurt to keep an eye out for this one in case it actually makes its original release date.

The Boxtrolls (Laika Studios)

The third feature release of Laika Studios, who I’m convinced can do no wrong, is all about families in all shapes and sizes. When an orphaned baby is raised by the mysterious box trolls—literally trolls who wear boxes—he must face the trials of high society to save his adopted family from certain doom.

Laika works traditionally with dark aesthetics and heavy material, and they have one of the most progressive writing teams out there. They care about the misfits and weirdos of the world, and they have an intensely sympathetic attitude towards those of the outskirts of society who haven’t quite found acceptance yet. The Boxtrolls would be highly recommended based on Laika’s track record alone (both Coraline and Paranorman were smart, beautiful and modern), but the early trailers highlighting the artistry and love put into the animation is just one more reason to anticipate their third effort. It’s stunning to see the amount of work that goes into stop motion animation, and with CGI dominating the box office, it’s essential that we support the efforts of anyone trying to operate outside the norm (funnily enough, considering the subject matter of their films).

The Box Trolls comes out September 26th.

The Clockwork Girl (Luximation Studios)

The first feature film by Luximation Studio tells the story of Tesla, a female robot given life, and the mutant boy who’s the son of her creator’s biggest rival. Based off a graphic novel of the same name and featuring the voices of Brad Garrett, Alexa Vega and Jesse McCartney, The Clockwork Girl is described on the official website (theclockworkgirl.com) as “Romeo and Juliet, but with monsters and robots”, which sounds like a fun formula to me. It’s not the prettiest looking film on this list, but with some good early buzz on imdb and a trailer that sells you on the love of the creators for this weird, inventive world and characters, I think it’s definitely worth checking out.

The Clockwork Girl is yet another movie with an uncertain release date. It’s apparently had a cable release in Canada, but all other release dates beyond “2014” are impossible to find. Since it’s technically a 2014 film, and since it probably won’t get a lot of press, I’m happy to highlight it here.

This article was written for publication on the GCE by Lindsay Young