Appreciation: Blue Sky Studios

In honor of our Film of the Week on Friday, I decided to take a look back at the studio that was once all about visual effects, rising from the ashes of the shut-down studio MAGI (Tron) in 1987, and which has now - with some help from 20th Century Fox - dedicated itself to animated films: Blue Sky Studios.

Starting with Ice Age, now an animation staple, Blue Sky was immediately a force to be reckoned with in the animation industry - the animation, the effects, the writing, the humor, were all on point from the beginning. Get ready for a look at Blue Sky Studios awesome films:

Ice Age

Ice Age was the beginning of Blue Sky Studios and the beginning of a new kind of CG animated film. Their animation started at a less experimental stage than Pixar, with a good handle on fur, skin, facial expressions, and effective movement. The writing, too, started strong, showcasing an emotive combination of friendship, slapstick, sarcasm, and family. Here, the new "herd," made up of Sid the sloth, Manny the mammoth, and Diego the sabertooth, race to rescue the human baby they're struggling to return to his own herd. Slides and slapstick ensue.

Robots

I doubt I will ever get over how awesome Robots is and how underappreciated it is. The animation is awesome, with so many minute details in every frame - a veritable feast for the eyes. The story and overall design feel fresh every time I watch, giving the audience an entirely new world to immerse themselves in. The humor, of course with Robin Williams co-starring, is fantastic; it's a "lower" humor than Ice Age had, with an Aunt Fanny named for her big bottom, Fender playing a scene in drag, and many other jokes that may go over some kids' heads. I love this movie - it's one of my favorite Blue Sky productions - and I wish it had received the love it deserved.

Ice Age: The Meltdown

With the box office success of Ice Age, it was hardly surprising when Blue Sky announced a sequel. Taking on more prehistoric problems, the main ensemble take on more characters - a love interest for Manny, two possum brothers, and more. And again, Sid is one the most humorous characters, more through his awkwardness than anything else, and I admit he's my favorite. Here, in one of the most amazing scenes I have ever seen animated, Sid becomes the Fire King and creates the most epic dance of all time.

Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who!

The return to Whoville - long awaited in my opinion - was a brilliantly creative edition to Blue Sky's repertoire. The style, much more cartoony than their previous films and clearly inspired by the original television specials, is a joy to watch in action, and the adaptation of the story to the screen is wonderfully accurate. The creators didn't add a whole lot of outside inspiration to bulk up the plot; rather they played with what they did have, and clearly had a ton of fun with it.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

The age of Ice Age has yet to end, my friends. In this third rendition, we've got dinosaurs, a crazy one-eyed weasel, Ellie (Queen Latifah) about to have a baby, and Sid drawing faces on giant eggs. It's a bit of a free-for-all that, I personally think, started purely from the desire to animate dinosaurs. The legitimacy of their being dinosaurs in the Ice Age is probably an attempted reference back to the first film where Sid finds one frozen in ice. In this scene, for pure humor and almost no plot importance, Manny, Diego, the possums, and Buck the weasel get their 'transportation' stuck in the middle of laughing gas. It's literally a scene where the actors speak like they've just taken helium - it's mock-chipmunks.

Rio

Rio was an interesting film: Blue Sky's first animated modern people, an extended look at feather animation, and extensive layout design. Entertaining and a box office success, the writing played on tropes, slapstick, and awkward situations. However, the background design, especially during flying scenes, is stunning. I'd love a chance to see the Art Of book sometime just to see the concept designs.

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Ice Age: Continental Drift continued the prehistoric franchise with humor, musical numbers, and a lack of character connection. This is not the last of the Ice Age franchise, although it should have ended at 3, but the films maintain their success in the box office so who am I to discourage them. I didn't pick a specific scene, mostly because I think I blocked out a lot of this film - watched it for Peter Dinklage, laughed at Sid's grandmother, and then was ready to turn it off. That doesn't bode well for #5, does it?

Epic

Epic was a beautiful film to watch, with gorgeous animation, fun characters, and amazing attention to detail. The writing was strong, though some of the dialogue felt unnecessary, and I distinctly remember feeling like I'd seen a similar movie before but I couldn't tell you what it was. It was a more artistic film than anything else, and the animators definitely went all out to achieve that. Again, I think an Art Of book is in order here.

Rio 2

I can honestly say I have never seen this movie. Rio, apparently a box office triumph, earned a sequel, featuring the blue macaw chicks and the discovery of a whole flock of blue macaws. The trailer is above, featuring solid animation like its predecessor and seemingly very similar humor.

Stay tuned for the Film of the Week, news, behind the scenes fun, and more. Don't forget to vote on the poll for your favorite Annie Award Best Animated Feature nominee!