Animation Nation: Pixar and Dreamworks

So sorry for the lack of a Monday Report, and for the delay in today's reporting.  I've been terribly busy tending to a wide variety of air traffic emergencies, as you can imagine.  But we should be returning to normal now.
 
One reader followed up on Friday's Report, even though much of that edition was culled from links he provided.  He suggests that the best view in Paris, and one that includes the Eiffel Tower, is actually found at the top of the Sacre-Coeur, a cathedral in northern Paris.  Having been there with my parents when I studied in London, I strongly agree, though our view that day was slightly clouded by fog and potential volcanic ash. 

I was excited this weekend to learn that Pixar was re-releasing four films in theaters for Memorial Day weekend.  And some fan favorites, too... Perhaps, as the linked article suggests, to remind us that the misguided Cars 2 is not at all par for the course for one of the most consistently critically and commercially successful film studios in film history.  (Indeed, as the one Pixar film that I did not see in theaters, I would rank it as a double-bogey at best.)  Certainly the tear-jerking opening montage of Up, the wonderful space sequences of Wall-E, and the Parisian settings of Ratatouille will restore any faith lost by the many fart jokes of Mater the tow truck.  And if those don't persuade viewers, surely the theatrical re-release of the third installment of the most critically successful film trilogy of all time will.  No lie, nerd that I am, I knew a lot of those things that they said I probably didn't know... Pixar films are full of great Easter Eggs, and this article is really only scratching the surface.

Much as I don't want to refer to it again, Cars 2 serves as a useful segue to another piece I've been hanging onto for a while.  In the absence of a good Pixar film last summer, Dreamworks snuck in and won me over with another installment of Kung-Fu Panda.  I've long had problems with Dreamworks animation and the generally mediocre quality work I think they put out... Too many pop-culture references and poop jokes and not enough story.  And as much as I love the first two things there (especially when they are combined!) I put storytelling above all else.  Sure every once in a while they pull through with something like Shrek (sequels get stale) and How To Train Your Dragon (holy flying-scenes, Batman!), and I do consider Ice Age to be a factor in my attending Georgetown... But overall, I'm not a huge fan.  Maybe the secret to the success of Kung-Fu Panda, though, is some source material its artists may have been drawing on.  No evidence to support this theory, but still, I mean... Look at the pictures!

That's all for today!  Walk around a dark hallway popping pills and running from ghosts; Pac-Man debuted in Japan 32 years ago!