#Anime Detour 2023 - Best Comedy | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dweemeister · 1 month ago

Text

2024 Movie Odyssey Awards

So here is the penultimate post for the 2024 Movie Odyssey. This awards ceremony, which used to be (insanely) done on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, all but puts the bow on last year's movie-watching for me.

The Movie Odyssey Awards honor the best in films that I saw for the first time last calendar year for me. Rewatches are ineligible. Other eligibility rules (such as whether or not a “TV movie” versus a “streaming movie” can count can be found here).

All of these films that were nominated or won (even Worst Picture, to some extent) are worth your time and are worth seeking. Even some of the most incredibly flawed films I saw this year may have gotten a nomination or two elsewhere (ten nominees per category certainly helps). As always, my Best Picture winners and my Personal Favorite Film nominees? Can't recommend them enough (although I think some of the Best Picture winners might need additional contexts for those who aren't well-versed in older films).

Best Pictures

Adam’s Rib (1949)

Awaara (1951, India)

The Big Heat (1953)

Detour (1945)

Dinner at Eight (1933)

Flow (2024, Latvia/Belgium/France)

One Way Passage (1932)

Son of the White Mare (1981, Hungary)

A Special Day (1977, Italy)

20 Days in Mariupol (2023, Ukraine)

See this post for more details! As is tradition, I do not name (or rank) my ten Best Pictures of the year. They are presented here in alphabetical order. However, I will note that Awaara, The Big Heat, and A Special Day received 10/10s; Detour received 9.5/10; all the others received 9/10.

Best Comedy

Adam’s Rib

The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)

The Caddy (1953)

Desk Set (1957)

Dinner at Eight

Funny Money (2013, Vietnam)

The Life of the Party (1920)

Room for One More (1952)

Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)

Theater Camp (2023)

Again, this boils down to which of these comedies amused me the most – not necessarily which comedy I thought was the best-made. And it just so happened it was Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn's legal battle of the sexes that made me laugh the most this year (there were two Tracy-Hepburn team-ups here with Desk Set as well). Just behind it? The Caddy and Theater Camp.

Best Musical

Awaara

The Bells of St. Mary’s

Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

The Caddy

Daddy Long Legs (1955)

Girl Happy (1965)

Theater Camp

Tom Sawyer (1973)

Week-End in Havana (1941)

Wicked: Part I (2024)

Awaara is the best film among these ten. But that’s not what wins this category. I largely decide this category by some strange combination of how much I enjoyed the music, the performances, and how well the film presents itself as a musical. In 2024, that was Wicked: Part I, an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical of the same name (which I have very much an emotional connection to and am quite biased towards). Now, I actually have serious issues with Wicked: Part I in terms of how director Jon M. Chu approached the material (like how he shoots and edits some of the numbers, as well as the desaturated color palette). But the other musicals I considered here for alternative winners – Broadway Melody of 1936 (1930s musicals really did not care for plot) and Daddy Long Legs (not enough notable songs) – had other issues in terms of structure I couldn’t overlook.

Best Animated Feature

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)

Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo (2022, Canada/France)

Flow

Inside Out 2 (2024)

Mars Express (2023, France)

Memoir of a Snail (2024)

Robot Dreams (2023, Spain/France)

Son of the White Mare

The Triplets of Belleville (2003, France/Belgium/Canada/United Kingdom)

The Wild Robot (2024)

Quite simply the finest lineup for Animated Feature since the 2017 Movie Odyssey Awards and maybe second-best overall since the 2014 edition. This is one of my favorite categories for this entire 2024 ceremony – an extremely worthy Inside Out 2 would be 9th here; with even the weakest film here, Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo (quite possibly the first animated feature taking place during the Syrian Civil War?), might have easily been more safely in another year. In the end, Marcell Jankovics’ gorgeous tribute to the ancient nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppe wins out, ekeing out against Flow, Memoir of a Snail, and The Triplets Belleville (the latter two were also under consideration for Best Picture).

Best Documentary

Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman (1974)

The Empathizer (2024)

Ennio (2021, Italy)

Festival! (1967)

The Last Repair Shop (2023 short)

Nai Nai & Wài Pó (2023 short)

New Wave (2024)

Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today (1948)

Taking Root: Southeast Asian Stories of Resettlement in Philadelphia (2023)

20 Days in Mariupol

I don’t really do New Year’s Resolutions (and this isn’t to undermine our excellent winner)… but I need to watch more documentaries outside of Viet Film Fest contexts. Seriously. Curiously, five of our nominees here (Antonia, Ennio, Festival!, The Last Repair Shop, New Wave) had music or musicians front and center – a rare female classical music conductor from the mid-20th century, one of the best film scores composers ever, the Newport Folk Festival, LAUSD’s instrument repair shop employees, and Vietnamese New Wave music as the soundtrack to a director’s life story.

Best Non-English Language Film

Awaara, India

Casque d’Or (1952), France

Devi (1960), India

The Gold of Naples (1954), Italy

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023), Vietnam

Son of the White Mare

A Special Day, Italy

The Taste of Things (2023), France

The Triplets of Belleville, France/Belgium/Canada/United Kingdom

20 Days in Mariupol, Ukraine

I’m going to shame myself again here. I didn’t see a single African or Latin American film this year. That’s really regrettable and needs to be fixed in 2025. Among the films in this category I haven’t mentioned yet, I wanted to spotlight the delectable The Taste of Things. Trần Anh Hùng’s latest depicts a love forged through cooking. And boy, was it damn close to getting a Best Picture nod from me.

Best Silent Film

The Ace of Hearts (1921)

Annie Laurie (1927)

Cleopatra (1912)

The Conquering Power (1921)

The Enchanted Cottage (1924)

The Johnstown Flood (1926)

The Lady of the Dugout (1918)

The Life of the Party

Love (1927)

Once again, this is not going to cut it. I only saw nine silent films all year, and too is unacceptable. I didn’t even fill this category! In any case, The Johnstown Flood is a remarkable recreation of the 1889 disaster of the same name. A solid, though not spectacular, set of performances and storytelling to go along with the wonderful special effects, too. Runners-up included Lon Chaney in The Ace of Hearts and John Gilbert and Greta Garbo in Love (this is an adaptation of Anna Karenina and was originally entitled Heat… but then someone realized that the tagline “Greta Garbo in Heat” was a bit racy).

Personal Favorite Film (TIE)

Adam’s Rib

Detour

Dìdi (2024)

Dragonwyck (1946)

El Dorado (1966)

Ennio

Flow

The Last Repair Shop

Robot Dreams

Wicked: Part I

First, your winners. Both are about music. Ennio is a biographical documentary on Italian film composer Ennio Morricone (who consented to interviews in his residence before passing a year before the film was released). The film traces his entire life from childhood, his early musical studies, his first film score successes, his ‘60s Italian pop music arrangements, his atonal phase in the ‘70s, and his maturation in the ‘80s and onward. Though I wish it talked more about process, I can’t complain. At 156 minutes, I wish it talked a little more about process and what he thinks about modern scoring. But to get so much of his musicality and personality? I’ll take it. Then there’s the documentary short The Last Repair Shop. Seek it online because it’ll nourish your soul. It’s about Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) instrument repair shop and a few of its inspirational employees. LAUSD is the last major school district in the U.S. to offer free instrument repair to students, and that is something to be celebrated.

Now, let’s talk about those here that weren’t Best Picture winners or haven’t mentioned too thoroughly yet. Sean Wang’s coming-of-age Dìdi transported me back to the days of early high school. And though it is an Asian American film set in California, I didn’t necessarily “see” myself in it (for the record, I’ve never “seen” myself in a film and sorta hope I never do), but I saw elements of others and a time that I remember well.

Elsewhere, Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s Dragonwyck – starring Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, and Vincent Price – proves I’m a sucker for American Gothic dramas. I enjoy the landed gentry scheming, especially if the gentry is played by Vincent Price! And I even learned something totally new to me – that of the manorial rights of Patroons (descendants of the elites of the former New Netherland colony) in New York state.

El Dorado might be written off as a Rio Bravo (1959) redux. But, honestly? Without a weak link in the cast, it’s better than Rio Bravo – an opinion that is certainly unpopular, I’m sure.

Flow and Robot Dreams both exemplified this year the benefits of filmmakers remembering that silence can be golden. Neither film has dialogue, and both use their lack of dialogue to fantastic visual effect – a necessary reminder in perhaps our overly-talkative modern cinema.

Best Director

Sylvain Chomet, The Triplets of Belleville

Adam Elliot, Memoir of a Snail

Marcell Jankovics, Son of the White Mare

Raj Kapoor, Awaara

Fritz Lang, The Big Heat

Satyajit Ray, Devi

Ettore Scola, A Special Day

Douglas Sirk, All That Heaven Allows (1955)

Trần Anh Hùng, The Taste of Things

Edgar G. Ulmer, Detour

I feel like I’m just asking for forgiveness at this point. Because when I locked this category while I was writing this, I just realized, for the first time in the longest time, there are no female directors here. Looking back at the 2024 Movie Odyssey’s full list, I do notice more than a few films directed by women, but I simply didn’t think any were good enough to be nominated here or to win Picture.

That said, for the first time since 2014, the Best Director winner comes from a film that isn’t a winner for Best Picture (1939’s The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums and Kenji Mizoguchi won in 2014). I enjoy Douglas Sirk’s incredible directing of admittedly trashy material in All That Heaven Allows – he turns utter soapy dross into something well worth watching. And for that, alongside his incredible command of color, he beats out all of the other films here that were named as one of the ten Best Picture winners. Runners-up included Chomet, Ray, and Ulmer (Ulmer for getting so much out of a miniscule budget).

Best Acting Ensemble

Adam’s Rib

The Big Heat

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)

Conclave (2024)

Devi

Dinner at Eight

El Dorado

On Borrowed Time (1939)

The Teachers’ Lounge (2023, Germany)

The Wedding Banquet (1993)

Ralph Fiennes headlines Conclave, which is about the College of Cardinals attempting to elect a new Pope after the previous Pope’s death – but the election is thrown into turmoil by scandals and secrets that come out into the open. Fiennes is supported by solid performances from Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rosellini, Lucian Msamati, and Carlos Diehz.

I also considered The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, Jake Lacy, Monica Raymund, Lewis Pullman, Jay Duplass, Tom Riley, and Lance Reddick) and Dinner at Eight (Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Lee Tracy, Edmund Lowe, and Billie Burke) here.

Best Actor

Richard Dreyfuss, The Goodbye Girl (1977)

Ralph Fiennes, Conclave

Glenn Ford, The Big Heat

José Isbert, El Cochecito (1960, Spain)

Raj Kapoor, Awaara

Marcello Mastroianni, A Special Day

William Powell, One Way Passage

Vincent Price, Dragonwyck

Spencer Tracy, Adam’s Rib

Kôji Yakusho, Perfect Days (2023, Japan)

The third time was the charm for Marcello Mastroianni, who was previously nominated here in 2018 and 2019 for two Federico Fellini movies – 8 ½ (1963) and Ginger and Fred (1986). And honestly? It’s the best Mastroianni performance I’ve seen. Opposite Sophia Loren, both actors play unglamorous roles that are against type for both of them. Mastroianni, so often playing the dapper playboys, is allowed to be fully vulnerable here, with an even more rickety façade than usual. Simply great work from him.

Also under consideration here were Glenn Ford (like Mastroianni, he plays against type… in The Big Heat as a decent man who has gotten to the point where he discards his values) and Raj Kapoor.

Best Actress

Kay Francis, One Way Passage

Lillian Gish, Annie Laurie

Gloria Grahame, The Big Heat

Katharine Hepburn, Adam’s Rib

Sophia Loren, A Special Day

Mikey Madison, Anora (2024)

Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Nargis, Awaara

Ann Savage, Detour

Sharmila Tagore, Devi

In 2015, Sharmila Tagore was someone who I had just discovered in Satyajit Ray’s Nayak (1966, India). I definitely took notice of her performance then, but didn’t give her a first Movie Odyssey Award nomination until a year later. Almost a decade since, I now see her as one of the finest big-screen actors – no qualifiers needed. As the young lady thought to be the incarnation of Kali by her father-in-law (Chhabi Biswas), Tagore plays a woman robbed of her agency and humanity while being worshipped as a deity – all in the name of religious zealotry. I imagine contemporary Hindu nationalists would absolutely hate this movie and hate my opinions about her performance and this movie. Honestly? I don’t care.

The distant runners-up included Kay Francis, Gloria Grahame, and Sophia Loren.

Best Supporting Actor

Chhabi Biswas, Devi

Richard Conte, The Big Combo (1955)

Bing Crosby, The Bells of St. Mary’s

Brian Donlevy, The Big Combo

Cedric Hardwicke, On Borrowed Time

Lee Marvin, The Big Heat

Lung Sihung, The Wedding Banquet

Robert Mitchum, El Dorado

Denzel Washington, Gladiator II (2024)

David Wayne, Adam’s Rib

The trickiest of the acting categories. Supporting categories tend to favor antagonists and villains. But this year, the antagonists and villains that could be deemed supporting roles just didn’t stand out to me as winners. So I went with the perpetually sleepy-eyed Robert Mitchum for his role as a recovering alcoholic sheriff in El Dorado (and a sheriff who doesn’t always seem he has a broom up his backside either). I think it’s a role that Mitchum is simply a natural for, and his banter with John Wayne strengthens the performance.

Also under consideration: Lee Marvin as one of the most repulsive gangster sidemen I have ever seen in a movie.

Best Supporting Actress

Jocelyn Brando, The Big Heat

Leela Chitnis, Awaara

Quinn Cummings, The Goodbye Girl

Julia Faye, The Life of the Party

Janet Gaynor, The Johnstown Flood

Gua Ah-leh, The Wedding Banquet

Jean Harlow, Dinner at Eight

Judy Holliday, Adam’s Rib

Eily Malyon, On Borrowed Time

Chantal Thuy, Ru (2023, Canada)

Sometimes, I like to tell folks that there was a subset of pre-Code comedies where many of the jokes stem from the fact that the characters are filthy frigging rich (closest contemporary analog: Crazy Rich Asians). But beneath that, there is usually some pathos and ennui – if we’re so rich, how come we feel like crap? Jean Harlow’s character in Dinner at Eight has none of that ennui. Zinger after zinger. Takedown after takedown. She’d be an awful person to be around in real life, but Harlow’s comedic delivery is pitch perfect, and she does a lot of work to make the movie tick.

Judy Holliday and Chantal Thuy were also considered here.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Sydney Boehm, The Big Heat

William Friedkin, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff, Children of a Lesser God

Peter Straughan, Conclave

Martin Goldsmith, Detour

Frances Marion and Herman J. Mankiewicz, Dinner at Eight

Leight Brackett, El Dorado

Alice D.G. Miller and Frank O’Neill, On Borrowed Time

Pablo Berger, Robot Dreams

Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson, Room for One More

As I said in the Best Picture tidbit on it, there’s no way Dinner at Eight would’ve won this if I had seen it a half-decade or a decade ago. Stellar work from Marion and Herman Mankiewicz – its characterizations, and a structure that keeps the episodic nature from feeling too stop-start.

Those screenplays for Conclave, Detour, and Robot Dreams were also worth honoring too!

Best Original Screenplay

Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Adam’s Rib

Rafael Azcona and Marco Ferreri, El Cochecito

Satyajit Ray, Devi

Neil Simon, The Goodbye Girl

Adam Elliot, Memoir of a Snail

Wilson Mizner and Joseph Jackson, One Way Passage

Trần Anh Hùng, The Taste of Things

Johannes Duncker and İlker Çatak, The Teachers’ Lounge

Sylvain Chomet, The Triplets of Belleville

Ang Lee, Neil Peng, and James Schamus, The Wedding Banquet

In the 1990s, the notion of an LGBTQ+ film – let alone one centered around an Asian American experience – having a happy ending was a laughable notion. The Wedding Banquet, a dramedy, doesn’t have the storybook ending folks might fantasize over, but a sensible, pragmatic, and loving one. And I think it’s all the better for it. Before that ending though… what a heartfelt script, and what care it takes to address so many ideas of Asian and queer identity that blow so many movies from that decade away.

Adam’s Rib, El Cochecito, Memoir of a Snail, and One Way Passage also had original screenplays worth a mention here, too!

Best Cinematography

Tom Hurwitz and Robert M. Young, Alambrista! (1977)

Russell Metty, All That Heaven Allows

John Alton, The Big Combo

Lucien Andriot and Arthur Edeson, The Big Trail (1930)

Subrata Mitra, Devi

Đinh Duy Hưng, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

George Schneiderman, The Johnstown Flood

Stanley Kubrick, Killer’s Kiss (1955)

Karl Freund, Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932)

Jonathan Ricquebourg, The Taste of Things

In textbooks that describe film noir, this image from The Big Combo is usually used to illustrate what film noir should look like. There are many moments across The Big Combo that demonstrate Alton’s complete command of black-and-white – the contrasts, the shadows, the mood. The scarcely believable thing is that Alton is most famous for being the co-director of photography on An American in Paris (1951) – a Technicolor extravaganza of a musical that could not be further away from one of the best-looking films noir ever made.

Behind The big Combo were All That Heaven Allows, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, and The Taste of Things.

Best Film Editing

Sung Ming, The Big Boss (1971, Hong Kong)

Tanya M. Swerling, The Boys in the Boat (2023)

Marguerite Renoir, Casque d’Or

Nick Emerson, Conclave

Howard Alk, Festival!

Phạm Thiên Ân, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

William Goldenberg, News of the World (2020)

John W. Wheeler, The Parallax View (1974)

Jaume Martí and Andrés Gil, Society of the Snow (2023, Spain)

Magda Hap, Son of the White Mare

I don’t watch a lot of political thrillers, but thrillers in general tend to thrive in this category. The Parallax View – borne out of the paranoia-minded Watergate era – is tautly told, and the editing work does all of the heaviest lifting across its runtime.

Best Adaptation or Musical Score

Lester Lee and Bob Russell, Affair in Trinidad (1952)

Frank Skinner, All That Heaven Allows

Shankar Jaikishan, Shailendra, and Hasrat Jaipuri, Awaara

Robert Emmett Dolan, The Bells of St. Mary’s

Nacio Herb Brown, Broadway Melody of 1936

Alfred Newman and Cyril J. Mockridge, Daddy Long Legs

George E. Stoll, Girl Happy

Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, and John Williams, Tom Sawyer

Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, Week-End in Havana

John Powell and Stephen Schwartz, Wicked: Part I

This category tends to confuse people. Essentially, Adaption or Musical Score awards a score that would otherwise be an original score but quotes too liberally from preexisting music to be considered in the below category. The category also awards scores that go alongside musical films (musicals are ineligible for the category directly below this). This category also has tended to favor musicals that are wholly original, not adaptations (like Wicked: Part I).

And as such, that’s where Nacio Herb Brown comes away with his score and the songs to Broadway Melody of 1936. Newman and Mockridge might’ve had a better time in this category if they had integrated the melodies of their songs into their score more (while also composing more memorable songs aside from “Something’s Gotta Give”).

Best Original Score

Kris Bowers, The Wild Robot

John Debney, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024)

Michael Giacchino, Society of the Snow

Osvaldo Golijov, Megalopolis (2024)

James Newton Howard, News of the World

Ennio Morricone, The Mission

Alfred Newman, The Robe (1953)

Nelson Riddle, El Dorado

Amelia Warner, Young Woman and the Sea (2024)

Franz Waxman, On Borrowed Time

Original Score usually tilts a little older than this, but I do not mind this makeup at all. We have some examples from the best scoring of 2024 (The Wild Robot and Young Woman and the Sea the best here, in my opinion), as well as a nominal presence of Old Hollywood in The Robe and El Dorado.

But it’s the Hollywood outsider, Ennio Morricone, who wins it for what I think (and what the late composer thought) is his best score. Morricone, who might be best known for his work on Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy – A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – reportedly disliked his work on “Spaghetti Westerns” as time wore on (source: the 2021 documentary Ennio). To Morricone, his work on The Mission – which is about Spanish Jesuits attempting to convert the Guaraní people of the Paraguayan jungle to Christianity, while defending them from Portuguese and Spanish slavers – was his “revenge” on the Spaghetti Westerns that largely defined his reputation. Morricone wanted to compose something so unabashedly tied to classical music, all while combining musical elements from the Guaraní. And he got it. It’s a top-20 or top-25 all-time score in my books.

I adore all ten of these scores. If I could, I would have you watch all ten of these films, listen to the soundtrack afterwards, and we would talk about the music. But that’s a fantasy. And times marches onward for us all. Kris Bowers and Amelia Warner may just be the Next Big Things in (melodic) film scores, I hope – says this frequent critic of composers like Hans Zimmer Reznor and Ross. Bowers, loves his classical and jazz to equal degrees – trained in composition, he clearly respects the past while forging onward. Warner, a former actress, has shown incredible progress as a composer with each passing film (she composed an all-time sports movie film score in Young Woman and the Sea).

Best Original Score Cue

“The Alumni”, Kris Bowers, The Last Repair Shop

“Beach Celebration”, Amelia Warner, Young Woman and the Sea

“The Boys in the Boat”, Alexandre Desplat, The Boys in the Boat

“The Crucifixion”, Alfred Newman, The Robe

“End Titles”, James Newton Howard, News of the World

“Found”, Michael Giacchino, Society of the Snow

“Gabriel’s Oboe”, Ennio Morricone, The Mission

“Horizon Montage Begins / Closing Survey”, John Debney, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1

“I Could Use a Boost”, Kris Bowers, The Wild Robot

“New Rome”, Osvaldo Goljiov, Megalopolis

I don’t think you need to hear more wax more about The Mission and Ennio Morricone. I will say that “Beach Celebration” would’ve been one of my go-to cues if I had the editing skills to put a year-end Movie Odyssey montage. “End Titles” is one of the best end credits suites I’ve heard in some time. “New Rome” sounds like something composed from the ‘50s in the best possible way.

Best Original Song

“Aren’t You Glad You’re You?”, music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke, The Bells of St. Mary’s

“Awaara Hoon (I'm a Tramp)”, music by Sahnkar Jaikishan, lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri, Awaara

“Belleville Rendez-vous”, music by Benoît Charest, lyrics by Sylvain Chomet, The Triplets of Belleville

“Giấc Mơ (Dream)”, music and lyrics by Túng, Before Sex (2024, Vietnam)

“Même plus l'amour (Not Even Love)”, music and lyrics by Fred Avril and Philippe Monthaye, Mars Express

“A Million Miles Away”, music and lyrics by Fred Avril and Philippe Monthaye, Mars Express

“On Earth as It Is in Heaven”, music and lyrics by Ennio Morricone, The Mission

“Something’s Gotta Give”, music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Daddy Long Legs

“That’s Amore”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Jack Brooks, The Caddy

“You Are My Lucky Star”, music Nacio Herb Brown, lyrics by Arthur Freed, Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

To all those who participated in MOABOS, thank you!

Best Costume Design

André-ani, Annie Laurie

Adrian, Dinner at Eight

René Hubert, Dragonwyck

Jacqueline West, Dune: Part Two (2024)

Milena Canonero, Megalopolis

Orry-Kelly, One Way Passage

Holly Waddington, Poor Things (2023)

Charles Le Maire and Emile Santiago, The Robe

Gwen Wakeling, Week-End in Havana

Paul Tazewell, Wicked: Part I

Now we get to categories that I have, admittedly the least expertise in. But I thought Wicked: Part I had some excellent costuming work that put its own spin on things, without directly copying the stage musical. Dinner at Eight, Megalopolis, and Poor Things also considered.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Yvonne Coppard, Pat Hay, Paula Gillespie, Stephanie Kaye, and Tami Levi, Appointment with Death (1988)

Ben Nye, Dragonwyck

Donald Mowat and Judit Farkas-Arful, and Dune: Part Two

Janty Yates and David Crossman, Gladiator II

Valli O’Reilly and Terrie Velazquez Owen, Megalopolis

Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, and Josh Weston, Poor Things

Ana López-Puigcerver, Belén López-Puigcerver, David Martí, and Montse Ribé, Society of the Snow

Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, and Laura Blount, Wicked: Part I

How do you get a 150+-pound actor seem like they’ve lost half that much without having the actor starve themselves? That is what the makeup team for Society of the Snow – along with all the grievous bodily injuries seen in this film about the Andes flight disaster and their rescue 72 days after the crash. La sociedad de la nieve won this without much competition at all.

Best Production Design

Suzie Davies, Conclave

J. Russell Spencer and Lyle R. Wheeler, Dragonwyck

Patrice Vermette and Tom Brown, Dune: Part Two

Gints Zilbalodis, Flow

Martial Le Minoux and Mikael Robert, Mars Express

Beth Mickie and Bradley Rubin, Megalopolis

Shona Heath, James Price, and Zsuzsa Mihalek, Poor Things

Lyle R. Wheeler, Geroge W. Davis, Walter M. Scott, and Paul S. Fox, The Robe

Uncredited, Son of the White Mare

Nathan Crowley, Wicked: Part I

When you pull off a sword-and-sandals epic film off, so much of it depends on your sets and production design. Historical epics like this category, and the fabulously designed Roman/quasi-Biblical epic gets this award.

Achievement in Visual Effects

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Dune: Part Two

The Fall Guy (2024)

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

The Johnstown Flood

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

Mars Express

Society of the Snow

The Wild Robot

It’s unfair to compare a silent film (The Johnstown Flood) to a 2024 release in terms of visual effects. As is policy, all films listed in this category have won.

Worst Picture

The Corpse Vanishes (1942)

Game of Death (1978, Hong Kong)

Gladiator II

Moana 2 (2024)

Son of Godzilla (1967, Japan)

I gave it a 2/10, but as a fan of Toho’s kaiju films, I must say I greatly enjoyed the experience of watching this alongside other Godzilla fans – many of whom were much more diehard kaiju fans than myself, which only added to the enjoyment.

It feels wrong to single out Game of Death here, as it was unfinished at the time of Bruce Lee’s death. But the official “completed” version is pretty awful. The Corpse Vanishes is the worst non-Son of Godzilla movie of the year, but Moana 2 takes the cake for “Worst Picture nominee I most wish did not exist”.

Honorary Awards:

The Film Noir Foundation, for their tireless efforts to restore films noir and educate viewers about the subgenre

FILMS WITH MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS (excluding Worst Picture... 61)

Nine: Adam’s Rib, Awaara

Eight: The Big Heat

Seven: Devi

Six: Dinner at Eight, Son of the White Mare, Wicked: Part I

Five: The Bells of St. Mary’s, Conclave, Detour, El Dorado, Dragonwyck, Mars Express, Megalopolis, On Borrowed Time, One Way Passage, Society of the Snow, A Special Day, The Triplets of Belleville

Four: Dune: Part Two, Flow, The Johnstown Flood, The Robe, The Taste of Things, The Wedding Banquet, The Wild Robot

Three: All That Heaven Allows, Annie Laurie, The Big Combo, The Caddy, Daddy Long Legs, Gladiator II, The Goodbye Girl, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, The Last Repair Shop, The Life of the Party, Memoir of a Snail, The Mission, News of the World, Poor Things, Robot Dreams, 20 Days in Mariupol, Week-End in Havana Two: Affair in Trinidad, The Boys in the Boat, Broadway Melody of 1936, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Casque d’Or, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Children of a Lesser God, Ennio, Festival!Girl Happy, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, Room for One More, Tammy and the Bachelor, The Teachers’ Lounge, Theater Camp, Tom Sawyer, Young Woman and the Sea

WINNERS (excluding honorary awards and Worst Picture; 34)

3 wins: Dinner at Eight

2 wins: Adam’s Rib, Awaara, The Johnstown Flood, The Mission, Society of the Snow, Son of the White Mare, A Special Day, 20 Days in Mariupol, Wicked: Part I

1 win: Alien: Romulus, All That Heaven Allows, The Big Combo, The Big Heat, Broadway Melody of 1936, The Caddy, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Conclave, Detour, Devi, El Dorado, Dune: Part Two, Ennio, The Fall Guy, Flow, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, The Last Repair Shop, Mars Express, One Way Passage, The Parallax View, The Robe, The Wedding Banquet, The Wild Robot

96 films were nominated in 27 categories.

#Movie Odyssey Awards #My Movie Odyssey

3 notes · View notes

milesonthenet · 1 year ago

Text

Wish (The things it did wrong, and the things it did right)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Welcome back to the House of Milesverse, our place for comic book and fiction talk. Today we are taking a slight detour to Disney's animated catalog.

2023 was an explosion of Disney hype and joy, due to celebrating 100 years since the company's inception. It was a year full of laughs, and shared memories. On top of this, a short film was produced to commemorate the franchise's anniverary.

Today we will be talking about Wish, an animated film that released in November of that year. The movie focused on a young girl wanting to set loose the wishes of her kingdom, kept captive by an evil king. She's joined by her plucky goat, and a hyperactive star that can grant wishes.

Wish was written off by many people, and considered an animation blunder by Disney fans. It failed to live up to the hype of people that expected differently than Disney's usual service. Some people however have found the film to be a fun, but far more average, experience.

Today we will go over the things Wish did right, and the things Wish did wrong.

The things it did right:

Right from the start, there's some key points to address in what Wish did right. Of the two opinions I mentioned, I agree with the latter choice. Wish is not a terrible film, but it is just a mildly okay one. What it has is genuinely good material that hits well.

Star plays well as a typical mascot:

The bright and speedy Star is our mascot (or one of two) for the film. He arrives in a blur to answer Asha's troubles. His arrival, however, is what kickstarts much of the film's conflict. The main antagonist, King Magnifico, wants Star for his power.

He's your typical Disney mascot character whose built for the audience to like him. Think Olaf from Frozen, a cute snowman whose made many a fan. Star plays into that exact demographic with his adorable, bright design.

I find Star's appearance to be infectious because of this. I could not help but laugh at some of his actions throughout the film. Plus he's an expert at granting wishes. Think of him like the silly Genie from Aladdin, but without Robin Williams' sheer charisma.

Asha dreams of adventure:

Our main protagonist is the kind and wishful (pun intended) Asha, voiced by Ariana DeBose. At first, Asha desires for the king to grant her grandfather's wish for his 100th birthday. However after it is declined, Asha's new goal becomes setting the captive wishes free.

I like Asha's motivations, because of how they are rooted in the idea of wishes. She just wants the best for everyone, and for them to experience it on their own. Asha fits into the Disney heroine mold, due to her compassion, bravery, and the driving force behind her goals.

It was a common misconception before release that Asha should have been the villain. People believed that her goals made her evil, or just plain irresponsible. She wanted to set all the wishes free, even including the 'dangerous' ones. Luckily, the film skips over these ideas completely, and for good reason, too.

The Teens are a reference that works well:

Moving on from our starry-eyed protagonist is her large cast of friends. Collectively known as the 'Seven Teens', they get up to funny shenanigans. Their antics and personalities never feel dry during the movie's run.

Beyond comedy relief, the seven teens are all distinct are distinct in a way. They are one of the few references from Disney media that I think actually work. The teens are, obviously, all based off of one of the Seven Dwarves. This callback from Disney's first real 'princess' film to its current one acts as a solid reference.

In addition, the teens also have a stake in the plot and offer tension to the story. They help their friend out, even when she's been ratted out as a traitor. Their personalities all shine through during the final act of the film.

Overall, the Seven Teens each have a counterpart in one of the Dwarves. These include:

Dahlia (Doc)

Simon (Sleepy)

Hal (Happy)

Gabo (Grumpy)

Bazeema (Bashful)

Dario (Dopey)

The things it did wrong:

Magnifico falls short as a villain:

Brought to life by Chris Pine, King Magnifico is the main antagonist of the film. As mentioned before, he is the tyrannical ruler of Rosas, who harbors the wishes of its people for his own power. Magnifico is a narcissist who is only willing to grant wishes if he can benefit from it.

Magnifico's entire concept was meant to play toward the 'old' Disney villains. People have long enjoyed villains like Jafar from Aladdin, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, Scar from the Lion King, and more. Magnifico's personality, his lust for power, and even his green magic all call to mind traits associated with old Disney villains.

However, our untrustworthy king falls short in many ways. As a villain, Magnifico's transition to evil can come off as rushed. Much less time is spent on who he was before gaining his position. He spends a good deal of the plot hounding Star for its cosmic power.

You can say this for other villains in the franchise as well. However, I find that Magnifico suffers the most from this. He already has an interesting background set up in the story, but nothing is done with it.

In the past, Magnifico came from a loving family. He lived in peaceful lands until greedy thieves attacked. They killed his family and traumatized him. He wanted to learn magic so that he could use it to defend himself, and others.

Magnifico's worst qualities are always seen upfront throughout the movie. There is no lie that he's the 'bad guy' of the series. There's also nothing wrong with him being the main antagonist. However, Magnifico could benefit from gaining more sympathetic traits to better round out his character.

This is not me asking that he be a fully 'sympathetic villain' who was never evil to begin with. Instead, I believe that Disney had the option to still make him more complex. More than that, it would also make his transition to evil less jarring for some viewers.

Asha is another victim of the 'adorkable' trope:

Over the years we have seen heroines from Disney evolve. Starting with Rapunzel in 2013, most of them were much quirkier. This is what many refer to as the 'adorkable' trope. Characters who are socially awkward or unappealing but in a cute way.

Rapunzel, Mirabel, Moana, and Anna are all characters who use this idea in one way or another. They are put in awkward or quirky situations which also leads to easy laughs. I think it's worth noting that all of them use it well, at least.

With Rapunzel, she had never seen the outside world since she was a child. Mirabel's awkwardness came from her own feelings relating to her family. Both Moana and Anna are adorkable in their own ways, but neither of them is overwhelmed by the trope.

Asha feels like she is always on the verge of it. She's clumsy, nervous, and also awkward at times. I think this is a scenario where Asha didn't need these 'traits'. As adorkable as she can be, she already has a great narrative. Asha is compassionate, and you can feel how much she cares for her people.

The story hinges too much on the past:

This is my own personal issue with Wish itself. Wish is a good story on its own, but it also relies on references from the past. The story is full of references to Disney media.

Some references worked in the story, however. The Seven Teens for example, were integrated well into the world. Asha's basic 'cloak' is a reference to the Fairy Godmother's garb, and it blends so well into her design. Magnifico's magic is green, calling to mind past Disney sorcerors and villains.

These are references that feel natural to the story because of how they are positioned. Everything else just feels like it's for the sake of being there. The references are there to feed you, meal after meal. However, like any person eating the same meal, you eventually just get tired of it.

The Music:

Wish's music is my favorite part of the film. Every sequence in the movie is loaded with loving tunes. I just can't help but smile whenever I hear the opening of "This Wish" or "This is The Thanks I Get?".

The songs partway carry the film for me because of how bombastic they are. The visuals help hammer in the Disney magic that you are used to. Each tune is filled with so many amazing sequences that you just won't get tired of seeing it.

The credit for this lies in musician Julia Michaels, and Benjamin Rice. Joined by JP Saxe, they helped create Asha's powerful anthem. The score of the movie was meanwhile composed by Disney's notable orchestrator, David Metzger. Metzger had also done work on other films such as Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Moana, and Tarzan.

Overall consensus: Wish is a movie that tried. And failed. But maybe that's okay?

Wish is a film that tries to do too much, and that only hinders it. It's a movie that tries to be a large, huge spectacle. It is Disney's celebration of the fans with all these easter eggs and hidden catches. That aspect is where Disney loses its magic, and it is what hurts the film.

Wish is so caught up in being the ultimate milestone celebration that it forgets to be a movie. Everything about Wish, when it is focused on its own story, adds charm and substance. The concept of how Wishes work, as aspects of real people, is brilliant.

The nature of the film alone created a lot of hype for fans. People were expecting a much bigger ordeal than what they got from the film. Because of this, it was guaranteed to create dismayed reactions from those same fans.

This is not to say the film is terrible or that it has no purpose. Wish is a beautiful-looking film that is just alright. That on its own, is what makes the film entertaining to me.

Wish is a flawed film, but one that I enjoyed nonetheless. It is a movie carried by its bright cast. I would recommend that you see the movie for yourself, instead of listening to other people. That way, you can form your own opinion on the movie.

#milesverse #movies #disney #disney wish #wish #disney movies #disney animation

5 notes · View notes