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The
animated movie industry has now grown to be a multi-billion dollar
industry that is no longer reserved for kids and the young at heart.
Nowadays, with the advent of advanced computer imaging and 3D animation
techniques, more and more producers and film makers are realizing the
potential of animated movies as a profitable venture in film production.
But this scenario wasn't always the case. Back in the days, animated movies were made very simple. And those that were done in 3D lack an important element for it to be something that people can relate to – emotion. Fortunately, animated characters nowadays are fully capable of expressing emotions thanks to the use cutting-edge computer software. And because of this, computer generated characters are now more realistic and animators are now more successful in infusing them with character traits and personality. In today's You! Be Inspired! post, we'll take a look at ten of the most popular CG movie characters that people of all ages have loved and admired. Mumble of Happy Feet – Voiced by Hollywood actor Elijah Wood, Mumble is the dancing emperor penguin in the 2006 family film "Happy Feet". The film was created and directed by George Miller for Warner Brothers, Village Roadshow pictures and Kingdom Feature productions back in November 2006. The film opened at #1 in the United States on its first week of release and grossed a total of $384.3 million worldwide. |
Puss in Boots – Puss in boots is a spin-off prequel to the Shrek movie franchise and stars Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. The movie was developed by DreamWorks animation and was distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed a total of $554 million worldwide which made it the 11th highest-grossing film of 2011.
Sully and Mike of Monsters Inc. – James P. Sullivan and Michael Wazowski were the two main characters of Pixar's 2001 comedy-adventure film Monsters Inc. The plot of the movie talks about a parallel dimension inhabited by monsters that scares children in order to collect their screams. The movie was released on November 2, 2001 and has since earned an approximate of $526 million.
Po of Kung Fu Panda – Another top grossing animated film from DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures is the Kung Fu Panda franchise. The star of the film is the kung fu master panda named Po. Jack Black was the voice of Po in the movie. The first Kung Fu Panda movie was released on June 6, 2008 and has since then grossed around $631 million.
Furthermore, the film and its crew have been nominated several times in various award giving bodies such as the Academy Awards, the Annie Awards and the Golden Globe awards to name a few.
Manny, Diego and Sid of Ice Age – Ice Age was a 2002 adventure comedy film about three prehistoric animals and their efforts to return a human child to its family while facing the deadly elements of the impending ice age. The film which stars Ray Romano as Manfred "Manny" the woolly mammoth, John Leguizamo as Sid the giant ground sloth and Denis Leary as Diego the saber tooth tiger was released on March 15, 2002 and earned approximately $383 million worldwide.
Lightning McQueen of CARS – in 2006, Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar teamed up once again to produce the comedy-adventure film CARS. The film is about a hot-shot race car named Lightning McQueen and his adventure at a small town called Radiator Springs, where he learns the values of friendship and trust through the residents of the town. CARS was first released on June 9, 2006 and has earned around $462 million.
Minions of Despicable Me – Despicable Me is about Gru, the world's former #1 super-villain and his attempt to steal the moon to gain status and approval from his mother. However, his plans were thwarted by three orphaned girls who later in the film transformed him from super-villain to a loving super-dad.
Although the film's main characters were Gru and the three girls – Margo, Edith and Agnes, it was Gru's minions that made the story entertaining and interesting. The two most prominent minions were Dave (voiced by Chris Renaud) and Jerry (voiced by Jemaine Clement). The wacky antics of the minions added to the already interesting plot between Gru and the girls which made the movie a hit when it was first released on July 2010 and earned approximately $543 million.
Shrek – Shrek is a 2001 American fantasy comedy film created by DreamWorks Animation and Pacific Data Images and stars Mike Myers as the voice of Shrek. Unlike most animated fantasy movies of that time, Shrek made use of uncommon and bordering on satirical characters and storyline.
The film has also won various awards and accolades including an Academy award for Best Animated Feature, 6 BAFTA award nominations and several Annie Award nominations.
Marlin and Dory of Finding Nemo – One of the most successful animated movies of the past decade was Walt Disney Pictures' and Pixar's Finding Nemo. The movie was about a clown fish named Marlin who meets a blue tang named Dory who was suffering from short-term memory loss and their adventures to find Marlin's son, Nemo who was captured by a boat and sent to a dentist's aquarium.
The film stars Albert Brooks as the voice of Marlin and Ellen DeGeneres as the voice of Dory. As of October 11, 2012, Finding Nemo has earned a total of $918,942,208 worldwide and is considered as one of the best animated movies of all time by popular gaming and film website, IGN.
Woody and Buzz Lightyear of Toy Story – Last but definitely not the least was the movie that started it all. In November 1995, Walt Disney pictures in association with Pixar Studios released Toy Story. The film was considered as a pioneer in the field of animation with its main characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear fully capable of expressing emotions which brought the aspect of human emotion to the once dull and robotic nature of computer generated characters.
