Dec 3, 2014

27 animation Features to Look for in 2015

Whether you prefer your animated features from mega-budget Hollywood studios or more modest foreign fare, the upcoming slate of animated features in 2015 promises something for everyone. Here are 27 animated features that will be released in 2015:

Strange Magic (1/23/15) Inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream, this madcap fairy tale musical uses popular music to tell the tale of a cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps and their battle over a powerful potion.

Director: Gary Rydstrom Production Company: Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation Singapore Distributor: Touchstone Pictures Technique: CG Voice Cast: Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, and Alfred Molina

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2/6/15) In this sequel to the 2004 movie adaptation of the popular television series, Spongebob and his friends travel to the surface world on a quest to save Bikini Bottom from the evil pirate, Burger Beard.

Director: Paul Tibbitt Production Company: Paramount Animation/Nickelodeon Movies Distributor: Paramount Pictures Technique: Hand-drawn/CG/Live Action Voice Cast: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Antonio BanderasOfficial Website

Home (3/27/15) Based on Adam Rex's novel The True Meaning of Smekday, a teenage girl named Tip goes on the run with a banished alien named Oh after his race, the Boov, invade the planet Earth.

Director: Tim Johnson Production Company: DreamWorks Animation Distributor: 20th Century Fox Technique: CG Voice Cast: Rihanna, Jim Parsons, Steve Martin, Jennifer LopezOfficial Website

Underdogs (4/10/15) Known as Metegol in Latin America and The Unbeatables in the U.K., a team of foosball players come to life to help a shy young man win his hometown back from a megalomaniacal soccer superstar with an axe to grind.

Director: Juan José Campanella Production Company: 100 Bares, Plural-Jempsa and Catmandu Branded Entertainment Distributor: The Weinstein Company Technique: CG Voice Cast: Ariana Grande, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Morrison, Katie HolmesOfficial Website

Monster Trucks (5/29/15) An original live-action/CG film based on the popularity of monster trucks directed by Chris Wedge.

Director: Chris Wedge Production Company: Paramount Animation Distributor: Paramount Pictures Technique: CG/Live Action Voice Cast: Jane Levy, Lucas Till, Amy Ryan, Rob Lowe and Danny Glover

Inside Out (6/19/15) The emotions of a young girl, Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness, help guide her through life after she relocates to a new city and school.

Director: Pete Docter Production Company: Pixar Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Technique: CG Voice Cast: Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Bill HaderOfficial Website

Minions (7/10/15) In a prequel to the Despicable Me films, the Minions leave their isolated home in hopes to find a new master at a villain convention.

Director: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda Production Company: Illumination Entertainment Distributor: Universal Pictures Technique: CG Voice Cast: Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Alison JanneyOfficial Website

Hotel Transylvania 2 (9/25/15) The generations continue to clash in this sequel to the 2012 animated movie as Count Dracula's father Vlad, an old school vampire, pays a visit to his human-free hotel for monsters.

Director: Genndy Tartakovsky Production Company: Sony Pictures Animation Distributor: Columbia Pictures Technique: CG Voice Cast: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi, Mel Brooks

Peanuts (11/6/15) Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang make their CGI feature debut in this adaptation of Charles Schulz's classic comic strip.

Director: Steve Martino Production Company: Blue Sky Studios Distributor: 20th Century Fox Technique: CG Voice Cast: Noah Schnapp, Hadley Miller, Mariel Sheets, Alex GarfinOfficial Website

The Good Dinosaur (11/25/15) In a world where dinosaurs never became extinct, a teenage Apatosaurus named Arlo goes on a quest to help his peaceful community, adopting a human boy named Spot along the way.

Director: Peter Sohn Production Company: Pixar Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Technique: CG Voice Cast: Lucas Neff, John Lithgow, Frances McDormand, Neil Patrick Harris

Kung Fu Panda 3 (12/23/15) Po's “legendary adventures of awesomeness” continue in this third installment of the popular animated martial arts franchise.

Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson Production Company: Dreamworks Animation Distributor: 20th Century Fox Technique: CG Voice Cast: Jack Black, Rebel Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston

Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet (Release Date TBA) Inspired by the beloved classic, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a young, mischievous girl and an imprisoned poet.

Director: Roger Allers (supervising director), Michal Socha, Gaëtan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Joan C. Gratz, Mohammed Saeed Harib, Tomm Moore, Nina Paley, Bill Plympton, Joann Sfar (sequence directors) Production Company: Bardel Entertainment Distributor: Unknown Technique: Mixed-media (CGI/Hand-drawn) Voice cast: Salma Hayek, Liam Neeson, John Krasinski, Alfred Molina, Quvenzhane Wallis, Frank LangellaOfficial Website

Storks (Release Date TBA) The first feature film for animation director Doug Sweetland (Presto), it is created and written by Nicholas Stoller.

Director: Doug Sweetland Production Company: Warner Brothers Distributor: Warner Brothers Technique: CG

Ratchet & Clank (Release Date TBA) A futuristic mechanic and a diminutive robot attempt to save the Solana Galaxy from Chairman Drek and the Blarg in this origin story film adaptation of the game franchise of the same name.

Director: Kevin Munroe, Jerrica Cleland Production Company: Rainmaker Entertainment, Blockade Entertainment, Insomniac Games Distributor: Cinema Management Group Technique: CG Voice Cast: James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, Jim Ward