As the year of 2018 dawns upon us, it’s time to look forward to another year full of amusing animations waiting in the wings to hit the big-screen.
Whilst last year was subduing on that account, the new year promises a lot. We have a slew of releases lined-up over the course of next 12 months, and it’s going to be a fulfilling year for animation lovers.
We calibrate five such animated movies to look forward to this year.
Paddington 2
The grisly bear from Peru has successfully settled in London with the Brown family, and now two years since his enduring quest for home, finds himself in another tight corner.
A pop-up-book of London, that he wishes to gift his aunt on her hundredth birthday, is stolen one night and Paddington, for his lack of evidence, is handed imprisonment. Now the diminutive bear has to prove his innocence and unmask the culprit, before the celebratory bells start ringing at Aunt Lucy’s.
Produced by Heyday Films and StudioCanal, Paddington 2 is all set for shenanigans on 12 January.
Sgt.Stubby: An American Hero
Based on the real life of Seargent Stubby, the former American mascot of Infantry Regiment during World War I, the movie chronicles the life of the Boston Terrier who’s braved mustard gas attacks, grenades, and even the mighty Germans in his unblemished service to the American military.
Sgt. Stubby is directed by Richard Lanni and distributed by Fun Academy Motion Pictures, and tells the legendary tale of a martyr in the shape of a dog.
The movie is slated for 13 April release.
The Incredibles 2
The sequel that we all have been waiting for, is finally hitting the big-screen this year. The peerless Parr family are back to pack another hefty punch as The Incredibles 2 is one of the most anticipated releases of the year.
There’s a new villain in town who goes by the name The Underminer, and the Incredibles will team up with their best bud Frozone to throw a spanner in his sinister plot to destroy the city. The teaser released last month has piqued interests in all quarters, as we wait with bated breath to see Mr. Incredible, the Elastigirl, Dash, Violet and the little munchkin Jack-Jack flex their mighty muscles once again.
The Pixar Animation Studios production releases on 15 June.
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Still reeling from the monumental debacle that was The Emoji Movie, Sony Pictures attempt to redeem its beleaguered status in the movie circuit with the release of Hotel Transylvania’s third instalment.
Dracula and family are off to a vacation on a cruise ship, again, for monsters where the vampires and Jonathan indulge in all sorts of shenanigans, wreaking havoc on the cruise whilst also befalling upon a mystery kept clandestine by the captain Ericka that threatens to wipe out the monsterkind.
Genndy Tartakovsky returns to the director’s seat and signals the vacationing period from 13 July onwards.
Smallfoot
A group of monstrous yetis are in a tizzy after coming across the tiny footsteps of a man on a whatsit, snow-clad mountain not far away from their hiding. One of the members of the group flashes his shoe during the announcement as the onlookers are terrified to know the existence of humans that they’ve been unbeknownst to, for all these years.
Migo, another yeti, and voiced by Channing Tatum, sets out on a journey across the mountains to find more like the mountaineer he bumped into and prove his theory to the rest of the likes.
Warner Animation Group’s Smallfoot also features Zendaya, James Cordon, Gina Rodriguez among the stellar voice cast, and is scheduled to leave its mark from 28 September onwards.