Geek It! Upcoming Animated Films of 2015 (Inside Out, Peanuts, The Little Prince, Pixels)

Behold! This is CtrlGeekGirl’s first compilation of 2015’s animated film trailers. Next year is looking to be an interesting year as we witness the return of the old and the introduction of the new. Here we go!

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The Little Prince (Onyx Films)

 

The Little Prince is an upcoming French animated fantasy film directed by American director, Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda, SpongeBob Squarepants). Based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s 1943 novel of the same name, The Little Prince will no doubt catch your attention. Using stop motion animation for the novel’s story and computer animation for the frame narrative, The Little Prince looks visually exciting and very refreshing for modern animation.

Besides starring popular stars including James Franco, Rachel McAdams and Jeff Bridges, it is surprising to learn that Leonardo diCaprio is actually an executive producer for the film, and musical fans will rejoice to hear that Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight, The Lion King) will be the music composer as well. This film looks like an Oscar-animated film — we can’t wait for its release!

Inside Out (Pixar Animation Studios)

 

Inside Out is Pixar Animation Studio’s next anticipated film based on an original idea by director Pete Docter. Set in the head of a young girl, Riley Anderson, five emotions—Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness— live in the Headquarters (aka the control centre inside Riley’s mind) where they help advise Riley through everyday life.

But when Riley’s father starts a new job in San Francisco, Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to the new life, and turmoil ensues in the Headquarters. Joy and Sadness (voiced by Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith) gets lost, meaning Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Anger (Lewis Black) are at the helm. Both Joy and Sadness must somehow find their way back home before Riley becomes emotionally unbalanced. Inside Out looks highly-comedic from the outside but we are very eager to throw ourselves at its underlying emotional story.

The Peanuts Movie (Blue Sky Studio / 20th Century Fox Animation)

 

Directed by Steve Martino and written by Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano, The Peanuts Movie is Blue sky Studio’s 2015 Christmas film. Featuring the voices of Bill Melendez (via archive recordings) and Noah Schnapp, The Peanuts Movie is set to be the fifth full-length feature film based on the comic by Charles M. Schulz, and the first feature film based on the characters in 35 years. Not much is known about the film at this stage but from the looks of it, Charlie Brown and Snoopy appears to be on an epic journey.

Minions (Illumination Entertainment)

 

Our beloved minions are back in a prequel like never before! Minions is an upcoming spin-off-prequel to Despicable Me (2010) and Despicable Me 2 (2013). Written by Brian Lynch and directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, the film stars Sandra Bullock as the villain of the film, Scarlet Overkill, and Jon Hamm will voice her husband, inventor Herb Overkill. We absolutely adore the minions so we’re sure that they won’t disappoint us in their very own blockbuster movie.

Home (DreamWorks Animation)

 

Produced by Dreamworks Animation, Home is an animated film based on Adam Rex’s children’s book The True Meaning of Smekday. Featuring a star-studded cast including Rihanna, Jim Parsons, Steve Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, Home is about an optimistic alien race called ‘Boov’ (led by Captain Smek) who proclaims Earth as their new home in order to hide from their mortal enemy.

Convinced they are doing a favor, they begin to relocate the human race, but one teenage girl, Tip, manages to avoid capture. Trying to escape from the aliens, Tip somehow gets accompanied by a banished Boov named ‘Oh’ who accidentally notifies the enemies of his whereabouts.

The SpongeBobMovie: Sponge Out of Water (Paramount Animation)

 

We were last introduced to the first animated feature in 2004 and the Spongebob crew are back again in a much more lively form with SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Directed by the show ‘s writer Paul Tibbitt, The SpongBob Movie: Sponge out of Water is about a pirate, Burger-Beard, in search of the final page of a magical book that makes any evil plan he writes in it come true.

But when the formula goes missing after he completes the search, the entire city of Bikini Bottom is in danger. SpongeBob, Patrick, and the gang goes on a quest beyond the surface where they must retrieve the book and transform themselves into superheroes in order to overthrow Burger-Beard. Although it is always interesting to see SpongeBob and his mates emerging from the water, we’re not so sure about the direction of this film as we see the crossover between traditional animation to live-action. It looks like an entertaining film for all SpongeBob fans — let’s hope that the film is better than what it looks.

Pixels (Sony Animation)

 

Pixels is an upcoming live-action/computer-animated film produced by Columbia Pictures and Happy Madison Productions. Directed by Chris Columbus and a screen story penned by Patrick Jean and Adam Sandler (yes, Adam Sandler), Pixels is based on Jean’s 2010 short film of the same name (see video above). Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Ashley Benson, and Jane Krakowski, this film looks very geeky and totally out of this world. We’re sure geeks of all ages will love the film!