Yay! Yer Out!

I love it when animated films tank.

Even the ones I enjoy, like last spring's "Over the Hedge," make me happy when they underperform at the box office. Why? Because given half a chance, every Hollywood studio - and a large portion of moviegoers, apparently - would be content to ONLY see films about wise-cracking, computer-generated animals.

For awhile there, it looked as if these were the last sure commercial things in a transitiioning moviegoing environment. And while some CG features are great ( I could watch "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles" over and over again like a flatscreen-babysat five-year-old), most of them, like in any genre, are not. And they're all, ALL pitched to grammar school and younger mentalities, and therefore further infantilize the already juvenile discourse of Hollywood films in general.

But if the pitiful, $6 million opening weekend reception for "Everyone's Hero" is any indication, CG animation is no longer theatrical's safest bet. True, a Depression Era sports story featuring a talking baseball and bat may not have quite the kiddie appeal that, oh, talking boy cows with udders might. But at least the tykes aren't dragging their elders to the first available showings of everything colorful and shiny.

I'm sure "Hero's" producers will make their money back on home video, which is really where most of this animated stuff belongs anyway. I don't begrudge them that. I just hope that, after a few years and a few more financial disappointments, movie money and screens that could be devoted to at least sophomoric subjects, and perhaps even a few more mature ones, may be freed up.