Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is not only critically the best reviewed video game adaptation of all-time, but a rare movie that effectively combines live action with animation. While this storytelling element has been around as early as the 1914 (with Gertie the Dinosaur), it’s more known these days for its use of creating “live-action” versions of beloved childhood animated characters. Said characters will be CGI recreations placed against an otherwise all human cast. These are often seen with negative results, with live action adaptations of Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo, Garfield, The Smurfs, and Alvin and the Chipmunks, among many others, all getting critically panned, and usually any other announcements made that employ this style are often anticipated as being quite bad.
Despite this commonly-known use of the style, there have been a fair amount of films that have done a solid job combining live-action with animation to much more successful results. Only so many have been executed properly, and because of this are so well-known that they tend to be parodied often in other films.
Often seen as the exceptions to the rule, here are five movies that properly utilized its live-action/animation hybrid (in alphabetical order):
1) Enchanted
The movie in which Disney makes fun of itself. Disney is often the winner at the “live-action/animated combo” game, and makes fun of how many times it employs this tactic, among many other frequently-used elements in Enchanted. Focusing on a young woman from a 2D animated world who finds herself in the 3D world thanks to the work of an evil queen and is transformed into Amy Adams, and is soon followed by a young prince also from the 2D animated world, played by James Marsden, who had fallen in love with her and planned to marry her. Mainly a parody of Disney princess films (namely Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty), the film is not just charming, but hilarious, turning many of Disney’s commonly used tropes on their head to form a new spin on a familiar narrative form. The film can be a bit cheesy at times as it sometimes embodies the films it makes fun of, but that’s part of the fun. The film launched Amy Adams into stardom and showcased her underrated knack for comedy. Disney’s live-action fare is typically a lot more mixed than their animated films, but this is one of their shining achievements in that department.
2) The LEGO Movie
The movie that unexpectedly spawned a hit franchise. Created at a time in which it was popular to start cranking out movie ideas based on popular children’s toys and games, The LEGO Movie could have easily tanked. But thanks to the hilarious writing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, it wound up being a much more delightful outing. Made in the style of stop-motion animation films, the film is filled with incredibly simplistic dialogue that’s told at a rapid-fire pace, that it makes for some excellent laugh-out-loud moments throughout the film, and features some fine voice work from the likes of Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, and many others. For those who haven’t seen the movie, the live-action portion does reveal some pretty big spoilers, so I won’t mention exactly what it is here. However, it was a pretty unexpected twist for the movie that gave it much more depth and a lot more heart. One of the most pleasant surprises of 2014, everything about The LEGO Movie is awesome.
3) Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins has only one sequence that combines animation and live-action, but it lasts for a good fifteen minutes or so, and is one of the most iconic fifteen minutes in any Disney movie, featuring multiple hit songs that are still sung to this day. Mary Poppins is probably the crowning achievement of Disney’s live-action movies, thanks to a pair of excellent performances form Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, as well as an underrated performance from David Tomlinson as George Banks. The film contains a nearly flawless soundtrack, and is filled with its share of memorable dance sequences. It’s a rare movie that doesn’t necessarily have a villain, per se, and more so has a number of misguided, but deep down well-meaning, individuals as the “antagonists.” Based on the children’s novels by P.L. Travers, the film was notoriously disliked by Travers, who fought hard with Disney for creative control (as portrayed in the 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks). But despite Travers’ objections, Mary Poppins is a cultural icon that lives up to nearly every bit of hype surrounding her, thanks to this movie. This is a prime example of pure movie magic.
4) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Monty Python gang’s first proper film venture (not counting And Now For Something Completely Different, which just combined sketches from their TV series into one film) perfectly translated their chaotic sense of humor from Flying Circus onto the big screen. The film is a mostly live-action experience, with most scenes transitioning via animated sequences, as well as being utilized as major plot points, to some hilarious results. The film is unabashedly silly, with many meta references, wild tangents, and off-the-wall banter that’s still often quoted to this day. Each of the six members of the comedy troupe take on a majority of the roles in the film, each of them portraying anywhere from three (Graham Chapman) to well over ten (Michael Palin) characters each, with many of them taking on roles that go into some truly insane territory. A film whose reputation grew over time, this is now often considered one of the funniest movies of all-time, and truly is British comedy at its finest.
5) Who Framed Roger Rabbit
While each of the other movies mentioned on this list only combined animation and live-action for certain portions of the movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit used it as a major plot point to drive the entire movie, to some fantastic results. Taking place in the 1940’s, the film is a wonderful tribute to the Golden Age of Animation, with many tributes to popular cartoon stars at the time, such as Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. The film is told in the style of a film noir, and despite so many colorful, family-friendly characters, can actually head into some pretty dark territory at times, and is arguably not for children, thanks to some frightening imagery utilized at times. The film isn’t a somber experience, though, and is often quite funny, taking some fun jabs at many of the cliches found in most films of the time. One of the finest ensemble pieces to ever grace the big screen, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the pinnacle of live-action/animation combinations.
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