/ 7 December 2010

Odd-looking glasses and cute aliens sell 2010 movies

Odd-looking glasses and hi-tech tricks dominated the box office in 2010 as films in 3D took the front row.

If you were a movie that could be watched in 3D, especially a film aimed at children, you were guaranteed to make a killing at the box office.

One may argue that it underpins the economic power of the young, or one could cynically suspect that it says something about the maturity levels of the audience, no matter what their age. But one thing is for sure: 3D animation has taken over. It’s what audiences expect. Unless you find a way to include a couple of big bangs or a few cute aliens, you’re in for a tough ride.

Alice in Wonderland

Tim Burton’s story about what happens when a 19-year-old Alice goes back to Wonderland may have upset Lewis Carroll purists, but that didn’t stop it from becoming one of the most successful films in history. Combining computer-generated imagery (CGI) and traditional filmmaking techniques with 3D technology, it depicts Wonderland (Underland) as a dark, desolate place with a Mad Hatter who is so deranged he can’t stick to one accent, a dormouse that isn’t sleepy and a Cheshire Cat that sounds like Stephen Fry.

Toy Story 3

The original Toy Story was revolutionary in terms of animation. At a time when flat, traditional style animations were still the norm, Pixar showed off a bit and showed that a film created entirely using CGI could still be warm and funny. Fifteen years later, the franchise is still going strong.

Inception

The film responsible for a million “I dreamt I saw Inception” jokes on Twitter, Inception was yet another mind-bender from director Christopher Nolan, the same man who made us think we were watching a film backwards with Memento. A science fiction flick about stealing thoughts from peoples’ minds as they sleep, you’re never quite sure who in the film is awake and who is dreaming. It’s very odd so you might need a bit of a lie-down afterwards.

Shrek Forever After

If you were sick of the Shrek franchise, you’re in luck. This is the last instalment and given how successful it was, it seems Shrek fans remained true until the very end. Critics didn’t rate it as highly as the first two films, with many pointing out that there are only so many times you can rehash the same fairy tale jokes. And after a while, a comically annoying donkey just becomes annoying.

Twilight: Eclipse

All that glitters is not gold. Sometimes, it’s just a wimpy teenage vampire. This instalment of the Twilight saga saw the sulky Bella trying to choose between Edward, the aforementioned sparkly vampire, and Jacob, a teenage werewolf. There’s also a rival female vampire, and convoluted family politics. It’s all a bit silly, but it has all the right elements to make most teenage girls swoon.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It hasn’t made the list yet, but you could probably put money on it becoming one of the biggest hits of the year. Daniel Radcliffe and company might be getting on a bit, but there are legions of fans willing to suspend their disbelief. I won’t give away any of the storyline, just in case some of you haven’t read the book. Someone did that to me once, and I still haven’t forgiven them.

View more highlights of the year that was in our special report here: