After “Strange Magic” became a colossal failure, only grossing $13(ish) million on a budget close to $100 million, the future of ILM in animation looked dire. But almost a decade later, they have returned with a vengeance.
First, there’s the recently released Netflix movie “Ultraman: Rising.” Directed by Shannon Tindle and co-directed by John Aoshima, “Rising” is a bold new reimagining of the iconic Japanese tokusatsu hero. The film follows Ken Sato, an egotistical baseball player who takes up the mantle of Ultraman from his father and works to defend Tokyo from kaiju. He has to learn what it truly means to be a hero after he reluctantly adopts a baby kaiju upon defeating her mother, resulting in an emotionally-packed, visually stunning film about parenthood.
Then, later this year, Paramount will release “Transformers One,” the first theatrically released animated movie in the franchise since 1986. Directed by Josh Cooley, the film tells the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron as they go from best friends to sworn enemies at a time when Cybertron was at peace.
Sure, both these movies are based on beloved and very profitable franchises rather than strictly original films. However, they also manage to stand out from the IP-obsessed Hollywood landscape thanks to their unique stories and ILM pushing the boundaries of 3D animation.
