Animation: 389

Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III (2010), the third and final installment in the award-winning trilogy, premiered on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block on December 19, 2010. As opposed to the usual 11-minute runtime of Robot Chicken, this special runs for 45 minutes, making it the longest of the three Star Wars specials. In contrast to the prior installments of the satirical trilogy, Episode III presents a more coherent chronological narrative. It spans from events preceding Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace to those following Return of the Jedi.

Family Guy Presents: It’s a Trap (2010) is a direct-to-video special of Family Guy that concludes the Star Wars parody trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. The Griffin family faces another power outage and must watch Return of the Jedi. The episode, named after the iconic phrase from the film, was released on December 21, 2010 and later aired on Fox on May 22, 2011. R2-D2 and C-3PO go to Jabba the Hutt’s palace in an attempt to rescue Han Solo, who is still frozen in carbonite. Princess Leia thaws Han but is captured by Jabba and shackled at his side. Luke bargains for their release but falls into a pit where he fights and ...

Something, Something, Something, Dark Side (2010) is an animated special from Family Guy and the 20th episode of its eighth season. It follows the Star Wars parody trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. While the Griffin family watches TV, the power goes out and Peter takes the opportunity to retell The Empire Strikes Back. An Imperial Star Destroyer deploys droids to find the Rebel Alliance and one (Joe) lands on Hoth, where Luke Skywalker (Chris) is attacked by a wampa (Cookie Monster). Meanwhile, Han Solo (Peter) announces he’s leaving the Rebellion to Princess Leia (Lois) and Carlist Rieekan (Dr. Hartman), who objects but denies it when ...

The film Despicable Me (2010), produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures, follows the story of Gru – a longtime supervillain who is determined to outdo his unknown rival’s act of stealing the Great Pyramid of Giza. Together with his elderly assistant, Dr. Nefario, and faithful army of Minions, Gru hatches a plan to steal the Moon. However, concerns arise about the cost of such a feat and Gru is forced to seek financial assistance from Mr. Perkins, the director of the Bank of Evil. As part of Mr. Perkins’ conditions for granting Gru a loan, he must first steal a shrink ray. While attempting this task at the bank, Gru ...

Megamind (2010) is an American animated superhero comedy film from DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks, distributed by Paramount Pictures. The main characters, supervillain Megamind and the superhero Metro Man, are both aliens who arrived on Earth as infants after their planets were consumed by a black hole. Despite arriving in the same city at the same time, their upbringings are vastly different – Metro Man is raised in luxury while Megamind grows up in prison. Attending the same school as his nemesis, Megamind faces constant bullying until he decides to embrace his destiny as a supervillain. This sparks a fierce rivalry between him and Metro Man that ...

An animated film, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and released by Warner Home Video. This thrilling superhero action flick is the eighth installment of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. In hindsight, Ra’s al Ghul realizes his error in hiring the Joker as a diversion while he carried out his destructive plan on Europe’s financial districts. The Joker had captured Jason Todd, Batman’s partner, prompting Ra’s al Ghul to reassess his decision. During this time in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Jason endured brutal assaults and torture at the hands of the Joker in an abandoned warehouse before being left ...

DC Showcase: Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010) is a direct-to-video animated short film co-produced and directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and written by Michael Jelenic. It follows the iconic DC Comics characters, Superman and Captain Marvel / Shazam, as they join forces to defeat their formidable foe, Black Adam. In Fawcett City, Billy Batson, a young orphan who has been recently kicked out of his foster home, struggles to survive in a rundown slum. Clark Kent, a journalist writing about Billy’s situation, meets him at a local diner where Black Adam ...

An animated short film, DC Showcase: Green Arrow (2010), directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and written by Greg Weisman, stars Neal McDonough as the titular character. In this installment, Green Arrow must protect a young princess at an airport. The film was released on September 28, 2010 as a bonus feature on the Superman/Batman: Apocalypse DVD and is the third in the DC Showcase series. It has also been included in an extended version on the compilation DVD DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection. ...

DC Showcase: Jonah Hex (2010) is an animated western superhero film directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and written by western comics writer Joe R. Lansdale, Thomas Jane lends his voice to the disfigured bounty hunter who sets out on a mission to take down a ruthless brothel owner for murdering one of his targets. The story takes place in the Old West, where an outlaw known as Red Doc arrives at a saloon boasting about his skills and seeking pleasure. A prostitute named Madame Lorraine takes notice and lures him upstairs, only ...

A short animated film, DC Showcase: The Spectre (2010), was directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and written by Steve Niles. Detective Jim Corrigan, played by Gary Cole, takes on the identity of the Spectre to bring justice to his suspects. Foster Brenner, a well-known film producer, meets his demise when a bomb planted under the diving board of his swimming pool detonates. Though the case has been entrusted to Lt. Brice, Jim Corrigan continues investigating due to his romantic relationship with Aimee, Foster’s daughter. Upon interviewing Flemming, Brenner’s butler, ...

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010) is a 2010 3D computer-animated fantasy adventure film directed by Zack Snyder. Soren, a young barn owl, resides in Tyto Forest with his family, where he enjoys listening to his father’s tales of the ‘Guardians of Ga’Hoole’ – noble owls who battled against the malevolent Pure Ones. However, Soren’s older brother Kludd grows envious when they are taught how to fly and pushes him off a branch, causing them both to plummet to the ground. They are then taken captive by Jatt and Jutt, minions of the Pure Ones, and transported to St. ...

The television special Scared Shrekless (2010), which aired on NBC, follows the events of Shrek Forever After. Fiona and their three children manage to scare off some teenage trick or treaters. To pass the time, Shrek and his friends – Donkey, Puss, the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, Gingy, and Pinocchio – decide to tell spooky tales. As a competition ensues for the title of King of Halloween, they make their way to Lord Farquaad’s deserted castle in Duloc. Each character takes a turn sharing their terrifying story. The Bride of Gingy. Gingy visits the Muffin Man to share about his ...

Shrek Forever After (2010) is an American animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children’s picture book Shrek! by William Steig. Many years ago, King Harold and Queen Lillian were ready to hand over control of Far Far Away to Rumpelstiltskin (‘Rumpel’) in exchange for breaking the curse on their daughter, Princess Fiona – cursed to turn into an ogre every night and locked away until her ‘true love’ rescued her. However, before they could sign the deal, news arrived that she had been saved and they called it off. In present times, Rumpel has become an outcast and holds a ...

Tangled (2010), a 2010 American animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film, was produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. A single drop of sunlight, descending from the sky, produces a magical flower with healing properties. An elderly woman named Gothel utilizes it to retain her youth. After many centuries, soldiers from the kingdom of Corona take the flower and utilize it to save their queen who is pregnant and ill. The queen gives birth to a daughter named Rapunzel. Gothel sneaks into the castle and discovers that Rapunzel’s hair inherited the magic from the flower, but loses its power when cut. To maintain control of ...

The 17 minute sequel short film, Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010), is a follow-up to the feature film How to Train Your Dragon. Originally aired on television on October 14, 2010, on Cartoon Network, it was also released as a special feature on Blu-ray and double DVD editions of the original movie the next day. The story centers around Hiccup and his friends, who join their mentor Gobber on a mission to defeat the legendary Boneknapper Dragon. While about half of the film features traditional animation, it also delves into Gobber’s past and his encounters with the fearsome creature, revealing how he came to look as he does now.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010), an animated film based on the book by Cressida Cowell, follows the story of Hiccup, the son of Viking chieftain Stoick the Vast. The village of Berk is constantly under attack by dragons, and Hiccup, who is considered too weak to fight, instead devotes himself to creating mechanical devices with guidance from village blacksmith, Gobber. When he accidentally shoots down a rare dragon known as a Night Fury, he can’t bring himself to kill it. As Stoick prepares to lead a strike against the dragons’ nest, he enrolls Hiccup in dragon-fighting training with fellow teens Fishlegs, ...

Toy Story 3 (2010) is a popular animated movie by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. The film follows Andy Davis, who is now almost an adult at the age of 17 and getting ready to start college. Having not played with his toys for many years, only a select few remain: Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Slinky, Hamm, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, the Aliens and three toy soldiers. Before leaving for school, Andy decides to bring Woody with him and packs up the rest of his beloved toys in a garbage bag to be stored in the attic. However, a mix-up occurs when Andy’s mother mistakes the bag for trash. The toys then find themselves on an ...

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010), an American animated superhero film directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu with writing from Dwayne McDuffie, tells the story of an alternate universe where a heroic version of Lex Luthor and Joker, known as the Jester, steal the ‘Quantum Trigger’ device from the Crime Syndicate’s headquarters. In order to allow Luthor to escape, the Jester sacrifices himself when an alarm goes off. Luthor successfully flees to the Justice League’s Earth using a device ...

An American animated film Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009) is based on the DC Comics story arc of the same name from the Superman/Batman comic series. Written by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, the film follows Superman and Batman as they team up to stop a meteorite from hitting Earth. This also involves taking down Lex Luthor, who has been elected President during a nationwide economic depression. Despite Luthor’s success in reviving the economy and forming a team of government-employed superheroes, including Captain Atom, Katana, Black Lightning, Power ...

Green Lantern: First Flight (2009) is an American animated film based on the DC Comics superhero mythology. It was written by Alan Burnett, produced by Bruce Timm and directed by Lauren Montgomery. This film is the fifth installment of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series released by Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation. In ancient times, the first sentient beings known as the Guardians of the Universe used green energy to create the powerful Green Lantern battery. However, they were aware that ...