July Animation Preview: The Minions lead a quiet month

Bello????

July is coming, which means the return of the Minions. Which means every other animated movie scurrying to other release dates to avoid falling into the immense shadow of the tiny yellow silly dudes. July is due to be a much slower month on the animation front, so slow that I'm even going to look overseas a bit, just so we have something to talk about.

In Theaters

In anticipation of the Fourth of July weekend here in the US, Illumination is releasing the latest in their long-running Despicable Me/Minions franchise on July 1: Minions & Monsters. I am...let's say...not the biggest fan of this franchise. After the stellar first movie, and a solid sophomore outing, I've felt that the Minions (and Gru) offer diminishing returns, going back to the same well far too many times without offering anything particularly fresh or funny. I kind of feel that way about Illumination in general. Their movies tend to be so palatable to general audiences that they don't have much flavor at all.

Minions & Monsters

So I'm glad that this outing is at least doing something new, and that I think might win me over. This latest chapter follows the Minions in 1920s Hollywood. They're on a quest to make a monster movie, and in so doing, decide to round up a bunch of real monsters. It's a very cute premise, and one that should offer lots of opportunities for fun set pieces and (hopefully) lots of classic Hollywood in-jokes.

July's Ghibli Fest release is My Neighbor Totoro, one of the most beloved movies in the storied studio's history. Few movies, if any, capture the magic and innocence of childhood so beautifully. It's a timeless classic for good reason. Screenings start on July 11.

My Neighbor Totoro

GKIDS is also bringing a couple Evangelion movies back to the big screen this month for the franchise's anniversary. I plan to get into Evangelion at some point -- it's a huge blind spot for me -- but it hasn't happened yet, so I don't know too much about this. But fans can catch Evangelion: Death (True)² & Rebirth on July 21 and The End of Evangelion on July 22.

At Home

Premiering on Cartoon Network on July 11, Iyanu: The War of the Twin Princes will then pop up on HBO Max the next day. Iyanu is a Cartoon Network show based on a graphic novel which taps into the African diaspora for its magic-infused story. The show focuses on a young girl who discovers she has powers that haven't been seen in the land in many years. This new film (comprised of three episodes), however, takes place a century before the events of the show, serving as a prequel to the second season. I've just started watching the show in anticipation of this new movie, so I don't have much to say, but I will get around to it eventually.

Overseas

Since it's such a light month stateside, I wanted to highlight some international releases that I hope I'll get to see someday.

There's maybe nothing more exciting in the world of animation than a new Studio Ghibli project, even if it's being directed by hit-and-miss Gorō Miyazaki, rather than his legendary father. In Japan, there are two main Ghibli attractions to visit: the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka (Tokyo) and Ghibli Park, which is near Nagoya. When you go to either, you're given a ticket to watch a Ghibli-produced short film that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. The collection rotates on a monthly basis, so to see all of them, you would have to make many, many visits.

I've been lucky enough to see three of these shorts during my travels to Japan: House-Hunting, Koro's Big Day Out, and Boro the Caterpillar. On July 8, a new short makes its debut at Ghibli Park: A Night in the Valley of the Witches. Not much is known about the short, but it's a sequel to Earwig and the Witch, one of Ghibli's worst movies (though honestly not as bad as its rap). I'm guessing the short will then join the rotation and sometimes pop up at the Ghibli Museum as well -- as far as I know, none of the existing ones are exclusive to one location. Although since this one is tied to the park (which has an area called the Valley of the Witches), who knows?

Another Japanese release I really want to see is Chiikawa's first-ever feature-length outing, Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island, which hits theaters over there on July 24. Chiikawa is a little cute mouse-like creature who has similarly adorable friends, and this movie finds them setting off to (you guessed it) an island with mermaid-related secrets. Praying this makes its way to the US at some point!!

Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island