Call it coincidence, or call it the maturing of an artform that has been with us for only 15 years or so. Either way, two of the year’s biggest movies are sequels to computer-animated classics, and in both of them, the heroes – who once represented all that was new and cutting-edge in family entertainment – reluctantly come to terms with the passage of time.

First there was Shrek Forever After, the fourth film in a series that goes back to 2001.

The original Shrek was a brash, subversive, pop-culture-referencing parody of Disney-esque fairy tales, and the phenomenal success of that film proved once and for all that a cartoon didn’t have to be released by the Mouse House in order to find an audience.

The first two sequels continued in that hip, edgy vein, with diminishing returns, but the new film is surprisingly sincere, as the ogre Shrek, now married to the princess-turned-ogre Fiona, finds himself looking after several baby ogres and pining for the days when he was just a regular, undomesticated monster in the swamp.

Enter the wily Rumpelstiltskin, who tricks Shrek into signing a contract that puts him in an alternate universe where he never existed. Shrek has to jump through several hoops in order to put things back the way they were, but along the way, he realizes that he misses his wife and kids, and so he learns to accept that he has become a family man.

And now there is Toy Story 3, the latest installment in a series that goes back to 1995.

The first Toy Story marked a major milestone in film history, as it was also the first-ever feature-length computer-generated movie; fortunately, it was also a very entertaining film in its own right. The first sequel was, if anything, even better, as the toy protagonists faced the possibility that Andy, the boy who plays with them, might outgrow them one day.

The third film takes place several years later – and, sure enough, Andy is all grown up now and ready to leave home for college. For the toys, the prospect of having no one to play with looms like a kind of death – and indeed, for a so-called children’s film, there are quite a few hints of mortality here. Among other things, Buster, the dog who was just a pup in the first two films, is now so old and tired he can barely move.

Toy Story 3 is not quite as good as its predecessors, but it’s still very entertaining – and, in its closing moments, rather touching, as characters we have come to know and love over the past decade or two learn to let go of each other.

It’s one of those rare films in which people learn to put away childish things, but in a way that affirms the best parts of childhood.

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The trailer for the latest Narnia film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, came out last month, and it feels awfully similar to the trailers for Prince Caspian that came out two years ago.

Unnecessary footage of World War II? Check. One of the Pevensie boys grumbles that he shouldn’t be treated like a kid in our world because he was once a king in Narnia? Check again. The White Witch – who was killed by Aslan in the first movie – shows up from beyond the grave to tempt the boy in question? Checkity check check check.

Some fans I’ve spoken to say the film version of Prince Caspian was so bad they’re not going to bother with Dawn Treader; others say Dawn Treader is their favourite book in the series, so they’re going to keep their hopes up. The film itself comes out in December.

Meanwhile, another C.S. Lewis book is inching toward the big screen. Variety reports that Mpower Pictures and Beloved Pictures are teaming up to adapt The Great Divorce, which takes place in the afterlife somewhere between Heaven and Hell.

The screenplay forThe Great Divorce is being written by N.D. Wilson, an author whose credits include the children’s book 100 Cupboards and the Left Behind spoof Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness.

He is also the son of Douglas Wilson, a theologian who recently engaged in some high-profile debates with atheist author Christopher Hitchens.

Some reports have claimed that this film will be directed by David L. Cunningham, director of To End All Wars and The Seeker: The Dark is Rising; he is also the son of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) founders Loren and Darlene Cunningham.

When I emailed him to confirm this news, he replied: “My involvement right now is as a friend to the project.”

– filmchatblog.blogspot.com

July 2010