I'm really starting to get annoyed with the North American film industry. Why is it that Hollywood seems to be physically incapable of producing a good adult animated movie? Even with excellent sales for movies from anime directors such as Hayao Miyazaki (Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoki, Spirited Away), the industry hasn't even started developing an interest. When a mainstream animated movie comes out, its invariably either a small release, like the Iron Giant, or a CGI showcase, like the uninspiring "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within". I wish one studio would break form and produce a animation using their best directors, writers, and actors, rather than some second-stringers and a team of CGI geeks. (Note: Pixar does not count for this, because they still haven't made a mature movie. Sure, adults can enjoy all the films, but the themes and issues dealt with just aren't that complex. )

I really enjoy watching animated films, simply because they have far more potential for truly exploring the wondrous and strange. If "Watership Down" was filmed live-action, or even in CGI, it would have been just another unnoticiable talking animal film, rather than a fascinating morality tale. I can only imagine what the Star Wars prequels would have looked like if they were animated, rather than drenched in tacky, overdone CGI. And I can only dream what an animated Ringworld would look like. However, until we remove the stigma of 'children's entertainment' from animation, I guess I'll be left sponging off the Anime import industry for my fix.