While January isn’t generally prime-time when it comes to new films, tv shows or video games, it’s often a great time to preview what’s coming down the road in the form of trailers, teasers and featurettes. The past week has seen a whole slew of new trailers released, and appear to be quite the mixed bag when it comes to potential quality. That being said, if there’s any one theme running through most all of these trailers… it’s pets. Let’s take a look:
KEANU
Comedy Central darlings Key and Peele arrive in their first feature film (in theaters on April 29), which parodies familiar action film tropes with a cute kitten rescue mission. Note that the trailer is red band, so be prepared for plenty of adult language and violence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjEusWO6VPg
FINDING DORY
There’s not much to this new teaser (the original trailer provided a bit more context) but we’re still holding out that Pixar’s Finding Nemo sequel will have more in common with Toy Story 2 than Cars 2. Arrives in theaters on June 17th.
THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE
Do people still play Angry Birds? An all star cast of voice actors will bring these characters to life this May, and if jokes about drinking urine are your speed, then you’re in for a treat with the new trailer:
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
The wizarding world of Harry Potter returns to the big screen (in November) for the first time since 2011, which is more anthology than prequel. Set in New York in the roaring twenties, a group of wizards do damage control when a batch of creates is accidentally set free.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrp9wVO_74U
UMBRELLA CORPS
Similar to Fantastic Beasts, Umbrella Corps is another new property set in the world of a previous franchise. This new third-person shooter takes place in the world of Resident Evil, but instead of eerie survival-horror gameplay mechanics, you’re fighting against rival teams of humans with zombies as a backdrop. Arrives in May on PC and PS4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Bf9jIgcXU
STREET FIGHTER V
Capcom has continuously released new details of the newest entry in their fighting game series for quite some time now, and while the game has always centered upon multiplayer competitiveness, a new trailer reminds us that there’s still a single-player story campaign to be played through. SFV arrives February 16 on PS4 and PC.
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
One of the most interesting animated feature film trailers released this past week looks like the lovechild of Hayao Miyazaki and Tim Burton. A stellar lineup lends their voices to this action-adventure that arrives in August.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4-6qJzeb3A
TROLLS
Angry Birds might seem two years late in releasing a feature film, but the Trolls are two decades late. Perhaps Dreamworks is betting that the nineties nostalgia train will get people into the theaters to see this one. Otherwise, the inclusion of Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) is not likely going to do it.
NINE LIVES
Another cat movie. Arrives August 5th. If you want to see Kevin Spacey embarrass himself, here you go.
ANIMALS
Last but not least… this new Duplass Bros comedy series lands on HBO on Feburary 5th. While this is yet another animated feature centered around the lives of animals, the trailer makes it look like it has some potential, especially given the comedic lineup of voice actors (Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Rob Corddry, Kumail Nanjiani and Ellie Kemper to name a few).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64gUEBaIiLc