Lincoln sweeps up, with Django Unchained and Argo right behind it!

The world cried out for it, DreamWorks listened. Ben Stiller and co are back, and Madagascar 3 proves a surprisingly enjoyable trip during a stellar month for animated releases. Things get weird as the homesick animals’ journey back to New York takes a detour through the old continent…

In a month that’s already overcrowded with supernatural themed animations, Hotel Transylvania is the runt of the litter. Frantic, over-manic direction, a severe dearth of laughs and a predictable plot are bad enough, but when you factor in Adam Sandler trampling all over proceedings and doing another Stupid Fucking Voice, then you’ve really got problems.

Frankenweenie sees Tim Burton return not only to his 1984 short-film of the same name – and not only to the stop-motion animation style he utilised on Corpse Bride – but also to the sort of smart, Gothic quasi-horror that made his name. And the results are, pleasingly, very much the Tim Burton of old.

The annual BFI London film festival has arrived to cheer away the doom and gloom of the coming months. Giving Londoners the opportunity to get a look at films they might not ordinarily get the chance to appreciate, the festival has an array of unique and exciting features on offer. We know we say this every week, but this is one experience you really will not want to miss.

Nothing quite says festivities like a dead dog, after all…

It’s really cheerful and stylish and – lol jk it’s full of graves

As we enter Oscar season it is easy to forget that, while cinema of course has a responsibility to impress and inform, it is ultimately at its best when making you laugh out loud at an anthropomorphised something-or-other in a screen shared by adults and children alike. When it’s a bit more animated, if you will. As such, here is a list of the ten most exciting animated movies heading to a cinema near you this year.

Wondering what to fill your days with in 2012? We recommend some light viewing, considering the world will probably be over then. Here are our best and worst for next year. Prepare to be angry, then a little happy, then quite confused, and then happy again.

Tim Burton’s new animated feature is being shot in black and white, before being rendered in 3D. Old/New skool or what?