Upcoming Animated Movies of 2011 that Also Feature Live Action

Movies that blend animated characters and live ones seem to be more and more common these days, with a few such films hitting theaters in 2011. Ever since movies like "Mary Poppins" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" became beloved classics, filmmakers have been fascinated by the prospect of having animated characters interact with real people, and these upcoming movies of 2011 show just how far this magical movie method has come:

Paul

This is one of the upcoming movies of 2011 featuring an animated character that is definitely not family-friendly. It's directed by the man that brought us "Superbad", and if that isn't enough to get fans of funny films excited, they should also take note that it stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of "Shaun of the Dead" fame. The duo play alien-obsessed geeks going on a road trip to visit some of the most famous UFO hot spots when they get the thrill of a lifetime by coming across a little green guy who has escaped from a secret government base. Seth Rogen voices the pot smoking, Reese's Pieces loving space invader named Paul, who is just trying to get back to his home planet (with a little help from his new friends, of course). Kristin Wiig stars as a fundamentalist Christian woman whose world is rocked by meeting this otherworldly being, and the movie evidently mocks religion quite a bit. So if you're easily offended, this is one of the upcoming movies of 2011 featuring an animated character that you might want to skip when it hits theaters on March 18th (it's also rated R).

Hop

This is one of the upcoming movies of 2011 featuring animated characters that families can enjoy together. Russell Brand lends his voice to E.B., the son of the Easter bunny who runs away to Hollywood to become a drummer instead. When a guy (James Marsden) hits the cute critter with his car, the bunny becomes the world's most annoying house guest. Other animated bunnies are sent to track the runaway down, and cute animated chicks also appear in the movie. Real-life cute chick Kaley Cuoco costars, and the Hoff makes a guest appearance. The trailer is actually quite charming, so this is another of the upcoming movies featuring animated characters that is worth giving a chance on April 1, 2011 (just be forewarned: kids might not be happy when they learn where jelly beans come from).

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

This is one of the upcoming movies of 2011 featuring animated characters that I'm not really looking forward to, although the trailer is actually vaguely intriguing. It focuses on the space race between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R., and if watching to see what new animated transformers make an appearance isn't enough to pique interest in it, perhaps audiences will want to check out Megan Fox's replacement, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Plus this one does have a prime summertime blockbuster slot in its July 1, 2011 release date.

Zookeeper

And here's one of the upcoming movies featuring animated characters that seems like a horrible, horrible idea. Kevin James plays a zookeeper with a horrible love life. Luckily for him, the animals at his zoo decide to help him by revealing that they can talk and giving him relationship advice. The movie features realistic CGI animals voiced by such talents as Adam Sandler, Cher, Jon Favreau, Sylvester Stallone, and Judd Apatow. Despite how silly this movie seems, its release was actually moved to July 8, 2011 because test screenings did extremely well (just remember that Kevin James' "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" did turn out to be a surprise success).

The Smurfs

These cute blue critters will be getting the CGI treatment as Gargamel (played by a non-animated Hank Azaria) chases them from their mushroom village onto the streets of modern-day NYC. Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays star as an expectant couple whose lives are affected by the Smurfs, while Sofia Vergara plays a cosmetics executive and the boss of Harris' character. Katy Perry voices Smurfette, while Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, and George Lopez lend their voices to some of her little blue pals. I have a bad feeling about this one despite NPH's presence, but since it's one of the upcoming family-friendly movies of 2011 featuring animated characters, it could be worth taking the kids to on August 3, 2011 as an end-of-the-summer treat.

The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made

I feel like I should also mention this movie here, since Muppets are like live-action animated characters. Here the iconic puppets team up to put on a show at the Muppet Theater in an effort to save Muppet Studios from an evil Texas oil tycoon. With names like Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Jack Black, and Zach Galifianakis attached, this one sounds pretty promising as a holiday treat on November 23, 2011.

So if you're looking for more than your average animated movie in 2011, get real with the live-action movies featuring animated characters on this list (you can also find a list of the completely animated movies of 2011 here).

SOURCES:
http://io9.com/#!5754444
http://screencrave.com/2011-02-09/new-hop-movie-trailer-has-the-hoff-david-hasselhoff-that-is/
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2010/04/27/sony-moves-upcoming-kevin-james-comedy-zookeeper-into-summer-2011/
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/29/entertainment/et-word29
http://www.movieinsider.com/movies/
http://www.movieinsider.com/m5836/transformers-3/