... Natalie Portman in the unlikely role of a physicist, but can all be enjoyed with a wink....

I had the DVD only because I mistakenly thought Thor was the 2011 film in which Portman appeared beside a waterfall, in nothing but a thong. But physicists don't stand around in thongs, my frame-advance button went unused, and that 2011 film was, in fact, "Your Highness." (and also features Zooey whatsername)

Unfortunately "Your Highness" is a really terrible film.

WHo cares?

Animation is big business these days.

Many commentators have suggested that 2011 has been a bad year for animation. It’s true that Pixar failed to trot out their usual masterwork. For some reason they chose to make a poor sequel to one of their poorest films, Cars. Let’s face it, since their supreme burst of mad optimism in the fifties, America has been to car design what KFC have been to haute cuisine. The vast American public was never really at one with minimalism.

But Pixar aren’t the only the only studio with a gazillion bytes of processing power. With Cars 2 abandoned on the roadside, an unlikely hero, in the form of a swivel-eyed chameleon wondered in from the desert. Directed by the equally unlikely Gore Verbinski, Nickelodeon’s Rango was Hollywood’s best draw of the year. It featured a fine cast of actors, rather than shrill comedians, and was packed with as many affectionate Western references as the average Shrek film contains cynical digs at Disney. It managed to appeal to adults without abandoning charm and whimsy or sneering at the concept of children’s entertainment. It was also low on wisecracks, the bane of American comedy. It's shame that Rango looks set to lose out to Steven Spielberg's mo-cap Tin Tin this awards season. Tin Tin was a well-made film, but ultimately uninspiring.

Of the other also rans, New boys, Blue Sky Studios, produced the creditable Rio; Disney’s Tangled was also very watchable; and Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda 2 was a sound sequel. However, despite being very successful, I thought the same studio’s Shrek spin-off, Puss in Boots, was poor. As you may have already realised I’m not a lover of the franchise.

Leaving Hollywood, I felt Aardman’s Arthur Christmas was passable, if not up to their best. However, arguably, the best film of the year was Studio Ghibli’s, joke-free Arrietty. The Japanese studio remains a steadfast antidote to the brashness of Tinseltown's 3d animation factories.