Author Archives: Amid Amidi

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“Legends of Oz” Set for 2014 Release

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Now that Disney’s Oz The Great and Powerful is a box office hit, let the Wizard of Oz remakes commence.Variety reports that Clarius Entertainment will theatrically release the 3-D CGI pic Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return in the first quarter of 2014. We posted the film’s trailer last fall, back when the film was called Dorothy of Oz, and the reaction was tepid.

The film is inspired by L. Frank Baum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz as well as an Oz book series written by his great-grandson Roger Stanton Baum. Daniel St. Pierre (Everyone’s Hero) and Will Finn (The Road to El Dorado, Home on the Range) directed the film through Summertime Entertainment, and Bonne Radford produced with Summertime co-founders Ryan and Roland Carroll. Indian animation studio Prana (Hoodwinked! and Disney’s Tinker Bell movies) handled the animation production.

Disney Is Producing New Mickey Mouse Shorts and Premiered the First One Today [UPDATED]

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Disney unveiled a new Mickey Mouse short today called Croissant de Triomphe, that can be viewed HERE. It is one of 19 new shorts that will begin airing on Friday, June 28, on the Disney Channel, Disney.com and other Disney-branded platforms.

Paul Rudish (Dexter’s Laboratory, Sym-Bionic Titan, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic) is exec producing and directing. Aaron Springer (SpongeBob SquarePants, Korgoth of Barbaria) and Clay Morrow (Dexter’s Laboratory, Chowder, Camp Lazlo!) are also directors. Joseph Holt is the series art director.

If the newly released short Croissant de Triomphe is any indication, this will be a handsome and distinctive series, featuring a mixture of Cartoon Modern-styled backgrounds, Thirties-influenced character designs (complete with pie-cut Mickey eyes), and loose, expressive animation. It’s easily one of the best revivals of a classic cartoon character that I’ve seen, remaining faithful to the original while adding a fresh visual twist. The three-and-a-half-minute running time of the first short is perfect, too. It’s great that studios are awakening to the fact that there can be other lengths besides 7- and 11-minute episodes.

My prime observation about the first short Croissant de Triomphe is that it struggles to find the humor in its set-up, which is Mickey driving around Paris on a scooter. Outside of a handful of lukewarm attempts at gags (including Minnie’s tonsils appearing in a phone, nuns knocked into the air like bowling pins who then float down, an appearance by Cinderella), the cartoon emphasizes frenzied videogame-influenced action sequences over slapstick. Even obvious gag set-ups—for example, Mickey dressed as a knight and lancing croissants—have no comedic payoff.

Whatever may have been lacking in the classic Mickey shorts, they at least emphasized personality-driven humor, something that is completely absent in this new short, which relies on conventional situation-based comedy. Hopefully as the crew finds its footing, they will be able to balance the accomplished action sequences with a more spirited comic sensibility.

UPDATE: Andy Suriano, who worked on these new shorts, has updated his blog with a complete list of everybody who worked on the cartoons at Disney. It’s one heck of a line-up:

Paul Rudish
Jenny Gase-Baker
Aaron Springer
Darrick Bachman
Clay Morrow
Chris Roszak
Chris Hacker
Andy Suriano
Joseph Holt
Illya Owens
Chris Savino
Derek Dressler
Alex Kirwan
Dave Wasson
Robert Lacko
Stephen DeStefano
Justin Martin
Justin Parpan
Narina Sokolova
Rae McCarson
Alonso Ramirez Ramos
Kali Fontecchio
Tara Billinger
Jasmine Bocz
Todd Popp
Steve Lininger
John Chang
Monica Mitchell
Animation produced at Mercury Filmworks (Ottawa)

U.N. Millennium Development Spots by Daniel Og

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Brew reader Leo Santos introduced me to the fantastic work of Brazilian animator Daniel Og, who animated this series of eight 30-second spots for Canal Futura—one for each of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals:

  1. Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger,
  2. Achieving universal primary education,
  3. Promoting gender equality and empowering women,
  4. Reducing child mortality rates,
  5. Improving maternal health,
  6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases,
  7. Ensuring environmental sustainability, and
  8. Developing a global partnership for development.

Og’s eccentric animation style tweaks the conventional patterns of movement. His characters jolt around the screen with an aggressive staccato edge, and everything’s just a little wobbly, but make no mistake, it’s skillful artistry done for effect.

After seeing these spots, I checked out Og’s reel, and while there are hints of the individualistic quirks that make these commercials special, it’s clear that Og’s creativity flourishes most when he works within his personal funky contour-line drawing style. Here’s hoping we get to see a lot more of that because it’s quite unique.

Trailer for Katsuhiro Otomo’s Shorts Omnibus “Short Peace”

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Short Peace is the name of Akira director Katsuhiro Otomo’s new omnibus feature comprised of four different shorts. It appears that Otomo’s Combustible, which qualified for Oscar consideration last year as a stand-alone short, will be part of the package.

Halcyon Realms points out the other directors who are involved in the project:

The four directors are Otomo himself, Morita Shuhei (Kakurenbo, Freedom Project), Hiroaki Ando (co-director of Tekkon Kinkreet) and Hajime Katoki (mecha designer for Gundam, Super Robot Wars, Virtua On, Patlabor and tons of other stuff.) Koji Morimoto has also been credited on the official page as the director of the film’s opening sequence.

The film’s website states that the film will premiere in Japan on July 20, 2013.

Lucasfilm Cancels “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”

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In a statement on StarsWars.com, Lucasfilm and Disney announced today that “Lucasfilm has decided to pursue a new direction in animated programming.” Their first move is to cancel production of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars in anticipation of Episode 7. The show, directed by Dave Filoni, aired 108 episodes over five seasons on Cartoon Network. If I were a betting man, I’d wager that future Star Wars TV animation will appear on Disney-owned channels like Disney XD.

Lucasfilm said on StarWars.com that they are still producing “bonus content”:

While the studio is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network, we’re continuing production on new Clone Wars story arcs that promise to be some of the most thrilling adventures ever seen. Stay tuned for more information on where fans can soon find this bonus content.

They also released this personal video message from the show’s director Dave Filoni:

“The Legend of Sarila” Trailer

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The Legend of Sarila (La légende de Sarila) is the first 3D CGI film produced entirely in Quebec. Drawing on Inuit culture and tradition, Sarila was directed by Nancy Florence Savard, and animated in Montreal at Modus FX. Production companies involved were 10th Ave Productions and CarpeDiem Film & TV. Budget was $8.5 million (CAN).

Sarila opened last weekend in Quebec province on 32 screens, grossing a modest $64,622 and landing in 10th place at the Quebec box office. The film has been sold to 20 countries.

(Thanks, Nicola Lemay)

Weekend Groove: Music Videos from Poland, US, UK, and Australia

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The weekend is almost over, but it’s not too late to check out these quality animated music videos that have recently come to my attention.

“Katachi” directed by Kijek/Adamski (Poland)

Music video for Shugo Tokumaru. Watch the making-of video.

“the light that died in my arms” directed by Alan Foreman (US)

Music video for Ten Minute Turns. Song written and recorded by Alan Foreman and Roger Paul Mason

“Easy” directed by Wesley Louis and Tim McCourt (UK)

Music video for Mat Zo and Porter Robinson. Credits:

Directed By Louis & McCourt
Art Direction by Bjorn Aschim
Animators: Jonathan ‘Djob’ Nkondo, James Duveen, Sam Taylor, Wesley Louis, Tim McCourt
Backgrounds and Layouts: Bjorn Aschim, Mike Shorten
Compositing: Sam Taylor, Jonathan Topf
3D VFX Directing by Jonathan Topf
Graphic Design by Hisako Nakagawa
Producers: Jack Newman, Drew O’Neill
Produced by Bullion

“Time to Go” directed by Darcy Prendergast and Seamus Spilsbury (Australia)

Music video for Wax Tailor produced by Oh Yeah Wow. Credits:

Animators: Sam Lewis, Mike Greaney, Seamus Spilsbury, Darcy Prendergast
VFX supervisor: Josh Thomas
Assistant animators: Alexandra Calisto de Carvalho, Joel Williams
Compositors: Josh Thomas, Jeremy Blode, James Bailey, Alexandra Calisto de Carvalho, Keith Crawford, Dan Steen
Crotchet sculptor: Julie Ramsden
Colour grade: Dan Stonehouse, Crayon

Mary Louise Whitham Eastman, RIP

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Michael Sporn reports the sad news that Mary Louise Whitham Eastman passed away last Wednesday, February 27th, at age 97. Eastman worked as a color model supervisor at Disney on films like Fantasia and Bambi. She married Disney artist Phil (P.D.) Eastman in April 1941, and both of them went out during the Disney strike that began in May 1941.

I’m unaware if she returned to animation after the strike, but her husband went on to become an important figure in the industry, writing numerous UPA shorts including The Brotherhood of Man and Gerald McBoing Boing before becoming a well-regarded children’s book author. They had two children, Alan Eastman, and Tony Eastman, who continues to work in animation. Visit Michael Sporn’s blog to see a fascinating article in which Mary Eastman described the work that she did at Disney.

George Lucas Is Opening An Illustration, Comic and Animation Art Museum [UPDATED]

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George Lucas’s next big project is thrilling: a museum dedicated to the popular arts such as illustration, comics, film design and animation. According to an interview with CBS, he initially plans to rotate his personal art collection which numbers thousands of pieces, and includes works by Maxfield Parrish, N. C. Wyeth, and Norman Rockwell.

Lucas hints that he’s looking to base the museum, the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum, in San Francisco’s Presidio Park, which is not only where ILM is located, but also the site of Diane Disney Miller’s fantastic Walt Disney Family Museum. [UPDATE: Brew reader 'Bell' notes that Lucas has already confirmed he is eying the Presidio. Lucas submitted a concept proposal—he is one of sixteen contenders—for an empty site at the Presidio earlier this month. You can download the entire 30-page Lucas Cultural Arts Museum proposal in PDF form (4.2MB). Wonderful stuff.]

This is the part of Lucas’s interview that gets me really excited:

“This museum, if anything, is a dedication to cultural fantasy. How do you design enviornments? How do you design sets? How do you design characters? How do you design costumes? Part of the museum is designed to educate younger people into the idea of storytelling, into the idea of being able to paint your fantasies, which is what Star Wars was. Star Wars was there to inspire young people to imagine things, to imagine going anywhere in the universe and doing anything you want to do and using your imagination to entertain yourself.”

It appears that Lucas may finally be creating the high-profile popular art museum that America sorely lacks. Last night, I attended the opening of the Harvey Kurtzman retrospective at the Society of Illustrators—a must-see show by the way—and was shocked to realize that even an artist as vastly influential as Kurtzman has never been the subject of an exhibit at a major American art museum. Gilbert Seldes argued nearly 90 years ago in his book The Seven Lively Arts that comics and film are deserving of the same criticism and acknowledgement as more established arts, but museums have been abysmally slow in recognizing illustration, film production design and animation as legitimate art forms. Thankfully, we have George Lucas on our side now.

Watch Bill Plympton’s New Film Noir-Inspired “Simpsons” Couch Gag

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Bill Plympton made a new Simpsons couch gag, titled “Film Noir,” that will premiere on this Sunday’s episode of the perennial TV series. The whole thing is posted online and can be seen below. Plympton also made a Simpsons couch gag last year.

Bill also just released the trailer to his new short Drunker Than a Skunk adapted from a poem by Walt Curtis:

“Beavis and Butt-head” Turned 20 Years Old Today

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I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge that the TV series Beavis and Butt-head premiered twenty years ago today—March 8, 1993—on MTV. The show’s crude production values and even cruder humor look quaint today in a South Park/Adult Swim/Webcartoon world, but it was a bold experiment in its time and cleared a path for much to follow.

“Jazz That Nobody Asked For” by Rune and Esben Fisker

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Sometimes a little good, simple cartoon fun hits the spot. Danish brothers Rune and Esben Fisker (aka Benny Box) begin Jazz That Nobody Asked For with a simple concept—a guy gets a song stuck in his head—and push it to its maddest conclusion. Dig more of their jazz at TheJazzMovie.com.

CREDITS
Directors: Rune Fisker & Esben Fisker
Idea: Rune Fisker & Esben Fisker
Storyboard: Rune Fisker
Animatic: Rune Fisker
Character design: Rune Fisker
Background design: Esben Fisker
Animation: Pawel Binczycki, Rune Fisker, Esben Fisker
Compositing: Rune Fisker, Esben Fisker, Pawel Binczycki
Sound design: Pawel Binczycki
Music: ‘Quaker City Jazz’ by Jan Savitt and his Top Hatters ‘Intro’ by Balkan Balagan
Produced by Benny Box

How Disney Bought Lucasfilm

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Good long-read in Businessweek about how Disney bought the Star Wars franchise and Lucasfilm. The article is short on major revelations, but contains some cute stories, like an overview of the meeting in which Disney CEO Robert Iger first asked George Lucas if he’d be interested in selling Lucasfilm:

In May 2011, Iger flew to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for the opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, an upgraded Star Wars ride offering patrons the illusion of traveling through space to visit planets like Tatooine. Lucas was deeply involved in the attraction, personally reviewing its progress every two weeks for several years.

On the morning of the Star Tours opening, Iger met Lucas for breakfast at the Hollywood Brown Derby, one of Disney World’s restaurants. It was closed for the occasion so the two men could speak freely. Fresh from his daily workout, Iger ordered a yogurt parfait. Lucas treated himself to one of the Brown Derby’s larger omelets. The two exchanged pleasantries. Then Iger inquired whether Lucas would ever consider selling his company. Lucas replied that he’d recently celebrated his 67th birthday and was starting to think seriously about retiring. So perhaps the sale of his company was inevitable. “I’m not ready to pursue that now,” he told Iger. “But when I am, I’d love to talk.”