Monthly Archives: November 2010

Is Disney Closing the Book on Fairy Tales?

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The LA Times had a front page story yesterday reporting Disney Animation is closing the book on fairy tales, saying:

…the curtain is falling on “princess movies,” which have been a part of Disney Animation’s heritage since the 1937 debut of its first feature film, “Snow White.” The studio’s Wednesday release of “Tangled,” a contemporary retelling of the Rapunzel story, will be the last fairy tale produced by Disney’s animation group for the foreseeable future.

“Films and genres do run a course,” said Pixar Animation Studios chief Ed Catmull, who along with director John Lasseter oversees Disney Animation. “They may come back later because someone has a fresh take on it … but we don’t have any other musicals or fairy tales lined up.” Indeed, Catmull and Lasseter killed two other fairy tale movies that had been in development, “The Snow Queen” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

Other notable quotes from the piece:

Catmull said he and Lasseter have been encouraging filmmakers to break with safe and predictable formulas and push creative boundaries.

“If you say to somebody, ‘You should be doing fairy tales,’ it’s like saying, ‘Don’t be risky,’” Catmull said. “We’re saying, ‘Tell us what’s driving you.’”

Bonnie Arnold, an animation veteran who most recently produced DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon,” said animated films must vie in the cineplex with effects-laden action films that a generation ago might have been considered more mature fare.

“You see elementary school kids standing in line to see ‘Iron Man’ or ‘Transformers,’ ” Arnold said. “To be honest, that’s who we’re all competing with on some level.”

It was a curious piece to see prominently displayed on page-one of Hollywood’s major newspaper. It was almost as if Disney was hedging its bet against possible low box office expectations. Ed Catmull seemed to back peddle yesterday afternoon, responding to the article on his Facebook page with this:

A headline in today’s LA Times erroneously reported that the Disney fairy tale is a thing of the past, but I feel it is important to set the record straight that they are alive and well at Disney and continue this week with Tangled, a contemporary retelling of a much loved story. We have a number of projects in development with new twists that audiences will be able to enjoy for many years to come. – Ed Catmull

That was certainly a carefully worded statement. I’m glad that fairy tales are alive and well “this week”. Personally, I hope the quote in the article — the one about encouraging filmmakers to break with safe and predictable formulas and to push creative boundaries — is true. There’s nothing wrong with re-telling a great fairy tale, but to truly live up to Walt Disney’s vision the studio needs to move beyond tired public domain fables and push itself in new directions. I sincerely wish them luck with that.

TONIGHT: Cartoon Dump @ 8pm

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Join us tonight at 8pm as we celebrate Thanksgiving at Cartoon Dump with special guest comedians Dana Gould (from The Simpsons) and April Hava Shenkman (as Princess Sacajawhooza), plus the “Birds of Prey” (Lizzy Cooperman, Emily Maya Mills and Susan Burke). I’ll be there too, with Frank Conniff (“TV’s Frank”), Erica Doering, J. Elvis Weinsten, and Mighty Mr. Titan (to whom I always give thanks), tonight at the Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd. • Free Parking! • Advanced Tickets here • RSVP Here • Phone: (323) 666-9797 • Map & Directions • And friend us on Facebook.

Weekend Box Office Report: “Megamind” Drops to Second

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Megamind

In its third weekend, DreamWorks Animation’s Megamind dropped to second place at the North American box office with a final gross of $16 million. Its total gross now stands at $109.3 million after 17 days. The film performed poorly mid-week, and “its 44 percent second-week drop was steeper than that of any other DreamWorks Animation movie besides the Madagascar movies,” according to Box Office Mojo. Comparable grosses for other mid-range CG features at this stage: How To Train Your Dragon had earned $133.4 million after seventeen days, Monsters vs. Aliens ($140.2 million), Despicable Me ($161.3), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($139.7), Happy Feet ($121.5) and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ($137.1). The film is currently tracking to be the 10th highest grossing DreamWorks film somewhere between the $160.9M of Shark Tale and the $180M of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

On the independent side, Paul and Sandra Fierlinger’s My Dog Tulip earned $8,622 from four theaters pushing its total to $123,221. This week it will surpass the US releases of Tokyo Godfathers and Appleseed.

Animated Sequence in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

A number of readers have written to ask who animated the shadow puppet-inspired “Tale of the Three Brothers” sequence in the new Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was directed and designed by Ben Hibon who produced it in association with Framestore. Hibon recently signed with Nexus Productions for repping.

Here’s an earlier film Hibon made called Codehunters:

UPDATE: FXGuide posted an interview with Dale Newton, the supervisor of the animated sequence at Framestore.

(via Drawn)

“Sym-Bionic Titan” Pushes TV-PG with “Sexy” Scene

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Last night’s episode of Sym-Bionic Titan is causing a mini-uproar on the Internet because of this sequence:

Many commenters, including the popular blog Super Punch, are questioning why Cartoon Network showed something so suggestive on a show that is rated TV-PG. Do you think this went too far for a TV-PG show that airs at 8pm? And while we’re at it, here’s another question: does nobody on the Sym-Bionic Titan crew understand how to draw a foreshortened pose? Not that there was much sexiness to begin with in this stiffly posed and animated sequence, but drawing a character so poorly so that she appears to have a leg tumor surely doesn’t help.

Sym-bionic Titan

Pardon me while I revert to old fogey mode, but it’s sad that after decades of progress in this art form, today’s television artists can’t animate anything nearly as appealing or sexy as work created eighty years ago:

Signe Baumane on How To Be A Full-Time Filmmaker

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A test frame from Signe Baumane’s feature film in progress

NY filmmaker Signe Baumane (Teat Beat of Sex) is working on her first animated feature Rocks In My Pockets and documenting the progress on her blog. During the past month, she wrote an incredible seven-part series about a topic that nobody ever talks about publicly: fundraising and how an independent animator can afford to make films while living in New York. Bottomline: It’s not easy.

Many filmmakers make films occasionally inbetween commercial film projects, whereas Signe takes a firm and principled stance that puts her independent filmmaking above all other activities. Her free-flowing and often funny articles touch on countless different subjects: applying for grants, why Kickstarter doesn’t work for her, accepting non-film art projects that support her filmmaking habit, and the difficulties of budgeting living expenses when one isn’t earning anything. Unfortunately, the posts aren’t categorized, but start in the October archive with Fundraising Story 1 and work your way up. Her writings provide a sobering and realistic perspective on the life of an independent filmmaker.

(Thanks, Michael Sporn, for the tip)

“The Dukes” on DVD

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How’s this for a merchandising ploy? This came in today’s email:

“Warner Archives is offering the first 400 pre-orders for Hanna Barbera’s The Dukes: The Complete Animated Series, autographed by actor James Best (who played Sheriff Coltrane). Limit 1 per customer. The DVD set will be released on December 7th.”

I wonder how many people were on the fence about buying this DVD set, but changed their mind and immediately ordered it once they heard the fifth-billed actor on the series was going to sign the box?

(Thanks, Bob Miller)

EXCLUSIVE: List of 33 Oscar-Qualified Animated Shorts

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The following thirty-three films have fulfilled the qualifications necessary to be considered in the category of Best Animated Short for 2010 Academy Awards. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will vote on a shortlist of ten films from this list. A second round of voting, also restricted to members of the Short Films and Feature Animation branches, will narrow it down to the five nominees for Best Animated Short Film Oscar. The final vote, which determines the winner, is open to all Academy members provided that they have watched every nominated short. It’s a wide open field this year with plenty of newcomers; only three filmmakers among the thirty-three contenders have ever been nominated for an Oscar (Bill Plympton, Tomasz BagiÅ„ski and Don Hertzfeldt).


A Family Portrait
Director: Joseph Pierce
Great Britain, 2010, 4 min
Link to filmmaker website

Angry Man
Angry Man (Sinna Mann)
Director: Anita Killi
Norway, 2009, 20 min
Link to filmmaker website


Animated History of Poland
Director: Tomasz Bagiński
Poland, 2010, 8 min
Link to filmmaker website

Barking Island
Barking Island (Chienne D’Histoire)
Director: Serge Avédikian
France, 2010, 15 min
Link to filmmaker website


Coyote Falls
Director: Matthew O’Callaghan
United States, 2010, 3 min
Link to filmmaker website

Continue reading →

Happy Birthday to Cartoon Music

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Today the American Composers Forum is commemorating the birth of a “quintessential American form of 20th century music: cartoons”.

Actually, there is a lot to celebrate today. November 18, 1928 was the day Steamboat Willie, Disney’s first cartoon with a synchronized soundtrack, premiered at the Colony Theater in New York City. This is also the official birthday of its star, Mickey Mouse.

Because of this, Carl Stalling is being featured today with a tribute on Composers Datebook despite the fact that Stalling didn’t create the musical track for Steamboat Willie (Willfred Jackson and Carl Edouarde did that). There’s no doubt, however, that Stalling is a seminal figure in both Disney music and Warner Bros. cartoons and his influence is still being felt today.

So “Happy Birthday” to Mickey, Willie and the soundtrack of all of our lives – Cartoon Music!

(Thanks, Uncle Wayne)

Is “Piercing 1″ the First Indie Animated Feature from China?

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Piercing 1

I found out Liu Jian’s Piercing 1 when looking through the list of winning films at the Portuguese animation festival Cinanima which ended a few days ago. After reading up on it, I’m fascinated by everything about the film and can’t wait to see it. I don’t know when that’ll be, but Los Angeles folks are lucky because the film has its US premiere on December 4 at the Silent Movie Theater.

The film tells a contemporary story set during the recent financial crisis. The synopsis:

Zhang Xiaojun came from a poor rural area to the big city. He put himself through university and found a job in a shoe factory. In 2008, the financial crisis forced the closure of many factories. Zhang Xiaojun lost his job. One day, a supermarket guard beats him up, mistaking him for a thief.

In vain, he asks the supermarket manager for financial redress — his dearest wish is to return to his village to resume a simple farming life. Right before his departure, the police arrest him. The supermarket manager also has his problems. On a moonlit night, the storylines converge in a teahouse near the city rampart.

The artwork for Piercing 1 looks beautifully drawn, and in this article about the film, Jian says that he drew the entire film himself on a WACOM tablet over the course of three years. “One day, I talked to my wife about the idea of making an animation film,” he said. “With her permission, we sold our apartment, relied on our savings and we also got help from our relatives. The whole combination of money needed to produce the film was USD $100,000.”

It should be noted that most (if not every) animated feature in China is made with some sort of funding or support from the government. Jian’s film is truly independent; in fact, the lack of the Chinese government’s oversight means that the film is unlikely to ever be released in that country. Hopefully he’ll find a way to distribute it internationally. When asked about the government’s reaction, Jian said:

“I’ve gotten a mixed reaction. The film deals with a lot of negative aspects of life. Even though these aren’t China-specific, government censors are always sensitive. It seems that they’re happy that a Chinese film is gaining international acclaim, but at the same time, with the negative themes in the movie… right now they’re not doing anything to block the film, but they’re not doing anything to promote it, either.”

More information about the film can be found at its official website. If you’ve already seen it on the festival circuit, please share your thoughts in the comments.

UPDATE: This review of the film by Thierry Meranger appeared in Cahiers du Cinéma.

“I’m Going to Disneyland” by Antoine Blandin

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Twenty-year-old animation student Antoine Blandin chose an ambitious subject matter for his short I’m Going to Disneyland that pushes beyond typical student film territory. Domestic violence and child abuse are difficult subjects to pull off in animation, and Antoine does a lot with the topic in just over two minutes. I might even argue that it’s more effective than the other domestic violence cartoon making the festival circuits this year, Anita Killi’s Angry Man, simply because Blandin’s grim and austere visuals don’t distract from the story and feel more authentic to the point he’s making. The film was made at the Angoulême, France-based animation school EMCA. There’s a smart write-up about the short at Kuriositas.com.