For the uninitiated, the clip showed the main character re-enacting (quite poorly, at that) several classic Bollywood movie sequences. Suffice it to say, I was surprised to see Disney lend its name to a movie from an unproven studio and industry. This looks to be following the same formula that most Bollywood movies adopt - all style, and no substance.

And as usual, those that see these will definitely download the horrible ‘handcam’ versions of the film once it shows up on BitTorrent like everything else that isn’t available here! Thanks for the heads-up Jerry on the next Furry Fanatical Feature of the year!

Make it stop!!! More badly designed motioncaptured furballs. When will the hilarity end??

Actually, I believe Yash Raj films is pretty well established. I may be wrong though.

What seems to bother me is the animation. Is it just me, or does it lack fluidity in the dog’s bodily movements? Moreover, he doesn’t seem very expressive. I get the feeling the animators needed to push a little further - give more spark to the subtle movements making them a bit more pronounced …

Here’s a clearer trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwxuKY24edU&feature=related
OK. I like the dog’s design and rendering, but the animation is definitely mechanical-looking. Isn’t that a major no-no? I like to see something fluid like the stuff that comes out of Pixar, or the Bowler Hat Guy from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Going to the dogs….

Actually, Beverly Hills Chihuahua isn’t CGI. It’s live-action actors and animals with lots of CGI effects. But that’s me being nitpicky.

Once again, another example of Disney trying too hard.

I read on IMDB that this film will get an arthouse US release date from Disney on October 24.

You know what the crackup is? Since Lasseter became head of Animation at Disney, he didn’t do a single thing right.

Is he going to?

HIDE THE SHARP OBJECTS… I’M SPIRALING JERRY… AHHHHHHH!

*Joey’s body hits the floor with a dead thud, his mouse ears rolling down the street into the gutter. Fade to black*

Hm. For reasons I can’t explain, anything Bollywood-related is massively revolting to me. It creates anger and nausea. Something about the dance moves and music is just awful and wrong. That stuff is nastier than 2 Girls 1 Cup.

LOL! I don’t know why, but this made me imagine our pal John Lasseter wearing a really psychedelic kurta instead of his traditional hawaiian shirts ;-)

Hmm…I like Bollywood, I even like Saif Ali Khan, but I’m not sure I want to see him as a CG doggy with ‘tude.

It’s Poochie :D

I just read the The Journal of Cartoon Over-Analyzations’ (linked here a couple of a days ago) half-serious rant that all leading man cats are orange and all leading lady cats are white… and here’s a orange(-ish) leading man dog and a virginal white leading lady dog.

http://cartoonoveranalyzations.com/2008/03/08/from-the-archives-chromatic-sexism-and-animated-felines/

is this the first product to come out of the Zemeckis / Disney deal??

Question. If he’s given the “Bob Barker treatment”, can we be assured of no sequels?

I dunno. It’s not targeted at American audiences, so the plot and pacing aren’t intended for people like me anyway. The animation certainly could use work, but it’s a helluva lot more fluid than “Monster House” or “Polar Express.” Nor did either trailer make me wince the way “Sharktale” did. Best of luck to them.

(I’ll just sit here and wait for the inevitable “THEY TOOK OUR JERBS!” post…)

For the money of these 2 lame dog movies, Disney could’ve made one kickass animation feature. A feature that would push the standards in this world. But no it’s still

“demons set loose upon the earth to lower the standards’

“This looks to be following the same formula that most Bollywood movies adopt - all style, and no substance.”

Yep, pretty much. Bollywood movies just don’t appeal to me, and I’d never consider watching the vast majority of them. This one’s certainly no exception.

But it’s not made for me, anyway, it’s made for the folks in India who love that kind of stuff… so who am I to care?

“Actually, I believe Yash Raj films is pretty well established. I may be wrong though.”

You are correct. They are a major film studio in India, one of the biggest - but they have no foothold in the animation industry, and this might be the first big venture to the animation sector from any major movie studio in India.

Just like the Beverly Hills Chihuahua comments, no amount of rationalization can make this sort of animation acceptable. Even if it is “just for kids” or in Roadside Romeo’s case, “not targeted at American audiences,” — bad ideas do not deserve to be produced! Audiences should receive the best efforts and the highest quality in their entertainment otherwise the whole industry is cheapened and discredited. Why are there so many producers willing to poison numerous people just make some cash?

More like Roadside Roadkill. What a steaming pile!

This may be done in Blender…It seems that pachage makes animators have a more ‘mechanical’ style, based on all the work I’ve seen with it…

Hmm … Steve. I felt the animation in Monster House lacked fluidity, yes. But I also felt it was a deliberate choice, and I didn’t mind it. Monster House has a very particular look.

But….this has nothing to do with Disney or John Lasseter, except that it has Disney funding. There was a press release a few weeks ago listing all the *real* up and coming Pixar/Disney films.

Uh, I don;t think that is a dog. I believe the two characters are mongooses (mongeese?) You may have to go back to Rikki-Tikki-Tavi to recall their story. Basically they are famous for fighting cobras. Those of you who were children of the 60’s and car freaks may recall two American dragsters pitted like WWE wrestlers - they were the Cobra and the Mongoose. We lived for a year in the US Virgin Islands and there were mongoose (plural?) all over. They had been imported a century or more earlier to fight the rats. The problem is mongoose are diurnal and rats are noctural, so they never met. So now the island (St John) had plenty of rats AND mongoose.

What kind of sh**t is that?

guys,
sure this is crap stuff compared to the pixar movies but you need to consider the fact that this is India’s first major 3d feature. This is the learning process guys! Surely there would be exponential leaps in terms of quality after this.

That’s a really good point lipuster. From that perspective, all the investment in computer education India has made is starting to pay off, and soon their animators will start to work in their motion pictures instead of doing the out-source work of western studios.

Maybe their only “sin” is that they are aiming to copy the western style we are all tired of watching year after year, instead of pursuing a more original animation aestethic. But I’m sure some visionary will arrive in time, and with the tools and the funding they are now gaining will make something we’ll be all eager to see.

Eeeeeek again!

Simply stated: Hey Bollywood! Don’t do the ‘tude thing! Try for something original! Love ya, babes!

Yeah, the movie will probably turn out to be total crap by our standards, BUT…

First of all, how is everyone judging the whole movie based on two very early previews, which are just introducing the characters? Unless I missed something, there was nothing about the plot, setting, etc., and no clips from the actual movie. Who knows, the quality may be better in that. Yeah, probably not, but I’m not going to judge yet.

Even if it sucks I’m still excited to see original feature animation from a part of the world that hasn’t produced much, if any, of its own. I hope this is, if nothing else, a step to better things.

Besides that, I kinda like the design of “Romeo” *shrugs*, and I’ve always had a strange weak spot for those Bollywood dance sequences, so I hope I get a chance to check this out in that US “arthouse” release.