October Animation Tidbits [#2]

Tidbit time...

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Willem Dafoe recently talked about Finding Dory. Recording sessions have begun, which indicates that the script is already in great shape. Dafoe confirmed the other day that he is indeed returning to voice Gill, and he also said "It's even better than the first. It’s fantastic. It’s good to say I think it’s going to be better than the first; that’s good advertising!"

To hear him (he recently criticized reboot The Amazing Spider-Man, a film he has not even seen, for being a "cynical approach to making money") be enthusiastic about a sequel that many are having a hard time warming up to is something of a good sign, don't you think? Or is it just PR sugarcoating?

Finding Dory can very well be like Toy Story 2, folks. Just because Cars 2 (which obviously wasn't going to be fantastic to begin with) and Monsters University didn't fully deliver as sequels/prequels doesn't mean Finding Dory can't. Andrew Stanton and crew may just surprise us all.

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Disney Animators' Instagram unveiled this...

If that's Big Hero 6's official logo, then that's great. I already love the look of it, very Marvel-esque but also anime-esque. It perfectly describes the "big" scope and the Japanese flair of this upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studios film. Now hopefully we'll get some sort of official logo reveal some time soon!

And... I might be too hopeful here, but I'd love to see a teaser before Frozen... Heck, use that test scene as the teaser and get the word out! C'mon Disney marketing.

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Two directors have been attached to the 2016 Angry Birds animated film...

Disney veteran/supervising animator Clay Katis is one of them, who was the supervising animator on Bolt and Tangled. He also worked on several other films during his 19-year tenure at the studio.

Veteran storyboard artist Fergal Reilly is the other, his credits include The Iron Giant, Spider-Man 2 and most of Sony Animation's films... This leads me to believe that this film - which is being distributed by Sony - will be a partial Sony Pictures Animation production. Maybe. Summer 2016 is blank right now, usually they release two films in a calendar year and one around this time. According to Cartoon Brew, Rovio is producing it in-house (they're based in Finland), but it's possible that Sony Animation could work on some of it. But come to think of it, you would've heard something early on by Sony Animation themselves...

That's a strong line-up there. The screenwritter, Jon Vitti... Well... Simpsons veteran, but he wrote the two Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. Good choice for a film like this though, because we all know it won't be anything spectacular - it'll be a diversion for the kiddies. Solid choice for the script, if there is much of a script. (A silent film would be interesting, but that probably won't happen.)

I'm not excited for it, but I'm sure a lot of kids and fans will be. That's who they are probably aiming for with this film... But will Angry Birds still be popular with young'uns three years from now?

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What do you think of Dafoe's comments on Finding Dory? What do you think of the Big Hero 6 logo? Do you think that'll be the final one? Or do you think it's just a prototype? What's your take on the Angry Birds movie? What do you think of the fact that they got those two animation veterans to direct it?

Sound off below!