October Animation Tidbits [#3]

Tidbits on time-travel, three fantastical worlds

and shadows...

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USA Today gives us our first look at DreamWorks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman, which opens March 7th. The trailer, according to director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), will be released just in time for the debut of Free Birds this come November. Check out the images and see what you think!

Personally, I like the design of the Egyptian setting and the WABAC Machine's interior, but I like that the film is going to have the character design style and simplistic charm of the original segments, but in the world of computer animation. The rest of it, art direction-wise, looks very nice. It's also nice to see that Ancient Egypt will be prominent setting, judging by the selection of stills they have picked.

Also, I think - going by what I've read and what I'm currently seeing - this will be a bounce back for DreamWorks. The Croods was a letdown for me, I have not seen Turbo but I'm not dying to see it either, this looks like it'll be DreamWorks' first good film since Rise of the Guardians. (Hey, with the pipeline they have, not everything will be up to par.) I know that's a radical opinion, because it seems like everyone adored The Croods. Oh well, I wasn't too fond of it.

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The big news today for me concerns Reel FX's second animated feature (their first is Free Birds), The Book of Life. Recently, distributor Fox moved it from October 3, 2014 back to the October 17th spot, as opposed to the film's original October 10th spot. My Rotoscoper comrade Morgan got this bit of news earlier today; the plot and the full cast!

"An animated comedy with a unique visual style, The Book of Life is the journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears. Rich with a fresh take on pop music favorites, The Book of Life encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future."

I'm surprised that there's no mention of the Day of the Dead backdrop (it's possible that it's been removed in order to not make it seem similar to Pixar's upcoming similarly-themed film) or the Romeo & Juliet-style story, but three fantastical worlds? I wonder if they'll come in different unique animation styles, the synopsis alone promises an animation style like no other. Aron Warner, who is producing Free Birds, also noted this a while back. Remember when I compared it to Rango? Yeah, I'm pretty it will definitely be the next Rango for the computer animation medium.

Also, a "fresh take on pop music favorites"? Are we talking pop classics? Or more recent stuff? I hope it's classics, and it'll definitely be interesting because, as Morgan pointed out, it could go a Moulin Rouge!-esque route or something of the sort. Crafting a story around many songs sounds like a great idea, I just wonder what songs they will use.

The cast consists of Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Kate del Castillo, Ron Perlman, Cheech Marin,  Hector Elizondo Placido Domingo, Ana de la Reguera, Eugenio Derbez, Gabriel Iglesias, Ricardo (“El Mandril”) Sanchez, Danny Trejo...

Ice Cube? Channing Tatum? A bit star-studded, don't you think? Oh well, hopefully all of them are invested in their roles because I'm tired of animated films having casts with celebrities who are only in it for the paycheck (*cough* Epic *cough*) and sound so uninterested in the film itself. On the other hand, there's a lot of top talent here and unexpected faces. Quite the mix!

But I'm still excited nonetheless, it sounds wicked and wildly different... Just what I expected!

I'm glad they are hyping it now, which may mean that a trailer will be attached to Free Birds. Cross your fingers!

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Henry Selick's The Shadow King can't seem to catch a break...

Originally, this stop motion film was going to be released by Walt Disney Pictures this month, but after Alan Horn was named Chairman of the company last summer, the plug was pulled. Apparently Selick and crew were way behind schedule, though supposedly the film is actually halfway done. Selick then shopped it to LAIKA, since he directed Coraline for them, but they strangely rejected it! Earlier in the year, K5 International had picked up the film but we have not heard anything since...

Now, it seems like it's not on the schedule anymore. Selick is now off to direct a live action film based on Adam Gitwiz's A Tale Dark and Grimm, a Hansel and Gretel continuation where they enter eight other Grimm fairy tales. A pretty cool idea, but if you ask me, that should be an animated film - it screams animated. He also has an adaptation of The Graveyard Book in the works for Disney, so I assume that we won't be seeing his next stop motion film anytime soon. What a bummer...

That is, if someone picks it up... I hope it happens...

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What do you think of the Mr. Peabody & Sherman stills? Are you looking forward to the film? Or not? Does The Book of Life excite you? What do you think of the plot and the cast? Do you Henry Selick will ever get The Shadow King completed any time soon?

Sound off below!

July Animation Tidbits

More tidbits for ya... Lovely French Frozen posters, by the way... Now if only there was a third one to make a triptych! Disney has done it before!

Disney wants you to cool off this summer, with more Frozen-related stuff... Such as this international teaser poster featuring comic relief sidekick Olaf...

I love the design of this poster; everything from the water down to the icy film logo. Without showing too much, Disney is just effortlessly capitalizing on the wintery aspect of the film... Makes sense during a hot summer, right? Hopefully we'll be getting a full trailer sometime soon... Ahem, one that doesn't have spoilers in it.

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Blue Sky has given another cute Rio 2 teaser.

And that's just what it is, really... Cute. Nothing special, but I will admit the black jaguar singing bit was kind of funny. I think I'll reserve judgment until I see a full trailer, because I did actually enjoy the first Rio despite its problems.

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Pete Docter has spilled a few details on Inside Out, which is surprisingly one of a few non-sequel films that's slated for release in 2015...

He says the film "takes place inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl, and emotions such as anger, sadness, disgust and joy are the main characters." Hmmmm, three negatives and one positive as the "main" emotion characters? Does this mean that the girl might have a more pessimistic outlook on things? A child wanting to find happiness and joy in life, but somehow has a hard time? If so, that would make for a very interesting character, and it could also imply that the film's emotional content will be quite potent... Up, anyone? This is a Pete Docter film after all. Scratch that! This is a Pixar film, after all...

Then again, he might've just mentioned a few emotions off of the top of his head since there are five in the piece of concept artwork... What's the fifth one? Maybe anticipation? Trust? Who knows!

He also had this to say about the animation itself...

"The characters are created with this energy because we are trying to represent what emotions would look like. They are made up of particles that actually move. Instead of being skin and solid, it is a massive collection of energy. It’s a lot of fun and really takes advantage of what animation can do."

Yep... Pixar sure is dying alright. If anything, I'm curious to see what they do with their style of animation for this film... Or if they try out a completely different one. Could we see hand-drawn elements in a Pixar film sometime soon?

Docter also revealed that the film has two stories, "One story is hard enough. This is two stories that need to talk to each other." Now that sounds like a real challenge, and people say Pixar is running out of ideas or that they have lost their touch? If The Good Dinosaur doesn't shake the idiotic "Pixar is dead" belief, then this should... Like an earthquake! This sounds like nothing they've tackled before, and quite frankly, that's already something to get geared up about. This is another Pixar masterpiece in the making. It's everything you want from them: Risky, ambitious, emotional, rich in terms of the story and characters... I have a feeling that this will be grand.

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What are your thoughts on the Inside Out details? Do you think this will be a great Pixar film? Or one that could potentially be a mess? What do you think of the recent promo materials for Frozen? Did you think the Rio 2 teaser was cute? Or could you care less about that sequel and anticipate something like Anubis instead?

Sound off below!

June Animation Tidbits [#1]

Though we're only seven days into the month, some bits and pieces have been announced concerning the major animation studios...

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First up, Disney has unveiled the official poster for their upcoming hand-drawn Mickey Mouse short film Get A Horse!, which is delightfully retro and very reminiscent of the posters for short subjects during the Golden Age.

The short is being touted as "never-before-seen", as if it was some lost Walt-era film that happened to be unearthed recently. Set to premiere at the Annecy on the 11th, Get A Horse! will be the first theatrical traditional-length Mickey Mouse short film since 1995's Runaway Brain. I'm hoping it's a great one! Now, if only Disney would tell us if it's being attached to Frozen or not... In my opinion, it would be unwise of them to not attach it to screenings of the film.

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Reel FX Creative Studios' debut theatrical animated feature Free Birds is slowly but surely being hyped up. After a neat theater display and some details, we finally got some images from the film itself. The animation looks pretty good and the character designs are overall fun. I'm just hoping it's not... You know... A turkey. This could either be a very funny film or an outright disaster.

These images indicate that we'll be getting a trailer soon. Good timing too, since Monsters University is right around the corner.

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A while back, it was announced that Kung Fu Panda director Mark Osborne was at the helm of a $63 million animated adaptation of The Little Prince, a classic and famously philosophical children's book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. What studio will be making it? Apparently one in Europe, but the film now has a cast that includes Jeff Bridges, Marion Cotillard, Benicio del Toro, James Franco, Paul Giamatti and Rachel Adams. It's currently slated for release sometime in 2014, I presume it'll show up some time during the late summer or early autumn.

It's also going to be in 3D. Will it be a computer animated film or a stop motion film? I'm hoping for the latter, but it'll probably be the former. Here's hoping it's somewhat good!

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What do you think of the Get A Horse! poster? Do you think the short will be attached to Frozen? Or will Disney release it elsewhere? Do you think Free Birds can be a decent film? Or do you think it is a disaster in the making? Do you think the new adaptation of The Little Prince could work?

Sound off below!