Deitch on Today's Animation

Gene Deitch, animation legend, recently shared his views on today's mainstream feature animation landscape…

I had originally misinterpreted what he had said, thinking that his piece was a criticism of computer animation given his thoughts on Blue Sky's Epic and how he felt that today's computer animated films "imitate live action movies". Being so used to computer animation being called inferior to hand-drawn, I had assumed that Deitch was putting CGI down. Instead, Deitch is saying that he would like to see something in today's animation world that we all would like to see, really. Something different: Diversity.

He raises awareness of Ernest & Celestine, a French production done in hand-drawn animation that will be hitting American cinemas soon thanks to GKIDS; a film with animation that embraces a great minimalistic style that is definitely not realistic, and thankfully so. Its subject matter (I haven't seen it yet, so I can't say) apparently is not like what we see in a typical American animated feature, either. Now if only a big studio could make something like that!

As I've said here before (and I don't want to spite studios like Blue Sky or Sony Animation), I feel that mainstream American feature animation is kind of stuck in a hole right now. I may be excited for what's to come, but I feel that mainstream feature animation isn't being allowed to break out of the family-friendly comedy romp bubble. Disney ruled the roost for years with family-friendly films, and then Pixar took the torch and made great family films. DreamWorks now makes family films, the other studios follow suit. Even some studios making lower budget fare go for the G/PG family-friendly comedy formula. I look at the trailer fort The Nut Job and I think, "With a $45 million budget, that studio should've pulled off something different!"

I think today, there are two kinds of styles for computer animated films: The naturalistic kind, like Pixar's, which make me think of something like Bambi or Lady and the Tramp. Films like these, for me, look real but also look animated… But you still feel what's going on, you can immerse yourself in the fi;m's setting. The other kind is definitely more cartoony, the likes of Madagascar, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Despicable Me and Hotel Transylvania go this route. These films still have a naturalistic sheen to them.

But there should be more styles of computer animation, there are many areas that are currently untapped. We need films that look a little less real and embrace different, unique styles. Where's the Yellow Submarine of computer animation? Where's the Rooty Toot Toot of computer animation?

I think we've found the Disney and Warner Bros. of computer animation, now we need find the UPA of computer animation. A studio who will introduce a bold new style that'll contrast heavily with the works coming from Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony, Illumination and Blue Sky.

In the meantime, hand-drawn animation obviously needs to be brought back to the forefront since it has already tackled multiple unique styles and there are many more to explore. Once head honchos stop believing that all audiences want are computer animated films (sorry to beat the dead horse Disney, but The Princess and the Frog could've done better if the marketing was stronger and it wasn't put up against the likes of Avatar and such), we'll start seeing changes. The optimist in me would like to see Ernest & Celestine get some sort of a boost from an Oscar campaign, do well enough at the domestic box office and start a new trend. It would be cool to see big studios acquire smaller-scale fare, more experimental work and films from all over the world and give them wide enough releases.

Deitch had produced cartoons for the UPA during the Golden Age while also doing his own thing with films like Munro. We need to see more of that in feature animation today; studios doing what they want to do and not emulating Disney or Pixar or DreamWorks, or what has been done before by others. I'm personally okay with someone like Pixar sticking to their style; Monsters University was almost photo real while its accompanying short, The Blue Umbrella, at times felt like an animated live-action film. (Some shots in it really did look too real!) But the fan in me would love to see someone like Illumination, since they spend less on animated features than their competitors, go all out with a CGI film that's unlike anything we've seen before.

Reel FX might be doing so with Jorge Guiterrez's The Book of Life, which I've been championing for a while. Producer Aron Warner says its look is unlike most computer animated films, so that's definitely something to look forward to. Like I've asked before, will it be a game changer? Perhaps. Computer animation and mainstream theatrical animation needs one now, since 2013 gave us a slew of animated features that underperformed… And we also need a film that successfully tackles adult subject matter to be a hit in the states, and create a bigger market for adult-oriented animation. I don't really know if Seth Rogen's Sausage Party will do just that, I have a feeling it'll either create a market for these kind of films or it will set adult animation back 10 years. Adult animation is more than raunchy humor.

Again, it is time to diversify. Time to explore. Things may turn around soon, and now animation pros like Gene Deitch are beginning to speak up for the art of trying new things. Let's hope we see some changes being made some time this year, if not next year…

Bits: Star Wars, Changing Disney Dates and Hand-Drawn Goodness

Not necessarily Animation Tidbits, but just bits of news: Animation, live action and what-not...

First off, check out this new advertisement for British department store John Lewis…



Did you get a strong Brother Bear vibe from that? Well if you did, you did for a good reason. Two Disney Feature Animation Florida veterans did the animation for this, Brother Bear director Aaron Blaise himself and Dominic Corola.

Blaise said...

"I designed all of the characters while Dom and I supervised all of the animation. I personally animated all of the Bear and the Hare while Dom and his crew animated the rest of the animals. It was taken all the way through final line at Premise in Orlando. It was so great to do 2D again! I was even working on paper at my old Disney animation desk! Something I hadn’t done since Brother Bear!"

What's truly cool about this ad is that the characters are set against a stop-motion background, which would be a neat style for an animated feature. Hopefully Blaise and Corola try to get something like this made with the help of Kickstarter or something.

Blaise's comment is also kind of sad if you think about it… C'mon Disney executives, enough with this "audiences don't like hand-drawn anymore" crap. You yourselves engineered the box office performances of The Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh…

~

It looks like Star Wars: Episode VII is not too far away… Disney has finally announced a release date for the film: December 18, 2015…

(For a while, I had predicted that!)

A questionable date, because the script is said to be in the works and there is no cast. That being said, late 2015 is still a ways off. We've heard of the recent screenwriter change (Michael Arndt departing from something like this is not really a good sign) and rumors of Disney CEO Bob Iger insisting that the film be released in 2015, while Kathleen Kennedy and the creative crew think summer 2016 will give them the time they need.

I sincerely hope that Arndt didn't leave because Iger pushed for this film to be a 2015 release, I hope that this was meant to be a 2015 release all along and that it's not being rushed. Oddly enough, they'll be breaking the Star Wars May release date tradition. Now it's time for other blockbusters and big budget December 2015 releases to get moving. *cough*Warcraft*cough*Inferno*cough**cough*

Also… Will Kung Fu Panda 3, which opens December 23, 2015, be affected by this film? I sure hope not, the last thing DreamWorks needs is another Kung Fu Panda 2-esque performance at the domestic box office. I have a feeling that there's going to be a little reshuffling with their schedule, not to mention the fact that Finding Dory and How To Train Your Dragon 3 still share the same release date.

~

The same day Star Wars: Episode VII's release date was announced, Disney pushed Brad Bird's Tomorrowland to May 22, 2015. The original sci-fi story starring George Clooney and Hugh Laurie was originally set to open on December 19, 2014… But let's be honest, that spot wasn't good to begin with: It had to go up against the last Hobbit, Disney's own Into The Woods, Night at the Museum 3 and several others.

But this new date isn't great, either. It opens a few weeks after The Avengers: Age of Ultron...

Here's hoping that Age of Ultron doesn't affect that film, because it's a Brad Bird film and it's an original tentpole film from Disney. We need more of those, and less… You know… Re-imaginings of stories they have already tackled!

Speaking of which, Jon Favreau will be the director of Disney's live action re-imagining (well, second actually) of The Jungle Book. While this gives me a little optimism, I still have no excitement for the project. I'd be totally fine with Disney scrapping it, the Cruella origin story, The Beast and even Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella… But that's already filming. Maleficent? Don't really care…

With him being attached, that means this will come to theaters in 2016 at the earliest. Blech, whatever…

D23 Live

Alright, just like my CinemaCon and Comic-Con posts this year, I'll be talking about some big happenings this weekend while they are happening... You know... The D23 Expo!

Thursday, 8:06 PM Eastern

Entertainment Weekly got a piece of concept artwork from Pixar's next release, The Good Dinosaur in addition to details on what we will see at the expo! Feast your eyes on this lovely image...

Beautiful, isn't it? It's great to see our apatosaur protagonist in full color, rather than in silhouette form. Where's the boy? Well maybe we'll see more of him and other prehistoric beasts and humans over the weekend, since we may be seeing even more concept artwork!

Lasseter went on to talk about running Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar and DisneyToon and made some comments on DisneyToon going theatrical due to the sales of home media these days... Errr, I don't know how to feel about that.

Unfortunately, he also said that there are "no features on the docket for hand-drawn" but he did talk about how the studio is keeping it alive and how it's being integrated into Disney's style of computer animation... But damn it, I still want to see traditionally animated hand-drawn films. They can co-exist with the likes of Frozen and Paperman! Plus, you can make a very good-looking one for less than $100 million... C'mon... On the bright side, he also said that hand-drawn won't be a "lost art", as the interviewer puts it. In the end though, what matters is the quality of the film, of course... But of course hand-drawn shouldn't be kept away from features at the very studio that specialized in great hand-drawn classics.

Friday, 1:07 PM Eastern

Looks like Walt Disney Animation Studios will be making their presentation today... Also, have a look at this. See anything interesting on the bottom?

Yes indeed, Disney outright confirmed that Disney Animation's next film after Big Hero 6 (a new first look here, courtesy of /Film!) is in fact titled Zootopia and that it is Byron Howard's film. Yep, Honor Hunter of Blue Sky Disney was right! Also interesting to see that Jared Bush is one of the writers. His background is in television shows like All of Us, Still Standing and Who Wants To Marry My Dad? Disney and Pixar have been picking outsider (in an animation sense) writers recently, and the results have been good so far. Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee had little to no involvement with animation prior to penning Wreck-It Ralph's fresh and fantastic screenplay, and Victoria Strouse - who will be writing Finding Dory - has only worked on television shows and productions, most notably ABC's October Road. Branching out and then some.

Anyways, I'm psyched to hear about Zootopia but of course I'm looking forward to more on Frozen and Big Hero 6 (the latter especially!), though I do have my theories about Howard's film and the other secret Disney Animation projects. The ones on Zootopia may be moot by the end of the day, or maybe not. Either way, I hope for a small detail or two!

1:52 - 4:19 PM Eastern

Pixar is now up.

Some footage from Pixar's The Good Dinosaur has been teased, along with Party Central, a Monsters University short that will be attached to it in theaters. I was hoping for a short that wasn't based on a film of theirs, but this could be good...

The footage description, reports ComingSoon's writers, shows the asteroid missing Earth, even though it looked it was going to hit it. Dinosaurs watch it go by. Now, they're saying that the dinosaurs in this film are like farm equipment and they all look tired. Brontosauruses are bending down, using their heads to plow fields. Very, very interesting so far. They also apparently talk! The main bronto is named Marlow. (1:55-1:58 PM)

John Lithgow will voice Marlow's father, Frances McDormand voices the mother and Bill Hader voices the brother. Strong cast so far! (2:00 PM)

Marlow is actually in fact named Arlo, as ComingSoon made a small mistake. He'll be voiced by Lucas Neff. Judy Greer will voice his sister, Ivy. As said a little earlier, Arlo is green like the film's logo implies. (2:03 PM)

Peter Sciretta of /Film describes the footage as "almost like a segment from Fantasia." Have we got Pixar's "The Rite of Spring" on our hands here? (2:04 PM)

The dinosaurs also hate bugs, but Arlo doesn't. Outcast story, much? Color me intrigued. (2:07 PM)

Arlo comes across what he thinks is a bug, but it's actually a caveman-like boy wearing a disguise that makes him look like a bug. The boy doesn't talk and is named Spot. So talking dinosaurs, but silent cavemen-esque humans? And Pixar is losing their creativity and touch? Gimme a break. (2:08 PM)

More concept art is shown, focusing primarily on the settings, one that includes a "snowy mountaintop". That concept art, anyone? (2:11 PM)

Now it's Inside Out time!

Director Pete Docter mentioned how the concept was "wholly unique" to animation and how it will be grounded as well. The young girl's name is Riley and she is a fan of hockey and other sports, who ends up having to move to San Francisco and find new friends. Hmmm, I wonder why... Her five emotions are the following...

• Anger, a red "toad" with a white shirt and tie voiced by Lewis Black.
• Disgust, a green thing with a dress, is voiced by Mindy Kaling.
• Fear is voiced by Bill Hader (again!), ComingSoon's Silas Lesnick describes him as a "pink, non-furry Gonzo".
• Joy is voiced by Amy Poehler, who may be the lead emotion. She has blue hair and a yellow dress, interesting color scheme...
• Sadness is voiced by Phyllis Smith, and apparently looks like "a little blue Velma".

All these characters are said to be human-esque, like the human-like Muppets, as Lesnick puts it. It's only the designs that they are showing. (2:19 PM)

In a Monsters, Inc.-esque fashion, the emotions work for a headquarters that Lesnick describes as a "more colorful Minority Report base". They watch what Riley does from her point-of-view, Joy captures the memory, as it comes in the form of a ball. (2:22 PM)

The creation of her dreams is shown, as it's said to resemble a Hollywood film studio. They also show a "Train of Thought", which is an actual train. Joy and Sadness end up getting lost within Riley's mind, leaving the other three emotions to keep things going... Hmmmmmm, curioser and curioser... (2:24 PM)

Forgot this update, Neil Patrick Harris voices one of Arlo's siblings in The Good Dinosaur, Cliff. Now back to Inside Out... (2:28 PM)

We'll also be seeing what goes on inside other people's minds. Riley's mother and father have a fight, and they show how it all works inside both of their minds. (2:31 PM)

Now onto Finding Dory...

New characters are being announced... Dory's parents! Her mother Jenny is voiced by Diane Keaton and her father Charlie is voiced by Eugene Levy! There's also a beluga whale in this too, Bailey, he'll be voiced by Ty Burrell. Andrew Stanton jokingly says that Bill Hader won't be in it. Boy, Pixar seems to love Mr. Hader right now, don't they? Hader jokingly tried to get into this film on stage, boy would I love to be there right now! (2:35 PM)

After screening ten minutes of the upcoming Toy Story Halloween special Toy Story of Terror (the footage sounds amazing), now Disney is presenting DisneyToon stuff. I'll pass on this... In the mean time, I'll collect my thoughts on what was shown and revealed of the three upcoming Pixar films... (3:11 PM)

So... All of that Pixar news was inevitably exciting. The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out's footage reminds me of why I love the studio, not just for their storytelling and heart... But for their creativity. I love the idea of humans not speaking in this world, and how dinosaurs work as farmers, something that was talked about months and months ago. Our main character Arlo already seems like the outcast in his world, hence the title which implies that he may be doing something right while other dinosaurs do traditional things that may be in many cases... Well... Bad. Maybe...

Inside Out on the other hand reminds me of how well pulled off Monsters, Inc.'s concept was, especially the descriptions of the headquarters where the emotions work and how other people's inner-workings work as well. People may accuse Pixar of being formulaic now, I don't know about that... This sounds nothing like they've done in the past, and the whole plot of Joy and Sadness getting lost in the mind already piques my interest. Big time! I have a feeling that the emotional content in this film is going to be so thick that a jackhammer can't crack them... Buckets will be cried, maybe?

Other than that, I'm glad that we got some information on Finding Dory even if it wasn't more on the plot. Rumblings went around today about Pixar completely changing the film's planned ending after watching the controversial SeaWorld documentary Blackfish and speaking with the director, but since Pixar declined to comment, I think that article might be fake because it gives away both the planned ending and what they're going to do with the ending in the finished film. Massive spoilers. If those got out, I think Pixar would've seized the article or something. For now, I think the stories are rather... Fishy? Pun shamelessly intended.

While we didn't get a scrapping (yet) on "Dia De Los Muertos" or any of the other three untitled films scheduled for release between June 2017 and June 2018, it was great to hear some of the details on the three films that are next in line. Toy Story of Terror also sounds like fun, taking the toys to a spooky hotel and most likely playing off of horror movie tropes and whatnot. I was hoping the specials would branch out a bit, and it looks like they are! Party Central, I'm not too sure about that one yet, because I really want to see something original with each theatrical Pixar short, but this could work out. (3:39 PM)

Walt Disney Animation Studios is currently up! (3:58 PM)

Footage from Big Hero 6 is currently being shown... Can't wait to read about it! (4:02 PM)

Eric Vespe of AICN tweeted that it "looks kind of like Wreck-It Ralph in tone and design." Sciretta said "We might not get an Incredibles sequel anytime soon but Big Hero 6 will fill this void. Looks awesome."

Lasseter also officially announced Zootopia! Hooray! (4:09 PM)

Now we're getting details on Zootopia! According to Lesnick, it's similar to Robin Hood. It's an all-animal world with no humans, and they act and dress up like humans. Lasseter says he misses that. They also showed a wildebeest wearing a shirt saying "I'm with Gnu-pid". There are neighborhoods based on the different habitats of the animals. One of them is called Tundratown, which is all wintry and frozen... And it contains a polar bear karaoke club with seal waiters! The nightclub has a "fridgasine"... A limousine and a freezer... Man, they went all out! They also showed Sahara Square, where desert animals go at night. A fence chills the cold areas and warms the desert...

Yes that's a lot of little details and my goodness... It sounds very different and a tad bizarre. I love it! (4:14 PM)

Huh, looks like Jason Bateman is voicing a fox lead after all. His name is Nick Wilde, and he's got a rabbit friend named Lt. Hopps. Rabbits lives in Burrow Borough, and they ride a Rabbit Transit System. There's a pop musician named Gazelle with brawny white tiger back-up dancers. Wilde's wardrobe consists of a suit and sunglasses, and he also has very sharp teeth. Lesnick revealed that this puts him at odd ends with his rabbit friend. (4:18 PM)

In other words, holy smokes this all sounds very cool. Definitely creative and runs with the all-animal world ideas of Disney's Robin Hood and DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda. There is an enormous, I repeat... An enormous amount of potential in this project! (4:19 PM)

8:42 PM Eastern

In the four hours I was away, I still was able to check updates... We got concept art for all of the animated films unveiled today.

First up, a new still from Frozen that looks fine, plus some great footage that was leaked last night. The YouTube comes courtesy of The Rotoscopers!

The footage looks great, no doubt. One minor nitpick is the dialogue, since I was no fan of Tangled's rather distracting modern slang. But I still loved that film, and this looks like it'll be a fine mix of action, comedy and drama. I also love the Elsa reveal at the very end.

This Big Hero 6 piece may be minimal in its content, but it's beautiful nonetheless. The full plot was revealed. Loosely adapted from the comic, 14-year-old boy genius Hiro's developed Microbots technology is stolen by an underground force below his home city, San Fransokyo. Soon, he finds himself in a team of crime-fighters including a robot named Baymax, whom he befriends after losing his brother. Sounds like an emotional ride and a crazy action-packed experience at the same time, classic Disney with a bigger bite. Think The Incredibles, which will coincidentally turn ten years old two days before this film opens.

Zootopia... Now I love this sketch, then again I'm in love with the concept. Seriously, I already see so much in this film even though we know little about it! Anyways, does the piece give you a slight Chris Sanders' vibe? It has that unique weirdness to it, if you ask me... Anyways, just awesome. Nick Wilde is already a favorite of mine. The full plot was also revealed:

"In the animal city of Zootopia, a fast-talking fox who’s trying to make it big goes on the run when he’s framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Zootopia’s top cop, a self-righteous rabbit, is hot on his tail, but when both become targets of a conspiracy, they’re forced to team up and discover even natural enemies can become best friends."

Wow, wow and wow...

This piece of Good Dinosaur concept art shows us how the dinosaurs will really look...

Leaked concept art showed more designs, which surprisingly didn't do much for me... Yet. The dinosaurs have a sort of clay-like look, they are definitely not naturalistic in their designs but definitely very cartoony. I think they'll grow on me, though I think Arlo looks fine.

The big one... Inside Out concept art!

The designs are certainly different, and again, I'm not too, too fond of them just yet. They do have that Muppet-esque look that Lesnick mentioned. I like the designs of Anger, Disgust Fear. Joy and Sadness? They're not bad, they just seem weird... But then again, in the finished film, they all ought to look fine. That's usually the case.

This piece is actually my favorite of the bunch, believe it or not... Finding Dory! (I am in Devil's Advocate mode right now?)

Murky, dark and mysterious in a sense. Looking at it already brings the atmospheric feel of Finding Nemo back, from the great sound design to Thomas Newman's immersing score. Now let's hope the film is great... Well it should be!

What do you think of the concept artwork for these films? Do any of them excite you?

Saturday, 9:15 PM Eastern

After a panel focusing mainly on live action (Disney, Marvel and some Lucasfilm), Disney then had a panel focusing on Pixar shorts and specials.

General Manager and Executive Vice President Jim Morris jokingly said that Toy Story of Terror is the studio's "first horror film". Angus MacLane (director of Small Fry) added "We wanted to have many things from the horror genre, but also make it accessible to everyone." It's a genre that I'd certainly love to see them tackle for a feature-length film, but... We'll save that idea for another day!

Then it was announced that two more Cars Toons shorts are coming next year: Radiator Springs 500 1/2 and To Protect and Serve. Now for a while, I was thinking that the Cars Toons series should ditch the whole "Mater's Tall Tales" deal because it got tiresome, and there's so much more they can do with the world of Cars through these shorts and possibly specials. The first sounds like it'll focus on racing, which is what I kind of wanted for the next Cars Toon. Something about, you know, Lightning McQueen. He's the star of the franchise too, right? Right? Anyways, one of the problems I had with Cars 2 was that the racing aspect was mostly glossed over. I wanted to see more of McQueen's colorful competitors, but alas we got bits of the races and only three of his rivals spoke.

The latter on the other hand sounds like a plug for Planes: Fire and Rescue since that opens next summer... Yeah, let's just I'm not happy with the fact that the "should be DTV" franchise is now theatrical. Feh!

Anyways, it's good to see that Pixar can continue franchises through shorts rather than sequels. I think that's why there's more Toy Story Toons and specials being made, ditto Cars and now Monsters. Better that than sequels, right?

~

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...

~

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.

~

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.

~

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!

~

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!

The Return of the Mouse

Despite what's been going on with corporate Disney and Walt Disney Animation Studios (particularly the layoffs) as of late, there's still a lot great things coming our way. In addition to the exciting leaked Frozen footage, Disney is preparing... A new hand-drawn Mickey Mouse short done in black-and-white. The title?

It features Mickey and Minnie, of course, but with Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow. You barely see them around these days! It'll feature Walt Disney's own vocals, another plus! What's it about? The four are on a musical wagon ride that Peg-Leg Pete plans to sabotage. Definitely classic Mickey & Friends in every sense; Disney is implying that it's a buried treasure, a long-lost Mickey short that's being reconstructed. But in all reality, this is most likely a new short. It's possible that Walt planned this and the studio got as far as recording the vocals, but I don't think this is the case.

But that's not all... This short is premiering at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 11th. What premiered there last year? Paperman! You know what this means...

Yes, having this attached to Frozen would make for a phenomenal double bill. Paperman was definitely worth the price of admission, and Disney was very very smart to attach that groundbreaking short subject to a film that was destined to be a box office hit. Disney ought to do the same for this new hand-drawn short. It's not updated or modernized, it's done in the style of the earlier shorts. Also, marketing for Frozen should make it clear that a brand new Mickey Mouse short film will be attached to it. This is the characters' first full short subject since 1995's Runaway Brain.

All I can say is this... It's about damn time!

Farewell For Now...

Today was a rather dark day for Walt Disney Animation Studios... Today was a very shocking and saddening day for the studio, Disney fans, film fans and animation fans... Today was a day where dreams were crushed...

Walt Disney Animation Studios, as reported by Cartoon Brew, has laid off several veteran animators, most of them being from the hand-drawn animation unit: Nik Ranieri, Ruben Aquino, Frans Vischer, Russ Edmonds, Brian Ferguson, Jamie Lopez and Dan Tanaka. The Animation Guild also reports that meetings will be called for other veteran animators, meetings about pay cuts and buyouts...

The Walt Disney Company has been laying off a lot of employees for past couple of days, from the film studio to the marketing department. The layoffs were announced a few days ago, which seemed surprising since Disney came off of a great year. A year that included the mega-blockbuster that was The Avengers along with two animated hits, Pixar's Brave and Disney Animation's own Wreck-It Ralph.

Why are people being laid off? Supposedly, Disney CEO Bob Iger is "looking for efficiencies and cost-cutting measures in areas where digital technologies were reshaping businesses..." (source) One of which was said to be home entertainment, which makes sense since a majority of Disney's recent physical media releases (on Blu-ray and DVD) have been lacking. Disney is scaling back in these tough times where video game companies are being shut down to all of the trouble going on in the VFX industry...

With a lot of the hand-drawn animation veterans being laid off, this spells trouble for the future of hand-drawn animation at Disney. It's heartbreaking to see these animators go, them having been with Disney since the Second Golden Age and the fact that they have contributed greatly to several films made over the years that have entertained and inspired audiences of all ages.

Upon hearing this news, I was in shock... I'm still in shock, actually...

Hand-drawn animation seemed to be on a slow comeback trail to the silver screen in America. Such passion and dedication was put into the two recent hand-drawn films done by Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh. The former was a critical success but did decently at the box office, its numbers paled in comparison to Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph's big grosses. Winnie the Pooh was barely marketed but got good reviews, it still wasn't enough. The lovely little film didn't even crack $30 million at the domestic box office. But Disney was satisfied with how The Princess and the Frog performed and didn't seem to fret at Winnie the Pooh's performance; perhaps they knew beforehand that it wasn't going to do very well to begin with. It seemed like hand-drawn was here to stay, but would come around every once in a while... It was confirmed last year that Ron Clements and John Musker's next film would indeed be a hand-drawn film... This may not be so anymore.

From my perspective... And I don't want to sound like I'm pointing fingers, but... It seems to me that it's the ignorance from the higher ups that's the cause of all this. Animators and artists in the computer animation wing of the studio will also be laid off, but if you ask me, this is happening for all the wrong reasons. If it's true that Iger wants efficiency and will cut costs to "reshape businesses", then it tells me that the company is losing it. I had worried a little while back that the acquisition of Marvel and Lucasfilm would slowly have the suits diverting their attention to their properties whilst neglecting the work of Disney's own animation studios. It seems like they're just ignoring the studio all together. The very studio that got the company to where it is now... They wouldn't be there without Steamboat Willie, any of the Silly Symphonies, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or any of the other feature films and short subjects produced there since 1928. It all started with animation...

Marvel and Lucasfilm are sure to bring profitable films and products to Disney over the next decade. That's all fine, and I was enthusiastic about the acquisitions because Disney would be able to expand whilst improving those companies. Marvel's films produced for the company have all been good, and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows a lot of promise. Star Wars Episode VII also looks like it's going to more than a worthy successor to the original trilogy. There's a lot to look forward to there, but sadly, Disney may be more interested in them than other areas of their business that matter a lot...

Disney executives sent hand-drawn animation packing over a decade ago for reasons that were equally as wrong as the apparent reasons they are doing it now. Executives had become too powerful at Disney's feature animation wing, spoiling a lot of films that could've been potential winners whilst aiming others at the wrong audiences. Disney Animation hasn't been like this since Bob Iger had become CEO in 2005. John Lasseter and several others helped revamp the studio and with a few good films, they finally got back to their roots. They got back to what made them good, and it paid off with the successes of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph. Hand-drawn animation was slowly going to be brought back... It was going to be a dream come true for fans and audiences across the globe.

I'm still excited about Walt Disney Animation Studios' upcoming films, though only two have a name and a release date: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee's Frozen and Don Hall's Big Hero 6. I've also been waiting for more information surrounding Ron Clements and John Musker's secret project, and was happy to hear details about it whenever they were revealed. Despite the layoffs and the uncertain future of hand-drawn animation, I'm still anticipating their upcoming works for the storytelling and for the craftsmanship. The medium does not define the quality of the film...

Disney should not jettison hand-drawn animation. There's no good reason to. A hand-drawn animated film could cost as much as a computer animated film does. Hand-drawn animation is not an outdated form of storytelling. Hand-drawn animation is still loved by audiences. The Princess and the Frog was a hard sell, it was backed by paint-by-numbers marketing and it had to go up against Avatar and other big films that season. Critics loved it, audiences loved it and it was able to make quite a bit after such a weak opening. Why doesn't Disney consider this? Or how about merchandise sales, home media sales and everything else? Frog making much less than Tangled has nothing to do with it being hand-drawn. Nothing...

History has repeated itself. Hand-drawn seems like it's going to be sent packing again...

However, I do have one theory...

Paperman, the lush and beautiful short attached to Wreck-It Ralph, seamlessly combined computer animation and hand-drawn animation. It looked great, and it's possible that this meshing of two mediums will be the studio's answer to hand-drawn in the future. Rumors went around that Ron and John's film would be done in this style, so it's very possible that classic hand-drawn animation is being scrapped in favor of this new kind of traditional animation. What this means is, all future traditionally animated films will be Paperman-style hybrids.

This technology has already shown how much potential it has, and over the next few years it should be improved. Different things can be tried with it, and Disney can really innovate with that. At the same time, they can keep making computer animated films. It would be a win-win situation, but will this be in the cards? We don't know, but knowing how corporations work, I can't help but be a bit cynical and less optimistic than I usually am about the future of animation. I think the suits clearly don't care for hand-drawn animation or have no faith in it.

Scrapping hand-drawn is just so wrong in so many ways. Either Disney feels that audiences have ditched it - despite a lot of that being based on assumptions - or they don't see much of a future for it in this digital age. Hand-drawn was able to co-exist with computer animated spectacles like Toy Story and Shrek, it looked just as great even though some were quick to declare computer animation as more "real" than hand-drawn. That didn't stop audiences from seeing good hand-drawn films like Tarzan and Lilo & Stitch. Audiences avoided subpar hand-drawn films like Brother Bear and Home on the Range, whilst seeing good and bad CGI films since computer animated films were still a novelty at the time. This explains why schlock like Shark Tale and Chicken Little made big money at the box office. This is not the case anymore, of course. Audiences now avoid bad CGI films.

I fully understand that several industries are in trouble. A lot of video game companies have faced trouble, Lucasfilm shut down LucasArts! Visual effects companies like Rhythm & Hues (Life of Pi) have gone bankrupt, with the future of VFX possibly lying in cheaper outsourcing. DreamWorks laid off over 350 employees after Rise of the Guardians didn't do well at the box office, and with their new units in India and China, it looks like they may be seeking other ways to produce more than two animated films for release each year.

With the layoffs, Disney's release schedule might be affected. We may have to wait every once in a while for their films, rather than a full year. Frozen is apparently close to completion and will of course open in November as planned, with Big Hero 6 to follow in November 2014... But will something be ready for November 2015? Or that year in general? We might have to wait until 2016 to see the studio's 55th animated feature...

I wish the best for the animators who are being let go. I hope they find great success elsewhere. Hopefully these talented folks keep hand-drawn alive outside of Disney in some way while creating or helping create great works at other studios. These are some of the finest animators in the industry, so I hope there's a good future waiting for them...

This news has left me and a lot of others bummed out... Hand-drawn animation is a beautiful and unique way of telling a story. Hand-drawn animated films from Disney are like lavish works of art come to life... There's something so special about drawn characters moving in perspective in hand-created and hand-painted settings. I admire both hand-drawn animation and computer animation equally, but both mediums should co-exist. The future of animation isn't all about what's rendered or created on a computer, or what's made with clay models. Hand-drawn animation is one of the earliest and most classic forms of animation, it is no way outdated. Why do a lot of Disney's classics hold up today? If hand-drawn was outdated and obsolete, then why do people still admire and love all those great Disney classics? You can't just leave a nearly century old art form in the past. It is the future. It has to grow and improve. Look at how others out there experiment with hand-drawn animation. Hand-drawn animation fares incredibly well in the television animation industry... It's here to stay. It's not outdated and it will never go away.

Hopefully somewhere down the road, with the industry in better shape, Disney could re-hire animators or start over again with their traditional animation studio and try to give it another shot. There's always time, but for now... It's hard not to feel very let down and a bit unenthusiastic...

March Animation News Roundup

The month isn't over yet, but I thought I'd cover a few things I missed over the last few weeks. It's a been rather slow month for the blog, so I apologize. Been toying around with a new one that's not necessarily meant to be like this. This one is what I call the "extra rambly" blog, where stuff I deem not so suitable for this blog goes...

Anyways, what's my take on a few new things?

First up, the official trailer for DreamWorks' Turbo! Just in time for The Croods too, which is getting positive reception. The Chris Sanders-Kirk DeMicco film looks like another winner for the studio.

Since it's not on YouTube yet (DreamWorks is removing trailers that anyone is posting on copyright grounds for some reason), you can watch it on iTunes Movie Trailers.

What do I think of this trailer? I can buy the silly premise. Some have said that this film is essentially Cars and Ratatouille combined... Yeah, maybe the film has similar plot elements to Pixar's rat tale but it seems a little simpler. The snail just wants to go fast and race with cars, unless the movie reveals that there is more to that. Nice animation, good color scheme and some surprisingly funny parts. Yes, this film actually looks decent! I'll gladly take back any skepticism I had towards it.

The release date of the film was also changed. Originally set to open on July 19th, it's been moved two days forward, so you can catch this new DreamWorks film on a Wednesday!

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Next up... A new trailer for Despicable Me 2!

I will be honest, I enjoyed this trailer as well. Sure it looks a bit generic and it will be harmless at best, but it looks funny and cute like its predecessor. I'm also glad that it has a decent plot too. This ought to be an enjoyable flick at best.

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Who is scoring Pixar's The Good Dinosaur? Looks like John Powell is no longer onboard, this time it's none other than Thomas Newman!

Newman also provided the scores for Finding Nemo and WALL-E. Both scores are pure excellence. I have no doubt that his Good Dinosaur score will also be fabulous. I was really excited to see what John Powell would bring to the table for a Pixar film, but I'm fine with Newman assuming the job.

And of course, The Good Dinosaur opens on May 30, 2014.

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Last but not least... The piece de resistance of recent animation news... A new hand-drawn Mickey Mouse short!

I could probably ramble about this for paragraphs and paragraphs... Let's just put it this way: I'm glad to see that Disney is bringing Mickey and friends back in a proper fashion. They haven't gotten such treatment since House of Mouse, and that was over a decade ago. If you ask me, this is the best Mickey short since 1995's Runaway Brain. The design... The design is great.

It mixes the look of the original shorts (down to the title cards, too!) with a minimalist new style. This style has already gotten praise, but it's also gotten a lot of detractors. It certainly is a lot more modern, but I think it does its job. It's modern enough for today's audiences while still having a classic feel to it.

The short was designed by Paul Rudish, who worked with Genndy Tartakovsky on his three animated shows: Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars. He is also the co-creator of Tartakovsky's unfairly canceled Sym-Bionic Titan. I always admired Tartakovsky's style, so it was nice to see Disney Animation try it on for a Mickey short. This is actually the first in a series of 19 new shorts which will air on television.

If anything, Disney should attach one of the shorts to their upcoming Frozen or maybe another film on their slate. People need to see good hand-drawn animation like this, and I could care less what Bob Iger said at the shareholder meeting concerning traditional animation... It's coming back. It may take some time, but it is coming.

Aside from the design, the short itself is funny. The lack of dialogue made it work for me, proving that you can still entertain without exposition. Everything else works well... The Cinderella bit was also priceless.

The series starts on June 28th on the Disney Channel. Definitely looking forward to this...

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What's your take on this news? Did you like the trailers for Despicable Me 2 and Turbo? Or not? Do you think the new Mickey Mouse short is genius? Or is it the opposite? How do you feel about Thomas Newman providing the score for Pixar's upcoming film?

Sound off below!

The Secret Project

Remember that shareholder meeting that happened a few days ago? Remember how Disney CEO Bob Iger said that no hand-drawn animated features were in development at Walt Disney Animation Studios? Well, it was obvious that he was wrong. Either he has no idea what's going on at the Burbank building, or he made an assumption given the company's recent films being computer animated. Or he wanted to make us think that none were coming, and then... Surprise!

Well, Indie Wire reported that Ron Clements and John Musker's formerly super-secret project is a fresh new take on the Rumplestiltskin story titled The Name Game. Disney had been planning a Rumplestiltskin adaptation for a while, so it makes a lot of sense that this is going to be the dream team's next big film. Last summer, Ron and John's project was announced by Disney's Animation Research Library (the link is now defunct) and it was stated that it would be a hand-drawn feature. We then heard some things about a research trip to the South Pacific and how the film will possibly be done the same way Paperman was.

Rumor has it that Ron and John's new take on Rumplestiltskin takes place in the South Pacific and the legendary fairy tale character is a tiki carver. This definitely is an interesting and neat new spin on the classic, since the duo did the same for The Princess and the Frog. It's nice to see Disney going about fairy tale adaptations in a different way, as seen in that sterling film and the impressive Tangled. This year's Frozen is looking to be that way as well. That way, they can keep doing fairy tales adaptations but they're at least trying something new with each project.

I'll be a bit disappointed if it turns that this film won't be a hand-drawn or a hybrid, because Paperman is essentially the starting ground for the future of Disney animation: Keeping the tradition alive while looking forward... Just like Walt would've done. It would be nice to see an all hand-drawn film, but I'll be very happy if The Name Game is Paperman in feature-length form. The story? I have no doubt that it'll be good. After all, everything from Meet The Robinsons up until now boasted strong storytelling.

What will the release date be? Probably 2015, since it was announced for a 2014/15 release and the fact that Big Hero 6 is now Disney Animation's 2014 release. Also, I think it has a better chance at bringing back hand-drawn than The Princess and the Frog because it doesn't seem as risky, plus Disney probably won't have it open against a massive four-quadrant film while backing it with lackluster marketing... Well, they better not...

Time to bring back traditional animation to Disney feature animation... For good...

Goodbye, Shadow...

It appears that DreamWorks has removed Me and My Shadow, director Alessandro Carloni's risky hybrid (of hand-drawn animation and computer animation) film about the world of shadows, from its release schedule. Not moved, but got rid of completely. Let that sink in for a minute...

Even after the unveiling of a teaser image and details, DreamWorks has abandoned this film. Mr. Peabody & Sherman will once again occupy the March 2014 spot. Peabody was originally scheduled for March 2014, but moved up to this coming November. Now it's back in that spot, leaving the early November slot blank. DreamWorks will release two films this year in total.

Now we all want to know... What happened? Story problems? DreamWorks had no faith it? Or was there a falling out with the director? Maybe it's still in the can but currently not scheduled for release any time soon?

Hopefully we'll get an answer soon...

UPDATE: Cartoon Brew has revealed that Me and My Shadow is now back in the development phase, and massive layoffs are coming at the studio. It's possible that DreamWorks is doing this because of how Rise of the Guardians underperformed at the box office, but we don't have any more answers than that. I'm hoping those animators will eventually find work.

Moving Forward (Part 2)

In the first part of "Moving Forward", I took a look at two Disney animated features that marked the beginnings of the comeback of one of the greatest American animation studios of all time after years of disappointing audiences and critics alike. Those two films were Meet The Robinsons and Bolt, which I reviewed while also taking a look at how they performed and what the outcome was for both of them.

Here, I take a look at Disney's The Princess and the Frog, the successor to these two films and the studio's return to hand-drawn animation, a medium they ditched six years prior to its release.

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The Princess and the Frog

Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker

Written by Ron Clements, John Musker and Rob Edwards

Produced by Peter Del Vecho

Released on December 11, 2009

With the changes made at Disney in 2006, hand-drawn animation was going to make an immediate comeback amidst the glut of computer animated films. Fox’s The Simpsons Movie and Disney’s own Enchanted were the first stabs, along with the Goofy short film How to Hook Up Your Home Theater. The Princess and the Frog marked Disney’s full return to hand-drawn animation, and the animated musical format, which they hadn’t done since Home on the Range.

At first glance, The Princess and the Frog (terrible title, should've stayed as The Frog Prince) seems like an attempt to recreate the much-lauded Disney Renaissance. It has a love story, a big bad villain and big production numbers. It actually isn’t, it’s just an attempt to make a good, heartfelt musical in the vein of classic Disney musicals, from any decade of Disney's history. The Princess and the Frog does not go for some epic plot like most of the Renaissance films do. In fact, it’s a simplistic plot that’s very character-driven. Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) and Prince Naveen (voiced by Bruno Campos) are both the polar opposites, who both learn about the most important things in life on their journey.

Tiana is the textbook example of a workaholic, chasing a seemingly impossible goal. She puts her job and hard work before everything, rejecting spending time with her friends or getting married and raising a family. Her mother Eudora (voiced by Oprah Winfrey) wants her to follow in her deceased father’s (voiced by Terrence Howard) footsteps. Tiana believes she is, by fulfilling his dream. A hardworking man he was, he still made time for his family, something Tiana fails to realize. At the same time, Prince Naveen is cut off by his family for being a lazy schmuck. His valet, the whiny Lawrence (voiced by Peter Bartlett), tries to ram that point home by telling him to either marry a rich woman or get a job. The Maldonian prince (fictional location) doesn’t seem to care, he just wants to live life.

Enter Dr. Facilier (voiced wonderfully by Keith David), a voodoo witchdoctor whom they make a deal with. He's not a big bad powerful villain like some of the Disney Renaissance villains (Jafar and Scar, anyone?), he already has some power, which proves to be his undoing. He has no relationship with the main characters, he's just a con man. He's a threat because of Naveen and Lawrence, he's not a threat from the get-go. A recreation of the Renaissance films? Think again. Facilier grants them a better future, but it ultimately backfires on Prince Naveen. He’s turned into a frog, whereas Lawrence is magically transformed to take on the appearance of the prince, as long as the prince’s blood isn’t used up in the voodoo charm. Tiana meets the frog prince on a balcony during a masquerade ball. The prince tells her that a kiss will undo everything, but it only turns Tiana into a frog. The two find themselves lost in the Louisiana bayou, as the second act goes into full throttle. The two embark on a quest down the bayou to get to a voodoo lady named Mama Odie (voiced by an outrageous Jenifer Lewis) with the help of Louis (voiced by Michael-Leon Wooley), a jazz enthusiast alligator and Raymond, a Cajun firefly (voiced by voice actor veteran Jim Cummings).

At first, these two come off as the typical Disney sidekick characters. The ones that are there to provide comic relief. There’s nothing with this, but Disney had so many annoying sidekicks in the 1990s that popped up in serious moments to lighten the load for children that weren't really necessary. In this film, they aren’t. They’re important to the story, which does get a bit muddled towards the end when the gang meet Mama Odie. Despite some messy odds and ends, the third act climax solves this all without haste. Everything locks together perfectly. Supporting this colorful story are a screenplay that never panders or pulls any punches and musical numbers that ooze with confidence. Randy Newman's New Orleans jazz-infused songs soar, and his score captures the setting of the film quite wonderfully. You can feel the energy that went into this film, it’s quite exciting to experience.

Take “Down in New Orleans” for example, it’s fast and directed with such verve, it pulls you right into the story. Dr. Facilier’s surreal production number, “Friends on the Other Side”, is reminiscent of the outright madness of “Pink Elephants on Parade” from Dumbo mixed with a psychedelic voodoo nightmare. Tiana’s dream song, “Almost There”, is set to a beautiful Art Deco style scene. The animation style shifts, much like it did for the “Barking at the Moon” montage sequences in Bolt.

The other songs are satisfying, though some are better than others. The thumping zydeco tune “Gonna Take You There” (sung by Ray) is a bit flimsy, but Mama Odie’s “Dig a Little Deeper” is bombastic and exciting. “When We’re Human” is like “I Wan’na Be Like You” from The Jungle Book in the Louisiana bayou, it’s a lot of fun. Ray’s love song to a star, “Ma Belle Evangeline”, serves as a love ballad for Tiana and Naveen, much like “Kiss The Girl” and “Tale as Old as Time”.

While moving the story forward with songs that define the characters and situations (not production numbers for the sake of having them), the writers tried incredibly to balance a lot of subplots here, especially the ones concerning Dr. Facilier, Lawrence and Charlotte (Lottie), a wild and obnoxious debutante who is close friends with Tiana (voiced by a hyperactive Jennifer Cody). This is why the story does get a bit inconsistent towards the end of the film, but everything is wrapped up nicely.

The Princess and the Frog’s only other problems are some of the similarities to the older Disney films, but it never feels like they are trying to revive the same old hat tricks. Instead, they’re breathing new life into these Disney traditions. Also, the film does have some unnecessary slapstick, mainly a very cartoony scene involving three swamp hunters, which starts out funny but turns sour when the violence emulates a Warner Bros. cartoon. Slapstick is fine in animation, but when it really goes against the realism of a film, it's a problem.

Best of all is the animation, combining the vivid beauty of films like Bambi and the Golden Age films with the softer style of the 1950s Disney films like Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp, while also having the style change (“Almost There”) and adding other surprises along the way, such as flashes of Tim Burton (particularly with the scenes with the friends on the other side), Richard Williams ("the cards... The caaaards!") and others. The bayous look lovely, much like the forests in Bambi and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The design of New Orleans itself is pretty to look at, as said before, it has a Lady and the Tramp feel given the turn of the century setting.

The character animation shines, always vibrant and energetic. When it comes to hand-drawn films from Disney, always expect the character designs to be great. The characters move swiftly, and they all have unique designs. Tiana and Naveen may draw similarities to other Disney couples, but then you got Dr. Facilier whose sleek design suggests his snake-like nature. His shadow is creepy, resembling something out of a Tim Burton film or The Haunted Mansion. Lawrence comes off like Cogsworth, but his design is actually rather sinister. Lottie's design is off the wall, going along with her crazy character. Mama Odie's design is hilarious. The frog versions of the two protagonists are fine, but a bit lacking. Louis and Ray? Great designs, especially Ray. You can tell the animators had a field day here.

The Princess and the Frog feels like the studio has gotten their confidence back after years of executive interference. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker essentially delivered the classic Disney musical (after all, they directed Disney's The Little Mermaid, which felt more like a genuine Disney film than the few that came before it) with traces of the other Disney films from every era, but with fresh new twists. It’s a real treat.
A-

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The Second Coming of Disney?

The Princess and the Frog was chosen for the studio's first hand-drawn film since Home on the Range, most likely because Disney hadn't adapted a classic fairy tale for years. It was announced that this would be the return to hand-drawn animation as far back as July 2006, when projects like American Dog and a Rapunzel adaptation were still in the works. Of course, these two projects would become Bolt and Tangled. When early concept artwork was shown sometime around early 2007 (with the title The Frog Princess), it got criticism from all across the board, directed at the character designs, the setting and the title itself. Changes were made, but the writers kept the idea of having the film be about an African-American princess and it being set in New Orleans (being John Lasseter's favorite city). Originally, Alan Menken was going to write the songs, but the job was given to Randy Newman instead. Disney legends Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin) were to direct the film, with Peter del Vecho as producer.

The first trailers began popping up in 2008, but the marketing kicked into full gear a year later. It's too bad that the film's trailers and TV spots didn't sell the movie as an event (I didn't want to see it back when it came out, the ads made the film look lame). Despite the fanfare, positive critical reception and its wonderful performance at the two theaters in both Los Angeles and New York respectively (on Thanksgiving weekend), it took in a disappointing $24 million on its opening weekend. Disney apparently felt that releasing the film a week before competition like Avatar and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel was a good idea. So, with it disappointing, what happened after that?

People liked the film, despite families being suckered in by the dreadful Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel, they went to see it as the holiday season ended. It crept up to $104 million domestically, not bad for a film that opened so low. It grossed less than Bolt though, and worldwide, it only took in $267 million, against a $105 million production budget. The executives blamed everything on the film having "princess" in the title. However, Disney was at least happy with how it did in the long run (add huge merchandising sales to that). Production on a hand-drawn animated film every two years was a go, rather than being every year. Soon after, a hand-drawn Winnie the Pooh film was announced for 2011.

The Princess and the Frog did well on Blu-ray and DVD, deservedly, as it found new audiences. Like Bolt and Meet The Robinsons, it's one that people are going to discover over the years.

So that wraps up Part 2. It was originally going to include Tangled and Winnie the Pooh, but those were saved for Part 3. The Princess and the Frog's qualities and the fact that it was the big return to hand-drawn animation (not financially, of course) for Disney called for its own part.