Filling the Slot

With the rumblings surrounding Dean Wellins' "teenage space race" film and how it may not be ready for a long while going around, what could possibly take its place?

Now, before I start, I'll be going by Honor Hunter's theory of what Disney's upcoming slate will be like after Big Hero 6 hits theaters in 2014...

Zootopia - March 4, 2016

Giants - November 23, 2016

Moana - March 9, 2018

Dean Wellins Film - November 21, 2018

Now let's just say that Dean Wellins' film will have to wait... Maybe we'll get the thing in 2019 or 2020. What could take its place on Honor's predicted schedule?

By the way, I think Honor's schedule makes a lot of sense since Zootopia was officially unveiled, while Giants and Moana's titles and plot details haven't been officially announced by Disney. Also, Giants opening in November 2016 is great timing: A fairy tale every three years in the autumn: Tangled in November 2010, Frozen in November 2013 and this in November 2016. Moana sounds like a spring/summery kind of story, as noted by Bleeding Cool's Brendon Connelly a while back, so March 2018 sounds logical...

So... The candidates?

King of the Elves - This project has been gestating for a while, and it's been without a director since mid-2011 when it lost the "race" (as Honor put it) with Frozen for the November 2013 release spot. It doesn't seem to be chugging now, so the dormant project may get a tune-up sometime later this year, next year or 2015. You never know, it's not completely dead right now. They just need another director to work some magic into what wasn't working in the current version.

The Untitled Mickey Mouse Feature: Even though this was pitched back in 2011 and nothing has been said about it since, it's possible - and reader MattNor91 pointed this out - that they could possibly have Mickey's feature-length film ready for the character's 90th anniversary. That's right, he turns 90 in November 2018. Also, Get A Horse! is the first theatrical Mickey Mouse short since 1995's Runaway Brain, and it's possible that more will follow. Disney is actually making an effort to make Mickey popular again with new generations, especially with the new and divisive Mickey Mouse series on the Disney Channel.

Something completely new: Something Disney hasn't even brought to our attention, as projects are always being pitched.

A revived project: Frozen was an on-and-off project, as a Snow Queen adaptation dates back to the late 1990s or possibly even before that. It's possible that Lasseter and the story trust are eying down earlier films that didn't pan out. A fine example: Barry Cook's A Few Good Ghosts. That film was canned around 2004 because Walt Disney Feature Animation's Florida unit was shut down and hand-drawn was deemed unsuccessful at the time. Disney still owns the rights to it, and a good number of the recent films were in some form of development as far back as the 1990s. (i.e. Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph.) Recently, Barry Cook said he'd love to take another shot at it or see someone complete it. There are several projects that Disney probably still owns that could be revived for a 2018 release. Maybe they're already looking into some, and we just don't know it yet.

What do you think? What film will be it? Be sure to vote on the current poll!

Sound off on theories and your voting reasons!

Update (9/16/13): The poll has finally closed...

Two voters said King of the Elves. Not a bad choice, after all, this thing has to be finished soon!

Nine voters think the fall 2018 film is going to be the Mickey Mouse film, making it the most-voted for option.

Seven voters think it'll be something new that has never been announced in any form... I wonder if that will ultimately end up happening.

Only one vote for a revived project. Probably realistic thinking there, but again I'm optimistically unrealistic at times and I do hope for something like A Few Good Ghosts or something like that.

Thanks for voting, people!

Disney releases new Mickey Mouse short 'No service'.

Just a few days before the new Mickey Mouse shorts start airing on Disney XD (June 28), the company decided to release another full episode on the web. 'No service' is the 2nd short, as Disney already released 'Croissant de Triomphe' earlier in March, this one however also features Donald Duck.

I've heard some complaints on the web about these new shorts. I don't know what the budget is, but, beside the fact that the style is of course very different from the classic animated shorts, some feel these are put together in a hurry.

What's more important to me than the artwork however, is character development. This is only the second short and already I'm seeing stuff that, although funny, just doesn't feel fitting character wise.This one includes a naked Mickey and some fun about his 'buns', and Goofy kicking Donald (not by accident).

It's summer, so it's fitting this one takes place on the boardwalk. The short is of course very hip and funny, so follow the link below to watch 'No Service' or hit the link above to view the first one.
If you're into classy looking, masterfully animated shorts, you can of course always just pop in a DVD at home. Watch Mickey and Donald in 'No Service' by following this link!

Update 30/06/13: Episode three, 'Yodelberg' has now officially aired. You can watch it online. Episode four, which will air July 5th, has also been made available online already, check it out here:  'New York Weenie'.

June Animation Tidbits [#2]

More animation tidbits! Looks like this month is picking up a bit! Oh, and check out that nice Frozen teaser poster...

Well how about that... The teaser for The Lego Movie has finally arrived! Just in time for a certain big animated film that's opening on Friday...



One thing I liked about the trailer was the beginning, parodying most trailers for big blockbusters and humorously implying a Justice League movie is what's in store. I also love the animation of the individual Lego people, it was almost stop motion-like in a way. But the film is said to be an all-CG production, hmmmm...

The jokes? A lot of them worked, but what really thrilled me was the look of it and the glimpses of the action. All in all, it looks like it'll be a whole lot of fun. 2014's animation slate just got more and more exciting...

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Speaking of 2014 animated films, a new image from DreamWorks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman. It's just another look at the titular duo, so hopefully we'll get a poster or a teaser sometime soon.

Here's hoping it's fun one! This DreamWorks production will hit theaters nationwide on March 7, 2014.

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Thanks to a recent press release from Disney, we now know what the Fall 2014 Diamond Edition title will be... Sleeping Beauty!

Though I had thought that Aladdin and One Hundred and One Dalmatians would follow The Jungle Book (Spring 2014), it seems like Disney will do whatever with this line now despite the fact that this title is already on Blu-ray unlike the other titles that haven't been released as Diamonds yet, sans Pinocchio. The home entertainment division is probably doing this because Disney's big budget tentpole Maleficent hits theaters in the summer of 2014, and the Blu-ray should hit stores in the autumn.

So basically, I have to revise my predictions!

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Animation Fascination and HitFix have some great details about Walt Disney Animation Studios' upcoming Mickey Mouse short Get A Horse!, which premiered at the Annecy eighteen days ago. The presentation was held by Disney legend Eric Goldberg and animator Adam Green. Hitfix's Drew McWeeny had this to say...

“Evidently, they opened the presentation by talking about how storyboards had been found for an unfinished Mickey Mouse short, and then the classics ‘Plane Crazy’ and ‘Steamboat Willie’ were shown. Perfect way to set the stage for what happened to those recently discovered storyboards. As Get A Horse! begins, it appears to be an actual 1928 Disney cartoon, but at some point, the screen shakes and a full-color 3D rendered Mickey Mouse appears in the cartoon. From that point on, the film mixes the ’20s style hand animation and modern cutting edge 3D work, with the beginning of Disney’s legacy colliding to what sounds like hilarious effect with the latest and most technically polished expression of Disney’s vision.”

McWeeny also states that the short will be attached to Frozen, though there hasn't been much of an official confirmation... Strange, considering that Disney announced that Paperman would precede Wreck-It Ralph in theaters.

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What do you think of the teaser for The Lego Movie? Are you anticipating the film? Or not? When do you think we'll get a trailer for Mr. Peabody & Sherman? Or better yet a proper first look? What do you think of Sleeping Beauty hitting Blu-ray as a Diamond Edition before Aladdin and One Hundred and One Dalmatians? Are you hyped for Get A Horse!?

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!

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!

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!

Disney announces new Mickey Mouse shorts. Watch ‘Croissant de Triomphe’!

Today Disney announced great news: a new series of 19 cartoon shorts starring Mickey Mouse will be released om Disney XD starting June 28th. The cartoons created in cooperation with Paul Rudish (Dexter's laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls) has Mickey returning in his original oldschool 'rubberhose' form.

Although the style may differ from the original classic animated shorts, I must say I really love the retro look the designers came up with, reminding me of classics like '101 Dalmatians'. In the new series, Mickey will live up to his status of international pop icon as he will visit all major cities across the globe.

Check the video below to view the first episode ‘Croissant de Triomphe’!

Tip: Click any of the images below to get a good look at all the great art of Mickey's new short!

Steamboat Willie and Flip the Frog.

In 1930, Disney's closest friend and most important animator Ub Iwerks left the studio and went into business for himself. The man that designed Mickey Mouse and single-handedly drew Mickey's first cartoon shorts, decided to create a new star, 'Flip the Frog' and produced the very first color cartoon with sound, as Flip debuted in his first short 'Fiddle Sticks' on August 16, 1930.

Above: Opening and closing title cards of 'Fiddlesticks', crediting Ub Iwerks not only as animator but also as producer.

Flip's first two cartoons were created using the two color Technicolor process, the others were done in Black & White (although only a black & White print survived of 'Flying Fists', the second cartoon). One of the main artists working with Ub at his studio was Grim Natwick, who had worked for Max Fleischer, where he had designed and animated on 'Betty Boop'. In all, Ub's new studio produced 38 Flip the Frog cartoons between August 1930 and October 1933. After that, Iwerks created 14 cartoons starring a character called 'Willie Whopper' until September 1934. The studio also produced the 'Comicolor cartoons', a series of 25 shorts, starring characters like Sinbad, Aladdin and Don Quixote, which used the 'Cinecolor' process, developed by William Crespinel in 1932.

Let's check out some of the similarities between 'Steamboat Willie' and the early Flip the frog cartoons. If you've been following my posts, the first one should be familiar to you by now. It's Black Pete again, chewing his tobacco behind the wheel in 'Steamboat Willie'. His mouth opens, his teeth too and he spits (if you have trouble viewing any of the images below, just click to enlarge).

Here's Flip the Frog in 'Fiddlesticks', behind his piano. A very familiar looking mouse is playing the violin and he's wearing a red pair of trousers too, just like Mickey (the actual Mickey Mouse cartoons from that time were in Black & White, but his trousers were already shown to be red in the various merchandising items). Flip is shocked when he sees some black goo hit his piano, he looks up and sees a bird doing a familiar act.

Here's another one.The next scene is from 'The Village Smitty', released on 1931. Flip is a town smith and while repairing a horseshoe, he flies backwards through the air and ends up in the fire. Flip is screaming his lungs out and the horse successfully extinguishes the fire!

Here's Black Pete once more, in a scene from 'Steamboat Willie', yelling at Mickey to scrub the decks. Mickey sticks his tongue out at him and Pete reacts, trying to kick Mickey down the stairs, he ends up hurting himself.

Below is a scene from 'The Soup Song', another 'Flip the Frog' cartoon from 1931. In this short, Flip works at a diner, but serves multiple roles. He takes coats at the door, works in the kitchen making soup, waits tables and does a few sing and dance acts on stage with a cute girl. In the following scene, Flip throws himself in the arms of the girl (or so he thinks) at the end of their dance routine, but unfortunately for him, he ends up in the arms of another character, who isn't to happy about Flip's stunt.

More on 'Steamboat Willie'.

A little addition to my last post, although it doesn't have anything to do with Buster Keaton's 'Steamboat Bill, Jr.'. Here's another look at the scene where Black Pete kicks Mickey down the stairs to scrub the decks. The stretch and squash animation of Mickey's rubbery physique goes into extremes here, as Pete grabs poor old Mickey and mangles his little body pretty good.

This gag is actually a reworked joke from another cartoon short created in 1928. That cartoon was titled 'Tall Timber' and starred 'Oswald The Lucky Rabbit'. It actually says so on the original storyboards from 'Steamboat Willie'. Have a look at them below, click to enlarge any of them. But first, here's the scene as it plays out in 'Willie'.

Here are the original storyboards for scene #4 from 'Steamboat Willlie' clearly mentioning their previous short 'Tall Timber' (click to enlarge, it reads much better).

When Walt Disney started in the animation business, even before Mickey was born, his small studio created a successful series of cartoon shorts starring 'Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit'. Because of it's succes, distributor Charles Mintz, who owned the copyrights to the character, decided it would be more profitable for him to set up his own animation studio. Mintz not only took away the character from Disney, but also persuaded his entire team of animators to come and work for him. Ub Iwerks was the only artist that stayed with Walt. They both decided they wouldn't take it lying down, and started a new series of shorts with a new character of their own. Ub drew the first cartoon entirely by himself, drawing an amazing 700 frames each day. Their new character was Mickey (the) Mouse and their first short was called 'Plain Crazy'.

From the scene below, taken from Oswald's 'Tall Timber', you can clearly see that Mickey was actually already there in the drawings back then. The similarity with the bear cub is simply amazing. Although Mintz and even Walter Lantz later on(who would became famous for his 'Woody Woodpecker' cartoons) continued to create Oswald shorts for some time, a lot of cartoons from the Disney era are today still considered 'lost films'. But there's hope for Oswald, in November 2011 one of his 'lost films', titled 'Hungry Hobo's', was found in the vault of the British Huntley Film Archives in Herefordshire.

Below is a compilation of some frames from the related 'Bears' sequence. Oswald wasn't so lucky in this scene. After almost drowning during a wild river trip in a canoe, and landing on the head of a Moose that hurls him into a canyon, Oswald manages to land safely, but is still chased by a huge rock. He slams into a tree and gets hit by the rock, which stretches and flattens him like a pancake.

A huge bear and two cubs are then introduced, who are hungry for some sugar sap from the maple trees. A gag plays out as the cubs feed from the tree, which has a tap on each side. The cubs then get into a fight over who gets to play with Oswald and jerk him around until he is back into his old proportions. Of course he's angry and chases the cubs, until he meets Mama bear and is chased himself.

For people who don't know Oswald, he's the guy on the ground with the huge ears! The funny thing is, although it isn't there in the storyboards, the bear cub sticking out his tongue at Oswald, was also incorporated into the scene with Black Pete in 'Steamboat Willie'!