October Animation Tidbits [#3]

Tidbits on time-travel, three fantastical worlds

and shadows...

~

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.

~

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!

~

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...

~

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!

Trolls and More Shadows

Despite mass audiences' continuing resistance to stop motion animation films; projects are still in production. Two mainstream stop motion films, one from LAIKA and one from Henry Selick, are on their way...

Remember that untitled film that LAIKA announced a while back? Well it it has a title and a premise... The name? The Boxtrolls...

ComingSoon revealed the premise that's already getting me geared up for this exciting new project...

Set in the Victorian-era town of Cheesebridge, the Boxtrolls are creatures living under the streets that wear discarded cardboard boxes as shells. The wealthy and cheese-loving people of the town fear them, but the monsters are truly good creatures that don't steal children and cheese like the town's legend claims. The eccentric creatures raised an orphan human boy named Eggs. The boy and a wealthy girl named Winnie might be their key to finally help their world come together with the one above their home, though an evil exterminator named Archibald Snatcher wants to obliterate all the Boxtrolls so he can become accepted by the town.

From the sound of it, it'll be another quirky and unique story from the famed animation house. Proving their prowess with Henry Selick's excellent Coraline and the very bold ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls has instant masterpiece written all over it. The kind of animated film we need amidst the other films.

LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight has mentioned that the film combines absurdist comedy, detective story elements and a steampunk vibe. He also touted that it's "Dickens by the way of Monty Python". The picture is being directed by Anthony Stacchi (visual effects veteran who also worked on Aeon Flux, Antz and co-directed Sony Pictures Animation's Open Season) and Graham Annable (who was a story artist on both Coraline and ParaNorman). The cast consists of Ben Kingsley, Toni Collette, Elle Fanning, Isaac Hampsted-Wright, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade and Tracy Morgan.

All I can say is... Color me excited. This may very well be my most anticipated animated film for next year. I mean... Steampunk, the usual LAIKA flare, Monty Python-esque humor and a compelling, heartwarming story. This may be LAIKA's biggest and most ambitious film to date.

The film will also be a hybrid of stop motion and computer animation, so it'll definitely be something different in the visual department. It's slated to hit theaters on October 17, 2014. Originally, the film was scheduled for September 26, opening against Sony Animation's Popeye. Focus Features and LAIKA made a smart move but pushing this to October, so now the film will have some time to breathe before Halloween and November animation competition.

~

Now in other stop motion animation news, Henry Selick's formerly canceled project is back on track...

The partially-completed The Shadow King, a film he was originally making for Walt Disney Pictures for an October 2013 release (then titled Shademaker), was unexpectedly shut down last year by Chairman Alan Horn because Selick and his crew were apparently behind schedule. I was saddened by this news, and was hoping that LAIKA would take the project from there - but they shockingly turned it down! It seemed like Selick's project was dead in the water.

The Shadow King is currently being backed by K5 International and should be completed sometime soon since they are going to be able use what was completed when they were working for Disney. An image and the film's premise have been revealed.

The Shadow King is the story of Hap Dagger, a nine-year-old New York City orphan who can't show his hands to a world that won't understand. A shadow war is being waged against a monster who can destroy all of New York, but a Living Shadow Girl teaches the boy how to weaponize his hands in order to take on the beast and save his city.

Like the LAIKA film, it's a very different premise and one that's positively Selick. Whenever it'll be completed, who knows. Reportedly a good portion of it is completed, so we can expect this film to come out some time next year. This does bring up an interesting question: Could the recent cancellation of DreamWorks' similar Me and My Shadow be linked to the resurrection of this project? Or is that a stretch?

That being said, it's great to see the film back in the works. I expect nothing short of brilliance from Selick and his team. It's just a shame that Disney dropped it, they had a potential winner with this one.

Are you anticipating these two films? When do you think The Shadow King will hit theaters?