Tangled co-director Byron Howard is currently working on a project that Jason Bateman will be headlining, a project described as a "talking animal comedy". At first, I thought, "Oh no, treading old ground again?" Then all of that was washed away when Brendon Connelly of Bleeding Cool got some details on the project when he talked to Tangled's two directors - Nathan Greno and Byron Howard - in 2011. Whether Greno is still on board this project is up in the air, as it's been implied that this will be directed solely by Howard.
Greno described the film as a "big action picture" while also saying that it will "feel like a Disney movie yet feel very different to Tangled". Howard added that it was combination of two ideas from the duo. They presented a total of six to John Lasseter, who suggested that the two combine two of the ideas that he liked the most. He also states that it'll be a "really wild, different concept of a film, so totally weird and different."
Yes... I'm already excited.
This reminds me of someone who is a head at Disney - the name escapes me because the Variety article was taken down a while back (damn it!) - who said that the next batch of films from Walt Disney Animation Studios will be different and they will open audiences up to what Disney animation can be. Funny, I remember saying similar words back when Wreck-It Ralph's trailer was on its way. Wreck-It Ralph proved that Disney had left its current comfort zone, channeling the Walt era more than the Renaissance since it was something that they hadn't tried before... A risky one at that! A Disney animated film about video game characters? Who would've thought, right? The adaptation of Marvel's Big Hero 6 is already an indicator of what's to come, and Ron Clements and John Musker's secret project definitely sounds different... This one, despite the fact that we know very little about it, also sounds like it'll be unique. Just Greno and Howard's description of it already intrigues me!
When will it come out? Probably 2016, that is if Ron and John's project is still on track for a 2015 release. The November spot where Disney Animation normally opens their films was taken by Pixar's Finding Dory, and they can't release it in the summer because it would be too close to Pixar's Inside Out along with other big Disney tentpoles such as The Avengers 2, Star Wars: Episode VII and the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean film. I have a feeling that Disney Animation may not have a film ready for release in 2015 since that year is already jam-packed.
That being said, when 2016 rolls around, will this come out first? Or Ron & John's project? I'm going to say this project, because someone is already cast for the lead. We've only heard small rumblings about Ron & John's project since last summer and no cast was revealed, heck it's really unknown whether that South Pacific Rumplestiltskin plot is really accurate or not. Also, Connelly got the details back in 2011. Ron & John, for a while, were going to direct an adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Mort. That didn't go over well, we didn't hear anything until last year.
Anyways, a talking animal comedy that's weird, totally different and action-packed on top of that? Yes, yes and YES.
Walt Disney Animation Studios continues to go through it's own new Golden Age.
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What are your thoughts on this upcoming project? Does it sound like it'll be another winner for the studio? Another risky experiment much like Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6? Sound off!
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