No Bridges Burnt?

And so the weeks of either disheartening animation news or nothing at all continues, as John Kahrs spoke up about the departure last Thursday...

“I will miss working with them, and feel lucky to have played a part in the revitalization of the studio. They have an abundance of projects; an incredible development slate, but I’ve decided to develop my own projects and pursue directing elsewhere. It was very amicable — they were very gracious about that — and I believe we all left the door open.”

Sugarcoated PR talk? Or honest words? Most people will probably believe the former, given the rather unsure and seemingly harsh climate at both Burbank and Emeryville, but could it be possible that Kahrs had a good reason to leave and that it had nothing to do with the big bad evil Hawaiian shirt guy?

Perhaps what Kahrs wants to do with an animated feature may not work for a Disney animated feature. Perhaps he's got something very experimental planned for the future, something that may be too experimental for the Mouse House. John Kahrs was said to be directing his own feature film at Disney in The Los Angeles Times' first look at Big Hero 6 and their evaluation of the studio in its current state, so that may imply that he "butted heads" with Lasseter early on.

Or maybe - as some people have pointed out - he doesn't want to wait. Wait, you ask? Well, Disney's slate from 2016 to 2018 is already filled with other projects (Zootopia, Giants, Moana and something else - whether it's Dean Wellins' troubled space film or whatever) that were probably in development before his, which means that a Kahrs-directed Disney Animation film wouldn't be out until 2019 at the earliest. Maybe he wants to latch onto something right now, but where will he go is the bigger question? One of the big studios? DreamWorks? A smaller studio maybe?

Wherever he goes, I wish him the best of luck. I also hope that Disney experiments with Meander, as some skeptics may feel that Disney will just abandon that and risk-taking altogether. (Jumping the gun, are we?)

In the mean time, let's try not to fret.

Farewell, Mr. Kahrs

Yesterday certainly was something of a downer day for Disney news: First, it was officially confirmed that Bob Peterson was kicked off of his Pixar film, The Good Dinosaur. Second, John Kahrs has now left Walt Disney Animation Studios...

I find this odd, because I remember that he was supposed to begin work on his own feature film at the studio. After breaking new visual ground with Paperman, the sky was the limit. Reportedly, Ron Clements and John Musker's Moana will be animated with Meander, but it would've been nice to see Kahrs do a feature-length film with that style. After all, Paperman might've been your typical boy-meets-girl story, but it was told well enough, not just through the animation but through everything else. It's only the beginning, and hopefully the studio uses this style for a good number of their future films. It's what Glen Keane would certainly want...

Other than that, we have no idea why he left. Skeptics who are already furious with Pixar and John Lasseter's director-removing spree will immediately place all the blame on him, but maybe Kahrs has bigger ideas? Maybe he just doesn't find directing feature-length films at Disney to be suitable for him?

On a funny note, Bob Peterson had this to say earlier today...

Been a tough time, but I am good - thankful for family and hilarious friends. On to future projects. Long live TGD. It's gonna be great!
— Bob Peterson (@bob__peterson) August 31, 2013

And what's with John Kahrs stealing my thunder?!! http://t.co/YJZLVsfUgb
— Bob Peterson (@bob__peterson) August 31, 2013

Some Cartoon Brew readers suggest that Kahrs is returning to Pixar, possibly to take over The Good Dinosaur. Now that would be something, even though it's still upsetting that Peterson wasn't allowed to finish his film. But in all honesty, I think Peterson's just joking about Kahrs' Cartoon Brew article coming right after the one about him. Or maybe not...

If anything, I just hope The Good Dinosaur turns out well enough, no bridges are badly burnt and that Kahrs didn't leave due to any problems with Lasseter or any higher ups...

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...

2012 Oscars Live Blog

Well, it's that time of year again...Oscar night. I've been watching it almost every year since Titanic swept in 1997, missing only in 2004 when I had to work and 2010 when I had to study for a Neuro exam. And since 2007 I've been keeping a live blog on Facebook. Now that I think of it, that was the year I first watched all of the Best Animated Short nominees before the actual ceremony. Anyways, I'm not going to have much of an audience for Facebook after I wiped out my entire friends list in a fit of rage last month, and I also have a blog that's somewhat related the Oscars, so why not do it here? All entries will be after the jump, and all times will be Central.

My review of the 2012 Best Animated Short nominees

Previous entries: 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007

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Annie Aftermath

See all the nominations and winners here.

Last night, the 40th Annual Annie Awards ceremony took place. As usual, several films, short subjects and television shows competed for a grand prize; whether it was for best writing or best storyboards or best effects in a live action film...

One particular film went over like gangbusters at the ceremony. No, it wasn't DreamWorks' Rise of the Guardians. That would've happened if that film came out in 2010. No, no, no... This film particularly wrecked a good portion of the ceremony...

That's right. Walt Disney Animation Studios' Wreck-It Ralph took home the award for Best Animated Feature; while also winning Outstanding Achievement for Writing, Directing and Music. Alan Tudyk won for Voice Acting and deservedly so; his King Candy character was marvelous. To top it off, John Kahrs' ethereal Paperman took home the award for Best Animated Short Subject. Deservedly so. It was a win-win situation for the rejuvenated Walt Disney Animation Studios...

One minor gripe. Wreck-It Ralph did not get a nomination for Production Design in an animated feature. Sure it took home other and better awards, but Wreck-It Ralph had some of the best art direction in an animated film released in 2012, period. Handling three distinct video game worlds, I felt, was a bigger feat than what was accomplished in Ice Age: Continental Drift and Hotel Transylvania. Ralph was unjustly left out of that category... Can't say I'm pleased with that.

Aside from Ralph's victories, I felt the rest of the ceremony was overall solid, but littered with massive problems.

Remember that last Annie Awards ceremony with all the flubs? Well, it seems like the negatives were amplified here. Yes, the wrong envelope incident happened again. But even worse was when they were presenting the nominees for Best Directing for an animated television production, they showed the feature film nominees by accident! Oops...

Other than that, you had the hosts often messing up, even greats like Leonard Maltin himself. Wreck-It Ralph director Rich Moore was able to deliver a good enough speech, and even took a nice jab at the generally unorganized ceremony. Also, they started late. What is with this ceremony and why are they out of it? Many commentators, animators and writers agree that the Annie Awards need to get their priorities straight. This is supposed to be animation's "Highest Honor". If you ask me, this lack of care is a dishonor.

Pushing all those scratches aside, I felt the ceremony was somewhat balanced in its choice nominees and what ultimately won.

I was happy to see ParaNorman get a few awards, both in the character design and character animation department. I felt that the crew also deserved an Effects in an Animated Feature award as well, instead that went to Rise of the Guardians. Hard to complain, all the runner-ups in the category were very strong. I, however, felt that ParaNorman beat them all by a hair since it was a stop-motion film and the effects were very convincing. Brave got two, one for editorial and one for production design.

Frankenweenie got very few nominations and took home nothing, sadly. Ditto The Pirates! Band of Misfits, but the competition was very strong. It still would've been nice to see those two films take an award home. The rest of the animated films - from Ice Age: Continental Drift to The Rabbi's Cat - got nothing. Again, Ralph trail blazed a lot of categories. Tough competition.

However, I felt most of that was balanced... What wasn't as balanced was in the television animated categories.

If you ask me, DreamWorks' Dragons: Riders of Berk took home a few too many awards. It took home Directing, Music and Storyboarding. It beat out titles like Adventure Time in those categories, while also being pitted against rather lame competition like Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Where was Disney's surprisingly great Gravity Falls and the ever-so-creative Regular Show?

Gravity Falls managed to get some love, but a very minimal amount. Kristen Schaal took home the voice acting award, and I felt she deserved it. Her Mabel character is hilarious, and arguably the best character in that show. It also got a nomination for production design, but it lost to something that deserved it... Tron: Uprising.

Tron: Uprising was a surprise hit at the ceremony, and hopefully it'll teach the ignorant people who moved it to the midnight time slot that they made a terrible mistake. Disney essentially killed this show just as it was about to really take off. They could've had another season or two on their hands, and the Tron franchise would've been expanded long before the third film arrives to theaters. What's going on, Disney?

The series also took home the character design award, though I wasn't too fond of the character designs in the show. I felt that was one of the weaker elements, it should've gotten awards for best music or something. Nope, Dragons hogged some of that up and even had more than one nomination in a single category. The Penguins of Madagascar also had quite a few nominations. All that aside, it was nice to see something Tron-related making a splash at the Annies.

Again, some of the nominees in certain categories were plain laughable. Sofia the First? Are you kidding me? Jake and the Neverland Pirates? What? Justin Time? Yeah, some of the nominations were a bit undeserved. I would've liked to have seen Regular Show or Archer or something other than a Nickelodeon or DreamWorks show get some attention. Alas, this didn't happen.

I was also happy to see what won in the live action categories. Life of Pi's tiger, Richard Parker, was certainly an astonishing feat. It won for best character animation. Why were the effects not up for best effects in a live action film in this ceremony? The Avengers took home the best effects award. With the exception of John Carter, I felt the film's effects were stronger than what was seen in its competition: The Amazing Spider-Man and Battleship.

It was also nice to see the Annies giving the spotlight to student films too.

The lifetime achievement awards were a highlight.

Terry Gilliam, June Foray, Mark Henn, Oscar Grillo and Howard Green all made good speeches and definitely deserved their awards.

Pros
- Wreck-It Ralph cleaned up house.
- Brave, Rise of the Guardians and ParaNorman got some recognition.
- Paperman took home Best Animated Short Subject.
- Most of the "feature" nomination selections were balanced.
- The lifetime achievement award segments.
- Mark Andrews (finishing director of Brave) certainly gave quite a speech. He's fun to watch.
- The speeches the recipients made were good.
- Tron: Uprising made the rounds here and there.
- Kristen Schaal winning.
- Life of Pi's Richard Parker winning.

Cons
- Television animation nominations; a little unbalanced. A little too much Dragons and Penguins hogging up space.
- Dragons took home too many awards.
- Some of the nominations in the individual TV animation categories were weak, a lot of much stronger entries were absent.
- Wreck-It Ralph not being nominated for production design in an animated feature. Big mistake.
- Frankenweenie not taking anything home.
- All the screw-ups, the drawn-out and awkward speeches. This is a ceremony!
- Still a little too much DreamWorks. I know the whole "rigging" controversy is over, but I couldn't help but think that they had a few too many slots in the television animation categories.

What did you think of the 40th Annie Awards? Were they a bust? Or do you think they made the right choices? What about the ceremony itself? Were you peeved by the unorganized nature of the whole thing? Or did you think it wasn't a problem? Sound off below!

Best Animated Short - 2012

Well, it has been three weeks since the Oscar nominees were announced, and once again reviews have been popping up all around the internet trying to make sense of the always-unpredictable short categories. So you can say that the last thing that the world needs is another review of the nominated short films, especially since I'm not privy to watching the films in advance and had to make it to one of the theatrical showings of the nominated films just to watch all of them. But you know what? This is a blog where I try to review all the nominated films in the category's history, and even though I'm on hiatus (because reality sucks), it would be wrong for me to go without a review for the latest nominees. Especially since I've "followed" this race on this forum from the longlist to the shortlist to the final roster of nominees. So yeah, it would be nice to take this all the way to the end.

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Looking Back on Twenty-Twelve

2012 was quite a year for animation, wasn't it? As we are now in a new year, let's pause and remember the best of last year...

- Rango, Gore Verbinski's incredibly risky animated Western tale, rightfully took home many accolades and proved to the industry that you can in fact pull off big risks.

- Rich Ross, the controversial man who was the Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, got the boot. The seasoned and film-savvy Alan Horn took his place. Disney is back on track after a relatively downer period.

- The year had three animated films that grossed $200 million at the domestic box office. While the quality of some of the films are debatable, it's still good to see animation doing fine.

- Three impressive stop-motion films graced the silver screen: Aardman's The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Laika's ParaNorman and Tim Burton's Frankenweenie.

- Pixar proved to critics that one film couldn't stop them. Brave, despite getting a good number of negative reviews, was still a well-received film.

- Pixar also announced many new things: Two untitled upcoming films (one of which is being directed by Teddy Newton), the title of Bob Peterson's dinosaur film and Lee Unkrich's upcoming "Dia De Los Muertos" film.

- Wreck-It Ralph became another runaway success for Disney, showing that Tangled wouldn't be their only big hit. They are here to stay.

- Paperman, the ethereal short film attached to Wreck-It Ralph, certainly made quite a splash. It was a six-minute miracle of innovation and technological breakthrough in the medium. That's what Disney is known for, right?

- Disney also seemed enthusiastic about the upcoming films for Walt Disney Animation Studios, such as Big Hero 6 and Ron Clements and John Musker's untitled hand-drawn project.

- Many good animated television shows continued to run successfully, and impressive new entries came in as well.

- DreamWorks kept releasing critically acclaimed films, and also scoring their first big box office blockbuster domestically (in over two years) with Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

- Paramount announced more plans with their in-house animation studio, and are very enthusiastic about competing with the heavies.

~

Well, with all that being said... Happy New Year everyone! What was your favorite animation moment of 2012?

Best Animated Short - 2012 - The Shortlist

And then there were ten...

Well, it's that time of the year again. The Short Film and Animation Branch has voted, and they whittled the list of 57 qualifying films into the list of ten finalists on the shortlist. They will reconvene to vote on these ten films and determine the 3-5 nominees. Of course, there hasn't been a year with less than 5 nominees since 2000, so I don't really expect this year to be any different. Of course we won't find out which ones made the cut until January 10.

To be honest this announcement kind of caught me off guard. For one thing, in the past three years the shortlist had been announced in late November or early December, and I was kind of expecting it to happen again. Still, I usually check Cartoon Brew every day just for the heck of it, and could have got the news from there during my lunch hour. However, the Gameloft My Little Pony game was released on iOS on Wednesday and Android on Thursday, and I spent my lunch break playing the game on both my iPod and my Android phone*.

*So sad. Rainbow Dash is the last of the Mane Six ponies to be unlocked, at 43. I'm at level 23 so there's only 20 levels left, but knowing the way these games work, I'd probably need twice as much XP as I have now to get to level 43. 

Before we move on to the shortlist, here's a few films that were lauded by folks that actually go to these festivals. Don Hertzfeldt was nominated for Rejected back in 2000 (the last year with fewer than five nominees), and since 2006 he had been working on a trilogy of films that many consider his masterpiece. Everything Will Be OK made it onto the shortlist in 2006 but failed to garner a nomination, and I Am So Proud of You missed in 2009. The final film of the trilogy, It's Such a Beautiful Day, similarly missed the cut. Other films include Oh, Willy... and Junkyard. I haven't seen any of those films in their entirety, so I can't really comment on those. One film that I did see that didn't make it was Daffy's Rhapsody. It was the newest entry in the new 3D Warner Bros. films. The interesting thing is that two other entries in the past two years had made it onto the shortlist: Coyote Falls and I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat. Of course, the Academy had nominated several Wily Coyote/Road Runner and Sylvester/Tweety films. They had never nominated Daffy Duck. This bias still persists.

And then there were the ten that made it.

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