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…

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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.

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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…

Thoughts on Disney's CinemaCon Presentation

Disney's lengthy presentation at this year's CinemaCon is currently happening right now, revealing quite a lot of ambitious plans that the studio has for the future.

As of this writing, a full-length but unfinished cut of Monsters University is being shown. In a little while, we'll know what this upcoming Pixar prequel will be like. I'm anxious to know whether it's good or bad or not. I'm optimistic, as you all know...

This entry will be updated frequently...

3:20 P.M.

Early on in the presentation, Disney hyped up the future of Star Wars. The company hopes to have a Star Wars film ready for each year starting in summer 2015. This implies that Star Wars Episode VII, despite my earlier predictions, will in fact come out in May 2015 regardless of whether The Avengers' sequel opens that month or not. Think about it... Disney is literally going to own that month, all the other summer flicks will have to pray for mercy! As for a film each year, that means the character-centric spin-offs are probably entering pre-production as we speak. So much to come out of this!

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn announced that Disney hopes to have at least fourteen films ready for release each year, eight of which will be tentpoles. But I have one major concern. With people getting laid off at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney's own motion picture division, I fear that Disney might be morphing into your regular distributor like 20th Century Fox or Paramount or Warner Bros.

What was unique about Disney was that they started out as a production company and made all of their films. Starting in the mid 1950s, they self-distributed all of their own films and they still do that. But I hope that they don't slowly phase out their own studio or the animation unit in favor of Pixar, Marvel and LucasFilm. Those three studios are the ones bringing them their biggest hits. Walt Disney Animation Studios has been seeing hits recently, particularly Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, so they need to continue. They may have (possibly) jettisoned hand-drawn animated full-length films, which was a bad enough blow, but I don't want the studio to possibly be phased out. They're a separate entity from Pixar and they need to continue alongside the Emeryville house.

I'll be fine with having to wait a while for a new Walt Disney Animation Studios film... I just don't want them to abandon the studio. I fear it could happen given their satisfaction with what they're getting from Pixar, Marvel and LucasFilm and their recent attitude towards the animation studio. I mean, why the layoffs in that department and their live action film studio? Something doesn't seem right...

Worrisome speculation aside, Disney also hyped up their racing game adaptation Need for Speed, which is part of their Touchstone 30-film deal with DreamWorks SKG. I see the sudden enthusiasm for this April 2014 release as a response to the success of the Fast & Furious franchise, especially since the last one did very very well and the new one is bound to blow up the box office come May 24th. Like any smart competitor, they see that doing well and they want a piece of that pie. I expect Need for Speed to become a big franchise for them.

Footage from Saving Mr. Banks and Maleficent (opening July 2, 2014) was screening to overall positive reception. Looks like Disney will make sure that their film about P. L. Travers and the making of Mary Poppins won't be a dud, even though I'm personally not too keen on the project. Maybe a trailer will prove me wrong. Maleficent is one that I'm still on the fence about. A logo for Brad Bird's Tomorrowland was also unveiled, which also got praise. First Showing's Alex Billington had this to say about the logo reveal.

We're geeking out over the Tomorrowland logo from Disney's CinemaCon PowerPoint slide. But it does look cool, atomic symbol in the middle.
— Alex Billington (@firstshowing) April 17, 2013

Oh... And as for Pixar... Inside Out was confirmed to be the title of Pete Docter's upcoming film and it will in fact open on June 19, 2015. We knew this a while back, so that's nothing new. The real news here is the unveiling of footage from The Good Dinosaur. Given Pixar's tradition of giving us a teaser for their upcoming films when a film of theirs opens, we'll most likely see a teaser for this. From what I hear (I've mostly been following Peter Sciretta of /Film's tweets and updates), the footage they showed was incredible.

UPDATE - 4:30 PM - MONSTERS UNIVERSITY SCREENING CONCLUDES

The screening of Monsters Univeristy drew... Wait for it... Very positive reception! That's right, the whole film. Not the first 30-40 minutes, the whole film!

Monsters University (by @mrdanscanlon) is a fun broad college comedy set in a cleverly designed world, surprising turns & gutsy message
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) April 17, 2013

Disney just screened MONSTERS UNIVERSITY in its entirety! It's smart, funny and makes me want to rewatch MONSTERS INC immediately.
— silaslesnick (@silaslesnick) April 17, 2013

#MonstersUniversity my favorite full screening of #CinemaCon. Reminded me why the world/characters are so special. (Not that I ever forgot.)
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) April 17, 2013

Any skepticism? Leave it at the door. We have another Pixar classic coming!

UPDATE - 9:00 PM

The presentation concluded after the Monsters University screening. Nothing about Frozen was revealed (the film comes out this autumn, I want a good excuse, Disney!) nor anything having to do with Marvel. I was hoping that we'd get some tidbits on the Phase 2 films and maybe a little taste of Phase 3... Oh well...

What's your take on all this news? Sound off in the comments below.

Officially confirmed: J.J. Abrams to direct Star Wars VII.

Yes, the news was all over the internet yesterday, as The Wrap created a buzz based on information from a 'reliable source', but this morning it's officially confirmed: J.J. Abrams, creator of TV series 'Fringe' and 'Lost' will be directing the next installment of the Star Wars saga, Star Wars VII. Previously, Abrams directed movies like 'Super8' and 'Star Trek: The Future Begins', giving fans hope that the new trilogy will definitely receive a proper treatment.

A few months ago, Abrams said he wouldn't take the job of helming the first movie in a new trilogy, because he himself had been a life long fan of the characters and stories Lucas created and thought that it would interfere with his ability to direct. It was already confirmed that the next two sequels Star Wars VII and VIII, will be written and produced by Lawrence Kasdan ('The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi') and Simon Kinberg ('X-Men: The Last stand' and 'X-Men: First Class'). Last year October, Disney bought Lucasfilm for a reported four Billion Dollars, acquiring the rights to Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Check here for the official story.

Disney buys Lucasfilm, will release star Wars 7 in 2015.

Star Wars fans prepare to be shocked! Seems George Lucas is serious about retiring, as Disney confirmed today it is buying his company Lucasfilm for four Billion Dollars, half of it payed out in Disney shares.

Disney also said it will release Star Wars VII in 2015, and plans to bring a brand new Star Wars movie to the theatre every two to three years. George Lucas will remain available as creative adviser. By owing Lucasfilm Disney now also owns all the rights to Indiana Jones. It is uncertain whether or not Disney is planning a new movie with the character at this point. Disney already bought Pixar in 2006 and Marvel Comics in 2009. In the official press release Lucas stated:

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm.

“It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”

So, good or bad news for Star Wars fans? There's certainly ton's of material from all the comic books and games that would make for some interesting new movies. But I need to remind you that Disney's recently released sci-fi movie 'John Carter of Mars', based on the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, bombed at the box office and was heavily criticised for being 'fake' and 'too campy' while it used all the visual effects and 3D graphics money can buy. We'll see what the future brings...May the force be with us!

Star Wars Clone Wars season 5 premieres tomorrow.

While George Lucas claims he's retired and wants to spend his days shooting experimental films nobody will ever want to see, we get to see what happens next with our favorite science fiction characters, as 'The Clone Wars' returns to the small screen for another season of action packed fun.

After Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Lab, Samurai Jack) came up with his 2D animated series of Star Wars in 2003, following the exploits of Lucas' main characters from the prequel trilogy, 'The Clone Wars' was greenlighted for further endeavorment. Showing us more of what really took place between SW II 'Attack of the Clones' (Anakin-good-guy fights for the Republic) and SW III 'Revenge of the Sith' (Bad Anakin suits up to become Darth Vader), a CG animated feature of 'The Clone Wars' was released in 2008, followed by the first 22 episodes of season one, that aired on Cartoon Network.

Below: character designs for Padmé Amidala by Kilian Plunkett and final 3D model in Maya.

Tomorrow, the first episode of season 5 will premiere on the CN. Beside the CG animated series, other plans are still in the making. So far, 50 scripts have been written for an expensive all out live action TV series of Star Wars, as proposed by Lucas a few years ago. Latest reports say the production of this continuing saga have been put on hold for at least several years as of now, giving room for 'an increase of technical developments' according to Lucas, meaning that CG and VFX production costs may have dropped drastically by then. (Production of the series would cost at least 50 Million per episode, according to Lucas, if it would be made today).

Rick McCallum, producer of the upcoming series (which supposedly has been given the working title 'Star Wars: Underworld') says it will be about the republic's growing corruption and downfall, taking place between episode III and IV ('A New Hope') In a recent interview he said the main story showed quite some similarities with current economic events and joked that it centers on keyfigures not unlike 'the people on Wallstreet, who are basically running the United States now.' McCallum is positive the new series will actually happen, although it may take some more years, adding jokingly 'If we're all still alive by then'. In the meantime, let's enjoy the action packed new episodes the CN has in store for us this season and see what plots will unfold this time around.

Above:'The Clone Wars' is Computer animated using Autodesk Maya software. Character designs for 'Yoda' by Dave Filoni, and the 3D CG model in T-pose. Directed by Dave Filoni and produced by Katherine Winder, the pre-production, scripts and models are created by ILM, but all animation production is done by the talented people at CGCG in Taiwan, known for the popular 'Lego Bionicle' animated features.

Check out the great trailer for the upcoming season below, showing you just how good 3D animation for TV has become. It looks pretty amazing! Toggle 1080p for a higher resolution.

Star Wars Insider shows new storyboards.

As George Lucas' first Star Wars Prequel 'The Phantom Menace' is re-released in 3D in theatres this month, 'Star Wars Insider' magazine published an exclusive issue, showing storyboards from the Jedi led attack on Theed, a battle sequence storyboarded by Ed Natividad that didn't make the climactic ending in the final cut of the movie. Check some of the artwork here below, for the full sequence you should pick up the celebratory issue 131 of SWI.

Natividad currently works as a conceptual designer on 'Akira', the action movie based on Katsuhiro Ohtomo's classic manga, and Steven Spielberg's new scifi action movie 'Robopocalypse', based on Daniel H. Wilson's novel from 2011. Both projects are in pre-production at the moment and are set to be released in 2013.

Gnomon puts Star Wars designer in the hot seat!

Ever wanted to learn how to create characters like in Star Wars, well now you can! The Gnomon Workshop just finished a new DVD with Sang Jun Lee, concept artist on Star Wars 'Revenge of the Sith', 'The War of the Worlds' and 'The Hulk'. Lee was also involved in Blue Sky's latest 3D animated feature 'Rio', so he's not exclusively into heavy-weight monsters and creature design, he's got a funny side too!

The DVD runs for 183 minutes showing Lee while he's creating his designs on paper while letting you in on some exclusive insider tips. Afterwards he completes his sketches in digital form using Adobe Photoshop and teaches you some secret of the pro's. It's pretty cool and if creature design is your thing you should absolutely go and check it out! It's one of those cool rare tutorials you just gotta have to see!

Being in game design for Lucas Arts, EA and Sony, Lee also developed a strong sense for costume design, so the DVD also covers a lot of insights on that part of character design. It's on order now for $ 49,00 you either get the DVD or a digital download so check it out at the Gnomon Workshop or visit Lee's cool website and check out some of his amazingly weird creatures! Cool!