Pixar to Disney: Drop Dead

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=94827&cid=8131039
(and the whole rest of the thread)

toy story:
> the debut Pixar film

pixar already had oscars at this point - they'd had, what 6?, shorts out by then. but yes, first feature.

(wally b, luxo jr, tin toy, knick knack, red's dream... ironically, watch the credits of some of these and you'll see the rendering machines were named 'mickey' and 'donald'.)

andy

Really? I can't believe something with a title like this was actually watchable. What were they thinking when they named it?

Bad title, good film. Apparently it was part of a much larger Aztec epic with Sting songs and... you've already fallen asleep. Instead, they nixed the main storyline, cut Sting down to an end credits theme, and left in the anarchic comic relief bits, which are pretty funny, in an anarchic-Daffy Duck rather than Eddie-Murphy-as-a-donkey way. Plus, Puddy from Seinfeld is a main character, therefore clasic.

Haha Aja you are smart. Do you not like Pixar or do you not like any computer animated stuff?

I was really impressed by Toy Story, but not much else by Pixar. Their movies sort of hurt my eyes, just because I do not like the non-graphic too-realistic too-bright look of any computer animation very much. Even in video games I hate the 3D ones, I would rather play original nintendo or even pac-man, I think simple graphics are much more fun to look at. I think hand drawn animation rules- it has good looks but it also has unique motion style that doesn't conform to 3D computer models. Pixar definitely has the most superior computer animation though. Plus it's likely they might open a traditional studio so they are cool.

*does nothing for an hour*

Favourite myth about computer animation, as attempted in a badly edited end-of-the-evening-news report:

Animator Woman: Computer animation is so much quicker, I can just move this over here in a few seconds. If we'd been painting this film on cels, it would have taken months.
Narrator: In total, Finding Nemo took 6 years to make...

and i like the 3d modelling thing they do these days (everything machanical in Belleville for instance, Futurama's spaceships and buildings) where they 3d model various bits and incorporate them / make them look like more traditional 2d animation. without this things tend to change shape when going around corners and that always used to bug me.

> who, other than animation-heads, gives a crap about animated shorts oscars?

people who are interested in what'll win the animated feature award in a couple of years time? people interested in the new animation techniques that are coming through? the short is where people tend to try out things, it's a testing ground. and that's more interesting to me than, say, another jack nicholson movie 8)

andy

From the man who brought you NeXT.

Tom, mail me at the below address. I can't find your email address in the archives.

Disney and Pixar: undrop dead. Though then there's this:

IN a subtle but important shift, Pixar has matured, allowing its strategic thinking to evolve inside a sprawling corporation. For instance, some of the studio’s executives once resisted sequels and direct-to-DVD efforts, arguing that quality and the brand could suffer. While sequels were not out of the question, they said Pixar’s hot streak hinged on pushing boundaries with original material.

But at Mr. Lasseter’s presentation in April, Disney’s first such event in 10 years, he announced “Cars 2,” a 2012 sequel that will take Lightning McQueen and his pals on a tour of foreign countries. Also in the works are four direct-to-DVD movies built around Tinker Bell.

“We are definitely planning on doing more sequels, just as we are more originals,” Mr. Lasseter said in an interview. “We talk with Bob Iger about which ones make sense to do from a business perspective. But each movie has to be absolutely great or you will snuff out a franchise.”

And the Pixar team, which also has oversight of Walt Disney Animation Studios and the DVD-focused DisneyToon Studios, decided that it was O.K. to outsource some direct-to-DVD animation to an Indian company, a departure from its rigid stance that outside animators could not deliver the necessary quality. (Mr. Lasseter will still closely monitor the efforts, however.)

Also:

In Disney’s case, Pixar was assigned the difficult task of turning around a storied animation department that had fallen into disrepair as it struggled to find its footing in a new world of computer-generated pictures. At a low point, the 2002 film “Treasure Planet” flopped so badly that Disney was forced to take a $98 million write-down.

A window into how the rebuilding effort is going will come on Nov. 26, with the release of “Bolt,” the tale of a Hollywood dog star who becomes lost in New York and has to make his way back to California. Mr. Lasseter and his team have heavily reworked the project, including playing up a wickedly funny side character, a hamster.

including playing up a wickedly funny side character, a hamster.

played by Jack Black, I suppose.

nope, but it does have miley cyrus and john travolta in it

http://www.adoptionlcsw.com/2016/06/finding-dory-adoption-movie-review.html

Interesting. Also interesting that like 90% of Disney movies begin with the death of a parent/loved ones, and afaict that's never proved particularly traumatic for little kids. Maybe it's the specifics of this scenario?

My almost 6yo is seeing it this weekend as part of a birthday party and I'm a little worried for him. He wept through most of Paddington because he could sense that Paddington was lonely and scared (but also refused to walk out because he didn't want to miss anything).

Finding Dory is better than most Pixar sequels. I'm convinced they had Dory's story all worked out when they made the first movie -- nothing feels like a retcon.

My 4yo non-adopted niece liked it. Not sure how much she understood.

The sea lions in Dory were String and McNutty.

Ha! Didn't notice that.

Finally saw "Dory" and thought it was a lot better than I expected. I can definitely see how it could be traumatic or at least troubling for kids who have been adopted, though I was surprised how well the film worked as a parable of special needs kids and hard it can be for them to navigate (or be allowed to navigate) the world. You've got Dory, of course, and her condition, you've got the sea lion and bird with some sort of intellectual disability, you've got a legally blind whale shark, traumatized beluga, an octopus missing a leg (and of course even Nemo has his tiny flipper). Without saying it a lot of "Dory" is about these characters overcoming their disabilities.

Not sure I was into the broad gag of the octopus driving a car (I just read Soul of the Octopus and know they're smart but come on), but I was willing to go with it.

Oh, also, the opening short "Piper" was cute, and was scored by Adrian Belew!

Not sure I was into the broad gag of the octopus driving a car (I just read Soul of the Octopus and know they're smart but come on), but I was willing to go with it.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, August 1, 2016 3:22 PM (55 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just fyi it's a movie abt talking fish

I guess that was just photorealism run amuck, I thought they actually had an octopus driving a car, suddenly it all makes sense!

One of the great things about the first one is how the characters, while anthropomorphic talking sea creatures, generally behave and act according to the species/physiology or whatever, so there was some ... internal logic? But I guess I do draw the line at an octopus starting up a car and leading the police on a high speed chase. Not just starting a car that rolls down a hill into the ocean, but steering, making screechy u-turns, etc.. I expect that from talking toys, but not from talking octopuses.

Seriously, Soul of an Octopus is a super-cool read.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51O7Qa9liKL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Well if we're going to nitpick, that wasn't an octopus, it was a septapus, and the missing arm was probably its reproductive arm, and by Seinfeldian logic, that lack would make him a cognitive and spatial genius.

It's a philosophical quandary. If an octopus loses an arm, is it still an octopus? If a twin loses its twin, is it still a twin?

I'm talking biology!

I thought a kid tore one of his arms off?

The Good Dinosaur was a snooze. Weak characterizations, a poorly defined story universe and a disappointingly standard American Tail-style lost child narrative. And couple of lovely autumnal visuals towards the end notwithstanding, even the animation was barely better than average.

yeah. worse than brave in my opinion.

I couldn't get my kids to watch it when it was literally the only thing on TV. 50% of "Brave" is great, then it turns into My Mother the Bear.

that was the better half imo

my expectations for the good dinosaur were sufficiently low that i actually kinda liked it for what it was: a feature-length demo reel for pixar's amazing new digital grass and water effects

I thought "Moana" was great, easily one of the best looking Disney, etc. movies, sort of made me think of "Brave" if "Brave" was better.

Is this one Pixar or just Disney?

Disney.

Is the new one Pixar or Disney? Doesn't really matter anymore, I guess. Anyway, "Encanto" was absolutely gorgeous. It was also perhaps more patient than most Disney animated films, and perhaps just slightly more cliche-averse. That said, I don't think it made much sense, and my daughter immediately thought of a better ending, but it's worth it for the bright colors alone. Also, caught the trailer for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdKzUbAiswE

Looks like it could be fun.

(Also some "Teen Wolf" vibes.)

whole lotta dreamworks face in that trailer

trailer is manic af

This is the one set in my old Toronto neighbourhood! Can't wait to see it. The short by the same director was a lot mellower, hopefully this was just trailer'd up

I literally lived opposite this house!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FEZ0WZqWYAkpX6H?format=jpg