Pixar to Disney: Drop Dead

*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

I'm more of a Wallace and Grommit man.

speaking of jack black... "skidoosh!"

I love pixar but I couldn't make it past the first 10 minutes of Cars...

i got high hopes for wall-e.

Why did they decide to make a sequel out of one of their poorer efforts? I mean, it is not like they don't have enough amazing movies that you really wish there was more of.

I'm guessing it's for the money.

has anyone read the pixar touch? is it good?

http://www.amazon.com/Pixar-Touch-Vintage-David-Price/dp/0307278298/

So I guess Pixar's hand was forced to do sequels, but surely they could have come up with something more inspired than Monsters U.

Pretty long article here
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/big-hero-6/
Thing I had to notice was that chart comparing Pixar to Disney film grosses - notice how Pixar's have gone down while Disney's have increased. Not coincidentally since Pixar has been doing lackluster sequels...

Didn't know about this:

But it wasn't all bad: While at Disney, Lasseter saw an early computer-animation test for Tron and it blew him away. “It was very simplistic, but a door opened up in my head and there was this incredible world beyond it,” he says. “I kept thinking, ‘This was what Walt was waiting for.’” Lasseter started an animation test—hand-drawn characters in computer-generated backgrounds—and began developing an idea for a computer-animated feature about forgotten appliances at a summer cabin waiting for their owner to return. Lasseter pitched the idea to the top brass. It was rejected. “The only reason we'd do computer animation,” Lasseter was told, “is if it was cheaper or faster.” Immediately after the meeting, he was summoned to the office of the manager of the animation department and told he was out of a job.

Lasseter was mortified. “My entire self-identity, even as a little kid, was based on this dream of working at Disney,” he says. “It just was so crushing to be fired from the place of your dreams.” He didn't tell anyone that he'd been let go—not even his wife, Nancy. Instead, he said that he'd quit to pursue computer animation. (It wasn't until Disney bought Pixar, more than 20 years later, that Lasseter finally admitted the truth.)

With Lasseter in charge of the entire animation division now, it seems like there's been a slow transformation of the main studio into the new Pixar.

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