Now that Walt Disney Animation Studios seems to be on the right track again, one has to wonder who will be the storytellers of the future...
Who will be the next Ron Clements and John Musker, Disney's Brad Bird or Pete Docter (a future post). And make no mistake about it; WDAS has its own share of talented animators and directors. Pixar is not the only place that has great directors and craftsmen. Many were never given the opportunity to shine under previous regimes but are now having whole new worlds opened to them.
Now that Lasseter has a few years under his belt we can slowly begin to get an idea as to where the Mouse is headed. Of all the pieces that are out there I have a personal favorite.
Prep & Landing.
It's the best thing that they've done since the new openness that John and Ed started when coming over to Burbank. My second favorite thing they've done is the Goofy short; "How To Hook Up Your Home Theater." Ironic that it was done by the same team responsible for Prep & Landing. While I think "Bolt" is a missed gem that didn't get as much attention as it should have, and "The Princess and the Frog" marks a return to the beauty of hand-drawn animation, they aren't my favorite parts of the puzzle that is the new Disney.
And of all the new projects in the works, guess which one I'm looking forward to the most? Rapunzel? Winnie the Pooh? Snow Queen? No, none of these. I'm excited to see the new short that they're making called "The Balled of Nessie." And it's again by the same duo responsible for the other two projects I really like. It's also hand-drawn and in a style remarkably like those 50's styled animation shorts done by Disney. So as soon as this short is done, I'm hoping that the duo responsible for it get the greetlight to move from directing shorts to directing an animated feature. Incidentally, the reason we haven't heard much about the short lately is because of it being hand-drawn, the majority of the artists who were working on it happened to have been busy with TPATF. Such is the case with so few 2D animators in Burbank right now. That'll change with the two hand-drawn features lined up over the next few years needing talented artist.
Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton are the directing duo behind those projects and they're who I think are the new, bright stars of WDAS. These two have created the most clever and compelling of all the new animation that has come out of the Hat Building and I look forward to whatever they come up with for a feature. And if I can see this, you know that Lasseter can see it. Not that I've heard anything yet, but you can see where a trail is going if you follow the path. These two are clearly on the path to a very promising future.
And I believe as soon as Nessie gets done they're next project will be something that I can't wait to see...
The Next Ron & John...
Perspective On Princesses & Frogs...
Are you ready...
Yes, I know this came out almost a week ago so I apologize for the tardiness, but Christmas shopping and a full schedule in the real world has prevented me from posting this...
First off, I don't call this a review. This is just my thoughts/opinions/feelings on the latest release from Walt Disney Animation Studios. I've always been uncomfortable with the idea of writing reviews and if you've noticed, I haven't written one in a good while. Just think of this as my perspective on Disney's forty-ninth animated feature with some illumination on where it's headed for the fiftieth and beyond.
I didn't get around to seeing "The Princess and the Frog" till Sunday because of the flooding that Southern California was having. My friends and I had to postpone our little get together a few days and I've been busy making sure I stuffed all those stockings and between that, work and juggling meetings and plans over my iPhone, I just didn't have time to put down on paper or computer, exactly how it was.
Now that that's out of the way let me say: "Welcome back hand-drawn animation." I missed you! And the relatives you've had around weren't exactly the best showing of your family. Let's face it, "Home on the Range" is a hayseed hick in your family and I don't really like spending much time with 'em.
I thoroughly enjoyed TPATF and it's a glimmering jewel of what can be done my the Mouse when bean counters understand they weren't hired to write, but count. Yes, I loved it but many will ask if it's as good as the films of the early nineties like "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin;" both of which were directed by the same people. Truthfully, no it's not. I believe that the quadrilogy of films from the late eighties to mid-nineties are superior stories. That doesn't mean that this has a horrible story, only that it doesn't hold up as well as something like "Lion King." But again, that's a tall mountain to climb. I found the first act somewhat rushed and uneven, but still entertaining. The second act was my favorite and it had a strong finish.
I do believe that the animation is second-to-none. It's truly spectacular and shows you what Disney Animation is all about. I have nothing against CG animation and think Pixar is the top of the game with theirs, but I love hand-drawn animation and this film is a testament to the love of that form. Even thought it doesn't come out in cels anymore, I love seeing the animated form that starts first with a pencil or Cintiq.
The songs in the film are also not as memorable as the earlier films; as least in terms of quantity. There are two stand outs though. The "Friends on the Other Side" and "Dig a little Deeper" had the entire audience clapping and swinging to the tune.
But the boys/girls up at the Hat Building have something to be rather proud of. And it should show everyone, including Mr. Eisner that it was a tragic mistake to throw away those drawing tables a half a decade ago. The Suits of the time thought people didn't want to see hand-drawn films. What they didn't want to see was badly told hand-drawn films. I have a feeling we won't have to worry about that for the next few years. Hopefully it'll be for a lot longer. I for one can't wait to see Disney's next hand-drawn film in Spring of 2011. From what my Bothans tell me, "Winnie the Pooh" is moving along at a shockingly fast rate. It'll likely be done well before the release date which is something that can't be said for "Rapunzel" which will be rushing to meet its deadline with six and even seven day work weeks as the film draws closer to it's release next year. Development on "Snow Queen" continues and "Joe Jump" is moving forward with each vying for a release date in 2012/2013 sometime. Then there are at least four other projects that are moving through various states of existence that will fill the rest of the Disney half of animation from the Mouse over the next five years.
After watching this latest effort I count the days until the next release. And I can't wait to own it on DVD in a few months.
Especially with that sneak peek at the girl with seventy foot long hair that will be included...