The Buzz: August 2005
Toronto's Stop-motion Grudge Match
In this corner, from the studio that brought you Chicken Run and not one, but two Oscar winning shorts upon which this film was based... here's Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit! And in this corner, from the twisted mind of Tim Burton, creator of Keyframe favourite The Nightmare Before Christmas... here's The Corpse Bride! Both these films will be squaring off for their North American premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival ...
Okay, so in fact this isn't a grudge match per say and in truth there's nothing more bizarre than when the media attempts to pump up conflict where there is none. "Britney Spears vs. Christina Aguiler--fight!" No, we're not going to do that here.
But does anyone else think it just a little odd that in this age where studios like Disney and Dreamworks are giving up on their 2D animation departments that we have not one, but TWO stop-motion films coming out this fall? Didn't they tell us that the public wasn't interested in anything but the shiny new glitz of computer animation? I mean, could there be anything more passé than STOP-MOTION. Surely this stuff is just one step up from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and who is going to watch something like that?! After all, that's why someone had to dutifully go and update old Rudolph for today's kids to give us Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys. Thank goodness, right?
And yes, boys and girls, if it wasn't completely obvious, the above is sarcasm... with a heavy dashing of perverse truth. All indications are that there will be no more 2D from the Disney studio. I heard recently that any newly developed DTV sequels will now be in 3D. Plus Dreamworks has also shut down their 2D branch, which admittedly didn't produce much that the general populace found blockbuster worthy, but still I don't think it was the 2D'ness that offended. Just look at the Coming Soon list for the next three years. Virtually all 3D, all the time.
Don't get me wrong. I was trained as a computer animator and I have nothing but respect for the creative people who have made this their medium of choice. What I object to is the notion that the public has rejected older animation forms in favour of computer animation. It's like saying that all the painters out there should turn in their watercolours because the only art worth seeing is done in Photoshop!
So this fall, when you find yourself at the theatre getting your tickets for what must certainly be the 'dinosaur-age' animation of Corpse Bride and Wallace & Gromit, be sure to toss a salute to all the execs who have killed 2D feature animation these last few years. They were obviously, absolutely correct about what we will and will not stand for in our animated films.
posted: Aug 24, 2005 by athena
Stitch has a DVD Review
The Disney Database has done a DVD review for the upcoming DTV, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. Perhaps the most startling thing about this DVD review is it states that this is the best DTV feature that Disney has ever released. Heartfelt engaging story, consistent characterization, up-to-original-film quality animation... it was enough to make this editor blink. Pity Disney just axed the last of its 2D department. Stitch Has a Glitch will be coming out August 30th.
posted: Aug 23, 2005 by athena
A Valiant Effort Disappoints
Disney/Vanguard's CG film Valiant—a World War II epic about carrier pidgeons—had a opening weekend that could best be described as a 'bomb'. Box Office Mojo reports a 7th place showing in this weekend's box office and a total gross of $6.1 million.
posted: Aug 22, 2005 by athena
Joe Ranft, dead at 45
It is with great regret that I pass along word that Pixar story artist and voice actor, Joe Ranft, was killed in a car accident on August 16th.
Ranft contributed as a writer to such films as The Brave Little Toaster, Oliver & Company, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Toy Story (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay), A Bug's Life, and Fantasia 2000. His voice will also be remembered as that of Heimlich the caterpillar from A Bug's Life, Wheezy the squeaker penguin from Toy Story 2 and Jacques the shrimp from Finding Nemo. Pixar's Artist Corner has a 2002 interview with Ranft on their site and Cartoon Brew has running updates with news and responses to Ranft's passing.
posted: Aug 20, 2005 by athena
DuckTales and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers coming to DVD
Disney's been a bit on the slow side in getting into the animated TV series on DVD business but they're going to be putting out two 80's cartoon favourites, DuckTales and Rescue Rangers, this fall. TVshowsonDVD.com has a source with some details on the DuckTales set. According to the rumours, both DuckTales and Rescue Rangers will hit the shelves November 8, 2005.
posted: Aug 15, 2005 by athena
New Corpse Bride trailers
Two new trailers for the much anticipated Corpse Bride are now available. You can find the International Trailer on Coming Soon.net and a similar, but longer theatrical trailer on the official "Corpse Bride" website.
posted: Aug 13, 2005 by athena
Dreamworks at SIGGRAPH
Jim Hill Media offers up a great article on the Dreamworks Animation presentation at SIGGRAPH. The article includes description and pictures for all of Dreamworks' upcoming animated features from now until 2008. This includes Over the Hedge, Flushed Away, Shrek 3 (plus some info on Shrek 4), Bee Movie and Kung Fu Panda.
posted: Aug 13, 2005 by athena
Trailer for The Barnyard
With all the studios trying to break into the animated film business--some of them announcing before never being heard from again, and some of them repeatedly pushing their release date back and back and back--it can sometimes be a little hard to keep track. But it would seem that we've got a live one here in the form of the trailer for Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon's The Barnyard coming in 2006.
posted: Aug 10, 2005 by athena
Lupercal resigns as Keyframe co-editor
I'd like to take a moment to thank Lupercal for his service to this site. Lupercal began his stint on Keyframe as an incredibly enthusiastic reviewer whose reviews were so sharp and informative that I offered him the position of a co-editor on Keyframe--something I'd never done up to that point.
He set his task to expanding the site beyond its fairly mainstream roots with dozens upon dozens of new profiles--everything from old TV series like Roger Ramjet to Russian independent films like Hedgehog in the Fog (that DVD collection is now one of our top sellers). In what I thought was a particular thrill for the site, Lupercal roped an interview with Don Hertzfeldt--the first original interview with an animator that Keyframe has ever landed.
Unfortunately, due to the frustration over the site's decline in traffic... (we love you too, Google! grr)... Lupercal felt his contributions were being wasted. Despite my continued protests, he decided it would be better to resign his position as co-editor.
Keyframe shall greatly miss the contributions of this user, but if you check out and review some of the wonderful profiles he's added to the site, his contribution will never be forgotten.
posted: Aug 09, 2005 by athena
