The Buzz: January 2007

DreamWorks and Aardman split…

The rumors have proven to be true, as DreamWorks has issued a press release saying that they have ended their exclusive contract with UK-based animation studio Aardman (creator of Wallace and Gromit). Mr. Katzenberg, Chief executive of DreamWorks animation said "…While I will always be a fan and an admirer of Aardman's work, our different business goals no longer support each other."

Despite the three films that Aardman has produced with DreamWorks receiving critical acclaim and winning numerous awards (including Oscars); none really managed to set the US box offices alight. This ultimately may have played a deciding part in the split.

As for the two companies future in animation production… DreamWorks' have their in-house animated productions laid out towards 2010, with a line-up to two animated films per year. Meanwhile Aardman continue with their own undisclosed projects, stating that they will announce their plans shortly.

See the press release for more info.

posted: Jan 31, 2007 by starlac

Song of the South to get DVD release?

Still sitting in the realm "possibility", Song of the South.net is reporting that Disney's new Legacy DVD series may be the route to get this film out of the vault. They've quoted Roy Disney as saying he's "hopeful" that the company will see this DVD series as an appropriate outlet for the film.

posted: Jan 20, 2007 by athena

Animators Challenged to Spread the Word about Global Warming

AnimationForum.net is hosting a contest for animators. The challenge is to create a short animation on the subject of 'Global Warming'--funny, sad, informative or even extreme, it just needs to prove a point about global warming. The contest runs from Jan 20th to April 20th and the site is offering some nice prizes to the winners including a Wacom tablet, ArtRage 2 and flipbooks. For more information, check this thread.

posted: Jan 18, 2007 by athena

Disney Treasure Tins for the Can?

The Walt Disney Treasures may have had their last wave of discs last December: as talk in this thread on the Ultimate Disney forums seems to suggest that management has plans to cancel the series.

This, like all rumors should be taken with a pinch of salt. Yet the decreased numbers of the tins last December: with each of the three sets numbering only 65,000 (as opposed to the 100,000+ per set of earlier waves), seems to suggest a downsizing that could potentially lead to a complete cancellation.

Then I found this thread on the Golden Age of Cartoons website; started by the site’s webmaster Jon Cooke. Cooke states that according to his sources, this process is occurring. He urges that fans of the series should write a polite, to-the-point letter or e-mail to Dick Cook, Chairman of the Walt Disney Studio and known enthusiast for the Treasure tins. The hope is that the show of fan support will encourage Disney to continue the Treasures.

Both Addresses can be found on the thread.

posted: Jan 15, 2007 by starlac

Avatar to get Live-Action adaptation

In the category of "we couldn't make this stuff up if we tried", Yahoo News is reporting that M. Night Shyamalan, (writer/director of such films as The Sixth Sense and Lady in the Water), is to write, direct and produce a live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon is already hoping that this will turn into a three picture series with Shyamalan's continuing involvement. No word yet on a release date.

posted: Jan 14, 2007 by athena

The Shakedown Continues at Disney

I like to think of the media industry as a high stakes chess game--pieces may come and go but, at the end of the day, it's all about strategy. After Disney's purchase of Pixar and the bringing in John Lasseter and Ed Catmull into two key executive positions at Disney, there has been a lot of pieces being moved around as the pair implement a new vision and strategy for the creative-side of the company. We've heard about the end of the so-called Disney 'cheapquels' and the promise that Walt Disney Feature Animation will once again be devoting itself to 2D animation. The latest piece to go however is Chris Sanders, (writer/director of Lilo and Stitch). It's now being reported that he's left--or was removed--from his latest project, American Dog.

For all the latest buzz on changing times at Disney, check on this article from O-meon.com

posted: Jan 09, 2007 by athena

Happily N'Ever After Opens to Underwhelming Reviews

If the media's reviews of Happily N'Ever After could be summed up in one word it would likely be: OUCH! While the worst criticism levelled at most CG films released these days might be 'bland' or 'mediocore', Happily N'Ever After (created by Vanguard Animation who previously did Valiant), is currently scoring a whopping 5% on Rotten Tomatoes.com--and 0% among their 'Cream of the Crop' critics.

Yes, that is definitely going to sting in the morning. "Happily N'Ever After" may wind up being a description of the studio's fortunes come Monday.

posted: Jan 07, 2007 by athena

NIMH to get Special Edition treatment

Don Bluth's classic, The Secret of NIMH will be having its 25th Anniversary this year and it would seem a distributor is finally going to give the film the respect it deserves. Years after the extraordinarily bland DVD release of the film by MGM, Animated Views is reporting that NIMH's new distributor Fox Home Entertainment has deemed it a suitable candidate for Special Edition treatment. No word yet on what this release will look like or when it's coming out, but personally I'm just glad to hear that it's in the works at all.

posted: Jan 06, 2007 by athena

Animation Rules 2006's DVD sales

According to Billboard Magazine, (as reported by Houston Chronicle), Dreamworks' CG film about a zoo break out, Madagascar, was the top selling DVD of 2006*. Their Top 10 list is fairly animation heavy in general with Chicken Little (#3), The Little Mermaid (#4), Lady and the Tramp (#7) and Over the Hedge (#8) rounding out the list.

posted: Jan 04, 2007 by athena

Who Tapped Happy Feet to its Success?

As Happy Feet secures its position as 2006's holiday hit, an increasing number of articles are coming out asking, what was the magic ingredient in its success? The press seems to have latched on to the idea that it was the skills of the man in the mocap suit, tap-dancer Savion Glover. The Washington Post outlines the mocap process in loving detail and Happy Feet's own director has been quoted as saying, "I knew even the greatest animators in the world would take a lifetime to pull off the nuances of dancing that a gifted dancer is able to pull off." The NY Times goes so far as to suggest that Glover isn't getting enough credit.

After all this publicity for Glover, another group is starting to get a little upset over the lack of credit--the animators. Be sure to check out Keith Lango's blog as he describes the public's growing fascination with guys in mocap suits while the skills of the CG animator are increasingly dismissed as interchangeable cogs in the studio machine.

posted: Jan 02, 2007 by athena

Brittany Murphy on her role in Tinkerbell

In an article for SciFi Wire, Brittany Murphy speaks about taking on the title role in the upcoming Disney movie, Tinkerbell. The movie will cover Tinkerbell's life with the Lost Boys as well as with her girlfriends in Pixie Hollow. It also takes a look at her feelings of inadequacy when it comes to her role as a 'tinker' fairy--the word 'tinker' meaning something very different back in J.M. Barrie's days than it does now. Something else rather interesting to note: Tinkerbell is using motion capture technology to help produce the film. I could be wrong, but this is the first Disney film that I've heard of where this was being done.

posted: Jan 01, 2007 by athena