Glen Keane Moving to DreamWorks?

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DisneyJedi
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Post by DisneyJedi »

Okay, even though I'd like Glen to do his thing, I think he's best with working with Disney. I mean, if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have some of the awesome characters he animated. Okay, maybe someone else would be in his shoes on that note. But still.
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Post by Sotiris »

So I went to the Hat Building today and found out that Ed, John and Andrew held a town meeting on the main lot yesterday. Where they announced that, because Tangled did so well, WDAS employees will be getting bonuses. This is a good thing. One staffer informed me that management acknowledges that story development is thin. As another staffer said:

"Yeah, there's not much in work. Lots of people are developing shorts ideas, but there's not much feature development. They should have a whole bunch of stuff going, with small crews, so they can pick and choose from the best of it. ..."

Feature development is thin? Where have I heard that before?
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Post by Disneyphile »

In the comments section of that article, it said that they're going to try not to have any more gaps in production, so the artists won't be fired once they're done with a movie, as happened with Tangled. I hope that turns out to be the case.
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Post by Sotiris »

Disneyphile wrote:In the comments section of that article, it said that they're going to try not to have any more gaps in production, so the artists won't be fired once they're done with a movie, as happened with Tangled. I hope that turns out to be the case.
Me, and all of the artists who work there, hope so too. :)
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Post by Sotiris »

Floyd Norman wrote:Glen Keane sighting in Glendale this afternoon. Yes, Glendale. Near that other studio. I'm just saying...
Source: http://twitter.com/floydnorman/statuses ... 4888695808
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Sotiris
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Post by Sotiris »

Anon #1: What about Glen Keane? Is he staying at Disney?

Anon #2: Nope. He is long gone.

Anon #3: Glen is still at Disney, and will continue to be.

Anon #4: He may nominally still be there, but you know as well as I that whether will continue to be is extremely debatable, leaning toward unlikely.

Anon #5: I dont think that's necessarily true, and maybe you don't know the latest information (I won't spill it here). Bottom line, the "nope, he's long gone" comment is absolutely false.

Anon #6: As for Glen Keane I've heard from many people that the DW talk is just rumors but that he hasn't been around the Hat Building much recently and many of his colleagues haven't seen him or spoken to him for months. He's one of very few animators still on a contract, the rest are on staff. Duncan Marjoribanks and Mike Srurey have left the studio and also Andreas Deja has taken a leave of absence although most people seem to think he's going to return eventually.

Anon #7: I see Glen at Disney all the time. Maybe the people you talk to just dont happen to see him?

Anon #8: For what it's worth Mr. Deja no longer lists Disney as his employer:

Anon #9: Andreas Deja just took a leave of absence, as previously stated.
Source: http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/ ... izing.html
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Post by DisneyAnimation88 »

I'm actually more shocked that there seems to be a possibility that Andreas Deja has left (whether he will return or not seems to be a matter of conflicting opinion) than I was when I first heard that Glen Keane could leave. That's not to say that I see Deja as more valuable or anything but to me he has always seemed to be one of the more public faces of the current animators at Disney and I wasn't expecting to find out he had gone, whether long-term or not.
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Post by SWillie! »

I'm guessing all this means is that there isn't any actual hand-drawn animation to be done at WDAS right now, even if there is a 2D film in production, so Andreas is taking some time off. Even he said maybe I'll be back. I wouldn't get too upset about it. He's a Disney guy at heart, so even if he doesn't work for them anymore, I'm sure he will contribute a great deal of his talent towards future Disney films in some way.
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Post by Sotiris »

SWillie! wrote:I'm guessing all this means is that there isn't any actual hand-drawn animation to be done at WDAS right now, even if there is a 2D film in production...
There isn't. Only Reboot Ralph is currently in production which is CGI and the rest four projects that are in develpment are all in CGI as well.
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Post by estefan »

Well, it says there on Dejas' blog profile that he wants to focus on making his own animated shorts. More power to him, I say, if he wants to tell his own stories!

Also, it looks like he has some really terrific taste in film. :D
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Post by SWillie! »

Sotiris wrote:
SWillie! wrote:I'm guessing all this means is that there isn't any actual hand-drawn animation to be done at WDAS right now, even if there is a 2D film in production...
There isn't. Only Reboot Ralph is currently in production which is CGI and the rest four projects that are in develpment are all in CGI as well.
Whoops, I did mean development :oops:

And hasn't there been multiple sources say that at least one of the films in development are traditional?
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Post by Sotiris »

SWillie! wrote:And hasn't there been multiple sources say that at least one of the films in development are traditional?
No. I'm pretty sure there weren't. If you are referring to Mort, that was canceled a while ago and if you are referring to the proposed Mickey Mouse full-length feature, that was merely a pitch (out of many) that Burny Mattinson was working on which at the time had yet to present.

Even if Lasseter liked the first pitch, and gave the OK to work on the pitch some more, the project would be on spec. development (i.e. presenting another more detailed pitch, getting feedback, and re-presenting it, and so forth). After this process if the story seems to be working out, it will get greenlit for development (where the process of making the film actually begins: a bigger team working on the project, story meetings, storyboarding, concept art, research etc).

If the project had been greenlit for development, something would have been leaked by now so I'm inclined to believe that it hasn't; at least not yet. There is also the possibility that the project was rejected, not passing the pitching stage or perhaps it got turned into a short. Anything is possible.

Currently, the only projects that have been confirmed at being in development are:

Chris Williams' "King of the Elves"
Dean Wellins' Untitled Film
Greno's & Howard's Untitled Film
Chris Buck's Untitled Film

Also, a full production has begun for "Reboot Ralph", "Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice", a "Tangled" short, and 2 other shorts.
Last edited by Sotiris on Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by PatrickvD »

Yeah, all this really means that there isn't a traditionally animated film anywhere near going into production.

These people all came together to make The Princess and the Frog and to keep them busy they gave them Winnie the Pooh.

But that's done. There's nothing left, so why sit around and do nothing? I'm pretty sure most of them are more than willing to come back if something goes in production. But we can't possibly expect them to sit around and waste their talent.

If I were any of them I'd explore my options as well.
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Post by Mmmadelon »

Sotiris wrote:
SWillie! wrote: Currently, the only projects that have been confirmed at being in development are:

Chris Williams' "King of the Elves"
Dean Wellins' Untitled Film
Greno's & Howard's Untitled Film
Chris Buck's Untitled Film

Also, a full production has begun for "Reboot Ralph", "Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice", a "Tangled" short, and 2 other shorts.
More information on Buck's Untitled Film:
Kirill: What’s next for Claire Keane? Anything exciting you can share with us?

Claire: I am hoping someday to find the time to work on my own personal project. As for right now though, I’m having a lot of fun working with some wonderful people: Chris Buck (director of Tarzan and Surf’s Up) and Mike Giaimo (art director of Pocahontas) on a really fun and whimsical film. Mike has such a bold personal style and I am so excited to help get that style onto the screen.
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Post by disneyprincess11 »

Sotiris wrote: Currently, the only projects that have been confirmed at being in development are:

Chris Williams' "King of the Elves"
Dean Wellins' Untitled Film
Greno's & Howard's Untitled Film
Chris Buck's Untitled Film

Also, a full production has begun for "Reboot Ralph", "Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice", a "Tangled" short, and 2 other shorts.
Wait! What happened to Clements and Musker? And I know Mort got cancelled, but I had thought they would retrieve another idea. And how about the Mickey, Donald, and Goofy movie????
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Post by The_Iceflash »

jpanimation wrote: Chris Sanders hasn't come back, neither has many of the former Disney animators I know who made the switch to DreamWorks. They tell me that DreamWorks being ranked as one of the best companies to work for is no joke, it really is. They go on to describe the atmosphere as fun and relaxed (as opposed to the one-step-away from bankruptcy pressure that Disney places on you), they encourage artistic freedom and they're paid well with job security (easy with so many projects on the runway).
But yet their talents get wasted on crappy output at DreamWorks. If I were an animator I would want to go work for a place that brings out the best in my work and not the worst. I would be embarrassed to have my have my name on much of DreamWorks' output.
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Post by Elladorine »

The_Iceflash wrote:
jpanimation wrote: Chris Sanders hasn't come back, neither has many of the former Disney animators I know who made the switch to DreamWorks. They tell me that DreamWorks being ranked as one of the best companies to work for is no joke, it really is. They go on to describe the atmosphere as fun and relaxed (as opposed to the one-step-away from bankruptcy pressure that Disney places on you), they encourage artistic freedom and they're paid well with job security (easy with so many projects on the runway).
But yet their talents get wasted on crappy output at DreamWorks. If I were an animator I would want to go work for a place that brings out the best in my work and not the worst. I would be embarrassed to have my have my name on much of DreamWorks' output.
Well, I wouldn't. :P And besides, work is work; job security is especially important when you've got a family to support. I personally know a few people that have complained about the pressures from working at Disney and opt to work for smaller and lesser-known studios where they have more job security and creative freedom. I also personally know people that take whatever work they can get because they've got newborns and don't know when they'll get a several month-long "vacation" in between projects, no matter what studio they happen to be working for.

This isn't directed at you personally and I'm not saying that Disney can't be great to work for, but it seems many Disney fans idolize the studio so much that they think they must be the end-all, be-all place to work in animation when there really are other places that still let one's talent and creativity shine through.
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Post by Sotiris »

disneyprincess11 wrote:Wait! What happened to Clements and Musker? And I know Mort got cancelled, but I had thought they would retrieve another idea. And how about the Mickey, Donald, and Goofy movie????
There is no word of the whereabouts of Musker & Clements after Mort's cancellation. They may have left Disney, or they may be working on another project hand-drawn or CGI there. No one has heard anything.

As for the proposed Mickey Mouse full-length feature, that was merely a pitch (out of many) that Burny Mattinson was working on which at the time had yet to present. We haven't heard anything about it since then whether the project got greenlit or rejected.
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Post by disneyprincess11 »

Sotiris wrote:
disneyprincess11 wrote:Wait! What happened to Clements and Musker? And I know Mort got cancelled, but I had thought they would retrieve another idea. And how about the Mickey, Donald, and Goofy movie????
There is no word of the whereabouts of Musker & Clements after Mort's cancellation. They may have left Disney, or they may be working on another project hand-drawn or CGI there. No one has heard anything.

As for the proposed Mickey Mouse full-length feature, that was merely a pitch (out of many) that Burny Mattinson was working on which at the time had yet to present. We haven't heard anything about it since then whether the project got greenlit or rejected.
Oh ok :)
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Post by DisneyAnimation88 »

Has there actually been any kind of confirmation that King of the Elves is going to be CG? There seems to be conflicting reports on this on various blogs and websites so it looks like no one is entirely sure how the film will be animated.
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