Musker & Clements Left Disney

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D82
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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farerb wrote:I listened to The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast where they talk with Musker and Clements, it's actually an old one from March 2017, but I only learned about it today. It was really great, they talk about their experience at Disney going back to the 80's, and I learned new things that I didn't know before, mainly because I was misinformed. I'll try to transcribe some of the things they said if/when I have time, but here it is for anyone who's interested:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cH ... yNDk?ep=14
Thank you so much for posting! I'm halfway through it and it's really interesting so far. There were many things I didn't know either.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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I'm glad you enjoy that, D82!
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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Another podcast with John Musker from December 2019:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cH ... OTA0?ep=14
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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Two more podcasts with Ron Clements:

One from March 2020:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cD ... NzZj?ep=14

Another from February 2021:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cH ... MTE4?ep=14

In the latest one he said that he finished his book and that it's scheduled to come out at the next D23 (September 2022). It was supposed to come out this year, but because of the pandemic it got delayed.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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Thanks for all those podcasts, Farerb! I'll listen to them. I didn't know Ron Clements had already finished his book. I'm looking forward to reading it.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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You're welcome :)
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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‘Little Mermaid,’ ‘Aladdin’ Filmmakers Tackling DC Comic ‘Metal Men’ for Warner Animation (Exclusive):
Animation legends Ron Clements and John Musker, the acclaimed team that spent decades at Disney making movies such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and The Princess and the Frog, are heading to DC.

The duo have teamed up with Celeste Ballard, a writer who worked on Space Jam: A New Legacy, to tackle an animated feature on The Metal Men. Warner Animation Group is the home of the project, which is based on the longtime DC property.

Clements and Musker are producing and have written the treatment for the project, which they are eyeing to direct.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235056979/
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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I can confirm that was the name of the property I had heard back in 2020. I'm glad it turned out to be animated instead of live-action, but it's a shame they couldn't have stayed at WDAS and direct another feature there. It's clear they never wanted to retire from filmmaking as was their departure from Disney portrayed back then. I wonder what went on at WDAS that made them want to leave.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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I wish Lee would invite them back. I still feel like the decision to leave was not their own.... It may not have just been Lasseter's doing, I suppose, but the higher-ups who were on his side and still remain. I'd like M&C to have a final film that wasn't micromanaged to death like Moana had been. Perhaps they're simply not enamored with 3D films though.

EDIT: Looking back through this thread, I was reminded of what you posted about Clements working on a book retrospective, Sotiris. Have you heard anything new about it since then? I definitely will buy it.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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I don't think they had an issue with Lasseter directly given how fondly they spoke of him even after his ouster. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean the feelings were mutual or that he was supportive of them. Back in 2013, Clements was already lamenting that Moana would probably be their last feature at the studio which means there was trouble since then. I think it had more to do with studio culture and the battle for territory between the new and the old guard at the studio than with the change of medium. I think Metal Men will be CG too. Warner did some 2D for Space Jam: A New Legacy, but I doubt they would be willing to invest in a theatrical 2D film.

I haven't heard anything new about Clements' book. I assume that since he's working on a new film, the book will be put on the back burner.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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I'm glad the project is still in the works. I feared it might've been cancelled since we hadn't heard anything about it for so long. I'm also glad it's going to be animated. Though, I also think it'll most likely be CG, especially considering the other upcoming theatrical animated DC movie from the studio, DC League of Super-Pets, is CG too.
Sotiris wrote:I haven't heard anything new about Clements' book. I assume that since he's working on a new film, the book will be put on the back burner.
I think it's still possible it's released at the next D23 Expo as Ron Clements said since it's already finished.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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Q: What can you tell us about your upcoming Metal Men adaptation?

John Musker: Ron Clements and I both grew up reading the comic book during its first appearance in the 1960s. We liked the mix of science and animation-friendly character comedy, and the personality-driven comic relationships in the books. We think it could be a really fun movie and introduce a wider audience to these characters.
Source: https://www.animationmagazine.net/anima ... niversity/
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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I'm glad they're fans of the source material. Then it's likely it's a project they're passionate about and not just something that was assigned to them.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

Post by Rumpelstiltskin »

I was reading the same stories about Metal Men in my childhood. First published in the 60s, when I was not even born, they were reprinted years later in my country, and I found some in second hand stores.

Like so many superhero titles from the 60s, 70s and partly 80s, there is something about them that's missing in today's comics. The same goes for the drawing style. So I hope it is made in the same spirit as when they were reading them. The only thing I was not that fond of was how Tin and Lead were talking. One was always stuttering if I remember correctly, and the other said "eh" all the time.

Considering their morphing abilities, this is the kind of animated project that actually works best as computer animation.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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Personally, I hadn't even heard of that comic before, but I'm not a big superhero fan. I've only become interested in superhero stuff in recent years, thanks mainly to Marvel films. I didn't read any superhero comics growing up and not many comics in general either, just some Disney ones. The only superhero-related thing I watched as a child was a Spider-Man/Fantastic Four animated show, though only for a while. That and Darkwing Duck, if it counts.

Anyway, since both Ron and John grew up reading Metal Men and it seems they liked it, I think they'll probably make an adaptation that is faithful to the spirit of the comics.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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D82 wrote:Personally, I hadn't even heard of that comic before, but I'm not a big superhero fan. I've only become interested in superhero stuff in recent years, thanks mainly to Marvel films. I didn't read any superhero comics growing up and not many comics in general either, just some Disney ones. The only superhero-related thing I watched as a child was a Spider-Man/Fantastic Four animated show, though only for a while. That and Darkwing Duck, if it counts.

Anyway, since both Ron and John grew up reading Metal Men and it seems they liked it, I think they'll probably make an adaptation that is faithful to the spirit of the comics.
I was obsessed with superhero comics in my childhood, mostly from DC and Marvel because there wasn't much else out there. For me Marvel's cinematic universe have not been able to live up to these comics from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Probably because they are big event, like the more modern crossover things and "the Marvel/DC universe will never be the same again"-things. Back then they felt more like a TV-show, or what a weekly TV-show would have looked like if it was live action with a huge budget and modern visual and practical effects.
Most people are aware of the live action Hulk show. They have never showed it here, but a TV-movie of the series was made, and was available as a rental video. It didn't have much in common with the comic. But there was a comic version that was mostly based on the series, and I have to admit that I didn't care much about it.

If Clements and Musker is able to capture the spirit from the original comic, that would have been an impressive achievement. My opinion is that directors and scrip-writers who have never cared about comics or read them in their childhood, and only seen through some modern day titles to find out what it's about, will fail to bring to life what many fans grew up with. Not that that's stopping these movies from becoming huge blockbusters. Or that reading present that comics can't give you a good time. They are just different from their older predecessors.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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Rumpelstiltskin wrote:For me Marvel's cinematic universe have not been able to live up to these comics from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Probably because they are big event, like the more modern crossover things and "the Marvel/DC universe will never be the same again"-things. Back then they felt more like a TV-show, or what a weekly TV-show would have looked like if it was live action with a huge budget and modern visual and practical effects.
I think I understand what you mean. It's interesting to hear the point of view of someone who is a fan of the original comics.
Rumpelstiltskin wrote:My opinion is that directors and scrip-writers who have never cared about comics or read them in their childhood, and only seen through some modern day titles to find out what it's about, will fail to bring to life what many fans grew up with.
You're probably right, they should hire more people who were fans of the original source material.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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I hope they still get to make Metal Men after all the shenanigans at Warner Bros Discovery.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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It's my understanding that the change in strategy at Warner Bros. Discovery only affects live-action movies, not animated ones.
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Re: Musker & Clements Left Disney

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I hope you're right, though they did cancel the Scooby Doo movie.
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