Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

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unprincess
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by unprincess »

well what a surprise! of course its just a short but hopefully its a testing ground for a longer film in the future like Paperman and Feast were supposed to be for Disney but was (probably) killed due to the politics of the place. I know Dreamworks is in desperate need of something new and fresh as they have really struggled this last decade and being the first studio to go back to 2d for a full length film would really be something. And even if it isnt successful or just a moderate success its not something that would cause much of a stir for them. I mean DW has already had a long string of disappointing BO performing films that a hand drawn film really wouldn't be as much of a risk as it would be for Disney who seems to want to avoid again being associated with the stigma of "2d flop" for some ridiculous reason.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by Semaj »

This really is a surprise.

DreamWorks seemed happy to leave 2D behind after Sinbad failed. They of course went full-throttle with CGI after Shrek hit it big, moving as far from any comparison to Disney as they could.

So now, if this leads to something, Disney is once again going to chase after DW from lack of foresight. At least then, they won't just be wasting Eric Goldberg's time.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by D82 »

I'm also pleasantly surprised by this initiative from Dreamworks. Disney could've continued doing 2D shorts too. It's not as risky as making full-length films and it would've been a way of keeping their 2D animators occupied.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Looks cute.

What would be funny is if Dreamworks usurped Disney and somehow released the Paperman-esque film everybody wanted at the time?
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by estefan »

unprincess wrote:I know Dreamworks is in desperate need of something new and fresh as they have really struggled this last decade and being the first studio to go back to 2d for a full length film would really be something. And even if it isnt successful or just a moderate success its not something that would cause much of a stir for them. I mean DW has already had a long string of disappointing BO performing films that a hand drawn film really wouldn't be as much of a risk as it would be for Disney who seems to want to avoid again being associated with the stigma of "2d flop" for some ridiculous reason.
DreamWorks did recently change its fortunes after their string of box-office disappointments 4-5 years ago. Home, Kung Fu Panda 3, Trolls and The Boss Baby did great business and Captain Underpants pulled in decent numbers, too. They now seem to be alternating between outsourced less expensive animated films (Captain Underpants, their upcoming Mount Everest movie, a future collaboration with Blumhouse) and more expensive productions like their How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls and Boss Baby sequels.

It would definitely be neat to see DWA invest in a hand-drawn animated feature after this short. Maybe they could revive "Me and My Shadow."
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by D82 »

estefan wrote:It would definitely be neat to see DWA invest in a hand-drawn animated feature after this short. Maybe they could revive "Me and My Shadow."
That would be great. It was one of the projects from them I was looking forward to the most.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by Kyle »

We've had attempts at long form looney tunes shows in recent years, but for the first time in a while they are going back to a shorts program.
They’re making 1,000 minutes of new shorts, and they’re promoting a “high production value” which is industry speak for a higher-than-usual production budget. The cartoons will vary in length, from one to six minutes, and everything from the premise through the jokes will take a “cartoonist-driven approach to storytelling.
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/a...am-159660.html
Really looking forward to this.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

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Kyle wrote:We've had attempts at long form looney tunes shows in recent years, but for the first time in a while they are going back to a shorts program.
They’re making 1,000 minutes of new shorts, and they’re promoting a “high production value” which is industry speak for a higher-than-usual production budget. The cartoons will vary in length, from one to six minutes, and everything from the premise through the jokes will take a “cartoonist-driven approach to storytelling.
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/a...am-159660.html
Really looking forward to this.
I saw that on Cartoon Brew. I wonder if the animation will be out-sourced to Korea, etc. - as is the norm with television animation - or if they may entertain the thought of doing it at an American studio. That would be wonderful. I may not be American but I feel very strongly about American animation actually animated in the good ol' USA. :mickeyface:
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by Kyle »

I really doubt they won't outsource, but that doesn't mean it can't be good in spite of that. the key is in how well they communicate with each other. It also helps to have solid key poses from the artists in the country of origin (in this case, the states)
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by Disney Duster »

I am excited for new Looney Tunes!!! But I also thought The Looney Tunes Show was really great!!!
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

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Kyle wrote:I really doubt they won't outsource, but that doesn't mean it can't be good in spite of that.
You are right. I think Rough Draft Korea, for one, do a very commendable job on the series I've seen that they've worked for.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by disneyprincess11 »

:jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop:

Don Bluth Returns to Walt Disney Animation Studios After 40 Years
After 40 years, Don Bluth returns to Walt Disney Animation Studios. This was something for the history books. I am extremely grateful that I got to be part of these moments & talks of the future. Why was Don Bluth at Disney Animation you ask? Well, some of that must remain a SECRET! However, I can discuss some of the experiences we had and include some photos!

.............

We walked down the halls to some of the offices and met Mark Henn! To our SURPRISE! Mark was working on a Disney Traditional Animation desk! This was a sight to see! Nothing makes me more happy to see hand-drawn animation still being done at Disney in some shape or form.
............

Once we finished the tour of Disney’s office, we had a few very important things left to do. But we will save that for another time.
http://www.traditionalanimation.com/201 ... -40-years/
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by Sotiris »

The headline makes it sound like he was hired back at WDAS when he just went there for a visit. It even says "guest" on his name tag.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by disneyprincess11 »

The article also mentions that he was doing business there, so there must be more to it than being a guest.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

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Disney doesn't take pitches outside the studio so if he has "business" there it's probably something like filming a documentary or a bonus feature for a movie he worked on.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by unprincess »

man I got chills reading that :o

and then Sotiris brought me back down to reality...
:P


I agree he might be there for a documentary, maybe about Disney animation studios during the 80's?
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by JeanGreyForever »

Would have loved to have seen Don Bluth making a 2D animated film with Disney's support and/or the Disney label. There are plenty of projects of his that I always wanted to see like Jason and the Golden Fleece, Satyrday, and Dracula.
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

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Mark Henn debunking a myth about computer animation.
Q: How has technology changed the way you work?

Mark Henn: The myth with computer animation, particularly, is that it makes life easier, and I would say that's a myth. You know, people think, "Oh, you just push a button and it's faster," but no, it's not faster and it's not cheaper. In fact, with the technology you have more people involved because you have to have a whole group of people that fix things when that technology breaks down.

In hand-drawn days, the worst thing that would happen is if my pencil broke, or I ran out of paper, I could go get new paper. You have all the benefits of technology and giving you tools to create, for filmmakers to be able to create worlds that would be very difficult to do in the hand-drawn world. [...] I mean, it's just different names for seemingly the same jobs in certain cases, but like I said, now you have a whole tech department that supports – it's like "Ah, I can't get this button to work!" "I'll be right there!" – so you've got that, brings a whole different group of expertise and people that fix things a lot. But it isn't any faster, necessarily, and as these things get more complicated: rendering time, it still boils down to people, and the hours it takes to get these films done.
Source: https://www.clickthecity.com/people/a/3 ... -mark-henn
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

Post by Sotiris »

In a new interview, Bob Iger blames 2D animation for the box office slump WDAS was in before transitioning to CGI.
Bob Iger wrote:We had been in the 2D animation business...We were telling good stories but they didn't feel as relevant to the world at the time. And Pixar, taking technology and creating new animation, told stories that in some ways were similar in quality to the stories Disney told over the years but in a way that looked much more modern, much more relevant. And that's been a key to our success over the last decade.
Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/20 ... ablishment
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Re: Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

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Sotiris wrote:In a new interview, Bob Iger blames 2D animation for the box office slump WDAS was in before transitioning to CGI.
Bob Iger wrote:We had been in the 2D animation business...We were telling good stories but they didn't feel as relevant to the world at the time. And Pixar, taking technology and creating new animation, told stories that in some ways were similar in quality to the stories Disney told over the years but in a way that looked much more modern, much more relevant. And that's been a key to our success over the last decade.
Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/20 ... ablishment
Literally in the first sentence he already messes up. Everyone, critics and audiences, will agree Disney was telling awful stories in their last days of 2D. The reason for the box of slump was because of poor scripts. Disney always has and always will be about larger than life tales of love and friendship and magic. And none of those films truly encapsulated the greatness the early 90’s renaissance did nor that of the classics.

Funny because I think Meet the Robinsons is a masterpiece, and it’s CGI and critics hated it. Yet audiences are still discovering it and loving it. That movie didn’t make a fortune, and it was CG. It’s all about story. CG films can and will flop. 2D films can and will flop. Princess and the Frong had so much potential but all the meddling by Lassiter can be felt in every scene. The magic went out the door.

It’s sad to me that they’re going such great lengths to claim that the medium is the problem, when it’s always the story.
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