Glen Keane News & Discussion

[unprincess]

What an interesting mix of folklore and sci-fi. Really curious if the "moon" world will be a similar mix, which will be not unlike what they did with Big Hero 6. Love that Glen snuck in some hand drawn stuff there. Looks cute. Too bad I dont have Netflix. Still waiting for that Klaus dvd/bluray release.

[UmbrellaFish]

Use of hand drawn animation, it’s a musical?, and whatever is happening at the end of trailer looks very exciting. Color me interested!

(that said, doesn’t the main character seem a little old to be believing in a mythical moon goddess?)

[Rumpelstiltskin]

that said, doesn’t the main character seem a little old to be believing in a mythical moon goddess?

There are adults today that still believe the earth is flat, that a black cat crossing the road means bad luck, or that human societies are infiltrated by aliens (or descendants from Atlantis).

[Disney's Divinity]

Just finished loading the trailer. It looks very interesting. And I felt like a man starved for water when they showed the hand-drawn clips... I guess because even though I have seen hand-drawn animation in other ways (like TV shows or Ghibli films) the past few years, they don't really suck me in like the look Glen Keane gives his characters does, apparently. The first clip especially was sooo pretty. 3D just will never compare, I'm sorry.

[Sotiris]

What an interesting mix of folklore and sci-fi.

It reminds me of Lilo and Stitch in a way. The mix of sci-fi with the ordinary and old-fashioned.

That said, doesn’t the main character seem a little old to be believing in a mythical moon goddess?)

According to official materials, she's supposed to be 12. If 12 year-olds can still believe in Santa, she can believe in the moon goddess. I mean she built a freaking rocket/spaceship on her own, she clearly isn't your ordinary kid.

And I felt like a man starved for water when they showed the hand-drawn clips... I guess because even though I have seen hand-drawn animation in other ways the past few years, they don't really suck me in like the look Glen Keane gives his characters does, apparently. The first clip especially was sooo pretty. 3D just will never compare, I'm sorry.

Me too. It's the high-quality animation coupled with naturalistic, "full" designs that you missed.

[UmbrellaFish]

Hmm she reads a few years older than 12 to me, but I agree that’s still an understandable “belief in Santa” age. I wondered if the character might have been aged up for the same reasons that Dreamworks co-production with Pearl Studios was- wasn’t there some issue with the Chinese censors and depicting a young child traveling without their parents?

[D82]

The movie looks really good to me! Though the animation is just regular CG, it's true that they've managed to give Glen Keane's style to the character designs and expressions. The main character's facial features and expressions remind me a lot of Rapunzel. I love the 2D segments too. I had a similar reaction than you two, Disney's Divinity and Sotiris, when I first saw that part. It feels very Disney. I wish all the movie was like that.

By the way, I thought the legend of the moon goddess from this movie was the same than the one in The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, but I've looked it up and this is another legend. I'm very curious about the moon's fantasy world. I wonder what the protagonist's mission will be there.

So far I like the trailer, even if I'm not completely sold on the stowaway. It seems like the kind of movies that Glen Keane loves; "believe in yourself, you can do anything if you put Your heart and soul into it".
But please, don't let it be one of those "it was all a dream"-endings (which is luckily getting more rare these days), where the spaceship is a failure, she crash, is knocked unconscious and then wakes up with a worried father standing over her. Or the kind of endings that Guillermo del Toro seems to enjoy, where it's all up to the viewers to decide if it really happened or not.

The thought that it could have one of those endings also crossed my mind while I was watching the trailer. I hate both of them too. However, I agree with farerb that it would contradict the message of believing in oneself and I think the fact that the little boy (her cousin?) is with her in her adventure at least rules out the second type of ending. If the boy doesn't remember anything by the end, we'll know for sure it was dream.

That said, doesn’t the main character seem a little old to be believing in a mythical moon goddess?)

According to official materials, she's supposed to be 12. If 12 year-olds can still believe in Santa, she can believe in the moon goddess. I mean she built a freaking rocket/spaceship on her own, she clearly isn't your ordinary kid.

Maybe they didn't make her younger because it would be harder to believe she could build a rocket like that one if she was very small. Also, after watching the trailer several times, I've noticed that the mother had a scarf with drawings of the moon goddess, so probably she was a fan of those myths too and the connection they have with her lost mother maybe also makes her want to believe they're real.

[Sotiris]

Also, after watching the trailer several times, I've noticed that the mother had a scarf with drawings of the moon goddess, so probably she was a fan of those myths too and the connection they have with her lost mother maybe also makes her want to believe they're real.

Yeah, her fixation with the myth of the moon goddess is a way of her coping with her mother's passing and an attempt to keep feeling connected to her. I'm sure there's going to be some sort of message about dealing with loss and how those who pass are never really gone as long as they're in our hearts or something like that at the end.

[D82]

Yeah, her fixation with the myth of the moon goddess is a way of her coping with her mother's passing and an attempt to keep feeling connected to her.

Yes, that's what I meant, but you've expressed it much better.

[Disney's Divinity]

Yeah, her fixation with the myth of the moon goddess is a way of her coping with her mother's passing and an attempt to keep feeling connected to her.

That was my impression as well. Sort of reminded me of Song of the Sea.

[DisneyFan97]

I don't think over the moon looks that great , But WOW the animation is BEAUTIFUL !

[blackcauldron85]

Here's some more info on the film:
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-fil ... 93544.html

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Some of the comments under the Cartoonbrew article annoys me, like certain know-it-alls who just happens to know that Glen Keane decided to sell his soul and is only in it for the money.

Pixar is one of the studios that also makes its own software. I'm curious of Sony Pictures Imageworks, which handles the animation, also does the same.

[estefan]

The Cartoon Brew comments section is often a cesspool of cynical people who think they know more than the actual people who work in animation. I honestly stopped going on Cartoon Brew, because it's become such a pessimistic place and the article writers can't help editorializing.

Let's just say there is a reason why Jerry Beck left and started a better animation news website.

[Jules]

The Cartoon Brew comments section is often a cesspool of cynical people who think they know more than the actual people who work in animation. I honestly stopped going on Cartoon Brew, because it's become such a pessimistic place and the article writers can't help editorializing.

Let's just say there is a reason why Jerry Beck left and started a better animation news website.

I don't mean to criticise Amid Amidi, but this pessimism really came to the fore after Jerry Beck left and he became sole Brewmaster. It was already there before Jerry's departure, but Beck's optimism balanced it out. It was actually entertaining back then to have both Brewmasters having such different tastes. Ironically, Amidi rarely posts these days - most of the writing is by Alex Dudok de Wit.

Among some of Amid's questionable articles many years back was one in which he seemed to be mocking Laika head and animator Travis Knight. I recall he unearthed potentially embarrassing pics/videos of Knight during his stint as a rapper called Chilly T. It clearly wasn't just for fun or constructive criticism. Amid revealed how Knight's dad owns Nike and how Travis' position as Laika's head honcho was the result of nepotism. Even if that were true, I disliked how he seemed to paint the man as an untalented hack who got to where he did because of his daddy.

Since that post, Travis became a master animator and directed the critically-acclaimed Kubo and the Two Strings as well as Bumblebee. Nepotism aside, I think he has proved that he has talent to spare.

EDIT: I was actually going to ask whether anyone knew why Jerry left CB, and the answer was in your post all along. I didn't see it! I'm not sure if Jerry ever specified directly why he left, but I always suspected he was unhappy with the site and/or working with Amid.

EDIT 2: Found the CB article in question, though it seems my memory failed me in some regards. Check it out: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/ho ... 99327.html

[Rumpelstiltskin]

The cynicism includes editor in chief Amid Amidi. I remember when Don Bluth and Gary Goldman launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter some years ago, so they could afford making a Dragon’s Lair trailer they could use to sell the idea of a hand-drawn feature to the studios. Bluth himself has explained that he never use money from his own pocket on projects like that (possibly learning it the hard way), because there is so much that can go wrong from when you pitch an idea till the actual production starts. It doesn't always get greenlight, or it can end up being stuck in development hell. Literally millions of dollars were spent on pre-production on the Halo movie before the studio pulled the plug.
If you use money from your own pocket, there is a huge risk they could disappear into a black hole for never to be seen again. So unless a studio is willing to take the chance, crowdfunding is the best solution. Which is what they tried.

What did Amid Amidi do? He wrote an article called "Don Bluth Doesn’t Need Your Money To Make A ‘Dragon’s Lair’ Pitch". And for months, ever time I googled Don Bluth and Dragon's Lair movie, that article was one of the first hits every time. Who knows how many that decided not to support the kickstarter campaign because of it. For all we know, maybe we could have had a Dragon's Lair feature now if it wasn't for the article. It certainly didn't help.

[blackcauldron85]

^ I remember that article. CB's just one animation/Disney site of many that I visit regularly, but sometimes there are differing opinions on it for sure...I just wanted to share the insight from the filmmakers of Over the Moon because some of that hadn't been shared here before...

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Not all articles are like that. Sometimes the articles are good and informative, even if the comments section can be toxic from time to time.

Video about Glen Keane talking about the movie. It has already been published as written words, but if anyone wants to hear it instead of reading it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43lu9s8kOg

[Disney's Divinity]

I’ve read about the “nepotism” at Laika, but I see that as a good thing since I don’t think the company would even exist if the guy’s dad hadn’t been rich and funded it. It’s probably why he can continue to make these great films even though they don’t do gangbusters at the box office because the public prefers garbage over substance apparently.

[Jules]

^^ Exactly. I won't deny there was nepotism involved in Knight's position, but he has clearly earned his place as studio chief now.