[Cavey]

I just saw a Chicken Little commercial that starts out saying:

"This November begins a whole new era in Disney animation."

Farewell, hand drawn animation. You will be missed.

[tragic312]

oh i hope not, cavey. i still love those hand drawn movies. i hope they come out with one sometime soon.

[RowdyRAider]

Hand drawn will never truly dissapear I believe. After all, black and white films are still made are they not? Gotta stay true to the roots!

[Ready2Go]

It's true. And no good. Here is an article about it.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/disn...143845039.html

Disney gives hand-drawn animators the final flick
By Garry Maddox, Film Reporter
July 27, 2005

It's bedtime for Bambi. Curtains for Cinderella.

A filmmaking era will end in Sydney when Disney closes its last hand-drawn animation studio anywhere in the world and cuts 250 jobs.

The famous Hollywood studio has told staff that DisneyToon Studios Australia, which is located in Castlereagh Street, will close after the production of Bambi II, Brother Bear 2 and Cinderella III in the middle of next year.

These will be the last productions in a 17-year history that has included video, DVD and occasionally cinema sequels to such animation classics as The Lion King, Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan and The Jungle Book.

A statement from the company said the closure was largely due to "the changing creative climate and economic environment in which DisneyToon Studios requires more flexibility to choose the most appropriate and efficient animation process".

Animators saw it as a reflection of the traditional hand-drawn style being overtaken by computer-generated animation.

With the exception of Lilo & Stitch, which was made at Disney's Florida studio, every animated hit in recent years has been computer-generated.



And a opinion article about it.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110007081

[Princess Tessa]

yeah I read that in the Disney Magizine issure with the Home on the Range article, but I have faith that maybe in 5-10 years it will come back. Those watercolour backgrounds are so beautiful, I will not lose hope *sob*

[Cavey]

Well, I'm not crying any tears that their closing the studio bringing us such great hits as Bambi II, Brother Bear 2 and Cinderella III ()

But I think it's a copout to blame Disney's animation failures on the genre, when it's the story lines! Consider the following in terms of creativity and story line--not format.

Toy Story vs. Hercules
Monster's Inc vs. Brother Bear
Incredibles vs. Home on the Range

I could go on, but Pixar has been putting out quality stories that just happen to be CG.

So far Disney has given us Valient--which was a dud at the box office. Chicken Little gives me no hope for a quality film.

If it weren't for The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, I'd say Walt Disney Pictures was going down the toilet.

[Peppertink]

You said it Cavey! My heart aches when I think of the future of the Disney hand drawn animation movies. As I've said before, While I like and enjoy the Pixar movies(most of them anyway), to me, they can't hold a candle to the "classics". It almost seems that they schemed to make the latest hand animation flims bad so that they could have an excuse to move to comp. animation only. Hmmmm.....maybe I've stumbled upon a new conspiracy theory......

[Princess Tessa]

YES! Cavey, well said!
Thats exactly it. Why didn't they try adding a new PRICNESS in hand drawn animation and then see how it's going. Just look at Lilo and Stitch, good story line and plot and it did amazingly well, so poo poo on you cinderella 3 and the others like you!

[rlander]

Originally Posted by Princess Tessa

Why didn't they try adding a new PRICNESS in hand drawn animation and then see how it's going.

I would love to see a movie with Princess Tessa as the star!!!! I second your recomendation. We need a new Princess movie!!!!

[tigger]

Well lets see Walt added synced sound, multi plain animation, live action mixed with animation, and another tech changes to animated feature (oh he created that too) I think Uncle Walt would have pushed the envlope the way Pixar has...Disney content, writing and story telling have really been lacking over the past 10 years or so. I few gems but much more rubble.

[CaptShua]

Originally Posted by tigger

Well lets see Walt added synced sound, multi plain animation, live action mixed with animation, and another tech changes to animated feature (oh he created that too) I think Uncle Walt would have pushed the envlope the way Pixar has...Disney content, writing and story telling have really been lacking over the past 10 years or so. I few gems but much more rubble.

That is a very good point. Most of the Acadamy Awards given to Walt or the Disney Company were for technical acheivement.

And I agree that it is the story, not the technology that makes the latest movies so good.

No one talks about "Dinosaur" that much, even though it was a CG movie. It just didn't have a very strong story.

[Princess Tessa]

ooh I just remembered, I did read about a new Princess movie coming in 2007, it's a CG though. Here's one of the articles
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rapunzel, starring Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Just Like Heaven) and Kristin Chenoweth (Broadway's Wicked, and Bewitched)

In a new take on the tale, Rapunzel encounters a modern girl and boy who have been thrust into her world. Witherspoon is being sought to voice the role of the girl, named Claire, who becomes a contemporary version of Rapunzel as she mixes with ogres, witches and other fairy tale characters.

The film also is expected to include songs, though they have not yet been completed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully this will be a new gem, with songs an' all

[tigger]

Originally Posted by Princess Tessa

ooh I just remembered, I did read about a new Princess movie coming in 2007, it's a CG though. Here's one of the articles
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rapunzel, starring Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Just Like Heaven) and Kristin Chenoweth (Broadway's Wicked, and Bewitched)

In a new take on the tale, Rapunzel encounters a modern girl and boy who have been thrust into her world. Witherspoon is being sought to voice the role of the girl, named Claire, who becomes a contemporary version of Rapunzel as she mixes with ogres, witches and other fairy tale characters.

The film also is expected to include songs, though they have not yet been completed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully this will be a new gem, with songs an' all

Glen Keane is running this project so it I suspect it will be fabulous.

(Old blurb: Glen Keane is now a prominent animator for Walt Disney Pictures, having created the characters of Ariel (The Little Mermaid), the Beast (Beauty and the Beast), "Pocahontas," and most recently, "Tarzan.")

[Princess Tessa]

Originally Posted by tigger

Glen Keane is running this project so it I suspect it will be fabulous.

(Old blurb: Glen Keane is now a prominent animator for Walt Disney Pictures, having created the characters of Ariel (The Little Mermaid), the Beast (Beauty and the Beast), "Pocahontas," and most recently, "Tarzan.")

oooooooh! thats awesome! *getting hopes up* I really hope the songs in it are GOOD singable ones, and sung by the actual characters.....

[Ready2Go]

Originally Posted by Princess Tessa

ooh I just remembered, I did read about a new Princess movie coming in 2007, it's a CG though. Here's one of the articles
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rapunzel, starring Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Just Like Heaven) and Kristin Chenoweth (Broadway's Wicked, and Bewitched)

In a new take on the tale, Rapunzel encounters a modern girl and boy who have been thrust into her world. Witherspoon is being sought to voice the role of the girl, named Claire, who becomes a contemporary version of Rapunzel as she mixes with ogres, witches and other fairy tale characters.

The film also is expected to include songs, though they have not yet been completed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully this will be a new gem, with songs an' all

Here is the first pic:

Rapunzel Unbraided