[unamadreditre]

Thu Jul 27, 1:51 PM ET

Walt Disney Studios has reunited with the directors of its box office disaster "Treasure Planet" as part of a plan to get back into the decidedly unfashionable business of traditional animation.

The new project, "Frog Princess," will put a female spin on the classic fairy tale, according to sources.

It will be overseen by John Musker and Ron Clements, who left the studio shortly after "Treasure Planet" bombed at the end of 2002, grossing just $38 million domestically.

In their heyday at Disney, they demonstrated their ability to spin a popular tale around a female protagonist with 1989's "The Little Mermaid." They also worked on such traditionally animated Disney musicals as "Aladdin" and "Hercules."

But traditional animation no longer draws the crowd, thanks in part the innovative computer-animation purveyed by Pixar Animation Studios, which Disney now owns. Pixar principals Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, who now run Disney's feature animation operations, are interested in exploring Disney's pioneering 2-D tradition.

One of Lasseter's first initiatives following Disney's acquisition of Pixar this year was to woo Musker and Clements back into the fold.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
link: Disney gives traditional animation another shot - Yahoo! News

[Dana]

I like classic animation and look forward to this new movie. thanks for the heads up.

[RowdyRAider]

You can also check my thread for an article from Cinescape.com about the movie.

[diisneygeek]

I like the traditional animation more than the computerized one. But thanks for the info.

[Cavey]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was hoping Iger/Catmull/John Lasseter would turn this decision around.

[chastmastr]

*happysquee*

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by chastmastr

*happysquee*

David always makes me laugh!!


I am thrilled about this decision. I don't see what's wrong with traditional animation. Some things don't always have to be "the newest" to be the best!

[zefyr]

Yay! I love traditional animation. I think there should be room for both traditional and cg animation in the film industry. Maybe they'll re-open the animation studios down in Florida.

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by zefyr

Yay! I love traditional animation. I think there should be room for both traditional and cg animation in the film industry. Maybe they'll re-open the animation studios down in Florida.

And give some poor animators their jobs back!

[Cavey]

You know, aside from Dinosaur, I can't think of one CG film that has a "serious" story with it. What I'm saying is, I can't think of one CG film that can be compared to Lion King, Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, or even the Great Mouse Detective.

Aside from Dinosaur, all the CG films I can think of focus on the "cartoon-y," the absurd, or the laugh factor.

[Screever]

Unfashionable???? *outrage abounds!* As an art student thoroughly immersed in animation though admittedly not majoring in it, I think they're wrong. People will tire of computer eventually, and I've met enough animation "allies" at school that I don't think this is an unwise decision.

"If you build it, they will come..."

And its sad that Treasure Planet bit the dust in the Box Office. I saw it only months ago and I thought it was a great film.