Hand-Drawn Animation Returning to Disney

[Craig]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:19am

As per IMDB:

As he has repeatedly promised, John Lasseter will revive traditional hand-drawn ("2-D") animation at the Walt Disney Co. with a feature titled The Frog Princess. The studio said Wednesday that directors Ron Clements and John Musker, whose credits include such hits as The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, and the flop, Treasure Planet, will return to direct the Princess movie, based on a Russian fairy tale. Daily Variety also reported that Alan Menken is working on the music for the movie and that it will have the kind of "Broadway style" for which Menken's earlier Disney films have been famous. Today's Hollywood Reporter questioned the strategy behind Disney's return to hand-drawn animation, noting in its report about the planned film that "traditional animation no longer draws the crowd."

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:21am

Thanks, Craig. This is great!

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:46am

Yay!!

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:47am

YAY!!!!
im thrilled about this!!!

[HereNowhere]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:47am

Wonderful news! Thanks Craig!

[erikaamato]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 11:02am

Fantastic news! I hope it's an ENORMOUS hit, and proves all the naysayers wrong, wrong, WRONG.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 11:07am

This is amazing!! I knew it happen eventually, but didn't think it would be so soon. AND with an Alan Menken score!

I'm truly sick of CGI animation. How many movies about sarcastic animals do we need??

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 11:07am

What was the last quality hand-drawn animated movie? Since the Disney greats ending around Mulan (all of which were hits) I can't remember ONE that unjustly flopped...make a QUALITY one, let it flop, then pronounce the genre dead maybe, but not before that.

[Reverie]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 11:10am

I'm so happy! I'll be looking forward to it :)

"Today's Hollywood Reporter questioned the strategy behind Disney's return to hand-drawn animation, noting in its report about the planned film that traditional animation no longer draws the crowd."

Are they ever going to realize that it's the story that makes a film be good, not solely the fact that it's done in 3D animation? *sigh*

[kelzama]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 12:01pm

Now let's see if they can make a Disney movie that doesn't rely on flatuence for humor.

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 12:02pm

YAY! This is exciting! Thanks Craig!

[JailyardGuy]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 12:04pm

I'll only watch if Erika is someone's voice.

[bwayfan3]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 12:07pm

I'm pretty sure that the Disney film "Enchanted" will also be traditional hand-drawn animaation in its animated parts. It is a combination of live action and animation. The live action part of the film has been filming all summer in NYC and stars Amy Adams, Susan Sarandon, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden and Idina Menzel.
Menken (and Stephen Schwartz) is doing the music for this movie as well.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 12:45pm

It's about time. With WB, Dreamworks and Disney all shutting their Feature Animation houses down at the same time, there must be so many amazing animators that are itching to work on a traditional North American production (that is...if they haven't all relocated to Europe).

Akiva

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 12:49pm

Yay! *clapclap* Pixar is the only good animation house left, and I have great faith in John Lasseter to revive traditional animation.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 1:01pm

It's great news. Most of the kids I work with only like the hand drawn movies. I have missed the "princess movies."

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 1:30pm

All my favorite Disney movies are the hand-drawn ones, not only because of the beauty of the animation, but because of the writing and the development (like "Lady and the Tramp," one of my all-time favorites). I guess they just don't make 'em like they used to...

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 2:43pm

"the movie and that it will have the kind of "Broadway style" for which Menken's earlier Disney films have been famous."

O thats right, because IT WORKED!

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 2:58pm

My problem isn't with "hand-drawn animation." I prefer it to CG, almost every time.

I have serious trouble with these "crazy eyed" desperate-looking "plush toy" characters that Disney has used in every hand-drawn movie starting with The Emperor's New Groove. They are disturbing, distracting and simply BADLY DRAWN. And they all seem to be begging us to love them and buy their action figure counterparts.

I hope that Disney chucks their failed style of late, and goes a whole new direction with the look of these characters.

If I see one more set of popped-eyes on anything, I think I'll lose it.

EDIT: But I'm very glad they're attempting to do this again.

Updated On: 7/28/06 at 02:58 PM

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 3:18pm

I understand what you mean, Best12. But I've always gotten the impression that what you're talking about was a deliberate design choice on the part of the studio to brand each movie with its own visual style. Sleeping Beauty in particular features highly stylized characters (particularly animals), and so does Mulan, to some extent.

I think it's more the tride-and-true story/musical format they need to get back to. I usually welcome taking chances visually though.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 4:02pm

best12 -- that's a good point (though I did love Emperor's New Groove - I thought the script and especially the performances from Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton were fantastic). I WOULD love it if they went back to the style of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, my favorite of those movies - Hunchback - wasn't particularly successful - I think it was a LITTLE too adult for the typical Disney audience - but I'll settle for Lion King/Beauty and the Beast...

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 4:02pm

Oh, it was definitely a deliberate design choice by Disney. And it was a huge mistake, and it did more creative damage than they realize to the artform.

This is what I can't stand...



And I firmly believe that audiences haven't been able to put into words what is so WRONG here. These characters don't look like they were developed by artists who were trying to tell a good story. They look like they were developed by Marketing execs who were drooling at the prospects of cross-promotion. They all seem to say, "Please love me! See my movie! Buy my toy!" There is nothing emotionally "real" in their pop-eyed faces. They all look worried and desperate.

This is what is possible today...



Disney used to be able to do this so well. They were the best in the business at character animation and conveying human emotion, and they deserved their "legend" status. Now, they have become the worst at it. Bottom of the heap. I don't believe that hand-drawn animation is dead or ever will be... but I believe that badly-drawn hand animation SHOULD die. And I hope and pray they abandon their recent "style" and go an entirely new direction.

And I'm very glad they're giving it a shot again. I'm rooting for them, and believe they have the ability to climb out of their creative rut and invigorate the art form once again.

EDIT: jasonf---I think most people (critics and even Disney execs) think it's the story, music or the subject matter that is at fault when a hand-drawn Disney film flops. Or they think people aren't "warm" to the hand-drawn look anymore. They never think it's just BAD artwork though. I'm baffled by that. It was/is so obvious to me, at least.

Updated On: 7/28/06 at 04:02 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 4:08pm

Does this mean the cartoon musical is coming back?!?!?!

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 4:15pm

To a point I think that's true - but did you see Home on the Range? Terrible story, uninteresting characters, not much real humor...it wasn't just the art work that stunk!

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 4:17pm

Yeah, you're right. But they always seem to leave it out of the equation of "suckiness." They would much rather say hand-drawn animation is dead.

And it was the first thing I noticed (because I hadn't seen the film yet). These characters look terrible!

Updated On: 7/28/06 at 04:17 PM