AIDA: the animated musical — Page 2

i don't think the movie would need talking animals or anything, i've always thought of it as being closer to "hunchback" than anything, maybe even "black cauldron" in terms of how dark it is.

im guessing the mummy is meant to be either a totally new character or I was thinking Zoser has shapeshifting abilities and he transforms into a mummy. i kid i kid.

whats with amneris looking evil as hell!

I know, she looks really gothic/emo lol. Maybe for the animated concept they were going to make her more of a villianous/vampish character? Hmm, I wish there was more information on this; I may have to do some google searching after homework

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Sean I so rarely disagree with you that it kinda bugs me to be so anal about this point :P

Disney *is* returning to full hand drawn animation (but, as their features have done so since Rescuers Down under not using cels--instead having the ink and painting be done on computers). John Lasseter has made this his top goal and has made the point over and over. As I said they didn't have the hand drawn staff to do Enchanted so had to farm that out to the small team headed by one of the people they fired. But they have already started hiring back much of the old staff and new people (and many of their top talents like Glen Keane and Andreas Deja never left anyway--they just told them to transfer and learn more CGI techniques). You can find press info and share holders quotes everyone online--I'm not sure why you don't believe this...

Animation is almost more of an obssession of mine than Broadway--it is certainly NOT more expensive to make hand drawn vs a Pixar level (not a Hoodwinked level) CGI film--and it was kinda pointless for Disney to hold onto their new CGI studio exclusively now that they have been incorporated fully with Pixar. The figures simply aren't there--and turn around on a Pixar film is exactly, more or less, the same length of time as it was for Disney's 90s features. I do understand why you'd believe that though--it's a very common misconception that just cuz Pixar builds their films on computers they're cheaper

The next three animated films are American Dog which, despite many huge changes to it implemented by Lasseter last year will still be CGI, then in 2008 Rapunzel directed by Glen Keane (ironically Keane strongly resisted making it a CGI film a few years ago but was largely forced to by Eisner--now Lasseter last year gave himn the option to go back to hand drawn and Keane didn't want to--he's too excited by the water color look CGI they invented specifically for this feature) and in 2009 the hand drawn Frog Princess.

Lasseter wisely realized the reason why the last hand drawn films from Disney and Dreamworks had failed had nothing to do with if they were CGI or hand drawn--and also realized that audiences are starting to experience burn out with CGI

Where can I see the Aida art? :)

Updated On: 5/6/07 at 06:10 PM

Thanks for that!

Yeah Frog Princess looks to be great and I'm so happy we're retuning to hand drawn. Not so keen on Randy Newman doing the score but maybe he'll be inspired in a way the Pixar films (where his work all sounds the same) didn't. I also am looking forward to rapunzel--it has great potential and as much as I usually dont' care for CGI, this new artier technique looks to be quite beautiful

I think that Disney needs to make Aida! they just need too!
i think Strongest Suit would be a riot on film! if done correctly!

I'm not a huge Aida fan but I admit I think I'd enjoy ti as an animated film in the mid 90s Disney style

If this were to happen, do y'all think they would/should include most of Elton John's Broadway score, or just 5-7 main songs, as all of Disney's animated musicals only have 5-7 songs? And if so, which songs do you think would be kept?

You might be thinking of "Our Nation Holds Sway", which was Ramades' big opening number in Chicago and was replaced by "Fortune Favors the Brave". "Our Nation" featured Queen's distinctive "We Will Rock You" foot stomping groove.

"Another Pyramid" is a song that should have been replaced in workshop/demos, but that sort of activity would have required a composer who was actually involved with and interested in the score he had written.

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Here they are.

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I agree that audiences are burning out on all-CG animated films. Unless it's a kown franchise like SHREK, it seems almost everything coming out has been repetitive to the extreme -- I made the egregious mistake of buying HAPPILY NEVER AFTER and HOODWINKED and still cannot see how either project got the green light.

But in order for hand drawn to succeed, Disney will need to retrain them to suit its style. That means a lot of front end work, and I'm not sure Disney can handle the expense right now.

I dont think we've come anywhere near what CG animation can do. But because the product has become so relentlessly repetitive, the studios are killing the bud before it has a chance to properly bloom. The Europeans are doing some very cool stuff, but they come from such a different tradition. Here, we have to suffer through wisecracking "funny animals" in every single damn movie, and AIDA would be no exception.

IMHO (and it is indeed just MHO), we need a new approach to animation. We came close with PRINCE OF EGYPT and ROAD TO ELDORADO -- and even, frighteningly enough, SINBAD. But I'll be honest with you, I dont think FROG PRINCE or RAPUNZEL will be anything worth the time or the effort. Instead it'll be yet another merchandising-heavy Disney film, with a score by some trendy pop writer and more toys and keychains than you would ever want. And if they put half as much effort into the scripts as they do into the selling, it might be worth it. But the odds arent good.

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actually, it could maybe, just maybe work if it was a Tv event like Annie and Music Man. hmm....that gets me thinking.

I've always thought about this, because Zoser reminds me so much of a traditional Disney villain. Which explains why he doesn't quite work out on the stage.

*edited because I should know how to spell villain by now.*

Updated On: 5/12/07 at 01:52 PM