Disney Thread

[Milo]

The "new paintery style of CG" along with the concept art sounds interesting. I wonder if it's going to emulate a 2D style like the Paperman CG. The names of people attached to the project also sounds promising, hopefully Lassater doesn't give them the boot like he has done with several other directors.

[Mogtaki]

It sounds like it's going to be good, but hopefully it doesn't cause backlash like Frozen did to people saying it was offensive and racist to the Sami...even though the people who claim that kind of just raged about it without any real explanation other than Kristoff was whitewashed (which I can see, he doesn't look Sami at all with those wide eyes of his).

You also can't ride a reindeer lol

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

 

They were marketed against Avatar, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Harry Potter, and couldn't even compete in terms of box office power.

Isn't that similar to what happened with Treasure Planet?

[...]

Isn't that similar to what happened with Treasure Planet?

 

Pretty much, it had to compete with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which was pretty much the box office titan of that month. It also had competition with Disney's own The Santa Clause 2, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was just on its way. The general unpopularity of sci-fi animated films at the time (see Titan A.E. and Disney's own Atlantis: The Lost Empire, released in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Both were both office failures like Treasure Planet was) combined with misaimed marketing and declining public interest in traditional animation did not help matters, either.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Pretty much, it had to compete with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which was pretty much the box office titan of that month. It also had competition with Disney's own The Santa Clause 2, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was just on its way. The general unpopularity of sci-fi animated films at the time (see Titan A.E. and Disney's own Atlantis: The Lost Empire, released in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Both were both office failures like Treasure Planet was) combined with misaimed marketing and declining public interest in traditional animation did not help matters, either.

And if I recall correctly, Treasure Planet is what got blamed as the ignition of the "end" of Disney's use of traditional animation. Irony being that nowadays it's regarded quite fondly and people are even requesting that sequel that was in the works back then (myself included).

 

And thus we run into one of the most common shortcomings in the business world of media: wherein companies focus on only one major aspect of a product's failure, not showing any analysis of other factors. In this case, Disney's unfortunate knack of bad timing and stacking up against the competition. For some reason, this appears to have been the case of their newer (and fewer) traditional animation works of all things.

[...]

And if I recall correctly, Treasure Planet is what got blamed as the ignition of the "end" of Disney's use of traditional animation. Irony being that nowadays it's regarded quite fondly and people are even requesting that sequel that was in the works back then (myself included).

 

And thus we run into one of the most common shortcomings in the business world of media: wherein companies focus on only one major aspect of a product's failure, not showing any analysis of other factors. In this case, Disney's unfortunate knack of bad timing and stacking up against the competition. For some reason, this appears to have been the case of their newer (and fewer) traditional animation works of all things.

 

Seeing as to how it was Disney's biggest financial failure at the time, only taking $38 million in the United States on a $140 million budget, it did pretty much convince Disney that CG was the way to go. The critical and box office failure of Home on the Range, which was meant to be their last traditionally animated film (until Princess and the Frog came along five years later) pretty much pounded the nail in the coffin. The fact that traditional animation in the mainstream is so vastly ignored because of stupid business decisions is really disappointing.

 

Treasure Planet definitely does deserve it's growing and dedicated cult following, it's one of Disney's most tragically underrated works. The fact it bombed so hard still makes me sad to this day, it was even my second Disney movie. I vividly remember my dad taking me to see it in theaters as a kid. One day, I hope it gets the recognition it deserves. Films like Fantasia, Pinocchio and Sleeping Beauty were all flops in their original releases, now they're seen as classic greats of animation, now I at least hope something like that happens with Treasure Planet.

[Mogtaki]

Treasure Planet is one of my favourites, Silver is one of my favourite...whatever role he played. It had the best "father" moment in it and geezus that world depth, it's pretty annoying that it ended up with the fate it did.

[iDEATH]

I actually just watched treasure planet for the first time a couple of days ago. Thought it was good, loved the character relationships, Silver especially was pretty cool.

Main flaw for me was just the setting itself. I found myself getting into it as it went along but for well over half of the movie I found myself constantly being taken out of the experience by asking questions about the universe of the film....still enjoyed it though. Much better than I expected.

[Bogard]

I dearly miss the old Disney Afternoon shows, number one being the Gummi Bears cartoon.

[MykonosFan]

I actually just watched treasure planet for the first time a couple of days ago. Thought it was good, loved the character relationships, Silver especially was pretty cool.

Main flaw for me was just the setting itself. I found myself getting into it as it went along but for well over half of the movie I found myself constantly being taken out of the experience by asking questions about the universe of the film....still enjoyed it though. Much better than I expected.

 

My only gripe with Treasure Planet is probably a common one. That robot near the end. Just kinda sours the whole thing for me a little, to be honest. :/

[...]

Here, have a post full of some Moana art: http://ffeelicks.tumblr.com/post/70218278592

[iDEATH]

gonna give this  a bump because I've had this discussion in mind for a while but don't think it's worth its own topic.

 

So the other day I made this video

hoping that ranting about it would get it out of my system but....not so...so, I'd like to discuss the disney vault.

 

The disney vault as I'm sure you know is a term used to describe disney's practice of releasing films for short periods then leaving them unavailible for years.

A film comes out for six months at full price, goes back into the vault for ten years then comes out for six months again...at full price.

 

Now, this system, besides being a huge "fuck you" to the people that want to buy these films, the fans who want to actively support disney and give them their money, just doesn't make sense to me as a business practice. Having the films out of print for such a long time does nothing but hurt the sales of the films, these films would sell constantly day in and day out if they were permanently available. Yes, over time, Disney'd be forced to reduce their prices keeping up with basic supply and demand, but there's no way six months selling at full price tops ten years with a slight reduction. Plus, there'd still be nothing to stop disney putting out a "new" edition of the DVd at full price every ten years anyway.

Not only that, but Disney offer refunds to retailers who're forced to return their copies when the discs go back in the vault so they're losing even more money doing that.

 

It's not like the films are unavailable of course, people who want them can still get them, either through second hand DVDs or piracy. So why the hell do Disney still do this? It makes no sense.

[Johnny Boy]

BUMP

Ok, so by now we all now of WDAS schedule for the next couple of years. We have "Big Hero 6" coming this year, "Zootopia" and "Giants" coming in 2016, and "Moana" coming 2018. I'm most excited for "Moana" but "Giants" has recently caught my interest because I've heard rumors circling around that it might be centered around Spanish culture to it. I'm actually hoping this is true because I'm always a sucker for Disney movies that explore non European cultures.

[Boomer]

I'm actually hoping this is true because I'm always a sucker for Disney movies that explore non European cultures.

But Spain is part of Europe

Anyway I know nothing about any of their next films and I'm actually planning on keeping it that way, I try and avoid as much of a film as I can until it's out

[Nepenthe]

gonna give this  a bump because I've had this discussion in mind for a while but don't think it's worth its own topic.

 

So the other day I made this video

hoping that ranting about it would get it out of my system but....not so...so, I'd like to discuss the disney vault.

 

The disney vault as I'm sure you know is a term used to describe disney's practice of releasing films for short periods then leaving them unavailible for years.

A film comes out for six months at full price, goes back into the vault for ten years then comes out for six months again...at full price.

 

Now, this system, besides being a huge "fuck you" to the people that want to buy these films, the fans who want to actively support disney and give them their money, just doesn't make sense to me as a business practice. Having the films out of print for such a long time does nothing but hurt the sales of the films, these films would sell constantly day in and day out if they were permanently available. Yes, over time, Disney'd be forced to reduce their prices keeping up with basic supply and demand, but there's no way six months selling at full price tops ten years with a slight reduction. Plus, there'd still be nothing to stop disney putting out a "new" edition of the DVd at full price every ten years anyway.

Not only that, but Disney offer refunds to retailers who're forced to return their copies when the discs go back in the vault so they're losing even more money doing that.

 

It's not like the films are unavailable of course, people who want them can still get them, either through second hand DVDs or piracy. So why the hell do Disney still do this? It makes no sense.

 

The films would not sell like hot cakes day in and day out if they were made permanently available for all time. In fact, I don't think there's any case where a film or other similar entertainment media like a game or TV show continuously sells millions a day for years and years and years, especially when movies are forced to drop in price pretty damn fast anyway. A movie isn't a resource with a short time span of degradation that in turn warrants continuous restocking within a home. One buy and it's yours for basically however long the technology to play it holds out, and that can be a decade or longer. Thus, sales will decline.

 

The Disney Vault is a good way to create artificial demand and thus get more bursts of money at a time, and probably more money over the long haul, not just because of renewed availability (pretty sure Disney's aware that people can just pirate and store their films on hard drives and never have to buy one), but because each specific re-release is unique onto itself. There are only so many VHS re-releases, or Special Editions, or Diamond Editions, and that in itself inflates demand upon availability along with the limited release time.

[Johnny Boy]

But Spain is part of Europe

Oh right, stupid me Either way I hope these rumors are true because I've been dying to see a Disney film that explores Spanish culture.

[Tailikku]

So Disney has announced the WDR Legacy Collection set of soundtracks, made in honor of specific films' anniversaries.

 

The first to be released is the Lion King which will be turning 20 on June 24 of this year.  Here is the track list that has been revealed

 

Disc One

1. "Circle of Life/Nants' Ingonyama" Performed by Carmen Twillie, African Vocals Performed by Lebo M
2. "Didn't Your Mother Tell You Not to Play With Your Food" Score
3. "We Are All Connected" Score
4. "Hyenas in the Pride Land" Score
5. "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" Performed by Jason Weaver with Rowan Atkinson and Laura Williams
6. "Elephant Graveyard" Score
7. "I Was Just Trying to Be Brave" Score
8. "Be Prepared" Performed by Jeremy Irons with Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings
9. "Simba, It's to Die For" Score
10. "Stampede" Score
11. "Mufasa Dies" Score
12. "If You Ever Come Back We'll Kill You" Score
13. "Bowling for Buzzards" Score
14. "Hakuna Matata" Performed by Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella with Jason Weaver and Joseph Williams
15. "We Gotta Bone to Pick With You" Score
16. "Kings of the Past" Score
17. "Nala, Is It Really You?" Score
18. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" Performed by Joseph Williams and Sally Dworsky with Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella and Kristle Edwards
19. "Remember Who You Are" Score
20. "This Is My Home" Score
21. "The Rightful King" Score

Disc Two

1. "The Morning Report" Performed by James Earl Jones, Jeff Bennett and Evan Saucedo 
2. "Warthog Rhapsody" Performed by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella
3. "We Are All Connected" Score Demo
4. "I Was Just Trying to Be Brave" Score Demo
5. "Stampede" Score Demo
6. "Mufasa Dies" Score Demo
7. "This Is My Home" Score Demo
8. "The Rightful King" Score Demo
9. "Circle of Life" Instrumental Demo  
10. "Circle of Life" Performed by Elton John
11. "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" Performed by Elton John
12. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (End Title) Performed by Elton John

 

So yeah, it's like the unreleased complete score frome ten years ago mixed with the special edition soundtrack, mixed with the Music Behind the Magic compilation album by Alan Menken (only with more Tim Rice and Elton John).  The next one to be released is that of Mary Poppins for its 50th anniversary (and the DVD & Blu-Ray release of Saving Mr. Banks), followed by Sleeping Beauty and the Little Mermaid.  Next year we will see releases of Pinocchio, Fantasia, Toy Story, Lady & the Tramp, Pocahontas, the Aristocats, Cinderella, and a new anniversary soundtrack for Disneyland Resort in California (hopefully, Disney can outdo the fans that did the Magical Music of Disneyland Audio Collection on Mousebits).

 

Now according to the WDR site, these soundtracks are available for preorder on Amazon but they will be available to members of D23 first.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

So, we have news on Moana, looks like Dwayne Johnson's going to be a singing Demi-god

 

http://screenrant.com/dwayne-rock-johnson-disney-moana-musical/

 

Dwayne Johnson Confirmed for Disney Animation’s ‘Moana’

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s charismatic and likable screen presence has helped him to emerge as one of this generation’s leading action stars, helping to add momentum to film franchises like Fast and Furious and G.I. Joe, not to mention headlining properties like this summer’s disaster movie, San Andreas. Not to mention the millions who will soon see him as Shazam villain Black Adam in Warner Bros.’ shared DC cinematic universe.

As Johnson continues to pad his filmography, it looks like he’ll next be trying his hand at some animation voice-over. It was months ago that we first heard the actor was in talks with Disney to voice the demigod Maui in their upcoming South Pacific adventure Moana, but it can now be confirmed that Johnson has officially signed on.

Johnson himself broke the news, sharing a photo on his Instagram page of him signing the contract at Disney Studios:

Though he doesn’t come out and say it in his post, it’s safe to assume that Johnson will indeed be playing Maui. According to the film’s synopsis, Maui teams up with South Pacific Islander Moana as the two embark on a journey through Oceania in search of “a fabled island” (based on that information, it’s hard to see how Maui wouldn’t be the movie’s male lead).
Johnson classifying Moana as a musical is an interesting development, since it had previously been reported that the film would NOT be part of that genre. Apparently that plan has been altered. The possibility of Johnson voicing a character like Maui had already caught our attention, but knowing his musical talents will be on display makes the film all the more intriguing.

In recent years, Disney Animation Studios has gained significant ground on former frontrunner Pixar: offerings like Wreck-it Ralph, Frozen, and Big Hero 6 have not only become major commercial hits, but managed to win over critics as well thanks to their heartfelt themes and imaginative concepts. Obviously, the hope is that Moana can continue this hot streak and be another memorable offering in the Disney canon.On paper, the film definitely has the elements to be another winner for the studio. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker have had previous success in this realm, calling the shots on films like The Little Mermaid and The Princess and The Frog, and the lush environments of Oceania show the kind of promise one would expect in a Disney production. A world of giant sea creatures and ancient folklore in the hands of accomplished animators could sell tickets on premise alone.
The actor is an in-demand name these days in Hollywood, and with him referring to the Disney bosses as “the greatest story tellers in the world,” something special about the project must have caught his eye. Fingers crossed our hope isn’t misplaced and Moana can join the ranks of Disney’s latest success when it’s released next year.

Moana will hit theaters on November 23, 2016.
Source: Dwayne Johnson

Follow Chris Agar on Twitter @ChrisAgar90
TAGS: Moana

 

 

 

(sorry about making that other thread, couldn't find this one)

[Johnny Boy]

Dwayne Johnson singing? This shall be interesting.

[Tailikku]

This just happened!

 

[DarkLight]

Goddamn, that was cool! I'm aware they never incorporated Hatbox Ghost due to how difficult it was getting his effect (having his head disappear and reappear between his head and box) but it's great to see they finally did so while making it effectively creepy.

 

So is this only in the Disneyland version, I presume?

[Gabz Girl]

Ahhhhh so cool! I'm a huge fan of the Haunted Mansion (and Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris) and I've heard many things about the Hatbox Ghost. It's great to see him back in the Attic scene with creepy Constance! =D

 

Makes me wish Phantom Manor could get an update soon...seriously, some of the attractions in Paris look so dated now while the American, Tokyo and Hong Kong parks get a lot of new effects and updates in their rides. Not fair.

[Johnny Boy]

BUMP!

More news on Moana!

Moana follows a tribal princess of a long-lost tribe who are noted in history of discovering island in the South Pacific for 3000 years. There were 1000 years where they stopped – for unknown reasons – and Moana follows the eponymous heroine who wants to be a navigator, bringing back the centuries-old tradition. The father does not want her to get into danger, whilst her grandmother nurtures the adventurous side. When the grandmother dies, Moana sets out to follow her wishes. She gets caught up in a storm and washes ashore to find demi-god Maui inhabiting the island. He was a folklore hero, who could fish up island from the ocean floor with his magic hook. One fight with an evil spirit loses him his hook-staff and Moana finds him post-loss. Together they get back out to the ocean, battling sea monsters, and building up to fighting Maui’s nemesis and regaining his powers.

It’s a similar yarn to most Disney films – a heroic journey – but has this ancient, South Pacific vibe to it. Lasseter showed us a lot of character profiles, all of them looking typically Disney and full of life without any animation. There’s a pig side-kick for Moana, and a grumpy rooster that later joins, and one badass-looking spirit foe.

We also saw the research crews trips to the islands (a nice perk to the job), learning about the culture from many citizens. 8 or 9 people are now consultants on the film as they are trying to get this story as sincere as possible. The music is a crucial part as this will be a musical. With The Little Mermaid and Aladdin directors Ron Clements and John Musker directing, this should be a musically-alive film. We got to see the opening sequence (in scraps of storyboard and semi-rendered clips), which is a musical-opening. The song had a strong drum rhythm and tribal hymns, before moving into English lyrics (much like Pocahontas).

The last point Lasseter made about Moana was the animation. During research many citizens told the team how important the sea was, and how it was a character in the history of their ancestors. This changed the film slightly and Moana became a princess with powers – an ability to interact with the water. Parting sections of the ocean and playing with the water as if it was a pet meant the water had to look good. They had the technology from Finding Nemo, but Moana required more due to its essential water element. Our final clip showed a toddler Moana having the ocean reveal shells by lifting itself off the floor to uncover them. It then splashes her, and parts itself to show her a turtle swim by (like seeing it through a watery window). With the South Pacific clear blue water, the colour was awe-inspiring. The effects were so magnificent, corresponding with the twee Disney princess and bright colour palette, that you can understand the amount of work put into this. It will be probably be one of Disney’s best after Frozen, and will take things in a new direction for their CGI department.

http://www.liveforfilms.com/2015/05/21/cannes-exclusive-pixar-and-walt-disney-animation-studio-2015-and-beyond-preview/

Whoa, another princess with superpowers and a villain that's not gonna be revealed via plot twist? Count me in!

[Linkabel]

This just happened!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBqq06FvTIg

I got to see him yesterday! It was really cool seeing him in action knowing the history behind it. I always liked the design of the character.

By the way, yesterday was the start of the 60th anniversary celebrations. The events around the park were really great and despite the park being packed everyone had fun. I just feel bad for the people that couldn't go in and had to wait till 2:30 a.m. to go inside the park.

Paint the Night and the Disney Forever fireworks were amazing so I'm glad I got experience them with my girlfriend and family. I got a print version of this artwork (the original one costs $2,000!)

[Disonoid 3000]

BUMP!

More news on Moana!

http://www.liveforfilms.com/2015/05/21/cannes-exclusive-pixar-and-walt-disney-animation-studio-2015-and-beyond-preview/

Whoa, another princess with superpowers and a villain that's not gonna be revealed via plot twist? Count me in!