Wednesday, June 13, 2007

At WDFA Story Department

...where House of Mouse story development seems to be going swimmingly. Bolt (the cgi animated feature formerly known as American Dog), is heading for its second pass after a successful first pass with the Disney/Pixar brain trusts...

And The Princess and the Frog story crew is pressing pedal to the metaphorical metal as the first screening of the whole feature, bow to stern, sails closer and closer (like next week?) I heard references made to "fried brains" and some long hours at wacom tablets... among other work-related things.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

So if Princess and the Frog isn't comming out till 2009, then why the rush? Are they planning on moving it up?

What else have you heard about Bold? Is the story good?

Anonymous said...

With a release date in 2009 and it's now half way through 2007 , that's not a lot of time to do an animated feature. .

Anonymous said...

What else have you heard about Bold? Is the story good?

All I know is what Jim Hill Media tells me.

Kidding aside, the story artists think it works pretty well. They busted their humps getting the new continuirty up on reels, the showing -- I'm informed -- went well, and they got their notes from the Brain Trusts.

As for the story, I've picked up little bits and pieces. But I keep my yap shut for professional reasons.

Check the internets. You'll find stuff there.

Anonymous said...

Which is the plot of "The Princess and the Frog"?
I read that in the first story (entitled "The Frog Princess" and based on a Russian fairy tale) the main character, Maddy (the name has been changed and today the main character is called Tiana), will become a frog during the movie, but today the title is changed so it's probably that the storyline is based on the classical "The Frog Prince" fairy tale and Tiana will remain human and Prince Harry become a frog? Steve, do you know something: Tiana will become a frog or she remain human for the whole movie?
Thank you very much!

Anonymous said...

So, currently there's a movie out called "Firehouse Dog" . Here's the description:

"Rex, Hollywood's top-grossing canine, is known for his extreme athletic abilities and diva-like demeanor. His perks package, rivaling that of any A-list celebrity, Rex's luck--and Hollywood high life--runs out while shooting a commercial; an aerial stunt goes awry, leading Rex's handlers to presume he's dead. But Rex is merely lost--alone, filthy and unrecognizable in an unfamiliar city."

Does that sound awfully similar to what we know so far about "American Dog"/"Bolt" ?

Anonymous said...

Not to mention the Disney/India co-production:

"The first film _ "Roadside Romeo" _ is about a rich dog that moves from soft beds to make his home in garbage bins after being abandoned on a Mumbai street, said Sanjeev Kohli, chief executive of Yash Raj Films."

All these similar themes and story-concepts make for a perception of everything being cut from the same cloth , a deadening "sameness" that lessens the potential box-office impact when people feel like they've seen it before so why bother going to the movies ... another Fairy Tale Spoof Movie , another Singing-Dancing -Talking Penguin Movie, yet another Smart Aleck/Sassy Animal Pals On A Big Adventure Movie, Hollywood Dog Down On His Luck Movie , blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...

Anonymous said...

I know that "Bolt" is a CG pic and Princess will be hand drawn, then we're back to CG with Rapunzel, but what after that?

I know Rapunzel's been in the pipeline for a while and Lasseter let Keane keep it CG but will what comes after that be CG or will the bulk of WDAS films be hand drawn?

Anonymous said...

I believe Lasseter has a good grip on which story is best served using 2d and which one in 3d.

Why should all features be done in 2d? or 3d for that matter. I know, I know, you did not say all...you said the bulk of it...

Rufus.

Anonymous said...

Giving Sanders the boot was the worse possible idea they could've ever had. His style "saved" disney's 2D animation scene having pretty much lent his style to 3 heavy hitter beautiful films.

I hope it flops without Chris on it.

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