WDFA-Florida

Post by **Meg** » August 7th, 2006, 7:04 pm

@ Wonderlicious - I'm pretty sure we went in April of '98.

Post by **ShyViolet** » August 29th, 2006, 7:11 pm

More musings about whether The Sweatbox will ever see the light of day....
http://www.animationnation.com/ubb/ulti ... 1;t=009866

I personally think it will happen, just not now. I think that if Disney once again becomes as powerful a juggernaut as it was in the animation Ren, people will look upon the late 20th/early 21st century period as just a bad spell, like the Ron Miller era.

Once the Sleeping Disney Giant awoke in the late 80s, it was perfectly all right to refer to the "creatively stagnant" period after Walts' death but B.E. (before Eisner)...to scorn rides such as InnerSpace and films like "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend" (incredibly fake baby dinosour film with the guy from The Prisoner as the villain.

)

If Disney gets really, really big again, then I doubt they will be as concerned about the Sweatbox being seen as they are today.

(The SweatBox combined with Dream On, Silly Dreamer would be a dream come true! )

Post by **Ben** » August 29th, 2006, 8:17 pm

I still don't think we'll see it commercially, unfortunately.

Post by **ShyViolet** » December 24th, 2006, 10:18 am

I know that this is an old topic but if Disney (or WDFA) goes back to only 2d, wouldn't it make sense to bring back this studio? Especially since they're planning on doing a lot of shorts?

How do you think Lassetter would feel about it?

Post by **Ben** » December 24th, 2006, 8:51 pm

It may be in their plans in the long run.

No-one's going to be making any assumptions until 2D makes big money again.

Post by **ShyViolet** » December 26th, 2006, 9:39 am

It would be so awesome if it did come through.

I never visited either DisneyWorld or Land

(just Epcot) and thus never got to visit the "fishbowl" tourist attraction/animation studio in Florida. It would be amazing to tour that place (the way it used to be of course.)

Post by **Meg** » December 26th, 2006, 12:55 pm

I got to see the 'fishbowl' studio, but the animators had just left a few days before or something like that, so there was no one there.

Post by **ShyViolet** » March 6th, 2007, 7:04 am

Hey, I've got a dumb idea--why not invite all the WDFA animator guys (The Nine Young Men

) back to WDFA-Florida where they can concentrate on making shorts as well as 3d and occasional 2d films....use THAT for the new WDFA building they were planning on building on....

I don't think JL would want this however, since I know he wants a new building back in Glendale, not Burbank or Sourcerer Hat Central.

I think he would object to Florida mostly due to the fact that it's too far for him to control (especially since he still runs Pixar as well as Imagineering), and way too public a place (a Disney theme park) for people to keep it zipped.

Post by **Ben** » March 6th, 2007, 9:17 am

But...that was the point of it!

And to be fair...shorts shouldn't be as secret as features. If someone sees someone drawing Goofy, they don't know what it's for, right?

Post by **ShyViolet** » March 6th, 2007, 9:28 am

Right. Well, the whole thing's kind of crazy IMO. On the one hand he doesn't want WDFA melding with Emeryville and I guess "diluting" the Pixar culture and on the other hand he doesn't want it in the Sorcerer's studio in Burbank because it's still too close to Disney and too hard for him to keep isolated and as a result more pliable?

I don't mean to say John's evil, he's just doing what's in his and Pixar's best interests. But...there's a big difference IMHO between the 1984 move off from Burbank to Glendale and this one...a big difference.

If someone sees someone drawing Goofy, they don't know what it's for, right?
QUICK_EDIT

True....

Either way, it would make a great gift for friends and family members.

Man, I'd be SOOOOOO happy it if WDFA-Florida was brought back, I'd jump for joy!! Hip, hip, hooray!!!

J/K

Post by **Meg** » March 6th, 2007, 2:49 pm

Wait, didn't the animators hate it in Florida?

Post by **ShyViolet** » March 6th, 2007, 5:08 pm

No, I think they liked it there.....that's one reason why there was so much sadness when it closed down. I mean, they got to work at a theme park!

You might be thinking of the Sourcerer's Hat building, which they hated because of the way it was built--not enough light, too cold, institutional, "Like a gas chamber" or something.

Still, at least they were in Burbank. Why can't they just build another building in Burbank??

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » March 6th, 2007, 9:08 pm

Meg wrote:Wait, didn't the animators hate it in Florida?

Depends on who you talk to.

Californians probably hate it because "there isn't as much culture there (Florida) as LA." LA is still the belly-button of show-biz and if you're into that culture, LA is where it's at. There are also still far more TV animation jobs in California than anywhere else in the country even though animation is still in a recession (at least theatrically).

Non-Californians probably liked Orlando better because A) it AIN'T LA, B) the Orlando has a more down-home, less "big city" feel to it, and C) given the choice on where to start a family and raise kids, the Orlando area wins hands down.

(Okay, technically Disney/California is really Burbank...)

Neither Orlando nor LA are cheap places to live, though. Orlando is not as expensive as LA, but it's not uber-cheap, either. You're still paying ridiculous amounts of money for every kind of insurance you can think of in Florida, but it's still not as crazy as California, either. Traffic in both cities is awful but definitely craziest in LA by far. Public transportation in both cities is pitiful and person transportation (aka your own car) is almost mandatory to get around.

BTW, I vacationed in California a couple of times, lived in Florida for two-and-a-half years, knew and talked to people who worked in both states for Disney...

It's NOT mandatory to live in LA or California to get a job in animation, but you really have to have great talent and VERY good connections to live out-of-state, too. Needless to say, you will be spending an awful lot on FedEx and faxing to get assignments in on time if you choose to live out-of-state, too!

Post by **Whippet Angel** » March 6th, 2007, 10:36 pm

ShyViolet wrote: I never visited either DisneyWorld or Land (just Epcot) and thus never got to visit the "fishbowl" tourist attraction/animation studio in Florida. It would be amazing to tour that place (the way it used to be of course.)

Ack, I could never do that!! I can't stand people looking over my shoulder while I'm drawing

Post by **ShyViolet** » March 8th, 2007, 1:40 pm

Ack, I could never do that!! I can't stand people looking over my shoulder while I'm drawing Wink

Well I wouldn't bother them or anything.....

"Do Not Attempt to Feed the Animators"

J/K

I'm just saying, it would be a thrill to see them in action.

Love this picture from DOSD:

(When they were promoting the film three years ago the makers quoted me on their website via this forum, which was really sweet of them.

)