Disney CG at an end? Kill me now...

[chernabog]

I haven't had access internet for the past week so imagine my surprise when I came online to find that Sanders had been taken off American Dog and that Lasseter and Catmull want Disney to stop producing CG features. I gotta say, I'm devestated. I'm not a big lover of CG but I'm horrified that Disney will now rely on Pixar to produce all of it's CG features. It seems that Lasseter has a bit of an alterior motive and that he's more concerned with Pixar's success than Disney's. How can Disney truly be considered the leader of animation if it only produces animated features in one kind of medium? Not to mention the fact that Lasetter insisiting that Disney revert COMPLETELY to 2D is the exact same thing Eisner did when he had the 2D facilities scrapped in favour of CG animation. Aren't we just repeating ourselves here? And what exactly happens in a few years time if 2D doesn't take off? Disney's gonna have to spend millions changing it's facilities AGAIN!

And what of Rapunzel? You know, that film which potentially was going to change the face of CG animated movies? I'm sure it'll be great in 2D as well, but Disney were on the verge of ushering in a new golden age, showing peoeple how great 3D animation could be and remove some of the competition in the process. By shutting down CG movies, Pixar has shot itself in the foot somewhat. After all, Pixar simply doesn't have the ability to create a 'serious' movie like Disney and I'm extrmeley angry that we many never get to see Disney really excel in the field of computer animation.

[ShyViolet]

Well said chernabog!!


It's not for sure yet though, according to JHM Iger still has reservations. (and who can blame him?)

[Kinoo]

Isn't PIXAR part of Disney today? So waht's the point in making CG for Disney as they've already own the most successful ones?

[James]

Disney will still be making CG films. They'll just be making them in a different building! Even if Disney was doing both in the same building there would probably be some separation, so I don't see this as a major deal. Maybe this would make more sense of you started thinking of Pixar as WDFA-Emeryville!

[Meg]

I don't mind if Disney stops doing CG, since I now consider Pixar to be Disney, and can expect plenty of 3D flicks from them. However, I DO mind the rumor that Rupunzel and American Dog will not be CG. Not cool. (BTW, I seem to recall an article that said Lasseter had asked Glen if he had wanted to do Rupunzel in 2D, he said no, and Lassy left it at that!)

[ShyViolet]

and Lassy left it at that!)

Ha ha that's cute!

[Dacey]

Let's hope that "Rapunzel" stays the way it is (in CGI). It would be a shame if it were postponed yet again.

[Uli]

...

[Ben]

In slightly lighter news, it seems our breaking story that director Chris Sanders had been “removed” from Disney’s American Dog turned out to be…true! However, as our second Rumored Rumblings update reveals, the underlying reason that this is the case could be that John Lasseter and Ed Catmull wish to return Disney Feature Animation to strictly hand-animated features. While this is potentially great news, I can’t but help feel this is either a way for them to protect the Pixar brand, given that this year has seen a glut of like-minded animated films competing for theater space, and keep things running pretty safe.

Personally, I’d have loved to see WDFA continuing to produce edgier CG fare of the kind Pixar themselves seem to keep away from: apart from The Incredibles we’ve yet to see the kind of movie from The Lamp that features the kinds of complexities that The Mouse’s films have touched on for years. On the other hand, perhaps getting away from the CG approach will be the thing that allows Disney to “be Disney”, without the homogenized Pixar feel creeping in. Going back to traditional animation may well be the “risk” that John and Ed want to take, but I feel they could do so much more with the toys they have been given.

Of course, nothing is set in stone yet, but it would be good if both units could make both kind of films!

I like the WDFA-Emeryville tag James. I'm sure Lassie would love that!

[ShyViolet]

Here's some info from Wik on what American Dog might or might turn out to be:

Much of the graphic style of the movie is inspired by the work of Edward Hopper, and like in Rapunzel, techniques such as non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) are going to be used to give it a special visual appearance.

American Dog tells the story of a dog named Henry, a famous TV star, who one day finds himself stranded in the Nevada desert with a testy, one-eyed cat and an oversized, radioactive rabbit who are themselves searching for new homes. He thinks he is on television when this takes place.

As of December 13, 2006, Chris Sanders is no longer the director of American Dog.


[edit] Voice Cast
John Travolta
Thomas Haden Church
Woody Harrelson
Bernie Mac
Mario Cantone as Cat
Liv Hutchings as Sarah
Bruce Greenwood