Enchanted - Is traditional animation back at Disney?

[ichabod]

Via Animated News, comes an article that brings 2 pieces of news, firstly that Susan Sarandon is to play Queen Narcissa, but furthermore the article refers to the film as a blend of live action and classical animation! Now even though that is how the project started out all those years ago before it was shelved, over the past year we have been led to believe it was now CGI.

The article goes on to say that ''the traditional toon sequences are being created by Disney animator James Baxter, best known for his supervision of the character Belle in 1991's "Beauty and the Beast."

Well anyway, I have thought that a Disney / Susan Sarandon pair up was long overdue, and as for the traditional animation side of things, i hope that it was not an error.

See the article here
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/fi ... 1001843593

[Isidour]

well these are unexpected but great news!

I mean, this could really eman that Disney will not abandon at all the 2D animation, at least for now. And who knows, maybe they`ll realize that 2D still have more fans than 3D

[PatrickvD]

This is quickly becoming one of my most anticipated Disney releases.

Alan Menken, animation/live action, a great cast and an intriguing storyline. How can this go wrong?

[NarniaDis]

maybe I've missed something, but what is "Enchanted" ?

NarniaDis

[ichabod]

maybe I've missed something, but what is "Enchanted" ?

A Live action/animated Disney film due in 2007

summary (taken from IMDB so don't be surprised if the film is nothing like this):

Where a young girl met and fell in love with a handsome prince. News of this romance upsets his mother, the evil queen. Who then uses her black magic to send the girl hurtling out of the animated world into the one place in the universe where there is no true love: modern day Manhattan.The now-real girl now has to survive in the real New York City. But -- against all odds -- she does find true love in Manhattan. Only this time around, the girl winds up falling for a married man.And -- if this situation weren't already complicated enough -- that handsome prince that the girl originally fell for? He uses his mother's black magic to also travel to Manhattan. But he's soon followed by the evil queen!So now the young girl must decide. Should she opt for the fairy tale happy ending or stick with real love in the real world? Even though her relationship with a real-life married man would undoubtedly be much more complicated than the "happily ever after" that she's bound get if she sticks with her handsome prince.

[lord-of-sith]

Hmm... this sounds very interesting, although the story sounds a little risque (well, I guess it might not be the real stroy). But, I'll be watching for details as they arrive.

[PatrickvD]

For those unfamilair with Enchanted, I've collected some recent news reports, from Animated-news.com as they've been closely following all updates on this production.

Marsden becomes Enchanted

According to Variety, via Coming Soon, James Marsden (the three X-Men films) has joined Amy Adams for Disney's Enchanted. Marsden will act as the prince who falls in love with Adams' character, thus following her into the real world."

Meanwhile, and following the recent casting news, it seems Enchanted really is ready to roll under director Kevin Lima (Tarzan) - the magazine states a March 1st start date (ironically the very same day Pirates is set to wrap) in New York!

This an earlier report from Coming Soon:

Marsden Joins Adams in Enchanted
Source: Variety December 7, 2005

James Marsden has signed to play the prince opposite Amy Adams' princess in the Kevin Lima-directed romantic fable Enchanted, which mixes live action and classic animation, reports Variety.

The Disney feature centers on a princess-in-waiting who is banished by an evil queen from the animation world of Andalasia to present-day New York City. Once there, the film turns to live action, and Adams' character attempts to navigate the city, finding true love in the process.

Marsden will play the prince who falls in love with Adams' character and follows her into the real world.

Barry Sonnenfeld and Barry Josephson are producing from a script currently written by Bill Kelly. Chris Chase and Sunil Perkash are executive producing.

Menzel, Slater sign up to be Enchanted; More plot details discovered

Idina Menzel, who enchanted audiences in Broadway's Wicked and was recently announced as being in Bambi II, has signed on for Disney's Enchanted, coming to theaters in July 2007. The news comes from Variety, through Movie Musicals. The latter of the two sites also confirms that Glenn Slater, lyricist for Home on the Range and the upcoming Little Mermaid Broadway show, will team once more with Alan Menken, for the production.

In related news, the plot for Enchanted has been updated at the Internet Movie Database, with more details being provided. A spoiler warning should possibly be noted for anyone who dislikes knowing a film's major plot points prior to seeing it.

Jim Hill wrote a lot about this movie too:

"Eventually, Disney studio execs settled on a storyline for "Enchanted" that actually combined a number of pieces from these various premises. Where a young girl met and fell in love with a handsome prince. News of this romance upsets his mother, the evil queen. Who then uses her black magic to send the girl hurtling out of the animated world into the one place in the universe where there is no true love: modern day Manhattan.

The now-real girl now has to survive in the real New York City. But -- against all odds -- she does find true love in Manhattan. Only this time around, the girl winds up falling for a married man.

And -- if this situation weren't already complicated enough -- that handsome prince that the girl originally fell for? He uses his mother's black magic to also travel to Manhattan. But he's soon followed by the evil queen!"

[Kenai]

Yay! This sounds interesting now that Susan Sarandon is on board. And I agree with Ichabod, a Susan Sarandon/Disney pairing was long overdue, but I knew it'd happen eventually.

And the hinting of classical animation is a good sign.

[magicalwands]

No CGI?! Disney has finally gotten back on their feet!

[MICKEYMOUSE]

The Walt Disney Co. is planning to revive traditional hand-drawn animation next year with its live-action/animated Enchanted, Disney watcher Jim Hill reported on his website today (Wednesday). A traditionally animated test sequence has already been created for the film by veteran Disney animator James Baxter, best known for his supervision of the character Belle in Beauty and the Beast, according to Hill. "And those who have seen this particular piece of rough animation say that it is 'simply stunning. A wonderful throwback to the sort of films that Disney used to make.'" Baxter, Hill said, has been secretly working on the sequence with a small crew at his own studio in Pasadena, and, he added, his work is likely to be displayed by Pixar's John Lasseter and Ed Catmull as they make their well-known case for reviving hand-drawn animation to Disney chief Robert Iger. Said Hill: "They're going to tell Iger: 'Doesn't that look terrific? People are really going to eat this picture up. They've been waiting for Disney to do a new film that features traditional animation. Which is why this movie is going to do HUGE box office next year.'"

From: www.Imdb.com

[reyquila]

Let's pray!!!

[AwallaceUNC]

UD also reported this three days ago.

-Aaron

[anger is pointless]

yay lets hope next year comes fast

[musicradio77]

Let's hope that hand-drawn animation is coming back next year. No more CGI. I love Disney hand-drawn. It has been around for such a long time.

[Luke]

UD also reported this three days ago.

I'm glad SOMEONE noticed!

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

James Baxter was supervising animator for Belle along with Mark Henn? I didn't know that. Sometimes when there are more than one supervising animators for one character, I get confused because I don't know who gives the character its last form. Anyway, I hope that Disney will return to hand-drawn again, but that won't be easy after the failure of the last 3 animated classics. They have to understand though, that their mistake was not in the animation but in the plot and the characters. What does it take to make a movie like Aladdin again? And I definately would like it better if Rapunzel was completely hand-drawn.

[jwa1107]

What does it take to make a movie like Aladdin again?

you almost have to commit to a musical movie (or at least structured similarly) with accomplished composer & lyricist and you have to have a universal story written by good writers with strong characters that have mass appeal.

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

you almost have to commit to a musical movie (or at least structured similarly) with accomplished composer & lyricist and you have to have a universal story written by good writers with strong characters that have mass appeal.

Brother Bear tried to be that kind of movie, but it failed IMO because of the hero's lack of heart. I also think that if in the movie there's no princess or a powerful villain/villainess, the movie is sure to be a failure. People want luxurious castles, epic batles, beautiful costumes, romance. I think that's what it takes to make a movie like Aladdin, except for telling a universal story of course.

[Disney-Fan]

YES!!! I'm praying that everything goes as Lasseter planned! Finally there's some hope for traditional animation.

[jwa1107]

you almost have to commit to a musical movie (or at least structured similarly) with accomplished composer & lyricist and you have to have a universal story written by good writers with strong characters that have mass appeal.

Brother Bear tried to be that kind of movie, but it failed IMO because of the hero's lack of heart. I also think that if in the movie there's no princess or a powerful villain/villainess, the movie is sure to be a failure. People want luxurious castles, epic batles, beautiful costumes, romance. I think that's what it takes to make a movie like Aladdin, except for telling a universal story of course.

IMHO having an aging pop star write your songs and then singing them OVER the characters singing the same song will lose you the chance to hit that perfect musical feel.