Aaron Wallace's Frank Nissen Interview
FANTASTIC JOB, AARON!!! I really liked it! I had read two interviews before, actually, and none dug so deeply into his past, and revealed how he became what he is today. I thought he only did television and direct-to-video stuff, so I was surprised that he worked on such familiar feature films like Tarzan, or the famously good Little Nemo in Slumberland! Well, actually I knew about Heffalump, which was in theaters, but that was by Disney Toon Studios. And I didn't even know he was in the army! I liked your quote, "learning the art of war before graduating with a degree in the more traditional arts." That's good writing! Basically, your interview made Frank Nissen sound much more accomplished and interesting than the reviews I had previously read.
The letter he got back from Disney was amusing and insightful, and the way he got into Disney gives some hope for people who'd like to work there some day, as well as an idea of just how to work there some day, because personally I'd like to get in there and and direct a re-written version of Cinderella II to fix the trology.
I was also surprised by his preference for directing over animating, but his orchestra analogy was really well put, and I totally saw his reasoning and agreed. That's why none of the other reviews had anything on you! Because yours showed what it's like to direct an animated feature (through Nissen). I didn't even know the director could ask exactly what he wanted done, right down to the eyebrow! So you get even more control directing animation because the characters can do anything you want!
I'm so glad you asked him about why the production for this direct-to-video quicker than that of his feature. If only the sequel had been given more time, maybe the character drawings could have been checked more to ensure consistency and looks more akin to the original. The animation is good, but it could have been better! So now I have another "what if" besides the slipper fitting. "What if" this had been planned for a theatrical release? Could the animation have looked perfect?
I like how Frank Nissen said he liked to rise to the challenge. That's who I'd want directing a sequel to my favorite film. Someone who isn't afraid to make the story interesting and new. This sequel is different from the original, due to the more dangerous premise and the twists! But that's why it turned out so well. He took risks with these characters, not afraid to put them different, more dire situations than the original.
You also took a risk yourself, in a way, asking about if he thought sequels should even be made at all! And of course it was a very good question and his answer was interesting. He really knew what he was talking about. The conflicts are resolved in the first movie, and we love that movie, so the sequel to the movie needs to have conflict as well. So that's why Dreams Come True failed. There just wasn't any conflict worth caring about.
I'm also sooooo glad you asked about the animation of scenes from the original that was in the time travel scene. Now I know they didn't trace or rotoscope anything, but instead started from scratch! That's interesting, because quite a few frames looked traced, and to be honest, it's possible Nissen didn't know everything that was going on with the animation, and maybe some people snuck some tracing past him. I'm only doubting him because there are some scenes in lighthousemike's screencaps that looked like traced versions of the original scenes... I'll look into it when I get the DVD!
As for the look of the review, the pink background put me off, but then I remembered the movie is a story about love and it matched the DVD review. I just thought the interview with the guy shouldn't be pink, but maybe I'm just being sexist there. The images were wonderful and ramped up my excitement for the movie even more! Also, putting the mice on Nissen's shoulder was cute. One of the things I really enjoyed about the images was, well, that black-and-white picture is such a bad image of him, and I'd seen it before, so the color picture of him with his mouth open just made him look...less creepy and more human.
So, I loved the review and I can't wait to see the film! THANK YOU AARON WALLACE!!!!
for this interview!
