BOLT (formerly American Dog) Discussion

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Yes, it's a little frustrating with the constant changes in main plots and release years. It must be the after effects of the fusion with Pixar. I just hope things will settle down soon and give us more accurate information instead of rumors and speculations.

[Jules]

Wait a sec. Does UD have a small mistake in the Coming Soon page?

I mean, will Bolt be released in Autumn 2009 or 2008? Because if it's the latter then it makes a whole lot of difference.

And one more thing. Shouldn't Disney start thinking of promoting Bolt at this stage? I presume we should start expecting a teaser or a some news by this point in time.

PS: Rumpelstiltskin, you really should change the title of this thread from "American Dog" to "Bolt" you know.

[SpellWovenNight]

The SequalofDisney wrote:

But hey, at least Kristin Chenowith is in it, and that is always a plus!

Who is Kristin Chenowith playing? Not "Rapunzel" I hope, which wouldn't make sense with the the theories I've been hearing of it, or was that the Princess and the Frog? Oh well no matter, what is her role?

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Change the title? Maybe, maybe not.

If the movie is supposed the be released in 2008, they should really get starting soon

Kristin Chenowith is supposed to be Rapunzel's voice.


About Bolt's/American Dog's ambitions (and I don't think this has changed even if so much else with the movie have changed):

"Stepping Into a Hopper Painting

What we discovered on this film is that traditional art is no less valid in 3D. The plan with American Dog is to try to achieve exactly what we did on Lilo & Stitch (with the backgrounds being so pervasive) and completely thwart what the computer wants to bring to the party. I love what it can do as far as characters… the sensibility; the subtlety of emotion is unbelievable. But my art director Paul Felix and I made the decision to make it look like it was painted. And the computer is much, much harder on that because it wants to straighten lines and it wants to lay things down in very solid planes. And Paul can draw a layout and you just want to live in it. It’s like the best of a Disney background could possibly offer, but when you put a grid over those layouts, they won’t line up — there’s a million things going on that don’t make sense to the computer, and that’s what we’re trying to deal with.

We went so far as to see how much we can take this before it breaks. We took our main character, Henry, who is completely CG — he’s as sharp as a tack and very round and covered with fur and looks very, very real — and place him right in the middle of an Edward Hopper painting. So we scanned a suburban Hopper painting and had Henry walk right through it. And it is a painting… it is all implied dimension. What we found was it didn’t break. It did what I suspected, which is it lit up. The hard part is retaining that painterly softness when you move around the environment, whether it’s a diner or a car or a train station.

Paul is at the forefront of helping bring this into the computer, because he knows what makes a painting a painting; it’s not just how a brush stroke looks because we’ve gone way beyond that since Tarzan. It has to do with how light and paint interact with each other… that luminosity, the layering, which makes a huge difference. And the weird thing is, as long as you have good contact and a shadow that locks them in, you buy it.

Bambi, with its believability and suspense, continues to serve as 2D inspiration.

In terms of inspiration, Shrek and Ice Age were revelations in terms of the subtlety of emotion that they transmitted.

The way they lingered on Shrek’s face and not have him say or do anything made me want to stand up and cheer because you can’t do that in a traditionally-animated film. Or watching that little sloth in Ice Age struggling to get comfortable on that rock — slipping and sliding. At that moment, I knew that everything had changed. I realized that I have to change the way I write. I’ve indulged myself in scenes with protracted interaction, emotional interaction. We have the broad stuff too, but I’ve never felt so safe before in having a very subtle scene transpire between two characters sitting across the table from each other."

http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=page ... 684&page=5

And here we see the similarities with an Edward Hopper painting:

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/archives/americandog_e.jpg

http://members.aol.com/ondinemonet/imag ... hopper.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/a ... thawks.jpg

http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/americandog.gif

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Kristin Chenowith

That would be Kristin Chenoweth.




Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Actually, I just quoted her name from anohter post in the thread. To be honest, I had never even heard about her before I read she was involved in Rapunzel, and couldn't remember having seen her on TV or movies either, before I saw a few seconds of her on MADtv.

And in my opinion, when you are first writing a reply, a reply should really contain more than just that sort of things.

[Jules]

I wonder if they are still pursuing the Edward Hopper look, especially since Henry is now called Bolt, and a completely different specie of dog. Don't forget that the Henry in those pics was the way he looked when Sanders was still on the project. I expect Bolt is going to be a different sort of dog now.

Strictly speaking, I don't see any valid reason why they shouldn't proceed with the Edward Hopper look. New York city worries me though.

Will the Big Apple with all its bustling activity mesh in harmony with Hopper's moody style?

Keep in mind that Hopper has been described as artistically pessimist . Note how in Nighthawks the streets are deserted and hardly any people feature in the painting.

[Jules]

Since nobody seems to be taking any notice of this poor movie, I think it's high time you people got a jab on the nose. In case any of you still don't know, forget about "American Dog". Now it's called "Bolt".

To start off this discussion (and hopefully fruitful thread), I want to say that on Wikipedia, it says that a teaser trailer for this film will be released tomorrow. Since some stuff on Wikipedia should be taken with a grain of salt, can anyone confirm this? Thank you!

The Teaser trailer will be released on June 29, 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolt_%282008_film%29

I, for one, am dying to get a glimpse of this film's animation as it's reportedly supposed to be that special "non-photorealistic" CG animation we've been hearing about from Disney for years. In other words, it's the same type of animation we'll be seeing in Rapunzel.

[blackcauldron85]

I, for one, miss the radioactive rabbit and one-eyed pirate cat from "American Dog". And Chris Sanders, too. But, Mr. Mittens and Rhino sound fun, too!

I didn't realize that this movie was coming out before "The Princess and the Frog".

I'm really excited for any new Disney animated film, and this is no exception!

[Anthony]

Actually, I just quoted her name from anohter post in the thread. To be honest, I had never even heard about her before I read she was involved in Rapunzel

***faints***

You have never heard of Kristin Chenoweth before?? The fabulous original Glinda in broadway's Wicked? the revival of broadway's The Apple Tree? featured roles in TV's The West Wing, Frasier, Ugly Betty and the upcoming Pushing Daises? Roles in movies such as RV, Deck the Halls and Running With Scissors (okay so she needs to work a little on her choice of films)? But she is still an amazing talent! I love her.

[ichabod]

Shouldn't Disney start thinking of promoting Bolt at this stage? I presume we should start expecting a teaser or a some news by this point in time.

They started promoting it in 2002. They released a teaser film outlining the entire plot. It's called 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure!

[CherryChan150]

So....it's June 29th, and we have no teaser trailer. Wikipedia now says the trailer will be released on August 3rd....but then again, Wiki also said we would have a trailer today....

I hope we get some good news about this movie soon...maybe some new concept art, that would be nice

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Julian Carter:

I don't know, but I see no reason why they shouldn't keep the Edward Hopper look. Just hope the scenes will be of the kind that actually fits with the stile.



blackcauldron85:

If you miss Chris Sanders, at least we will see him again with Crood Awakening.



Anthony:

That's right, I had never heard of her before. Neither have I heard about Glinda in broadway's Wicked, Pushing Daises or The West Wing. Because I'm living outside USA, I don't read much about broadway musicals. Why should I, since there is no chance for me seeing them anyway? Unless I'm willing to spend some money and fly over the Atlantic.
I have seen some Frasior episodes, but only a few. Guess she was in those I didn't see.
I havn't seen RV, Deck the Halls or Running With Scissors, can't even remember I've heard about them. But I'm very picky when it comes to movies, and never watch romantic films and such.
And I have never seen Ugly Betty because there are other TV-series being shown at the same time she is on screen. Or was, since the first season now is over along with the other series as it is now in the middle of the summer.

But I will try to look out for her, althought I have heard she is very small.

[blackcauldron85]

blackcauldron85:

If you miss Chris Sanders, at least we will see him again with Crood Awakening.

I haven't heard of that movie...that's not Disney, though, right? I'm really weird and I pretty much only watch Disney movies, so I won't be seeing that if it's not Disney! (Boy do I miss Animated-Movies.net- I knew about all the movies in production from all the different studios.)

[Jules]

I haven't heard of that movie...that's not Disney, though, right? I'm really weird and I pretty much only watch Disney movies, so I won't be seeing that if it's not Disney! (Boy do I miss Animated-Movies.net- I knew about all the movies in production from all the different studios.)

I hope you don't get a shock, but Crood Awakening is a Dreamworks film. It was initially an Aardman feature, but after they left Dreamworks, the latter got the rights to it, and after they picked up Sanders, he's been working on it.

He says he likes the way Dreamworks look at animation.

[blackcauldron85]

I haven't heard of that movie...that's not Disney, though, right? I'm really weird and I pretty much only watch Disney movies, so I won't be seeing that if it's not Disney! (Boy do I miss Animated-Movies.net- I knew about all the movies in production from all the different studios.)

I hope you don't get a shock, but Crood Awakening is a Dreamworks film. It was initially an Aardman feature, but after they left Dreamworks, the latter got the rights to it, and after they picked up Sanders, he's been working on it.

He says he likes the way Dreamworks look at animation.

Deep down, I knew that he went to DreamWorks, but I totally forgot. He's just bitter that he didn't get along at Disney. He knows deep down that he loves Disney!

If Aardman isn't working on the movie anymore, will it still have the traditional Aardman look (you know what I mean)? Or will they not be able to use that look since Aardman isn't working on it? I'm just wondering.

[Jules]

If Aardman isn't working on the movie anymore, will it still have the traditional Aardman look (you know what I mean)? Or will they not be able to use that look since Aardman isn't working on it? I'm just wondering.

I doubt it will have the Aardman look (beady eyes etc.) After all, would Dreamworks want the Aardman look? I think the film is being overhauled. For one thing, I heard Sanders is rewriting the script.

[Jules]

People! Prepare for the Bolt teaser on August 3rd! That is, if Wikipedia is to be trusted. It says that it will debut before the screening of Underdog. I don't know when Underdog will be released here, but although I have no interest in the film, I think I'd pay for a ticket just to see the Bolt teaser trailer before the feature.

One question. Will the trailer be available online (Quicktime?) on the same day? It's my only means of seeing it.

[NarniaDis]

I hope the teaser is there - I plan to go on Friday anyway so heres to hoping theres a bonus!!

[Jules]

If anyone has some updates on this upcoming Dinsey film, please post. I'm dying to hear some tidbits.