BOLT (formerly American Dog) Discussion

All topics relating to Disney-branded content.
ichabod
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Post by ichabod »

You know I once said something wise about the public's expectations of Disney, something about round pegs in square holes and people being lost if Disney tossed them a square peg.

"Now we come to an interesting stage at Disney. Disney seem to have accepted in some part that to stop the snare becoming any tighter, rather than struggle against it, they need to work with it. Thus to get the public to accept something they need to give them a round peg. Therefore we have a lot of round pegs on the horizon "Princess and the Frog", "Rapunzel", "Enchanted". Also previous sqaure pegs are having their corners rubbed to make them round. Like "American Dog" which due to the nature of Chris Sanders work, would have given it certain kooky qualities. Thus by streamlining these out, reforming it into "Bolt" it would appear Disney have created themselves another round peg.

Now Disney will here present the public pretty much year after year a number of round pegs. However even though the public may accept these round pegs initially. I doubt the critics will let the fact slide that these films have not been made for pure artistic development, creativity and diversity, but have been made to please the round peg loving customers. Also i predict that the public may also wake up to the fact that Disney are providing round pegs and may grow weary of them. "
Last edited by ichabod on Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Balto123
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Post by Balto123 »

Who's actually looking forward to "Bolt" then? This is the one film that has taken the most abuse since Disney's announcement of its upcoming films, so who's going to see it and who's not?
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Post by PatrickvD »

2099net wrote:And Patrick, what has Disney been doing for 70 years exactly? Under Walt, Disney did fairytales, music concerts, animal adventures, theatrical plays and comedy partworks.

Sigh. The only reason people expect certain types of films from Disney is because of Disney's stupid princess marketing obsession!
well it kinda started with a little movie called Snow White, wich started a tradition of handdrawn animated films based on famous books, plays, poems, legends and fairytales. With a few originals thrown in (Lady and the Tramp, New Groove, Lilo & Stitch) But with a few exceptions all of these films have a similair feeling that defines Disney. They're at the very base of the company, without them, there is nothing.

I'm not saying Disney should only do princess films or that there can't be quirky departures both in terms of style and storytelling. Fantasia, 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin and The Emperor's New Groove, while all fitting perfectly in the studio cannon were a departure from the formula in their individual ways.

But doing a typical Disney film, you know one that looks and feels familair could (in my opinion, since this is in the future so what the heck do we know right?) start a chain reaction. Twice before has the studio reached out to a fairytale, familair territory, to get back into their groove. And I really think that's all "Princess and the Frog" is, testing the waters, both for the animators/directors/writers and for the audience.

that's all I'm saying. :)

oh and one more thing about Frog and I'll shut up:

Lasster (and I believe his word on this) has said from the beginning of the merger he wants to turn Disney from a corporate driven studio into a director driven studio, where each film is fully the product of the director. And though I'm sure the Tinkerbell DTV's are the corporate driven side dish, I refuse to believe Musker and Clements, (in my eyes two very talented directors who've gives us some of the most entertaining features of the post-Walt era), returned to Disney if they couldn't make a film the way they want to make it. They were clearly fed up with Disney after the way they were treated with the Treasure Planet fiasco, so for them to return and make another Disney film under Lasseter is a sign of good things to come.

Everybody has an opinion on this film it appears but rarely does anyone mention the fact that these two directors have in my opinion earned some of our trust.

Back on topic I do not know what to make of Bolt though, probaply because we'll never know what really went on when Chris Sanders left. What really happened I'd love to know. We can only guess I'm afraid.
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blackcauldron85
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Post by blackcauldron85 »

Balto123 wrote:Who's actually looking forward to "Bolt" then? This is the one film that has taken the most abuse since Disney's announcement of its upcoming films, so who's going to see it and who's not?
I'm excited and I'm going to see it. :)
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Jules
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Post by Jules »

I still think it's too early to determine whether there'll be only "round pegs" from Disney. Frog and Rapunzel may be so, but there's nothing inherently wrong with them. As much as I love square pegs, I'm ready for a couple of round pegs once more. Moreover, we only know of onoe more film in the production pipeline to come after those two fairy tales, namely King of the Elves, which at this stage anyway still screams square peg. Of course, as ichabod already pointed out with Bolt, this film can still be modified into a round peg, but we should just remain hopeful, shouldn't we? Maybe future films may return to being square pegs.
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Post by yukitora »

Would you consider Chicken Little as a square peg?
Balto123
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Post by Balto123 »

yukitora wrote:Would you consider Chicken Little as a square peg?
Chicken Little is an obvious round peg aimed at the DreamWorks Shrek crowd interested only if there are pop culture references and randomness galore. You can't get more round pegged then that.
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Post by yukitora »

I thought round peg in this context referred to being "100% Disney safe"
Balto123
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Post by Balto123 »

Chicken Little was safe in that it didn't push the boundaries audiences have come to expect from a CG animal comedy. It was a safe moneymaker.
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Ariel'sprince
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Post by Ariel'sprince »

Thanks,Balto123 :D.
She looks like Violet from the Incredibles.
Bolt looks cute.
Last edited by Ariel'sprince on Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jules
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Post by Jules »

First things first:

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! I COULD DIE WITH HAPPINESS!!!!

Secondly, although there are very brief moments of animation in that clip, I must say the animation itself looks beautiful. It's wonderfully fluid even in its subtle forms, like Penny's moving hair or Bolt's ears. :D I like what I see.
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blackcauldron85
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Post by blackcauldron85 »

Balto123:
:mickeyface: :minnie: :donald: :goofy: :pan: :pooh: :kermit: :tlm: :herc: :stitch: :edna:

:pink: :pink: :pink:

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!

That was awesome! I wish that there was more animation in the clip, but YAY for what is there!

Does the hamster say "Him again!"? Or what is he saying?
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Balto123
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Post by Balto123 »

Thanks blackcauldron85. I was just as delighted when I stumbled across it as well!

I think Rhino says "Let it begin" in the clip.
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blackcauldron85
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Post by blackcauldron85 »

Balto123 wrote:Thanks blackcauldron85. I was just as delighted when I stumbled across it as well!

I think Rhino says "Let it begin" in the clip.
You're very welcome! And thanks for the clarification on his line! :)
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Widdi
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Post by Widdi »

Wow the animation is beautiful. If Miley Cyrus wasn't attached to this project I'd be far more excited about it though. Meh, I'll still be seeing it opening weekend. :D
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blackcauldron85
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Post by blackcauldron85 »

Widdi wrote:Wow the animation is beautiful. If Miley Cyrus wasn't attached to this project I'd be far more excited about it though. Meh, I'll still be seeing it opening weekend. :D
She probably won't be in it too much, if that's any conciliation...
(I like Miley, though, so I'm excited. I mean, I'm mostly excited for the movie as a whole, but I'm glad that she's in it.)
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Jules
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Post by Jules »

You know, I don't really mind Miley. I'll admit I'm not crazy about her, but I think she's a perfectly likable average teenager. I'm more concerned with her being miscast in Penny's role. Somehow, her voice sounds too "grown-up" for the character.
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Post by yukitora »

Wow, I think with this and Rapunzel, Disney might actual rival Pixar in terms of 3D animation. Of course, they are basically the same company now, but there is still such a clear distinction.

Bolt looks absolutely adorable, but Penny and Milo's designs are a little bothersome imo. I'm not a fan of the "huge eyes" "button nose" 3D animation look, especially for humans, but I'll get over it like I did with The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Still, I'd prefer FF-esque character designs such as that of the movie Advent Children. Realistic traits yet still retaining their anime image.
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Post by Balto123 »

Found this clip with some more animation on it, including dialog from Bolt and Rhino-

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=x2c-TXAb7FA
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