Disney's "The Snow Queen" in 2013?

[Sotiris]

Even Brother Bear had little opportunity for selling merchandise considering it was an animal film - it really only showcased bears and moose.

Actually Brother Bear was first conceptualized after Michael Eisner "suggested" to make an animated film about bears so it would sell lots of merchandise (mainly plush).

Jeffery Stepakoff who worked on the film wrote in his book "Billion-Dollar Kiss" :

It was explained to me that Michael Eisner was very passionate about making a feature film about bears, presumably because of the possibilities of selling plush bears in the company's retail stores. That's pretty much all I got, bears.

Source: http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... plush.aspx

[PatrickvD]

yeah, and despite what Disney wanted everyone to believe at the time, Brother Bear was VERY profitable.

But it was a hand draw film and Disney wanted out of that business. That's why they walked a thin line between pretending the film was't profitable and cashing in on it at the same time. They didn't make a DTV for nothing.

[Margos]

What was "Fraidy Cat" supposed to be about? I had never heard of it until now...

[Daydreamer]

Over at Blue Sky Disney it has been confimed (in the related comments) that CHRIS BUCK WIILL DIRECT SNOW QUEEN

http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/2009/ ... queen.html

[IagoZazu]

I'm glad to see Snow Queen's confirmation. Now we can only wait for the coming news and development.

What was "Fraidy Cat" anyway? I never heard a peep about it until now.

[Sotiris]

December 07, 2009

Peter del Vecho makes very clear the next few hand-drawn projects from Walt Disney Animation:

"Right after 'The Princess and the Frog', the crew actually goes right onto 'Winnie the Pooh' which they’re making a feature for, and then after that the next full-length feature is 'Snow Queen'. Our animators are looking forward to getting started on that. And of course, Ron and John have another project coming up which they’ve asked me to produce and we’’ll go into development on that one pretty much next spring."

Now, though, all signs are that the film is progressing nicely – though, at the moment, there’s no mention of it on the official Walt Disney Animation Studios site. I asked around – not actually at WDAS, but through the grapevine – and it seems that Alan Menken is working on the music for the film, possibly based on music he was developing for a stage production of the story. If you’re wondering why Peter mentioned neither Rapunzel nor The King of the Elves, it’s because those two are CG animated pictures and we were discussing hand-drawn movies only.

Source: http://www.slashfilm.com/exclusive-disn ... now-queen/

The guys over at /Film have released some Disney Animation info that I teased about last month. If you remember I mentioned a classic, hand-drawn film that would be coming out in 2013 and I mentioned it was untitled. That was "The Snow Queen" I was talking about, and the reason I said it didn't have a name was that my Bothans told me it might have a name change. Apparently that's not the case anymore as animation producer Peter del Vecho in the clip over at /Film lets the cat out of the bag. He gives a brief preview of some of the 2D films in various levels of production right now in the Hat Building.

There was no mention of "King of the Elves" as the story is evolving and may result in the film being pushed back to 2013 instead of 2012. That right there is why Snow Queen has moved up a year to fill the slot. As of now, no acknowledgement has been put up on the official Walt Disney Animation Studios website about the change, or the fact that this version is being shepherded by Chris Buck, but you can expect some news about this and other animated projects to come out the first part of next year.

Last november you told about a 2D feature directed by Chris Buck. Is it Snow Queen?

Yes, Chris Buck is in charge of Snow Queen.

Source: http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/2009/ ... queen.html


December 08, 2009

The Snow Queen has been in development and on hold off and on at Disney for at least ten years. When I lived in Los Angeles, my husband and I were friends with some of the animators working on it in the preliminary stages while they were working on Atlantis, if that gives you a time-frame. Then the lay-offs and move away from hand-drawn occurred and the project went on the back burner.

I will be interested to see how The Snow Queen is developed. The rough adaptation shared by the animators back then barely resembled Andersen's original tale. I was amused no end when the story told to me didn't resemble anything of the original--I think even Kai and Gerda's names were different. There was also much more of a love story in it, of course. Wouldn't be a Disney fairy tale without one.

Source: http://surlalunefairytales.blogspot.com ... queen.html


December 21, 2009

2012 - The Snow Queen: the new Chris Buck directed interpretation of the classic story has been in development as long as "Rapunzel." In fact, it's had some of the same people working on it. Glen Keane left this project years ago to work on "Rapunzel."

Source: http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/2009/ ... odbye.html

We’ve talked a little about the history of this project, which is now back in development at Disney. The studio has taken several stabs at animating the Hans Christian Andersen tale over the years, most recently from around 2000-2003.

After development on the film ended, it was announced that Alan Menken was developing a stage musical for Tokyo Disneyland based on the same story. It’s possible that some of these song ideas were adapted from work he’d done for the animated film; sadly, work on the stage musical was canceled about the time that the film was revived by the new management at Disney and it’s unknown if we’ll ever hear those songs. Except for one. In September of 2005, the Kaufman Center’s Merkin Hall in New York City presented a tribute to Alan Menken. “Part of Your World: The Music of Alan Menken” presented an evening of Menken’s music performed by a number of prominent Broadway vocalists, many of whom had worked with Menken previously. One of the numbers, performed by Brian d’Arcy James, was Love Can’t Be Denied – one of Menken’s songs then being composed for The Snow Queen.

Source: http://progresscityusa.com/2009/12/21/l ... now-queen/


December 22, 2009

Up on the second floor, I ran into a down-hearted artist, recently finished with The Princess and the Frog. He told me this:

"I'm not happy with the way TP&tF is performing. They should have released it away from all the blockbusters. I'm disappointed. It's grosses just haven't been as good as we hoped. And after we finish with the Winnie the Pooh feature I don't know if Disney will do anymore hand-drawn pictures"

Me, I think that the Mouse will be producing several more hand-drawn epics, but I'm far from an expert. However, a long-term Disney veteran with an office on the third floor agrees with me.

"They've done real well with merchandise for The Princess and the Frog, and that stuff is important. They've got Pooh coming up, and I know that there's another hand-drawn feature, Snow Queen, after that.

I'm thinking that as long as the company can hold costs down, and the grosses are enough so that the studio doesn't lose thirty or forty million dollars, they'll be making hand-drawn features for awhile".

Snow Queen, I hear, is like the queen in Narnia who has a change of heart. We'll have to wait and see.

Source: http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/ ... mouse.html

[Neal]

Hans Bacher:

The story outline and the first treatment looked very promising. It was a little bit of a Hitchcock crime story with a cat and a parrot in London. Somehow, it reminded me of '101 Dalmatians,' one of my favorite movies.

Read here.

According to WDFA insiders, the story & editorial team that Ron'n'John assembled did an excellent job of developing this project. "Fraidy Cat" was not going to be some lame & labored Hitchcock parody, like Mel Brooks' "High Anxiety." But a really-for-real comedy thriller.

Read here.

[Mooky]

Over at Blue Sky Disney it has been confimed (in the related comments) that CHRIS BUCK WIILL DIRECT SNOW QUEEN

http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/2009/ ... queen.html

Why so much excitement about Chris Buck? I don't find his filmography to be that great to be honest.

At least it's not Ron & John again .

[Neal]

I was hoping it could be Mike Gabriel - some people need more of a chance to prove themselves.

I also regret Trousdale and Wise are gone - Beauty and Atlantis with both awesome, I'd love to have seen a new film under their direction!

[Super Aurora]

I also regret Trousdale and Wise are gone - Beauty and Atlantis with both awesome, I'd love to have seen a new film under their direction!

They also did Hunchback of Notre Dame. I notice that those two seems to make more "serious & mature" disney movies than Ron & John. Snow Queen seems like type of movie Trousdale and Wise would make amazing at.

[estefan]

I like Chris Buck. Tarzan is a strong film and Surf's Up is a sadly under-appreciated film that seems to have already been forgotten (it did have a generic trailer to be honest, but at least it was nominated for an Oscar).

But, I do agree that Trousdale and Wise should team up again. I'm not too fond of Atlantis, but Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney film and The Hunchback of Notre Dame is pretty great, too.

[Margos]

Definitely agree about Wise and Trousdale!

Hmm... "Fraidy Cat" sounds rather interesting.... Maybe not quite as cool as "My Peoples," but still pretty neat, and miles better than "Joe Jump."

[Neal]

I completely forgot about 'Hunchback' - that film gave me chills! The Gargoyles were its only downfall in my eyes.

I just feel as though Ron and John are over-used. That's not cutting on their talent, just saying they are brought back so much!

I agree that Wise and Trousdale would be amazing for "Snow Queen" - that's what I was hinting at. They also could have done "King of the Elves" - if it is true it has an "Avatar" like feel (according to the /Film reporter) I think that, judging from "Atlantis: The Lost Empire", Trousdale/Wise could have done that well - I'm not fond of "Brother Bear" much at all so am not sure if those directors can pull it off.

Also, I was really happy Stephen Anderson is doing 'Winnie the Pooh 2' - I think "Meet the Robinsons" is underrated!

[robster16]

Fraidy Cat had some BRILLIANT concept artwork, there's tons of work floating around, a lot of it comes from Hans Bacher. It was one of the projects I was really looking forward to, as it was VERY Disney but also very un-Disney. In my mind I compared it to a movie like 101 Dalmations or Aristocats but made within the context of modern contemporary movie-making. A thrillride with animals. I know it involved the cat and weird looking bug-eyed parrot. I also saw some sketches somewhere I think of a Hitchcock caricature looking character. Here are some concept art pieces for Fraidy Cat, as it doesn't have a topic of it's own:

[PatrickvD]

If they're gonna do Fraidy Cat I do hope they stick to the flat look. Show some balls and make it look like 101 Dalmatians.

I would love that.

Maybe it won't be a bad idea after all to revive this one.

[2099net]

Even Brother Bear had little opportunity for selling merchandise considering it was an animal film - it really only showcased bears and moose.

Actually Brother Bear was first conceptualized after Michael Eisner "suggested" to make an animated film about bears so it would sell lots of merchandise (mainly plush).

Jeffery Stepakoff who worked on the film wrote in his book "Billion-Dollar Kiss" :

It was explained to me that Michael Eisner was very passionate about making a feature film about bears, presumably because of the possibilities of selling plush bears in the company's retail stores. That's pretty much all I got, bears.

Source: http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... plush.aspx

Maybe so, but it wasn't JUST about that. If it was just about selling toys, wouldn't you expect more "cute" sidekicks for example? You wouldn't expect two fully grown moose! While I accept there's a demand for teddy-bears, there's not a huge demand for non-child, non-cute moose (I would have thought). They could have literally picked from loads of more "sellable" creatures, and indeed, included more sell-able creatures in the film. The Lion King had lions (all ages and sexes, all visually different), hyenas, a meerkat, a warthog, a tropical bird, a baboon... at the end of the day, Brother Bear still only had bears and moose (and if I recall correctly only a few, very short cameos of other animals making little impact). If it was created SOLELY for merchandise opportunities, it wasn't done do very effectively.

And even if it was initially about "selling bears" what makes it different from Princess and the Frog? Not only have they heavily promoted Tiana as a new Princess, they've also renamed a perfectly good titled fairy-tale to include Princess in the title, just so everyone get's the message Tiana is a Disney Princess. How come green-lighting that, or geen-lighting another presumably "Princess" movie in the Snow Queen isn't done with financial considerations being considered? It's only boosting a highly successful line of existing merchandise. Even this proposed "Ramayana" if it happens has financial considerations (only another "Princess" movie, appealing to a nation with many times the population of the United States - India has over a billion people! Are you telling me Disney's not looking at the potential merchandise sales - especially international ones - if they green-light that movie?)

Look, I'm not saying financial considerations didn't come into the decisions which films to make (they obviously did, and regardless of what people think about the "NEW" Disney, still do - look, they're making another Pooh movie - only the single biggest money-spinning franchise Disney has), but the output of Walt Disney Feature Animation over the last 10-15 years clearly shows merchandising opportunities weren't the deciding factor (or else, every single person involved in creating the films simply for product/franchise creation was almost superhumanly inept at doing so).

[Super Aurora]

I'm going have to agree with 2099net on the merchandise issue. It's pretty prevalent and obvious that many of these movie's big money comes from the merchandise and that advertising a certain aspect of the movie that relates to merchandise is also obvious.

The example 2099net gave on Princess and the frog is pretty much on the mark. When I was watching that Disney special on ABC, The shove a lot of implication of Tiana is the princess, especially after when it was talking about the princesses.

Sidekicks (silly comedic relief/ cute ones) also bring in money. I remember back in the 90's, for Lion King I saw assloads of Timon and Pumbaa, for Pocahantas- Meeko,flint, and percy stuff toys, even Hunchback of notre dame with the silly gargoyles.

I don't think Snow Queen will be a princess story. The original story, Gerda and Kai were not of royalty. Gerda did meet a prince and princess though...

Snow Queen's marketing probably the animal sidekicks, however they used. The original had loads of animal companion: Crow, reindeer, etc

As for Ramayama, It does indeed have a princess but she won't be a product of advertisment excessively like Tiana, since story not about her, but her husband, Ramayama. Her role probably be like Jasmine's

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, I finally read the story to give comments and came back to this.

Looks a little like the White Witch from Narnia.

I think The Snow Queen will end up being a chip off The White Witch block. If Disney's going to make her the next Disney villain (even though she was hardly villainous in the story in my opinion) they will probably go with something like the concept arts. If it came to that, she would become the first Disney Villain with her name as the title.

But it's unlikely that something like that will be used for the concept art, as cool as it looks. It wasn't meant to be used for animation.

I agree that the Snow Queen isn't really villainous, but I'm sure the story will change a lot onscreen. I think at least 2 or 3 of those 7 stories needs to be cut.

As for the White Witch thing, that's definitely going to be a problem. Everyone's going to be saying Disney's copying The Chronicles of Narnia because the public is stupid. HCA's story was written before C.S. Lewis was even born; if anything, the White Witch is a literary copy of the Snow Queen. Regardless, I think the new design looks better than what they gave Tilda Swinton in the Narnia film.

I think its a total myth money ruled the filmmaking decisions at Disney Animated Features - as I said before, the last decade as been varied, risk-taking and (above all else) ORIGINAL.

If you're starting after 1999 (which I guess you could be, though I usually don't think about the 3D movies), then, yes, I would somewhat agree that those films are original. But if you're including anything from Pocahontas to Tarzan--you've got to be joking! Those films took risks in ways, by approaching more "adult" content, but they are the most formulaic films in the Disney canon. At points, you can overlook the formula in favor of good animation/scenes/voice work (just as sometime the princess formula gets changed enough in Cinderella, etc. to give an enjoyable experience), but acting as if they're some kind of standard to follow is something I could never take seriously. It seems like somewhat backwards reasoning, since you clearly hate princess films for being formulaic and yet the films your promoting are just as formulaic in their own way. Of course, those might not be the ones you're talking about, so I'll leave that there.

Of those past 1999, The Emperor's New Groove isn't exactly original either, considering that kind of animated film was being put out all over the place by Dreamworks. Though I guess it's something new for Disney, but it's not really a risk when the audience is used to it. Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Lilo and Stitch, Home On The Range, and Atlantis are the only films I would fairly say are original. Unfortunately, BB is so sappy it's unbearable, HOTR is forgettable, and Atlantis falls completely flat (though it was a nice effort). Just because some people who like Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King don't like these doesn't mean they hate them just because they're different. It's because most of them were bad. And there's no amount of fairy-tale-bias that takes away from that.

Well, as you know, I'm not jumping for joy about the Snow Queen being revived. (Isn't it odd people claim marketing considerations ruled the roost in the past, but the fact Disney are making two fairy tale/princess movies isn't seen as a marketing consideration today?).

I definitely agree that TP&TF and Rapunzel are marketing at its best--I can't believe anyone would argue with you on that (although I do wonder how much more marketable a lightning bug, a frog and a crocodile is than a bear or a moose). But what exactly do you have against The Snow Queen? Because it's a fairy tale? Unless I'm mistaken, Pinocchio is also a fairy tale--and it has no princesses, doesn't follow the princess formula, and is easily one of the greatest films in the Disney canon. I'm sorry, but you seem completely biased against the word "fairy tale." It doesn't always equal a TLM or a Sleeping Beauty--which aren't even the same anyway, though they have a similar formula.

Of course, there is some cause for your doubts of this being another princess-formula re-tread, considering they might easily turn The Snow Queen into a princess-esque film, but that's not a sure thing yet and your posts make it seem as if you hate the idea of a "fairy tale" completely regardless of the subject matter.

Here's a question for you all. If said stories couldn't be made into "Disney films" in the past, what makes you think they'll be ideal "Disney films" now?

Not to beat a dead horse, but there are many Disney greats that were pulled from development hell. It doesn't mean they're deliberately trying to do a bad film. It could mean that they've worked out of the kinks, or found someone to take it into a better direction or who is more experienced and can work out the problems. Sorry, but it seems somewhat insane to me that anyone would prohibit Disney from going back to ideas they've dropped. Maybe it just needed to sit for a while before it could get running properly again.

Well the thing is, I picture the snow Queen as a high majestic person with slow but graceful elegance [think Malificant] The heavy coat help emphasize the drape of the coat that trails with her movement in that manner as well as give her a presence of great power.

In the Heian period of Japan, women in high court has really large clothing that drags but they moved in slow but graceful movement. I see similar thing with the Snow Queen.

I did realize that (about TSQ being like Maleficent), but Maleficent didn't have a huge, bulky dress either. Of course, I'm sure they could make it work eventually. But I wouldn't mind to see other ideas, too.

And, toonaspie, I personally don't mind that they're putting off the animal-centric films. I don't hate them, but I've always preferred humans to animals.

*The Snow Queen story spoilers*

Moving on though, I finally read the story! It took a few hours to sink in, because it seemed rather Thumbelina/Alice-like--though that's common for fairy tales, I guess. Anyway, I'm most interested in how they plan to change the Snow Queen. In the story, she just kind of says, "Hey, I'm leaving, the South needs more ice" before Gerda even gets there, without bothering to say why she bothered picking up Kai in the first place, and isn't seen again. There's no drama. I mean, I'm sure this can easily be taken into more interesting, dramatic directions for the film, but it'll have to be almost completely Disney-created (just like Ursula came out of the ambivalent sea witch). Not necessarily a bad thing, of course.

As for what some were saying that they had Kai and Gerda turned into a romance, after reading the story, I can say that that seems entirely reasonable. At the end of the story, K & G realize they've become adults after the adventure, and, forgive me for saying, but I found the way Gerda saved Kay's life very sweet and could easily be made into more than just friendship (maybe it was intended as more than friendship). And, for those who are using Tiana as an example of the "liberated" princess (though I've always felt the 90s had plenty of liberated females), they should be more impressed when the princess saves the prince with a kiss the way the prince has been saving the princess with one for years. And Gerda even goes on an adventure around the country to save him, ultimately to find she has some special power that makes her strong enough to face the Snow Queen.

Overall, I'm actually looking forward to The Snow Queen much more than Rapunzel. Not just because Rapunzel's 3D, but because Rapunzel's always been an uninteresting story to me. The long-hair image is the only reason that story's remembered, not because anything interesting happens. But, again, Disney does change the stories a lot, so I'll reserve judgment--maybe their version will end up better?

[Super Aurora]

Of course, there is some cause for your doubts of this being another princess-formula re-tread, considering they might easily turn The Snow Queen into a princess-esque film, but that's not a sure thing yet and your posts make it seem as if you hate the idea of a "fairy tale" completely regardless of the subject matter.

I think the reason in thinking this is cause in the story there was a prince and princess there. He/she might be thinking that Disney would change Gerda and Kai into Prince and princess rather than average folks.

I did realize that (about TSQ being like Maleficent), but Maleficent didn't have a huge, bulky dress either. Of course, I'm sure they could make it work eventually. But I wouldn't mind to see other ideas, too.

True. But the bulky thing is due to emphasize that she lives with the snow and winter. LOL. Just like Mali's having horns and black and purple to give evil vibe. Either way I have good hope in disney making a great Snow Queen.

And, toonaspie, I personally don't mind that they're putting off the animal-centric films. I don't hate them, but I've always preferred humans to animals.

I also agree. Other than the Lion King and Jungle Book, I'm more of a human focus story person. This is why I never really cared much for 101 Dalmation, Lady and the Tramp, etc.

Moving on though, I finally read the story! It took a few hours to sink in, because it seemed rather Thumbelina/Alice-like--though that's common for fairy tales, I guess.

Well Thumblina was also created by Hans Christian Anderson. lol

Anyway, I'm most interested in how they plan to change the Snow Queen. In the story, she just kind of says, "Hey, I'm leaving, the South needs more ice" before Gerda even gets there, without bothering to say why she bothered picking up Kai in the first place, and isn't seen again. There's no drama. I mean, I'm sure this can easily be taken into more interesting, dramatic directions for the film, but it'll have to be almost completely Disney-created (just like Ursula came out of the ambivalent sea witch). Not necessarily a bad thing, of course.

I'm also interested as well. I'm not sure if they will make her a bad guy or not, but I don't think she'll end up as one. If anything, the troll goblin/devil is more likely candidate for a bad guy as they were responsible for the mirror shattering in first place. Also the biggest conflict is more have to do with Kai's cold heart from the infected shard he got. Gerda was to open his heart out. Snow Queen seems more like Kai's "care taker" in due to shard.

As for what some were saying that they had Kai and Gerda turned into a romance, after reading the story, I can say that that seems entirely reasonable. At the end of the story, K & G realize they've become adults after the adventure, and, forgive me for saying, but I found the way Gerda saved Kay's life very sweet and could easily be made into more than just friendship (maybe it was intended as more than friendship).

It was great and as I said before, I think the main conflict for Gerda is to open Kai's heart out, freeing him from becoming a cold heart person.

And, for those who are using Tiana as an example of the "liberated" princess (though I've always felt the 90s had plenty of liberated females), they should be more impressed when the princess saves the prince with a kiss the way the prince has been saving the princess with one for years. And Gerda even goes on an adventure around the country to save him, ultimately to find she has some special power that makes her strong enough to face the Snow Queen.

I see it much like Beauty and the Beast (which is why I thought Wise and Trousadale would make great directors for this) in that the male character is trap in an emotional darkness, and the female character is the one to free him from that darkness in his heart and warm him back to life. Beauty and Beast also had some sort of enchantress but didn't end up being a bad guy either (hardly in the story too.). I see same with Snow Queen. A character that will help drive the story forward to interesting direction.


In 2005-06, Japan made a Snow Queen anime which seems interesting to say least. Snow Queen in there wasn't bad either I believe. Here's link:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/anime/snowqueen/index.html

[Disney's Divinity]

You know, I'm started to get freaked out by all these similarities to the 90s "renaissance"--to the point that I'm thinking Disney's doing it on purpose. I mean:

Enchanted = Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The Princess and the Frog = The Little Mermaid
Winnie the Pooh sequel = The Rescuers Down Under
Rapunzel = Aladdin (Rapunzel's really the only one with a comical background, though it sounds like that's changed).
The Snow Queen = Beauty and the Beast

Although those last two are out of order, I'm a little weirded out. Maybe I'm just looking at things too much. *needs to get away for a while*