Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

[DisneyJedi]

From Hollywoodreporter:

Late last month, Pixar and Disney Animation chief creative officer John Lasseter essentially declared war on Katzenberg by dating a slew of untitled Pixar and Disney Animation Studios films through 2018, going so far as to claim June 17, 2016, even though DWA already had put How to Train Your Dragon 3 there. Never before have a Pixar and DWA movie gone up against one another. Katzenberg and Fox, where Vanessa Morrison heads up Fox Animation Studios, retaliated by flooding the calendar through 2018 with their own untitled films, even planting one on June 16, 2017, a Pixar date.

And that's that! Instead of WDAS trying new things, they're releasing films to counter Dreamworks! Pixar has the Boxoffice & awards locked while Dreamworks dominates the worldwide BO. This would of been a great opportunity for WDAS to differentiate themselves from their rivals with films in the Paperman style & giving 2D another chance.

You'd think they had learned their lesson after pitting Bolt against Twilight or Princess and the Frog against Avatar and Pooh against Harry Potter.

[estefan]

I think one of those films is going to move. Animated films opening on the same day hasn't happened since the Don Bluth era.

[Disney's Divinity]

Speaking of which, Musker and Clements' film has been put on an indefinite hold

Sounds about right.

[DisneyJedi]

Speaking of which, Musker and Clements' film has been put on an indefinite hold

Sounds about right.

I don't know whether to consider that a good thing or a bad thing. The film being put on an indefinite hold.

[DisneyEra]

From Hollywoodreporter:

Late last month, Pixar and Disney Animation chief creative officer John Lasseter essentially declared war on Katzenberg by dating a slew of untitled Pixar and Disney Animation Studios films through 2018, going so far as to claim June 17, 2016, even though DWA already had put How to Train Your Dragon 3 there. Never before have a Pixar and DWA movie gone up against one another. Katzenberg and Fox, where Vanessa Morrison heads up Fox Animation Studios, retaliated by flooding the calendar through 2018 with their own untitled films, even planting one on June 16, 2017, a Pixar date.

And that's that! Instead of WDAS trying new things, they're releasing films to counter Dreamworks! Pixar has the Boxoffice & awards locked while Dreamworks dominates the worldwide BO. This would of been a great opportunity for WDAS to differentiate themselves from their rivals with films in the Paperman style & giving 2D another chance.

You'd think they had learned their lesson after pitting Bolt against Twilight or Princess and the Frog against Avatar and Pooh against Harry Potter.

It may happen again. The Hunger Games: Catching fire comes out on November 22, while Frozen opens on November 27!

In 2016 Dreamworks will release Mumbai Musical in March & Trolls in November. WDAS has 2 films scheduled for both those months too. What will they release? Dreamworks is locked & loaded, but WDAS, unknown.

[DisneyEra]

Sounds about right.

I don't know whether to consider that a good thing or a bad thing. The film being put on an indefinite hold.

Just like Dreamworks did to Me & my Shadow. Neither studio is willing to try anything new, just your basic run of the mill CGI. That's were the $$ is.

[DisneyEra]

I think one of those films is going to move. Animated films opening on the same day hasn't happened since the Don Bluth era.

Mumbai Musical is set to open March 18, 2016, while WDAS film is set for March 4, 2016.

Trolls is set to open November 4, 2016, while WDAS is set for November 23, 2016.

Atleast Dreamworks has their films chosen, while WDAS probably won't decide til sometime next year.

[DisneyJedi]

... Neither studio is willing to try anything new, just your basic run of the mill CGI. That's were the $$ is.

Money money money. Is that ALL they give a crap about any more?

[TsWade2]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNbw1kUDp5M[/youtube] Sorry. I have to post this, because it's true.

[jazzflower92]

Or people just think that they are just doing the run of the mill CGI and just keep assuming they won't try anything new.No one knows what is going to happen in the long run but it has shown so far that Disney has been churning out good stuff one after another.Lasseter just declared war on Dreamworks which doesn't indicate at all anything about movie qualities at all.

[DisneyJedi]

Or people just think that they are just doing the run of the mill CGI and just keep assuming they won't try anything new.No one knows what is going to happen in the long run but it has shown so far that Disney has been churning out good stuff one after another.Lasseter just declared war on Dreamworks which doesn't indicate at all anything about movie qualities at all.

Don't tell me it's part of some revenge on Katzenberg for nearly destroying Toy Story or the jab at him in Bee Movie?

[jazzflower92]

Or people just think that they are just doing the run of the mill CGI and just keep assuming they won't try anything new.No one knows what is going to happen in the long run but it has shown so far that Disney has been churning out good stuff one after another.Lasseter just declared war on Dreamworks which doesn't indicate at all anything about movie qualities at all.

Don't tell me it's part of some revenge on Katzenberg for nearly destroying Toy Story or the jab at him in Bee Movie?

Hey,remember Don Bluth what made Disney step up their A game was when they notice people were flocking to his movies and needed to bring more to the table.

This could be the same as well because obviously Dreamworks has been getting better with their movies so Disney is probably going to step up a few things.

[universALLove]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNbw1kUDp5M[/youtube] Sorry. I have to post this, because it's true.

[estefan]

It may happen again. The Hunger Games: Catching fire comes out on November 22, while Frozen opens on November 27!

In 2016 Dreamworks will release Mumbai Musical in March & Trolls in November. WDAS has 2 films scheduled for both those months too. What will they release? Dreamworks is locked & loaded, but WDAS, unknown.

Tangled opened less than a week after Harry Potter and it turned out okay.

Also, it wouldn't be the first time DW and Disney released an animated film on the same month. Actually happened twice last year with Madagascar 3 & Brave and Wreck-It Ralph & Rise of the Guardians.

[frankf3]

Hey,remember Don Bluth what made Disney step up their A game was when they notice people were flocking to his movies and needed to bring more to the table.

This could be the same as well because obviously Dreamworks has been getting better with their movies so Disney is probably going to step up a few things.

I agree, sometimes competition can be a good thing. I mean Dreamworks is stepping up their game with movies like How To Train Your Dragon. Also Disney is getting much needed momentum with their last 2 successful CGI films.

[TsWade2]

I wish there is someway to tell DIsney we want Hand Drawn animation.

[DisneyJedi]

I wish there is someway to tell DIsney we want Hand Drawn animation.

I think they know we do. You have to keep in mind that they said there weren't any films in said format in the pipeline right now and, like estefan said, the medium will make a comeback someday.

[TsWade2]

I wish there is someway to tell DIsney we want Hand Drawn animation.

I think they know we do. You have to keep in mind that they said there weren't any films in said format in the pipeline right now and, like estefan said, the medium will make a comeback someday.

I know. I just miss that medium. I hope it comes back, someday.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok7ikZaoko4[/youtube]

[DisneyJedi]

Okay, some guy on YouTube said this:

The difference between a genre making come back and an ENTIRE medium making a comeback is pretty big. When disney dropped 2D, they didn't just drop a style of writing, they dismantled an entire studio along with all the studios they set up around the world, fired ALL of the people with those skills (twice), and have more profitable alternatives with technology that can bring back (some of the) qualities of the classics if they so choose.

2D does have a future, but it's in Flash

Also bear in mind, I'm referring to DISNEY and Traditional 2D, not the independent studios and filmmakers. 2D never died in that department, but it's losing a lot of ground and the films that are still popular look a lot different than the style we like (think adventure time ). If you want to see what kind of 2D work Disney is producing, check out Mickey Mouse in No Service /yNdhDq-DF8k Give it a chance, it's not half bad

Source: http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?thr ... VWtTPa7wLM

And when I made mention of Paperman to him...

right, Paperman. But Paperman is a sort of post production system, still a lot different from how classical animation was approached in the past. If that succeeds in drawing in audiences, it won't mean a shining glimmer of hope that classical animation will make a comeback, it will be the final nail in it's coffin. It would be the industry saying "we can emulate the quality of classic cartoons with new technology: Old methods are not needed"
And this may sound harsh, but it may be a good thing.

What if he's right? What if 2D NEVER comes back and Bob Iger flat out lied about the medium's future, that they weren't ruling it out? And honestly, I DON'T WANT all 2D animation done in stupid Flash! That's just... just... hand-drawn by lazy people!

And honestly, I wouldn't be too surprised if they pitted Princess and the Frog against Avatar/Squeakquel or Winnie the Pooh against Harry Potter 7.5/Captain America/Smurfs on purpose just so they could "prove" a point and make an excuse to let go a majority of their 2D animators.

[estefan]

I don't know whether that YouTube commentator "Ben Waldburger" saw my earlier post on here comparing the hand-drawn animation situation to musicals and pirate films, but I agree with him.

I'm of the opinion that if we just sit around, moping about it, the medium isn't going to come back. If we think optimistically and positively and actually get excited about a potential future where hand-drawn animation does return in full force, it's more likely. I think we will one day have a "Chicago" and a "Pirates of the Caribbean" type of success that rejuvenates the medium and keeps it going for decades.

There was a time when fans of musicals mopped about, thinking there wasn't going to be a revival of the genre (outside of animation, of course). That Newsies and Evita were the last attempts from major Hollywood studios we were going to ever see. I bet they feel silly right now, about having that way of thinking.