Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

[Semaj]

The claims of hand-drawn animation being expensive has to be exaggerated, otherwise the bulk of today's CGI films wouldn't be costing more than $100 million (sometimes $200 million) to make.

And didn't Winnie the Pooh (2011) only cost $30 million to make? Which could've very easily been compensated with stronger marketing?

[Linden]

The marketing for Winnie the Pooh was very good, I thought. The trailers were top quality. There just wasn't enough. It's weird too, because for Frozen, even though they started marketing it just months before it came out, they really bombarded TV with the ads all through its theatrical release. For Winnie the Pooh, they started in a normal timeframe and barely did anything. Did they even make merchandise? I don't remember any...

[TsWade2]

Bob Iger is a coward, John Lasseter is coward, every Disney people is a coward. I just can't wait to see Bob Iger get the boot for the next two years. If I was in that meeting, I would confront him and tell him he's total jerk for not letting DIsney to do another hand drawn animated movie.

Excuse me, Wade. But I think the right term you're thinking of is "cheapskates."

You're right!

[Sotiris]

The claims of hand-drawn animation being expensive has to be exaggerated, otherwise the bulk of today's CGI films wouldn't be costing more than $100 million (sometimes $200 million) to make.

Yes, the cost of 2D has been exaggerated. It has become just another excuse for not producing any more 2D films. The production cost for Pooh was only 24 million and if this person is to be believed, The Princess and the Frog cost only 65 million.

The marketing for Winnie the Pooh was very good, I thought. The trailers were top quality. There just wasn't enough.

That's because Pooh is considered a preschool property. That's how he has been marketed for decades (consumer products, DTV sequels, TV shows). It has long been ingrained as such into public consciousness. The film didn't stand a chance of making any money even if it wasn't pitted against Harry Potter.

[TsWade2]

Because he's a cheapskate. The veteran animators betrayed their own hand drawn animation which is a sheer bribery. And I would love to see that Spongebob Squarepants sequel dominate the box office as Disney's punishment for refusing to do hand drawn animated feature. Paramount animation studios, start sharpening your daggers!

[Avaitor]

A successful hand-drawn movie based on a popular TV series or from another country won't do anything to change Disney or anybody's mind about the method.

[TsWade2]

If I ever met Bob Iger, I'll give him the middle finger! I think it's official, Hand drawn is dead at Disney. And it's all Bob Iger's fault! Screw you, Bob Iger! Screw you!

[ajmrowland]

If it's true that the costs were greatly exaggerated, then I really need better business sense

[TsWade2]

I bet he hates hand drawn animation! I want too punch his freakin' face!

[ajmrowland]

If Disney were run based on personal vendettas, theyd be sunk.

[TsWade2]

This is getting worse.

[unprincess]

you know if I were Iger, the very last thing Id do before my time at the company was up & I leave, is greenlight a hand drawn film. That way he makes the 2d fans happy, upholds the studio's legacy & gets to leave as a hero who took a risk & brought something important back to Disney. And if it does bomb by the time it comes out, well he wont be there anymore to take the blame.

Of course the next CEO could just immediatley pull the plug on the project...

[Kyle]

Get over yourself TsWade2. How are you not banned yet? Your incessant whining isn't helping anything. Why do we have to put up with this crap page after page? I come here to see anything new on the situation, or even something vaguely related but interesting, but all I see is your gradeschool insults. Its not cute.

[TsWade2]

Get over yourself TsWade2. How are you not banned yet? Your incessant whining isn't helping anything. Why do we have to put up with this crap page after page? I come here to see anything new on the situation, or even something vaguely related but interesting, but all I see is your gradeschool insults. Its not cute.

Well, how am I going to help it? Bob Iger is staying as CEO for many years, and he still has trust issues with that medium. When will he give hand drawn a chance?

[Jules]

TsWade2, get off the internet and go do something fun like drawing or reading or watching a movie. Forget about hand-drawn for now. Your mental stability and contentedness should not depend on the future of hand-drawn animation at WDAS. Go out. Go to an airport and as a jet plane is landing scream like hell. Get the energy and frustration out of your system (without attracting any unwanted attention).

Listen, you don't by any chance suffer from OCD, do you? I do, and I had times when obsessions would completely hijack my mind and cloud my sense of reasoning.

Just go do something that makes you feel better!

[Walter]

That's because Pooh is considered a preschool property. That's how he has been marketed for decades (consumer products, DTV sequels, TV shows). It has long been ingrained as such into public consciousness. The film didn't stand a chance of making any money even if it wasn't pitted against Harry Potter.

Yeah, as word of mouth would pretty much be non-existent. I mean, if an adult told their friends that they saw "Winnie the Pooh" in theaters, they would more likely, get laughed at. Or be looked upon as nuts.

[Avaitor]

I have to say, I wanted to see Winnie the Pooh, and I knew of at least one or two other people were proudly interested in going, but we didn't end up seeing it, not because of its reputation, but for another clear reason- it's only what, 60-something minutes long? That's just too short of a running time to justify the purchase of a ticket nowadays, considering how high the prices are for most places.

I don't think I'm alone in this being the reason for not seeing the movie, either.

[unprincess]

TsWade2, get off the internet and go do something fun like drawing or reading or watching a movie. Forget about hand-drawn for now. Your mental stability and contentedness should not depend on the future of hand-drawn animation at WDAS. Go out. Go to an airport and as a jet plane is landing scream like hell. Get the energy and frustration out of your system (without attracting any unwanted attention).

Listen, you don't by any chance suffer from OCD, do you? I do, and I had times when obsessions would completely hijack my mind and cloud my sense of reasoning.

Just go do something that makes you feel better!

or he might have Asperger's(which may involve compulsive tendencies & difficulty with change) which I have & believe me I felt exactly like him way back in the late 2000's when Disney initially shut down the animation studio. I felt like they btrayed everyone & Walt & for a while I had so much anger at the studio & those in charge.

so what I did was I declared myself no longer a Disney fan( I also hated what they did to the Disney Channel.) I instead became an animation fan & poured myself into anime. Then a few years later I got bored of anime & started getting in genre live action tv shows. I also immersed myself in my doll collecting & crafting.

then of course Lassater came to Dsney & promised to bring back 2d & there was a bit of hope reinstated in me, only to watch it get crushed again. And well, I still follow the studio to see what they are up to & see if 2d ever has a comeback but I think Im about 90% moved on at this point. There have been really bright spots like Paperman & Frozen, but the key is & I advise this to you TSWade, focus that anger & frustation on something else that you like. If you dont like something else find something else. B/c its not looking good for 2d & if you want to be happy youre gonna have to move on eventually.

[disneyprincess11]

And like I said, TsWade2, please get professional help. Not in a mean way, but you really need it

[Patrick]

I want to preface this by saying I'm in no way an advocate for killing off the medium... but in a society obsessed with technology, hand drawn just doesn't compete with CG. Media trends are constantly being pushed to be more realistic, and in the eye of the general public hand drawn looks cheap when compared CG films. It's almost like a distinction has been made: 2D is only for cartoons for children, and CG makes a believable film that can be enjoyed by all audiences. Again, I don't subscribe to that ideology at all but I can understand it from a business standpoint. I don't think we'll see a hand drawn feature from Disney for a long time because there's no public desire for it.