Far From the Tree (WDAS Short)

[Sotiris]

"Far From the Tree" is WDAS' newest short directed by Natalie Nourigat who directed the Short Circuit short "Exchange Student". This short is not part of the Short Circuit program and it will premiere at Annecy.


Source: https://twitter.com/DisneyAnimation/sta ... 8729854977


Source: https://www.awn.com/news/world-premiere ... set-annecy

Disney Animation returns to Annecy Festival with the world premiere of our new theatrical short “Far From the Tree.” Far From the Tree started as a tiny seed of an idea back in 2018. With the support of Disney Animation and a team of incredible artists & filmmakers, it grew up into a short film. I am overjoyed that Far From the Tree will premiere at this year's Annecy Festival! We work on these projects for so long, y'all, it’s surreal and exciting to start talking about it!

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPHbsBkhuRi/

“Far From The Tree”, the new Disney theatrical short that I wrote & directed, premieres to an audience at Annecy Festival tomorrow! The rest of us can see it in front of Encanto in theaters this November 24! I am so proud of our FFTT crew and elated that it's finally time to show off everyone's hard work!!!

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQG3uHFBdM9/

Thank you, Annecy Festival, for hosting the premiere of Far From The Tree tonight as a part of your 60th anniversary celebration! Here’s to 60 more years of Annecy and lots more animation ahead for us all to watch! ...I wish I was sleeping off a raclette dinner right now! Dreaming of attending next year.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQKccEYhGMJ/

This short started as a tiny seed of an idea that I pitched back in January 2019. With the help of all the lovely, talented, collaborative folks at Disney Animation, it grew up into a fully-realized, hybrid 2-D + CG animated short film. None of this would have been possible without my intrepid Producer and partner in crime Ruth Moore. I don’t know how to put into words what this film means to me. I feel lucky that I got to make this at WDAS, that studio leadership believed in this project, that I was empowered to tell a personal story, yet challenged to push it further, and most of all that I got to work with this superstar crew!!!

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWrHslLBCCu/

[D82]

So, Far from the Tree turned out to be a WDAS short too. I think "Exchange Student" was among the best shorts from the first batch of the Short Circuit program, so I'm curious to see a new project from the same director. The logo is not bad, but I wish they had also released a synopsis. Since it's not part of the Short Circuit program, I wonder if it'll be released in front of Encanto in theaters.

[Sotiris]

The logo is not bad, but I wish they had also released a synopsis. Since it's not part of the Short Circuit program, I wonder if it'll be released in front of Encanto in theaters.

It will be released in front of Encanto. Here's the synopsis and a statement from the director.

Far From the Tree tells the story of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe when curiosity gets the better of the little critter.

Natalie Nourigat has directed the short, which will make its theatrical debut later this year with Disney Animation’s upcoming feature film Encanto. Nourigat previously presented her short Exchange Student before the Annecy Festival audience in 2019. The film would go on to be released in January 2020 with Disney Animation’s Short Circuit Experimental Films. “Annecy is such a special place for me,” Nourigat says, “and I am thrilled to bring my second animated short film to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. While I wish I could be there to present Far From the Tree in person, I am honored to join the Festival on the virtual stage.”

Source: https://d23.com/disney-animation-to-pre ... -festival/

[UmbrellaFish]

I love raccoons. I am excited to see this!

[D82]

It will be released in front of Encanto.

Oh, that's great! As for the synopsis, due to the title I already imagined it would be about a parent and a child, but I didn't expect they would be racoons. Since they'll probably live in the forest, I guess literal trees will also be an important element of the short.

By the way, that article didn't mention Encanto as part of the Disney presentation, is still possible its inclusion will be announced later?

[Sotiris]

By the way, that article didn't mention Encanto as part of the Disney presentation, is still possible its inclusion will be announced later?

I don't think so. If they had plans to show it there, why not announce it among WDAS' other projects?

[D82]

^Yeah, I guess you're right. It's a shame they're breaking the tradition of presenting their latest film at the festival.

[Sotiris]

First look at Far from the Tree. It appears the short will be in 2D (it could be just cel-shading, so we'll see), potentially making this the first fully 2D short from WDAS since The Ballad of Nessie.


Source: https://www.annecy.org/programme-2021/e ... 0001503124


New synopsis. The short's running time is 7 minutes and 21 seconds.

Parenting is tough, especially when the stakes are high. On an idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest, curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe. This young raccoon will learn that while there is reason to be fearful, as danger lurks around every corner, it is still possible to live with an open heart.

Source: https://www.annecy.org/programme-2021/movie/20212922

[blackcauldron85]

Thank you for posting the picture here! The pic on the website didn't load for me. Even from just a still photo, I like the look of it. Very excited for this.

[DisneyFan09]

Aaaaaw, how cute I love raccoons and it looks completely adorable.

[D82]

The pic on the website didn't load for me. Even from just a still photo, I like the look of it. Very excited for this.

It didn't load for me either. I like the look of it too. The new synopsis sounds interesting as well.

It appears the short will be in 2D (it could be just cel-shading, so we'll see), potentially making this the first fully 2D short from WDAS since The Ballad of Nessie.

I really hope so. Cel-shading sometimes looks OK, like in my opinion in the short Just a Thought, for example, but sometimes looks quite bad. The picture actually gives me cel-shading vibes, but I hope I'm wrong.

[Sotiris]

It didn't load for me either.

Disney forced Annecy to remove the picture so they could give the first look exclusive to IndieWire.

The picture actually gives me cel-shading vibes, but I hope I'm wrong.

You're not wrong. It's clear from the full still that the raccoons are CG models. This is also confirmed in the article below. Sigh. The excuse they gave this time around is that WDAS doesn't have a pipeline for 2D animation anymore. Well, neither does Pixar yet they manage to produce 2D shorts just fine. For short films, a 2D production pipeline is not necessary. Because of the limited running time, you don't need a lot of resources or manpower.

Character design by James R. Woods and background design by Camille Andre.


Source: https://www.indiewire.com/2021/06/far-f ... 234644159/

[PatrickvD]

They have no problem creating pencil tests for their CG features. A short isn’t much more than that.

I think their excuses are laughable at this point.

[Farerb]

I wonder what it means for Tiana. Not promising.

[Sotiris]

Posters.


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQNCsjvD1dR/


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CX34kdgBTJE/


Soundtrack.


Source: https://disneymusic.co/FarFromTheTree

[D82]

Disney forced Annecy to remove the picture so they could give the first look exclusive to IndieWire.

Oh, OK. They should've given IndieWire another still and let Annecy use that one.

You're not wrong. It's clear from the full still that the raccoons are CG models. This is also confirmed in the article below. Sigh. The excuse they gave this time around is that WDAS doesn't have a pipeline for 2D animation anymore. Well, neither does Pixar yet they manage to produce 2D shorts just fine. For short films, a 2D production pipeline is not necessary. Because of the limited running time, you don't need a lot of resources or manpower.

It's a shame the short finally wasn't in 2D animation. You're right; what they said is no excuse. It's so weird that Pixar makes 2D shorts now, but not Disney. Well, at least the backgrounds are traditionally painted. I also like the poster and the art direction looks quite good.

I wonder what it means for Tiana. Not promising.

Yeah, I wouldn't get my hopes up. They'll probably use one of the hybrid techniques they're using in these shorts.

[Sotiris]

Walt Disney Animation Short “Far From the Tree” To Play Before “Jungle Cruise” at El Capitan Theatre
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/20 ... n-theatre/


Source: https://www.facebook.com/ElCapitanThtre ... 9961801372


Source: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyAnimatio ... 9320816855

[D82]

It's a bit odd that it'll play in front of Jungle Cruise when it's already scheduled to be released with Encanto, isn't it?

[Sotiris]

^Well, it's only for the El Capitan. I guess they wanted to give an extra incentive to people to watch Jungle Cruise there.

[D82]

^Yes, I know. I guess you're right that's the reason why they're doing it, but they hadn't done the same with other shorts before, right? I guess that's why I find it a bit strange.