Hand-Drawn Animation Dead at Disney

[Kyle]

The only thing I can think of that would influence that would be the whole wage fixing scandal that has been going on. Otherwise, the industry is pretty indiscriminate about what studio they've worked for previously, isn't it? All that matters is where they live and if they are willing to relocate if needed.

[TsWade2]

The only way a single hand drawn movie would completely revive their hand drawn departments is if it was a success on the level of Frozen. That's an un realistic standard for any movie let alone hand drawn. And even then, all it would take is one hand drawn movie after that to not do too well to bring us back to square one again. We don't need just one successful hand drawn movie, we need several in a row more or less.

I agree, Disney need to use Frozen as a treatment for their next hand drawn animated feature if they want their poor abandoned medium to be famous again. Also, I just can't wait to see Bob Iger leaving the Disney company. And he better pick the right man to be the next CEO, and that will be Tom Staggs. And as soon as Bob Iger leaves, I will go,

Na na na na
Na na na na
Hey hey
Goodbye.

[Warm Regards]

A very interesting fundraiser on Indie GoGo caught my attention. Disney veteran animator James Lopez, alongside other talents such as Rick Farmiloe, Minkyu Lee, Sandro Cleuzo, Sarah Airriess, and so on, are making a hand drawn animated short film called "Hullabaloo."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33NMLaTy7y4[/youtube]

Hullabaloo is a 2D (hand-drawn) animated steampunk film that hopes to help preserve the dying art of 2D animation; and by supporting this project, you get to help save 2D animation from an untimely demise. We want you to join us in making a short film that will showcase the world of Hullabaloo, which we can show to investors to fund a full length 2D feature. 2D animation is a beautiful but dying art form that the animation studios have all but abandoned. But if we can fund this film with your help, we will be able to show investors that people really do want to see a feature length animated steampunk film, allowing us to get the tremendous amount of funding needed to complete Hullabaloo as the full-length feature we believe you want to see.

In addition to helping save 2D animation, Hullabaloo aims to encourage girls to explore science and adventure. The film's two protagonists are both young women and both scientists who use their intellect, wits, and courage to fight greed and corruption. We hope that Veronica Daring and her friend Jules will serve as positive role models for girls of all ages and encourage them to get excited about science, engineering, and sci-fi.

The people on this production are very adamant about preserving hand drawn animation and it's legacy, as well.

WHY SAVE 2D ANIMATION?

2D animation is the heart and soul of all animation. 2D created the animation industry, and without it modern computer-generated animation simply would not exist. And 2D animation is a truly American art form. 2D animation is capable of conveying a truly incredible level of emotion and feeling. It is beautiful and and it is important.

Unfortunately, the film industry has developed the misconception that 2D animation is a dead art form that should be neither preserved nor perpetuated. We believe that they are wrong, and by joining us you can help us prove that people still love and want 2D animation.

With this and that other independent movie, "Art Story", it seems that even the former Disney artists are wanting to deviate from the studio path. It's all very exciting.

[Kyle]

Very nice. We need more projects like these. I wish I had money to give. I guess I'll do the next best thing and help spread the word.

[unprincess]

I just contributed. 2d, girl power & steampunk?! Yes please!

[DisneyFan09]

Great news!

[TsWade2]

A very interesting fundraiser on Indie GoGo caught my attention. Disney veteran animator James Lopez, alongside other talents such as Rick Farmiloe, Minkyu Lee, Sandro Cleuzo, Sarah Airriess, and so on, are making a hand drawn animated short film called "Hullabaloo."

Oooh! Interesting!

[SWillie!]

This is actually very exciting. I love the design of the main girl. Never been a huge steampunk fan (nothing against it, just haven't gotten into it). It's too bad the voice acting is... questionable, at best - leaving the animators with a lower quality performance to work with. But I'll definitely be donating and will keep an eye on it. Films like this and Adam and Dog need to keep popping up!

[unprincess]

I dont get though, why is it if they dont reach their goal at the date stated, they have to return all the money ? Cant they keep it saved for the film & try another campaign later on? Seems like a waste of time & effort to give it all back.

[2Disney4Ever]

I dont get though, why is it if they dont reach their goal at the date stated, they have to return all the money ? Cant they keep it saved for the film & try another campaign later on? Seems like a waste of time & effort to give it all back.

I don't know either, but things like that are why we need people to understand why 2D animation is too valuable of an art form to lose and to be helping causes like this as much as they can, instead of spending all their time going out to see CG movies and buying a ton of Frozen toys and junk.

[Warm Regards]

I think Indie GoGo does allow any funds raised to be kept. It's Kickstarter that has the "all or nothing" model. I recall that animated Phantom of the Opera film being revamped with a low goal because their initial goal was high and Kickstarter would have had pulled the plug if that initial goal was not met.

[Sotiris]

I think Indie GoGo does allow any funds raised to be kept.

Indie GoGo offers both a flexible and a fixed funding campaign choice. With a flexible funding campaign you keep the funds you raised, but are charged a fee of 9% of the raised funds. With a fixed funding campaign you don't get to keep the funds and all of the contribution are refunded. This specific project is a fixed funding campaign so if they don't reach their goal they get zilch.

[Sotiris]

The Bancroft brothers talk about the status of 2D animation at Disney and the future of the medium in general.

There you have it. Conclusive proof that Disney is not interested in ever making another 2D movie.

Tony Bancroft: A lot of people ask us at conventions and other places how is 2D animation going to come back again. Is it going to come back again? I've always said I don’t know that it will in any kind of huge way but if it does it’s probably going to come from a smaller studio. It’s probably going to come from Europe; it’s probably going to come back from somebody like Laika.

Tom Bancroft: Laika's got rumors right now that they want to do a 2D film. Tony and I both know somebody that works internally there who is a 2D guy and he’s talked to them and backs that up. And says yeah, that’s a serious rumor. Whether or not they do it is totally different. There’s money involved and all that. But do they want to? I think we can all say yes, they definitely do.

Tony Bancroft: They have that renegade attitude of ‘Why not? Let’s give it a go.’

Tom Bancroft: If they have the right story, I think that they will.

Tony Bancroft: Disney has said that. They've given it a lot of lip service. John Lasseter has come out in the past and said “Oh, we haven’t shut our doors to 2D animation as a medium and as a way of making these films. We just have to find the right story that yells ‘lets do it this way’ and so far we haven’t found that.” That’s not altogether true. I know that because I have people in the studio that I know. Tom knows people in the studio too. We've heard from multiple sources that 3D animation is the present and the future of Disney animation. They have no intention of doing a 2D animated film and they have no stories that they've ever even looked at as a possible 2D animated film. Even when the directors have designed it to be a 2D animated film, Lasseter or somebody else, usually Lasseter, will come in and say “I think we better make this 3D. I think this is better suited for 3D.”

Tom Bancroft: Well, here’s the other part that most people don’t know. They really don’t even have the means at Disney to pull off a 2D film right now. A lot of people don’t know this but when they pretty much turned their back on 2D animation, they sold all of the animation desks, they gave them away to a lot of the art schools, hundreds and hundreds of them in California and Florida. They just got rid of them. Not only they don’t have the tools and the equipment but they don’t have the pipeline. They don’t even have the animators anymore. They have maybe two handfuls of 2D animators that are still there. Some are training in CG and could come back so maybe they get a half dozen but that’s about all they have.

Tony Bancroft: They don’t even have the production people that remember how to make a 2D animated feature. Literally, from a pipeline standpoint of what comes first and how do we do this, and how do we get this person this stuff… It’s been so long and they've had so many transitions and changeovers in personnel, it would be starting over. It would be starting from scratch, if they tried to do it.

Tom Bancroft: It would be a mammoth thing to take on at this point for Disney. Somebody would have to make a lot of money on a 2D feature film because they made it very inexpensively and put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it and maybe then Disney would go ‘Oh, we should get back into that.’ Would it be making a feature film? I don’t know. Maybe it would be something else. They say they’re not out of 2D, ‘Oh, we still make the Mickey Mouse shorts. We do 2D. See?’ I think that’s why we have the Mickey Mouse shorts. It’s one of the gold wrappers on that. They can say ‘Oh, look! We haven’t given up on 2D’ and they can point to a couple of things. That’s one of the reasons those Mickey Mouse shorts exist, I believe.

Source: http://taughtbyapro.com/episode-1-the-b ... n-podcast/

[TsWade2]

The Bancroft brothers talk about the status of 2D animation at Disney and the future of the medium in general. There you have it. Conclusive proof that Disney is not interested in ever making another 2D movie.

Look, thank you for the update, Sotiris, but, with all due respect, I'm sure someday when the time comes, things will turn around and 2d animation will make a triumphant return. We don't know when or how, but it'll come. And just doing this to be nice and not saying mean things at you Sotiris.

[disneyprincess11]

2Disney in 3...2...1...

Seriously though, I knew that Lassener wasn't enthusiastic about 2D coming back. Instead of story problems or release dates, they immediately blamed it on 2D and the marketing and the titles. It's as if they were like, "Do we HAVE to do 2D?" like whining 3 year olds w/ PATF. And when the 2 films failed, they're like "Oooops. Oh well. Quick! Change all fairy tales to Pixar names and make the marketing Dreamworks. QUICK!"

So, yeah: I honestly do blame Lassener for this, but oh well.

[TsWade2]

2Disney in 3...2...1...

Seriously though, I knew that Lassener wasn't enthusiastic about 2D coming back. Instead of story problems or release dates, they immediately blamed it on 2D and the marketing and the titles. It's as if they were like, "Do we HAVE to do 2D?" like whining 3 year olds w/ PATF. And when the 2 films failed, they're like "Oooops. Oh well. Quick! Change all fairy tales to Pixar names and make the marketing Dreamworks. QUICK!"

So, yeah: I honestly do blame Lassener for this, but oh well.

John Lasseter is a jerk! He betrayed hand drawn animation for his cowardly and greedy deeds! Congratulations Joh Lasseter! You've just won a Judas Award! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV5CoVTBBWQ

[2Disney4Ever]

Tony Bancroft: Disney has said that. They've given it a lot of lip service. John Lasseter has come out in the past and said “Oh, we haven’t shut our doors to 2D animation as a medium and as a way of making these films. We just have to find the right story that yells ‘lets do it this way’ and so far we haven’t found that.” That’s not altogether true. I know that because I have people in the studio that I know. Tom knows people in the studio too. We've heard from multiple sources that 3D animation is the present and the future of Disney animation. They have no intention of doing a 2D animated film and they have no stories that they've ever even looked at as a possible 2D animated film. Even when the directors have designed it to be a 2D animated film, Lasseter or somebody else, usually Lasseter, will come in and say “I think we better make this 3D. I think this is better suited for 3D.”

I'm very sorry that I have to open my mouth again, but what kind of excuse is that? Saying you have to find the right kind of movie or story for it to be traditionally animated? Any movie could be done in traditional animation and not have to be CGI. I could safely say that the vast majority of animated films that have had to be CGI over the years due to some stupid studio mandate could have always been 2D instead. Frozen could have been 2D instead! There's no law that says that every single animated character needs to be a computer model to be classified as "good" or "acceptable". Just the things that really need to be done with CGI. Look at Silver in Treasure Planet: a 2D character blended with CG robotic parts. Did the entire character need to be done in CGI? No, just the robotic parts of the character. "Better suited for 3D"? What for? Just for the sake of being so, cause the studios demand it to be!

And if 3D animation is really consider the future of Disney as they claim it to be, then guess what? Disney is dead to me. Never tell me that I have to accept the kind of junk they're feeding us now, cause I've been fed up with computer animated movies as it is. I don't care about them anymore, and I hate them for how much they've been threatening to put such a wonderful art form to death. An art form that has never done anything wrong to deserve such a cruel fate. I know for a fact that it's never been the fault of 2D animation that it has had to end up in such a way. It's because people in this world are idiots! Disney has been putting themselves in such a massive hole, firing talented 2D animators, selling off animation desks, and shutting down 2D divisions from across the world. And then they have to develop elaborate new animation techniques like Meander to replicate the 2D look in CGI, when they could still be doing actual 2D animation in the first place! It's what Disney is meant to be doing! Frozen could have proved to them that 2D animation is still good, and look what they did to it.

Today's Disney is a joke. It's not the one I dreamed of going to in my youth because of how much they made me love 2D animation. They're now ashamed of the very medium they used to believe in, and I'm ashamed of them. So as long as they consider what they're doing to be "their future", I will no longer be following them and will just be going back to what I consider to be the real Disney.

And with all that said, I think this should be considered to be my final post here, cause I don't feel that I really belong on here. People here have chosen to embrace what Disney has become, and I want nothing to do with that. I may consider myself a fan of Disney, but it's not in the way that most people here do, so I have no place being on a forum where people think that what they make now is good.

Goodbye.

[jazzflower92]

I see this more of an interpretation from a third party rather than a good confirmation.

[Kyle]

Yeah, its no confirmation. Might be as close we we'll get to one though. Its nothing I think we didn't already know or assume anyway.

[TsWade2]

Yeah, its no confirmation. Might be as close we we'll get to one though. Its nothing I think we didn't already know or assume anyway.

Yeah, I know. Like I said, I'll try not to go obsessing about it. Sadly, I'm just disappointed in John Lasseter right now. i hope things change as soon as Bob Iger left as chairman.