Sotiris wrote:D82 wrote:By the way, now that we know that the family will include uncles and cousins, I wonder if Camilo or some of the other characters that have been revealed will be actually Mirabel's cousins instead of siblings or neighbours.
Yes, it's likely that Dolores and Camilo are her cousins which could explain why they are Black while the rest of the family isn't.
Honestly, aside from the fact it's a musical, this project doesn't feel very Disney to me. The extended family, the grandmother being the stern matriarch, the design of the house, the village setting, the magical realism genre etc., make it feel more like a Pixar, Netflix or Sony movie. I fear that as time progresses, the studio's identity will get more and more diluted until WDAS becomes just another animation studio that does anything and everything.
And that's why I like it.
Honestly, I don't really care if a WDAS film feels like one or not as long as it is made with love and passion, and those qualities come through in the finished film.
I've said the following many times before and don't want to sound like a broken record, but it bears repeating. WDAS is under no obligation to create a specific type of film purely to placate conservative Disney fans. Those who constantly whine that a project is "unDisney" or anything of the sort are the very people undermining the creativity and diversity of the films the studio creates (and often they are the same ones who complain about sameness!)
Let the studio spread its wings and try new stuff. So they want to make a film with a Pixar sensibility? Let them. What's wrong with that? If Pixar wants to create a film with a WDAS vibe they can too. I will not complain. I would be even happier if WDAS were to try completely different things outside their comfort zone (which goes well beyond the supposed "Pixar style.")
In my perfect world, every WDAS film would be vastly different from the one before it, with the occasional interjection of a stylistically and tonally very traditional and old-school film to spice things up (or to serve as a control, sort of like the cheese wine tasters sample between different wines.

)
I still cannot understand why so many are still opposed to this and still expect WDAS to be creative and innovative to a certain point, after which it becomes overdone, unDisney or untrue to their roots.
You know what? For their patchy track record, I absolutely love Sony Pictures Animation, because it is clear the studio is not tied up in any particular style of film and are willing to try anything (following
Spiderverse, at least.) They even boast about not having a house style! I see that as an asset and not a "lack of identity." Wish other USA animation studios had the balls to try a similar approach.
TO CLARIFY, I am not saying that if I held Jennifer Lee's position I would nix any "traditional" and "old-school" features in development at WDAS. On the contrary I would ensure that the studio regularly puts out both films that are a total 180 from what the general public expects from them (be it in terms of storytelling, writing, animation, or design), but also the type of films that people associate with the studio (e.g. Broadway-style musicals, narratives steeped in existing Disney tropes that people will still enjoy as something new but simultaneously nostalgic and familiar.) I would also aim for the occasional PG-13 film, which we all know the Disney brand can handle just fine (perhaps something on a lower budget and dealing with more adult themes, a la Miyazaki's
The Wind Rises, which is in many respects a movie for adults that children can still watch as there is no profanity, sex or even nudity in it.)
And yes, I am absolutely glad the WDAS canon has both
Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet in it.

With the latter, in particular (which I think is a very good film, though I am sure it goes against popular opinion here.

) I remain fascinated that the same canon that contains classical fairy tales also has a movie about the internet. Love it or hate it, I adore having such eclecticism in the official WDAS canon!
Anybody remember
Wild Life? You know, the cancelled CG WDAS feature about an anthropomorphic elephant who makes it big in show business, and which was being developed as a film for an older audience. (Also the movie about being down man holes

) I wish it got made, so I could proudly display its spine next to
Snow White and
Lady and the Tramp on my blu-ray shelf! Now that would have been a statement from WDAS!
And ... *shocker*

, I haven't seen
Soul yet, but I would have been over the moon if WDAS had made it. Now there's a project that is more Pixar than Pixar, yet I would have had no problem seeing it emerge from Disney Animation!
This is
Jules, last surviving Disney animation optimist, signing off.
Sorry for killing you off
estefan!
