Wish

[Sotiris]

The extended version of that concept art Disney officially released is slightly modified. Notice the placement of the building below Asha's legs compared to the original. While I like the character and production design, the fairy tale setting, and the return of the traditional villain, the unappealing animation style, the tired plot, the fanservice, the lack of romance, and the bland music prevent me from getting excited about this just yet. I hope the trailer changes that.

[Farerb]

Don't you prefer this animation style to the standard CGI?

[Sotiris]

Definitely not. I hate the stylized CG used in The Bad Guys, Puss in Boots 2, and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem. The only case where it worked and complimented the narrative was Spider-Verse.

[Farerb]

I understand what you mean, truthfully I even found Spider-Verse's animation a little distracting, I don't think "Twos" work on CGI that well. I just don't understand if they want to make a movie in "2D style", why not just make it actually hand drawn?

I am also worried about all the other things you mentioned like the story, the music and the fan service. I did pre order the art book because I thought that the art they presented at D23 was beautiful, but I may cancel my order if I don't like the teaser or the trailer.

I guess only time will tell. I hope Disney is smart enough to release the teaser before The Little Mermaid.

[Disney's Divinity]

I wouldn't say the animation style of Spider-verse "suited the narrative" so much as it just looked pretty? The same way I felt about Paperman back when. I think medium can exist for its own sake.

Honestly, the whole "the narrative will justify the medium" thing was just PR spin BS from Disney / Lasseter / Iger back in the 2010s when they would say any lie to put the fork in hand-drawn animation. Because it wasn't even true with those films: hand-drawn animation would've been better with Tangled (hair always looks better in hand-drawn, sorry, compare Ariel's hair to Rapunzel's and it's not much contest which is more aesthetically pleasing; not to mention the big eyes thing they also copied from Ariel not looking quite as good in 3D), Frozen (this one could go either way since ice fractals looks pretty in 3D, but the Mary Blair-esque designs in some of the backgrounds along with some full-fledged drawings of the characters make me think it would've been even more beautiful in hand-drawn), WIR (old school animations for video games were closer to hand-drawn), and BH6 (comic books = hand-drawn). Moana is another one like Frozen that could go either way, but personally, I think the ocean locales in TLM and Pinocchio are much more beautiful than anything in Finding Nemo / Dory or Moana. *shrug* Zootopia is really the only one that actually suits 3D very well based on story, what with the scope of the city and the urban look.

That concept artwork is really pretty. Valentino is much cuter there than the main design. I like the tassels that are a part of Asha's dress, hopefully they keep those. My initial thought was that they reminded me of the Queen from Snow White, and then I remembered that film was a big inspiration for this one in a lot of ways. She also has close to the same shade of the Queen for her dress color. I wonder if this might mean Asha will become a Queen like Elsa (and later Anna) rather than a Princess by the end of the film as a callback to Snow White and as part of the 100th anniversary (a look back to how far female protagonists in their films have come so to speak, where the female character with power in SW is evil versus good in Wish)? IDK, I'm leaning towards there won't be a love interest of either gender now.

[Warm Regards]

Personally I'd defend that The Last Wish's art style also complemented the story's tone. It was a storybook come to life that also visually distinguished itself from the more photorealistic Shrek universe. I would argue the frame rate slowing down in moments was awkward - but then Spider-Verse had that same issue.

I don't think you need to reduce frame rates when doing CG/hand drawn hybrids. I think studios think that's what they should do because Spider-Verse did it and it's currently a game of copy/paste. I don't know how Disney's Wish is doing during production but I don't think the animation will look bad in stills; it may look awkward in final shots (depending on the aforementioned frame rate.)

Because it wasn't even true with those films: hand-drawn animation would've been better with Tangled (hair always looks better in hand-drawn, sorry, compare Ariel's hair to Rapunzel's and it's not much contest which is more aesthetically pleasing; not to mention the big eyes thing they also copied from Ariel not looking quite as good in 3D),

I'd also add Pocahontas and Eris from Sinbad (for a DreamWorks example). For better or worse their most memorable characteristics are how flowy their hair is.

[Woodrow Pride]

I understand what you mean, truthfully I even found Spider-Verse's animation a little distracting, I don't think "Twos" work on CGI that well.

I’m not sure I fully understand the statement, but twos work fine in CGI. I prefer to work in threes or even fours, but for some of my faster shots I use twos. Some shots are even done in ones, like there was one in Toy Story 3 done by Victor Navone with Andy done in ones. I do agree with Sotiris though, stylized CGI just destroys all the detail you can do in CGI.

I just don't understand if they want to make a movie in "2D style", why not just make it actually hand drawn?

I think it’s probably because they don’t have enough experienced talent to do a full movie. I mean, it was a bit of a struggle to make Enchanted, and that was more than 15 years ago.

Because it wasn't even true with those films: hand-drawn animation would've been better with Tangled (hair always looks better in hand-drawn, sorry, compare Ariel's hair to Rapunzel's and it's not much contest which is more aesthetically pleasing; not to mention the big eyes thing they also copied from Ariel not looking quite as good in 3D)

I think comparing Ariel’s hair to Rapunzel’s hair isn’t very fair. 2D animation was at its height with TLM and Tangled was the first WDAS movie. Hair rigging, grooming, simulation and shading were just starting out.

I don't think you need to reduce frame rates when doing CG/hand drawn hybrids.

No, you don’t need to reduce frame rates in CGI; I think they just do that to make it look more like hand-drawn.


(How can you possibly mention DreamWorks on a Disney forum? )

[Disney's Divinity]

TLM had a great deal of budget restrictions on its animation. Hand-drawn animation was about to be put out to pasture if TLM failed, so I wouldn't call that hand-drawn animation "at its height." That would probably be later Renaissance films (TLK through Tarzan) and the Walt Era when the budget wasn't limited. And, anyway, I'd argue there isn't a 3D equivalent to hair like Ariel's (or even Pocahontas', another Disney character as Warm Regards mentioned); the medium is the difference in one looking better than the other, not what time the films were released.

[Woodrow Pride]

TLM had a great deal of budget restrictions on its animation. Hand-drawn animation was about to be put out to pasture if TLM failed, so I wouldn't call that hand-drawn animation "at its height."

Oh, okay, I had no idea. Sorry, I’m just not very educated in the 2D realm.

[Disney's Divinity]

Uh, alright?

[Woodrow Pride]

Uh, alright?

What? Expecting me to double down on people who clearly know more than me? I know very, very little about those movies before the 90s. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong.

[Disney's Divinity]

It was more the emoji that was confusing is all, but that's kind of you.

[Woodrow Pride]

Oh, okay, I thought one could roll one’s eyes at one’s self. Guess not. Don't worry, I’ll make sure and always use the correct emojis now.

[DisneyFan09]

Twitter account noticed.

Thanks for posting those concept arts, D82. Despite that I like them, I still hope the final look will be superior to those concept arts.

By the way, apparently, the movie will be titled Wish: El poder de los deseos (Wish: the power of dreams) in Spain. It's the same they did here with Frozen, for example; keeping the original title, but adding a subtitle that explains it for the people who don't understand English. According to IMDb, it'll also have a different title in Vietnam and Russia, where it'll be called The Kingdom of Wishes. I doubt the movie will be released in Russia, though.

Well, there was no surprise that it was going to have a subtitle in other countries, since both Tangled and Moana had their subtitles in other countries, alongside with Frozen and it`s sequel.

[Sotiris]

I prefer The Kingdom of Wishes as a title to Wish though having the name of the protagonist as the title would be my first choice.

[Disney's Divinity]

I think these subtitles are sort of weird only because the country within the film is called "Kingdom of Rosas." Won't that be confusing for international audiences to remember who come into the film where it has a subtitle of Kingdom of Dreams or Wishes instead?

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Good morning, everyone. As today begins the last full week of April, I'm here to kick it off with my newest post 4 my blog about Disney's upcoming Thanksgiving film that’s the finale for the #Disney100 celebration, Walt Disney Animation Studios' #Wish and why it will be important to succeed for the future of original animation in cinema and for Disney's 100th Anniversary as well: http://alsaysall.com/2023/04/20/the-suc ... niversary/.

[carolinakid]

No thanks...

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

No thanks...

Wuss.

[Disney's Divinity]

I agree that Wish's success will be important. I can't imagine that if that film is a flop that there won't be major change at WDAS in response, tbh. I think most people can excuse the pandemic films not doing well at the box office and of course Strange World was mired in Chapek drama as well as a science-fiction film that generally doesn't do well in animation, but a princess film like this one with the 100th anniversary behind it not at least doing, IDK, Moana numbers or roundabouts might affect a lot of things.

Personally, I think it will be successful and hope so as well--not simply because I think Jennifer Lee has brought some fresh air to the studio (including a possible door opening for hand-drawn animation, however small the chances), but also because I think Wish looks good and I'd like the look they're going for here to be successful to show that branching out can be a good thing. They chose a poor design / look for Strange World, but I'll take some variety with the occasional slip up over monotony. Still, anything can happen, I suppose.