DVDizzy Forum

disneyprincess11 wrote:First stills and information are out! The designs for the elves weren't what I expected.

Me neither. The designs and the backgrounds (but even the art direction and color scheme) look quite generic like they were made by a third-rate studio overseas on a low budget. I hope it will look better in motion.

Why is there a completely normal looking car(s) in a neighborhood with fantasy, mushroom houses? Why isn’t the design of the car as informed by fairy tales and fantasy as the houses? What is this world exactly?

Now we know that Julia Louis-Dreyfus is voicing the mom.

I'm not a big fan of the whole suburban fantasy world thing. Maybe I'll warm up to it later on but it isn't working for me right now. Also forgot that Chris Pratt is in this. Can't stand him, but I do like the rest of the cast.

UmbrellaFish wrote:Why is there a completely normal looking car(s) in a neighborhood with fantasy, mushroom houses? Why isn’t the design of the car as informed by fairy tales and fantasy as the houses? What is this world exactly?

It's a world with no humans, populated by magical creatures like elves, unicorns, etc. But they've lost magic because they turned to technology as they felt that was easier to use. The film's premise is about rediscovering magic so I imagine that's why their world seems so mundane (with the exception of the beings who populate it).

UmbrellaFish wrote:Why is there a completely normal looking car(s) in a neighborhood with fantasy, mushroom houses? Why isn’t the design of the car as informed by fairy tales and fantasy as the houses?

The same can be said about the clothes the characters are wearing. It seems inconsistent and arbitrary that some things like architecture are influenced by fantasy worlds while others are an exact replica of our modern world.

The dragon as a pet reminds of Dino from The Flintstones, conceptually-speaking.

the thinner elf looks like an elf version if Linguini.

It does look very generic...but I was already kinda worried about this film. I like the premise but I didn't like Good Dinosaur, a film that could have been so great and was such a waste.

My hope is that they go look for magic and find it in a world(realm?) that has more of a fantasy LOTR feel.

I wish the characters designs were a little more serious. They look like the same characters you'd seen in any animated version of a stereotypical family only with pointy ears and blue skin.

disneyprincess11 wrote:First stills and information are out! The designs for the elves weren't what I expected.

https://people.com/movies/chris-pratt-j ... nd-onward/

Seems like Onward is getting the same response as Merida's first CGI clip

To be honest, I didn't mind the designs. I found them quite compelling, to be honest.

Sotiris wrote:

disneyprincess11 wrote:First stills and information are out! The designs for the elves weren't what I expected.

Me neither. The designs and the backgrounds (but even the art direction and color scheme) look quite generic like they were made by a third-rate studio overseas on a low budget. I hope it will look better in motion.

I had also imagined the elves would be very different. I'm a bit disappointed with the designs too. I agree that they don't look good enough for Pixar. When I saw the stills I was immediately reminded of this movie. The backgrounds look more or less like I had imagined, though. I personally love the mix of suburban and fantasy elements. And I also like they have a dragon as a pet. This movie has such an original concept, I also hope they don't ruin it, unprincess. Anyway, despite of the lackluster designs, I'm still really looking forward to this film.

UmbrellaFish wrote:Why is there a completely normal looking car(s) in a neighborhood with fantasy, mushroom houses? Why isn’t the design of the car as informed by fairy tales and fantasy as the houses?

Well, at least the brand of the car looks fantasy-inspired. And I think the design too, though not as much as the houses.

DisneyFan09 wrote:To be honest, I didn't mind the designs. I found them quite compelling, to be honest.

I don’t mind them either. The world looks mundane and it wouldn’t surprise me if the whole “there’s got to be more to life than this” angst is what pushes them to go look for magic in the first place in which case the art direction in these two stills seems like it would play into that.

I enjoy all four actors so hopefully I will find this entertaining.

RyGuy wrote:The world looks mundane and it wouldn’t surprise me if the whole “there’s got to be more to life than this” angst is what pushes them to go look for magic in the first place in which case the art direction in these two stills seems like it would play into that.

That's an interesting point. You may be right about that.

By the way, the names of the characters in the stills have been revealed (including the name of the van!):

In Disney and Pixar’s “Onward,” two teenage elf brothers embark on an extraordinary quest in a van named Guinevere to discover if there is still a little magic left in the world. Featuring Tom Holland as the voice of Ian Lightfoot, and Chris Pratt as the voice of Ian’s older brother, Barley.

In Disney and Pixar’s “Onward,” Ian Lightfoot’s mom has his back—even when his hyperactive pet dragon, Blazey, is misbehaving. Featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the voice of Mom.

Source: http://whatsondisneyplus.com/first-two- ... -released/

DisneyFan97 wrote:Now we know that Julia Louis-Dreyfus is voicing the mom.

It's true! The character Octavia Spencer voices hasn't been revealed though. I wonder who she plays.

Is this Pixar's or Illumination's? I can't tell by these images.

I was thinking the same thing. These very much look like designs from another studio.

I felt that way about the designs in The Good Dinosaur as well and we all know how that turned out, so that's not particularly promising for this film.

I think they're going for more of a "Monsters, Inc." approach with this world. The locations of "Monsters, Inc." and "Monsters University" looked like your typical street corners, factory, university, etc., but there were also a good amount of details that showed the monster influence seeping through. We've also only seen two stills and it's of the brothers still in their suburban neighbourhood and home. I think we will see even more of the fantasy element once they travel beyond this area.

There are actually houses around today with a similar design (just search for "thatched round house" on Google images):

https://englandexplore.com/english-thatched-cottages/ Especially number 16

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File ... enmark.jpg

Since it was Lasseter who greenlighted the movie, perhaps it was the idea of elves driving around in cars that sold it.
As others have mentioned, the cars do look pretty modern. In Chicken Little the cars were designed to mirror the animals driving them.

Just observations, not meant as complaints. I have to watch a real trailer first to get an impression.

(And since someone mentions The Good Dinosaur; for me the movie felt like someone said "We have this "road movie" about a dinosaur and a human boy, but we only have enough material for a short. What ideas can we add that make it last long enough to be called a feature? We need some father and son moments, a little life lesson here, a little personal growth there, you know, the usual ingredients, and some characters with a voice that feels completely out of place).

Teaser poster


Source: https://twitter.com/Pixar/status/1134107938770038784

The poster looks much better than the stills, although I still don't care for the character designs. The idea of fantasy creatures in a mundane setting sounded interesting, so the cars and regular clothes and house, etc. don't bother me so much as the characters themselves looking ordinary does.

I love the poster. I didn't expect the teaser trailer would arrive so early! I'm really curious about it.

Disney's Divinity wrote:The idea of fantasy creatures in a mundane setting sounded interesting, so the cars and regular clothes and house, etc. don't bother me so much as the characters themselves looking ordinary does.

I feel the same way. I think they look a bit better in the poster though, especially the elder brother.