DVDizzy Forum

D82 wrote:Apple in Talks to Pick Up Skydance Animated Movies 'Luck,' 'Spellbound'
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat- ... spellbound

Apparently Jane Fonda will voice the dragon in Luck.

Some have guessed Emma Thompson was supposed to voice her before she back out due to John Lasseter's involvement.

Watch The Trailer For Apple TV+’s ‘Blush,’ The First Film From Skydance Animation
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/watc ... 09109.html

I'm a little skeeved out that the characters are apparently different species but making babies, but otherwise the character design is cute. I like that it's inspired by a true couple. The whole Lasseter situation puts a tarnish over it though...can't think of this studio without thinking of the bad things he did.

Rachel Zegler To Voice Lead Of Apple Original Films And Skydance Animation’s ‘Spellbound’
https://deadline.com/2022/04/rachel-zeg ... 234992553/

Glenn Slater wrote:So happy our secret is finally out! Wait until you hear @rachelzegler singing these songs…absolutely thrilling!

https://twitter.com/SlaterLyrics/status ... 2bdsg&s=19

Sotiris wrote:First look.


Source: https://deadline.com/2021/02/apple-skyd ... 234695506/


Close-up. Not fond of the protagonist's character design. It's too caricatured for a lead.


Source: https://deadline.com/2021/02/apple-skyd ... 234695506/

I read that these creatures are her parents and that something or someone turned them into monsters.

Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis, André De Shields, More Join Apple's Animated Musical Spellbound
https://playbill.com/article/nathan-lan ... spellbound

Lots of big names are attached to this. From the synopsis, the story sounds more fairy tale-like than what Disney is doing these days. Kinda Tangled-ish, but more interesting than WDAS' recent output.

The upcoming musical from Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation will have Kidman voicing Ellsmere, the kind and just, yet hyper-precise Queen of Lumbria, with Bardem as Lumbria’s boastful yet big-hearted King, Solon. Together, they are the parents of Princess Ellian (Zegler), who they join on her daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms them into monsters and threatens to cover Lumbria in darkness forever. Lithgow and Lewis will voice Princess Ellian’s royal advisors, Minister Bolinar and Minister Nazara Prone, with Lane and De Shields as The Oracles of the Sun and Moon that Ellian seeks out to break the spell on her parents and the kingdom. Additional characters aiding Ellian throughout her journey include the young nomad Callan, voiced by Fisher.

Source: https://deadline.com/2022/06/nicole-kid ... 235049176/

Skydance Animation’s next film, Spellbound, will be a musical. To compose its songs, Lasseter suggested marquee Disney composer Menken, who has won eight competitive Oscars, the most of any living person. The film, which was once going to be titled The Unbreakable Spell, revolves around Princess Ellian, voiced by Rachel Zegler, and her parents the King and Queen (Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman), who inhabit a cursed kingdom. Jenson began directing from a script by Linda Woolverton (1991’s Beauty and the Beast). Upon Lasseter’s arrival, Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin, of the 2020 live-action Disney film Mulan, joined the project as additional writers.

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235186710/

Apparently this is a leak of a storyboard that shows baby Ellian?

Q: Spellbound, tell me everything!

Alan Menken: I can't tell you that much. Number one because it is an ever-evolving project. This is a very unusual story. It has a very ambitious, central theme. I am not going to talk about the central theme because it's all hidden in a fairy tale which involves a spell. But it's a theme that affects all of us in a contemporary way. I'm collaborating with [lyricist] Glenn Slater on the songs. Chris Montan, who was the head of music and animation at Disney from The Little Mermaid, to Tangled and Frozen is the musical supervisor. For me, it's a great return to work again in animation. Some of the team have never written musicals before. So there's been a lot of work in trying to make it more of a traditional musical and people pushing me to be more ambitious in a certain way. We are still working on it. We score in the fall. We are recording with the artists who are doing it: Rachel Zegler, Javier Bardem, and Nicole Kidman. I am going to stop there.

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/0 ... ongwriters

Interesting. Does Spellbound come out this year? I'm just wondering. Looking now, I see 2022 is in the thread title?

It was set for last year, but got pushed back. It's now supposed to be released this fall, but there's no exact date yet.

Tituss Burgess Joins Voice Cast of Apple and Skydance Animation’s ‘Spellbound’; New Image Revealed



https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 235510904/

I wonder if the design of one of the creatures has changed or if that's a different character. I'm a bit disappointed the film won't be released until 2024, but I prefer they take their time with it as Luck, the first film released by the studio, wasn't very good in my opinion. It wasn't horrible, but it was more like a DTV movie, which makes sense since it was by the director of Ariel's Beginning and some of the Tinker Bell films. I liked the characters and some other things, but the concept didn't make much sense to me and it actually made me glad Lasseter is no longer running Disney and Pixar, as it included every element of his now tired formula.

This one is by one of the directors of Shrek, and the concept sounds a bit more promising, so hopefully it'll be better, but I'm mainly excited for it because of Alan Menken's involvement. I'm looking forward to the new info tomorrow's presentation will bring.

Woodrow Pride wrote: ↑Fri Apr 07, 2023 12:04 pm Apparently this is a leak of a storyboard that shows baby Ellian?

It probably is. Nice find! I also have some concept art and some other images saved which I planned to post, but there are always new things to share or comment about and I keep postponing this. I'll try to post them later today.

Here are the images I was talking about. The concept art comes from Skydance Animation's website, while the pictures of the cast were posted by director Vicky Jenson on Instagram last summer when the forum was down, but deleted shortly after. Though I saved the links, I can't find the source of the rest of the images right now. I've decided to use Postimage this time to post most of them since some can't be found anywhere else; that way you can click on the images and see them in their full resolution.


Logo




Concept art














Cast












Animation progression (This has just been posted by Vicky Jenson)




Merch

Disney's Divinity wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:25 pm

Sotiris wrote:The script is said to center on a teenager who comes of age using her magical powers to defend her family when the opposing forces of light and darkness threaten to divide her kingdom.

Reading this back now after we've found out so much more about Raya, doesn't this seem very similar thematically to Raya? A divided kingdom, a warrior princess's coming-of-age story and journey to repair her broken world, the protagonist's family being personally affected (Raya's father) by the battle between light and darkness (dragons v. shadow creatures, the Druun).

If only *Raya* had been a musical with Alan Menken involved, but otherwise I don't expect this to be in Raya's league. We'll see.

It's true the plot sounds a lot like Raya's. Like Katzenberg before him, I think Lasseter is bringing the ideas being developed at WDAS when he left to his new studio. It's even more evident looking at the concept art. The kingdom on the left in the fifth image reminds me a lot of the land of Heart, with the green domes and water everywhere, while the other kingdom is like a mix between the lands of Tail (the colors and rocks) and Fang (the architecture of the castle). There's even a bridge that connects both lands.

Ellian's parents turning into monsters also makes me think of Spirited Away where the protagonist's parents transform into pigs. Here it seems they'll serve as sidekicks and will go with her on her adventure, though.

Vicky Jenson Teases ‘Spellbound’ Songs Reuniting ‘I See The Light’ Duo Alan Menken & Glen Slater
https://deadline.com/2023/06/vicky-jens ... 235416796/

Vicky Jenson Brings ‘Spellbound’ to Annecy, Treats the Audience to Alan Menken’s Original Songs
https://variety.com/2023/film/global/vi ... 235643617/

A lot of good names involved, but I hate the animal / creature designs. Reminds me of the ugly CGI characters in most of live-action Disney's original films (Alice, Maleficent, Wrinkle in Time, BFG, etc.).

Apple & Skydance Animation Part Ways With Latter Taking ‘Spellbound’; Companies Remain Robust Partners In Live Action Film, TV
https://deadline.com/2023/10/apple-skyd ... 235577138/

Skydance Animation Leaves Apple for Netflix Pact
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... 235621915/

Skydance Shocker: David Ellison’s Animation Deal Moves from Apple to Netflix, ‘Spellbound’ Set for 2024
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/skyd ... 235760939/

I was wondering if maybe Apple TV+ didn't have enough subscribers to give Luck decent enough viewership #s, but I guess that wasn't the reason for the move to Netflix:

Variety wrote:Apple and Skydance Animation released but one film, “Luck,” and mutually agreed that “Spellbound’ was not a fit for Apple’s expanding narrative slate, thus necessitating its move to Netflix.

Interesting they're making a Jack and the Beanstalk movie; if Gigantic had come out, I wonder if they still would be...