Disney animation thread

Satsuki

Article from a journalist who went to a special Tangled media event, mostly focusing on Alan Menken's songs:

http://www.deadline.com/2010/09/oscars-animation-race-just-got-tangled/

Looks like rather than the big broadway numbers of the 90s, they're going more old-school like the 40s/50s were the music was an integral part of the storytelling.

"Menken says he tried to put a medieval flavor to the new songs mixing in influences like Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and 60’s folk rock although Donna Murphy who voices the evil Mother Gothel has a flat-out standout Broadway-style number called “Mother Knows Best”."

Huh. Not sure how that will work, but I have faith in Menken. and thank god it's menken and not fucking randy newman.

Insider2000

Meh, I'm still singing songs from Princess and the Frog. I'm okay if the movie doesn't have any songs.

I have a feeling, though, that I'll be downloading plenty of Pink songs…though I've already downloaded plenty.

EDIT: OH! Okay, maybe that one song will be good.

Satsuki

I like most of the songs from Princess and the Frog, but they weren't nearly as awesome as I'd hoped. I think Menken could have done way better if he'd been in charge. But oh well.

Nobodyman

So I've been watching Phineas and Ferb lately, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it's actually a pretty darn good show. It's not the most original show out there, but it's vibrance and humor would make its 90's predecessors proud.

It's true strength, though, lies in the characters. All of them have this impeccable charm to them that makes it impossible to hate any of them. There's Phineas, the creative genius with a bright-eyed innocence and optimism that's almost Spongebob in nature (only not nearly as obnoxious). Then there's Ferb, the equally creative stepbrother of Phineas who stays silent through most of the show only to utter a few words of wisdom at the very end with a British accent. And then there's Candace, the boys' older sister who always tries to "bust" them. You'd think she'd be a more detestable character since she's always trying to rain on Phineas and Ferb's parade, but her plight is pretty understandable and her girlish charms always shine through.

Aside from Phineas and Ferb's antics, there is a subplot in every episode that follows their pet Perry the Platypus, who is really a secret agent, and his archenemy Dr. Doofenshmirtz, the mad scientist parody who is certainly more hilarious than he is nefarious. That being said, I think my least favorite of the main five, however, is, in fact, Perry the Platypus. Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate him, in fact, I think he's a great character, but he falls kind of flat compared to the rest. He just doesn't seem to have as much personality as other silent characters that have come before him.

Minor complaints aside, I think Phineas and Ferb is a great show and I highly recommend checking it out.

Sai-chan

It's themesong is also incredibly fun to sing, as well as some of the songs that appear in the shows episodes.

Nobodyman

@Sai-chan:

It's themesong is also incredibly fun to sing, as well as some of the songs that appear in the shows episodes.

Oh definitely. And that's pretty impressive considering they have a song every episode and all of them are pretty enjoyable.

Sai-chan

And somehow, they never get old… Which is awesome. <3

Raider

Ah, Phineas and ferb. Love their songs. Especially SIMP, Come home Perry, and the Summer belongs to you songs along with the Today's going to be a great day. I just can't believe how they can make these songs so well.

trappedolphin

how did i just find this Disney thread? anyway, yes i love Phineas and Ferb. it's one of the few cartoons actually worth watching these days. its humour is very simple but so well done without being overbearing. everything the boys do is entertaining to watch, and just saying Doofenshmirtz is enough to make me crack a smile. and the theme song… oh, the theme song. that, and all the random jingles and songs in each episode. love this show.

taboo

Phineas and ferb is one of the rare shows that I personally don't care for, but i accept that it's probably a good show

it just wasn't made for my tastes

Satsuki

Just a reminder to everyone who didn't get it the first time:

Beauty and the Beast is being re-released on Blu-Ray/DVD on Ocotber 5th! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

taboo

if it comes with HUMAN AGAIN, then no thanks

Robby

Last time around they were decent enough to let you select between the original, the lousy new version, and the fascinating early festival version which was half storyboards and pencil tests.

I'd have to assume they'd do the same this time.

It still boggles my mind that of the dozen songs the broadway musicals added to B&tB and Lion King that had actual emotion and character development and backstory and resonance to them, they chose pretty much the worst ones from both to hamfist into edited versions of the movie.

(The artbooks even have mention of their conscious choice at the time to NOT have Mufassa sing, because it takes away from his status. Oops, so much for that, lets sing a jingle about pouncing on Zazu while killing the subtle background jokes from the scene instead!)

Pocahontas "If I Never Knew You" is the only restored song number that should have never been cut in the first place, being the best song in the movie. Not to mention the instrumental of it was throughout the film…

Zkaiser

Why hasn't Disney's Japanese sector tried to cash in with a Kingdom Hearts anime. Do they not like money?

Robby

What, House of Mouse wasn't a good enough random universe cross over?

Seriously though, I'd assume it has something to do with licensing and branding issues, and the sheer logistics of carrying so many different styles and recognized properties in one cohesive thing. Stuff they can get away with doing with tons of lead time on a video game (where everything is turned more cohesive cgi models) would be crazier to do for a regular tv series, even if Disney does own most/all of the material.

Malintex_Terek

It's entirely Square.

One would think Iger, or the 'Disney looks down on anime' stereotype would get in the way, but Japan got a Stitch anime, so they only explanation is Square wants a lot of money from Disney to produce an anime, and it just doesn't seem like a profitable venture because Disney won't bring it over statewise. Even if it's got their own characters, it's not coming over unless Miyazaki and/or Ghibli are involved. Mostly Miyazaki (Earthsea didn't come over, did it?).

There's a legend that the J-VG companies are protective of their properties…it seems to be the case for some, but not others. I don't know enough about gaming to make an educated call.

Insider2000

@RobbyBevard:

What, House of Mouse wasn't a good enough random universe cross over?

You know, I saw the House of Villains Saturday with my niece. House of Mouse was seriously a pretty good show for its time. Sure, it has the classic cartoons that could generally do no wrong (love the one with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy taking down the three ghosts in the haunted house), but some of the newer ones are not only funny but have some actual talent and effort towards them.

Even the actual House of Mouse stories were pretty good. God knows this killed me during the House of Villains special:

Minnie furiously storms off to give Jafar a piece of her mind.
Goofy: Garsh! I've never seen her like that!
Mickey: I have…...

taboo

House of Mouse was seriously a pretty good show for its time.

not really

it sucked

Insider2000

@taboo:

not really

it sucked

Why, taboo? Why are you taking my House of Mouse tree?

!

trappedolphin

@RobbyBevard:

Pocahontas "If I Never Knew You" is the only restored song number that should have never been cut in the first place, being the best song in the movie. Not to mention the instrumental of it was throughout the film…

that is one of the best songs ever.

GypsyCarts

@Insider2000:

Even the actual House of Mouse stories were pretty good.

You know. I agree. I didn't watch it much, but it was awesome what I saw.

They need to bring back amazing Disney cartoons like Gargoyles. But anal, retentive mothers would flip.

Malintex_Terek

The HoM cartoons actually came from something else, I forgot what, but if you compare the quality of the interludes to the cartoons, there's a stark difference that should betray they weren't on the same budget.

I think HoM was ok and I credit it with actually reintroducing Mickey to the public, because like Ubiq says Mickey was for a long time like a phantom who all-but didn't exist outside of Disneyland. It was also good for the random obscure character cameos and jokes.

taboo

@Insider2000:

Why, taboo? Why are you taking my House of Mouse tree?

! [qimg]http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa182/daniboi1113/CJSNMTT-2.jpg[/qimg]

because your tree is made of garbage and is a health hazard that must be burned

Insider2000

@taboo:

because your tree is made of garbage and is a health hazard that must be burned

Have fun burning the tree then…

...............Could I have a glass of water?

Robo Gorilla

@Malintex_Terek:

I think HoM was ok and I credit it with actually reintroducing Mickey to the public, because like Ubiq says Mickey was for a long time like a phantom who all-but didn't exist outside of Disneyland. It was also good for the random obscure character cameos and jokes.

Are you sure, because Clarabelle Cow (and to a lesser extent Horace Horsecollar) had good rolls in the series, yet I still feel as though I'm the only person who actually knows who they are. So if HoM restored Mickey's popularity, shouldn't it have done the same for Horace and Clarabelle?

taboo

He wasn't talking about popularity, but just general usage. Like… Mickey was Disney's mascot for years but wasn't in any actual tv shows or movies since the early 90's.

Ubiq

When I was in middle school, I remember getting 3-2-1 Contact! Magazine or something like that in school; every so often, it'd report that such and such an amount of people would recognize this character or that character. Joe Camel would usually be in the top three along with Bugs Bunny or Popeye, but Mickey Mouse was always number one.

Mickey was always around 90% or better, but wasn't really in anything between the Mickey Mouse Club and Mickey's Christmas Carol (about a twenty-five year stretch). After that, the next new material to feature him was The Prince and the Pauper (1990 or so) followed by almost nothing until about 2001, which is when House of Mouse came around. That's only two notable starring roles in almost five decades. If anything, the public face of Disney animation during that period was Scrooge McDuck and the classic 30s era characters were pretty much background characters or MIA up from the mid-80s until the mid-90s.

Mickey was more or less famous for being famous and that's only really changed in the last five years or so.

Robby

Well, there was this short in 1995…

WbT7lhl9kpU

I love the way he says "lobotomy".

Ubiq

I thought of Runaway Brain, but I thought it was made for Mouse Works or House of Mouse.

Three major roles in 50 years doesn't change all that much though.

Satsuki

I don't get why Disney is so reluctant to do stuff with Mickey. He's their freaking mascot, they can afford to do something at least once a year.

Oh well. Here's hoping Epic Mickey does well.

Insider2000

There's also the 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse', which is a god awful toddler show that pretty much rips off the Dora the Explorer concept. It makes my nieces and nephew smile so, meh.

Really, the show isn't as torment filled as Dora the Explorer, but isn't as sometimes entertaining as Backyardigans.

Ubiq

@Satsuki:

I don't get why Disney is so reluctant to do stuff with Mickey. He's their freaking mascot, they can afford to do something at least once a year.

There really just isn't that much they can do with him. He was a really interesting, mischievous character back when he first came around, but Disney kept getting bombarded with complaints from parents about his antics. So they softened the character and made him more of a gentle, everyman sort. Unfortunately, they softened him so much that his only real use was straight man to Donald, Goofy, and Pluto.

There's just not a whole lot you can do with him when his character is like that; using him the way Disney did in the '40s and '50s basically means making him a side character to other characters and they're reluctant to do that for obvious reasons. Trying to revert him to the original Mickey is going to receive a lot of resistance; both from parents who don't like the idea of him getting into trouble and from people who insist that they're ruining the character.

Malintex_Terek

There's another option without nerfing his gentle, Disney could make him more like SpongeBob Squarepants.

…ahahahaha, I went there.

Retsudo

Has anyone here besides me heard Jafar's cut songs from Aladdin?

Humiliate the Boy and Why Me? to be exact.

Sai-chan

I have. But I have the platninum addition of the DVD that has all the deleted songs. One of my favorites is Proud of Your Boy. <3

Robby

@Retsudo:

Has anyone here besides me heard Jafar's cut songs from Aladdin?

Humiliate the Boy and Why Me? to be exact.

Yes. And they were cut for good reason. They weren't very good.

His twisted refrain of Prince Ali worked pretty well.

Satsuki

Collider got invited to a special press event at Disney promoting Tangled, and got to see an unfinished version of the movie (5% storyboard and 25% rough animation), and enjoyed it.

There's a two part run-down of the events, and an interview with Alan Menken and Zachary Levi.

Alan Menken Interview:
http://www.collider.com/2010/09/27/alan-menken-interview-tangled/

Zachary Levi Interview:
http://www.collider.com/2010/09/21/zachary-levi-interview-tangled/

Two-Part Report:
http://www.collider.com/2010/09/19/collider-visits-disney-animation-studios-tangled/
http://www.collider.com/2010/09/21/disney-animation-studios-tangled-set-visit/

KaizokuFan22

in a email i got today , on 11/30 Disney will be releasing 3 DVDs
Walt and El Grupo,Waking Sleeping Beauty, and The Boys: the Sherman Brothers Story.

Link:
http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/walt-el-grupo.html?cmp=dmov_dmr_emc_DOC101013_nonDM

Robby

Waking Sleeping Beauty? About time, I've been wanting to see that forever. It sounds fascinating.

Raider

Yes! Waking Sleeping Beauty is releasing. But on the same day as Epic Mickey…been waiting for the movie for a long time since I tried to catch the showings if they were in town, but they were only in Florida a few times. And on the same day! I guess I can spare a few more bucks...

Pochipochi

Waking Sleeping Beauty is a pretty neat film, mostly as a historical document. It's not a great documentary, but I'll be damned if it wasn't cool to watch.

Smudger

Everytime I visit this thread it results in me turfing out my dvd's and spending a large portion of my spare time watching disney marathons.

puts on aladdin

! lrWnXllf1JY

Rebecky_Mo

Nothing wrong with a good ol' Disney Marathon, Smudge, especially on a lazy Sunday.

Oh cool, Waking Sleeping Beauty's coming out. I never got a chance to see it in theaters, so I'll have to snag it from Blockbuster

Speaking of behind the scenes, anyone peek at the extras on the new Beauty and the Beast set? I liked the 'Beyond Beauty' documentary thing, and the peeks at what's coming up (my sister is psyched for Bambi and Lion King next fall.)

I was kinda 'eh' on the Jordin Sparks version of "Beauty and the Beast". I thought she was singing it well, but I wish the pace of it was slower. Liked that they put the old Celine & Peabo music video on it too.

Biggest surprise? The original 'Be Our Guest' rough animation, revealing it wasn't originally meant to be sung to Belle. (BUH?!) Not sure if I found the alternate opening though, the menus were kinda hard for me to read.

Ubiq

Now that I think back, I believe I saw Waking Sleeping Beauty listed as playing at the local arthouse. I wasn't familiar with it though and didn't check to see what it was about. Had I known, I definitely would have went to see it.

@Robecky_Mo:

Biggest surprise? The original 'Be Our Guest' rough animation, revealing it wasn't originally meant to be sung to Belle. (BUH?!)

Wasn't it originally sung to Maurice? Or am I thinking of something else? At any rate, having Maurice be the focus would have made a lot of sense as well.

Nobodyman

@Ubiq:

Wasn't it originally sung to Maurice? Or am I thinking of something else? At any rate, having Maurice be the focus would have made a lot of sense as well.

You know what always bugged me is that Belle never actually ate anything during that segment.

Sai-chan

She tasted one thing.

… that's pretty much it.

taboo

Try the grey stuff

it's delicious

We never even learn what the grey stuff fucking was!!!!

Ubiq

Considering that it's France, it was probably pate de foie gras. Explaining it would have just grossed out the target audience.

Nobodyman

@Ubiq:

Considering that it's France, it was probably pate de foie gras. Explaining it would have just grossed out the target audience.

That wouldn't happen to be French for "Pudding that's been crammed in the back of the fridge for ten years" would it?

Because that's what it looked like to me.

Rebecky_Mo

@Nobodyman:

That wouldn't happen to be French for "Pudding that's been crammed in the back of the fridge for ten years" would it?

Because that's what it looked like to me.

In a nutshell? It's duck or goose liver (which was especially fattened up due to force feeding the animal), all ground and mashed up with various herbs/spices/veggies, and is usually spread onto crackers.

Pate actually tastes better than it sounds. Really.