The World of Frozen

The official logo for Frozen

     Looks like Disney is slowly releasing more and more material for their next animated film, Frozen. First came the official logo with the news that Jennifer Lee was coming onto the film as co-director. Jennifer helped write Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen and is now joining Chris Buck as director. Very interesting move and I wonder why Disney decided to make that change.

     Next, Disney released the first official concept art image. Very beautiful and magical, also showcasing the two leads Anna and Kristoff. As you can see Anna has light reddish blond hair and Kristoff has blond hair. These character models are pretty close to the models I saw at the D23 convention.

     IMDB also listed some very interesting casting news. They reported that actor Josh Gad was to voice Olaf and that Johnathan Groff was rumored to play Kristoff. Josh Gad recently voiced the character Louis in Ice Age 4, so if you want to get and idea at what Olaf might sound like check that film out. Johnathan Groff is an amazing singer best known for his role as Jesse St James on the TV show Glee. However none of this casting has been confirmed, IMDB normally knows what's going on in the film business.


   

Official concept art from Frozen

So what do you think about all the Frozen casting news and photos? I personally think this film is coming along amazingly and will turn out to be one of Walt Disney Animation Studios finest films. If you haven't already, check out their latest film Wreck-It Ralph. This was my favorite animated film of the year and I can't recommend it enough! What was your favorite? Sound off in the comments below! "Goodbye! Goodbye now! Goodbye! Are they gone yet?"

News, Glorious News!

Wreck-It Ralph Logo.

     There hasn't been too much news around the world of animation recently but I have a few very interesting tidbits for you including photos from Frozen! Let's start off with Wreck-It Ralph, shall we? Opening to a fantastic 49.1 million, Ralph has continued to gain steam with a 10 day total of 93.7 million domestically! It held up well against Skyfall this weekend and here's hoping it can do the same this weekend against the final Twilight film. As Rise of the Guardians approaches quickly, Wreck-It Ralph needs to earn as much money as it can. Dreamworks Animation Studios next films looks extremely good and is set for the Thanksgiving weekend. As a holiday film with strong marketing, it will give Wreck-It Ralph a run for its' money. If you haven't seen Wreck-It Ralph yet, go see it!! It was so amazing, funny, and heartfelt and this years best animated film yet!

Lego film directors and writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

     Next up we have some voice casting news on Warner Bros. Lego film. With Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, and Morgan Freeman already signed on for the film Warner Bros. just announced that Will Farrell, Liam Neeson, Nick Offerman, and Alison Brie will also be cast in the film. Lego will center on a character named Emmet (Pratt), your typical Lego figure who is mistaken for a great warrior and joins a eclectic group of rebels on a mission to bring down an evil warlord known as President Business. Farrell will be Business while Neeson will be his right hand henchmen. Offerman will play a pirate seeking revenge on President Business while Brie will play a member of Emmet's crew. Lego is set for release on February 7, 2014.

Sony Pictures Animation Logo.

     Sony Pictures Animation has announced release dates for both Popeye and Hotel Transylvania 2. Popeye is set for release on September 26, 2014 while Hotel Transylvania 2 is set for September 25, 2014. This comes in the wake of Sony moving Cloudy 2 from a February 2014 release to September 27, 2013 release. I guess Sony Pictures Animation is attributing part of Hotel Transylvania's success to it's release date. Coming out on September 28 of this year, Sony has set all three of there upcoming releases for the same Friday of each year! I don't know how much that date really had anything to do with Hotel Transylvania becoming their number one animated film, but I guess Sony believes there is some magic in it!

Ralph's hair was very different in the final film.

     Finally, the most exciting news of the day! Recently Disney released pictures of the Destination D event celebrating 75 years of Disney Animation. Included in these photos were two pictures from the presentation about Frozen! These photos were officially released by Disney and I did not take them or leak them online. One of them is a storyboard of when Elsa accidentally reveals she has ice powers. Now remember that the character sketches in storyboards in no way suggest the final character look. Just use this Wreck-It Ralph storyboard for example. The Elsa character design I saw had long hair that was put into a braid. It was a white-blue color and went down to her waist, however that could change as well!

Director Chris Buck with a storyboard of Anna and Elsa.

     The next photo is even more exciting and shows the final character art work for the crazy snowman known as Olaf! This character was extremely funny when an animator came on stage with the puppet version shown. When Elsa runs away and builds herself a castle made of ice she also creates monstrous snowmen to keep people from coming to her castle. The very first one she made, however, was a mistake. The films director Chris Buck used an analogy of making pancakes. When you make that first pancake it's either too small or you burnt it or perhaps it splattered all over the place when you flipped it! Such is Olaf, the first snow creature Elsa created who turned out to be a goofy misfit rather than a terrifying monster.

Olaf's final character design.

     Well that's all the news for today! It will be interesting to see how Wreck-It Ralph can hold up and I wish it the best! In way of announcements, I will be posting an updated list of the 2013 animated film slate soon. Also, me and two of my friends will be starting a podcast. It won't talk exclusively on animation, but films, music, and games as well as anything else we can think of! However seeing as we will also talk about animation I figured I would post it here. If you have any suggestions of what you would like to hear us talk about, sound off in the comments below! Thank you so much for viewing and I hope you enjoyed! "Have some candy!"

Wreck-It Ralph - Review

     Wow! What an amazing film. Let me start out by saying this is a SPOILER FREE review. I won't ruin any of the film for you!! This film is so much better than I thought it was going to be and I had high expectations! This is the must see animated film of the year, I would be shocked if it doesn't win Best Animated Picture at the Oscars! The music was fantastic and fit all areas of the film perfectly. I find myself listening to Wreck-It Ralph's theme over and over again. Visually the film is absolutely gorgeous. You will not want to take your eyes off of the screen. Each world is distinctly different and even the way the 8-Bit characters move is fantastic and 8-Bit like. I would also recommend seeing it in 3-D. Normally I would tell you to save your money but this film was just so beautiful in 3-D and the effect was really amazing and added so much to the film.

     The story had me a little concerned at first jumping from world to world it was hard to really get attached to the characters. But once the film settles and progresses and there are more and more interesting things happening with our characters it just gets better and better. The ending of this film is absolutely amazing and I loved every minute of the film. Each one of the characters grow and I absolutely love that. Not only do they grow, but we can relate to them and see our selves in them and seeing them overcome trials that many people face everyday is truly inspiring. The film has such a good message!


     Speaking on the jokes, I know there was some concern. Fear not! This film is absolutely hilarious. I haven't laughed this hard in the longest time! For reference, let's talk about a gag that was in the trailer, "I bet you have to watch where you step in a game called Hero's Duty!" Hm... came off as a little childish duty humor, right? Well in the movie she keeps building on this joke! Coming up with more and more clever takes on it and it becomes really funny! Not a single joke fell flat and nothing was aimed at just kids. There are so many jokes that only adults will get! There are also jokes that only gamers will get, but fear not, this is not just a movie for gamers!! You will laugh at the jokes regardless, there are just some especially funny gags for people who play and know games.


     This movie was extremely imaginative and you can tell that so much thought and design went into these worlds and characters. Sugar Rush is absolutely beautiful and there are so many clever jokes and amazingly creative landmarks built from candy. It is incredible to think that everything in this world is made from candy in the most clever ways possible. I also want to say that Vanellope Von Schweetz is not an annoying character, nor is she what some may call an "annoying sidekick". She is everybit an important and main character as Ralph is and she is extremely relateble, adorable, and funny.

     I can't reccomend this film enough. This was seriously the best animated film of the year. It was absolutly amazing and I cannot wait to see it mulipule more times this weekend. You have to go see this film, it is that good. This film is destined to become a part of pop culture for a very long time, and you will probably be hearing jokes from this film being said for quite a while. Walt Disney Animation Studios certainly is proving that they have what it takes to be the number one animation company around, beating even Pixar. If they keep bringing films like this, Winnie the Pooh, and Tangled out then I truly believe that they could be going through another rennisance. Now a Golden Age requires all the studios to be A+, but I could see animation heading in that direction with Walt Disney Animation at the lead. "I'm gonna wreck it!"

News Update!

     Sorry for not updating very often! Lots of stuff to talk about! Let's start with Pixar, shall we? First up is Toy Story of Terror, one of the two 22-minute TV specials Pixar announced for the series! It shall premiere next October, most likely on ABC. Here is the official plot synopsis: 

     “What starts out as a fun road trip for the Toy Story gang takes an unexpected turn for the worse when the trip detours to a roadside motel. After one of the toys goes missing, the others find themselves caught up in a mysterious sequence of events that must be solved before they all suffer the same fate in this Toy Story of Terror.”

     Pixar also has a new movie scheduled for release on November 25, 2015. This would be the first year that Pixar released two films in one year. I find this very interesting and wonder if they will continue with this trend. I personally feel like it is harder for a studio to make two quality films every year. I guess we will have to see! Walt Disney Animation also has scheduled a new film for November 7, 2014. I'm really hoping that this will be John Musker and Ron Clements new film but who knows! 

     Blue Sky Studios has some very interesting news; they will be releasing a movie adaptation of Charles M. Shulz' Peanuts comic strip! Set to be released on November 25, 2015 (The same day as Pixar's new film, someone WILL change and my bets are on Pixar) it will be directed by Steve Martino (Ice Age 4) and written by Charles son, Craig Shulz. I'm super excited for this project, being a huge fan of Peanuts, and I'm really excited to see what Blue Sky can do with the property. They did an amazing job of adapting Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who and the visual style stayed true to Dr. Seuss' drawings. I feel like the same will be said for this Peanuts film.

     Sony Pictures Animation moved Cloudy 2 up from February 2014 to September 27, 2013. This is a welcome change to get the movie sooner, which is most likely due to Hotel Transylvania being such a huge, and Sony Pictures Animation's biggest, success, already making $187,300,000 at the box office. 

     Warner Bros. Animation is bringing Tom and Jerry back with a new TV show on Cartoon Network entitled The Tom and Jerry Show. I am thrilled for this project because I love Tom and Jerry and seeing them come back in a traditional way is very exciting. 

     And in closing I have some very exciting news! I will be seeing Wreck-it Ralph on Thursday, October 25! This means a spoiler free review will hopefully be posted on Friday! For any of you wondering how good this film is going to be, come back Friday to read my full review! "I'm Gonna Wreck it!"
      

Paperman

The Paperman logo

     Yes. I have seen Paperman and it is one of the most amazing shorts I have ever seen. Heck, probably the BEST short I have ever seen! Paperman is such a beautiful short and I can not wait to see entire films animated in this fashion. Not only that, but the music and the plot was amazing. Emotional, magical, and fun, this is what Disney is all about. Everything worked about it, and even though not a single word was said, I cared about these characters. I laughed, I was sad, I was happy, I was nervous, I felt everything these characters were going through, even though they never spoke! What a powerful piece of artwork, visually and emotionally.

     I have nothing but praises to say about Paperman. The entire short is about an ordinary man whose boring life is suddenly hit with a splash of color, quite literally, in the form of a girl he meets at the train station. The entire film is in black and white save for the girls red lipstick. His entire life is changed as he tries to get her attention, and through the power of magic and hope, anything can happen! This short alone would be worth the price of admission of Wreck-It Ralph, however that film as well looks absolutely amazing. After seeing all of the trailers and ten minutes of footage I cannot wait for November 2nd. If Wreck-It Ralph isn't a success it truly will be a shame for both films. Hopefully Paperman will win the Academy Award because it deserves all of the attention it can get. I know this is a short post but I just had to tell everyone just how amazing Paperman really is. Don't miss out on seeing it! Sorry for the lack of posts, I will try harder!

A Matter of Sequel

The horror, but...

        Sequels. In the world of animation, rarely is it a good idea to make a sequel to a film. Animated films aren't set up to be franchises, and while in some cases it works really well, Kung Fu Panda, Toy Story, Ice Age, for the most part it's purely a cash grab. The worst offender has to be that of the DisneyToon studios making poorly made sequels to hit films purely to make a cheap buck. The Walt Disney Animation Studios has only produced 4 sequels in all their 52 films, however the Disney corporation created the DisneyToon Studio to produce many a sequel, around a total of 35, to the Walt Disney Animation Studio's successful films. 

     Out of DreamWorks Animation's 25 films, 8 are sequels and out of Blue Sky Studios 7 films, 3 are sequels. Sequels are something that Pixar had only done once in the form of Toy Story 2, but there schedule is now becoming littered with them. The Toy Story Trilogy is amazing and I love every film, but a Toy Story 4 is absolutely unnecessary and would purely be to cash in on the billion dollar revenue the 3rd film pulled in. Similar to Ice Age 4, which was one of the worst animated films of the year, cashed in on the third film being so successful! Did it work? Yes, but a crappy film that tarnishes the franchise and the company. So what's more important, money or quality? 

     Now I understand that it is very hard for a company to survive financially so bringing in a lot of money to keep them a float isn't a bad thing, you have to do what you have to do. But was Blue Sky in such a bad situation that they had to force a fourth Ice Age out just to bring in almost a billion dollars? Or is that just 20th Century Fox telling them they have to make it because that's all the corporate heads care about? What about when a studio genuinely has a good idea for a sequel, is that appropriate? I think that is such a delicate situation, because you have to ask yourself as a film maker, "Why does this story need to be told with these characters?". Sequels tend to pose the question, "What can we make these characters do next?", and that is not putting the most important thing first, the story. 

...not as bad as this.

     In the case of DisneyToon Studios 35 sequels, it was purely for money and searching for what they could do with already established popular characters. The same thing happened with Shrek. The first movie? Great! The second one? Still great! The third one? I had to take a break halfway through I was so bored. I didn't even go see the fourth because it was ridiculous! There comes a time when you have to know when to quit. All 35 of those Disney sequels could disappear and I wouldn't particularly miss any of them. Did some of them turn out really well? Yes, they did. Were 30 disappointments worth it? No. 

     Now I know I was hatting on Ice Age 4 a little to harshly, it wasn't that bad, but it is a great example of pushing a franchise to far. DreamWorks Animation has a similar problem with sequels as they do churning out films. It's not a race! Why aren't they taking there time on these films? Two a year is plenty, three is down right unbearable. Not only does the quality of the films go down, but you feel like you are on an overload of DreamWorks and it almost becomes cluttered. This has kind of been a random jumble of thoughts on sequels but I needed to update the blog and the whole subject of sequels has been bugging me! I hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what you think below! And whoever thinks a bunch of sequels is a good idea? "You fired!!!"

Frozen

     Recently I had the amazing opportunity to attend D23's Destination D event celebrating 75 years of Disney Animation. It was the most amazing thing in the world and I have plenty to talk about. I have seen Paperman in it's entirety, and I have seen LOADS of Frozen art work, character models, story details and even heard a song from the film. Let me just say one thing, you should be extremely excited for this film. Now I'm not going to spoil everything I saw and heard there, but I will shed some light on some questions.
   
     The actually Snow Queen, Anna's sister, is NOT your typical, evil villain. Anna and her sister Elsa get along just fine, however Elsa has kept a secret her entire life, she has the power to control ice. She doesn't want people knowing this because there is a prophecy about a queen with a "heart of ice" who is going to destroy the kingdom. However when Anna messes up big time when Elsa is supposed to be becoming queen, Elsa unleashes her powers. Elsa runs away to the top of the mountain because everyone was so shocked at her powers. Elsa then curses the kingdom and puts it in everlasting snow.

Idina Mezel and Kristen Bell

   
     The song was absolutely amazing and I wish I could listen to it over and over again. The artwork is beautiful and the character designs all look fantastic. The song, entitled "Let It Go", really shows how Elsa just wants to get away from prophecies and people judging her and finally be free, so she wants to just let her old life go. Elsa is a wicked witch, she isn't a jealous sister, she is simply a girl who has feared she will be evil her entire life and now just wants to live on her own to avoid becoming the villain. This creates such a bigger dynamic than your typical villain and will make for a much more interesting plot.
   
     For those of you wanting some more traditional evil, fear not. Elsa creates snowmen monsters to guard her castle of ice atop the mountain. However these hideous beasts get out of control and are going to attack the kingdom. Worried about the design of these snowmen monsters? Fear not, they are absolutely fantastic. The entire audience gasped when the art work of the snowmen came up on stage. Huge snow beasts with spikes coming out of there bodies, all snarling with vicious growls.
   
     Overall Kristoff and Elsa have the best character design. Kristoff isn't your typical mountain man, he's blond, attractive, and muscular. Elsa has beautiful long, blue hair and is very stunning. Anna and Olaf look great as well, with Anna having red hair and freckles and Olaf being a goofy snow man with a bent carrot nose. This seems like it will have a great cast of characters, beautiful visuals, fantastic songs, and an amazing story that will be an emotional sister story.
   
     I will write another post about Paperman but for now let me just say this, best short film ever. The emotion, music, and art style are the best I have seen from any short and parallel that of full length films. Oh and uh, Big Hero 6? I wouldn't count on that coming from Walt Disney Animation Studios... "Let It Go."