Rhapsody In Blue Sky (Part Two)...

Ok, just when you thought it was safe...

Back with a sequel to yesterdays post. As happens a lot, I wanted to make this all one article, but I tend to talk too much. Yes, I know many of you will agree with that. So what I did was divide it into two parts. Yesterday's covered some of the more interesting post from January to June and today's post covers from July to December. Revolutionary idea, don't you think?

Without further ado...

Here's a post where I showed all of Pixar's most lovable characters... that weren't the leads in the films that we called "Pixar's Side Show" just because it sounded cute. Not that it fit the post, that was just a coincidence.

Another example of me fawning over John Lasseter in the post "The Midas Touch" was the reason for this one...

And then my discussion of the difference between "Disney Villains/Pixar Bad Guys" generated a fair amount of debate.

Then there was that little pictorial of the Emeryville Dream Factory known as "The Sactuary."

Not to mention another Blue Sky Buzz post titled "It's just a Fantasy" that focused on many of the proposals for Fantasyland in WDW's Magic Kingdom... sadly on hold.

Superhero Geeks/Fans would be interested in Blue Sky's review of the Green Arrow prison break script known as "Supermax."

And for fans of disney shorts, animated shorts or just shorts in general there was "The Long List of Shorts" if wanted to see how prodigious the Mouse was/is.

How about Decadent Dave's nostalgic article about Tron and his hopes for Tr2n entitled "Tron. Two. Point. Oh?"

Some really cool posters from the original Tron are here in the article "Selling the Future's Past."

Here's a post about the many names that Indy 5 could have been called that I labeled as "If Adventure had a Different Name."

More man-love for Lasseter here in "A Future so Bright." Yeah, I know... I got it bad for big guys in Hawaiian shirts.

If you ever wanted to know what could have come of Indiana Jones then read "Indiana Jones and What Came Before, Part 1" here. I know, you're asking where's part two? It's coming, it's coming... SOON.

For a look into what could be the future of Disney theme parks we have "Happenstance Part 1 and Part 2."

Then there's one of my posts about what makes Tokyo DisneySEA so awesome entitled "Building Better, By Example."

A post about Disney and the pressure will get from Universal when Harry Potter opens up in Florida I called "A Battle between a Wizard, a Mouse and the World Part 1" is here. And yes, I will have a Part 2, but it won't be till later in 2009. Or the broader post that was a pictorial of the competition that Disney faces called "The Competitors."

Or there was the Dark Period in Mouse films known as "Beloved, not Loved" where I talked a bit and posted a whole lot of pics of films during the time when the Disney company was directionless, without a true successor to the Maestro...

For what it's worth, we covered that big event Disney had in September where Dick Cook wowed all the press in this post called "Disney Open House."

Then when it seemed the bottom fell out of the economy we posted the Blue Sky Buzz post called "World Gone Wild" to the sadness of many a Disney Geek/Fan.

And Apple received some TLC in "The Metamorpheus" as if they really needed it.

Through the magic of YouTube I was able to show you the making of Tokyo DisneySEA in "SEAing is Believing."

Or Steve Jobs and his amazing turnaround of Apple in the past decade in Blue Sky's "Jobs Opening" post...

The logo/pictorial post that was "One House, Many Rooms" shows how far reaching and graphically pleasing the Mouse can be.

Yet another post about John Lasseter entitled "The Power and Influence of Success" that I really enjoyed writing.

Perhaps you missed Blue Sky's opinion put into list of the top 10 Disney villains called "The Best of the Worst you love to Hate."

Then there was the post I made that was really a link to a fascinating perspective by Jerry Beck called "Theory in Flux."

Or my discussion of how things have changed at Walt Disney Animation since the arrival of Uncle John/Moustro that I called "The Lasseter Era Begins."

How about Decadent Dave's post "Beyond the Black Hole" that was actually better than his Tron/Tr2n post IMO...

For the Film Geeks/Fans there was "The Black List" which talked about the 10 hottest scripts in Hollywood right now. Of course, it could change in ten minutes.

What I considered a very sad commentary on the end of Stevenotes entitled "The End of the World as we know it."

Then we have THX's "When George Lucas could do no wrong" pictorial post or my very own "What If" post about the possibility of an Indiana Jones cartoon called "Animated Jones and the Quest for Dini."

And lastly we have "Rhapsody in Blue Sky Part 1" which I...

Oh well, that was so, uhm. Yesterday. Nevermind.

Anyway, it's been a great year. I hope you enjoyed the commentary. Come back for more in 2009...

Top Ten Films Domestic/International 2008.

If money talks then these films spoke volumes...

2008 U.S. Domestic Box-Office Top Ten

1. The Dark Knight - $530.9 million
2. Iron Man - $318.3 million
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - $317.0 million
4. Hancock - $227.9 million
5. WALL-E - $223.8 million
6. Kung Fu Panda - $215.4 million
7. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - $174.9 million
8. Twilight - $167.3 million
9. Quantum of Solace - $164.3 million
10. Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! - $154.5 million


2008 Worldwide Box-Office Top Ten

1. The Dark Knight - $996.9 million
2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - $786.6 million
3. Kung Fu Panda - $631.9 million
4. Hancock - $624.4 million
5. Iron Man - $581.9 million
6. Mamma Mia! - $572.2 million
7. Quantum of Solace - $537.1 million
8. WALL-E - $507.3 million
9. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - $457.2 million
10. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - $419.6 million

Notice a little problem with that list? Only one Disney film on it... "Wall-E". And even that was from Pixar which the Mouse bought a couple years ago. This is quite a change from the last couple years where Disney had been at the top or near it...

Narnia isn't counted because it's mainly a co-production with Walden Media and they, not Disney, own the copyright. Here's to a bigger and better 2009.

Rhapsody In Blue Sky (Part One)...

With the year coming to a close I figured we would take this time to look back on some of the 600-plus posts that have been made in 2008...

I can't believe I logged that many but apparently I did with a little help from my friends. So let me take a moment to put the spotlight on several post that got a lot of comments/e-mail, you might have missed or that I simply think might be worthy of another look.

For those that would like to refresh themselves with how Tokyo Disneyland came to be we had the "Tales of the Orient Part 1 and Part 2."

Then there was an article that focused on all the complaints about the "cartooning" of the parks called "Too Much, Too Many, Too Little, Too Late."

Or the one post we did on the history of the Disneyland Hotel and how the Mouse got it called "How Much For A Room?"

Or the ones we did about the Disney Shorts' Title Cards that were labeled "Above the Title Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3"

Perhaps if you're a big fan of Tokyo DisneySEA like myself, then you'll remember the "Born Full Grown" article we posted earlier in the year...

Maybe you want to feel humble just looking at this list of Walt Disney's filmed achievements titled "Opus Disney."

How about the post discussing the influence of Steampunk, Burroughs, Wells and Verne on Disney in film and parks entitled "20,000 Leagues under the Influence."

For the movie-buffs we had "The 5 Best Scripts Hollywood Never Made" which generated quite a few e-mails.

Then there was the discussion of the importance of detail in a theme park entitled "Layering on the Narrative."

Or the post about how Lasseter was choosing directors for Disney animation versus Pixar animation known as "Two Versus One."

Perhaps a little bittersweet post about Pixar and life called "To Everything a Season" that was quite me being reflective and using Pixar as my inspiration. Or the "Finding Perfection" post which I enjoyed writing more...

Then there was the article about my perspective on the parks entitled "Work in Progress" which even got Corruption to give me a compliment. Thanks again, Corruption...

Or the Blue Sky Buzz post called "A Part of your World" about Walt Disney World getting a clone of "The Little Mermaid" attraction as well as several other interesting items that are unfortunately on the back burner till after the economy picks up.

And I can't forget to include the post I call my Mission Statement known as "Losing Focus."

Then there was THX's post "Star Wars Must Die" that got quite a few people upset.

As well as my own posts about George Lucas' empire and its future called "A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far in the Future."

Maybe you'd be interested in my perspective on how the Net has affected the Mouse for the better over the last decade or so with this post called "There are Know Secrets, anymore."

Or another rant I did called "Mine! Mine! Mine!"

Several post have been about what Disney could do, but this one labeled "The Disney Lands that Time forgot" was about what it didn't do...

Thoughts on Mickey here in "Redefining Mickey." Or getting an idea of what we have with DCA versus what we could have had in "Going through a Phase(s)."

Even my take on what will become of Indiana Jones in the aptly titled "What becomes of Junior."

Yes, it's been a busy year. I want to thank each of you for being interested in what we say here...

Part Two will post tomorrow, btw.

How To Be Andrew Stanton...

Creative Screenwriting Magazine's blog has a really nice interview with film maker/screewriter/Pixar Guru Andrew Stanton. Check it out, it's a really engaging discussion...

Hat Tip to The Disney Blog via Pixar Planet.

Mouse Premiers Guinea Pigs Today...

Keep an eye on the G-Force site at Disney.com today for the premier the new teaser trailer for Walt Disney Pictures' G-Force...

Strange. Every time I hear that name I keep thinking of something else. Hmmm, but...

Hehe. Talking CG animals... no, wait. Hehe. Talking hamsters... no, wait. Talking Guinea Pigs... Hehe.

Truthfully, it might be fun. I'll keep an open mind...

UPDATE: Uhm... it's up:

In Memorium: Lumiere (1935-2004)

The candle's flame went out...

Four years ago today, Jerry Orbach, Lumiere in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" passed away. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends...

100,000,000.00 Dog...

It's taken longer to get there than expected, but Walt Disney Pictures "Bolt" passed the hundred million dollar mark as of yesterday...

The film has already made more than "Meet the Robinsons," so that's an improvement. While Twilight took the wind out of it's sails during the opening days it's recovered to do decent business. Not what the Mouse would have liked, but it's gotten more respectable legs as time has passed. Hopefully It'll do good when the DVD/Blu-Ray is released early next year...

Good boy, Bolt. Good boy.

In Memorium: Catwoman/Yzma (1927-2008)

Whoa, this was weird...

I was driving home from an evening spent at the Happiest Place On Earth, sipping my Peppermint Mocha with the heat cranked up, listening to one of the stations that plays Christmas music 24/7 and on came Eartha Kitt singing "Santa Baby." I immediately thought to myself: "Wow, she's been around in the entertainment industry a long time." What a Showwoman.

And then I get home and read this...

Eartha Mae Keith or as we knew her, Eartha Kitt passed away on Christmas night. She was 81 years young. I remember her mainly from the 60's Batman television show where she took over the part of Catwoman from Julie Newmar. Most Disney fans will know her as Yzma, the villain from "The Emperor's New Groove." She leaves a daughter and four grandchildren behind.

May God be with them in this time of sorrow...

Noel...

To all of you from all of us here at Blue Sky Disney...

Have a very, Merry Christmas! Here's wishing your hearts be warm and your home filled with food, friends and family.

May Love and Joy come to you...

Mouse Not On Voyage...

Wow, no sooner than I mention that the Narnia makeover of the Muppets building at DCA is in jeopardy we get this news...

Walt Disney Pictures has decided not to pursue its option for the third Narnia film. This doesn't mean it won't happen, but Walden Media will have to find another partner. So the film may still come out, but it won't be a Disney picture.

Developing...

Blue Sky Buzz(Mini Update): Name Calling...

Since this is the traditional day we all gives gifts, I felt a small gift to you Disney Fans/Geeks of what is going on inside the Mouse might be appropriate...

Time marches on.

And so does the Disneyland Resort. The economic downturn has put a cramp into those plans the Mouse has had for more global expansion. As of now, it really hasn't canceled much, so much as delayed several projects. Disneyland has the luxury of having had its budget mostly planned out for a while now, which means it will hopefully be spared the brunt of the cuts from the corporate blade over the next few years(except the entertainment department which has received several cuts because of the slowdown). The Bothans have been busy, but nervous and not very talkative. I figured it was time to give you a bit of perspective and a smattering of news that may or may not change over the next year or two...

First off, you've noticed we talked a while ago about the possibility of DCA getting a name change by the tenth anniversary of the mistake... errr, I mean opening. Freudian slip there, sorry. Well, plans come and plans go and plans change sometimes comes in different ways. It appears that the current idea is to call the park:

Disney's California Adventure.

Nice ring to that. Sounds Familiar, doesn't it?

It appears the current line of thinking is to have the park themed to all the wonders that come out of California and to reflect it in the show details and rides. So just because Ariel is in the pier doesn't mean she isn't from the Golden State... Disney's version was born here. And that is the direction they seem to be headed. This isn't going to be a park celebrating California, it's going to be a park celebrating "Disney's" California.

Most of the project are moving ahead, but some of the things you see on that model in the Blue Sky Cellar(That's a nice name for a cellar, btw.) won't look the same by the time 2012 gets around. You already know that the Green Army Men parachute drop where Maliboomer is/was/will be? won't be going in. This model is almost three years old and is the original one presented during the first proposal to Iger. That's why the name on the Sun Wheel/Fun Wheel is different as well. The plans for the Maliboomer have fluctuated, but it appears as of now, because of the cost of removal the Maliboomer won't be going anywhere anytime soon. It's not scheduled for the dozer till at least 2011, if then. Since taking it out would result in far more cost than expected, this cost would have to come from the budgets allotted to other attractions and Imagineers don't want that to happen. So unless more money becomes available by that time expect to see a retheming of the attraction to match the Victorian sea-side pier it now inhabits. The Fun Wheel will not look the same either. Gone is the exterior walkway around the Fun Wheel with its two little gazebos, this is considered nice eye candy, but an expensive decorative effort that could be used in actual attractions and that is the reason people come... isn't it? The Imagineers have cut some of these thematic elements so as to have this money available for, say The Little Mermaid ride. Better to cut some of those areas than an actual attraction the Bothans tell me... and on this I agree. It's also not that we won't be getting a lot more theming because we will. These areas will have additional layers of detail added to them as the years go by. Should this expansion be successful, expect some of the theming to be worked into future budgets.

As for Mermaid and Carsland(now there's a name I want changed!), these projects are moving ahead at full speed. They will have very generous budgets and will be great crowd generators. I wish to say that it's my belief that DCA's first "Tokyo Disney" quality attraction will be Mermaid. It's going to be on par with Pooh's Hunny Hunt in TDL's Fantasyland or even the new Monster's ride in their Tomorrowland. And when that reproduction of Radiator Springs opens up you can expect a whole completely different perception of this park. It truly is going to be a shining jewel in the Imagineers' cap. Overall, the park has a bright future that will make it a very worthy sister-park in 2012... Not that there aren't/shouldn't be things that are in need of change, additional theming or removal. But that is for the Second Phase of expansion which depends on the success of the first.

Also, over in Hollywoodland(now known as Hollywood Backlot), the plans for the Muppets redo are still in flux as they decide if they're going forward with the Narnia retheme. The box office numbers were less than what the Mouse expected and it's not known if this or another planned attraction will move into the Muppets old home. Something will go there, but it may not be C.S. Lewis' children's fairytale.

The expansion/redo of the Disneyland Hotel is supposed to start late next year or at the latest early 2010, but that all depends on when it is announced. Right now the plan was for early next year to make the announcement but with economy it could be delayed. The tentative plan is to have the rethemed DLH up and going by 2012-13... again, all this depends on how quickly the economy gets firing back on all cylinders.

Now, some additional info about our parks in the East...

Tokyo Disneyland with the Japanese economy felt that those Urban Entertainment Centers(UEC) that WDI had been designing for the Oriental Land Company turned out to be financially unfeasible at this time. So they were shelved much to the disappointment of Imagineers. There are still plans underway for at least one E-Ticket for TDS in a couple years and the possibility of another couple D's if all goes well. As for Tokyo Disneyland, I haven't heard anything really noteworthy... at least not yet. We should start hearing more news come the first few months of 2009.

Hong Kong should see an announcement by next summer at the latest as the agreements between the city and Mouse should be finalized by the beginning of the new year. Hopefully the HK Officials won't throw anymore monkey wrenches in the plans. Also expect an announcement about the much rumored Shanghai park by late summer at the latest. I'd be surprised if not sooner. We should be pleasantly surprised by this park as the situation for it should come out dramatically different than HKDL.

Well, that's going to be it for now. The Bothans have been busy and much more tight-lipped than earlier this year. It appears that the economic climate means less work and with budgets tightening some could find themselves looking for work. This makes them a little more hesitant with the details. As the economy expands we should start to hear more news from both them and TeamDisney Burbank. Here's to a great 2009 for Disney and ourselves...

The Competition In 2009: New Monsters vs. Aliens Trailer...

There's a new trailer for Dreamworks Animation's "Monsters Vs Aliens" out over at MSN Movies...

Check it out. It's quite clever. Nothing like some good competition to make the Mouse work harder at getting us to pay for a ticket... We all win with better stories, better films.

Box In TR2N...

It appears that according to Coming Soon, Bruce Boxleitner will return to play in the sequel to the 80's cult film...

It's not known how big or pivitol the role is but according to his official website as well, he will return to play this crucial character from the original film.

Developing...

Fate/Coincidence?

Just after talking about that dream project of a Max Fleischer stylised "Indy" animated show comes news of the release of digitally remastered versions of the Superman shorts that Fleischer did back in the early 40's...

Wow. I've got these, but the chance to have pristine copies on my HDTV is too much to pass up. April 7th can't come soon enough!

Gee, Our First Shots Of Force...

Over at USA Today they've got the first shots from the Jerry Bruckheimer production "G-Force." While this film isn't exactly up my alley, it's far more appealing that the "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was story wise.

Give it a look...

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

Animated Jones And The Quest For Dini...

This isn't a rumor, it's a dream...

I grew up on Batman, I as a teen I was in love and amazed by Batman: The Animated Series" and Paul Dini and Bruce Timm are some of the most under appreciated talents in Hollywood if you ask me. My friends and I have had long discussions about what should become of Batman once Nolan no longer helms the features(perish the thought!). My idea has to go with a live action take with Dini and Timm that stays dark but doesn't stick to the reality based version starring Christian Bale. I believe any film like that will be compared, unfairly or not, to the current films and will always be a disappointment. So go the opposite way I say...

Anyway, if you remember my post "What Becomes Of Junior," you'll remember I said that they should do an animated series with the famous Archaeologist based on the Republic Serials/Max Fleischer style. Well, it appears I'm not the only one who feels that way. It's also an idea of Dini's and he happens to be working for Lucas right now on Clone Wars. He did an interview with The Force.Net and says as much in the latter part of the interview. My hope is that since he's much closer to Mr. Yoda than me he'll bend his ear and get this project going. It sounds like something out of my most personal, wildest fantasies. Kind of like what "Raiders" was for me. Please George, if you're listening... DO THIS. DO this! For the sake of the fans...

Please.

Hat Tip to The Raider.Net.

* The artwork used here is by Patrick Schoenmaker, I believe. *

The Competition In 2009: New 9 Trailer...

Well, it appears that Tim Burton isn't doing animation with just the Mouse...

Focus Features CG animated film "9" being done by Ken Duncan Studios(based on the Oscar winning short) has its first teaser out. It's really a very interesting, dark work that we're given a tease of. I'm a fan of the short after a friend turned me on to it and I can't wait to see the film when it comes out on 9/9/09. Clever, huh?



Hopefully the film will be as creative as the short. It won't be for lack of talented animators working on the film, that's for sure.

Interesting...

In Memorium: VHS (1977-2008)

Today we bid farewell to VHS...

He was only thirty-one years old. I knew him well. I grew up with him. All my friends played with him. He always did us favors. And he never forgot, although occasionally he'd loose things. I'll miss him. I almost feel bad that I lost touch with him in the late 90's when I met this new guy named DVD. Of course, now I don't hang out with him nearly as much since I met Blu-Ray...

Am I fickle? A fair weathered friend, perhaps?

It appears in this article over at JoBlo that the last distributor dealing in VHS tapes has shut down. It's over. No more tape. VHS is dead...

Long live VHS.

When George Lucas Could Do No Wrong...

I Remember that time growing up when George Lucas was a god. He was this mythic film maker. He dove into my mind and pulled out the most wondrous things and then put them on the screen. This was before "Return of the Jedi" or even "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." This was the edgy, Avant-garde man whose name was golden. This was before I knew he was human. Before you could see his faults. Before "The Turn" that Honor talks about.

This is a short journey down that road. Into a past I still remember, from a present I wish to forget. Before he gave plaid a bad name.



THX-1138: Writer, Director, Producer.



American Graffiti: Director, Producer.



Star Wars: Writer, Producer, Director.



More American Graffitti: Story, Producer.



The Empire Strikes Back: Story, Producer, Executive Producer.



Kagemusha: Executive Producer.



Raiders of the Lost Ark: Story, Producer, Executive Producer.



Body Heat: Producer(uncredited)

Not to mention several other blockbusters which touched his influence in the late 70's and early 80's. But that was a different time. A different place than where we find ourselves today.

Black Holes & Revelations...

Walt Disney Productions "The Black Hole" was released twenty-nine years ago today...

The film was Ron Miller and the Disney Suits attempt to cash in on the Star Wars craze. Sadly, it didn't work. The film wasn't a success, but has slowly turned into a cult classic. There has been rumors that the Mouse might be working on a sequel(Ala: TR2N) or re-imagined version(Ala: Race to Witch Mountain). Either way, any such production would be in the earliest of stages. But if you happen to own a copy of this old film from a long ago era... pop it in. It might hold a few surprises amongst the cheese.

You might even enjoy it...

Oh, and if you didn't read it, check out Decadent Dave's "Beyond the Black Hole" from earlier this month. It's a great read.

Snow Seventy-One Years Before Christmas...

On this day, seventy-one years ago...

At the Carthay Circle Theater, Walt Disney premiered his new animated feature: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Nothing like it had ever been attempted before. The film was a box office and critical hit. The film made so much money for Walt that he used a good deal of it to purchase a plot of land in Burbank to build a new, larger studio than the one he occupied at 2719 Hyperion Avenue near Silver Lake.

The world we live in today has many, many animated films and people sometimes take it for granted, but back in 1937 it was a bold risk to take. The other studios had thought Walt was crazy and labeled his idea of turning his shorts into a full length motion picture "Disney's Folly".

They underestimated Walt...

It was something people would continually do to him...

History shows how visionary Walter Elias Disney was. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go put a certain film in my PS3(I'll have to wait for that new Blu-Ray version of Snow White to fully experience the greatness of this film, agggggh!). I've left my HD Television waiting and it's calling me. I think this movie will go perfectly with this big soda and freshly popped bag of buttered popcorn I'm holding. I'm just waiting for my friends to get here and as usual, they're fashionably late. Fashionably...

TTFN

Gates Of Power, Gates Of Opportunity...

It appears that Steve Jobs and John Lasseter have made Newsweek's Top 50 Global Elite List...

They're numbers 34 and 35 respectively. Not bad for a couple guys that had been fired a couple decades ago by the companies they now run.

Life is funny that way, isn't it?

The Latest Jobs Report...

No, this isn't an article on the state of the economy...

There's a great deal of buzz going around after Apple's major, double-wamy announcement about Macworld/Steve Jobs made the papers, wires and Net.

We received a few interesting e-mails about it and I found several interesting articles online.

Wired Magazine has an interesting article about the whereabouts of Mr. Reality Distortion Field himself as does a story over at Fortune. Then there's a post over at Fortune's Apple Blog about why the Fruit Company is better off without Macworld. It's going to be a curious ride for Apple all the way through the first week of January when we experience Phil's deflowering at his headlining keynote.

Interesting times lie ahead...

Agent Of Chaos Spoils Event...

IT WAS A VERY DARK KNIGHT INDEED.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. We AREN'T tonight's entertainment.


Tonight Warner Bros. held their much hyped BD-Live community screening of The Dark Knight with director Christopher Nolan coinciding with the release of TDK on Blu-ray last week for the first 100,000 people who registered their copy and created a BD-live account to secure their virtual seat to the event. I was excited when I received the invite via e-mail so I did what any red-blooded movie geek would do and called in sick to work, ordered a pizza, and kicked back expecting to spend the evening watching The Dark Knight with Christopher Nolan in my living room. Yeah, right.

What I was expecting from BD-Live and what it turned out to actually be were TWO very different things. In my mind I was expecting some kind of picture-in-picture live commentary with the director as seen on many of the format's better commentary features while answering questions submitted by viewers through the internet. Well, the second part was right. Nolan answered many questions but his presence via a crude onscreen scrolling text message window similar to participating in an internet chatroom. It was very disappointing to say the least.

Unfortunately, the BD-Live community event was, I have to say it, a big JOKE. The event was plagued with numerous networking problems. Several times I had to exit out and log back in which would take several minutes to rejoin the event in progress. A few occasions the network moderator (who has control over your Blu-ray player playback functions) would pause the disc and a message onscreen would say that they were having network problems or just taking a 5 minute break and would resume again in a few minutes. The text window would constantly disappear after several minutes and I would have to exit back out to the login screen and log back in. It was constant start-stop-start-stop again. After staring at a frozen image of Batman overlooking a building in Hong Kong for 5 minutes without having received any further messages from the moderator, I became frustrated and exited back out to the main login screen and had to log back into my BD-live account to resume again, already in progress, having completely missed Heath Ledger's boardroom entrance as the Joker. By that point it just wasn't funny anymore.

This event was a total disaster for BD-Live trying to promote the interactive networking functionality of Blu-ray to consumers through a very crude text-messaging interface. When I registered my disc last week, I perused the online bonus features available which I thought were also very underwhelming: trailers presented in small flash-sized windows, not at full HD resolution, and a series of online comic book flash movies again presented in small windows that I had to squint to look at on my big screen HD display. I was already unimpressed with the BD-Live content available but having been given a chance to participate in the live screening event, I thought that it had the potential to prove itself to be something much greater than it was but unfortunately turned out to be a an Agent of Chaos. I can only hope that whatever bugs in the system are worked out in the future because the potential for live networking interactivity is there, unfortunately the tech just isn't up to even Batman's sophisticated standards.

This city deserves a better class of interactivity.

More Tron 2Bits...

Movie Geeks United has an interview with cinematographer Claudio Miranda("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Fight Club," "Tron 2"), in which he talks about the new Brad Pitt film, but toward the end of the discussion he talks about filming "Tron 2" and how they're going to be using actual sets. Can you imagine that? Sets. In a film? Wow...

Seriously, it's really news because everyone thought that most if not all of it was going to be virtual, but according to Miranda there's going to be a sizable portion filmed in the real world. I'm fascinated by the process this film is taking and can't wait when we start to get images of the actual sets and stars.

Developing...

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

Wall-E Wins Again, The Chicago Way...

That little cleaning robot is cleaning up again...

The Chicago Film Critics Association has named Pixar's "Wall-E" as its Best Picture of the Year. I sense some building heat on the Academy.

Before The Dark Times, Before The Empire...

You know, I remember watching a special on cable about how Star Trek had affected popular culture/history called "How William Shatner Changed the World" a few years ago host by The Shat. It was clever take on how the theoretical technology used in the show helped shape the minds of a generation and thus helped create the world we live in and now take for granted...

Well, over at Computer World they've got a similar one on how the Star Wars Universe has affected technology in the thirty years since it opened up. A very nice read. It's nice to see that George Lucas's creation was such a touchstone of what was coming. Maybe, just maybe he was more revolutionary than I give him credit? Perhaps now I'll forgive him for "The Phantom Menace."

No, I don't think so. Not even after this...

Retrography: The 70's...

Seeing Surrogates...

Your first image of Bruce Willis in Touchstone Pictures "Surrogates" is now up over at Coming Soon.

He looks surprisingly like... Bruce Willis. You'd think Bruno could wear a toupee in some of his films so as look different for each role? Like, oh I don't know, what an actor would do. Seriously, I didn't like seeing Mr. Clean walking around trying to pretend to be John McClane in Die Hard 4(I refuse to call it by that ridiculous name). I mean, if you're worth a bagillion dollars couldn't you get plugs? Or at least wear a different looking rug for some of your roles every once in a while?

Check it out, give it a looksie for yourself and if you want a sneak at what the actual Surrogates will look like then click over to io9's pics from last summer. I'm sure we'll get plenty more before the September 25, 2009 release date.

Developing...

TR2N In 3D2?

A source has apparently revealed that "Tron 2" will be shot entirely in 3D. They'll even be able to watch the scenes as they are filming them with glasses using this process...

I can't wait to see an official trailer for this film. I expect it to knock everyone's socks off.

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

Up On Up...

Those guys over at CHUD were lucky enough to be at AICN's Butt-Numb-A-Thon and got to see about forty minutes of "Up" footage...

They came away very, very impressed. This is the second time I've seen someone who's seen this footage crow about it online. I've also received a good deal of e-mail from others that have commented about it as well. It seems the scene with Carl and his wife is the one that everyone comes away being touched by most. Pete Docter's next film, like all Pixar films is already gathering buzz. Very positive buzz.

Looking forward to this one...

The End Of The World As We Know It...

Nothing is permanent but change...

As time marches on you see people pass away, buildings fall and culture evolve. There is nothing that lasts. That should be humanity's epithet really. But no matter how much you realize it, that little phrase doesn't hit you until events make you pause for perspective.

I've been watching Steve Jobs since his original introduction of the Macintosh back in 1984. Yes, I'm that old. But to be fair, I was just a cute little tyke back then. But I've been an avid(some would say religious) observer of him since he came back to the company in 1996. His Keynotes are the highpoint of those festivals of Mac Geekdom we call Macworlds. Watching him get up there and spin even the most trivial new feature into the greatest creation of mankind is fun, frustrating and entrancing all at once. It's been known for a few years that Apple was getting tired of the show and was thinking about leaving them altogether. They stopped doing the ones in Boston/New York several years ago, but the San Francisco ones are almost an annual pilgrimage. Where the faithful journey up to the Moscone Center for the annual introduction of this year's Cool Thing. Everyone always waiting for Steve to say: "Oh, and one more thing..."

That has all now ended even before it really has. If you follow Jobs and Apple you'll notice that the last few appearances he's made were suspiciously shorter than in earlier years. He's started to allow others more and more time on the stage. Phil Schiller has always been like a Robin to his Batman, but hey, he's Robin. I don't go to see Robin. Well, it was just announced that Jobs will not be delivering the Keynote in January's Macworld... Phil will deliver it instead. Not only that, but this will be the last one that Apple attends. No more. Some people say that they're doing it because the Internet makes these trade shows obsolete. Others are saying that the company is planning on starting their own shows. One that can be controlled more(if that were possible) by the little fruit company. Still, there are some like me that feels this is really the preparation for a life without Steve Jobs at the helm. He may be the largest share holder in the Walt Disney Company, but his heart, his soul are at Apple and it's almost unfathomable to think of the computer company, scratch that, the electronics company without thinking of him guiding it.

While I'll look forward to what new devices, gadgets and gizmos they come out with in January, I won't be looking forward to the Keynote like I use to. As nice and competent as Phil Schiller is, he's not Steve Jobs. It's like comparing Ron Miller to Walt Disney... there's no comparison. Jobs generates excitement, he makes you care about what he's talking about. Which in turn makes you care about him...

I'm going to miss that when Macworld 2009 begins in January. There's going to be a large room filled with thousands of people, but somehow that room is going to feel really empty this time...

Cast2n Beg2s...

TR2N or TRZ or Tron 2:The Revenge of Bill Gates or whatever they call it has begun casting...

It appears with theses steps the script and everything is in place as the feature continues into pre-production. The sequel to the cult classic "TRON" is scheduled to begin filming early next year(read: late March/early April, 2009) with a tentative release in 2011. These are primarily minor roles, but expect some of the more well known talent to be announced by the beginning of the year.

Developing...

Scrooge's Silver Anniversary: Disney Style...

Twenty-five years ago today, Walt Disney Productions released their animated version of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol," appropriately as Mickey's Christmas Carol...

This old classic holds up very well on new viewings and if you haven't seen it in years then this is the perfect time of year to give it a look. It was released in the UK on October 20, but officially it came out on this date in America with the re-release of "The Rescuers." After not being on screen for nearly thirty years, Mickey returns in grand form. I prefer this to his next outing "The Prince and the Pauper" in 1990.

So grab some eggnog, something good to eat, pop in the DVD and watch it with friends during this joyous season...

Thundering Forward...

Those of you that remember my post a while back about the "The 5 Best Scripts Hollywood Never Made" will be glade to know that one of those projects is moving forward...

The Mighty Thor, or just Thor is progressing further in pre-production and has gotten a fantastically perfect person to direct it. Kenneth Branagh, who I think is near perfect to adapt this material, but the only downside is...

It won't be the script I was talking about. As good as it was, it apparently wasn't good enough for Marvel and they, along with Branagh are moving forward with another script. Hopefully it'll be as good as the Mark Protosevich draft, but I doubt it. Although they do have a great screenwriter working on it, I'm biased.

Here's hoping...

Robot & Millionaire Tie...

And the awards keep coming...

The Boston Society of Film Critics has awarded their Best Picture of 2008 to both "Wall-E" and "Slumdog Millionaire." Another feather in the hat of the Mouse and more reason to pursue a nomination for Best Picture at the Oscars this year. Of course, it'll never win. The Academy looks down on animation, but it's worth nominating because of the accolades the little robot has gathered. Oh, and if you get a chance to see it, Millionaire is an amazing movie in its own right...

Up Updated...

Pixar Animation Studios 2009 release of Pete Docter's film "Up" has had its website updated...

Lots of flashing animation and upcoming clips. Have a look...

AFI's Top 10 Films Of 2008...

The American Film Institute has come out with their top ten films of 2008 and a little robot lies somewhere inside it...

AFI TOP 10 Movies(in alphabetical order):

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The Dark Knight.
Frost/Nixon.
Frozen River.
Gran Torino.
Iron Man.
Milk.
Wall-E.
Wendy and Lucy.
The Wrestler.

Pixar's Goofy...

If you've seen "Bolt" in 3D this weekend, then you've probably seen "Tokyo Mater" in front of it. It's a fun, clever short that utilizes two things the Mouse really values.

3D and Mater.

The company along with many of its competitors are banking on Three-Dee being the thing that will preserve and shield theatrical releases from the onslaught of HDTV and Blu-Ray. I'm still skeptical as to it being the hero here. I tend to think the best defense is a good offense, which in this medium means story. Story, story, story. Having said that, I have to remind myself that the Super Dog got his butt handed to him a few weeks ago by some rather wimpy, romantic vampires. Oh well... the only thing constant is change.

Anyways, the other thing is Mater. He's the most popular of the cast of "Cars," stealing the scenes he was in(Just like Rhino, I might add). He sells a ton of merchandise and there's a reason he's the one they've made these new "Cars Toons" shorts with. He's funny and endearing and he puts people in the seats.

When the film was well in production Lasseter was heard having remarked that they've now created Pixar's Goofy. And he was right. Spot on if you ask me...

The shorts that premiered on the Disney Channel along with the latest one that was released theatrically are the modern equivalent of the old Goofy "How To" shorts, with Mater offering a sort of "How I wished it would have happened" kind of story. We can expect to see more of these and others in the future and you can probably expect him to play a more focal part of "Cars 2" than he did in the original. And if you love him, you're gonna loooooove going to DCA in about three and a half years, but that's a story for a later date.

You'd think for someone working so much, Mater would be able to afford a new paint job, wouldn't you?

Decadent Dave's Blue Sky Disney Mini-Review: Punisher Warzone

I remember when I was 17 and The Punisher was the personification of all of my rebellious teenage angst. I remember the painted covers of The Punisher Magazine with larger-than-life Frank Castle armed to the teeth laying down brutal carnage

Ray Stevenson was literally ripped from those covers to become the manifestation of The Punisher. Jigsaw is the flip side of Frank. He's literally insane. But unlike Ledger's Joker which was played with disturbing menace, Dominic West takes it so far over the top that he plays it like a campy Dick Tracy goon. It's a bipolar film of manic extremities but Stevenson is the first to get it right.

Dolph and Jane played him like a pissed off normal guy having a bad day. Stevenson is a force of nature. Like Rambo he's a one man army. That is how the Punisher always was. I had long forgotten what had made the Punisher seem so cool at that age and Stevenson reminded me of why The Punisher was such a cool character back in high school.

For years I've thought about selling all of my comics and magazines and pushed them aside as nothing more than juvenile teenage fantasies but now I want to go back up into the attic and dig them all out and experience that cathartic teenage rage all over again.

Odds & Ends, Bits & Piece 3: The Missing Links...

I thought we'd take this opportunity to explore some of what we missed in our last "OEBP" post...


Alain over at Disney and More has posted a huge collection of photos showing why Disneyland Paris is beautiful during Christmas. And don't forget to click over now that he's finally put up that article about TDL's Monsters Inc. ride. I'm sure you'll be impressed.

The guys over at Laughing Place have a great five page spread with photos from their newest issue of Tales From The Laughing Place Magazine. It's got some nice images and info on Disney's Animal Kingdom.

For those of you that love Uncle Scrooge and are fans of Ducktales then you might want to have a look at the original cartoon, "Scrooge McDuck and Money" that was done in the Sixties as the first animated outing of Carl Barks' legendary character. Part 1, Part 2.

And for those that are into such nostalgia and remember tuning in to watch the Wonderful World of Disney, here are several opening throughout the decades that bring back warm feelings...

A nice 60's opening to the WWOD when it was know as Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color is here.

An early 70's opening is the decade of confusion after the passing of Walt is here.

A late 80's opening when Michael Eisner could do no wrong is here and a late 80's/early 90's intro to the Disney Sunday Movie here.

An early 90's opening with the Mouse riding high from the Disney Afternoon and the expected opening of Euro Disneyland can be found here and here.

And speaking of the Disney Afternoon, here's that opening as well. Ahhh, for those early 90's days of Disney animation syndication!

And do you remember those early commercials for DCA? You know, the ones that were broadcast to show this new theme park that Disney had created for us? The one that couldn't fail because we would accept anything with the "Disney" name on it? No? Well if you haven't seen them they're here and here. Eisner and Pressler really had no clue, did they?

Oh, and if you ever checked out the early part of those VHS tapes(what are those?) in 2000 then you would have gotten to see this teaser for Disneyland's new sister park.

It's amazing what can happen over seven years, ain't it?

Well, that was nice. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do some Christmas shopping...

The Black List...

No, it's not what you're thinking...

This is not the list of people in Hollywood that were banned from working in the industry during the 50's because of the Red Scare.

This is the list of suggestions from over 250 film executives(read: Suits), who each gave the names of their ten favorite scripts that had been read, bought or not, but hadn't been made/shown in 2008.

For those of you that found BSD's "The 5 Best Scripts Hollywood Never Made" post appealing, this is for you:

Number One: The Beaver by Kyle Killen

Walter Black, a depressed toy manufacturer, loses his family and his business. But then Walter tries on a hand puppet—a chatty British rodent called "The Beaver"—and his personality is transformed. It’s all good at first, but things turn ugly when the puppet won’t let go. It’s Like: Liar Liar fused with the horror movie Magic. Status: Steve Carell is attached to play Walter.

Number Two: The Oranges by Jay Reiss and Ian Helfer

Two New Jersey families are thrown into comic turmoil when the prodigal daughter returns for Christmas and falls in love with her parents’ best friend. It’s Like: The Graduate engaged to Meet the Parents. Status: Anthony Bregman (Thumbsucker) and MRC will produce. Julian Farino (Entourage) is negotiating to direct.

Number Three: Butter by Jason Micallef

Destiny, a black foster child, faces off against Iowa’s reigning dairy diva, the beautiful but venal Laura Pickler, in an epic butter-carving competition for the ages. It’s Like: Election swirled with Best in Show. Status: Jennifer Garner is in talks to play Laura, while DreamWorks is in early negotiations for the project.

Number Four: Big Hole by Michael Gilio

Lee, an old, grumpy ex-cowboy, loses $30,000 to a fraudulent sweepstakes company and sets out to punish those responsible. Lee’s son, the local sheriff, is charged with stopping him. It’s Like: Falling Down splattered with No Country for Old Men. Status: Project is set up with Aversano Films (Failure to Launch).

Number Five: The Low Dweller by Brad Ingelsby

Charlie "Slim" Hendrick, a don’t-eff-with-me ex-con, returns home to find that his sweetie has moved on and his bitter brother has gambling debts. When a disfigured, dog-loving thug beats his sibling to death, Slim seeks vengeance. It’s Like: Unforgiven, only less geriatric. And much less forgiving. Status: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Tony and Ridley Scott will co-produce.

Number Six: F***buddies by Liz Meriwether

Emma and Adam have the best relationship ever! They’re twentysomething pals who, you know, do it. A lot. But then Adam goes and falls in love with Emma and ruins everything. Can their perfect non-union survive? It’s Like: When Harry Met Sally… for the Juno generation. Status: Ivan Reitman’s company is developing it.

Number Seven: Winter’s Discontent by Paul Fruchbom

After the death of his wife of more than 50 years, irrepressible horndog Herb Winter sets out, at age 75, to find sexual fulfillment with another woman. Or, if possible, several. It’s Like: Superbad set in a retirement community. Status: The film is set up at Sony. No director or star is attached.

Number Eight: Broken City by Brian Tucker

The New York mayor asks private eye Billy Taggart to find out if the mayor’s wife is cheating on him. She is, with the campaign director of the mayor’s political rival, no less, who soon turns up dead. Did Billy’s investigation lead to murder? It’s Like: A modern L.A. Confidential peppered with Glengarry Glen Ross patois. Status: Being developed by the producing team behind Juno.


Number Nine: I’m With Cancer by Will Reiser

Adam, a 25-year-old single Jewish dude, is diagnosed with spinal cancer. Hilarity ensues. Seriously. It’s Like: The 40 Year-Old Virgin with chemo. Status: Seth Rogen will produce and has signed on to play Adam’s best bud.

Number Ten: Our Brand Is Crisis by Peter Straughan

A team of American political operatives moves to Bolivia to take on a flailing presidential campaign. Loosely based on the 2006 documentary of the same name. It’s Like: Primary Colors picked The Motorcycle Diaries as a running mate. Status: George Clooney’s company will produce it.


And one that was on the list(there were many more than ten, just so you know) Iron Jack happened to be an interesting read and could go on my own personal Black List were I to have one this year...

TTFN

WOW-E...

Wow...

Now this was an upset.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named "Wall-E" the winner of its movie of the year award. Runner up went to a little independent film called "The Dark Knight".

Add to this Time magazine naming the little robot its number one film of 2008 as well and double wow...

It's gotten all kinds of awards and great review kudos, but I'd have to say this definitely gives the Mouse a BIG reason to try for the Best Picture nomination at the upcoming Oscars.

Developing...

ABC Gives Exiled Chance...

The ABC Television Network is ordering up a pilot based on the Vertigo Comic "Fables." I've actually read a couple of these issues, so I know a little bit about it. I'm not an expert, by far, but it is an intriguing story. if done properly this could turn out to be a clever piece of work to enjoy.

Of course, if the Suits tinker too much with it...

Pixar Short, Disney Film...

Starting this Friday, December 12th you can catch the "Cars Toons" Short, "Tokyo Mater" in front of prints showing Walt Disney Pictures "Bolt"at your local theater.



It should be pretty entertaining... and it blurs the line between what is and what isn't a Disney film as the characters become more integrated. Not to mention that it's fun to have a short in front of Disney's animated films again. Besides the mistake in thinking "Twilight" wasn't going to be a threat and canabalize the same market Bolt was going for, I believe removing "Glago's Guest" from the front of the film was an error as well... We'll see where it winds up soon though.




For those that haven't seen the film, you now have another reason to buy a ticket...

UPDATE: Moriarty over at Ain't It Cool News has an article with a couple of hi-res images from the short up you might want to see.

UPDATE 2: It appears Latino Review has another pic as well and a review of the short. Thanks, El Guapo.

UPDATE 3: And over at Rotten Tomatoes you'll find another exclusive pic and review of the film as well. Those Disney publicity people really know how to get the word out, don't they?

UPDATE 4: Coming Soon now has an article up along with a couple exclusive pics also... Man, if only the Mouse had done as good a job marketing the movie as they are this short!

Awakenings Past Remembered...

This day, sixty-seven years ago...

On a lazy, Sunday morning quite like this one while most were asleep, the United States suffered a surprise attack by Imperial Japan on our naval station at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. 2,403 people lost their lives, 1,178 were wounded in that attack and America was plunged into the Second World War the very next day when Congress, at the urging of President Roosevelt, declared war on Japan.

We honor those that lost their lives and thank them for their sacrifice.

Release Dated...

Nuff said...

Dreams Were Born Today...

Inside a small cottage on Tripp Avenue in the bustling city of Chicago, one hundred and seven years ago today...

Walter Elias Disney, a son, was born to proud parents Elias and Flora Disney. For that bundle of joy, the world owes them a debt which can never be repaid.

Happy Birthday, Walt. You left the world a better place, a more joyous place. A fun place...

Small Creators Sell Salisbury To Disney...

Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of the WB/CW hit "Smallville" are set to make their directorial debut with a film for Walt Disney Pictures titled: "Salisbury." The tale is the supernatural story of a gang of youths.

The duo were recently writing Disney's "Jungle Cruise" adaptation and have been working on "Robotech" for Warner Bros. to develop. These guys also wrote the original draft of "The Mummy 3," which didn't suck near as much as the movie did.

Interesting...

Of Mice & Dragons...

The Walt Disney Company's gaming division, Disney Interactive has signed a deal with the Chinese developer NetDragon to create multiplayer online games involving a vast collection of Disney characters. What kind of internet/interactive web adventures can we expect from this deal?

I have a feeling by the end of this decade we'll find out. Sometime in late 2010 more than likely. I wonder if some of these new games will have tie-ins at the new and improved HKDL? Or somewhere else in China? Well, I'm not sure about that one. There's still some agreements to be signed soon and things could change(cough, 2009, cough 2009). We'll have to wait and see.

Developing...

A Fifth Outing For Jones?

The guys over at Coming Soon have gotten an interview with the original Yoda and have asked him the question he never gets asked: "Will there be a fifth Indiana Jones film?"

It's interesting to see that he does want to continue even after he did such a great job last time...

Of wiping away the nostalgia I had for my favorite film character.

If anything, it will be made as a form of redemption for the sadness that he put me through watching IJATKOTCS. Perhaps they could call it "Indiana Jones and the Search for George Lucas' Soul?" No? How about "Raiders of the Lost Art of Film Making?" No? How 'bout...

Well, you get my drift.

I've loved so many Lucas projects since my childhood, but that was before "The Turn". More about that in a future post. Later this week I should have a part two for you on "Indiana Jones and What Came Before," but be warned that it ain't purty.

Anyways, hopefully some good will come out of this. I can at least cross my fingers and rub my lucky rabbit's foot and close my eyes and wish there's no place like home, while clicking my ruby slippers...

Sigh, I hope it works.

Mickey's Replacement...

It appears that Jay Baruchel("Tropic Thunder," "Knocked Up") is up for the part of the title role in Walt Disney Pictures live action "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" according to Variety.

The production will work from a screenplay by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal that Matt Lopez did a rewrite on. The film takes place in modern day New York(don't all movies?), where Nicholas Cage will play a wizard in search of a new apprentice. Frequent Mouse collaborator Jon Turteltaub will direct Jerry Bruckheimer's production.

Developing...

Coming in 2009: A Disney Sideshow...

Today, Sideshow Collectibles announced that they're going to be making a "Premium Format Disney Collection" that will be available in 2009...

They were rather cryptic and didn't reveal any of the line-up, but if you know any of their collection you know the high standards these artist are known for. Expect announcements early in the new year as to what is available. And if you see it, you'd better go on and get it. Sideshow tends to sell out real quick.

Following...

Annie Annoucements...

The nominees for the 2008 Annie Awards are out...

Best Animated Feature

*Bolt – Walt Disney Animation Studios

*Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation


*$9.99 – Sherman Pictures/Lama Films

*Wall·E – Pixar Animation Studios

*Waltz With Bashir – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D'ici, Razor Films

But the Annies are more than just theatrical animation. Here's the other nominations...

Best Animated Home Entertainment Production

*Batman: Gotham Knight – Warner Bros. Animation
*Christmas Is Here Again – Easy To Dream Entertainment in association with Renegade Animation
*Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
*Justice League: The New Frontier – Warner Bros. Animation
*The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning – DisneyToon Studios

Best Animated Short Subject

*Glago’s Guest – Walt Disney Animation Studios
*Hot Dog – Bill Plympton Studio
*Presto – Pixar Animation Studios
*Sebastian’s Voodoo – Joaquin Baldwin
*Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death – Aardman Animations Ltd.

Best Animated Television Commercial

*Giant Monster – Curious Pictures
*Long Legs Mr. Hyde – Curious Pictures
*Rotofugi: The Collectors – Screen Novelties/RSA Films
*Sarah – Z Animation
*United Airlines “Heart” – Duck Studios

Best Animated Television Production

*King of the Hill – 20th Century Fox TV
*Moral Orel – ShadowMachine
*Phineas and Ferb – Disney Television Animation
*Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II - ShadowMachine
*The Simpsons – Gracie Films/Fox TV

Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children

*A Miser Brothers Christmas – Warner Bros. Animation in association with ABC Family & Cuppa Coffee Studios
*Avatar: The Last Airbender – Nickelodeon
*Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Destination Imagination” – Cartoon Network Studios
*The Mighty B! – Nickelodeon
*Underfist: Halloween Bash – Cartoon Network Studios

Best Animated Video Game

*Dead Space – Electronic Arts
*Kung Fu Panda – Activision
*Wall·E – Heavy Iron Studios, a division of THQ, Inc.



INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects

*Alen Lai “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios
*Li-Ming Lawrence Lee “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Fangwei Lee “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” – DreamWorks Animation
*Kevin Lee “Bolt” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
*Enrique Vila “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Feature Production

*James Baxter “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Jeff Gabor “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios
*Philippe Le Brun “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Victor Navone “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios
*Dan Wagner “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Television Production or Short Form

*Sandro Cleuzo “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation
*Joshua A. Jennings “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” - ShadowMachine
*Pierre Perifel “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production

*Valerie Hadida “Igor” – Exodus Film Group
*Sang Jun Lee “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios
*Nico Marlet “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

Character Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

*Bryan Arnett – Mighty B! “Bat Mitzah Crashers” – Nickelodeon
*Ben Balistreri - Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Mondo Coco” – Cartoon Network Studios
*Sean Galloway “The Spectacular Spider-Man” – Sony Pictures Television
*Jorge Gutierrez – El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera “The Good, The Bad, The Tigre” – Nickelodeon
*Nico Marlet “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation

Directing in an Animated Feature Production

*Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen “The Tale Of Despereaux” – Universal Pictures
*Ari Folman “Waltz With Bashir” – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D'ici, Razor Films
*Tatia Rosenthal “9.99” – Sherman Pictures/ Lama Films
*John Stevenson & Mark Osborne “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Andrew Stanton “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios

Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

*Bob Anderson - The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror XIX” – Gracie Films/Fox TV
*Joaquim Dos Santos – Avatar: The Last Airbender “Sozin’s Comet Pt. 3” – Nickelodeon
*Craig McCracken, Rob Renzetti - Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends “Destination Imagination” – Cartoon Network Studios
*Chris McKay – Moral Orel “Passing” – ShadowMachine
*Alan Smart - SpongeBob SquarePants “Penny Foolish” – Nickelodeon

Music in an Animated Feature Production

*Kevin Manthei – “Batman: Gotham Knight” – Warner Bros. Animation
*John Powell – “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios
*Max Richter – “Waltz With Bashir” – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D'ici, Razor Films
*William Ross – “The Tale Of Despereaux” – Universal Pictures
*Hans Zimmer & John Powell – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

*Carl Finch & Brave Combo - Click and Clack’s “As the Wrench Turns” – CTTV Productions
*Henry Jackman, Hans Zimmer & John Powell – “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation
*Kevin Kiner – “Star Wars The Clone Wars: Rising Malevolence” – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
*Guy Moon – Back at the Barnyard “Cowman: The Uddered Avenger” – Nickelodeon/Omation
*Guy Michelmore – “Growing Up Creepie: Rockabye Freakie” – Taffy Entertainment LLC

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production

*Ralph Eggleston “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios
*Paul Felix “Bolt” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
*Tang Heng “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Evgeni Tomov “The Tale Of Despereaux” – Universal Pictures
*Raymond Zibach “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation

Production Design in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

*Andy Harkness “Glago’s Guest” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
*Tang Heng “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation
*Seonna Hong – The Mighty B! “Bee Patients” – Nickelodeon
*Dan Krall – Chowder “The Heavy Sleeper” – Cartoon Network Studios
*Raymond Zibach “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production

*Alessandro Carloni – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Ronnie Del Carmen – “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios
*Joe Mateo “Bolt” – Walt Disney Animation Studios
*Jen Yuh Nelson – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Rob Stevenhagen – “The Tale Of Despereaux” – Universal Pictures

Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

*Butch Hartman – Fairly OddParents “Mission: Responsible” – Nickelodeon
*Andy Kelly – Ni Hao, Kai-Lan “Twirly Whirly Flyers” – Nickelodeon Productions/Nelvana
*Andy Schuler – “Secret of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation
*Eddie Trigueros “The Mighty B! “Name Shame”– Nickelodeon
*Chris Williams “Glago’s Guest” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

*Ben Burtt – Voice of Wall·E – “Wall·E” – Pixar Animation Studios
*Dustin Hoffman – Voice of Shifu – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*James Hong – Voice of Mr. Ping – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Ian McShane – Voice of Tai Lung – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Mark Walton – Voice of Rhino – “Bolt” – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

*Ahmed Best – Voice of Jar Jar Binks – “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” - ShadowMachine
*Seth MacFarlane – Voice of Peter Griffin – Family Guy “I Dream of Jesus” – Fox TV Animation/Fuzzy Door Productions
*Dwight Schultz – Voice of Mung Daal – Chowder “Apprentice Games” – Cartoon Network Studios

Writing in an Animated Feature Production

*Jon Aibel & Glenn Berger – “Kung Fu Panda” – DreamWorks Animation
*Etan Cohen and Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath – “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” – DreamWorks Animation
*Ari Folman – “Waltz With Bashir” – Sony Pictures Classics, Bridgit Folman, Les Films D'ici, Razor Films
*Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio – “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who” – Blue Sky Studios

Writing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form

*Joel H. Cohen – The Simpsons “The Debarted” – Gracie Films/Fox TV
*Scott Kreamer – El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera “Mustache Love” – Nickelodeon
*Paul McEvoy and Todd Berger – “Secrets of the Furious Five” – DreamWorks Animation
*Tom Root, Douglas Goldstein, Hugh Davidson, Mike Fasolo, Seth Green, Dan Milano, Matthew Senreich, Kevin Shinick, Zeb Wells, Breckin Meyer – “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” – ShadowMachine
*Chris Williams – “Glago’s Guest” – Walt Disney Animation Studios



JURIED AWARDS

* Winsor McCay recipients - Mike Judge, John Lasseter and Nick Park for career contributions to the art of animation
* June Foray award - Bill Turner for significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation
* Certificate of Merit award - Amir Avni, Mike Fontanelli, Kathy Turner, Alex Vassilev

Beyond The Black Hole...

Continually bankrupt of original ideas, Hollywood continues it unstoppable revisionist vandalizing by going where it has already gone before this summer with J.J. Abrams' borderline sacrilegious "reboot" (or is it "re-imagining?") of Star Trek. But with everything in history rapidly being remade (generally for the worse), Tinseltown may be reaching deep into its cache of franchises to plunder. I normally despise remakes but if there was one movie that I think would be ripe for a remake it's Disney's The Black Hole.

I first saw The Black Hole in the theater the same week as Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979 and both films were disturbingly creepy to this 6 year-old boy. Sure, The Black Hole was Disney's attempt to ride the Star Wars wave by including kid-friendly robots, a pair of two-dimensional space cowboys, and a gratuitous lack of scientific accuracy, but what struck me most was the film's eerily gothic production design and tone courtesy of Peter Ellenshaw and a dark cerebral ending that was perhaps not just the fact that it was the first PG rated film the studio put out commercially but also the ballsiest kids movie Disney ever made. It's imaginatively rich with imagery and metaphor, the kind that evokes the ending to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The mad scientist Doctor Hans Reinhardt climbs into the "shell" of his infernal machine Maximillian (Maximillian Shell... get it?) in order to survive in a domain of hell that awaits him and his minions of labotomized drones as foreshadowed early in the film by Ernest Borgnine's throwaway line "it looks like something right out of Dante's Inferno." It's their destiny, purgatory, yet there is a chasm of Gothic glass windows accompanied by angelic choir and a brilliant wash of white light spills over the frame as our heroic crew of the Palomino emerge from a white hole into a new unexplored universe. The narrative of the film makes it unclear whether these are literally interpretations of heaven and hell and themes of eternal damnation and salvation of the soul or the thoughts of the crew as the pass through it. According to Peter Ellenshaw, an alternate ending was conceived but never shot that would have involved a slow panning out from Michelangelo's The Creation from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Kate's face would be seen in the background of the painting, implying that the crew experienced the beginning of time and would end with Kate looking up at the painting, suggesting that the Palomino crew eventually returned safely to Earth.

If the Black Hole were remade today, the ending would undoubtedly be changed. There is no way the studio would put out such an esoterically ambiguous, if not subversively cerebral commercial film targeted primarily at children. They would demand that everything be summarily explained and accessible to conventional audiences. That might be beneficial for a remake whose tone would invariably take on a much more serious scientific prose. Let's face it, the fantasy comic-book approach just wouldn't work now in the 21st century, even though the film itself takes place in the not-too-distant 22nd. Since 1979, scientists have learned much more about the physics of black holes from what was theoretically speculated at the time. Audiences are much more educated now and can grasp complex theoretical paradigms of science fiction. There's an opportunity here to do a serious exploration about an expedition to the edge of a black hole and beyond.

Interestingly, Whitman Comics made a "sequel" of sorts called "Beyond The Black Hole" following its comic book adaptation of the film which began where the film left off with the crew of the Palomino having emerged into another universe and investigates a nearby planet. What they discover is similar to the plot of Star Trek's "Mirror, Mirror" universe. They have entered a parallel universe where doppelgangers of themselves exist and events are unusually familiar under a radically different set of circumstances. It was an interesting read for children curious to know more about this unexplained universe following the events of the film's ambiguous conclusion and served no other purpose than to entertain an explanation of sorts for those who felt they needed one. The comic concluded with an unresolved cliffhanger and the text: "Trapped in another universe with no way to get home, Dan, Charlie, Kate an Vincent await their fate Beyond the Black Hole. Join us next time in Issue #5" with the intention to develop an ongoing series of adventures in this alternate universe but, alas, issue #5 never came to be.

The Black Hole was the last of the "old-school" visual effects films to be produced by Disney. Three years later, Harrison Ellenshaw, Peter Ellenshaw's son, would help usher in the digital age of visual effects with the groundbreaking computer generated fantasy Tron. Disney is already prepping Tr2n for a sequel in 2010. Now is the perfect opportunity to revisit The Black Hole to bring it up to date and give it the epic science-fiction makeover that it deserves.

The Classic Past, Posted...

For those that never seen them, or those that never saw them all...

3 Pigeons/Three Interviews...

And continuing our 24/7 dog coverage...

First off, no I'm not calling these guys pigeons. It just sounded like a catchy title for the post. There are three interviews with various animators/writers/designers out there I thought you'd be interested in if you hadn't seen 'em yet:

Cinzia Angelini, the lovely and talented animator on "Bolt" has a nice interview here.

Mark Cotta Vaz, the writer of "The Art of Bolt" gives his two cents right here.

Joe Moshier, one of the character designers on "Bolt," "Rapunzel" and several others talks here.

Good reads one and all. It gives you another little glimpse into the Hat Building...


Hat Tip to Animated Views.

ElecTRONic Chatter...

There are several stories going around Hollywood and the Web about the rumored change of "Tron 2" from TR2N to TRZ...

While getting any new word about this project is next to impossible, the project is still at least a couple years away and there should be no worry over what it's going to be called. In all likely hood it's just an acronym like "ID4" was for "Independence Day" back in the day when bad movies ruled the box office. Oh wait, I forgot about "Twilight"...

Nevermind.

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here friends and fans. The first thing we should worry about is if the story sucks, not the name...

Mouse Releases Witch...

Poster, that is...

This was sent to me late last night. It looks pretty good if you ask me. I'm rooting for this to be a good movie. It certainly appears much better than we expected in the trailer and I'm sure that the Winnebago won't look near as fake as in the original...

Bolt's Jolt...

Apparently getting bit by a vampire isn't permanent or fatal...

The Disney animated film's box office take was up around 2 percent more this week than the opening weekend based on strong word of mouth. It came in neck and neck with "Twilight" over the three day weekend, but according to initial estimates just beat it with $26,596,000 versus $26,370,000. Twilight's box office take plunged 62 percent which means those tweens and young girls aren't enough to keep it going into the new year.

Bolt ended the weekend with just shy of $67 million dollars, reversing a disappointing opening weekend that was expected to take in between 40 and 50 million, not the 27 million it actually made. Still, this weekend shows that audiences have warmed to the film and it should continue to make a fair amount of green for the Mouse. The international market hasn't opened up for WDAS latest film and the foreign territories tends to be where studios make the majority of their coin these days.

It appears the Suits in Burbank have a lot to be thankful after this Thanksgiving weekend...