Tim Burton is directing a live-action Dumbo
Disney is on a live-action remake kick. It basically started with Tim Burton and his Alice in Wonderland remake. Since then Maleficent was successful, and Cinderella this weekend is expected to be a hit as well. With more live-action remakes in the works, Dumbo looks to be one of a collection.
I’m interested to see Burton’s take on this. He showed in Alice in Wonderland and Frankenweenie that he is maybe a little more family friendly now, but still has his signature creepy black and white quality. I can’t wait to see what that looks like with Dumbo.
It’s been said that Dumbo will be a hybrid of live-action with CG, which isn’t surprising since that is pretty much the norm in film now. I would expect Dumbo and his flying scenes to be almost all VFX.
The prospect of using a director who is well versed in animation, stop motion, computer animation and live action sets this film up for an interesting take. SlashFilm stated that this film will go beyond the original story of the animated Dumbo so I’m looking forward to a fresh take from the auteur that is Tim Burton.
Several months ago I made a list of helpful, inspiring and educational blogs relating to art and animation on tumblr. Marc Hendry’s blog is one of the sites I mentioned because of its inspiring knowledge and helpful tips about animation. Marc has both a loving understanding of the history of animation as well as a working knowledge of animation skills which he imparts humbly on his blog. He also hasn’t hesitated to reach out to me when I’ve thanked him for his writing or reblogged some of his stuff.
All that aside, this video Marc made breaking down the design and composition techniques, and also going into detail about specific animation fundamentals applied in Dumbo is extremely helpful and inspiring. I intend to watch this multiple times and have bookmarked it for future reference. I think I’ll also put into practice analyzing animated films in the way he does in order to glean as much knowledge as possible.
Thanks for the helpful tips, Marc!
- Chris
![“ When [John] Lasseter and [Ed] Catmull came aboard [the failing Walt Disney Animation Studios team], they were encouraged to consider shuttering Disney Animation altogether and replacing it with the ascendant Pixar. But Dumbo is Lasseter’s favorite...](https://64.media.tumblr.com/45b4bf4e2386aaadba0dcab4389fd379/tumblr_ne69whEqA31s9t02qo1_1280.jpg)
![“ When [John] Lasseter and [Ed] Catmull came aboard [the failing Walt Disney Animation Studios team], they were encouraged to consider shuttering Disney Animation altogether and replacing it with the ascendant Pixar. But Dumbo is Lasseter’s favorite...](https://64.media.tumblr.com/abc22a55710694b2cb9e5050b4062a2c/tumblr_ne69whEqA31s9t02qo2_1280.jpg)
When [John] Lasseter and [Ed] Catmull came aboard [the failing Walt Disney Animation Studios team], they were encouraged to consider shuttering Disney Animation altogether and replacing it with the ascendant Pixar. But Dumbo is Lasseter’s favorite movie of all time. As a child, Catmull spent countless hours imagining himself in the worlds of Pinocchio and Peter Pan. It was Disney that inspired their careers in the first place.
“There was so much pressure on us to close these doors,” Lasseter says. “Ed and I absolutely could not do that.”
If you’re needing a little inspiration for your week, you NEED to be reading this amazing article from WIRED magazine. It’s an in-depth look at turn of the 21st century Disney animation and the heart John Lasseter’s team has put into turning the studio around.
JUST LOOK AT ALL OF JOHN’S TOYS IN HIS OFFICE (in the first photo). We need to be friends with these men (Ed is on the left, John’s sitting down).
The second photo shows three more inspirational guys in Disney animation: Big Hero 6 producer Roy Conli and director Don Hall and Chris Williams.
Check out the full article here: Big Hero 6 Proves It: Pixar’s Gurus Have Brought the Magic Back to Disney Animation
- Courtney (HarmonicaCave)