The Hollywood Reporter just shared that “Gigantic,” Disney’s 2020 animation, has been effectively canceled.
The project was noticeably absent from D23 this year, so the news is more disappointing than surprising. The film was originally slated for 2018 but was pushed back to 2020. Meg LeFauve and Nathan Greno had been attached as the musical’s directors.
“Although it’s a difficult decision, we are ending active development for now,” Walt Disney Animation Group president Ed Catmull said. “We are focusing our energies on another project that has been in the works, which we’ll be sharing more about soon, now set for Thanksgiving 2020.“
This mysterious replacement project will be another original story, which, excluding Disney Pixar’s Coco, will be the only original film in a Disney animation schedule otherwise filled with sequels.
-Courtney ( @harmonicacave )
Catch the first glance of animation from Disney’s Moana in this above clip. This short preview lacks much other new information, but I expect to see more news very soon, considering the project releases this year. Perhaps a trailer will air before Zootopia in March.
Moana hits theaters on November 23, 2016.
Good Dinosaur: What Did You Think? And Box Office Standings
Pixar’s latest film, The Good Dinosaur, opened this Thanksgiving weekend taking second place in the box office with $55.6 million. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 beat out The Good Dinosaur for the three-day weekend, with $51.6 million.
The Good Dinosaur’s $39.19 million three-day earnings is the lowest opening of any Pixar film. Factoring in the five-day weekend, this is still Pixar’s twelfth lowest opening weekend (x).
All that said, this is still a strong opening for The Good Dinosaur, if a little disappointing. $55.6 million is the fourth highest Thanksgiving weekend opening on record (x).
I had a chance to go see The Good Dinosaur this weekend and really enjoyed it. The film is a journey, reminding one of Finding Nemo, and the characters are lovable, and grow throughout the film. It truly was a vast and beautiful world the Pixar team put together.
The Good Dinosaur is not Pixar’s strongest film. It was slow at points, and felt a little lost along the journey. It wasn’t as tight of a story overall.
My favorite aspect of the film was the t-rex family. The characters were funny and interesting, endearing, and the character designs are some of the best I’ve seen from Pixar. So much character in their head shapes, making them look both like ranchers and dinosaurs at the same time. Just masterful design.
So now we want to hear from you. We’d love to have a conversation with our readers. What did you think of The Good Dinosaur? How would you rank it compared to other Pixar films, or animated films from this year? If you haven’t seen it, do you plan to?
Gravity Falls Is Ending
In case you missed it over the weekend, the AV Club reported that Gravity Falls is officially ending with this season. Creator Alex Hirsch also elaborated on the decision.
The first thing to know is that the show isn’t being cancelled- it’s being finished. This is 100% my choice, and its something I decided on a very long time ago. I always designed Gravity Falls to be a finite series about one epic summer- a series with a beginning, middle, and end. There are so many shows that go on endlessly until they lose their original spark, or mysteries that are cancelled before they ever get a chance to payoff.
But I wanted Gravity Falls to have a mystery that had a real answer, an adventure that had a real climax, and an ending that had a real conclusion for the characters I care so much about. This is very unusual in television and a pretty big experiment, and Disney for their part has been enormously supportive. I know that hits are rare in this business, and its hard to let one of them go, so I’m so grateful that this company has had the vision to let me start (and end) the show the way I always wanted to.
For many of us the ending of Gravity Falls has come too soon and has been more than a little bit of a shock. Some of us saw this coming as Hirsch has alluded to the series having a deadline in the past. However, that deadline actually being realized is still not a pill easily swallowed.
Talking over the show ending with some friends and fellow fans of the show this weekend, we all expressed varying feelings of sadness to see the show go. For me, the show has been a part of my own journey, coming during some hard transitions in my life. The comedy and heart of the show served as a joyful constant in my life that got me through some tough times.
Of course, the show isn’t what it was when it started. It has grown and evolved, much like we do as we grow through childhood. In ways it seems fitting that the show has grown as it has and is now closing the book.
Like Alex said, the show has a beginning, middle and end. Every good story must finish, and we’re always sad when they do. But there’s also the satisfaction of having gone on the journey with the characters. I’m glad it happened, as much as I’m sad it’s ending.
Alex Hirsch gave a long and fitting send off in his explanation of the series end. Give it a read and immerse yourself in the reality and beauty of this wonderful show and its ending from a creator who really loved what he made.
The Good Dinosaur Halloween TV Spot
This is a fun new ad for The Good Dinosaur with some cool editing and new footage. Only a couple weeks ‘til the US premiere of Pixar’s latest film now. I can’t wait!
The Good Dinosaur is one of several films submitted for the Animated Feature category at the 88th Academy Awards early next year. See the full list and learn about the curious circumstances surrounding the upcoming Oscars here.
- Christopher
New French Zootopia Poster
Zootopia is Disney’s latest animated feature, starring Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman. The film premieres in US theaters March 4, 2016.
Toy Story 4 Picks Up A Co-Director Alongside John Lasseter
Recently we learned that Toy Story 4 would not be a direct sequel to Toy Story 3, or at least, not a direct continuation of the story. It’s set to be more of a spin off romantic comedy with the characters we love.
Now we’re hearing, according to SlashFilm, that Josh Cooley will be taking on the role of co-director with John Lasseter. Cooley was the head of story on Inside Out and he has been working with Pixar since Cars. In and interview with Variety, Cooley said,
To be co-director on Toy Story 4 with John, who brought the Toy Story characters to the screen 20 years ago, is a dream come true. When I first saw Toy Story I was amazed by the groundbreaking computer-generated animation. But it was the strong storytelling that kept me coming back. Toy Story 4 will continue that tradition and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it!
It’s interesting to note that John Lasseter is returning to the director’s chair on this latest story in the Toy Story universe. Lasseter directed the original Toy Story by himself, and then co-directed with Ash Brannon and Lee Unkrich on Toy Story 2. On Toy Story 3, Lasseter was noticably absent with Unkrich taking the sole directorial position. It is highly likely Lasseter was significantly involved on Toy Story 3 as he was a writer and executive producer on the film.
Now on Toy Story 4 Lasseter is back to direct alongside Cooley who is new to directing. It will be exciting to see what kind of organic storytelling will come out of this new combination.
UPDATE: According to Animation Magazine Toy Story 4 is set for a June 16, 2017 release.
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)
A lot of news sources are reporting on Walt Disney Animation’s next project, Moana, advertising it as an idea just plucked from the Disney vault that no one had heard about — or worse, calling it “the next Frozen.” [Get out of here, HelloGiggles. I love you, but you don’t know what you’re talking about.]
While news of this project IS NOT NEW — we reported on it last December — there are some additional details previously unreleased. Like that it’s coming out two years before expected (now slated for November 2016)!
Like that Disney released of some awesome concept art (above, and I’ll post more again later when I can verify which is actually from Disney and which is early fan art).
The press release included a plot summary, below, which I believe is what has made so many news sites run away with their excitement (not that I blame them…).
In the ancient South Pacific world of Oceania, Moana, a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.
Previously we were informed that Moana would be animated in the same style as Paperman. Now they’re only promising “cg animation,” so I guess we will see as the release date gets closer.
If you can’t wait to see the Ron Clements and John Musker-directed Moana (yes, a return to the team that brought you Little Mermaid and Aladdin), you can temporarily satiate your hunger for tropical islands with this year’s Disney short film “Lava,” a clip of which you can watch now here.
- Courtney (HarmonicaCave)