John Lasseter has been named Innovator of the Year by the Hollywood Reporter. His Pixar Studios is batting a thousand when it comes to box office hits. With Bolt! we’ll get to see the first film that was almost totally done under his influence at… Read More »John Lasseter named Innovator of the Year
Over at Apple.com’s trailer site Disney Animation has released a new clip from the movie. This follows Penny and Bolt through an exciting chase scene from what appears to be the television series. I really like the effects work and seeing this in 3D is… Read More »Bolt! New Clip Released
Walt Disney’s Animated Masterpiece Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition has been remasterd and re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray. Each frame of the original fairy-tale classic has been painstakingly recreated to Walt’s original specs. That means you’ll get to see the movie in a way hidden from audiences since the original theatrical release.
On the plus side this means that you get to see characters and detail that were previously cut from the widescreen version of the film. On the bad side, that means that the letterboxing is extreme. So unless you have a fairly good sized TV, you’ll be squinting a bit to take it all in.
Also updated were the rich color palette of the original film. We’ve all grown used to a somewhat dulled version with deep blues and greens. But the remastered version reveals purples, reds, bright greens, and other amazing colors that add a whole new depth to the film. I do have to big complaints in this area however. The greens tend to be a little on the puke green side and the pinks now tend to be more red. This is particularly bad in the famous pink or blue dress fight.
That said, the small errors are mostly overwhelmed by how rich and detailed this restoration is. To see the master animators at work, the detail of the backgrounds, and the hear the masterful soundtrack in a whole new level of high definition makes all the difference.
Even if you already own Sleeping Beauty, which we did, there are plenty of new extras that make this worth adding to your collection. My number one favorite is the featurette on the Original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through Attraction With Walt Disney Imagineering. It’s a fully-immersive 3-D experience recreating the original Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk-Through that Walt supervised over 50 years ago.
Do yourself a favor and buy the Blu-Ray edition even if you don’t own a Blu-Ray player yet. It comes with the normal DVD and you never know when you might own a Blu-Ray player.
The full DVD details are below the cut:
Read More »Sleeping Beauty: Remastered, Reissued, Really Good
This November 21st Bolt, Mittens, Rhino, Penny will lead audiences on an adventure of a lifetime. BOLT follows the adventures of the canine television star BOLT who believes that TV based super-powers are actually real as he attempts to find his way across America back to his co-star and friend, Penny. Along the way a cat named Mittens and a hamster named Rhino become his companions and then friends.
So yeah, the cross country pet adventure genre has been done a number of times. But from what I’ve heard Walt Disney Animation Studios has put some real heart into this tale. Look for some of the tale-tale signs of Pixar’s story and characterization depth as this is the first film John Lasseter and crew have had influence over from before the first frame was drawn.
If you’re as excited about the film as I am, you’ll be happy to hear that the official website is now open to explore. Plenty of videos, photos, downloads, and games to enjoy too.
Below the cut I’ve included a short preview video with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus that includes a clip from the movie:
One of the many columnists who make LaughingPlace.com the best all around Disney fan site on the web is Rhett Wickham. He has his finger on the pulse of the animation community like no other. His most recent column is a who’s who in terms… Read More »The Big Stars of Pencil on Paper Return to Disney Animation
The official site for Disney’s next hand drawn 2D animation film “The Princess and The Frog” is open and a teaser trailer is out in the wild, more than a year in advance. She is already growing on me.
For those of you planning on attending the San Diego Comic-Con this July, you’ll want to make a bee-line to booth 2302 and check out the latest self-published graphic novel from Disney animators and artists. “Who is Rocket Johnson?” is a 72 page graphic novel… Read More »Who is Rocket Johnson – a Disney Animation Artist Graphic Novel
Michael J. Ruocco writes the excellent animation blog “For The Birds.” He recently finished a three-part series that provides visual proof on how Disney’s animators reused animation footage multiple times over the years. For instance, you may have thought that Bambi’s mother was killed early… Read More »Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Disney Animator’s caught reusing footage