Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Mars Needs Moms
Im not a huge fan of the 3D Zemeckis, though I really am digging the craftmanship and tech that goes into the movies. The CG looks incredibly good but the characters are lacking. Boardering on "uncanny vally" alot. His "preformance capture" is really quite incredible (despite still looking overacted and the "dead-face" syndrome) and a huge step over regular motion capture, but they have yet to make me really love the characters portrayed in his movies. I am however curious about his new movie..
Walt Disney Pictures has released the first movie poster for the Robert Zemeckis’ produced adaptation of Berkley Breathed’s children’s book Mars Needs Moms. The performance capture film is being directed by The Prince of Egypt/The Time Machine helmer Simon Wells and stars Seth Green, Joan Cusack and Dan Fogler.
Plot:
A young boy named Milo gains a deeper appreciation for his mom after Martians come to Earth to take her away.
This poster reminds me of something though....
Labels: 3d, animation, animation news, movie news, Poster
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Banksy Simpsons Intro
I bet they will never get a artist to do another intro for them again =D Hurray for some balls!
Labels: animation, animation news
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Goutte d'Or - trailer
Sexy animation - Goutte d'Or - trailer from Happy Flyfish on Vimeo.
The official trailer from the stop motion short film Goutte d'Or - a film by Christophe Peladan, produced by Soren Fleng for Happy Flyfish. We are still on progress with the film (as of 26 May 2010) and expect to complete the film in the early autumn 2010.
Labels: animation, animation news
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
New Images From Sylvain Chomet and Jacque Tati’s The Illusionist
From the maker of "The Triplets of Belleville", Sylvain Chomet, comes a few pictures of his new Animated movie "The Illusionist".
This looks gorgeous! Since Im working with 3d most of the week, its refreshing and inspiring to see "real" animation movies stil beeing made. (also cant wait for the new disney movies`s return to 2d with "The princess and the Frog")
Here are the four pictures, as freshly released by Pathe.
"You might recognise the likeness of Jacques Tati in one of these characters. The film is based upon an unproduced script of Tati’s and according to the official synopsis this is the “story of a dying breed of stage entertainer whose thunder is being stolen by emerging rock stars. Forced to accept increasingly obscure assignments in fringe theaters, garden parties and bars, he meets a young fan who changes his life forever”.
It appears to be a period piece, which is not a surprise; sheep feature prominently, as do cars and other means of transportation; the animation favours a watercolour look which suggests nostalgia; the actual performing of illusions appears to be somewhere off screen so far, and I don’t know about you but I can’t see a drop of rock music anywhere. What a tease.
Chomet certainly seems to have a strong Anti-American streak, caricaturing US tourists in both Belleville and his Paris Je’taime live-action short as being snap-happy fatties in Mickey ears. Bashing Disney seems a bit rich when Disney were responsible for refining the craft on which he’s built his work, and definitely set the precedent for much of this stylistic choices.
He has also, so far, shown a complete lack of control in plotting and pacing. There’s no denying how charming his work is, how wonderfully drafted, imaginative and full of character but there’s not been much narrative discipline on display. Here’s hoping The Illusionist, with the help of Tati’s screenplay, pulls that particular rabbit out of the hat" - /film.com
This looks gorgeous! Since Im working with 3d most of the week, its refreshing and inspiring to see "real" animation movies stil beeing made. (also cant wait for the new disney movies`s return to 2d with "The princess and the Frog")
Here are the four pictures, as freshly released by Pathe.
"You might recognise the likeness of Jacques Tati in one of these characters. The film is based upon an unproduced script of Tati’s and according to the official synopsis this is the “story of a dying breed of stage entertainer whose thunder is being stolen by emerging rock stars. Forced to accept increasingly obscure assignments in fringe theaters, garden parties and bars, he meets a young fan who changes his life forever”.
It appears to be a period piece, which is not a surprise; sheep feature prominently, as do cars and other means of transportation; the animation favours a watercolour look which suggests nostalgia; the actual performing of illusions appears to be somewhere off screen so far, and I don’t know about you but I can’t see a drop of rock music anywhere. What a tease.
Chomet certainly seems to have a strong Anti-American streak, caricaturing US tourists in both Belleville and his Paris Je’taime live-action short as being snap-happy fatties in Mickey ears. Bashing Disney seems a bit rich when Disney were responsible for refining the craft on which he’s built his work, and definitely set the precedent for much of this stylistic choices.
He has also, so far, shown a complete lack of control in plotting and pacing. There’s no denying how charming his work is, how wonderfully drafted, imaginative and full of character but there’s not been much narrative discipline on display. Here’s hoping The Illusionist, with the help of Tati’s screenplay, pulls that particular rabbit out of the hat" - /film.com
Labels: animation, animation news
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
MTV Japan - Prison Rabbit Cartoon Episode 1-15
Usavich is a series of animated short films being produced for MTV Japan by Kanaban Graphics since 2006. It's about an odd couple of rabbits being imprisoned in an russian prison. While the first season shows the absurd everyday occurances of the two rabbits' prison life, the second season tells the adventures of their escape and life on the run.
First season:
http://www.feinheit.ch/blog/2007/11/29/mtv-japan-prison-rabbit-cartoon-episode-1-15/
Labels: 3d, animation news, Shorts
Monday, August 25, 2008
Oktapodi
Here's another great short film from the French animation school, Gobelins. This one got a lot of attention at SIGGRAPH, though it's been floating around for a while. Great animation, and the rigging on the Octopi is pretty impressive. This clip might not be on YouTube for long, so enjoy it while you can!
Better quality here:
You can find the home page and a neat mini-documentary here.
Better quality here:
You can find the home page and a neat mini-documentary here.
Labels: animation news, movie news, Shorts
Friday, August 01, 2008
Disney’s ‘The Princess And The Frog’ Teaser Trailer
It’s been a long, long time since Disney has walked in the realm of 2D animated movies (barring any sequels and unknowns), but they are returning to their old ways — if only for one nostalgic rendezvous — and here is our first look at that return, The Princess and the Frog.
Check out the teaser trailer below.
Synopsis:
From the heart of Lousiana’s mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a trumpet playing alligator, a love sick Cajun firefly, and a host of other charming characters at every turn.
The Princess and the Frog is special in its own right as it is (surprisingly) the first time a Disney movie will have an African American princess. Anika Noni Rose will voice Princess Tiana, who will be joined by the voice cast of John Goodman and Keith David. Ron Clements and John Musker, who both wrote and directed Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Hercules, have again written and directed this film and even Randy Newman is involved, so they seem to have the proper ingredients to surprise us.
Labels: animation news, movie news
BBC Sport's Olympics Monkey
This animated sequence, based on the classical Chinese novel, "Journey to the West", has been produced by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the men behind virtual band Gorillaz.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/monkey/7521287.stm
Love the music ;)
Labels: animation news, Shorts
Sunday, June 29, 2008
"Bolt" Teaser Poster and trailer plus a look back at "American Dog"
I hear that the teaser trailer for Bolt will probably be attached to Pixar’s WALL-E, which hits theaters next week. Disney has just released the first theatrical teaser poster (as opposed to the teaser poster which has been on display at Disneyland) for the movie, which makes this that much more likely. But before you see the teaser trailer, lets take a look back at the project’s troubled history.
Originally titled American Dog, Chris Sanders was attached to write and direct. But Sander’s vison of the animated movie was a little “too bold”. His early concepts featured a one-eyed cat and an oversized radioactive rabbit (see the publicly released concept art below). Disney was supposedly looking for something a bit more “mainstream”. Funny, considering that Sanders is responsible for Disney’s last popular non-Pixar character/movie, Lilo & Stitch. Sanders was replaced by Chris Williams and Byron Howard, and the film was rewritten and retitled Bolt.
And this is what Bolt looks like…
One must remember that Brad Bird replaced Jan Pinkava on Ratatouille, which was went through rewrites, and look how that turned out. But on the other hand, Ratatouille had Brad Bird, Bolt has Chris Williams, who was a writer on Mulan and The Emperor’s New Groove, and Byron Howard, who was a Supervising Animator on Chicken Little and Brother Bear. The characters look very generic, at least at first glance. Also, the casting of Miley Cyrus doesn’t instill confidence (click here to watch Miley explain her character and see a bit of unfinished footage from the film). I’m very interested to see the teaser trailer. With John Lasseter in charge as Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation, you have to put a little faith in the decision to take the project in a totally different direction.
The official plot synopsis follows: For super-dog Bolt (voiced by John Travolta), every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue – at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the canine star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet – a cross-country journey through the real world. Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and with the help of two unlikely traveling companions – a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman), and TV-obsessed hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino – Bolt discovers he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero. Miley Cyrus (“Hannah Montana”) brings her vocal talents to the role of Penny, Bolt’s human co-star on the television series.
The fact that they went away from such a awesome consept is heartbreaking and sad. "American dog" lookes 40 times better the "Bolt" and just from the stills you get s sense of strong characters. Its easy to figure out why the powers at be have feared the direction.
I’ll admit that because of the backstory, it’s hard for me to be accept Disney’s reworking of Sander’s original designs. But the movie doest look all that bad. Sure, the characters and situations don’t look nearly as interesting or as original as Sander’s designs, but it also doesn’t look as generic as past Disney efforts. Plus releasing the film in 3D at least guarantees a fun theatrical experience. Could it be the John Lasseter effect? Anyhoo. Here is the flat, and "character-less" trailer. PS: The trailer seems to suffer from some weird phaseing and some oddly placed voice-overs or is it just me?
Trailer
Bolt will hit theaters on November 26th, 2008 in Disney Digital 3-D™.
(PSS:Source from /movies.com)
Originally titled American Dog, Chris Sanders was attached to write and direct. But Sander’s vison of the animated movie was a little “too bold”. His early concepts featured a one-eyed cat and an oversized radioactive rabbit (see the publicly released concept art below). Disney was supposedly looking for something a bit more “mainstream”. Funny, considering that Sanders is responsible for Disney’s last popular non-Pixar character/movie, Lilo & Stitch. Sanders was replaced by Chris Williams and Byron Howard, and the film was rewritten and retitled Bolt.
And this is what Bolt looks like…
One must remember that Brad Bird replaced Jan Pinkava on Ratatouille, which was went through rewrites, and look how that turned out. But on the other hand, Ratatouille had Brad Bird, Bolt has Chris Williams, who was a writer on Mulan and The Emperor’s New Groove, and Byron Howard, who was a Supervising Animator on Chicken Little and Brother Bear. The characters look very generic, at least at first glance. Also, the casting of Miley Cyrus doesn’t instill confidence (click here to watch Miley explain her character and see a bit of unfinished footage from the film). I’m very interested to see the teaser trailer. With John Lasseter in charge as Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation, you have to put a little faith in the decision to take the project in a totally different direction.
The official plot synopsis follows: For super-dog Bolt (voiced by John Travolta), every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue – at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the canine star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet – a cross-country journey through the real world. Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and with the help of two unlikely traveling companions – a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman), and TV-obsessed hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino – Bolt discovers he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero. Miley Cyrus (“Hannah Montana”) brings her vocal talents to the role of Penny, Bolt’s human co-star on the television series.
The fact that they went away from such a awesome consept is heartbreaking and sad. "American dog" lookes 40 times better the "Bolt" and just from the stills you get s sense of strong characters. Its easy to figure out why the powers at be have feared the direction.
I’ll admit that because of the backstory, it’s hard for me to be accept Disney’s reworking of Sander’s original designs. But the movie doest look all that bad. Sure, the characters and situations don’t look nearly as interesting or as original as Sander’s designs, but it also doesn’t look as generic as past Disney efforts. Plus releasing the film in 3D at least guarantees a fun theatrical experience. Could it be the John Lasseter effect? Anyhoo. Here is the flat, and "character-less" trailer. PS: The trailer seems to suffer from some weird phaseing and some oddly placed voice-overs or is it just me?
Trailer
Bolt will hit theaters on November 26th, 2008 in Disney Digital 3-D™.
(PSS:Source from /movies.com)
Labels: 3d, animation news, movie news
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Sneak Preview: Pixar’s Presto
Pixar has released a 30 second preview of Doug Sweetland’s computer animated short film Presto, which you will see in front of WALL-E
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v14224125GBK6ZMaa
Official Plot Synopsis: Dignity. Poise. Mystery. We expect nothing less from the great, turn-of-the-century magician, Presto. But, when Presto forgets to feed his rabbit one too many times, well, there’s really no telling what to expect! This latest comical short film from Pixar Animation Studios follows the escalating high jinx of the amazing Presto, his rabbit Alec, and what happens onstage when a star magician’s ego provokes some clever revenge from his neglected costar.
WALL-E hits theaters on June 27th 2008.
Labels: 3d, animation news, movie news
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
GHOST IN THE SHELL Returning To The Big Screen!
Some news here from the world of Japanese animation. Perhaps inspired by the succes of the recent re-launch of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost In The Shell is getting all prettied up for a return to the big screen. According to Japan’s Newtype magazine, a new version of Oshii’s classic film is being prepared under the title Ghost In The Shell 2.0. This new version will include new visual effects, 3D, a new dubbing and a rerecorded soundtrack in 6.1 which means the visionary picture will once again look visionary. Yes, this means I’ll be buying it again.
Here is a very brief trailer
Here are some comparison shots:
Labels: 3d, animation news, movie news
Saturday, February 16, 2008
2 New Wall-e trailers + first hi-res picture!
two new trailers for the upcomming pixar movie Wall-e. One is a superbowl ad and the other is a extended trailer showing of a bit more story and a whole new charater!
the other one is HERE
(clik on the picture to experience mind-tingeling hires pixels!)
WALL-E hits theaters on June 27th 2008.
the other one is HERE
(clik on the picture to experience mind-tingeling hires pixels!)
WALL-E hits theaters on June 27th 2008.
Labels: 3d, animation news, movie news, Trailer
Brad Bird Interviews
Brad Bird has done a couple radio interviews in the past week which are worth a listen. The first interview refers to him as “Big Bird” and “one of Pixar’s chief polishers,” but beyond that unnecessary cuteness, it’s a decent chat in which Bird discusses what’s wrong with Hollywood filmmaking and expresses reservations about how animation is treated at the Oscars. The second interview gets off an to equally bad start when the host refers to animation as a “genre” and Bird has to correct him. It eventually picks up, especially when he discusses how he came onto Ratatouille midway through the film’s development. The latter interview also features unintentional moments of comic relief by historian Charles Solomon who makes heroic efforts to correctly pronounce the name Ratatouille.
Labels: animation news, movie news
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
New Wall-E Trailer Online
WALL-E Exclusive Trailer
Legg til på min profil | Flere videoer
Legg til på min profil | Flere videoer
Labels: 3d, animation news, movie news, Trailer
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A special "Where's WALL-E" edition of Why For?
Hill's back with even more answers to your Disney-related questions. This time around, Jim tries to put together a definitive list of where the in-jokes & self references in Pixar's feature films & shorts are located
Check it out here:
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2007/12/09/a-special-where-s-wall-e-edition-of-why-for.aspx
Check it out here:
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2007/12/09/a-special-where-s-wall-e-edition-of-why-for.aspx
Labels: 3d, animation news, movie news
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Heavenly Sword - Legend of the Sword
A refreshing and interesting intro for the upcomming ps3 game Heavenly sword. Beautifuly made in gorgeous flash it tells the story of how the heavenly sword saved mankind but also almost doomed it
Labels: animation news, commercials, design, games
Friday, May 18, 2007
Pixar - 20 Years of Animation Exhibition
The 20 Years of Pixar Exhibition now includes Ratatouille concept art - which you can see below in the link
http://picasaweb.google.com/dougieharrower/Pixar20YearsOfAnimation
http://picasaweb.google.com/dougieharrower/Pixar20YearsOfAnimation
Labels: 3d, animation news, design, movie news
Thursday, February 15, 2007
RATATOUILLE Rough Animation Test: Emile's Magic Trick
Neato! Cant wait to see this movie
EDIT: also adding some new pics:
Labels: animation news, movie news
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