New Trailer Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Release Date: July 1, 2009

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Director: Carlos Saldanha

Screenwriter: Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman

Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family

MPAA Rating: Not Available

Plot Summary: "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," to be fully produced in 3-D, is the latest installment to the hit "Ice Age" franchise, which has grossed more than $1.2 billion around the world. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" will be directed by Oscar-nominated Carlos Saldanha, who directed "Ice Age: The Meltdown" and co-directed "Ice Age." The film is being produced by Academy Award-winning Blue Sky Studios, the creative force behind all the "Ice Age" films and "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who."

===========================

I liked the first trailer better:

Cocotte minute - Chicken Animation

“Cocotte minute”

Is this animation a cut above the rest? Warning: prepare for a chicken to die.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulXT6JBzTUk

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – Jungle 2 Plain Featurette

From walls of dense jungle of the original Madagascar to a horizon line and Savannah and plains of Africa in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. Movie magic, behind-the-scene look at the vision for the story’s backdrop, Africa.


Checka out this video featurette:

http://www.awntv.com/videos/madagascar-escape-2-africa-jungle-2-plain-featurette

That'll be on the DVD. =^)


- TAE

Banana Phone (an Empire Short Short)

Yeah. This one's pretty short and uh, silly-tastic.

What do you think? Do you like it? Why?



Animation by SnorreProductions:

http://www.youtube.com/user/snorrepro...

This is our second short from Snorre. Our first was The Killing Room:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P8NOdiVCugQ

Enjoy!


- TAE

Disney's Bolt - Our Thoughts

The trailer for Bolt looked awesome to me for the first few seconds until they revealed he was just an actor dog.

I would have preferred a superhero cyborg dog story that was a bit more like The Incredibles. It’s one of those things where they show a movie in the trailer and everybody is happy. The movie looks great!

Then the announcer says, “until…” and then they show that it’s just an actor or they got arrested on an overseas trip or something stupid. The whole movie dies right there. =^)




Essentially, this is a a remake of Homeward Bound (1993):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107131


Which is itself a remake of The Incredible Journey (1963):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057180



At least all three are Disney movies.

Maybe if you remake a movie every 15-30 years than all the kids will forget that you already made that movie. =^)


They later got lost in San Francisco in Homeward Bound 2 (1996):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116552/


The difference is that Bolt is in 3D, has a Hollywood subplot, and they replaced the older dog with an annoying hamster (but there’s still a cat and a naïve dog). And they replaced Michael J Fox’s voice with John Travolta.

This is why the movie died for me after 35 seconds of the trailer, when they revealed that Bolt was an actor. I really wanted “The Incredibles, but with a cyborg dog” rather than “Homeward Bound: Movie Star Edition.” Come on Disney!

The good news is that this is the last of the Disney animated films started before Lasseter took over (although he remixed Robinsons and Bolt). So the question is how the movies are that he has put together from scratch. So far, so good. He's returning to the Disney roots of fairy tales, with three in the pipeline (and one in the mixer at Pixar).


We don't need a 3D Oliver & Company!!!!

- TAE

Interesting Madagascar promo

“Chunky”

Madagascar 2 offers this ode to the rotund silhouette. You can’t fight the groove.

http://www.awntv.com/videos/will-i-am-big-and-chunky





I hope that promo isn’t geared toward children. =^)



Seeing how Disney’s advertising on the site to get Academy members to vote for Bolt for best feature, that’s a safe bet.



- TAE

Bolt is Out Now

Domestic Total as of Nov. 23, 2008: $26,223,128

The original feature was being animated by the Lilo & Stitch writer and director (Chris Sanders; also the voice of Stitch on the movie, DVD sequels, and TV show). When John Lasseter took over (as the CCO), he spent a full day tearing the film apart (then called American Dog). The director couldn’t take his creation being destroyed like that, so he left and went to DreamWorks to direct a caveman animated film that is written by John Cleese (Crood Awakening, 2011).

Lasseter promoted a story artist (Chris Williams) and assisted the help of the Rapunzel director (Byron Howard) to finish Bolt the “right” way (Lasseter said it was too quirky for its own good).


- TAE

Animation Tip: Some Story Notes

Here are some valuable story notes...





-Fail fast and fail often (if it's a bad idea, fail and move on. It will make you better)

-Funny (Even if it's a serious piece, a small amount of comedy can make your story more interesting)

-Visual (Hold the audience attention at all times. Should always have a point of interest)

-Silent (Should be able to get story across visually before having to add sound or narratives)

-"Just tell me one thing. What does he want and why can't he have it?" (The basic story, great starting point)

New animated film in 2009: Bunyan and Babe

Loosely based on the folklore, two children exiled on their grandfather's farm in Minnestoa discover a lair where Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox have resided since their disappearance from the Dead Forest.


Directors...

Tony Bancroft...

Director:
Mulan (1998)
Animator:
Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990) (assistant animator)
The Rescuers Down Under (1990) (animation assistant)
Beauty and the Beast (1991) (animator: "Cogsworth")
Aladdin (1992) (animator: "Iago")
The Lion King (1994) (supervising animator: "Pumbaa")
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) (additional animator)
The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (supervising animator: "Kronk")
Stuart Little 2 (2002) (animation supervisor)
Home on the Range (2004) (animator: "Maggie")

Jim Rygiel...

Second-unit director:
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Click (2006/I)
Night at the Museum (2006)
Visual Effects Director:
The Last Starfighter (1984) (senior technical mananger)
Ghost (1990) (digital effects supervisor)
Alien³ (1992) (digital effects supervisor)
Batman Returns (1992) (digital effects supervisor)
The Last of the Mohicans (1992) (digital effects supervisor)
Cliffhanger (1993) (digital effects supervisor)
Last Action Hero (1993) (computer graphics supervisor)
Outbreak (1995) (visual effects supervisor)
Species (1995) (visual effects co-supervisor)
Starship Troopers (1997) (visual effects supervisor)
The Parent Trap (1998) (visual effects supervisor)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) (visual effects supervisor)
102 Dalmatians (2000) (visual effects supervisor)
The Fast and the Furious (2001) (digital effects)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Click (2006/I) (visual effects designer)
Night at the Museum (2006) (visual effects supervisor)
4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) (visual effects supervisor)
Eagle Eye (2008) (senior visual effects supervisor)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)



It's being made by Exodus Film Group, as their follow up to Igor (which was distributed by Sony's MGM). Exodus doesn’t have a distributor yet. It looks like they might be another Vanguard entertainment where they make their own flops and farm them out to distributors. However, of the three films Exodus did and has (Igor, this one, and a Crayon one in 2010), this one has the most promise since the art style looks well thought out and the director directed Mulan. Plus I’m not 100% sure this is an animation or a mix. However, the stylized look of Babe suggests that it’s all animated. I just can’t imagine what they’re going to do with giants to make it interesting.

- TAE

Family Guy - Lois Mom Mum Mommy

Stewie badgers Lois for her attention, repeatedly.

Family Guy - Cool Whip

Meg bakes Brian a hair pie and Stewie puts cool whip on it...I mean cool Hwhip.



It ends very well!!!

Family Guy - Peter's Cowboy Song

As the family sits around the campfire, Peter sings a song about gay cowboys. (Family Guy - Season 5: Episode 17)

Family Guy - Working Two Jobs

Chris discovers that everyone in the family is working two jobs to pay for his private school; including Stewie playing tuba for fat people, Meg and Lois working as hookers, and Peter scratching butts with a butt scratcher. Season 5: Episode 16 - "No Chris Left Behind"

Family Guy - It's A Giraffe

Peter steals a giraffe from the zoo and wreaks havoc on the neighborhood. Season 5: Episode 8.



Enjoy!

Family Guy Puke-A-Thon

Classic Family Guy



Enjoy!

Pixar Studios Animated Short - Presto Full

Pixar Animation Short Movie



This hilarious Pixar short should be nominated for an Academy Award. Pixar hasn't achieved this level of humor since For the Birds.

Enjoy!

- TAE

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) - Trailer #1 [HD QUALITY]

DreamWorks does the Pixar thing. There's some Jimmy Neutron in here too.

Some good gags here!

Enjoy!

- TAE

Upcoming Pixar and Disney animated films!!!

Pixar is adopting a new strategy. Sort of. They’re going for sequels and stories more (rather than just one-word concepts).


Info from Wikipedia.



Pixar Disney
WALL-E - June 27, 2008 Bolt - November 21, 2008 10
Up - May 29, 2009 The Princess and the Frog - Christmas 2009 10
Toy Story - June 18, 2010 Rapunzel - Christmas 2010
Cars 2 - Summer 2011 The Bear and the Bow - December 2011
Newt - Summer 2012 King of the Elves - Christmas 2012


Up Teaser:


Up is an upcoming computer-animated 3-D film being produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It will be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and is scheduled for release on May 29, 2009. The film is directed by Monsters, Inc. director Pete Docter

Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) is 78 years old. When Carl was a child, he met and eventually married a girl named Ellie who grew up in a small midwestern town. Ellie always dreamed of exploring the mountains but died before she got a chance. Now, when developers threaten to move him into an assisted living home, Carl decides to fulfill his promise to Ellie. To accomplish this, he befriends a chubby eight-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. The two opposites match up for thrilling adventures as they encounter wild terrain, unexpected villains, and all the terrifying creatures that wait in the jungle.

My thoughts: Old man and boy go exploring. It somehow involves houses and other things that are carried by balloons.



Toy Story 3 is an upcoming computer-animated 3-D film being produced by Pixar Animation Studios, slated for release on June 18, 2010.[1] It is a sequel to the films Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Lee Unkrich, who edited the previous films, and co-directed the second, took over from the original director, John Lasseter. However, Lasseter remains as producer. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen have been confirmed to return to the cast.

The film has Woody the Sheriff, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of their toy-box friends being dropped off at a day-care center after their owner, Andy, departs for college.

My thoughts: Oooh. I like it. Andy finally grew up and left the toys behind. Now they have to cope. Can’t wait!




Cars 2 is an upcoming computer-animated 3-D film being produced by Pixar Animation Studios and a sequel of the 2006 film Cars. It will be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and is scheduled for release 2011. Ratatouille producer Brad Lewis takes over from John Lasseter as director. Lasseter mentioned, "This time we’re going international." Cars is the second Pixar film to have a sequel, along with Toy Story. The film was originally scheduled for 2012, but was pushed forward a year. The movie is the first of two films to be released in 2011 for Pixar, marking the first time that more than one film for Pixar will be released in the same year.

My thoughts: Yeah. Disney has a drought that year, so Lasseter pumped up production on this one to fill in that gap. After Lasseter took over Disney animation, he’s been in charge of meshing the Pixar and Disney lineup, and their goal is one Disney and one Pixar feature each year. Pixar gets the summers and Disney gets Christmas. So this one fills the Disney gap that Christmas. Anyway, I hope they do more of a road trip for this version because that’s a duh sort of thing to do with cars. The first Cars movie stalled in a hick town. Not the best idea when your characters are moving vehicles. =^)




The Bear and the Bow is an upcoming computer-animated 3-D film being produced by Pixar Animation Studios and starring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson and Julie Walters.

In mythical Scotland, Merida (Reese Witherspoon), a member of the royal family, decides to give up her family name for her dream of becoming an archer. Merida makes some kind of reckless choices, resulting in the destruction of her father's kingdom and her mother's life. Merida then struggles to set things right.

The film, Pixar's first fairy tale, is a combination of director Brenda Chapman's love of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, as well as a reflection on raising her daughter.

My thoughts: Lasseter brings over Brenda Chapman, the director of Prince of Egypt to do a Pixar film (or two). I’m curious why he didn’t have her do this at the Disney studio instead (my guess is that he’s selfish, because she’s an awesome director). Her history (she worked at Disney first, on the stories of Little Mermaid, Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, and Hunchback of Notre Dame) and the theme of this movie feel like they fit better with the Disney brand than the Pixar brand. So this is the first case where we’ll see a mesh between Pixar and Disney. This film will fall somewhere between the two styles. Brenda still holds the title of being the only woman to ever direct an animated DreamWorks, Pixar, and 3D film (and she’s the third woman to direct any animated film). Hats off to Brenda.



Newt (stylized as newt) is an upcoming computer-animated 3-D film being produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It is scheduled for release in June 2012.
Newt and Brooke live in a community college science lab and don't care for each other, yet as the last remaining blue-footed newts on the planet they are forced to mate and save the species.

Writer and Director Gary Rydstrom explained "Newt is smart but he's never had to think for himself and is pampered. Brooke on the other hand is streetwise and not to be messed with."

My thoughts: I don’t know. The actors might make or break this one. Seems too much like a concept than a story. From the director of Lifted. Lifted? Give the For the Birds guy (Ralph Eggleston) a shot at directing! He won an Academy Award! Or maybe the Presto guy (Doug Sweetland); his short was hilarious and he’s about to win an Academy award. =^)


The Princess and the Frog teaser:


The Princess and the Frog will be a 2009 upcoming American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and based upon the classic fairy tale The Frog Prince. It will be the first traditional animated feature since 2004's Home on the Range. When finished, it will take its place as the 48th animated feature by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is being directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, directors of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, with songs and score composed by Randy Newman and starring the voice talents of Anika Noni Rose (as Princess Tiana), Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, John Goodman… The film will be an American fairy tale musical set in New Orleans during the 1920s Jazz Age, and will feature the first African American Disney Princess.

Disney had once announced that Home on the Range would be the studio's last 2D animated film entry to their animated features canon, but after the company's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, it was reported that Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, new leaders of the animation department, were interested in going back to the Disney tradition of 2D animation.

My thoughts: Clements and Musker also did Hercules and Treasure Planet (which was nominated for the Academy Award for animated feature). They’re modeling this more after their first two films, of course. You know, the successful ones. These are no longer synopses. =^)



Rapunzel animation test:


Rapunzel is an upcoming American CGI-animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. The story is based on the classic German fairy tale Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm. The film will be the 49th Disney animated feature and will premiere during the 2010 Christmas season.
Originally, the film's plot revolved around two 'romantically challenged', real-world teenagers who are transformed into Rapunzel and her Prince Pisa by a disgruntled witch who can no longer stand happy fairy-tale endings. However, since production was halted in 2001 for major retooling, Glen Keane, whose projects include the critically acclaimed movie Beauty and the Beast, has "promised" that the film will revert back to the fairy tale's "literary origins." Thus, it is likely that the previously-mentioned plot of two 'romantically challenged, real-world teenagers' will be discarded.

Keane also promises that he’s going back to Rapunzel’s literary origins to do a traditional, character-driven fairy tale that speaks to a modern audience. “It’s a story of the need for each person to become who they are supposed to be and for a parent to set them free so they can become that. It will be a musical and a comedy and have a lot of heart and sincerity. I think that’s what Disney needs to do right now. No one else can do it. We should not be embarrassed or make excuses for doing a fairy tale."

My thoughts: This one has been around for like over 10 years. Wow. When Lasseter took over, Glen was already making it more traditional. So they stayed on that path. When Lasseter took over, the director of Bolt (and Lilo & Stitch), well, bolted… to DreamWorks (because Lasseter literally thrashed Bolt). So the director of Rapunzel, Byron Howard, took on Bolt too. So that’s why Rapunzel got the slip to 2010. Lasseter must be having difficulty finding trustworthy Disney directors. That’s a big honor for Byron to be handed Bolt, since he was in the middle of directing his first film (Rapunzel). Byron has animation experience on Pocahontas, Lilo & Stitch, & Brother Bear. And his story experience is Chicken Little and Bolt. So I imagine Lasseter is going to build up an army of Disney directors like how he did at Pixar. I can’t wait for this one. It’s the first Disney fairy tale in 3D (Chicken Little doesn’t count).




King of the Elves is an upcoming traditional animation/CGI-animated film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios scheduled for release during the 2012 Christmas season. It is currently slated to be Disney's 50th animated feature.
Based on Philip K. Dick's 1953 short story fantasy King of the Elves, the film is about a band of elves and one dwarf living in the modern-day Mississippi Delta who name a local man their king after he helps save them from an evil troll.

My thoughts: This makes sense for Disney. Disney animated films are all about Fairy Tales and children’s books. Directed by the team that did Brother Bear. They also animated for the successful Disney animated films: Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan.



Enjoy!

- TAE

Video of every Disney Animated Film

These are all the feature-length Disney films.

This is amazing. You've got to check it out!



It leaves out the compilation films in the 1940s. That's why it skips from Bambi in 1942 to Cinderella in 1950. Disney had to invest in compilation films instead during World War 2, because the compilation films could be released as a full film and then also as shorts before other films. These films included Fun and Fancy Free and others.

This isn't official Disney canon, and the creator excludes older Disney films that are in the canon (like the compilation films) and newer films that aren't in the canon like Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Goofy Movie (1995), Toy Story (1995), James and the Giant Peach (1996), A Bug's Life (1998), Dinosaurs (2000), Monster's Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), Incredibles (2004), and Cars (2006).

Enjoy!

The story behind Disney's The Three Little Pigs (and sequels)

"You can't beat pigs with pigs” (Said after the success of the 3 little pigs when the public wanted more.) - Walt Disney



Ah, yes, Walt said that you can't beat a pig with a pig, but...

Even Walt succumbed to the pressure of merchandising, business, and success. He didn't intend to turn the Three Little Pigs into regular characters like Mickey Mouse, but he did anyway.

Walt and friends re-created their discussions about the Three Little Pigs song (they shortened weeks into minutes; this also shows that they started with the music before they paid attention to the story):



Disney's intro (he also explains the sequels):



The first short was Three Little Pigs, released as a Silly Sympony in 1933:



The Big Bad Wolf was the first sequel, released as a Silly Symphony in 1934 (it added Little Red Riding Hood to the mix):



The Three Little Wolves was released as a Silly Symphony in 1936:



Practical Pig was released under the Three Little Pigs brand in 1939:



The Thrifty Pig in 1941 (the Nazi version of the original; made for Canada):



So there have actually been 5 Three Little Pigs shorts, but Disney doesn't count The Big Bad Wolf as part of the pigs trilogy, and it doesn't list Thrifty Pig as a Disney short.

And yes, the intro song is Zelda's theme song. I wonder if the Zelda composer was a fan. =^)


They even made a semi-sequel to Who Killed Cock Robin (Cock O the Walk):

https://mail.microsoft.com/OWA/redir.aspx?C=beaa6c40c2b24903a1599378c173ed4b&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dW0ypOOIlwgk


And they also made a sequel to The Tortoise and the Hare.

Enjoy!

- TAE

Tokyo Disneysea: Indiana Jones Adventure

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull. This isn't recorded by me, it is from Barry Bedford. Shot in 2002. This attraction is not based on the new Indiana Jones movie. The name is coincidently based on the Crystal Skull with no relations with the new movie. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull resides in the Lost River Delta at Tokyo Disneysea Resort.

It opened on September 4, 2001 along with the grand opening of Tokyo Disneysea. Your picture is taken during the boulder chamber when the jeep dives underneath it. The photo can be viewed and purchased at the end of the ride.

Tokyo Disney Sea - Sea of Dreams

Tokyo Disney Sea - Sea of Dreams



Kind of sad and funny. This woman tries to touch his hand while they show off the romantic parts of Tokyo Disney Sea. The Tokyo parks are the only two that aren't owned by Disney.

- TAE