Poor Mrs.Potts Indeed

LOL! Found this on The Disney Blog. It made me smile, so i thought i'd put it on. I feel bad for these poor actors at Disney World...but i guess its all a part of the charm! The audience didn't seem to mind as they gave an encouraging round of applause for Mrs.Potts.
:-)

"Ratatouille" Opens...

Gone are the days when there use to be ONE animated movie a year(or less) from Disney, much like an event for which one (at least me) would wait a whole year.
Now animated features are quite common place. Though the art & technology improves, the story telling and ideas seem to just go down the drain.
So , ironically, its a very grim time for a fan of this incredible art form, in spite of the abundance of "Product".
Hence, u will understand my enthusiasm for this post and the release of this little film. Though i have already reviewed it, cant help but show my support for it and encourage everyone to buy an opening weekend ticket for this film ,simply cause it deserves it and the right message needs to be sent to suits, who lets face it, run this art form.
Don't worry, you don't have to take my word for it, here are but just a few of the unanimous rave reviews from respected critics (besides the glowing ones already being flashed everywhere by Time, Variety, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone etc)...

The film is being gushed over for its look (Chicago Tribune: “you have never seen a computer-animated feature with this sort of visual panache and detail”; Minneapolis Star Tribune: “I defy you to name another animated film so overflowing with superfluous beauty”), its story (Beaumont Review: “If rival studios ever adopted Pixar’s story process for their films, there would be no need for critics”; Associated Press: “Ratatouille is free of the kind of gratuitous pop-culture references that plague so many movies of the genre; it tells a story, it’s very much of our world but it never goes for the cheap, easy gag”), and especially its director (Slate: “Brad Bird’s best movie yet, and from the writer-director who made two of the best American animated features of the past decade… that’s something”; New York Magazine: “this puts him somewhere between Chuck Jones and Michelangelo”).

Animators As Voice Actors Too!

WDCC: "DeVil On Wheels"

I was overjoyed when i located this rare limited hand numbered 500 piece release from 2004, but then it turned out to be signed by Dusty Horner (one of my fav. sculptors), made me ecstatic!My FIRST signed piece ever!

Also,this makes Cruella DeVill the only character who features TWICE in my WDC Collection. This and "Its That DeVil Woman". But who can blame me?

This piece captures her frenzied driving when she is chasing the milk truck carrying all the dalmatians in the climax of the film.I think its cool that she isn't really seated in the car.This is a high speed chase in bad weather conditions, so she is flying off the seat as she tries to maintain her balance while very unsuccessfully trying to maintain control of the car.Holding on the steering wheel with so much passion and desperation! lol
Her huge fur coat flying like a cape as the car itself is falling apart and off balance on the snow/ice covered dirt road.
The good part about this piece is, if i ever mange to break a piece or whatever,it will only add to its authenticity. There are scratches on the car, the door is falling off the hinges, the metal bumper is out of shape etc etc.
Awesome!

l

Anyone Can Be An Animator!

Hehe, saw this on Cartoon Brew...looks like fun. i wonder how elaborate can this technique get?

In Theatres: "Ratatouille" (Review)

Just saw an advance preview screening of this new Pixar/Brad Bird movie...
In one word - "WOW"
In many ...MANY words-For me this will be a landmark film. not only does it represent Pixar's character animators at the top of their game, but it also marks the FIRST time (according to me) that character animation in CG is hitting the highs that the Nine Old Men did in the 50s and 60s at Disney...its really a gorgeous looking movie too with "heart" and a cool cool food critic voiced by Peter O'Toole (with his very apt, typewriter of death and coffin room) ,who has one of the most well written piece about Critics in general ,towards the end of the film.
The story is about achieving the "Impossible" dream, when everyone says u cant do it and about self doubt and conflict that probably every artist (and non-artist for that matter) goes through.
Though again, u have the Pixar formula with the whole buddy movie concept and what not...but i guess its amazing how they can make soooo many good movies by making variations of different degrees to the same concept!! i guess it goes to the credit...

And on a small but important side note, a personal request -
PIXAR , please,please ,oh please..stop using TV commercials/news programs to get the story/setup/ exposition established. I know it works really well, but its just too easy , and its really becoming my pet peeve against you cause you do it in EVERY movie(wherever u can justify a TV)...i mean come on, its old now, think of a new story telling device already,i know u can...PLEASE!

The end credits are very cool too and so is the short "Lifted" that plays before the movie!
Oh and i caught one in-joke..keep a lookout for a hidden cameo by Bon Voyage (the French bomber bad guy robbing the bank) from "The Incredibles"

Cant wait to see the movie again in 2 weeks on the opening weekend!

Disney/Pixar's "Up"?!?!

A clue about the ever tight lipped Pixar's next production after Summer 2008's "Wall-E".

Buena Vista (the distribution arm of Pixar's parent company, Disney), has set a 12 June 2009 release date for an animated movie called "Up".
No other details known yet, in true Pixar tradition. The name too is obviously just a code or a part of the real title.
Its rumored to be directed either by:
-Pete Doctor(Monsters Inc.)
-Brenda Chapman (Co-Director of Dreamworks' "Prince Of Egypt" and brilliant Story Artist from Disney's"Beauty And The Beast"and others)
-Gary Rydstrom (Award winning Sound Director, getting into filmaking and the director of Pixar's latest short film "Lifted", to be seen attached with "Ratatouille" in 2 weeks!)

We probably wont hear any further details abot "Up" until Wall-E is out next summer.Just like we don't know much about Wall-E until the teaser debuts with Ratatouille (so excited for it,the best looking CG film yet, for me)this month.

So let the speculation begin...