Friday, March 30, 2007

New Stuff from Make

Animation house Make has some awesome new stuff up right now.



The first is what you see above, called "Glumpers." I'm not sure if this is a planned TV show, a short of some sort or a movie, but I love it and must see more.

The second, linked below, is a commercial that is apparently meant to show people that smoking and littering combined not only makes chipmunks eyes melt out of their heads but will also burn the entire world up in a matter of seconds.

Just a bit of a slippery slope, but what do I know?

Both are very well done and worth a glance.

Glumpers

Look What You Did!

Make Website

RE-Animation Blog

Meet the Robinsons In Theaters Today!

Disney's all new 3D (in 3D) animated flick, "Meet the Robinsons," is hitting theaters today.



It has been said that Pixar had a big part in helping out with this film, and that their influence led to some re-writes and delays. That being said, the film is currently sitting at a 69% overall on Rotten Tomatoes right now, which is one of the best scores seen from the recent batch of animated films, so it sounds like it was all for the best.

I'll take a look at it this weekend and let those of you who don't see it know what to expect. You may just need to ingest hallucinogenic mushrooms before you go, so that you can have the same experience I had.

(Note: Bleeding Pixels and its author(s) do not endorse or in any way support, use, purchase, sniff, drink, shoot snort or ingest hallucinogenic mushrooms or other harmful drugs. Please don't use drugs, dummy.)

Official Meet the Robinsons Website

Rotten Tomatoes' Collection of Meet the Robinsons Reviews

Shrek Website Update

Not to be outdone by the "Surf's Up!" website update, Dreamworks has updated the "Shrek the Third" website to include anything and everything related to the big green guy.



The site now includes videos, games, a history of Shrek, and much more. I played Shrek Sudoku for about an hour and am now convinced that I might in fact be the dumbest person alive. Well... that and the fact that I have test results from the government to prove it.

Official Shrek Website

Surf's Up Trailer Up!

The brand new trailer for "Surf's Up!" from Sony is now up on Moviefone in standard and HD formats!



The film looks great (those waves still amaze me), and I really like the concept behind it of documentary meets surfing flick. I can't wait for this one to hit theaters, and plan on wearing a speedo to the viewing on the first day of release.

Surf's Up Trailer In HD

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Shrek the Third A Whopping 81 Minutes Long!

Clocking in at just 21 minutes longer than an episode of "The Gilmore Girls," Dreamworks' upcoming "Shrek the Third" is hoping for repeat viewers.



While describing "Shrek the Third" as "good" and "a worthy successor" to its blockbuster forebears, Katzenberg suggested that his green ogre could have an advantage over Spidey and Pirate Jack Sparrow during the "unprecedented" month of blockbusters.

"We are the only family film, the only PG-rated movie and we are 81 minutes long. That pretty much means we are going to tend to get one-and-a-half to two shows for every one of theirs because they are longer films," Katzenberg said.


While I believe in the "too much of a good thing," theory and don't like my movies to ever push into the three hour range, is 1 hour and 21 minutes really all they could come up with? Granted, if it's a rock solid 81 minutes, I could care less, but it just seems like they could have come up with an extra 10-20 minutes somewhere for the sequel to the highest grossing animated film of all time.

More Info On Shrek the Third Via Yahoo! News

Surf's Up Website Redesign

Sony's upcoming "Surf's Up!" has a newly redesigned website that went up today.



The site really does seem to have a ton of content on it now, and just a quick peek reveals games, icons, wallpapers, bios, and even a spot to design your own surf board.

The name created for me by the "Gnarly Name Generator" was "Daring Dave," which is about as "gnarly" as "Diphole Dave" or "Dungsucker Dave." Actually... "Dungsucker Dave" really does have a nice ring to it.

I might stick with that one.

"Surf's Up" hits US theaters on June 8th. Check the site for International release dates.

Official Surf's Up Site

TMNT AWN Article

Animation World Network talked with the filmmakers behind "TMNT," and luckily for us, they decided to write their conversation down on paper.



Imagi used Maya, today's default CGI software, with Pixar's RenderMan used for the production pipeline's "back-end." "Maya's front end, its tools to move models, place lights and so on are very interactive, it's what Maya's good at," Wang explains. "What it's not so good at, it doesn't have a great render -- it has a sufficient render.

"What people do when they become higher-end studios, either they write own software like DreamWorks, or they'll buy high-end off the shelf software, which is what we did: Pixar created RenderMan. They keep us a year behind the version they use in-house, but it's pretty cool. We upgraded to it to get the better quality for the Turtles."


That's pretty clever of Pixar to license their software but keep everyone else one version behind. It's the same way that I offer to let all of my friends wear my underpants, but only after I've worn them for a year.

Read the entire article by hitting the link below.

AWN TMNT Article FTW!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Ratatouille Trailer in HD

The "Ratatouille" trailer is now up in HD at the Disney site.



I really like the style of the characters, as they feel like they could very well be a part of "The Incredibles" universe. In fact, the little chef that takes his hat could easily be a relative of Edna Mode. I was watching the making of "The Incredibles" the other night and they commented how Brad Bird made it very clear that he wasn't concerned with realistic wrinkles or blemishes, and I'm glad to see that carry to "Ratatouille." These are cartoons after all, so I don't mind that I can't see every zit and laugh line.

The Incredibles Trailer in Various Formats

Surf's Up Preview Event

Via Animated News, Coming Soon has a great article on a recent preview event for "Surf's Up" that they were able to attend.



The footage being shown by Sony includes the first ten minutes of the movie, which starts exactly like the current trailer with the voice of Shia LaBeouf's Cody Maverick explaining the history of penguin surfing and the legend of "Big Z" and what he did for the sport before mysteriously vanishing. We then meet Cody and his family through a series of interviews from their Antarctica abode of "Shiverpool." With a bully as a brother and an unsupportive mother, Cody really wants to get out of there, and he's given his chance to escape when big-time surfing promoter Reggie Belafonte (voiced by James Wood) sends his sandpiper scout Mikey Abromowitz (Mario Cantone) to Shiverpool to look for new talent for a surfing competition on Pen Gu Island. Of course, Cody is very excited but during his audition, there are no waves so he chokes. Undeterred, he chases after Mikey's whale transport riding on the waves created by its departure, begging and pleading until Mikey agrees to take him to Pen Gu Island. As they travel, Cody meets Chicken Joe, a surfing chicken from the MidWest voiced by Jon Heder who has a similar backstory. When we meet Chicken Joe, he's enjoying the rush that comes with jumping into the water shooting out of the whale's blowhole.

I loved "Open Season," and really think it got a bad rap for being "another fuzzy animal movie," so I'm excited to see what Sony can do with "Surf's Up." The whole "mockumentary" style of filmmaking also appeals to me a great deal ("Spinal Tap," "Best In Show," "Waiting for Guffman," etc), and that coupled with the amazing visuals makes this my second most anticpated film of the summer, behind "Ratatouille."

Wait... make that my third most anticpated... almost forgot about the new "Rambo."

Much more on "Surf's" and the event via the link below.

Coming Soon's Recap of the Surf's Up Preview Event

Animated News

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Carried Away

It's that time of year when student short films come pouring in, such as the marvelous "Carried Away."



Just from a technical standpoint alone, this film deserves kudos, for it's great bubbles. Outside of that, I love surreal short films like this, especially involving the imagination of a child.

As a kid, I had similar daydreams, but they were usually the result of me drinking the entire bottle of bubble mix and then passing out on my front lawn.

Good stuff!

Carried Away the Film

RE-Animation Blog

Monday, March 26, 2007

The Virgin Voyage

Another great short for everyone to check out from the students of The Spline Doctors, called "Virgin Voyage."



Just be aware that this short has an attractive robot in it and uses the term "sex room," so if you're offended by either of those things, you should go find some counseling.

Virgin Voyage Short

Spline Doctors Site

Cheese Short Film

VFS student, Peter Harakaly has just posted his completed short "Cheese" to the interwebs.



It's a great little short, and has a nice Looney Tunes feel to it. I do feel the pacing is a touch slow, but overall it's a fantastic effort.

The one bit of advice I would like to give to anyone thinking of creating a short, is that you give it an original title. While "Cheese" is simple and to the point, in this day and age of computers, it makes it hard for people to find your work. If I'm sitting at home and think, "Man... I remember that short about the rat and the cheese. I'd like to see that again!" but all I can remember is the title "Cheese," doing a search is going to be a pointless effort. Same thing goes for if you ever decide to post it on YouTube and have a title like "Cheese." Go do a search on YouTube for "cheese" and see if you want to wade through 10,000 videos of cheese to find the short film you're looking for.

The point is that if the film had been named, "A Cheesy Affair" or something like that, it would make finding it again much easier. Just because your short is original, it doesn't mean your title doesn't have to be.

Cheese Short Film

Sunday, March 25, 2007

What is this crap?

Some of the worst animation I've ever seen...



I said that I'd be uploading an assignment from my studies at Animation Mentor, and here it is. It's short, so I hope you don't hate me too much for wasting 11 seconds of your life.

If, for some unknown reason, you'd like to see a high-res version, follow the link below.

In all seriousness, I know there are some animators that frequent this page, so if you've got comments and/or critiques, please let me know by leaving a comment.

Thanks!

Just to be 100% clear, as I've mentioned in the past, I try to stay far away from personal posts like this one, so don't expect this blog to turn into a walking demo reel. 99% of it will continue to be content created by animators who actually know what they are doing.

High Res Versions of Dave's Class 2 Assignments

Animation Mentor

TMNT - The Review

It's not a 30%. I'll tell you that right now... dude.



I just got back from a viewing of "TMNT" the movie, and I can tell you, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this film is not deserving of the 25% it's currently gathered over on Rotten Tomatoes from our friends in the film critic world.

Let me tell you up front that I was a fan of The Turtles "back in the day," but I'm by no means a fanboy. Heck, I'm still not even sure which ones are which, in terms of names and got more than a couple nasty looks tonight when I said things like, "The one with the sword kicked ass!" So you're not getting some delusional review by a guy who slept in turtle PJs as a kid.

With that out of the way, let me tell you that this movie is very good. It's most certainly not great, and that's mainly due to the story, but it's worth the price of admission and a film you should see on the big screen to truly appreciate.

Going into a Weinstein picture, I of course expected art in line with "Hoodwinked," but that's not the case. The character models are awesome, from the Turtles and Splinter right on through to the monsters. The animation is also top notch, and the Turtles are actually a lot of fun to watch as the scramble across the rooftops and fight the various baddies. The scene on the rooftop in the rain near the giant red neon sign is amazing, and worth the price of admission alone.

The plot is where the film stumbles, with it's cliches (stars align to unleash bad things on Earth) and cheesy dialogue, the the script is about as thin as a pizza.

That being said, "TMNT" is a great action flick and a beautiful film to watch. The eye candy makes up for the premise, and if you're even a remote fan of the franchise or a fan of CG films, it's worth your time for sure.

Cowabunga indeed.

Official TMNT Website

TMNT Coverage at IGN

TMNT Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes

Saturday, March 24, 2007

New Ratatouille Trailer

The latest and greatest trailer for "Ratatouille" is now up at the official site.



I'll let the trailer speak for itself, but then I'll interrupt it halfway through to say...

I want to spend the summer at a vacation home with Pixar, just cuddling and expressing my love for it.

Official Ratatouille Site (with new trailer)

Friday, March 23, 2007

TMNT Clips at IGN

IGN has a ton of "TMNT" clips posted right now, including at least one exclusive.



So if you're on the fence about seeing the film, head over to IGN's site and check out some of the clips. I already liked the art style, but I like it even more after seeing some of these clips. While some are much better than others (the jungle scene was awesome, while the clip with the Foot Clan in the office was just okay), overall the film looks great.

The film is currently scoring a 29% overall, but most of the critics agree that it looks great but has no substance. Sort of like Jessica Simpson reading outloud from the Larry the Cable Guy autobiography.

TMNT Clips at IGN

TMNT Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes

TMNT In Theaters Today

Grab a pizza and your sword which you never use to actually kill anyone, and head on down to your local theater today, because "TMNT" is slashing it's way onto movie screens!



Get ready for more shouts of "DUDE!", "COWABUNGA!", and "RIGHTEOUS!" than you can shake a stick at, as well as a burp joke at least once a minute.

In all seriousness, this looks like a fun movie, and a really great art style, so look for me at the theater.

I'll be the one wearing the "Donatello Does Machines Like I Do Hot Chicks" shirt.

Official TMNT Website

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Get the Glass Game

Normally I hate games that are used solely to advertise something, but in the case of the "Get the Glass Game," I can't possibly harbor any ill will towards it because it's just so well done.



I only played about 10 minutes of it, but that is simply because I'm at work, and I already spent 4 hours today playing Minesweeper, so I'm feeling a bit guilty. That being said, I can promise you that I will be playing tonight when I get home. What a great overall art style and just a fun concept.

Get the Glass Game

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Shrek the Third Poster the Second

A new poster for "Shrek the Third" is now up at IMP Awards.



I love Shrek's heel touching pose, and the fact that they managed to sneak in the Gingerbread Man.

More Shrek the Third Posters at IMP Awards

Why Pixar is Pixar

Ever wonder how a studio can rack up 20 Academy Awards, countless nominations, and gross a combined total of $3.4 billion at the box office alone?



The answer is in the story, and the philosophy behind the telling of said story.

Animation World Magazine is currently running a great article on the inner-workings of the Pixar creative process, as told during the recent Screenwriting Expo 5.

Here, then, are some of Pixar leaders' foundational tenets:

- They make movies that they would like to see. They are moviegoers first and filmmakers second. They like being able to take their whole family to the same show.

- They shy away from story formulas. If one appears, they abandon it.

- Animation is a medium, not a genre. Be original. Dare to be stupid. When discovering your story, you have to be in a creatively safe environment.

- They do not pretend to be better than others in their ability. They band together to fix their mistakes. Their intent is to "just make good movies." In crafting their films, the regard is always what is best for the movie -- not the individual, not the studio.

- They try to cultivate the cheerful reaction that Walt Disney inspired through his animated films, to appeal to the sense of wonder in people's minds, stimulated by imagination.


There is a ton of great reading in this article, and a reminder to us all that while visuals are very important in the world of 3D animation, they don't mean jack squat if the story and planning isn't there to begin with!

Pixar Article at AWN

Ratatouille Trailer News

According to Coming Soon, a new "Ratatouille" trailer is set to release this Friday, and this one is official!



I'm not exactly sure if this is the reason that Disney had all of the YouTube versions of the Asian trailer pulled, or if it's just because they're Disney and they don't believe in fun. Either way, we don't have long to wait for the official one, so I think we'll be okay.

Coming Soon even has a link to where you can get a countdown clock to the trailer, in case you aren't sure when "this Friday" is.

Ratatouille Trailer Info at Coming Soon!

Friday, March 16, 2007

Ratatouille Poster

Here is a new foreign poster for the film, "Ratatouille":



There was also a new international trailer posted on YouTube today, which I found out about 10 minutes ago. I went to watch it, and by the time it was over, the video had been removed by Disney. I guess they figured since I had seen it, there were no more important people left to view it and they should just have it removed.

If it gets posted again, I'll make sure to let you know.

EDIT: Watch it while you can!



Poster via the Animated News Forum

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Animation Mentor Winter Showcase

The Winter student showcase from the students of Animation Mentor is now online!



As always, the high level of work coming out of The Ment is just mind blowing, and I can only hope that my time at the school produces work that even comes close to that same level.

Winter Showcase at Animation Mentor

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Monsters vs Aliens in 3D 3D

Yes I typed "3D" twice in the title, and that's because "Monsters vs Aliens," the upcoming film from Dreamworks set to release in Summer of 2009, is going to be both CG and 3D.



The growth in the number of theaters capable of projecting 3D films has dramatically risen in the past two years. It is expected by 2009 that there will be several thousand screens equipped for 3D. DreamWorks Animation believes that the rapid deployment of digital cinemas by exhibitors around the world and the latest technology developments will allow the company to take advantage of this new platform. The company has started production on its first film in this format, Monsters vs. Aliens (working title), intended for release in the summer of 2009.

I remember a time in the 80s when every film was in 3D, but the novelty quickly wore off. Is that something we really need to bring back? I just don't really see the need for it, especially if I have to wear the dumb glasses in the theater. Not to say the actual film won't be good, but I just don't know that 3D will really add anything to it.

Now I need to go take a nap on my waterbed so that I can get my rest before I head out on my four-wheeled roller skates and listen to my Walkman tape machine.

Dreamworks Press Release via Animated News

Monday, March 12, 2007

The Ment

For those of you who don’t know, I’m enrolled in Animation Mentor, and I’m just about to wrap up my 2nd quarter (term? class?) there.



While I normally try to refrain from personal posts on this site (please try to ignore the 36 personal links in the right column over there), I do want to talk about my experience at “The Ment,” since I do get questioned about it from time to time.

The degree that I have in computer animation is from a chain of schools that you’ve probably heard of. I’d prefer not to mention the school by name, but chances are that if you live near a major city, you have one close by. The reason I’m not trying to name names is because I found my time there to be less than perfect. In fact, it was far from it. I vividly remember sitting in a Maya class, as an instructor took us through a Maya modeling book on how to build a spaceship. In other words, he wasn’t “teaching,” he was simply reading out loud. When a student would ask a question, this professor would then have to consult the glossary of the book, hoping that a key term the student mentioned in their question(s) could be found there. If not, he would tell the student he would have an answer for them next week, which was sort of like trusting a heroin addict to “have the money for you next week.”

I wish I could say that, at this particular institute of learning, this was the exception rather than the rule, but it really wasn’t. Now, as with anything in life, education is what you make of it, and there was some brilliant work that came out of the school. The problem is that it had little to nothing to do with what was taught, and really just a matter of sheer talent overcoming subpar teaching.

Upon graduation, I packaged up my little demo reel and sent it off to companies, convinced that I had no shot in hell at landing a job in computer animation, and boy was I right. Not with that reel at least. So here I was, having graduated with honors, as a member of the Dean’s list, with nothing to show for it but a demo reel that I even laughed at when I watched it.

In other words, saying I had a degree in animation from that school was worth about as much as a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering applied physics from Jiffy Lube.

So when the chance to join up with Animation Mentor sprung up some months back, I was somewhat reluctant. I didn’t want to get burned again by a school that wasn’t accredited and had no real proven track record. However, once I looked at the student showcase for the first time, I couldn’t sign up fast enough. Absolutely everything contained in that showcase was better than anything I had done before, and I wanted to see if I could match that level of work.

Having no true animation experience, other than the one class in 3D animation I took at my former school, I had no idea what to expect. We started out animating a bouncing ball, a standard for early animators, to learn timing, weight and arcs. From there we progressed to a ball with a tail, then a ball with two legs (essentially two tails), and then something clicked…

I started to realize how each assignment was building on the previous. They didn’t just throw us in with a full-featured rig and say, “Make it do stuff,” as was the case at that other school. Instead they showed us how everything relates to the same principals of animation (developed and outline by the 9 old men), and got our feet wet a little at a time. After the ball with legs, we got a ball with legs and a torso/head. Next came arms. Suddenly, before you realize it, you’re working on a full-bodied rig, yet what you’ve learned keeps it from overwhelming you.

It’s an amazing structure, and one that continues to build, with full fingers and toes, and then a fully functional facial rig. All the while, somewhere deep in your mind, you’re still animating that simple little bouncing ball. Not only that, but you’re animating using the principals that have been introduced to you over time throughout the course. You aren’t just making an arm move, but you’re making that arm move with overlap, and you’re tracking your arcs, and you’re concerned with weight. Again, this is all done without you even realizing directly that you’ve started to focus on these things.

It can be intense at times, but you never ever feel like there is an assignment that you can’t accomplish. Not only that, but in later classes you get a “pick list” that allows you to choose your level of difficulty for your assignment, which helps you to stay in a comfort zone of sorts.

Outside of the class structure, AM has done an excellent job with their “campus.” Though the school is online, I’ve had FAR more interaction with students then I ever had at previous schools (I’ve also attended a University). From the forums, to a 24 hour chat, to feedback that students can leave on each assignment, to the weekly live Q&A with my mentor, I have had no shortage of people to bounce ideas and questions off of.

I know it sounds like I’m being paid to write this stuff about The Ment, but I’m really not. For aspiring animators, this school is everything it bills itself as, and it keeps getting better. This is not 3 guys with a laptop running an online school that you see advertised during daytime television. This is the real deal, and far more rewarding of an experience than other schools that charge 5 times as much.

My ultimate goal is to make the switch from the technical side of life to the creative one, and I have no doubt that, with the help of Animation Mentor, I can (and will) succeed.

At some point, once I’m all finished with this quarter, I’ll post my progress reel, so that you can see my stuff first hand. In the meantime, I highly suggest you swing over to The Ment’s website and check out some of the work.
You’ll be glad you did.

Animation Mentor

Batman: Chapter 1

Titled "Batman - Chapter One: Help Me!" this short from Isaak Fernandez Rodriguez looks to be a nice twist on an old character.



Not much is known, by me, about the short, other than the fact that it's currently being hosted over at Daniel Martinez Lara's website.

In any case, it's a fun little short film, and I hope there winds up being an Episode Two. Maybe even some prequels or something.

And I love when he jumps up on the coat rack.

Batman - Episode One: Help Me!

RE-Animation Blog

Friday, March 09, 2007

Krapooyo

This is such an amazing little movie, but I'm pretty sure you need to be eating hallucinogenic mushrooms to fully appreciate it.



Now you might be saying to yourself that since I come across as fully appreciating the film, it stands to reason that I must be on hallucinogenic mushrooms. Well I consider that to be a totally irresponsible assumption.

I prefer black tar heroine.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Tofu the Vegan Zombie

I bet this is like the third video you've seen today where a vegan zombie dances to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," but I'm showing it to you anyway.



Some good animation and poses in this one, but I have to admit that I have never heard of Tofu (the Zombie, not the crap food) before. Then I went over to the official site and you would think not knowing this character is like not knowing who Tom Hanks is.

Speaking of... I don't think Tom Hanks has ever been better than he was in "Bosom Buddies." That's not to say that he wasn't great in other roles, but man... he really nailed that roll. I wonder if he's ever considered making a movie out of that show. It might be just the thing to jumpstart his career.

Where was I? Oh yeah...

Tofu the Vegan Zombie Dances to Thriller

The Official Tofu the Vegan Zombie Website

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

How long before...

...they just rename the damn thing "Pixarland"?



Upcoming Pixar (link below) posted a bunch of new high-res scans from the most recent Annual Report from Walt Disney. Contained in those images are bunch of concept art pieces from upcoming attractions at Disney's theme parks, and I think you'll probably notice a very similar trend in each of them right off the bat.

A few posts back I said that Disney really hasn't learned much from Pixar, even though they've spent millions of dollars to own/publish their work. Disney is still (as it has been for a long time now) about the dollar, and somewhere lost focus on the actual vision that Walt had of entertaining children and the young at heart.

So when I see these Pixar-themed rides, on one hand I think how neat they'll probably wind up being as Pixar is going to make sure that the quality bar is very high. Not only that, but some are just a natural fit, such as Carland now being "Cars" themed and the fact that "Finding Nemo" is a natural fit for the submarine ride.

On the other hand, I remember when Disney made rides at their theme parks just to entertain people and not to further their franchises. The Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribbean (remember... the ride came first, not the movie), and Space Mountain, just to name a few, aren't based on any franchise. They're just fun rides and they made a name for the park just simply based on the fact that they were fun.

These days it seems as though every ride at Disneyland or Disneyworld has to be based on a franchise, so that they can lead you through a little shop at the end of the ride and shove a crap-ton of merchandise down your throat.

The Pixar rides will probably be great, and I'll probably enjoy them, but I just wish that Disney would start to take chances again instead of always just milking every single franchise to death. Somewhere along the way, and it happened some time ago, Disney's train went off track, and I just hope to doesn't pull Pixar off with it.

More Images from Rides and Upcoming Pixar Films at Upcoming Pixar

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Garto

A wonderful little short titled "Garto" by Luis Gomez Guzman is now available for viewing on his website.



Usually with these types of independently produced short films, the animation is great but the art is just okay, or the models are amazing but the textures aren't. It's usually a "this is good, but that is just okay," but in the case of "Garto," Luis does an amazing job of not only making the world they live in beautiful, but also in nailing things like fluids (the waterfall), lighting and overall doing a great job with the actual animating.

EDIT: You know what might be awesome? If I actually include a link to the film. I'm an idiot

Garto Short Film

New TMNT Ad

Saw this last night while I was watching TV...



I still hate the voices, but it looks like there should be a decent amount of action in the film and the art style seems to be great. I'll probably check this one out, even though it means handing over some of my money to the Weinstein Company, just to watch some turtles punch things.

I'm also curious to see how they find ways to let the turtles use their weapons without killing anything, which is always a challenge. I would imagine we'll probably see them kill lots of robots or something. Nobody ever cares if robots are killed...

... except other robots.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Brad Bird Quote from WonderCon

Brad Bird was at WonderCon, promoting his upcoming "Ratatouille," and made an interesting comment regarding a possible "The Incredibles" sequel...



“But I think at Pixar, the bottom line is the story that you’re telling. And Pixar does not look at sequels as a financial plan. We feel we have a relation ship with the audience and that they believe in each movie we put out. We believe completely in every movie we put out. If I can come up with a story that is as good or better than that first film, then I’d love to return to that world, but it would have to be story first.”

Philosphies like that one are why Pixar is where they are today, and why everyone continues to wonder how a company like Disney can spend so much time and money to land Pixar and yet not learn from them at all. Sure Disney has made some progress (bringing back 2D, letting Pixar consult on "Meet the Robinsons," etc), but overall they still continue to pump out straight to DVD releases and sub-standard films in the hope of making a quick buck. Pixar, on the other hand, understands that if the quality of the film comes first, the money will follow.

While I'm the first to say that I would LOVE to see "The Incredibles" get a sequel, what Brad says makes all the sense in the world. There is no sense in doing a sequel just to do a sequel.

More on Brad Bird's apperance at WonderCon from /Film

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Robinsons in 3D

Looks like "Meet the Robinsons" will be brought to theaters in something called "Disney Digital 3D."



Disney is so clever in the way that the slap their name onto an existing technology. I mean, have you bought a "Disney DVD"? It's totally different from a regular DVD. I also have a ton of "Disney Home Videos" lying around, which I just don't watch anymore since they aren't in "Disney HD."