walt disney

Awful Battle… Dead Dogs + Kid Films = Bad Idea

Posted on by sgottahurt

Once upon a time (not ABC-Disney’s eponymous show), Tim Burton and Don Bluth were a part of the Disney family.  Coincidentally (Coinkidinkily), one of the last projects they shared parts of was The Black Cauldron (Burton designed the The Horned King;  Bluth animated a few uncredited scenes).

Anygurgiwantsmunchiesandcrunchies, they share one other similarity: a fascination with dead dogs (not really).

SIDENOTE: A Coinkydonk , too?  Why is this an Awful Battle?  Read on.

In 1984, the last thing Burton made for Disney was a short film called Frankenweenie.  This lead to him getting fired.

As for Bluth, All Dogs Go to Heaven ended his short streak of hits.  Even though it developed spin-offs, it was mostly a flop following the highly successful An American Tail and The Land Before Time films.   (RIP Judith Barsi)

Now that Disney and Burton made money peace over the stop-action Nightmare Before Christmas and live-action Alice in Wonderland films, he’s flipping the script on his newest film:

Why does it seem even creepier animated than the original which was live-action?!

Wasn’t this sticker enough?!?!

Perhaps the alternate isn’t much better:

(Get it?  Dylan Dog?  Dead of Night?)

JusWondering… Why Isn’t This A Disney Release?

Posted on by sgottahurt

I barely remember hearing about the upcoming Gnomeo & Juliet, except that it was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet using lawn decorations, and featuring music by Sir Elton John.  Oh.  That’s exactly what it is.

At the start of the preview, when the Touchstone Pictures logo popped up, I thought:

Why isn’t this a Disney release?  (see above header)

Because Touchstone is Disney, you see.  So I started thinking:

Maybe it’s a PG-13 release aimed at an older audience.

After all, that is why Disney created the thunderbolt off-shoot in the first place.  But no.  It’s rated G.  And it’s the first of all Touchstone Pictures to be rated so low.  (It’s only their second animated feature, to boot.  The other is The Nightmare Before Christmas.)

Well, how was I going to get to the bottom of this?  What rhymes with stickymedia?

Initially, the film was going to be produced by Disney Feature Animation, but was shut down by its new chief, John Lasseter, after the Pixar acquisition.  Miramax Films picked up the project and guided its production until the division closed down… The film will now be released under the Touchstone Pictures banner on February 11, 2011… (via Wikipedia)

So much for answers.  My guess is that so much work was put into it prior to merger with Pixar, that it was the traditional cry of:

The show must gnome on!

Sorry for that pun, but I’d venture to guess the actual film won’t be much better… And for sure, it won’t be better than this adaption of the Shakespeare classic:

Coinkydink Or Coinkydonk? Do Disney Heroines Have A Dress Code?

Posted on by sgottahurt

Beginning in 1937, Walt Disney set a precedent with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Was it in animation? I guess possibly.

Was it in film history? Maybe.  I think so.

Was it in– Listen man, do I look like a film major or something?  (For the record – I am.)

The precedent I speak of is a simple one: almost all Disney heroines wear blue.

EXAMPLE 1: THE DISNEY PRINCESSES

Snow White - Cinderella - Aurora (Briar-Rose) - Eilonwy - Ariel - Jasmine - Pocahontas - Mulan - Kira - Tiana

Okay, so Snow White is wearing all the primary colors, Sleeping Beauty’s dress changes back and forth between pink and blue, Eilonwy’s eyes are the bluest thing on her, and only pieces of Pocahontas and Mulan’s outfits are blue, but there’s still further proof in the pudding.

EXAMPLE 2: THE DISNEY NON-PRINCESSES

Blue Fairy - Alice - Wendy - Jenny - Belle - Esmerelda - Jane

This one’s easy. The Blue Fairy has the color in her name; Alice & Belle and Wendy & Jenny are practically twins; Esmerelda’s corset is blue and for Jane it’s her kerchief.  Blue eyes are shared by almost all of these ladies as well.  Sorry Belle (brown) and Esmerelda (green).

EXAMPLE 3: THE DISNEY ANIMALS

Jumbo - Lady - Purdy - Duchess

Lady and Purdy might only have blue collars, and Duchess only blue eyes, but Jumbo sure has one big blue blanket.  As far as the animals go, these few are lucky.  The others…

EXAMPLE 4: WILD ANIMALS AND WILD, UM, CHILDS

Bambi's Mother - Maid Marian - Bianca - Nala - Megara - Lilo

These are the unlucky ones that break the blue streak.  It makes sense that Bambi’s Mother and Nala don’t represent the traditional hue, seeing as how their stories take place in the wild, but it’s also interesting that the anthropomorphized animals (Maid Marian and Bianca) wear purple alongside the temptress-turned-heroine Megara.  I figure Lilo never wears blue since her pet “puppy” Stitch is nothing but.

So what does all this blue business mean?

Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. (via Color Wheel Pro)

Hmm… those are pretty decent traits for all these characters to be associated with.  What I don’t understand is whay there has to be an emphasis on pretty…

Wait.  The emphasis was mine.  Never mind.

(Thanks to David for the tip)