Did You Catch This Reference in Futurama?
As featured in “The Mutants Are Revolting”.
I’m curious to see how many people get it.
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Animation
The Brilliant Opportunity That Mars Needs Moms Offers Disney
At this point, we should have all read the headlines and the aftermath of what appears to be one of the biggest flops in recent years. However, from what I have read, it would appear that things are mostly focused on the rather unnerving presence of the characters in the uncanny valley more-so than any other aspect of the movie. Rotten Tomatoes has a good smattering of both sides. It seems the story is actually pretty decent and overall, it’s not the worst film ever released. It’s just the characters are so darn fugly.
With the prospect of writing off somewhere in the region of $150 million or more, there would appear to be very few options open to the studio for this rejected project.
Such a statement is true, if looked at in the traditional sense of release windows, DVD sales, cable TV rights and so forth (yeah, broadcast networks figure in ‘so forth’ although they would take the place of cable in Europe).
What if say, Disney looked at this ‘failure’ as an opportunity? “Impossible!” I hear you say. Ah, but such failure can often force companies to experiment and explore new methods of revenue.
For example, the film’s already lost money at the cinema, and is unlikely to reap back its cost in DVD sales either. Would you not agree that this represents a great opportunity for Disney to experiment with online streaming? No, not the kind it does already, but with real, honest-to-goodness online streaming, where everyone can watch and share without restriction?
The film’s already lost money so that is now a sunk cost, they’ll never get that back, but they can focus on exposure. Again, from what I’ve read, the film isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be. Perhaps it’s just because the film’s core audience has not been found yet.
Such an experiment is unlikely to cost them much and it would be useful in allowing the company to figure out where revenue can be made online. They could even play around with things. Like say, “watch Mars Needs Moms online and earn the chance to purchase a signed poster!” or something like that. There are plenty of ways of offering incentives to fans and sadly, a conglomerate like Disney has long since lost the knack of seeking out and exploiting such revenues.
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Irish Week: Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Responsibly, Watch The Secret of Kells
It’s that time of the year again, when everyone pretends to be Irish and the real Irish milk it from the American tourists for all it’s worth. St. Patrick’s Day is on Thursday so until then, this post is part of a series on Ireland and Irish-related animation. You can browse the full series here.
Today’s the day and while I would have liked to have written this yesterday, I could not, so I am writing it this morning before the day begins (that sounded poetic…). It is hard to believe that two years after it was released in Ireland, we are still talking about this film, it is a testament to how much it has resonated with audiences around the world. So much so that I wrote a post about it a while back.
Anyways, what better way to celebrate Ireland and Irishness than a nice Irish film eh? And if you’ve already watched it, watch it again, you might discover something you may have missed the last time around.
PS:
CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE IS NOT IRISH!
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Irish Week: At Least The Irish Government Recognises The Cultural Value of Animation
It’s that time of the year again, when everyone pretends to be Irish and the real Irish milk it from the American tourists for all it’s worth. St. Patrick’s Day is on Thursday so until then, this post is part of a series on Ireland and Irish-related animation. You can browse the full series here.
Via: Brown Blog Films
What you see above is the real deal, sent to both Tomm Moore (Cartoon Saloon, The Secret of Kells) and Nicky Phelan (Brown Bag Films, Granny O’Grim). By the sounds of the respective blog posts, it was nothing short of a complete shock for both invitees.
Now St. Patrick’s Day is a huge deal for the Irish government because unlike any other country, March 17th is for the Irish and the Irish alone (everyone’s Irish for a day, etc, etc). As a result, the government and the country have long realised that they have been given this extraordinary opportunity: a whole day to market Ireland to the entire world without interference from other (non-catastrophic) events. In fact, the combination of St Patrick’s Day and the opening of NCAA March Madness is seen by some (including my boss) as a perfect storm of events.
You’d think that for the Irish Government and the embassies and so forth that this would be a great day of relaxation and celebration. Not so, I was talking to a guy from the Irish Embassy in Washington DC last year and he told me in no uncertain terms that St. Patrick’s Day is by far the busiest day of the year, when everyone is frantically organising things, meeting people doing interviews, etc. So it would seem that the only civil servants getting a rest are the ones at home!
In line with the various ‘promoting’ activities that the Irish government does is the now-traditional White House meeting, where the President of the United States (POTUS) presents the Taoiseach (prime minister) with a bowl of shamrocks (interesting note: it was George W. Bush who began this custom, before, it was just a plain ol’ handshake).
Afterwards there is the reception and dinner for the festivities where I’m sure there are many fine congressmen and senators who attend to whoop up their Irish heritage. Sadly many Irish-Americans are ignorant to the simple fact that corned beef and cabbage just isn’t an Irish dish. For some, their entire world falls apart when I inform them of this.
As the entire day is one to promote Ireland and Irish culture, it is delightful to see that two animators are included. The government could easily have chosen a few poets, singers, artists and so forth to attend (and probably have in the past) but they didn’t. Surely both invitations are a sign that the Irish government has recognised the ability of animation to transcend borders and cultures and to promote Ireland in a positive light to the world. Both animator’s Academy Award nominations last year have no doubt helped lead to tomorrows event.
Hopefully this is not the last time we see Irish animators being invited to the White House although I think we’re off to a great start.
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Irish Week: Do All Dogs Go To Heaven?
It’s that time of the year again, when everyone pretends to be Irish and the real Irish milk it from the American tourists for all it’s worth. St. Patrick’s Day is on Thursday so until then, this post is part of a series on Ireland and Irish-related animation. You can browse the full series here.
Via: Wikipedia
I’m afraid my time has been squeezed for today’s post so instead, I am suggesting you all go out and watch All Dogs Go To Heaven, a film that was (for the most part) produced in Dublin. My memory of it is fairly hazy but feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts on the film. Hopefully we can get a nice wee discussion going. 🙂
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Irish Week: How The Tenacity of Irish Studios Is Doing Them Wonders
It’s that time of the year again, when everyone pretends to be Irish and the real Irish milk it from the American tourists for all it’s worth. St. Patrick’s Day is on Thursday so until then, this post is part of a series on Ireland and Irish-related animation. You can browse the full series here.
For a long time, there were not studios in Ireland, production studios I mean. Then one day, Don Bluth and Morris Sullivan decided to set up shop in Dublin, but more on that later this week.
Since that first, initial explosion of animation in Ireland, there has been an almost continuous expansion of the industry and although the original Sullivan-Bluth Studios are defunct, the educational course that studio started is still very much alive.
The advancement of the industry over the years is nothing sort of amazing when you think about it. Here was a country with no real prior animation experience getting thrown head-first into the topsy-turvy world of cartoons. Since then, numerous studios have popped up as Irish-trained animators began to venture out into the industry on their own, and despite the harsh business environment, have succeeded!
In terms of gaining business, Irish outfits have very much followed the lead set by the various Japanese and Korean companies in years past. That it, to become an offshore production studio for major studios and gradually use that experience to create you own content. It is a well-worn yet tried and tested method that has indeed helped Irish studios gain familiarity and knowledge of the world-wide industry and of course allow them to attain a reputation and personal relationships along the way. Of course the old irish charm helps a lot too. 😉
The success of the likes of The Secret of Kells is proof that Irish culture and stories can have an international appeal and since that films success, other Irish studios have slowly but surely been heading in that direction hoping to emulate the unparalleled success of Kells.
Animation Ireland has a comprehensive list of Irish studios and what they do and it’s a list well worth checking out. There were even a few I didn’t know about!
The sometimes cutthroat nature of working in animation can be notoriously difficult to achieve success in and I think that all the hard work that people have put into making Ireland a hub for animation has certainly been worth the effort. It’s been proven that it can be done and I firmly believe that right now, we are on the cusp of a protracted age of Irish animation success.
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Would You Like To Win A Bunch of Incredible Original Artwork?
Who wouldn’t, right?
Well, Australia’s favourite son (the real one), Elliot Cowan is currently running a competition based on his multiple award winning all-conquering Boxhead and Roundhead shorts.
To win, all you need to do is answer a ridiculously simple question posted on the competition site before the April 5th deadline.
Now, I need to start clearing some space on the walls for the impending addition to my art collection 😛
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Now You Can Read About The King Of Indie Animation
Via: Bill Plympton on Scribble Junkies
A real quick post to relay the news that Independently Animated, a whole book dedicated to the amazing career of Bill Plympton launches today March 22nd. I’m at work so I can’t post a lot but it was co-authored by my good friend David B. Levy so you know it’s a good read.
You can buy it here or, read this great interview with the man himself over on Cool Hunting.
EDIT: I lept before I looked. Woops! Oh well, it’s as good a time as any to post it 🙂
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Have You Seen The Smurfs Trailer?
No? Good, keep it that way, for your health and mine.
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Has Pixar Jumped The Shark With The Posters For Cars 2?
Via: The Animation Blog
Some say the bigger question is whether Pixar will jump the shark with Cars 2 itself, but it is still too early to tell. However, when it comes to the promotional posters, I think they’ve already done it.
The reason is simple, the posters are rather lackluster in overall design. Don’t get me wrong, they look nice, but if you’re going to ape classic Grand Prix posters, you might as well do it right.
As far as I know, Cars 2 involves a world-wide race of some sort, so it would seem like a great idea to release a few posters featuring the characters in famous cities around the world, right? Yes, of course. Pixar has been here before with the Wall-E and UP teaser posters (created by Eric Tan) that it released before those films hit the cinemas. Personally, I think they’re a great idea to drum up support from the fans and to promote the film in a slightly different and off-beat manner.
So far they has succeeded. The posters for Wall-E had a kind of quirky, Googie-like charm to them and the UP posters relied heavily on the old travel ads of the past to make light of the film’s plot.
However, when it comes to Cars 2, I think they’ve missed the mark only slightly. The main elements are certainly there. The car at the forefront, the background definitely waaay in the back. There’s no chance of mistaking where the action is or what is going on.
The main problem that I can see, though, is the character themselves. It’s just them! Sure there are a few cars in the background racing along, but for the most part, it is just a single character with a few speed lines drawn in to show that they are supposed to be moving.
How does that compare with a real Grand Prix poster? Check out the samples below.
Via: Wikipedia
Via: AllPosters.com
A race to the finish line? A duel to the death? I certainly think so. There is so much more action portrayed, so much more excitement! I want to see that Grand Prix! Just be thankful I can’t find the poster where the car literally has flames coming out the back of it!
So you see why I think the Cars 2 posters are a bit tame. They allude to the great posters of the past, but they are, at best, a timid recreation with none of the excitement and drama of the real thing. Cars 2, by the sounds of things, could certainly have benefited from a harder edge but perhaps that was vetoed by someone along the line.
So how far off are they? Check out this poster for the antique Monaco Grand Prix held last year. A thoroughly modern poster but with all the classic elements of the genuine article. It can be done.
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Is Luc Besson Stirring Up Some Animated Goodies?
Via: /film and Bleeding Cool
By the looks of the image above, yes he is.
By the looks of things, ‘A Monster in Paris’ may turn out to be an interesting sort of film. I don’t know about you, but the first thing that popped into my head was Gru from Despicable Me. Must be the broad shoulders.
As /film points out, there is still little if any info on the plot so for now, we’re left guessing and it is still early stages as the film isn’t scheduled to be released until late this year (2011) in France with a wider release after that. Hopefully we’ll have the full details soon. I’m curious to see how the differences between American and European CGI films have changed over the years.
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