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Monday, May 22, 2000
Audiences to
Disney - "Great Movie"
The masses seem to be disagreeing with critics over Disney's Dinosaur,
which racked in an estimated $38.6 million over the weekend. Theater
polling is showing the following:
- The PG rating
hasn't stopped parents from taking their kids to see the film.
- Audiences are enjoying the film and recommending it to others.
- Teens and couples are making up 31% of the viewers.
Final opening
Box Office numbers will be published tomorrow. Next weekend is a
holiday weekend (Memorial Day) in which Dinosaur is expected to
continue a strong run, but lose the top billing to Mission Impossible
2.
The Dinosaur
Experience
From May 19th - July 4th, following each showing of Walt Disney Pictures'
live-action/computer-animated visual effects spectacle, Dinosaur
, Hollywood's legendary El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood will
offer moviegoers a close encounter with dinosaurs at "The Dinosaur
Experience," it was announced Thursday by Richard Cook.
Located next to
the theatre at the El Capitan Entertainment Centre, "The Dinosaur
Experience," featuring three floors of visual delights, interactive
games, elaborate displays and a variety of life-size audio-animatronic
dinosaurs, is included in the admission price. Tickets for the El
Capitan's special engagement of Dinosaur can be purchased
at the box office (6838 Hollywood Blvd.), by calling 1-800-DISNEY-6,
or on-line at http://www.elcapitantickets.com. For groups of 20 or more, call (818) 845-3110.
Among "The
Dinosaur Experience's" highlights are 15 fully animatronic
dinosaurs, including a 28-foot Apatosaurus, that are electronically
programmed for realistic movement using pneumatic systems. Visitors
can also learn about dinosaurs and gain insights into the making
of this extraordinary film at various locations throughout the building.
Commenting on
the announcement, Cook said, "Seeing 'Dinosaur' digitally projected
at the El Capitan and visiting 'The Dinosaur Experience' adds up
to a great entertainment package for moviegoers. This great film
inspired us to come up with an added adventure that captured the
sense of discovery and excitement. 'The Dinosaur Experience' does
all that and helps to create a complete environment for fun and
education. We believe moviegoers of all ages are going to enjoy
this special engagement at the El Capitan."
Upon entering
"The Dinosaur Experience," visitors will step back in
time to wander through the "Nesting Grounds," complete
with a variety of dinosaurs and their offspring (Parasaurolophus,
Stegasaurus and Apatosaurus).
The next stop,
"The Art of Survival," spotlights the world of dinosaurs
and their struggle to survive harsh prehistoric times is explored.
At the "Paleontology
Pavilion," guests can see dinosaur skull replicas on loan from
the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. This area also
provides a chance to touch a fossilized Hadrosaur thighbone and
hear a dinosaur roar (recreated from DNA information).
The "Lemur
Island" play area is filled with numerous activities including
Disney Interactive's newest games on PC, PlayStation and Gameboy
Color. Additionally, guests can visit "Behind the Scenes of
'Dinosaur'" and discover the innovative techniques used to
make the film. They can also create their own sound and sound effects
on real mixing machines and learn how voices and animation come
together.
Tuesday, May 23, 2000
Box Office
Results
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:
Dinosaur
$38.85 Million ($11,930 per screen screen average)
1st at the Box Office
Total to Date: $38.85 Million
The
Road to El Dorado
$182,751 ($405 per screen average - huge 82% drop)
31st at the Box Office (down from #18 last weekend)
Total to Date: $49.5 Million
Toy Story 2
$180,640 ($617 per screen average - 17% increase)
32 at the Box Office (down from #31 last weekend)
Total to Date: $245 Million
Call for Animated
Entries
The Heartland Film Festival is inviting feature-length and short film entries
in three categories: Dramatic, Documentary and Animation.
A grand prize
of $50,000 will be awarded, and an additional $50,000 will be spread
among the remaining winners. The deadline is June 15.
All films submitted
must reflect the Heartland Film Festival's Statement of Purpose:
"To recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the
human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the
positive values of life." The 9th annual Heartland Film Festival
unspools this year from Oct. 18-26.
For further information
or entry forms, call the festival at (317) 464-9405 or go to www.heartlandfilmfest.org.
Submissions should be sent to the Heartland Film Festival, 613 N.
East St., Indianapolis, IN 46202.
Wednesday, May 24, 2000
"G"
Rated Animated Films are Violent
According to CNN:
"A study
by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health concludes
that G-rated animated films contain a surprising level of violence,
and that the violence is increasing.
One of the authors
of the study, Kimberly Thompson, an assistant professor of risk
analysis at the School of Public Health, said, 'The amount of violence
has increased significantly over time. The challenge here is that
all of the films are very different in nature, and there is a wide
range in terms of the amount of violence in all of the films.'
The study, which
examined 74 G-rated theatrical films available on video, was published
in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
It defined violence in broad terms, including scenes where the body
is used as a weapon or where there is sword-fighting, gunplay and
other aggressive action.
Click here for the full story.
Bill Cosby
Does Nick Jr. Animated Voice
Bill Cosby is guest starring as the voice of superhero Captain Brainstorm
on Nick Jr.'s animated series Little Bill. The critically-acclaimed
Little Bill was created by Mr. Cosby. This special half-hour episode
debuts Sunday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT), and will repeat on Nick
Jr. on Monday, June 5 at 9:00 a.m., and Wednesday, June 7 at 10:00
a.m. (ET/PT).
In "Little
Bill's Adventure with Captain Brainstorm," Little Bill and
his friends Andrew, Kiku and Fuchsia, go to the local mall to meet
their favorite superhero, Captain Brainstorm. But when the time
comes for Little Bill to meet his hero, he suddenly becomes too
shy to even speak to him. Over pizza, Little Bill shows his friends
the special picture book he drew for Captain Brainstorm. In a story
within the story, we join Little Bill and Captain Brainstorm as
they set out on an exciting mission to the planet Yubba to rescue
the Space Explorers. In the course of their adventure, Little Bill
figures out he has to take a chance to make a new friend -- in stories
and in real life. He overcomes his fear and finally gets to meet
his hero. Bill Cosby makes a special appearance as the voice of
Captain Brainstorm -- a superhero who uses brains, not brawn, to
solve problems.
"Mr. Cosby
had a great time with this part -- being a superhero comes easily
to him," said Brown Johnson, Senior Vice President, Nick Jr.
Little Bill is
an animated series which follows the adventures of an inquisitive,
energetic and highly imaginative five-year-old boy as he investigates
his world. With the help of his loving family and friends, Little
Bill explores the ordinary and extraordinary events that make up
the daily life of a child.
Little Bill, voiced
by seven-year-old Xavier Pritchett, lives in a small residential
neighborhood in a big city with his family and friends including:
his responsible yet playful father, Big Bill (voiced by Gregory
Hines), his warm, sensible mother Brenda (voiced by Phylicia Rashad),
and his lively great-grandmother Alice the Great (voiced by the
Ruby Dee). The other people in Little Bill's life are his older
brother and sister, Bobby and April, his kindergarten teacher Miss
Murray, his cousin Fuschia, and his friends Dorado, Andrew and Kiku.
Opening each episode
with the signature greeting, "hello, friend," Little Bill,
both the show and character, reflect the wisdom, outlook and humor
of their creator, Bill Cosby. The show is based on Cosby's popular
"Little Bill" book series published by Scholastic. Little
Bill teaches the importance of friendship and family relationships
while showing children how to solve problems creatively and fairly.
Little Bill gives young viewers role models they can relate to and
caregivers can trust.
Thursday, May 25, 2000
Animator Prospects
Dim!
The Los Angeles Times has published an article subtitled "As Studios
Shift Focus, Animator Prospects Dim." The article begins:
"On long
tables, students at California Institute of the Arts laid out their
best drawings and artwork, hoping to catch the eyes of future employers.
Just a few years
ago, they could expect to land high-paying, salaried jobs as animators
at major Hollywood studios. But not anymore. These students are
more likely to end up designing Web sites, and it may be on only
a freelance basis.
'When I first
got here I was told anyone holding a pencil would get hired by the
studios,' said CalArts senior Erik Yahnker, one of the students
displaying his work at a campus career fair this month. 'But the
reality today is you have to work your tail off, start small in
a dot-com or an independent [studio] where you get a variety of
skills.'
In the mid-'90s,
studios ramping up animation production were hiring all the talent
they could find at places such as CalArts--raiding the campus of
even freshmen and sophomores in some cases, school officials say.
But an oversupply
of feature animation talent, recent box-office disappointments and
an end to the decade-long expansion by studio animation divisions
has chilled the once-hot job market for animators..."
Click here for the full story.
Can Dinosaur
Best Mission Impossible?
It promises to be a huge weekend for movie fans. Mission Impossible
2 opened on Wednesday and Shanghai Noon opens this Friday
with Dinosaur entering its second week. Theater polling has shown
that audiences are loving Dinosaur and recommending it to
others including those without children.
While many critics
predict that Mission Impossible 2 will easily take Memorial
Day weekend, there is some belief that Dinosaur can pull
an upset Box Office victory. How? Mission Impossible 2 opened
on Wednesday giving it two days of play time before the weekend,
where media focus their attention. In addition, the Shanghai
Noon movie could split action/adventure fans leaving Dinosaur
as the Box Office victor.
In a few weeks,
Disney's Dinosaur will face additional animation competition
from its own Fantasia 2000 (widescreen), Titan A.E.
(another PG animated adventure), and Chicken Run.
Friday, May 26, 2000
Tweety to Star
in Direct to Video Feature
On Sept. 12, Tweety flies into action with the all-new, fully animated,
direct-to-video film available only on video for a suggested retail
price of $19.96. The movie, titled "Tweety's High Flying Adventure,"
will also include a cast of more than 50 Warner Bros. cartoon characters.
There will also be a new character - Aoogah - who is Tweety's new
canary friend.
In this feature,
Tweety sets off on the "twip" of a lifetime as the canary
teams up with a roster of legendary Warner Bros. cartoon characters
including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tasmanian Devil, Pepe Le Pew and
Sylvester traveling to more than 50 exotic locales worldwide, such
as the pyramids of Egypt, Venice and Paris.
The adventure
starts off in England, where Granny makes a hefty bet that Tweety
can circle the globe in a mere 80 days collecting the paw prints
of 80 adversarial cats. Along the way, Tweety and the gang face
off-the-wall complications, schemes and canary-eating cats of all
nations.
Tweety and a host
of other Warner Bros. characters take on the extreme sports of snowboarding,
mountain biking and hang gliding, circling the globe from London
to Africa to the Himalayas and beyond. Along with his all-star cast
of characters, Tweety outsmarts the conniving Sylvester, to cross
the finish line and win the bet.
"Parents
and children alike will once again enjoy Tweety in his latest adventure,
featuring all-new animation and contemporary story lines,"
said Mark Horak, WHV senior vice president, marketing.
One of the top
characters in Looney Tunes consumer goods, Tweety also stars in
two of the top-rated Saturday-morning programs, including "The
Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries" on the Kids WB! and "The
Bugs Bunny/Tweety Show" on ABC. According to Q-scores, Tweety
flies above the rest, scoring a 54 among kids 6-11
Saturday, May 27, 2000
Princess Mononoke DVD Coming Soon
There seems to be some confusion over the release of the Princess Mononoke
DVD. Amazon.com is reporting that the DVD will be
released on January 1, 2001. Meanwhile, Reel.com is reporting that
the DVD will be released on August 8, 2000. So who is right?
This much we do
know. On August 8, 2000, the Princess Mononoke VHS is being
released on August 8, however it is priced to rent. Priced to rent
means that the studio jacks up the price of the video (in this case
over $80), forcing companies like Blockbuster to have to pay a lot
of money to include it in their rentals, while maximizing short-term
profits. Then a number of months later the video is repriced to
sell to the general public.
Animation Artist
Magazine contacted Buena Vista about the DVD release date. Buena
Vista could not confirm when the DVD will come out. However, the
DVD is priced to sell. There are no bonus features except that it
appears in its original widescreen format. Animation Artist Magazine
will keep you posted on any new developments regarding the release
date of the DVD.
Violence in
Animation Article Hits Wires
Earlier this week Animation Artist Magazine posted a link to an article
about a study that calls animated films violent. The article has
since made the news wires and has been printed in dozens of newspapers
across the world. Even the Sydney Morning News picked up the article,
retitling it "Swords, Guns, and Knives - It Must be an Animated
Film." Click here to read it. What do you think of the
article? Is it a waste of government funds? Does it bring up valid
points? Click here to share your opinion.
Sunday, May 28, 2000
Top Guests
Teaching Animation in the UK
According to the BBC News:
"A Hollywood
expert is passing on his experience to UK university students in
a boom area - computer animation.
Tim McLaughlin,
whose credits include Jumanji and Star Wars Episode I, has been
made a visiting professor at Bournemouth University.
He works for the
George Lucas company, Industrial Light + Magic, based in northern
California, but is spending four weeks at the National Centre for
Computer Animation (NCCA) in the university's media school.
He brings his
practical experience to courses which are already turning out graduates
with skills which are increasingly demanded by film, internet and
computer games businesses..."
Click here for the full story.
Monday, May 29, 2000
Lawsuits Nothing
New for Disney
As a major corporation, Disney has been sued many times, including lawsuits
stemming from some of its animated films. The Toledo Blade recently
tackled this subject in an article titled "Lawsuits Nothing
New for Disney." One portion of the article states:
"Disney settled
a dispute with a former employee, Daryan Faeroe, in 1996, after
he said he came up with an idea for Pixie Dust, according to published
reports.
Mr. Faeroe said
he submitted an idea for bottling pixie dust and selling it as a
souvenir. The dust was made famous by Tinker Bell in the Peter Pan
story. Mr. Faeroe met with Disney representatives to tell them about
his idea, but it was rejected.
Several months
later, Disney began selling pixie dust in its catalogue. Mr. Faeroe
approached the company, and Disney offered $10,000 for the trademark
rights. But he asked for $15,000, and the company refused..."
Click here for the full story.
Tuesday, May 30, 2000
Dinosaur
has Huge Singapore Opening
Dinosaur
opened in Singapore over the weekend, bringing in $475,000. This
easily makes it the strongest opening in Singapore ever for a Disney
animated film. The last record holder was Toy Story 2. Dinosaur
next opens in Australia on June 15, 2000. To see a Australian
Disney Animation employees review of Dinosaur, click here.
USAnimation
V5 Demonstrations this Week
Fulfilling its goal of multi- platform entertainment by helping animation
easily cross the global digital threshold, Stan Lee Media, Inc.
and Canadian-based Toon Boom Technologies are presenting the USAnimation
V5 system, being demoed at both companies' booths at the World Animation
Celebration in Los Angeles.
Vector-based and
resolution-independent USAnimation V5 software permits animators
to create programming for direct export to, and easy conversion
between, Internet, television and film mediums through the utilization
of Macromedia Flash. Indicative of its application for single projects
or entire libraries, SLM will use the new software in producing
"The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse," "Stone Man"
and its other forthcoming animation franchises. The company is in
the process of retooling parts of its digital studio in order to
utilize the software. USAnimation V5 is the latest iteration of
Toon Boom's flagship software.
"For networks,
studios and production companies around the world, the ability to
easily repurpose new and archived animation for the Web will open
up an additional and lucrative revenue stream," stated Jamie
Wilkinson, executive vice president, Internet strategy, for SLM.
"For leading Web-based programmers such as Stan Lee Media,
this software will change the parameters of projects before their
creation, opening up possibilities to export Internet programming
to television or motion pictures."
According to Jacques
Bilodeau, president and CEO of Toon Boom, "USAnimation V5 is
the only truly resolution-independent 2D cartoon animation software,
allowing content developers to create animation for any distribution
medium whether Web, TV or HDTV, without having to reprocess their
animation productions. Such a benefit reinforces our commitment
to provide the most advanced, flexible and cost-effective package
to our clients by integrating key features that are a must for successful
animation productions in terms of quality and cost."
Wednesday, May 31, 2000
Box Office
Results
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:
Dinosaur
$25.0 Million ($7,583 per screen average - 36% decrease)
2nd at the Box Office (down from #1 last weekend)
Total to Date: $80.4 Million
The
Road to El Dorado
$309,111 ($513 per screen average - huge 69% increase)
22nd at the Box Office (up from #31 last weekend)
Total to Date: $49.9 Million
Toy
Story 2
$143,685 ($860 per screen average - 17% decrease)
41st at the Box Office (down from #32 last weekend)
Total to Date: $245.3 Million
--
Salt Lake Tribune
Reviews Tarzan Special Edition
According to the Salt Lake Tribune:
"...Naturally,
the deluxe DVD version of the film looks and sounds
super. You expect that. But what really makes this pricey package
worth owning is an abundance of extras. Among the goodies on the
two discs in the package you will find audio commentary from producer
Bonnie Arnold and directors Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, a section
on the development of the film, an early presentation reel, a section
on making the music from the film, a split-screen comparison that
takes you from the storyboards to the final film and a fascinating
section on the "deep canvas" animation process created
especially for Tarzan. This is a great DVD, worth every penny
of the asking price."
Click here for the full story/review.
--
"Clerks"
Premieres Tonight
ABC premiere's Kevin Smith's animated "Clerks" tonight at 9:30PM.
The crudely drawn animated series has opened to mixed, but mostly
negative, reviews. According to the Philadelphia Daily News:
"'Clerks'
actually deserved to be stranded on a remote island in the South
China Sea, along with anyone who believed a profanely funny low-budget
movie could be turned into a practically squeaky-clean ABC cartoon
without suffering irreparable harm."
The show has suffered
many setbacks, mostly due in part to Smith constantly bad mouthing
ABC and Disney over its handling of the series.
To date only six
episodes have been written/animated.
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