November 6- 12, 2000 News

Monday, November 6, 2000

New Animated DVDs Being Released Tomorrow
Here is a list of animated and anime movies and shows being released to DVD tomorrow, including Titan A.E.:

Titan A.E. (includes deleted scenes)
Joseph - King of Dreams (2000 - prequel to Prince of Egypt)
The Transformers - The Movie (1986)
The Prince of Egypt - DTS (1998)
The Powerpuff Girls - Powerpuff Bluff (2000)
The Powerpuff Girls - Down 'N' Dirty (2000)
The Slayers Next DVD Collection
Martian Successor Nadesico - Vol. 1: Invasion
A Cute Cavalcade of Classic Christmas Cartoons
Tenamonya Voyagers

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New Don Bluth Studio Opens
According to The Arizona Republic:

"Fox Animation Studios abandoned Phoenix in June after six years and three movies, but the brains behind the operation remain in the Valley and are going it alone.

Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, who have been producing and directing animated films together for 28 years, have opened an independent studio in Phoenix and are working on their first movie, based on the video game Dragon's Lair...

Their new studio, Don Bluth Films, will concentrate on producing a 3-D animated version of Dragon's Lair, the video game they created 17 years ago..."

Click here for the full story.

Tuesday, November 7, 2000

South Park Team to Poke Fun at New President
Always trying to grab a headline, the South Park team of Trey Parker and Matt Stone have announced that they will create a sitcom around the new President of the United States. Once a winner is known in today's election, the duo will begin work on "Family First," a live action comedy for the Comedy Channel, which will poke fun at "the life of the next president". Because the show isn't animated, Parker and Stone had to go to Amazon.com and purchase three books on producing live action sitcom series, according to the Associated Press. The show is scheduled to premiere on February 28, 2000.

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Box Office Results for Animated Films
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:

CyberWorld 3D
$230,078 ($7,422 per screen average - 4% increase)
24th at the Box Office (equal to #24 last weekend)
Total to Date: $1.8 Million

Digimon
$203,512 ($418 per screen average - 39% decrease)
26th at the Box Office (down from #19 last weekend)
Total to Date: $9.3 Million

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
$67,917 ($1,476 per screen average - big 61% decrease)
43rd at the Box Office (down from #28 last weekend)
Total to Date (includes original release): $50.3 Million

Dinosaur
$67,649 ($457 per screen average - 11% decrease)
44th at the Box Office (down from #39 last weekend)
Total to Date: $137.4 Million

Chicken Run
No Longer in Theaters
Final Total: $106.8 Million

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Cartoons Come Under Attack in the UK
Cartoons like Pokemon and Transformers are coming under attack in the UK by British Culture Secretary Chris Smith who is expected this week to order stations to clean up the "trashy cartoons" with more educational childrens programming. According to a quote in the London Sunday Express, the move is aimed at curbing the "increasing number of cheap American imports.

Wednesday, November 8, 2000

PDI/DreamWorks Reorganizes Commercial Division
PDI/DreamWorks (formerly PDI), the animation and visual effects affiliate of DreamWorks SKG, today announced the reorganization of its Commercial Division to "more effectively meet the needs of its current and future advertising and commercial production clients." PDI/DreamWorks also appointed a new management team, Mary Maffei and Julie Haddon,who have implemented a new national sales force and have re-established partnerships with national ad agencies.

PDI/DreamWorks Commercial Division will share and use resource with DreamWorks Feature Animation Division. The Feature Animation Division will be able to provide the Commercial Division with special effects like digital clothing, hair, skin, muscle, fur and computer-animated natural phenomena such as fire, lava and other environmental effects.

"PDI/DreamWorks has a fantastic pool of talent and CG resources in our Feature Animation group as well as our Commercial and Feature Effects Division," said Aron Warner, Head of PDI/DreamWorks. "By bringing Mary and Julie together to lead the Commercial Division, we have created a talented, experienced management team that has quickly gone into action and developed some exciting new projects and partnerships. I'm confident that PDI/DreamWorks' Commercial Division will become a key industry player going forward and that we'll continue to see great work coming from this group."

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Voice of 100 Cartoon Characters Lands "X-Men: Evolution" Role
David Kaye, who has voiced over 100 cartoon characters, is now the voice of Professor X on the "X-Men Evolution" animated TV series, which premiered Saturday. Some of his past roles have been the voice of General Hawk from "G.I. Joe" and the anti-hero Megatron from "Beast Wars: Transformers" series.

Kaye started out on the radio circuit before getting into voice overs. According to Kaye, "When I was still in radio, somebody told me I would never make a living in this town doing voice-overs. That was all I needed to hear."

Kaye, who grew up in Canada, proved the critic wrong with the help of UBC drama coach Neil Freeman and film/TV specialist Linda Darlow.

Thursday, November 9, 2000

Shrek Won't Reach IMAX
According to The Hollywood Reporter, IMAX has killed its deal with DreamWorks to bring Shrek to the large IMAX screens after DreamWorks increased the price IMAX would have to pay for the deal.

The Hollywood Reporter states, "Imax originally was scheduled to pay $10 million for the computer programming required to transfer the two-dimensional cartoon to 3D. The Imax release of Shrek was expected to have a different ending than the conventional film to take advantage of the 3-D format."

The original deal to bring Shrek to IMAX theaters was in nogitiations in late 1998 and announced in June 2000. Shrek will still be released nationally in widescreen theaters on May 18, 2001.

According to Daily Variety, Imax is continuing to struggle. "Toronto-based Imax posted a net loss of US$1.18 million for the third quarter ended September 30, compared with earnings of $3.24 million for the same quarter a year ago."

Click here to read the original IMAX announcement on Shrek.

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Pixar Announces New Film - Finding Nemo
According to Daily Variety, "Pixar Animation Studios has kicked off production on Finding Nemo, its fifth computer-animated co-production with Walt Disney Pictures... Nemo, described as an underwater adventure about a father who must find his kidnapped son, is being written and helmed by Andrew Stanton (co-director of A Bug's Life). Graham Walters, who served as production manager on Toy Story 2, is set to produce."

Finding Nemo is slated to be released in 2003.

In other Disney/Pixar news, Toy Story 2 rentals remain strong. In its third week of release (last week), Toy Story 2 was the sixth most rented video.

Friday, November 10, 2000

Cinesite Designs Red Planet's 3D Robot
Red Planet, a Mars adventure released today in theaters across the nation, was able to realize its 3D robot character thanks to Cinesite.

Cinesite created and integrated the entirely 3D animated robot, named AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion), into approximately 120 shots for the Warner Bros. Red Planet Mars adventure.

The premise of the film is that it's 2050. The Earth is dying and colonizing Mars is the only alternative to obliteration. Mission Commander Kate Bowman is the pilot and commander of the most important mission of the 21st century: saving the human race. Bowman and her crew have made the journey to investigate what went wrong with the malfunctioning Mars Terraforming Project and to repair it. What happens when they get there is far more terrifying than anyone could have guessed: a crash-landing leaves them without scientific, communication or escape equipment and causes their military mapping and exploration robot (AMEE) to malfunction into an enemy, relentlessly dedicated to breaking the team down.

Visual Effects Supervisor Jeff Okun tapped Cinesite to create and integrate the animated robot into critical shots, including approximately 80 shots of AMEE interacting with live-action characters and other elements of the film, and 40 more from AMEE's viewpoint. His instructions were to make AMEE believable, interacting with humans in a credible way. He also wanted her to be somewhat empathetic.

Cinesite Visual Effects Supervisor Tom Smith describes AMEE as agile and athletic, with smooth and fluid movements. One of his main challenges was to infuse the robot with life and personality. He assembled a team consisting of some 40 CG artists with specialized skills and talents, including Animation Director Steve Markowski and CGI Supervisor Serge Sretschinsky.

The character animators rendered AMEE's general appearance, but there were also many technical details. For instance, the animators had to decide how her joints moved and how her weight was distributed when she walked. Smith also worked with Okun and the second unit crew, whose responsibilities included shooting background plates that would be composited with character animation of AMEE. They filmed plates on locations in Australia, occasionally with green background screens. The crew emulated the styles of lighting and camera movement that cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, BSC, established in live-action scenes.

Smith's team used motion tracking software to provide a roadmap for camera movement and angles for the character animation and compositing teams at Cinesite. All of the visual nuances had to blend, so it seemed like AMEE was in the live-action shots.

The film of the background plates was scanned and converted to digital format at Cinesite. At that point, the facility digitally corrected colors to match Suschitzky's live-action footage in surrounding scenes. Smith contends that audiences notice even subtle differences in contrast, colors and camera movement, if only subliminally.

"In one scene AMEE is fighting with the astronauts," says Smith. "When we shot the plate, a stuntman was attached to a cable. He was vigorously jerked backwards when AMEE kicks him. The animated character had to be drawn so she delivers a powerful kick at exactly the right time, place and force when the CG and film are composited. It's a very collaborative process."

In another scene, the astronauts take refuge in a cave during a violent ice storm. The wind is blowing 160 miles per hour. Some of that effect was created while the plate was being filmed, with wind machines blowing an environmentally safe substance designed to look like ice, but that wasn't sufficient. The digital artists created and composited eight shots to fit into the existing sequence. They used a particle generator to create flying chips of ice with snow building up on the ground. They also created footsteps in the digital snow where AMEE was going to be inserted into the scene.

"All of this requires both a solid grasp of technology and a sense of photo-realism," Smith says. "We had people who specialize in texturing give AMEE a little more character, and others who did lighting. The goal was to make her look like she belonged in each shot. If there was a fire in a shot, we wanted the angle and color of the flames to look right when they reflected off of AMEE. Jeff (Okun) was involved every step of the way. We showed him every shot and were able to respond in an interactive environment for fine tuning."

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Twisted Festival of Animation Slammed in Review
According to the Sacramento Bee:

"Every time I see a new installment of 'Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation,' I come away with another name of a filmmaker burned in my brain -- a filmmaker I'd like to forget.

Last year it was Don Hertzfeldt, whose contemptible 'Billy's Balloon' was about some poor little kid being ruthlessly assaulted by his balloon. Some things are not funny, and child abuse is one of them.

Hertzfledt is represented in this year's edition, too, but he's outdone by colleague David Lipson, whose 'Stinky Monkey' animated short is not just sick and twisted but devoid of anything resembling talent or humor..."

Click here for the full story.

Saturday, November 11, 2000

More Details on Finding Nemo
Pixar has released more details on its new film, Finding Nemo as follows:

Production is underway on Finding Nemo (tentative title), a new computer-animated feature film from Pixar Animation Studios in partnership with Walt Disney Pictures, according to Thomas Schumacher, president of Walt Disney Feature Animation and Steve Jobs, CEO of Pixar.

The film is written and directed by Academy AwardŽ-nominee Andrew Stanton, who served as co-director of the 1998 Disney/Pixar hit A Bug's Life and is credited as co-screenwriter of Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. Graham Walters, Toy Story 2 production manager and Pixar veteran, is set to produce.

Finding Nemo is scheduled for a summer 2003 release. The movie is an underwater adventure between a father and son. Nemo, a boy clownfish, is tragically stolen away from the safety of his coral reef home, and his timid father must search the dangerous and unforgiving ocean to find him.

"Finding Nemo has been swimming around in my head ever since Toy Story, and I'm thrilled to have gotten the go-ahead from Pixar and Disney to make the movie,'' said Andrew Stanton. "Pixar has always been a place that inspires excellence from its artists, and I feel that Finding Nemo will be yet another testament to that notion.''

Stanton joined the Pixar animation team in 1990 and was one of four screenwriters to receive an OscarŽ nomination in 1996 for his contribution to Toy Story. His credits to the latter film also include original story, story artist and additional voices. He went on to receive screenwriting credits on A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2 and the 2001 Disney/Pixar animated feature, Monsters, Inc. Selected to join Pixar on the basis of his independent animated shorts -- "Somewhere in the Arctic'' and "A Story'' -- Stanton went on to serve as directing animator on commercials for Trident, La Nouvelle Polo, Lifesavers (co-director) and directed spots for Tropicana, Bunn Coffee Makers and Listerine. He also co-directed with John Lasseter on "Luxo Jr. in Surprise/Light and Heavy,'' which was produced for Sesame Street.

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Toy Story 2 Character Receives Cowgirl Entertainer Award
According to the Star-Telegram:

"Jessie, the yodeling cowgirl from Toy Story 2, became the first Pixar Studios character to win an award Friday that is usually given to humans when the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame cited her as Entertainer of the Year.

'Yee haw!' Jessie declared in a video clip introduced by film director John Lasseter during the annual Cowgirl Hall of Fame induction luncheon at the Renaissance Worthington hotel. The entertainer award is named for Patsy Montana, an Arkansas country-western singer who sold a million copies of the song I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart.

Jessie added: 'Be kind to critters. Find your own trail, and follow it with courage. And always saddle your own horse,' a tip of her hat to a favorite Cowgirl Hall axiom. ..."

Click here for the full story.

Animation Artist Magazine first reported on this story October 18, 2000. To read that article, click here.

Sunday, November 12, 2000

New Street Fighter Movie Coming to DVD
Manga Entertainment, in association with Capcom Co., LTD., has announced the latest Street Fighter animated movie - Street Fighter 'Alpha' (aka 'Zero', in Japan). Following the successful line of US Street Fighter products including the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Nintendo Game Boy SF 'Alpha' video games and Manga's popular Street Fighter IIV VHS series, Street Fighter 'Alpha' will hit video stores on DVD and VHS (dub and sub formats) on January 30, 2001. The martial arts anime feature continues the adventures of the popular Ken, Ryu and Chun Li animated characters while introducing some charismatic new ones based on the game.

In Street Fighter 'Alpha', a black cloud hangs over Ken and Ryu's reunion. Brought together by the mysterious death of their master, the two warriors must overcome a challenge unlike any they've faced before.

Increasingly disturbed by the dark energies building within him, Ryu is unexpectedly confronted with the appearance of Shun - a boy claiming to be the long-lost brother he never knew. Soon, signs of their common lineage are revealed as Shun enters a martial arts competition and manifests the same fearsome Dark Hadou. But before Ryu has the chance to consider whether Shun's timely appearance might be more than coincidental, agents of the insidious Shadowlaw organization kidnap the boy. To recover the child, Ryu must undertake the ultimate journey of self-discovery and learn to control the power threatening to consume him. But with his confidence waning, will he have what it takes to confront Akuma - the vicious lord of the Dark Hadou himself?

DVD features include: Audio- English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Japanese Dolby Pro-Logic Surround, Video- Digitally re-mastered 4x3 (full screen version), Languages - In English, Japanese and Japanese with English subtitles. Bonus programs include: Interviews of voice actors and directors, original Japanese movie trailer, "The Making of Street Fighter Alpha" short film, character bios, photo gallery, creative staff journal, Manga DVD catalog, Manga trailers and web links.

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