It appears that WDAS isn't the only studio with story troubles...
Now, before I begin I want to remind you that all films have bumps in the road on their way to the screen. The storied history "Ratatouille" being the one that comes closest to mind. But believe it or not, many Pixar films had problems in their development and some right up until the final year of production (Toy Story 2 anyone?). So with that mentioned, on we go.
If you were to wonder the halls of the Hat Building right now you'd find something unusual. Something that hasn't happened in a good while. I'd say almost a couple of years. Each week you could usually find John Lasseter walking the halls at least once, more likely twice a week as he hurried from meeting to meeting before he headed off to Glendale or some other meeting. But the last month or so he's not been seen that much. And he won't be for another month or so. See, he's been stuck up in Emeryville working on "Cars 2" so that it's ready for release next year. There have been story problems that have developed late last year and into the new year that needed to be addressed. So as of now, John is riding the film as co-director. Now, will he be listed in the credits as that when the film comes out? Not yet determined if he'll get his name up there with that label. We will see as time starts to move closer to the release date.
This doesn't mean doom and gloom for those that look for signs of the Apocalypse. It means that this film, like many before it, needed John's attention and this is a film that is still almost a year and a half out. Things have to be dealt with and his valuable talent was needed to adjust some of the plot points. All this really means is that the story will be better with him involved. So this is a tune up, not a wreck like some of the e-mails I've gotten were worried about.
Just some routine Lamp maintenance...
52 comments:
Well, if there are story problems then I'm glad that they are taking the time to address them. :)
Before all the negativity comes up here, (this IS the Internet after all)I have to say that I really enjoyed Cars and I am really looking forward to Cars 2.
And Cars Land can't open fast enough for me!
So yes, I am glad that they are taking the time to address story problems.
I'm glad that Lasseter believes that quality is the best business plan. :)
Why don't I hear about him giving this much attention to the Disney Animation films with "story troubles".
Why when a Disney animation film has "story troubles", they seem to just get thrown out. or.. renamed (ahem... tangled)
/\ The re-naming had nothing to do with "story-problems" It was NEVER about the story. Get your facts straight, and more importantly, GET OVER IT.
People need to stop acting like a 5-year old who didn't get a cookie.
Honor; with all due respect, I think you have opened a Pandora's box.
Perhaps employees of Disney Animation should practice the philosophy that Pixar Animation employees follow...Namely, DON'T LEAK INFORMATION.
Listen. Understand.
Rapunzel doesnt have story problems. The story is great. Rapunzel has MARKETING problems.
"/\ The re-naming had nothing to do with "story-problems" It was NEVER about the story. Get your facts straight, and more importantly, GET OVER IT."
Uhm...
This article wasn't about the renaming of "Rapunzel" so I'm wondering if you meant to post it in the previous one?
"Honor; with all due respect, I think you have opened a Pandora's box."
Really? By reporting on the name change? Being disappointed in it? I think I've been pretty fair, I've said the name has nothing to do with the story which I hear is good. On the other hand, I don't just report on "happy, happy" information like I'm sometimes accused.
I love Disney, but I can sometimes disagree with them, even though their heart might be in the right place.
But their heads, clearly aren't.
We'll just have to disagree, I guess...
Who is dis Pandora?
And how do I get dat dame back in her box!?
If Cars 2 is having story problems, maybe Lasseter should call Brad Bird. Bird certainly helped Ratatouille, and it doesn't seem like he's doing much these days.
"Perhaps employees of Disney Animation should practice the philosophy that Pixar Animation employees follow...Namely, DON'T LEAK INFORMATION."
Dude, it seems this is about Cars 2. A Pixar film and more than likely it was those cats that released the info. So I guess they ain't following the philosophy either. What's next? Monsters 2, anyone? Will we ever see another original film from up north? Or have they lost that amazing spark?
Well, it's no surprise, since the first film had story problems that were blatantly obvious onscreen.
Cars bored me. REALLY bored me. And I never really bought the premise of talking cars living in a human-less world. It was the first really weak film from Pixar, and it took the edge off my enthusiasm for the studio.
There's no doubt that the sequel is being made simply because of its merchandising possibilities. Little boys love Cars, and that's great. But I won't be seeing the sequel.
Don'y really agree that JL should be the one stepping in to fix it, I know the first one was his baby project, but as noted before, there are other perfectly capable of helping out. Brad Bird comes to mind as someone who could do wonders to improve a project. Remember Ratatouille.
I think JL is spread too thin, WDI, Pixar, WAS. Eeither way, hope they can get cars2 back on track. But not by completely ignoring his other responsibilities.
Honor is not leaking information, this was already on the net.
Awake!, we are humans, we are not perfect. LASSETER and his Pixar ARE NOT PERFECT.
I never understood the distaste for Cars. I thought it was a great film -- and I'm pushing 30. Maybe it's the little boy in me screaming to come out. :)
"There have been story problems that have developed late last year and into the new year that needed to be addressed."
What the hell is wrong with Emeryville? They waited until about 18 months from Rat's release date to bring in Brad and retool the story. Now the same thing is happening with Cars2?
Haven't these people had enough experience with their features to see that a story is in trouble sooner than 18 months from release? It's not like these are new characters with no previous history. How can such award-winning professionals not notice these problems sooner? Freakin' unbelievable.
(Of course, one could easily argue that there were only minor story issues with the sequel that didn't require John's constant attention for two months straight, but he's using the opportunity to hide up in Emeryville to escape the fallout from an upcoming Burbank downsizing. Check out recent threads on the TAG blog about WDAS woes to see where such actions are quite plausible.)
"Uhm...
This article wasn't about the renaming of "Rapunzel" so I'm wondering if you meant to post it in the previous one?"
Relax Honor. I wasn't talking to YOU when I said that, I was addressing the second comment here that was posted last night.
....Hence, the arrow /\...I assumed that was self-explanatory.
I would never speak to you like that on your own blog. Come on, do you really think that I would tell you to "get your fact straight" when we all know that you have inside sources? ;)
I love ya man! You are one of the best Disney bloggers on the Internet.
PLEASE, PLEASE! respond so I know that you understand.
And please take no offense, I am not insulting you, I am just suggesting that once people heard this info, they went nuts and people still can't let it go, people have been bringing it up in every new topic now, like in your post about the new TS3 trailer and whatnot.
Just because people know about it (before it was mentioned on facebook) doesn't necessarily mean that its going to change anything.
Compared to "Rapunzel", "Tangled" sounds pretty inferior, but when I've mentioned to some friends of mine, they didn't think it was such a big deal.
One of them even observed that "Tangled" has a double meaning, one, the literal sense meaning tangled hair, and two, being tangled up in trouble.
Yes, its disappointing, since the title would have been better off as "Rapunzel" but since the title nothing to do with the Disney's Rapuzel story being bad or not, is this REALLY a big deal in the longrun? Like you said, "The Great Mouse Detective" is a good movie, despite the fact that it has a rather unimaginative title compared to the original one.
..Yes, I LOVE Lasseter and I'm glad that he is working to address story issues with Cars 2. Like you said, this is good news. Like you said, just some routine lamp maintenance.
"What's next? Monsters 2, anyone? Will we ever see another original film from up north? Or have they lost that amazing spark?"
Guess you haven't heard of Bear and the Bow and Newt. They're ramping up production to 1 movie 1 year, then two movies the following year, then 1, etc. Takes less time to develop a movie when you already have a group of characters. Now I'm not saying that we're going to be getting a bunch of sequels, but there is a possibility with this new format we might.
"There's no doubt that the sequel is being made simply because of its merchandising possibilities. Little boys love Cars, and that's great. But I won't be seeing the sequel."
How about Cars made so much money off of merchandise they were allowed to make movies like WALL-E and Up! which is something I've been told. And even if Cars is their weakest film (I disagree) tell me what animated film that came out the same year was better.
The fact that they admit they have story problems tells us they want to deliver a good product...
Cars was one of my favourite films from Pixar, I was really touched by it and I felt it had a heart.
Still my favourite is Finding Nemo though :p
Thank you for posting my response to you Honor.
Sorry for the confusion.
I assume that there are no hard feelings? :)
Why doesn't Disney fix its Rapunzel problem (trends too girly) and its Cars problem (trends to boy) and smoosh them into the same damned movie? Worked for EPCOT Center.
Okay, this is precious. Disney France has confirmed the new french title for "Rapunzel"/"Tangled" today. The new title will be... wait for it..
"Princesse Raiponce" = "Princess Rapunzel"
Princess and the Frog has been a huge success in france so they are most likely capitalising on the success it had there.
Now tell me Disney marketing peoplem this is not confusing how? One part of the world reffering to the movie as "Tangled" and another as "PRINCESS Rapunzel"...
This is getting weirder by the day!
I look forward to the Disney and Pixar releases year after year. Despite the sour news that sometimes proceeds and follows. The stories, the animation, the music and score are always something exciting to discover.
Rapunzel and Toy Story 3 are those two films this year. And I cannot wait for Toy Story 3 this summer, and I am so excited for the trailer and release of Tangled. The movies to follow over the next few years I am equally stoked for.
So no more complainingI have faith in these two studios. Any year that sees a new movie released by DIsney Animation and PIxar Animation is sure to be a good year.
I can't wait.
Amen J.
"Guess you haven't heard of Bear and the Bow and Newt."
Go check the comments section of the TAG blog. Newt has been axed.
I've always loved that image of McQueen and all of his bling-bling!
And hey Honor remember, no matter how depressing the news has been lately, it could always be worse!
Since I don't want to jinx anything, I will not give examples! ;)
Wow, a bunch of negative people over at the TAG blog. The thing about Newt is news to me, but I'm not crushed about it. New they tried a new director over the summer, but that guy has been busy UP to his ears lately.
People really need to stop wishing failure on companies.
I hope Newt hasn't been Axed. I was looking forward to that one too. Where is it reported that Newt and BATB were cut??
the double meaning of Tangled in English
is lost when you translate it into other languages
in Dutch it sounds too awfull and very silly
The French are far smarter
on Cars 2
it won't be my movie but I hope others will enjoy it
ghehehe
to me Cars means nothing, saw it on dvd and was bored after half an hour but my best friend thought it was amazing......
Cars is so slow... it could be a 2 parter to begin with. YAWNNING during the movie. I hope they don't make it a 2 parter again, technically sequels 3 and 4.
"Where is it reported that Newt and BATB were cut??"
Not Bear and the Bow, just Newt. Pixar and Disney do not announce the cancellation of films in development so you won't see any announcement. This is about as official as it's going to get:
http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/2010/02/cars-2-gets-toon-up.html
Half way down the comments section. Post by Floyd Norman.
That Floyd Norman guy just won't SHUT UP. He continually inserts himself into Disney and Pixar stories as if he KNEW somehing or had anything relevant to say (or worked at Pixar very briefly a long time ago according to people on the guild blog). Being around a long time doesn't give him or anyone the right to leak what's probably confidential information. His need for attention comes across as pretty pathetic. Especially when he has nothing to do with the subjects at hand.
I don't care if these storys are true or not. I'm glad they're doing what it takes to make these movies as good as possible.
Hi Honor.
I'm still sorry about the confusion from earlier, and don't worry, I'm not here to cause problems. But I have to say, after thinking more about this, I am confused as to why there was an issue in the first place...
Considering the fact that you have to approve comments before they are seen, that means that you had to approve comment #2, So I assume that means you read it before you saw my comment (#3).
With that in mind, I imagine that it should have been obvious that my Rapunzel statement was meant to address comment #2 and not you.
After all, comment #2 was not only off topic, but they were completely off base, they thought that Rapunzel had story problems, so I was just responding to them, and telling them that they were wrong.
I only starting addressing you after I mentioned your name.
Admittedly, my tone was pretty harsh, but as I mentioned before, I was sick of people harping on the same old thing...You aren't the only person who can be in a bad mood you know. ;) :)
Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, this is behind us. You don't need to respond, I just needed to get this off of my chest.
Thanks for understanding. :)
And its good to know that Cars 2 is in good, caring hands.
"That Floyd Norman guy just won't SHUT UP."
Floyd isn't releasing anything that isn't already out there. He wouldn't do that. None of the info you hear here comes from him or the TAG blog.
And as for him having worked for Pixar, yeah and Disney and many, many others. He's a legend.
And most importantly, he's a Disney Legend...
I'm thinking of the scene in Toy Story where Mr. Potato Head takes his lips and pressed them up against his butt.
"Floyd isn't releasing anything that isn't already out there"
No. The fact is he is singularly responsible for leaking this information. This is a fact.
And how would you know if he would do this or not?
And in the animation industry, he's certainly NOT a legend. Why would anyone say this?
He should shut up.
If John has to be directly involved fixing everything, what happens when he is no longer able to micromanage? I love the guy but he has to build in the capacity in people under him or else Disney will suffer another reign of mediocrity like we had with Eisner/Pressler/etc. in the future.
And please John get on a diet and exercise routine that will keep you around for a long time!
Mr. Norman is a Disney Legend:
http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/detail?key=Floyd+Norman
Now I'm sure you knew that and you were merely stating he wasn't "Disney Legend" material, right?
When you can't get simple facts straight its hard to give credence to the "facts" you're stating.
No. He got an award. That doesn't make him a "legend. He got it because he was still alive. Doesn't mean he did anything of consequence at the Disney studio other than surviving longer. He's an active self promoter (nothing wrong with that), but they were giving that "legend" award to just about ANYONE for a while.
In the animation industry--especially in L.A.--he's not considered a "legend."
And he's shooting off his mouth about confidential information. He should shut up.
jeez.. so touchy..
get over it already.
Perhaps Floyd cares about the artists, and he doesn't want tyranny over WDAS.
He's a card-carrying Guild union-stooge and maybe just doesn't like the fact that Mr. Fun hangs out at places that don't necessarily support the Union anymore. (AnimationNation, etc) Bitterness sucks, don't it?
That's what happens when you base a new story around the amount of toys you sell. Cars brought in 1 billion in sales.
Floyd would be the first person to tell you he doesn't feel like a legend but he knows the business. Not many people can say they worked with Walt Disney and Milt Kahl directly without any reprimands. Most importantly, Floyd is a wonderful human being who is still passionate about animation and storytelling long past the time when most give up. Sometimes his passion gets him in to trouble but at least he's not afraid to speak up and use his real name on a post. If you speak with him in person, you'll realize that Floyd's only agenda is to remind people what Disney was like when he started in the 1950's. Good thing since I don't know how many of us were alive then.
Wow! What an honor to have people argue about me on this site.
Yeah, I don't consider myself a Disney Legend either. However, I did work with a lot of the Disney Legends, and that's good enough for me.
Finally, the guys and gals at Pixar are my friends and colleagues, and we still work together. I would never release any information that wasn't already known.
Sorry, I don't plan to shut up, either. That's the benefit of age. I've earned it, kids.
That Floyd Norman guy just won't SHUT UP. He continually inserts himself into Disney and Pixar stories as if he KNEW somehing or had anything relevant to say (or worked at Pixar very briefly a long time ago according to people on the guild blog). Being around a long time doesn't give him or anyone the right to leak what's probably confidential information. His need for attention comes across as pretty pathetic. Especially when he has nothing to do with the subjects at hand.
It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who sees Mr. Norman as a bit of an @$$.
And, Floyd, just because you have "the benefit of ages" does not give you the right to be a bastard.
Gotta imagine the fact that Newman and Carlin passed on has made story development difficult from the start. Hope this bump in the road emulates past Pixar bumps and makes the flick stronger!
I'm not exactly sure what I did to earn the title, "bastard." I've always been respectful of my friends and colleagues even if we disagree. Plus, I have no personal agenda except to share my love and respect for this marvelous medium.
However, if having opinions you disagree with make me a "bastard," then so be it.
You're not a bastard Floyd Norman! I promise!
Guys, just so you know, if you want to disagree with Floyd that's fine. If you want to agree with him, that's fine too. But please do so in a civil manner. There is no need to drop the F-bomb and other words to get your point across. I don't mind publishing differing opinions, but be mindful of how you say what you say.
K?
Oh, and btw, Floyd is right and you're wrong. ;)
Not sure if this is allowed, but thought i'd post a link to a work in progress trailer to tangled.
http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/44302386.html
don't know how long it'll be up. so better hurry.
You'll find a much better copy on the Blu-Ray/DVD of "Princess and the Frog," actually...
And you may see it released sooner than that on the net.
Maybe...
This article wasn't about the renaming of "Rapunzel" so I'm wondering if you meant to post it in the previous one?
i like this topic! I enjoy a lot reading articles like this, Thanks for sharing!
i like this topic! I enjoy a lot reading articles like this, Thanks for sharing!
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