Marin Fairy Tales...

Somewhere between the Presidio in San Francisco bay and Skywalker Ranch in Marin County a story is unfolding…

It's a story that Gary Rydstrom is telling, and it might involve tiny creatures with little wings and magic.  Now, Disney and Lucasfilm have to keep things legit, they have to make sure it's all legal.  So when a company wants to claim something as part of its intellectual property, one of the things they do is copyright it.  Well Lucasfilm recently copyrighted a new name for something that it's working.

Primrose.

There was also the mention of something with "Big Rock", which might translate to an area of Skywalker Ranch known as Big Rock Ranch.  One of the interesting things about the location of this area of the ranch is that it is where Lucasfilm's animation department worked on "The Clone Wars".  Could they be working on some other animated project there?

If you want to go further into the Pixie Hollow then you have to examine what is a Primrose?  Does it have anything to do with this mysterious project supposedly about fairies.  Well, for those that don't know, a Primrose is a flower in Ireland and Wales.  It is known as the "fairy flower" and it's supposed to have mystical properties that can grant someone the power of invisibility.

Is this the name of Lucasfilm's secret animated project?  Could it involve Irish/Welsh fairies with some aspect of invisibility?  I honestly don't know.  But Lucasfilm copyrighted the name for a reason.  They're currently working on a film about fairies.  Perhaps, that's the reason?

Time will tell…

The Other Disney Fairies...

It looks like the Mouse is going to give Tinker Bell a few siblings...

It's been rumored that Lucasfilm Animation was working on a fairy film for a few years, but of late the talk around the water coolers have virtually vanished.  No one has heard anything in the past couple of years about the project.  Some have thought the film was dead or had sadly been put into turnaround.

That appears now to not be the case.  Kathleen Kennedy has been busy behind the scene doing more than just Star Wars apparently.  In addition to working with J.J. Abrams on "Episode VII", she's also determined to make sure Lucasfilm isn't known only for Luke Skywalker and that far off galaxy he lives in.

It seems once one door closes, another opens.

Once the production of Pixar's "Newt" was shut down a couple years ago, its director found himself ready to make a film that was no longer there because of similarities to a competing film.  Luckily for him, when Kathleen Kennedy took the top job at Lucasfilm, she went through the inventory of projects in development at Skywalker Ranch and saw potential in the musical about fairies that had been languishing in development for the past few years.  She realized it needed a new direction and a director to take it there.  Right place, right time.  Gary Rydstrom found himself being asked to helm the film, and before you know it, Brenda Chapman was brought in to help focus on the story structure (she's known for strong characters, particularly female characters).

Don't expect to hear much about the film right at this moment, but there'll probably be more focus on it, as well as a possible announcement of it next year, should the creative process not hit anymore speed bumps before then.  It'll be nice to see some of the creativity of George's company expanding beyond its most famous piece.  There are several other properties the division owns that could still make amazing entertainment for years or decades to come.

Like a particular Archeologist's animated adventures...

Enter The Fairies...

The Fairies that will populate Pixie Hollow at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom were introduced the other day...

Come this fall, little girls across America can be shrunk down to enter the Hollow and have a "Meet and Greet" with the newly popular Fairies.

Get your autograph books ready, girls...

Disney Outs Another Fairy In August...

Another chapter in the "Disney Fairies" series is to be released in August. "Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand" gets a worldwide release from Disney Consumer Products today. These books are paving the way for the release of the "Tinker Bell" movie in 2008, which will be the first of a proposed three to four films about the little creatures. These books are authored by Newbery Honor winning author Gail Carson Levine with illustrations by David Christiana.

Although it's not something I tend to read, the stories are far more creative and interesting for children than the "Disney Princess" stories. The artwork for the books is also top-notch and Christiana certainly provides beautiful renderings. The movie that comes out next year is moving along. Animators I've talked to consider it a greatly improved tale since Uncle John got involved. Not that it'll be Pixar quality, but the story will be much better that the original idea is the general consensus. After that film, the movies will involve other characters as Tink is just intended as a starting point.

Disney seems to be handling this project quite well so far. The "Disney Dwarves" series that was to follow appears to have had the kibosh put on it. Too bad, I hear it had some great artwork and an interesting premise. Lasseter is very protective of the classic Disney properties, though.

What Glendale wants, Glendale gets...

Is John Lasseter Disney Toons' Fairy Godmother?

Word from the cubicles in Glendale has it that the new "Tinkerbell" film that has been radically reworked as per Mr. Lasseter's instructions is a great improvement over the version Disney Toons was attempting to make last year. Not saying that it's going to be as good as "Toy Story 2" but the animators I chatted with are quite proud...

With all his duties over at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering one would think Uncle Lasseter would have his hands full. Well, he does have his hands full, but his influence within the Team Disney lot is being very much felt... through a lot of corridors and conference rooms. It's already known that Disney Consumer Products have assigned a full time assistant to Mr. Lasseter to keep him up to date on all the going on within that part of the company. This way he can coordinate with them on projects that perk his interest. Not to mention, guard the classic characters from the treatment they've received over the last decade's "cheapquels".

The film is moving steadily along, as are the trilogy of Fairy movies that will follow it. The animators that I've talked to are much happier with Lasseter's involvement in the projects. Even though his input is limited, they feel he genuinely cares about their work and the Disney name, wanting to make the features that come out of Disney Toons reflecting a high standard. There is a renewed sense of optimism that they haven't felt in a long, long time.

If all goes well with Tinkerbell's release then the production of "Disney's Fairies" will go ahead at full speed since the focus on "Disney Princesses" is winding down. Over the next few years these properties will take up the majority of their time, but there are several other exciting ideas that they're working on in between. Of all the proposal on the drawing board, one that Lasseter's DCP assistant is trying to sheppard through the development process has the animators I was talking to gigling like teenagers with excitment. Of course, they wouldn't tell me much about it... except it's a great twist on an old concept that Lasseter really liked. Hopefully we'll hear more on it once Tinkerbell is out and the other Fairy movies are well into production. But one thing is clear... Uncle Lasseter is definately making his presense felt in the halls of the Disney Toons and Disney Consumer Products.

Well, that's it for May. Until next month... Hi ho, it's off I go.