Pixar's Goofy...

If you've seen "Bolt" in 3D this weekend, then you've probably seen "Tokyo Mater" in front of it. It's a fun, clever short that utilizes two things the Mouse really values.

3D and Mater.

The company along with many of its competitors are banking on Three-Dee being the thing that will preserve and shield theatrical releases from the onslaught of HDTV and Blu-Ray. I'm still skeptical as to it being the hero here. I tend to think the best defense is a good offense, which in this medium means story. Story, story, story. Having said that, I have to remind myself that the Super Dog got his butt handed to him a few weeks ago by some rather wimpy, romantic vampires. Oh well... the only thing constant is change.

Anyways, the other thing is Mater. He's the most popular of the cast of "Cars," stealing the scenes he was in(Just like Rhino, I might add). He sells a ton of merchandise and there's a reason he's the one they've made these new "Cars Toons" shorts with. He's funny and endearing and he puts people in the seats.

When the film was well in production Lasseter was heard having remarked that they've now created Pixar's Goofy. And he was right. Spot on if you ask me...

The shorts that premiered on the Disney Channel along with the latest one that was released theatrically are the modern equivalent of the old Goofy "How To" shorts, with Mater offering a sort of "How I wished it would have happened" kind of story. We can expect to see more of these and others in the future and you can probably expect him to play a more focal part of "Cars 2" than he did in the original. And if you love him, you're gonna loooooove going to DCA in about three and a half years, but that's a story for a later date.

You'd think for someone working so much, Mater would be able to afford a new paint job, wouldn't you?

Born Goofy...

Today we celebrate the 76th birthday of one of Walt Disney's most endearinly, goofy creations...

Happy Birthday, Big Guy!

Animated Short Nominations Are Goofy...

I was aiming to write about this the other day...

But I got busy... Hey, I do have a life ya know!

The Oscar Nominations have been announced and I like most of what was announced, except...

The nominations for Best Animated Short. Or to be more specific, the "lack" of a nomination is what has me a bit upset.

2007 Best Animated Short Film Nominations:

• I Met the Walrus - Josh Raskin
• Madame Tutli-Putli - Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
• Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go To Heaven) - Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
• My Love (Moya Lyubov) - Alexander Petrov
• Peter and the Wolf - Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

I don't want to take away from any of the shorts that have been nominated. This post is not about them. It's more about the Academy and its decision making process. I find it hard to believe the Academy let "How To Hook Up Your Home Theater" go without a nomination. Was this some form of slight against the short, or perhaps a sign that they've given up on Disney hand drawn animation? It could also be that the short plays so well as a bridge to the Disney shorts of the past that Academy members thought they were looking at an old cartoon. But then they wouldn't have or couldn't have watched the whole thing would be my guess. This wouldn't be the first time, Oscar winners are filled with films that even the voters didn't see, but felt should win. Even when it's just entertainment, it's political, sadly.

I'm not saying that Goofy's new short should win... although I wouldn't mind it. But the short should have been nominated. It deserves it for not only being a great animated short, but for showing that a group of talented animators can create something so wonderfully funny and memorable after having their skills neglected and tossed aside for half a decade.

Maybe they should expand the number? Maybe they should have to actually take a test to prove they watched what they vote for. Either way, the lack of a nomination for Disney's first new short in years is just plain goofy.

Goofy Weekend...

For those of you that attend the new "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" film, you get that added bonus of seeing the new Goofy "How To Hook Up Your Home Theater" short.

In a word, brilliant... it's like going back in a time machine. They got the animation and tone absolutely perfect. It's been updated slightly of course, but for the most part, it's a walk back into the classic past of wonderful Disney shorts. I look forward to many more of these in the future... particularly the one Eric Goldberg is working on with Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

Go see the film, it's fun, not great, but it's an entertaining two hours of action with a little history education tacked on to boot. The Goofy short alone is worth the price of admission.

More Treasure?

Before it's even released, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" has already got Nicolas Cage excited about doing more sequel. He tells Coming Soon that "With 'National Treasure,' I believe that it should become more and more 'International Treasure'. I was very happy to see that we went to London, England and Paris, France, but I'd like to see the movie go wider still" He elaborated on that" "I'd like to go into Africa, Egypt, Asia, and keep going. My hope is that Ben is recruited and he gets a dossier from these other countries about their history, and has to download it and learn it, and then try to go on these hunts on their behalf. That would be a lot of fun for me."

The first movie was a bit of a surprise for the Mouse. Although they thought it would do decent numbers, the Suits were initially surprised that the film got a PG rating. The plan had been to release it through the Touchstone label until that happened. Once that happened, the Suits made the decision to move it over to the Walt Disney Pictures label. It worked far beyond their expectations with a box office return that padded the coffers of the Disney Vault to the tune of $173 million domestic, $174 million international and a global total of $347 million. Not bad...

And a sequel was obvious. Is it good? Well, we'll find out in a few weeks. I know quite a few Disney Geeks that will attend this film just because of the short that's attached to it. That could help boost its box office, but not enough to make it a success... that will depend on how many theater goers feel it's worth seeing again and again...

And again.

That'll also determine if Nicolas Cage gets to fulfill that quote about wanting to make more sequels. Come December 21st, we get to determine ourselves if Benjamin Franklin Gates goes on more adventures.

How Long Before More Shorts?

All right...

By now, everyone knows that the new Goofy short will premiere before "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" next month, but the real question is what is next? And when?

Well, from what my sources tell me, there are at least five shorts in active development. Three of which are well into production. The next one we will see after Goofy, may not be until next summer, but right now it looks as though the debut of "Bolt" a year from now will yield the next one. There has been talk of having a summer release of the next one, but as of right now there is no definite decision as to place one before next summers offerings.

So what will come in front of "Bolt"?

Well, that movie is being directed by Chris Williams and the short that will play in front of it will be one directed by...

Chris Williams?

Yup. Chris Williams got the job taking over the directing chores on "American Dog", now known as "Bolt" when John Lasseter saw the story reels for his new short, "Glago's Guest". So he not only has the pressure of being the first film released under The Mousetro's reign, but he also has a short that he directed attached to the front of his directorial debut. Not much pressure, eh?

From what I'm told "Glago's Guest" will be a very beautiful, artsy tale about a Russian guard out in the in the middle of nowhere that is visited by an extraterrestrial. It was good enough for Lasseter to trust him with a major animated feature. And before you ask... yes, it is CG.

So what else can we expect?

Well, as well as the short from Goofy's "How To", "Glago's Guest", we have "The Ballad of Nessie" and "Prep And Landing". There are another couple that are in preliminary stages. Yes, Disney's classic characters will be in some of these... in fact one short that is being planned will be directed by Disney Legend Eric Goldberg involving the classic trio themselves. There is a chance that the "Nessie" one could be ready by fall next year, but I don't think we'll see it before "Glago"... just my own intuition, schedules could change. The "Nessie" short(about the Loch Ness Monster, of course) should be interesting, it's being done by the directors of the Goofy short, it's hand drawn like the "Goofy" short and is very much in the style of Mary Blair's drawings. The story of "Prep" is about some very inept elves that prepare Santa's sleigh for Christmas Eve to disastrous results... do you think Disney will plan on releasing this one during a certain holiday season? There are many, many shorts being prepared for pitches, not all will make it into production, of course. The goal will be to have at least two a year by the end of next year... if things go well, they may try for three a year, but we'll have to see how they go and play for the audience.

But come December 21st, we'll get to see a new Disney short, and trust me...

It won't be the last.

Goofy Sightings...

It appears that with the new Goofy short finished, Walt Disney Animation Studios is moving on to its other productions and people in the know are starting to get a look at the final product.

Jerry Beck over at Cartoon Brew has seen Goofy's comeback vehicle and has a review of it over on the site. What's his verdict? Well, go read it and see... but let's just say that directors Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton have done for Goofy what Quentin Tarantino did for John Travolta.

I can't wait to get a look at this and hope that Disney announces soon which film they plan on releasing it with... I hope my sources are right about which one it may be attached to.

This Fall Things Will Get Goofy...

I know some of the news I'm reporting is a few days old but I've been gone and am trying to catch up. I don't know if anyone has seen it but there is a great article over on Animated-Views.com with an interview with Disney Legends Andreas Deja and Mark Henn about the new Walt Disney Animation Studios new short "How to hook up your home theater" staring Goofy.

I can't wait to see this when it's released in the fall... possibly with Enchanted maybe? The poster for it is retro 50's check it out...



Hopefully the Studio will ramp up and do two to four of these a year... they already have six in production so I hope at least a couple of those will come out every year. I also want the other originals (Mickey, Donald and Pluto) to appear in shorts too... I would relish the chance to see Donald staring in another short!

The six in production are:

"How to hook up your Home Theater" staring Goofy, directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers.

"Golgo’s Guest" about a lonely Russian frontier guard and his encounter with a space alien, directed by Chris Williams(this is the project that landed him directing American Dog).

"Prep And Landing" the Christmas tale of two inept Elves readying a house for Santa’s visit.

"The Ballad Of Nessie" which is a stylized account of the origin of the famous Loch Ness monster.

And two other unnamed shorts that are currently working their way through the pipeline, one of which is just starting production.

I can't wait to see them all. How about you?

How To Install Your Home Theater...

Well, earlier this summer Superman Returns and in about a year Walt Disney's Goofy will return!

Four new shorts are in development at Disney: “The Ballad of Nessie,” a stylized account of the origin of the Loch Ness monster; “Golgo’s Guest,” about a meeting between a Russian frontier guard and an extraterrestrial; “Prep and Landing,” in which two inept elves ready a house for Santa’s visit; and “How to Install Your Home Theater,” the return of Goofy’s popular “How to” shorts of the ’40s and ’50s, in which a deadpan narrator explains how to play a sport or execute a task, while Goofy attempts to demonstrate — with disastrous results. The new Goofy short is slated to go into production early next year.

I always loved the Disney shorts. Donald is my favorite Disney character, but Goofy is a wonderful way to begin the shorts program again at the House of Mouse.

Disney Executive Don Haln was quoted talking about the shorts in the weekend New York Times: “The Goofy short will be very funny, but we won’t have to spend a lot of money and time on it, which won’t diminish it one bit,” Mr. Hahn said. “Obviously there’s a financial component to these films. We have to make them responsibly. But the big investment is for the long haul. We’re saying we believe in new talent and new techniques, and they’ll pay dividends in 10 to 20 years, just as we’re reaping the benefits now from the investment we made 25 years ago, training John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton and Tim Burton and John Musker and Ron Clemmons.”

And you can definately see how the situation has changed since John Lasseter has become the head of Disney animation: “I feel Disney is a very different place than it was a year ago,” said Chris Williams, a story artist who is developing “Golgo’s Guest” and “Prep and Landing,” “and the shorts program is just part of that. It’s become a very exciting place to work.”

Here's to a great future at the movies. I can't wait till the lights go down and I get to see a Disney short before a new Disney film!