MORT Info...

Yeah, but is it a musical!???




Well???
I thought since it was finally revealed I would clarify a few things about Ron & John's new film...

First off, patience should be expected as it's very early in development. They've just recently secured the rights to it so there hasn't been a lot done. These films take about three years to churn out so it'll be at least that long before you see it. That means 2013 at the earliest. And for my opinion, it won't be out then. More likely it'll be 2014. The way it looks right now, the picture that will likely be positioned for 2013 is "Reboot Ralph." It's much further along in development and therefore closer to actually getting animated. Secondly, it appears that Progress City wasn't the only one reporting on this, as Bleeding Cool has gotten info of its own.

Now, as for the story of Terry Pratchett's book, here are some bullet points. Those that don't want to know spoilers can stop here.

- The writing style of Pratchett is said to be a combination of the humor of Douglas Adams and the fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien.

- Mort is the fourth book in a 38 book series set in a world/realm called Discworld.

- The Discworld is a fantasy realm that is flat and sits atop four elephants that stand atop a giant turtle (very metaphysical, eh?).

- The lead character is a young man named Mort who thinks too much and his father takes him to a form of job fair to find someone to apprentice with. No one takes him until right before midnight when a figure in a dark robe shows up on a white horse looking for an assistant.

- This is Death, whom will figure in many Discworld novels. He takes Mort and has him usher souls from this world to the next.

- This story has a princess, her name is Keli and Mort falls for her, thus creating the story's dilemma. He saves her from death and alters the reality of Discworld.

- He ultimately battles Death for Keli and loses. But Death spares her and turns the altered reality that Mort caused into a pearl which Mort has the responsibility to guard.

And if you want to know anything else, here are plenty of Wiki links that you can indulge yourself with...

Animated Progress...

Yeah, but will it be a musical???


Over at Progress City, they've got a really big rumor...

We all know that after "Winnie the Pooh" next year, there is a hole in the schedule and then there is a mystery as to what will come out in 2013/2014. The site is reporting a rumor that Ron Clements and John Musker's next film will be an adaptation of Terry Pratchett's book "Mort." Blue Sky reported that the next hand drawn film from the Mouse would again be by the duo back earlier this year. At the time we knew it was a fantasy. I was told, but didn't reveal that it was based on a book by a famous fantasy author that was published in the 80's. This book fits the period when the book came out and the type of author that would provide this source material.

But is it true?

Yes, kinda. I will say that the film does take place in the Discworld series which is where the Mort book (fourth in the line of books, btw) takes place, but remember that this is an adaptation that won't necessarily be literal (no film adaptation really is). I got confirmation from the Bothans of this. The hero of the book shows that this is an entirely different kind of story than Walt Disney Animation Studio has told before, but it does have a princess in it. Remember that this is early in the process and things can change. It's at least three years before it will come out and the animation process is a long, bumpy and slow road. This project as well as "Reboot Ralph" and another to be announced "untitled project" give you a sense as to how the course will change in the Mouse's animation direction after that one year break. Interesting, no?

So now you know what the next hand drawn is, but you still don't know how different it really is...

Untitled Road...

Don't stop, go, go, go...








A lot has been happening in the Hat Building over the past six months...

After all, at the end of last year saw the release of "Tangled," which was a huge film for the studio. Not only did it relieve a bit of pressure to perform by the Disney animators, it also made way for a lot of projects to move further into development. Many have complained that there wasn't much in development over the past few years, causing many an animator/artist to get a layoff notice.

I am happy to tell you that that is not the case now. Of course, the development slate is nowhere near as large as DreamWorks Animation, which has a very large and long list of projects, but it is getting fattened up, and it's still growing.

First off, we know that Walt Disney Animation Studios next film is the hand-drawn sequel "Winnie the Pooh," which comes out as counter programing to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2." But where does the road take us after that?

Well, come 2012 we know that Rich Moore's "Wreck-It Ralph" will be the studios' animated offering. I hear that the project is very different from the last few films, but still shares the same, Disney heart. If some of the hysterically dark scenes I heard make it though the cut then this one will get an unusually rare, PG13 rating for the 52nd animated feature from Disney Animation. But we'll have to wait and see what final form it arrives in.

As of 2013, the next project to be moving down the pipeline is newly re-envisioned "King of the Elves," which has been chugging along under the direction of Chris Williams (something we reported exclusively last year). The storyboarding has been going on, new scenes are being written and the story structure is being tightened up. This CG animated feature should tentatively arrive during the holidays unless a kink in the production process pops up. I've heard many people asking if rumors of it being out of development were true and from what I know, it has continually been moving forward since last year.

Now for 2014, it gets a little murkier, as these projects are in a more fluid state of development, so changes could happen. But as of now, this is what you are likely to see.

Based on the current state of projects, a CG version of "Snow Queen" directed by Chris Buck is likely to see release sometime during the year. The story structure problems that popped up in the last hand-drawn version seem to be ironed out and storyboarding has moved forward with Chris' unique take on the material. And for those of you wondering if it'll be faithful to the original story? I can only say that it'll be as faithful to it as the Mouse was to "The Little Mermaid." Presuming that another film gets released that year, it is likely to be the new hand-drawn film from John Musker and Ron Clements. And no, I'm not talking "Mort" as the rights to that would have required the Mouse to purchase the entire series, which it didn't want to commit to. So this new project is something else that the duo has pitched Lasseter. All that is known, is that it will be hand-drawn.

After that, in the 2014/2015 range will be the untitled project coming from Nathan Greno & Bryon Howard's. Not much is known about this film, but the duo hit it off on "Tangled" and have apparently pitched a project that Lasseter thinks will be great. If their project is not ready, then Dean Wellins' project will fill the slot. His is a story that will be very different from the mold we picture Disney animated films and this is a project that is aimed at all those boys that don't like princess movies.

Sometime around this point in the schedule, Don Hall's super secret project may have been greenlit and far enough down the line to be penciled in for a 2015/2016 release. That project, once announced will generate a lot of buzz in certain geek communities, as it's going to surprise a lot of people for what it is and what it's not. But it's in the very early embryonic stage and it depends on how well the project is received upon the presentation that is being prepared for John and Ed.

After that, there are several ideas that are being prepared for pitches which could compete for time on the release slate, but as of now there you have it. It will be interesting seeing how Disney's marketing department deals with some of these titles as they are out of what we normally picture for a Disney film. Even some of the ones you would think are in the classic mold, are really not.

Although several of these films have titles, they are very much temporary ones and are as much in flux as is the schedule itself. The development track expanding in the last year is a very positive step and Lasseter's trust in the talent is also a very reassuring development as well.

The greatest contribution about last years hit is not the box office it generated, but that it may have untangled the restrictions that had been placed on the company's animation future...

Brave Art...

No, this isn't a piece about some artist's exhibit that was banned from a showing...

It seems that Entertainment Weekly got their hands on some concept art of Pixar's "Brave" for a first look at the feature for their latest issue. It's lovely, especially that first piece (notice the bear?). It'll be interesting to see how they handle their first fairy tale/princess film. We'll find out by summer of next year. We should be getting a teaser for this by the end of this summer/beginning of fall.

Speaking of which, by the time this film comes out, the Mouse should hopefully have released another schedule showing us the road map ahead for the Hat and the Lamp. That way we can get a clearer picture of what films have been scheduled and what surprises await us.

Hopefully Ron & Jon's other idea will have gelled by then since "Mort" sadly fell through...

One Sheet For Pooh...

Oh bother...










A teaser poster for WDAS's "Winnie the Pooh" is out...

Minimalist, ain't it? Not bad since there is no reason to show much being as almost everyone knows who the silly ole' bear is. Enjoy this hand-drawn creation when it comes out this summer. It'll be the last film from Disney Animation till 2013 and probably the last hand-drawn till 2014/15.

Next year will be a lull in production as the Mouse switches gears into a different direction and adjusts from a lack of development projects. Don't worry, it now has several films that are being worked on, but this is the result of a lean period of projects that got put into turn around or were delayed, retooled or outright canceled.

See what happens when development lags? After next year, "Reboot Ralph," "King of the Elves," "Mort," and a couple "Untitled" projects are in the works. But it's amazing where we are compared with Pre-Tangled.

Success has a way of brightening up the road ahead...