BuzzSugar

We're Off to See the CG-Animated Wizard of Oz

BuzzSugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:30:35 -0800

Just as we're getting a Three Stooges movie for a new generation of moviegoers, The Wizard of Oz will also be reappearing on the big screen - in CG animation. The $25 million project is backed by a French production company and will be based on Frank Baum's original novel.

The Variety article adds, "The English-language adaptation maintains the tale's main characters and settings. Unlike the MGM classic, however, it's not a musical."

On the one hand, with today's animation technology, the possibilities are limitless for what Oz might look like, and that could be awesome. On the other hand, do we need another Wizard of Oz movie? Is this messing with a classic? What do you think?

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First Look: Teaser for Disney's Princess and the Frog

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:31:16 -0700

We've been hearing about Disney's first black princess for a while now, and today they've released a brief teaser trailer that introduces us to both princess and frog in the animated Princess and the Frog. The story is described as "a fairy tale centered on a young girl named Princess Tiana who lives in New Orleans' French Quarter during the Jazz Age." Tiana is voiced by Dreamgirls's Anika Noni Rose.

Tiana was dreamed up after several rewrites of the original concept for this princess, and the animators have quite a while to continue working on the movie; The Princess and the Frog will open December 25, 2009. For now, you can check out the teaser trailer (which is strange to watch - yet kinda refreshing - after so many Pixar-y movies) if you read more.

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Horton Hears A Who: Sweet and Surreal Seuss

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:30:08 -0700

Turning a classic children's story into a mass-market, big-screen movie is always a risky proposition. So many never live up to the promise of the original - or, worse, change it into something unrecognizable. But luckily, Horton Hears A Who is on the other end of that spectrum. 20th Century Fox's animated adaptation balances Seuss's sweet story with stunning visuals, deftly sharing its message ("a person's a person, no matter how small") with only brief interludes of cheesiness.

In case you were more of a One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish fan, here's the story of Horton in a nutshell: In a magical jungle, there lives an elephant named Horton, who one day spots a little speck on a flower. Thanks to his big ears, he can hear the noises coming from the speck and finds a way to communicate with the Whos of Whoville, who have lived their entire lives unaware that their universe was nothing more than a precarious resting spot on a flower somewhere. Horton wants to get the Whos to a safe place, but the jungle's bossy kangaroo doesn't believe Horton (and certainly doesn't want all the other jungle creatures imagining there are worlds on their flowers, too) and tries to thwart his mission. Meanwhile, the Mayor of Whoville - the only person who can communicate with Horton - has some doubters of his own who want to make a fool of him for suggesting their universe is merely a speck. Will the two worlds ever find common ground? Well, it's Dr. Seuss, so I suppose it's no spoiler that the answer is yes - but the way it plays out on film is fun to watch, so read more.

On a visual level, the movie is stunning - not because it's so realistic (that's more Pixar's bag) but exactly because it's so surreal. The landscapes and loopy line drawings look like Seuss brought to life; the saturated colors tell a whole story in themselves, from the leafy greens of Horton's jungle to the spooky grays of the villains' lair. The houses of Whoville are lopsided and loopy, perfect for a land that's just a little off-kilter.

One of the best decisions, in terms of keeping the story true to Seuss's spirit, was to have a narrator (Charles Osgood, better known for his news-anchor job) speak in Seuss's traditional, sing-song-y rhymes. Anytime it seemed like the movie was getting too far from the original story, Osgood's calming voice was there to ground it. Other voices are also highlights: Jim Carrey faded so completely into Horton that I never really connected the actor with the elephant. Steve Carell, on the other hand, simply is the Mayor of Whoville; that character is right in his bumbling, inept wheelhouse. My favorite, surprisingly, was Seth Rogen as Horton's dopey sidekick, Morton; apparently, Rogen is good at playing the buddy in any form.

Horton is clearly shooting to appeal to the whole family, and for the most part, it succeeds: There are enough clever details to keep adults entertained, while the lumbering goofiness of Horton himself kept the kids at my screening riveted. Unfortunately, what doesn't work are the parts of the movie aimed at the pre-teen crowd. Granted, I'm not in that demographic, but I was surprised at how flat those jokes - mostly gags along the lines of "Whoville mayor gets fishbowl stuck on crotch" - fell. And I'm not sure why the movie includes a montage of characters singing "Can't Fight This Feeling." It felt unnecessary, a cheap dig for a last laugh.

But does any of that really matter? In the end, Horton tells a sweet story with fine acting and a quirky visual style that perfectly fits its source, and that's all I ask from a movie like this.

To see the trailer and more clips from Horton Hears A Who check out movies.ivillage.com.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

First Look: Wall-E

BuzzSugar — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:30:00 -0800

I'm generally of the opinion that everything Pixar touches turns to (shockingly well-animated) gold, so I'm excited that a full trailer has been released for Wall-E, the studio's upcoming release. The film, from Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton, follows a robot named Wall-E who's been left in a post-apocalyptic world for 700 years, sorting trash all alone. Alone, that is, until a probe sent to check on Earth brings him Eve, a darling girl robot with whom he falls in love.

At first, I was a little worried about Wall-E; the concept for the movie was developed around the time of Toy Story, and I thought the lonely-robot idea was showing its age. But I've steadily gotten more confident about it, first because of this ingenious Web site for Buy n Large, the company that owns everything in the future, and now because of the trailer. There's very little dialogue in the movie - Wall-E just makes mechanical noises - and I'm curious to see how that holds up over a full feature, but if anyone can do it, Pixar can.

Plus, this trailer is worth a look just for the adorable bit with Wall-E and Pixar's Luxo Jr. mascot at the start. The movie is out in June 2008, and to watch the trailer, just read more.

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Movie Preview: Persepolis

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:30:00 -0800

Big-name films like Sweeney Todd and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem will be getting most of the attention this holiday season, but I'm quite intrigued by a much smaller, very different film that will also be hitting theaters on Christmas day. Persepolis, based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novels, is an animated coming-of-age story about a young Iranian girl finding her way during the Islamic Revolution.

The story follows nine-year-old Marjane as she rebels against her family, witnesses the execution of an uncle, and moves away from Iran, back home, and ultimately away yet again. Her story mixes the hallmarks of any adolescence - testing the boundaries of her family, discovering punk music - with a political environment that most of us have never experienced.

From the trailer, the animation style is remarkably true to Satrapi's art, keeping the whimsy in a story that could be overwhelmingly serious. I'll definitely be picking up Persepolis and Persepolis 2 before this movie comes out. To check out the trailer, just read more

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New Animated Shows in the Works for Fox

BuzzSugar — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 08:30:00 -0700

Fox is casting around for possible new companions to its current animation lineup. The network is developing three new animated shows, including a remake of a live-action series called "The Pitts" that aired for just four weeks back in 2003.

I have absolutely no memory of "The Pitts," but the series starred Dylan Baker (pictured at left), Kellie Waymire and Lizzy Caplan as the unluckiest family in the world. Even the series' creators admit it was practically a cartoon to begin with, and they kept bringing it back up in network pitch meetings. Fox is casting actors to do a table read of the script, and if that goes well, the show will become a series.

The other two potential series are a bit earlier in the development process, but they share the crazy-family theme. They are:

"Insanity," about a 20-something guy who's constantly distracted by the antics of his wacky family. Jack Black would serve as executive producer for the show.
"Mothballs," about a dysfunctional family living in the nursing home they own. The show comes from the creators of "Drawn Together" and starts with the father of the family being forced to put his own estranged father into the strict nursing home he runs.

None of the three is guaranteed to end up on your TV, however; last year, Fox also looked at three animated shows, but didn't end up putting any of them on the air.

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TV Tonight: "Family Guy" Takes on Star Wars

BuzzSugar — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 08:01:58 -0700

Three of Fox's animated series - "Family Guy," "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill" - return tonight with their season premieres. I'm pretty excited for "The Simpsons" 19th (yes, that's nineteenth) season opener, especially considering it has a Spider Pig cameo. But the one that really has my interest is "Family Guy" because of its long-awaited Star Wars parody, "Blue Harvest."

Now, I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan ever, but for some reason, parodies of the movie empire just get me (remember "Robot Chicken"?). And while I thought the one clip I saw of the hour-long "Family Guy" episode lingered a little too long on a gag with a couch, there are a few inspired moments, including everything about the way Stewie is drawn as Darth Vader. To check out a clip, read more

Photo courtesy of Fox

"Creature Comforts": My New Favorite Thing

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 07:00:29 -0700

Sometimes an idea comes along that's so brilliant, I can't even believe it exists. That's how I feel about "Creature Comforts," the animated series from Aardman Animation, best known as the folks behind Wallace and Gromit. The show - which aired for two seasons in England and will premiere June 4 on CBS - features interviews with ordinary folks about work, health and love. The words are then put in the mouth of animated animals that fit the situations they're talking about - the "lovebirds" in the photo at right, for example.

Here's what CBS has to say about it:

In upcoming episodes, interviews with hundreds of ordinary Americans from across the United States cover a variety of subjects, such as the trials and tribulations of doctor's visits and being sick, what animal magnetism is and what they look for in a mate, as well as the truth about lies and what it takes to keep a secret. Told through the mouths of animated animals, insects and other un-human species, they reveal their thoughts in a new and distinct way: an older married couple listing their ailments as portrayed by two lovebirds, the couple who talk about their great height difference as portrayed by two dachshunds, and two men who seem to be examining the bouquet of a fine wine as portrayed by two dogs sniffing, well, another dog.

Basically, it's Studs Terkel meets Shaun the Sheep. What did I tell you? Brilliant!

I'm totally obsessed with "Creature Comforts," so to read more and see some videos, read more

The series is based on creator Nick Park's Oscar-winning 1989 short film that features zoo animals talking about their captivity. Both seasons of the British series are available on Netflix, and several segments from the series can be seen on YouTube. The creators have kept a blog about production on the U.S. series, complete with video clips and still photos, and the official "Creature Comforts" site has several short previews of the show. Here are two of my favorites:

Photo courtesy of CBS

Disney's New Orleans Princess

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 14:56:00 -0800

The Walt Disney Company's newest project The Frog Princess has the following awesome things going for it:

It will be set in New Orleans.
The protagonist will be what Pixar Vice President John Lasseter called "the very first African-American Disney princess."
It will be Disney's first hand-drawn animation project in years.
There will be a soulful singing alligator.
The title is Frog Princess.

I'm glad that Disney is finally featuring a black princess; they've only been in business for over 80 years. And while I enjoy digital animation, there is something so appealing about hand-drawn animation. Also, hello - a soulful singing alligator? Sign me up! Maybe Disney's golden years are back.

Update: I found an image of the new princess, as you can see!

The Oscar Nominees: Animated Short Films

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:16:54 -0800

The animated short film category is one that usually leaves us regular, non-Academy folks stumped on Oscar night. The films are currently screening around the country, but if you're not able to get to one of those showings, at least the Internet can give you a taste.

I was hoping these five movies would have made their way to the iTunes store by now; sadly, only Disney's The Little Matchgirl is available there. The good news: Clips from all of the films are online, and three of them are available in full - but probably only until the studios find out, so you'll want to hurry. Here's a rundown:

Maestro
In this film, a singer prepares for his big performance, aided by a mechanical arm that caters to his wants and needs. This one is still available in its entirety, and it's worth watching all the way to the end for the cute twist.

The Little Matchgirl
This watercolor-style Disney version of Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale features a poor, hungry girl who sees visions of a better life for herself in the flame of each match she strikes. You can watch the full movie right now, but even once it gets pulled from YouTube, you'll still have lots of options: You can buy it from the iTunes store, watch a clip from the movie, check out a gallery of images, or watch another clip. The full film is on the Little Mermaid platinum edition DVD. But you might just want to watch this fast before Disney finds out:

To watch another full movie and see clips from the other two, including my favorite, read more

No Time For Nuts
Scrat, the squirrel from the Ice Age movies, is trying to bury his acorn in the snow when he accidentally uncovers a time machine. He ends up chasing his precious nut through the ages, dodging angry warriors, explosions, flying arrows and all kinds of other historical craziness. Hurry: You can see the full video right now, until Fox figures out it's online. If it's gone, you can still see a clip here, and the full film is on the DVD of Ice Age: The Meltdown.

The Danish Poet
I'm so sad this charming film isn't online anymore, because I wish everyone could have a chance to see it. The movie follows the narrator's quest to piece together the random twists of fate that led to her birth, including the death of a famous author, a hungry goat, several ferry boats, a herd of cattle, and a crowded train. Here's a clip, and there's another on this site.

Lifted
The newest Pixar short is slated for release with Ratatouille this summer, but you can see a clip of the movie at this site. The story focuses on a young alien who can't quite get his abduction skills down, much to the frustration of his Monsters Inc.-looking boss.