More problems for Disney - is Rapunzel Unbraided already in trouble?
Filed under: Animation, Disney, RumorMonger, Newsstand
Now, Rapunzel Unbraided (the directoral debut for "Disney legend" Glen Keane) isn't due
in theaters until 2008, so it's not like there's a crisis brewing or
anything. But there are problems. For one, the script is reportedly not only scattered, but littered with Shrek-style pop-culture jokes, just what Chicken Little is
being ripped for being too heavy on. In addition, vocal star and
rumored executive producer Reese Witherspoon has left the project
because it is "no longer the film that Reese had originally signed on
to do." What exactly that means is unclear, but it's been suggested that
executive producer Witherspoon has lots of (unworkable) suggestions
about her character in the movie, and that the resulting disagreements
are what ultimately led to her departure.Whatever the reason, though, Rapunzel Unbraided is without a star name, and has a script that is now, at the very least, considered risky. As a result, production on the film is thought to have been shut down "for serious retooling." While it's important to note that even massive hits like Toy Story and The Lion King went through crisis periods like this one, the fact is that everyone in Disney animation is more than a little jumpy right now.
[For those in search of further details, click the 'read' link - there are lots of and lots of them there.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-04-2005 @ 6:31PM
Christopher Campbell said...
Imagine how much less timeless Disney's classic animated films would be had they used pop references and fashionable humor? I even wonder how dated some of Pixar's films will be in 50 years time, and they're good at least.
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11-04-2005 @ 9:01PM
KirbyMeister said...
Disney pioneered animation. Now they cant even make a good film anymore. Seriously, they are on their last leg. This last leg being Hayao Miyazaki. No wonder Pixar decided to bail out instead of sign another 10-year contract.
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11-04-2005 @ 9:36PM
John Frost said...
I blame all this on Sparky Katzenberg. When he left to form Dreamworks he split the soul of Walt Disney Feature Animation. Many talented animators and story tellers went with him for promises of bigger pay, more creative control, and the chance to stick it to Michael Eisner, who at that time had really just begun to hone his fangs. Of course, Sparky was partially responsible for the unhappiness at WDFA, but those that followed him just didn't see that.
This wound has never really healed. In fact, under the thin gauze of the cg+animation extreme makeover, it is still festering with puss. Roy Disney's salve of Fantasia 2000 and a new animation building (that was used properly for exactly one film) wasn't powerful enough. And Pixar, a company that Eisner let get away from Disney (because he didn't believe in the technology) and which also sapped the talent from Burbank (Lassetter, Ranft, et al. were mostly Disney animators), quickly reaching such lofty success is just salt in the wound. The final nail in the coffin may have just been the switch to digital animation and the resulting purge of hand-drawn devotees and the good story men and women that left as well.
Is a solution coming? Bob Iger's TV background won't be any help and he's got other things to worry about. David Staiton and Michael Shumacher are still around, but they've presided over the recent depression. Peter Schneider might be enticed to comeback, but I think the answer is obvious. Disney needs to take Steve Jobs up on his offer to sell Pixar. Lassetter has the vision that is required to save Walt Disney Feature Animation. He has a team in Emeryville that reveres the Disney Classics and is ready to step up to the plate and take on that mantle. Those in Burbank who want to come along for the ride will have to kick it up a notch.
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11-06-2005 @ 1:56PM
Finished.Law.School said...
Disney is beginning to remind me of Uwe Boll in their consistency regarding bad film making.
Reply
11-12-2005 @ 8:12AM
Gothic Hermy said...
I was so happy when I heard about the new "Rapunzel Unbraided"!!! I was expecting something in the old Disney-style. A story similar to "Beauty and the Beast", "The Little Mermaid" or even "Hercules"!!!
And, besides, many classical Disney movies are filled with fashionable humour. Think of "Alladin" in the Genie's song (in fact, Genie's whole character!), "A Friend Like Me". Or, "From Zero to Hero" from Hercules. The whole movie is filled with jokes about groupies, sexy gospel singers and... action-figures!!! :)...
Shrek was only original because it had more humnour than story. But that doesn't mean that it was the first animated movie to ever use such jokes!
Here's another example: "The Emperor's New Groove". Are you trying to tell me that this movie has no pop culture references?!? Give me a break!!!
The only thing I didn't like about "Rapunzel: Unbraided" from the very begining was that it's 3D animation. I long for a good 2D movie, like the ones I used to watch when I was a kid. Someone said that Disney is only still alive thanks to Myazachi. Well... Myazachi's movies are, perhaps, the only 2D animated films in which Disney is still investing a lot of work!!! The sequels to Disney-classics, such as "Little Mermaid", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" or "Pocahontas" all suck. I think they're releasing a sequel to Tarzan now (or at least they did release it, not a very long time ago!), and it's a straight-to-VHS/DVD movie...
Speaking of Disney's bad period: what do you think about the "Disney Princesses" merchendise and DVDs?!? I think it's a bad idea, a very bad idea!!! It's more than obvious that they're only trying to make some money, using little girls who are very fond of these characters as dummies! They've even released a few DVDs, in which Jasmine ("Alladin"), Belle ("Beauty and the Beast"), Aurora ("Sleeping Beauty"), Ariel ("The Little Mermaid") and Cinderella are all friends!!! What's up iwth that?!? How can you take a character out of his own world and make a salad out of it?!? It just doesn't add up!
But 3D is starting to lose its popularity... I hope that Disney will soon relize what a precious thing the pencil can be, and they'll come back to the style that made them famous: 2D!!! What can I say?!? I'm a very optimistic person, and I don't give up on hope until "the last petal falls"...
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