Ed Catmull Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Pencil. Paper. Have you two met? I think the better question may be directed to the animator -- do you remember how to use them? I remember when Toy Story came out in 1995 -- it was huge! It broke barriers being the first full-length computer animated film. It was exciting and quickly became the thing to do; seemingly making hand drawing the thing of the past. Disney animation is now putting a stop to the CGI addiction and returning to a more traditional drawing plan.

This change, just announced today by John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, will take place in Walt Disney Co.'s Burbank studios, leaving Pixar to exclusively work onCGI projects. There isn't a specific answer to why the change happened, but one rumor centers around Chris Sanders who is responsible for Lilo and Stitch and the upcoming film American Dog. Lilo and Stitch, if you can remember, was hand-drawn -- and was a huge success. Perhaps they're hoping the same hand-drawn success with American Dog.

I do think it's nice to know that there is an effort being made in preserving this art form. I often times get worried with how great technology has become that we get further and further away from our origins. Being a bit of a technology dunce I don't understand the steps necessary in making a CGI film but I do fondly reminisce about the making of Steamboat Willie. I still vividly remember watching how they drew out the story to create the film. It was exciting seeing the characters come to life right off the page. I find relief knowing that there are many films to come made in that same historical way ... and I'm sure many animators are relieved too.

Man alive - John Lasseter and Ed Catmull are seriously laying down the law at Disney. Part of the new arrangement created by the Disney-Pixar marriage is that Pixar execs are reviewing some of the projects that Disney has in or headed towards production; one of those projects is Gnomeo and Juliet, which was tentatively scheduled to be in theaters in 2008. The film was supposed to be a CGI retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story, only with garden gnomes and Elton John music (John had agreed to open up his entire back catalog to the studio). Unfortunately for the people who sell soundtracks, however, Gnomeo is no more. Though no official reason was given for the project being pulled, an insider (a real, reliable insider) reports that, when a Pixar exec asked a meeting of Disney officials "Why are we making this?", their answer was a long silence. In response, the exec said "Well, we're not." Gone.

In addition, Lasseter and co reportedly want a major, major overhaul - including character changes - of the previously-discussed Meet the Robinsons. Wow. Can this really be? Quality standards? At Disney?

When Disney announced that it was making Toy Story 3 whether Pixar liked it or not (under the previous agreement between the two companies, Disney essentially had control over sequels), reactions were mixed. On one side were those who professed faith in Disney's animation unit (and, hell, just wanted to see the damn movie), while on the other were people concerned about the cheapening of the Toy Story and Pixar names in exchange for a quick buck.

The latest news on the film should have those in the latter group celebrating - John Lasseter and Ed Catmull were on the floor at Disney yesterday and officially told those in the animation unit that Toy Story 3 was over. "They said that sequels should only be made if there is a really great story that demands it, and should be the domain of those who created the original film. In other words, if Pixar wants to make a sequel to its films, it will. If Disney Feature wants to make a sequel to its film, it will. But the two will not cross." (That sound you hear is Pixar devotees breathing a massive sigh of relief.)

[via The Disney Blog, which is a great source for info on the Disney/Pixar deal]