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Agent Xander examines Disney's TOY FAIR presentation. DINOSAUR, TOY STORY 2, FANTASIA 2000 and TARZAN!!!
Harry here. That Buffy lusting spy Agent Xander was scooping up the dish at New York City's TOY FAIR and listening and paying attention to Disney's extravaganza highlighting their efforts over the next 16 months or so. As I've saying for a while now... there is some exciting animation heading our way via Disney, Dreamworks and Warners. And that's just what I know of so far. Let's hope this trend continues....
Hey Harry
Agent Xander here with a bushel o' Disney animation news. Last week, I attended a dog and pony show set up by Disney for
merchandise licensees visiting New York's Toyfair, at which I had the chance to see almost half an hour of TARZAN in
addition to some big meaty chunks of FANTASIA 2000 and about five minutes each from TOY STORY 2 and DINOSAUR.
In addition, there were speeches and stuff from Joe Roth, Roy Disney and a few other miscellaneous animators and executives.
It was all topped off by a live performance by Phil Collins of his songs from TARZAN (which, while not great, were nowhere
near as bad as I had feared they would be).
Running down the movie footage in the order it was presented
DINOSAUR
They kicked off the presentation by showing what's presumably the first five minutes of the movie, a sequence (coincidentally)
similar to the beginning of PRINCE OF EGYPT--an egg that will eventually hatch into the movie's dinosaur hero is punted
around like a football by numerous dinosaurs, swept over a waterfall, etc., escaping what looks like certain destruction about
20 times. The dinosaurs themselves look a little plastic, but that doesn't mean the footage wasn't beautiful. The backgrounds
look like a combination of CGI and real-world nature footage of rainforests and such with the CGI dinosaurs superimposed on
top. Really beautiful--except for the egg-punting, it looked like it could have come off of the Discovery Channel (or a 1950s
Disney nature film) if they had time travel at their disposal. From the clip, it was impossible to tell if the dinosaurs will talk or if
it's going to be done entirely as a faux "nature film". The release date is set for Memorial Day 2000, making it, if I'm not
mistaken, the first 2000 movie to claim a summer release date.
TOY STORY 2
Two relatively brief clips, both involving Buzz and all of the usual toy suspects save Woody (he's been "kidnapped" and the
toys are figuring out how to get him back). The animation looked just about identical to the original TOY STORY, both clips
were funny as hell and the voice actors were all in top form. Pretty cool, and from what I can tell the strong plot will keep it
from being "more of the same."
FANTASIA 2000
Clips were shown from three of the six new segments: one set to a Saint-Saens piece that was just OK, and ones set to Elgar
and Stravisnky that were stunning. The Elgar segment, set to "Pomp and Circumstance" (that's "Land of Hope and Glory" for
you Brits) is F2K's answer to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice": it features Donald Duck as an assistant to Noah who is charged
with rounding up the animals to get them on the ark before the flood starts. Beautiful animation, and Donald's characterization is
spot on (although you never hear him over the music). Donald Duck fans are just gonna eat it up. We only saw half of it, but it
was just amazing. The other new segment they showed was Stravinsky's "The Fire Bird", the movie's grand finale and answer
to "Night on Bald Mountain"--very scary and apocalyptic, with an environmental twist. Really tremendous stuff. Again, they just
showed half of it. Roy Disney also outlined F2K's release pattern, which you know about by now if you read VARIETY: It
premieres at NYC's Carnegie Hall with live accompanyment by the London Symphonia Orchestra conducted by James Levine
(!) on 12/17, followed by encore performances with Levine and the orchestra on 12/18 and 12/19. Then they take the show on
the road, with live performances in London (12/21 @ Royal Albert Hall), Paris (12/22, Theatre des Champs-Elysees), Tokyo
(12/27, Orchard Hall) and Pasadena (New Year's Eve, Pasadena Civic Auditorium). After that, F2K will play exclusively at
IMAX theaters "worldwide" (whatever that means) from January-April 2000 before going into regular theaters.
TARZAN
I was severely skeptical about this one, but it's now #4 on my list of most-anticipated 1999 movies (after THE PHANTOM
MENACE, EYES WIDE SHUT and MAGNOLIA). They showed almost 30 minutes of the movie in 5-7 minute chunks from
throughout the film, some of them unfinished. The character work is beautiful and fluid, the backgrounds gorgeous, and man, I
never thought I'd lust afetr a cartoon character the way I'm lusting after Jane! The segments they showed involved baby Tarzan
being discovered by the apes, his growing up, the adult Tarzan's discovery of Jane, Jane and her dad educating Tarzan about
the outside world, and a segement focusing on the comic-relief animal characters voiced by Rosie O'Donnell and Wayne
Knight (Newman from Seinfeld). Rosie aside, it's obvious that they have a hell of a lot of respect for Edgar Rice Burroughs
(animator Gil Keane spoke about how Tarzan's physique was designed to reflect feats ERB has Tarzan pulling off, reading from
TARZAN OF THE APES to provide examples, in addition to reading from a 1936 letter from ERB to his son in which
Burroughs described his desire for an animated TARZAN movie, as he didn't think live action could do his creation justice) and
I think Burroughs fans will be pleasantly surprised. The film, surprisingly, is *not* a musical (at least in the conventional
sense)--the Phil Collins songs are all sung by Collins himself and accompany the action on the soundtrack instead of being sung
by the characters. Collins has provided five songs for the movie, four with lyrics, the fifth being an all-percussion instrumental
(not that surprising, really, since Collins *is* a drummer). The instrumental accompanies a scene where Rosie (an ape) Knight
(an elephant) and other animals inadvertently tear up Dr. Porter's camp as they explore it. Anyone worried about having to sit
through a song sung by Rosie can rest easy. The action stuff (Tarzan zipping through trees, one fight scene) was simply amazing,
and it looks like the cute stuff is gonna be relatively subdued. As you may have read in VARIETY, Collins has recorded his
songs in several languages--French, German, Italian and Spanish (in both Latin American *and* Castillian, no less) for the
dubbed prints for the world markets.
All told, then, we'll be seeing *four* terrific-looking animated films from Disney in a span of less than 12 months (June
1999-->May 2000). It'll be interesting to see if the market will support so many, but if any of them flop, it doesn't look as if
poor quality will be to blame.
--Agent Xander out!
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+ Expand All
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Another orchestral song to look out for in Fantasia 2000 is "Pines of Rome." This is a totally magnificent piece that will knock your socks off especially if they use the ending "cavalry charge." I get goosebumps just thinking about it!
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Harry was quite specific in his earlier report of their being a song sung by Rosie O. He said it killed the movie. Could it be they've actually fixed it, or is it just that Harry was mistaken or the scooper iddn't hear everything?
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Wow, I really can't wait to see that Stravinsky Firebird segment. I wish they would have picked his Petrushka or Rite of Spring, his best and most expressive work, but any Stravinsky should be good enough. Can't wait to see that.
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"Moriarty" here.
The "instrumental" the spy describes is Rosie's song. As the animals look around the camp site of the English explorers, they launch into what at first looks like a STOMP rip-off, each of them using something they find as a musical instrument. Then Rosie launches into a scat singing number over it. It's not a conventional song, but she definitely sings, and it definitely sucked.
BTW, if you were to cut all the good footage from this movie together, it would be about 1/2 hour long. If you sit through the rest of the movie, you'll feel pretty differently about it. I still say this is one of the bigger disappointments from Disney in recent years. Great lead character animation does not a project save.
"Moriarty" out. -
Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" was used in the original Fantasia. It was the segment with the dinosaurs.
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I think you meant Glen Keane, right? Bil Keane, his father, does the Family Circus cartoon strip, and Glen is the kick-ass animator...guess Gil is a hybrid of both?
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hmmm,
It is like Prince of Egypt, but it reminds me more like the Land before Time, I remember loving that film as a kid. Too bad it got destroyed with all of those direct to video sequels.
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I haven't seen the original Fantasia in years. I guess I'll have to go back and check that out.
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Moriarty, have you even seen Tarzan yet? After you shot it down and tried to give Warner's some balls about "Iron Giant," Harry followed up saying you should see the movie. Now you're entitled to your opinion, but if you haven't actually seen the film yet then why don't you just stay "out" for a while, hmmm.
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Feb 13, 1999 9:55:54 PM CST
To Darth, Concerning Moriarty's opinions on WB's Iron Giant and
by kubrick
I think Moriarty's post was his
confirmation that yes he has seen
Tarzan and that it is not that
great of a movie. Yes, he did take
Harry's advice about seeing both
animated movies (Tarzan and WB's
Iron Giant) and give his opinions about them. I personally never really got excited about a Disney Tarzan movie. Hercules proved Disney bites at making great breathtaking animated adventureous cool films. WB with it's Batman
and Superman animation department
has shown, it can rise above both Disney and Dreamworks in terms of animation quality and coolness. Not if only this magic was to be transfered from TV to movies. hough, I still disagree with Moriarty that WB should release Iron Giant either before or after the release of Eyes Wide Shut...
which in itself is already being released a few weeks after WB's big summer blockbuster Wild Wild West (I know, the trailer wasn't great but it's Will Smith and Barry Sonnenfeld so it's bound to make some major money at the
box office come 4th of July).
I e-mailed Moriarty about this and also, included another person's post whom I had talked to about
WB's summer movie release dates.
I did this, since the person's post talked about how releasing Eyes Wide Shut in the midst of big films like Wild Wild West, among other blockbusters meant it was not an important film and was doomed to be a flop. I used that post as an example of why it was bad to release a film like Iront Giant in the midst of WB's and other studio's big summer blockbusters. That it would mean Iron Giant is not an important great money-making film and will flop both because of bad moviemaking and competition among the more expensive hyped-up live-action Hollywood stuio blockbusters. Oddly enough, Moriarty never replied back to my e-mail. Oh, well.
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Can't WAIT to see "Tarzan." Anxiious to see Kevin Lima and Chris Buck mop up at the box office. Lima directed "Goofy Movie" and, while it may not be the movie to end all movies, is a VERY good picture. Weirdness (i.e. "songs") aside, give it a try. You'll find plenty to enjoy. Quite dramatic, too (no kidding. And the color is AMAZING.). And Buck--a fantastic animator--inspired to direct the crew into more dramatic and character driven scenes. Bonnie Arnold, producer of "Toy Story" is producing--and given her credits ("Mosquito Coast," "Addams Family," "Last of the Mohicans"), will be helping to keep this quiet blockbuster NON-cynical and probably quite sincere.
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Hi there,
I've been to that Disney presentation as well. It wasn't just for toy licensees but also for international press (Disney wrapped and shipped dozens of journalists from around the world, gave them two nights at a really fancy hotel and fed them in the best restaurants, gave them some really cool and EXPENSIVE Tarzan merchaidising - including a Kenneth Cole watch and A Tarzan fleece turtleneck - and all this for attending a two hours presentation. Lucky bastards!).
Anyway, the Toy Story 2 bits were HILARIOUS!!
But more interesting: the Jane character in Tarzan is drawn very sexy. At one point, Tarzan even "accidentily" brushes up against her breast! Are the people at Disney trying to push the envelope here. Will they go for a PG rating??? Or will the MPAA turn a blind eye to this blatant jungle fever erotica?
I wonder. -
"IMAX worldwide, whatever that means..." I can help you out there. There are now IMAX theaters in London, Stutgaart and Rotterdam to name just three. They were probably referring to IMAX theaters all around the world.
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I have seen Tarzan.
I LOVE IT!
but decide for yourself.... -
I have seen Tarzan in its entirety....
I LOVE IT!
...but see it and decide for yourself. -
There are also two IMAX threatres in Mexico, one in Mexico City and another one in Monterrey.
-
And of course, there's IMAX theatres all over Canada, IMAX being a Canadian developed technology after all....
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