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Is Warner Brothers going to dump OSMOSIS JONES like they did THE IRON GIANT'
Hey folks, Harry here... Now, I don't share my angry animator friend's feelings that an August 10th release kills OSMOSIS JONES' chances of making money... I disagree... Look at THE FUGITIVE, SIXTH SENSE, BLAIR WITCH PROJECT... Etc... They did well in that slot... and even this year, you have on August 3rd and August 10th films like RUSH HOUR 2 and JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK hitting that same period.. and I know for a fact that RUSH HOUR 2 is not being considered as a 'dumped' film... they intend to make bazillions off that film.... and Miramax is hoping to make JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK a real cross-over hit for Kevin Smith... and from what we've heard about the film... it has a chance at really cashing in. Keep your fingers crossed. But on OSMOSIS JONES, the real key is if they are able to get fast food tie-ins with something like BURGER KING or something... But if that isn't already in place... then it isn't likely to happen... and since the film is supposed to be EDGIER THAN THAT.... then that type of promotion isn't likely. But they need to start pushing it and defining what it is, cuz at this point... other than the few reports you've seen on AICN, DARK HORIZONS and COMING ATTRACTIONS... and that visual tour with the now defunct ROUGH CUT.... that's all we've seen or heard. But the key point is this... IF WB is dumping the film.... they are doing a great disservice to animation and their stockholders... This film, with Bill Murray and the Farrelly Bros... is very marketable... With Chris Rock... I tell ya, this thing could be marketed very very strongly... watch SHREK's ad campaign... how they convert star-power into film awareness... Very strong campaign, that's gonna pay off huge when the film hits... I just hope OSMOSIS JONES delivers the way I hear SHREK does.... that's the key!
Harry
I worked as an animator on Warner's Osmosis Jones, and it seems that the
geniuses at Warners are going to pull an "Iron Giant' (another one I
animated on) and not promote the film. Those S.O.B.'s told us that it
was going to be the big Warner/AOL summer family film, that it was to
recieve the full muscle of the studio; but alas, it is simply going to
be dropped in the August 10th weekend and left to flounder like they
let 'Giant'.
This is a slap in the face to the animation industry. Although its no
"Iron Giant" (too many producers who think they were the directors on
this one), it is a funny film with a great concept (cop movie inside the
body). The reason they didn't promote Giant is because they felt in
order to get people into the theaters to see a non-Disney animated film
they'd basically have to spend the amount of money they estimated to
film could generate, so they said fuck it and did thier lame half-assed
promotion in LA to please the filmmakers....
Warner's can market this. They got the friggin Farrelly Brothers to
direct Bill Murray in live-action (I'll admit its hard to get people
into full 2D non animated Disney films, but this is 2D/live action from
the 'guys that brought you Something About Mary'. Not only that, it's a
PG-13 gross out teen comedy with Chris Rock and Brandy doing vocals and
a soundtrack featuring Kidd Rock. They just let go the President of
Feature Animation (Jean McCurdy) and have no projects on the horizon
(unless you count doing secondary effects work on that piece of crap
Scooby Doo and sequels to Space Jam. This all comes weeks after moving
into the just built Feature Animation building (which is very empty).
If this film fails that leaves only Disney and Dreamworks (Fox just
closed shop).
WE NEED WARNER'S TO MAKE THE FILMS THE OTHER GUYS
WON'T. DON'T THE EXECS KNOW THAT ANIMATION IS AN INVESTMENT? THAT
WALT SPENT YEARS PROMOTING MICKEY MOUSE AND HIS NAME AS A BRAND OF
FILMMAKING IN ORDER TO REACH SUCCESS. IF THEY STICK TO IT AND MAKE TO
FRIGGIN' INVESTMENT AND KEEP MAKING ANIMATED FILMS FOR HALF OF WHAT
DISNEY PAYS BY HIRING BRILLIANT STORYTELLERS THEN LETTING THEM MAKE THE
FILMS THEY WERE HIRED TO MAKE (EX, BRAD BIRD) THEY'D BE ROLLING IN
DOUGH! INSTEAD THEY'D RATHER PUT ALL THEIR MONEY INTO PROMOTING CRAP
LIKE WILD WILD WEST AND DEEP BLUE SEA (both suberb examples of craft and
storytelling.)
(deep breaths....)
OK, I'm calm now. THE FILM COMES OUT IN 4 MONTHS!!!!! They are just
getting a trailer out now....LAME! Word has it the execs only
greenlight the film so that they could have a working relationship with
the Farrelly's so they'd sign onto do "The 3 Stooges" AOL
stockholders beware: this is a company that has no qualms with shelling
out 50 million to make the Farrelly's happy (all for a 3 stooges movie
without the REAL 3 stooges....
Thanks for nothing Warner's. This is the 2nd time I worked my ass off
to have you kill a good movie through lack of promotion (We won't
include their Disney clone Quest for Camelot- don't rent it).
-very pissed off ex-Warner dude .
PS. I heard the trailer is going to be in front of Pokemon 3.....I bet
they cut out all the PG-13 and made it as dumbed down as they could for
the preschoolers. I'm moving back to Ohio to milk cows.
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I don't want Japan to be the only source of somewhat decent cartoons. Nothing against Japan, I just want the stuff on the plate to be more diverse.
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sigh....
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Comicartist, you got it dead on. I'll never understand Hollywood's (particularly, it seems, WB's) bias against animation. We've seen time and time again that it CAN be a perfectly legitamate art form, but we live with the assumtion that if it's animated, it must be just a toss off for the kids. But then, I'm drunk. So what do I know.
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...is more of their creative core willing to develop projects, just like independent live-action filmmakers, and pitch them to investors.
It's difficult, yes, but the only way to break the stranglehold of bloated studio idiots is to get other money involved. Ask Tim Burton about reliance on Disney...
Maybe Sandler's thing will be a start, but the artists have gotta stop waiting for the studios to do things for them. -
last time their was an austin powers 3 update i was surprised by how many AICNers hated the two films. have you all gone mad!? they are very funny movies. really really exciting to watch, really fun to make reference to and a whole loada stuff to enjoy. its a really nice cinematic experience to sit in a full cinema with an austin powers flick playing. oh, and btw, here are a list of possible titles that some other talkbackers came up with some other time: 'never ever say never ever ever again', 'never ever say diamonds arent forever ever again', 'the man with the shaved pussy', 'you only live thrice'. can anyone add to the list??baff3
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so so sorry for my last post! im such a dope! if these talkbacks are all in order, then forgive the post that goes on about austin powers 3. i had 2 AICN windows opens and clicked on the wrong tb thingy and accidently wrote up my thoughts on aicn here on the osmosis jones tb. sorry sorry. just so i havent created 2 non related posts ill write my thoughts on osmosis jones. ok, here we go. WB YOU STUPID FUCKS!!! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS AGAIN!!! HOW DARE YOU LIE AND IGNORE AND TREAT YOUR ANIMATION DEPARTMENT LIKE CRAP!?? its such a shitty situation because the truth is the execs really dont care about the cartoon department. it is not a great asset to the company anymore and may even be begrudged and seen as a burden by some. how can those in animation protest when their jobs and the entire department is on such thin ice!!! the thing they have gotta realise is that they CAn make money out of their movies. i consider the iron giant a VERY marketable film. i think that if it were made by disney it would have become something huge. something that brought droves of people back to the disney cartoon and give them a kick back into a gear and be praised for restarting their renaissance of modern animation which has been sagging since the colossal success of the lion king. but alas its success was in the hands of WB. ah well. once again sorry for the stupidity i have exposed. how low CAN i go??baff3
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After Iron Giant and Return of the Joker got screwed like an ugly prom date, WB is no longer even fit to lick a dog's ass. This icing on the cake would simply be sticking their whole head into said orifice. WB is a billion dollar company. Yet for some reason they are sitting on GOLDMINES as far as owned properties (all the DC heroes, uncut Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, top-notch animation divison,) yet for some Twilight Zone-like reason, they continue to stick their thumbs in their asses and let what could be ten dozen different moneymakers float in limbo (until they make another half-assed, continuity-screwing, Jon Peters-produced, homoerotic Ba-Chomp-Ba-Chuey-Chuey-Chomp sad parody of a comic book movie like Batman and Robin.) I bet they blame the failure of that shitbag on the original content, not the blindfolded piss-poor excuses for casting, directing, writing, adapting, and set designing that made that movie one of the worst ever made. Return of the Joker was even worse...they took something that was made wonderfully...and fucked it up. They took a gem like Iron Giant and forced it into a movie that probably made less money than "Bebe's Kids." Ahhh, hell with it. I'm just going to go watch Terrance and Phillip now to cheer myself up. That usually works.
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Hey Peoples,
Just wanted to comment on the status quo thinking that Japanese animation is somehow 'better' than American animation. That it's somehow 'edgier' and (*cough!*), more inventive.
Does anyone, rather than the most diluted anime fan, really believe that? To be honest, the Japanese animation film departments (love ToHo!) have given us Akira, Ghost in the Shell, all the Miyazaki films and several others...but do these films represent superiority?
What about the long and glorious history of American animation film-making? We've got all the classic films that started (and repeatively revolutionized) the industry with Disney. Warner Brothers heyday in the 50s-60s, live-action mingling with I-can't-count (everyone knows Roger, tho!), groundbreaking CGI-handdrawn meshing, and much more.
Sure, they've got Twilight of the Cockroaches (anyone else remember that Hiroshima-inspired one? Long live talking Droppings!), but we've got Ralph Bakshi (sp?).
Both industries will languish and produce dribble, but the fact is that 99% of Japanese animation is derivative of itself, which is the way the animation sweatshops work over there. Even US film outfits that product excellent WB animation (Batman, Superman, etc) offer more originality.
Anyway folks, don't diss the US animation firms. It's not all Disney, and it certainly ain't all crap. We've got the greatest cartoon lineage on earth, and we'd do better to work with the Japanese than give the crown to them completely.
- ReTeet -
Who buys this idiot's records? He's a good DJ but when he tries to sing he makes me want to vomit. He did the impossible at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show and managed to ruin Aerosmith's performance of Sweet Emotion. I see now on VH1 he's going to do a live duet with Aretha f'n Franklin!!! That's like serving up a piece of shit next to a slice of chocolate cream pie and expecting someone to eat both.
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WB Consumer Products has a half-decent selection of "Osmosis Jones" merchandise in the pipeline, but the PG-13 rating has everyone spooked at its chances. Will marketing people accept the sort of "vulgar family comedy" in animation the same way they accepted live-action versions in Nutty Professor and Dr. Doolittle? "Osmosis Jones" is edgier than most mainstream animation, but it could wind up like "Cool World" if they're not careful. OSMOSIS JONES was greenlit eons ago, and I only recall the Farrelly brothers joining the live-action section about a year ago. In the past year since then, their clout has dissipated due to "Outside Providence," "Irene," and "Say It" all disappointing at the box-office. Trailers and commercials bragging "From the creators of Something About Mary" seemed promising 12 months ago but now seem lacking in lustrous appeal as if much of the magic is gone......
Very good point about Walt Disney taking his patient time to invest and nurture and gradually build quality animation into a successful empire. Contrast that with Fox, WB, and Dreamworks. Fox has been flushing turds for years going back a decade to "Fern Gully." They gave up feature animation because of lack of profit... but their failures were their own fault since when did Fox ever sincerely attack the marketplace with a GOOD animated movie? Fox's sheer ineptitude at developing quality product is what cursed their animation division. They needed to let truly talented filmmakers make truly worthwhile movies out of genuine stories, not micromanage mediocrity out of generic focus groups who think Matt Damon will draw crowds to "Titan A.E." Now Warner Bros's following suit. Why? How many of us held a pity-party to sympathize over disappointing ticket sales for "Space Jam" and "Quest for Camelot"? I was offended that WB dared to market them as if quality was irrelevant. As long as studios insult the audiences with garbage, they'll continue shutting down their animation departments while blaming the marketplace instead of themselves. As for Dreamworks, I've been hearing on-and-off rumors for a while now, since "Antz" and "Prince of Egypt" didn't reach Disney-Pixar-sized audiences. (They did OK but not HUGE)... "Chicken Run" was a blockbuster, so Nick Park's secure in his future there. But "Spirit" and the other Dreamworks animated infants seem iffy, like hard sells in an already tough marketplace. Really, how could Dreamworks expect people to be passionate about "El Dorado" when it was so friggin bland and mediocre. SHREK looks to be Katzenberg's prime shot at redeeming this division from the shadow of the Mouse House. Hopefully Shrek will break Dreamworks out of the animation slump and vault them up the way WB and Fox were always trying so sloppily to do. -
Their stable of pre-owned in-house characters rocks, so why have the feature execs been so unresponsive? ... Looney Tunes is to comedic animals what the comic book industry is to superheroes. So WHY WHY WHY in the past couple of decades has the horrendously pathetic Space Jam been their only attempt at tent-poling their existing library of material? If they're not going to launch Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Pepe, Marvin, Elmer, Foghorn, Yosemite, etc. into big-screen adventures that hold their own quality to the classic short-stories that Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc delivered years ago, why in tarnations don't WB execs at least give a fair shot to the stable of Turner-licensees such as Tom & Jerry? Kids have grown up on these characters for generations, so between toddlers and adults there's an ENORMOUS worldwide audience, and yet outside of Six Flags mascots and WB TV animation, "Space Jam" has been stinking up the feature menu as the "Special of the Day" longer than anybody cares to remember.
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The animation industry works in cycles and, unfortunately, we're in the slump right now. Disney is currently releasing quality talent and trying to work every penny out of the ones they keep (probably true for WB, too). WB is taking one step forward then shooting themselves in the foot.
None of the studios want to stick their heads out and try something 'revolutionary'/ different; anything different will be placed under the B Projects (a system that Disney uses; LionKing was a B project :-p). They'll rather pump their money into projects where they can recruite the big name celebs (SpaceJam). Another major reason they won't is simply that animation is not treated seriously in the US; it's cartoons, it's for kids.
Right now they are all waiting for the next big thing to boost the industry back up again. Believe it or not, alot of people are looking overseas at Japan. They want to see how Final Fantasy will fare, if the rumors are true (it's on AICN, it's gotta be:) WB already has something waiting just in case.
Hey, part of the problem (actually a big part) with WB's Osmosis Jones is that they still have the same marketing people from Iron Giant. Those people are actually bickering on which version of the trailer should be shown. The animation itself looks sweet, at least from the designs and characters. -
The animation industry works in cycles and, unfortunately, we're in the slump right now. Disney is currently releasing quality talent and trying to work every penny out of the ones they keep (probably true for WB, too). WB is taking one step forward then shooting themselves in the foot.
None of the studios want to stick their heads out and try something 'revolutionary'/ different; anything different will be placed under the B Projects (a system that Disney uses; LionKing was a B project :-p). They'll rather pump their money into projects where they can recruite the big name celebs (SpaceJam). Another major reason they won't is simply that animation is not treated seriously in the US; it's cartoons, it's for kids.
Right now they are all waiting for the next big thing to boost the industry back up again. Believe it or not, alot of people are looking overseas at Japan. They want to see how Final Fantasy will fare, if the rumors are true (it's on AICN, it's gotta be:) WB already has something waiting just in case.
Hey, part of the problem (actually a big part) with WB's Osmosis Jones is that they still have the same marketing people from Iron Giant. Those people are actually bickering on which version of the trailer should be shown. The animation itself looks sweet, at least from the designs and characters. -
Jean McCurdy is the Anti-Batman figure that decided WB needed to cut up Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, is she not?
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Heads up people! If you don't know already (and if so, what is the address of the rock you live under?) those champions of political correctness, AOL, absorbed Warner Brothers and it's subsidiaries a few months back. Its first action was to lay off nearly half the WB's animation and music wing. This may be a sign of bad tidings for both animation and music. On the other hand, if AOL starts flexing it's on-line and off-line promotion muscle, we'll have OJ force fed to us in the few months leading to release. Kinda like watching ABC when a new Disney flick is comming out. If it succeeds, then we will see a little more animation from WB as AOL dips it's toe into the cartoon water. But I guarantee all they will throw into the theatrical lake is chum if they think the water is fine. If they find the water cold, look for WB theatrical animation too quickly fade away. The only hope for animation in the U.S.A. lies with the non-publicly owned DreamWorks SKG. SHREK is going to be a HUGE hit and we should be seeing ASH (based on the Jimmy Palmiotti, Joe Quesada comic) go into production soon. ASH, as I have been told, is NOT kiddie fair, though it may be toned down a bit for the general audience. Other than that, the future of animation has a largely dark horizon. Plus, from what my last remaining WB contact has told me, OJ kinda...sucks. Though it may end up shining a bit after some heavy editing. Let's hope...
P.S. Does anyone find it ironic that Harry's head is being cut off while we talk about OJ?
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Anyone know what this is?...www.theinbreds.com.
There's a trailer doing the rounds too.
It looks pretty cool. -
...You ever notice some episodes of Batman & Superman look WAY better than others? More graceful and dynamic with a real sense of style (Esp on Batman)? It's because those episodes are ANIMATED BY THE JAPANESE! Seriously. TMS = Tokyo Movie Shinshasa (or something like that). They've done work on many episodes and every time they do, it looks great. And I know you were making a point about story as much as anything else, which I fully agree with. However, in terms of animating action (character movement, explosions, etc) and creating visuals that are anything other than pleasant but "kiddie" style, especially on a lower budget, the Japanese are kings.
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I just wanted to point out that if people are a) saying Japanese animation is better than American and b) Kid Rock sucks and should not be in an animated film...HAVE YOU HEARD THE SONGS THEY USE IN JAPANESE ANIMATION?! Jesus Christ! Although some scores are brilliant, no denying, the stock "cheesy-ass love song over the ending credits" in anime has to be some of the worst music ever. Not to say I don't enjoy it, though...
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King Pin is the greatest comedy of the nineties. It almost killed me the first time I watched it.
Me myself and Irene wasnt good. So what!!! That was a script that they wrote a long time ago, and the film's production was rushed due to carrey's demanding schedule, and the studios urge to put it out by summer. So by this, they didn't get all of the takes that they needed, and the edititing (which is most important for comedies, to get the timing straight) was ultimately rushed.
For those of you who don't know, comedy's are the hardest films to write, act, and direct. Things can be funny in concept, and turn out quite terrible on screen.
Something about marry has changed (for good or bad) the way people are making comedies from now on. It was the farrellys who made the R rated comedy bankable in the eyes of the studio exacs. I will admit that The one up man ship in the "gross out wars" has become tired, and I hope they get out of that race.
The farrellys always use friends and family as extras, (Bobby wanted his baby to be the breast feeding infant in Irene, but his wife wouldnt have it), and their movies are never boring, and they are never complacent.
Dumb and Dumber was Jim Carrey's best comedy, and a movie that always seems to end up on alot of people's greatest films of all time lists. The movie has the many quoted lines as well (ie KICK HIS ASS, SEA BASS!!!!).
SO to all who say they farrellys are hacks, I retort by stating that KINGPIN is the SCHINDLER's LIST of comedies!!!!! -
By now no one should be surprised by Warner Bros. screwing up anything to do with animation. As mentioned previously, they control some of the best animation properties, but they consistantly fuck them up. They don't know who their consumers are or what they want. The Iron Giant is a masterpiece of Animated Film, an action story with humour and a serious anti-violence/anti-war message. They didn't know how to market it because it didn't fit into the Disney Little Mermaid format. They thought that they couldn't sell it if it didn't have talking animals. I never heard anything about it until a week before It opened. As for Japanese Anime vs. American Animation, I think our plates are big enough for both. American animation needs to get behind the idea that animation isn't just for children. While there is plenty of kiddie anime (and it is usually worse than american cartoons), Japan doesn't treat anime as JUST FOR KIDS. They explore adult concepts and themes, and I don't mean hentai. Shows like Cowboy Bebop, Gasaraki, Lain, and movies like Princess Mononoke, and the up coming Metropolis are excellent examples of this.
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Haven't they been dead for a couple of decades? -
Wesley,
Hey, thought you kicked butt in Blade...can't wait for the sequel. Seriously, though...
You're right, I forgot about the Japanese divisions of WB. I know they aren't the only ones, with The Simpsons being handled mainly in...where was that again?...Korea?
But you missed the point. It's not about where anything's being done...because truth be told half the crap we had back in the 80s (bless those crappy cartoons, though) were Japanese. Thundercats! Voltron! Transformers! Plenty to love, plenty to see...anyone remember Ben and Sebastian? Nickelodion was almost all Japanese back in the day! It rocked!
But like I said, there's good and bad everywhere. The Japanese are great on a budget, but look at their artistic society...nearly all their printed material is manga related! They produce so much cookie-cutter material, they've slumped themselves into a artistic rut. I know some people really dig the anime style, but it wears very thin after awhile...thank goodness at least Toriyama's style is a bit differnt, as was early Miyamoto (yes, the god that created 'American' staples Mario and Donkey Kong)...but still Japanese.
So in short, doesn't matter where its animated, but where the story comes from. On a budget or not, a film will fail or succeed because of many factors...but think about it. Even if Osmosis Jones fails (miserably like Titan did?), wouldn't it be cool if it became cult? Blame the marketing if you like, but don't blame the source country! Haha
Anyway, I was tired when I posted that last one, and I'm tired now. Laterz people, and have fun!
- reteet
p.s. Twilight of the Cockroaches is real...!!! It's Japanese live-action, anime...an epic about talking cockroaches trying to co-exist in a world with humans... It's mad insane...and very, very Japanese. I kid you not, it's the first cartoon I've ever seen with a STOP MOTION, talking Dog Dropping! Check it out! -
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the crapfest that was Heavy Metal 2000. The original was ground-breaking in that it was a widely-released, adult-oriented American animation feature. Great soundtrack, good stories. Can anyone even recall what the heroine's name was in HM2K? The planet she was from? It just proves that without a decent storyline, they're wasting our time.
As far as Hollywood sitting on bankable characters, what they really need to figure out is that these characters are popular for a reason. The minute you start changing things, you run ther risk of destroying the magic, the nuance, that makes them so popular. Bryan Singer did a great job with X-Men because he figured out early on what he could change and still leave the flavor the same. The whole Bat-Franchise never really figured that out. Seriously, a Batmobile with a built-in, continuous light show? Please.
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To the bitter WB animator - Sorry you had to work your butt off on Osmosis Jones (hopefully you got paid for your effort). As I am an Executive producer at Warner Brothers, I take great offense at your suggestion that I do not know how to direct, or know what it takes to tell a great story with animation. Actually, it is the animators themselves that have proved to be WB's biggest problem. If they would just listen to good ideas, instead of trying to impose their arty farty nonsense on our pictures. They ruined Quest for Camelot and they almost ruined Iron Giant. The only reason we tolerate them at all is that they don't get residuals that would cut into our profits. Sure the Writers may strike, the Actors may strike, but you sucker animators will keep sticking around, working your, (Ha Ha Ha) asses off...
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Leave the animators alone, dude. Even if you ARE an X-P, (yeah, right) you have no idea what those boys and girls have to deal with. Tell you what, if you are at WB, go find the Chuck Jones Studio offices and see if CJ is in. He'll fill you in properly on the lives of animators.
Now then, what will it take to resurrect the animation studios in America? Real, honest-to-God STORIES!!! Combined with high-quality, not from Taiwan, ANIMATION!!! There are properties out there, y'know. Elfquest, Watchmen, Bone. Those are just from the comic racks. Harry Potter would rock as animation. Heck, Star Trek would rock as full-blown animation. Use well-developed characters along with an original plot, and a budget over 20 bucks. That would go a long way to resurrecting this industry. Rants from an outsider looking in (longingly...) ~pS~ -
To the WB animator that worked his ass off... Just messin' with ya! I'm on your side. After blowing it with Iron Giant, I would assume WB would be ultra sensitive when it comes to handling and promoting their animation. Sadly, it doesn't sound like they are any wiser from the experience. Even sadder to me, is the ultimate powerlessness of animators in the entertainment food chain. While Actors and Writers strike for a bigger piece of the pie, animators can only sit on the side lines, waiting for them to sort out their business, with not even a dream of residuals. If animators were ever to strike, studios would simply channel the work overseas and we'd be out of jobs. They'd have a much harder time replacing actors and writers with foreign talent, than animators.
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It's a sad state of affairs when a company doesn't see it's own products potential. Or do they? I'm in agreement with Harry, I think Osmosis Jones needs a late summer release. I'm sure WB's is prepared for a huge success, they're not sure... The comical material is too across-the-board, and it's too original. Can they pull off blending live action with 2D/3D animation? With a speck of intuition, it's not hard to see Iron Giant quality animation. I just watched Caddyshack... now think of him working in a Zoo. For those of us who visit this site... you'll probably start seeing famiular images; Osmosis Jones, even with it's production/corporate problems, will still be a classic in it's own right... I can't wait to see it up on the big screen; you remember how Iron Giant had an increadiable sense of kinetic space... flying around like he's sUperman. I have a feeling that Osmosis Jones is going to have that sort of feeling, except it's more internal... 'ya know what I mean. To all that worked on Osmosis Jones, I'm sure your work will be much appreciated.
It all depends on WB, and how they handle it... -
They are the only major studio I know of that actually goes out of its way to LOSE money. It's astounding. Only they could sink one of the best reviewed movies of all time. They would've had a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon type of hit with the Iron Giant, if they'd made even the slightest promotional effort. Then there's the Return of the Joker debacle. Tell me for one moment that they'd even be able to keep copies on the shelves, if they released an uncut DVD, with a big 'ol parental warning sticker on the front. Huge profits, just thrown away. A disgrace to the name of money-grubbing corporations everywhere. Idiots.
It's good to hear from their rightfully disgruntled employees. The truth must be told. -
I need to know why The Iron Giant would have done a better job than Russel Crowe in the Gladiator. Or maybe how Osmosis Jones would team up with the Iron Giant.
With all the great properties that Warner Bros. owns, it really is amazing that they are not making more features. Tiny Toons and Animaniacs are hilarious, high quality stuff. The writing and directing talent is obviously there. Those shows appeal to young and old. Why can't that flavor be done on a larger scale with the original, well loved characters like Bugs and Daffy. If you want star power, put celebrity voices in, but not live action. Doesn't everyone want to work with Bugs Bunny, even for cheap. The execs need to let these people work their magic, then support it seriously and watch the money roll in. They don't have to do the same expensive marketing juggernaut with fast food tie-ins that Disney does in order to sell this stuff. Get creavtive with the promotions. Have Bugs doing 20 second parodies of other movies or something. For the sake of your stockholders, find an Executive that believes in animation. -
And another thing: Warner doesn't need to do expensive cross-promotional give aways with a fast food giant. Why? Because they have their own Warner Bros. stores. If the movie is good, and people want a toy, shirt, tie, keyring, whatever, they will come to the stores and BUY it. It becomes a source of INCOME and a promotion. Instead, have the animators make 15-30 second animated advertisements. These people know how to do funny in 15 seconds. Make a dozen creative, funny spots of original material not taken from the movie and blitz the WB network and TNT and AOL, etc. This can totally crush Disney without blowing the budget.
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Decent animation? Forget it. Most of these movie companies (not just WB) are much too busy filming "better" live-action movies like "Baby Geniuses" and "Bring It On". Live action movies like those are WAY better than any animated movie! [note the sarcasm] ...... Seriously, WB needs to get their fucking heads together. We seriously need a non-Disney company to make a decent cartoon movie (and a lot of them to boot). Something to make anime fans turn their heads and think that cartoons are not bad at all (I know some anime fans who would ripp your nipples off if you called "Neon Genesis Evangelion" a "cartoon".). ...... Of course, I sure hope this increased anime craze in the US will help these youngans like more non-kidish type shows (face it, Pokemon can only help things here). Considering that now-execs at WB grew up with shit shows like Super Friends and Scooby Doo (hey, those shows suck), their decisions are based on what they grew up with. If the kids of now (with their Dragon Ball Z's and Gundam Wing) become the WB-execs of tomorrow, then there WILL be a major change in how WB sees animation overall. We may see a mainstream (read: non-cult classic) rated R cartoon in the next 20 years. I sure hope this theory pulls through (please please please please) ...... Japanese has us on animation on a few things, detail et al. Something to think about most definatly. However the stiff animation, a lack in animation STYLE, and recycled plots in main-stream anime shows doesn't match other American animated shows. Hate to say it, as much as I like anime, seeing the same style of huge-eyed people with different colored hair and amazing sex appeal can get quite boring after a while. With cartoons, I get all sorts of different styles, and each one of them are totally different. Of course, with the time and money, American cartoons can and will eventually be up to par with the Japanese, detail wise (but even a number of cartoons are already up to that status). ...... As for music, the Japanese are at a loss there. J-pop sucks ass ROYALLY. The only good music soundtracks are ones inspired by American (or other Western) composers. Neon Genesis Evangelion's soundtrack is superb, but only because of the high levels of Americana woven into each note. As for other anime, even though their non-vocal background music is OK, their "main" music is just horrible. ...... But shiiit... WB is really fucking up by not hyping this any. If there was any way to say "WB hates animation", there is no better way. Of course, there's nothing saying any of us can't get into the animation business and making our own movies... ;)
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It is stories like this that are just par for the course in Hollywood. Artistic vision is becoming less and less valuable. It is Happy Meals, BK Kids Meals, and other assorted marketing that drives everything. Still, there's plenty of blame to go around. Yes, BLAME THE PARENTS. I've lost count of how many times relatives or other say "There's nothing good for kids to see." Nonsense. The reason there's nothing good to see IS BECAUSE YOU CONSTANTLY PAY ADMISSION TO GARBAGE. Parents who blindly march their kids into "Pokemon 3" have no right to complain about the lack of quality films. "Spy Kids" is good in part because R Rodriguez got control of the film, without McDonald's executives sticking their greasy hands all over it. But it's the exception. Tell you what, Suburban Mom and Dad. Next time your kids beg you to see junk like "Pokemon" or "Dinosaur", rent "Iron Giant" or "Watership Down" for them. Stop the cycle of junk you whine about.
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Who are you kidding. We can't make our original animation with just some good ideas and funny stories, even with mediocre animation. That just can't be done. I mean, even if you could get distribution, you would probably only get onto the Comedey Channel or something, and there is no way to make the leap to features. We would have too many establishment types against us. The MPAA and critics would stack the deck against us. It will never happen. What? Trey and Matt who? South Park what? What do you mean they are so anti-establishment that the Oscars changed the rules to avoid giving them one and they still suceed. You've got to be kidding.
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