Several months ago, P and F artists told me how Diz Channel execs were pulling the series in one direction, while the crew tugged in another. Glad to see that even with the pulling (or because of ... ??) it all worked out:
The show, which bowed Feb. 1, has proved a huge international hit after its simultaneous launch in some 150 territories, including the U.S., the U.K. and Australia -- a first for Disney Channel. The show has reached 23.5 million viewers worldwide -- at least in territories for which the net was able to gather data. The launch involved a 10-day rollout of consecutive original episodes.
Of course, staffers told me things like this:
...[There's a] SUFFOCATING amount of executive notes and executive meddling on the show. A lot of P&Fs best storyboarders left the show for other projects, and the typical Disney mountain of notes was a big reason they chose to move to other places ... [T]he stories of Disney execs with their hands messing all over that show are crazy ...
Old news, really. I had Disney TVA staff writers complaining about the layers of executive notes on their scripts in 1993 ...
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Ah yes, that show got advertised quite a bit here in Mexico. There were posters of it pasted everywhere in the city. Disney Channel also showed the ads frequently.
Sadly, I did not tune in for the premiere, nor have I seen any episode since it premiered. I'll give it a go sometime.
an outline for a board artist should be about two pages single spaced. a nice large font helps, too. the best ones are usually shorter than that.
notes from exec should be one page, double-spaced, about 48 pt font size. they must be exactly seven words long and have an exclamation point, and must include the words, "Looks great! Can't wait to see it."
And with a smiley face.
This is an excerpt from the Variety article:
It also helps that "Phineas and Ferb," based on a series of summer vacation adventures involving the two eponymous stepbrothers, is a cut above the average kids' toon.
Its creators are Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, whose credits include "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy." Unusually, it is traditional 2-D storyboarded animation, which, according to Boseley, helps give the toon its fluid feel.
When I looked at a still of those character designs, I wondered how the heck anyone could "give the toon its fluid feel." After viewing some clips on YouTube, it becomes apparent that those designs are as non-conducive to animation as I had imagined. Seriously, if the creators of the show are going with that kind of stark graphic design, they may as well jump on the mediocre Flash bandwagon, as traditional animation ain't helping it to look any better! Fans of contemporary animated TV shows will likely disagree, but I find most of these shows hugely unappealing in their deliberately flat design. How the hell do you draw a front or 3/4 view of that triangle head? Answer: you don't...
wow. that's a bit harsh. ...and south park is, erm, exactly how well drawn?
The fact is Phineas and Ferb is a huge hit! Partly to the hard work of 15 year old Vincent Martella who is the voice of Phineas. Disney also picked a great cast!
i agree with Pete. yuck.
"the hard work of 15 year old Vincent Martella"? Please.
Mohare said: "wow. that's a bit harsh. ...and south park is, erm, exactly how well drawn?"
My criticism is entirely fair. Why design something in a deliberate flat graphic style that we associate with the current spate of Flash TV shows, then crow about its "fluid feel"? The fact of the matter is that these characters are not designed to be animated in the relatively fluid approach (by TV animation standards) of the more dimensional "The Simpsons", so any attempt to do that comes up far short. The show may indeed be successful, but that doesn't change the fact that it is visually mediocre. In regard to "South Park", I'd cut it some slack just by virtue of its lack of pretension. The creators make no bones about it being bad animation in a deliberate 2-D cutout style. "South Park" may not win any beauty contest, but it's smart, up-to-the-minute topical satire - which is really all Parker and Stone wish it to be.
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