The Links of September

Now with tasty Add On.

Before Bolt, before Madagascar II, there will be Igor, an animated feature that has been gestating awhile. Film composer Patrick Doyle talks about producing music for the film:

"When I originally presented the opening of this movie as a piece of music it was quite a dark thing, and I felt that it need more action in it so I gave it some rhythm. But Tony [director Anthony Leondis] described music from Bulgaria and said, "I'm looking for something that's got a slightly eastern feel." ...

I don't think there is a great deal of difference at all [between composing for live action and composing for animation.] I have a huge respect for animation; I've always been a massive fan of it. In fact, the first film I ever went to see a film by myself, as a 14-year old, was "Fantasia." I was always fascinated by that picture, because it's an homage to music and drama in the form of animation. So, I treat live action, whether it be "Shakespeare" or "Harry Potter," I treat it in exactly the same way. I give it the same respect, the same reverence as I would to William Shakespeare. It's all about character, it's all about heightening the drama and capturing character image.

Miyazaki isn't the only Japanese animation director strutting his stuff at the Venice Film Festival:

Up against [Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea,"] in the 21-film competition is Mamoru Oshii, whose bleak yet spectacular "The Sky Crawlers" has received mixed reviews and, according to trade press, fallen well behind Miyazaki in domestic ticket sales over the summer.

In "The Sky Crawlers," humanoids are genetically designed to live forever as teenaged pilots until they are shot dead in fierce air battles ...

The Times of India gives us a critical overview of the Indian animation industry:

... The demand for professional animators from India is high, points out Deepak Bhanushali, producer of My Friend Ganesha and Kaboom. But then, the quality of Indian animated films doesn’t make the cut, adds Deepak. “People enter the business to make quick money, but produce low-cost and low-quality stuff. Indian production houses inking deals with international companies must train and retain employees. While international animation houses find India attractive because of the lower labour cost, our companies must remember that if they pay peanuts, they’re going to get nothing,” explains Deepak.

Recently, the US-based Turner Entertainment Networks tied up with three Indian production houses to produce local CG animated feature films and a TV series. The demand for professional animators from India is high, points out Deepak Bhanushali, producer of My Friend Ganesha and Kaboom. But then, the quality of Indian animated films doesn’t make the cut, adds Deepak. “People enter the business to make quick money, but produce low-cost and low-quality stuff. Indian production houses inking deals with international companies must train and retain employees. While international animation houses find India attractive because of the lower labour cost, our companies must remember that if they pay peanuts, they’re going to get nothing,” explains Deepak.

Industry insiders agree that lack of research and funds result in bad work. Says Anil Kumar, conceptual artist who worked on Luv Kush, “When you go semi-realistic, it’ll tend to look unnatural. You must put in a lot of research so that the characters don’t look like cartoons. It takes three years to make a marginally good animation movie. But we do it in months.”

Agrees Ankit Sharma, lighting artiste in an animation production house, “A scene in Wall-E took nearly one year of research, but if we had to do the same in India, we’d have wrapped it in a week. Animators who were working on Kung Fu Panda were asked to learn kung fu before creating the graphics. If we follow the right procedure, we’ve the potential to go beyond Hollywood.”

History, animation and otherwise, is written by the winners:

Pixar co-founder Edwin Catmull remembered talking to people at Disney's animation group about the potential of computer animation ...

"Frank Thomas was intrigued, but the animators didn't know what it meant," said Catmull. "Our color images were fairly crude, and they definitely weren't up to the standards there." Computer animation's boosters understood that the software was always improving, and their computers were getting faster every year, but most people, Catmull realized, "didn't measure the technology against the arc that it was on." They didn't understand how fast it was progressing, and so they dismissed it as a science fair project ...

A 'toonland acting gig for Tom Cruise?

After his hilarious turn in Tropic Thunder, Tom Cruise’s comedic strategy for revitalizing his image seems to be on track. Next step in crafting Tom’s new public persona may be doing a little something for your kids, by voicing a character in Shrek 4.

Tonight I got an email from one of our regular sources at DreamWorks, whispering in my ear to let you know that Tom Cruise is being considered to voice one of the villains in Shrek Goes Fourth ...

Although they have played out their strings stateside, Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E are still collecting coins in foreign lands:

... DreamWorks Animation/Paramount's "Kung Fu Panda" ... collected $6.3 million from 2,922 screens in 64 territories to hoist its international gross to $397 million ... Pixar/Disney's animated "WALL-E" registered No. 1 openings in Sweden and Finland and $6.2 million overall from 3,375 situations in 36 markets. It has grossed $402.5 million so far worldwide, of which $184.5 million comes from overseas.

Danny Anatucci, godfather of Ed, Edd and Eddie is on his way to a San Francisco animation studio:

Wildbrain, the entertainment shingle behind hit kids series "Yo Gabba Gabba" and merchandising line Kidrobot, has sealed an overall deal with animation vet Danny Antonucci.

Antonucci was the creator behind "Ed, Edd n Eddy," one of the longest-running and top-rated series on Cartoon Network. At Wildbrain, he'll develop TV series, feature film projects and new-media properties, all geared toward both kids and adults ...

(As long as we're on the subject of Wildbrain, the company is also hiring longtime animation exec Marge Dean.)

Add On: ASIFA Hollywood puts up a mess of model sheets from the Disney Shorts Department -- circa way back ...

("Don't Bogart that Joint, My Friend ...")

Have a glorious workweek ... or if "glorious" is out of the question, have at least an adequate one.