Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Tim Burton's Stop Motion

It isn't all about live-action ...



There was Mr. Burton's 1980s version, and now this.
Posted by Steve Hulett at 8:39 PM

5 comments:

hoopcooper said...

Crazy story...it's amazing how much the world (and Disney) has changed. As I remember it, Tim Burton made the original live-action Frankenweenie as a short to go in front of the re-release of Pinocchio. They got one look at what he'd done and locked it in a vault...seriously. They locked it up and told him to go back to work. He finally got the print for something like an hour and a half (long enough to run it twice but not long enough to have it copied).

We all went down to a screening room behind some Restaurant in Venice and got to see the thing. It was amazing. And at the time...so totally out-of-bounds for Disney that it would go back into the vault until no one could deny the guys talent (or mass appeal). it's nice to see him revisiting it.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 8:53:00 AM
Floyd Norman said...

I was on set when Tim shot that crazy little film and often played with the little "Frankenstein dog" during filming breaks. We thought the film was brilliant and ... well, you know what Disney thought.

During those days, Disney seemed to have a unique ability to not recognize talent or innovation.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 9:33:00 AM
Steve Hulett said...

Disney, around this time, screened "Time Bandits" -- the "almost-Monty Python' live-action feature -- for the animation department. (The film-makers were desperately looking for a distributor, and they had come knocking on WDP's door.)

All the young guys (of which I was then one) flipped for the film, and BEGGED Disney to pick it up and release it. The studio said no.

So ultimately another distributor got "Time Bandits" and made a tidy fortune.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 3:17:00 PM
hoopcooper said...

remember that xerox that used to float around showing unacceptable haircuts? That's probably a collectors item now.

Thursday, June 28, 2012 3:18:00 PM
Floyd Norman said...

That's right, Steve. The Disney Studio seemed totally out of it. They just didn't get it, and they considered all us "young guys" nuts.

I remember a screening of Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" at Disney in the seventies. Those poor old guys. The tops of their heads blew off.

Friday, June 29, 2012 11:53:00 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Site Meter