In and Around the Studios

Today I went through the well-loved Hat Building on Riverside (Walt Disney Animation Studios) which is 85% closed due to construction on the second, third and gragment of the first floors. Remaining staffers tell us that noise levels are tolerable because much of the jack-hammering and pounding gets done before or after normal work hours. (I told some Diz employees: "That's a good thing. Because when the Sherman Oaks Galleria was being renovated, Warner Bros. Animation artists had to suffer through a lot of high-decibel reconstruction and suffered a lot.") ...

The majority of Zootopia animation (being done at other Disney locations) is complete, although as always story tweaks and revisions are on-going. Forbes calls Diz Co's new animal picture its "B-movie", meaning it's not the main event in the conglomerate's feature line-up next year. But hey, Dumbo was the B-movie of its era, so the latest talking animals extravaganza is in good company.

Meanwhile, at DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, we're told that half the animation for Kung Fu Panda 3 -- being done in California and China -- has been completed. We're also informed that KFP3's story is pretty well locked down. (Kindly note: In animation, the story is never fully "there" until the last fifteen minutes of production. Way it works.)



DreamWorks staff says the lates "KFP" looks outstanding. Judging from the trailer above, this appears to be the case.