Thursday, March 12, 2009

The Princess's Progress

Today at the Disney hat building, some of the artists and animators on The Princess and the Frog gave me an update on how the work is going.

"We've animated around 60% of the movie, and we've got maybe ten or eleven weeks to go on the production schedule. We had some wiggle room earlier but now things are tight, and we're really going to have to move things along ..."

Oh yeah. That griping about salary cuts from a couple of months ago? Like magic, most of that has disappeared. Now I get tight smiles and "Hey. I'm working, you know?"

Amazing how a sharp economic downturn and massive layoffs can change hearts and minds.

"The cleanup crew will wrap up their work in late summer. Management's hired more staff on the back end because there's a lot of drawing on paper. The show isn't 'paperless' like they first hoped it would be ..."

Today as I walked out, I stopped to really look at the short sequence playing on the flat screen teevees in the hall display case. It's a short, amusing scene between the principles, and it's offered in story reel, rough animation and full-blown color. And very nice work it is, all the way around.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are they nervous about the pushed schedule?

Anonymous said...

The show will get done and it looks to be a genuinely good Disney 2D staple picture.

Anonymous said...

"The show will get done and it looks to be a genuinely good Disney 2D staple picture"

Same thing that was said about Atlantis and Treasure Planet...let's hope there's more than that for the public

Steve Hulett said...

The reaction of the crew is positive about P and F. Not saying that's determinative, but it's a positive indicator.

Floyd Norman said...

I've been watching.

Yes, it is good, and a big improvement over recent traditional efforts.

Anonymous said...

Faint praise, indeed....especially from someone who always using over the top hyperbole when talking about anything made by Pixar.
I hope it's better than that.

Floyd Norman said...

Actually, its sincere praise.

As concerning Pixar, they’re far from perfect. But, like it or not, they still set the standard.

Anonymous said...

You the man Floyd! Don't take any flack from the negative nabobs. So are you doing anything for Disney lately? You seem to be spending a lot of time there? Hmmm..

Floyd Norman said...

Actually, I am.

Sorry I can't disclose what it is at this time.

Anonymous said...

I trust your word, Floyd. You've always come across as an honest commentator. I really enjoyed your blog. Please keep giving us the benefit of your insight regarding animation and Disney. It's much appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Floyd is working on a short, aren't you Floyd?

Fess up! I hope it's one with Donald!

Steve Hulett said...

Hey. He can't talk about it.

Leave Floyd aloooone.

Anonymous said...

Ahah!

Steve KNOWS about it too!

The mystery deepens..

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