Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Disney Walkabout

Today was hat building day, and about all I can tell you is that everyone is turning and burning on Tangled, that the new shots I saw of the movie look real good, and I keep being reminded of the settings and color saturation of the 3-strip Technicolor Adventures of Robin Hood every time that I see it ...

Upstairs, I related to a Disney veteran how I found Toy Story 3 a terrific, engaging film but that the Three Dee in it was pretty ... ah ... humdrum. The answer I got surprised me.

"Tell you the truth, I found the 3-D kind of pedestrian myself. But John likes the 3-D to support the setting and environment, not to come out of frame or do anything super 3-D-ish.

"I just like to look at the movie. I think the 3-D just gets in the way of watching the story."

Ah, poor Disneyite. You are in for a long stretch of heartache and sorrow:

Imax Corp. and Walt Disney Studios said Wednesday that they have agreed on a deal to release three more 3D movies to Imax theaters next year.

The movies are "Mars Needs Moms," which is scheduled to be released next March; "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," set for release in May; and "Cars 2," which is scheduled to be released next June.

Three Dee is going to be with us for years, girls and boys. So get used to it. As for me, as long as they have a small theater in the multiplex showing the flat screen version, I'll be happy.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does every film remind you of Robin Hood?

It's like your only reference.

Anonymous said...

Yes indeed, the Tangled trailer reminded me of Robin Hood from Shrek.

Anonymous said...

Tangled reminded me more of classic Flynn/Fairbanks than...discussions of character-franchises did.
That one was just weird. ;)

Floyd Norman said...

You're not the only one on a walkabout, Steve.

I'm in Australia doing a real walkabout.

Anonymous said...

Then break away from the internet, Floyd. Seriously! Enjoy your vacation.

Steve Hulett said...

Ignore Anon 8:33. Spend time with us here. You can see the Australian desert any time.

Floyd Norman said...

Geeks like me can never break away as long as we have an Internet connection.

Plus, I gotta do something to keep my mind off the beautiful women here in Australia.

Bob and Rob Professional American Writers said...

Steve, that comment to Floyd reminded me of Robin Hood. Bob

Anonymous said...

I love 3D and really wish studios would use it better. I think the majority of audiences who pay to see a movie in 3D would feel more like they got their money's worth if they could really feel the depth and space of the 3d.

I personally would like things to pop out of the screen, feel a sense of depth and maybe even vertigo when paying that extra premium for a 3D movie. So far the only animated films I've really felt were worth the 3D have been Train your Dragon, Tokyo Mater, and Avatar.

Steven Kaplan said...

Having worked on the stereo render for Battle for Terra , my views of Stereoscopic films are a bit .. different.

Putting on the glasses and getting the film ready to be seen in Stereo does mean you're giving up some of the brilliance (ie. brightness) of the picture. Some say its negligible .. some say its hard to notice. I say if you can't perceive that kind of luminance drop, then watching it in "3D" could be lost on you to begin with.

My main gripe with stereo films today, and one that I can say Meni was careful to avoid in Terra's conversion to "3D", is the diorama look. Most directors decide not to break the convergence plane for fear of nauseating the audience. So, to compensate, they try to achieve the "3D" effect by giving incredible depth to shots and scenes. I found Avatar to be most guilty of this. With all the innovation and technology creation that went into the making of that film, Cameron didn't find it necessary to use "any 3d gags".

Gags?! Well, if its a gag, then I'll stick with the traditional "2D" version and bask in its bright glory. Sure .. more stereo films are being slated and companies are coming out with stereo capable game consoles and televisions. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see it fade away again soon.

Anonymous said...

How did this all get on Robinfloyd in the deserts of 2D Animation?

Anonymous said...

I wish Robin Hood was in 3d.

Steve Hulett said...

Some day it will be. Just watch.

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