Henry Selick Returns to Disney, Lands at Pixar

Last week, Variety broke the news that Henry Selick, the director of such stop-motions films as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and the Oscar-nominated Coraline, had signed an exclusive long-term deal to make stop-motion features for Disney/Pixar.

Selick first worked for Disney in the late 1970s. The deal also reunites Selick with his CalArts classmate, Pixar's John Lasseter. For more, visit Comingsoon.net.

Review: Original Walt Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" is not Exactly Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 169 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Alice in Wonderland (1951) – animation

Running time: 75 minutes (1 hour, 15 minutes)

DIRECTORS: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske

WRITERS: Winston Hibler, Ted Sears, Bill Peet, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Milt Banta, William Cottrell, Dick Kelsey, Joe Grant, Dick Heumer, Del Connell, Tom Oreb, and John Walbridge with Aldous Huxley (based upon the book by Lewis Carroll)

PRODUCER: Walt Disney

EDITOR: Lloyd Richardson

Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/COMEDY/FAMILY/FANTASY/MUSICAL

Starring: (voice) Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, Verna Felton, J. Pat O’Malley, Bill Thompson, Heather Angel, Joseph Kearns, and James MacDonald

Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is animated feature film adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s world-renowned children’s novels, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1872). The film takes elements from both books, but especially the more popular Alice. Thankfully, the film manages to be something on its own as its screenplay could never capture subtle satire, allusion, symbolism or the mysterious meanings behind Carroll’s remarkable work.

The adaptation is rather simple, Alice (Kathryn Beaumont) follows the White Rabbit (Bill Thompson) down a deep, dark hole in a tree and ends up in Wonderland. She has many encounters with the land’s strange inhabitants, including a tumultuous run in with the violent-tempered Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), before the inhabitants of Wonderland chase her out of their domain.

Although Alice in Wonderland would stand head and shoulders above most other feature-length animated films, when compared to the Disney greats, this film isn’t one of them. It’s actually quite dry for most of its running time. What makes the film so memorable is the animation that is drawn to resemble the work of book illustrator John Tenniel, whose drawings for the Alice novels would become the definitive visual interpretation of Carroll’s characters. The Disney animation artists do a worthy job turning Tenniel’s precise delineation into the line work necessary for animation.

The second really memorable element of the film is the superb voice acting. Each and every actor deserves notice, from the starring roles to the small bits. I especially liked Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter, Jerry Colonna as the March Hare and, of course, Kathryn Beaumont as Alice. The film’s 14 songs are the most thus far for a Disney animated film. They are good, though not great, except for the one that has most stayed in the public’s pop culture conscience, “I’m Late,” written by Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain.

6 of 10

B

NOTES:

1952 Academy Awards: 1 nomination for “Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture” (Oliver Wallace)

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Disney President and CEO Robert Iger on the Passing of Fess Parker

Statement by Robert A. Iger, President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company, on the Passing of Fess Parker

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Robert A. Iger, President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), issued the following statement:

“Like many kids growing up in the 50’s, Davy Crockett was my first hero, and I had the coonskin cap to prove it. Fess Parker’s unforgettable, exciting and admirable performance as this American icon has remained with me all these years, as it has for his millions of fans around the world. Fess is truly a Disney Legend, as is the heroic character he portrayed, and while he will certainly be missed, he will never be forgotten.”

Review: Ichabod Rocks Disney's "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) – animated
Running time: 68 minutes
DIRECTORS: Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, and James Algar
WRITERS: Homer Brightman, Winston Hibler, Erdman Penner, Harry Reeves, and Joe Rinaldi (based on The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving)
PRODUCER: Walt Disney
EDITOR: John O. Young
Golden Globe winner

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ACTION/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore, J. Pat O’Malley, Colin Campbell, Campbell Grant, Claud Allister, and The Rhythmaires

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was the last of Walt Disney’s “package films,” which were films comprised of two or more animated short subjects instead of a single feature-length story (such as Bambi).

The first short feature, “The Adventures of Mr. Toad” is based on Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 novel, The Wind in the Willows, an acknowledged classic of children’s literature. J. Thaddeus Toad (Eric Blore), the proprietor of Toad Hall, is in deep financial straights because of his spendthrift ways regarding whatever fad he’s chasing, and he also starts spending much of his time with a wastrel horse named Cyril Proudbottom (J. Pat O’Malley). His latest obsession is “motor mania,” the desire to have a car. When his fixation lands him in prison, it’s up to Mr. Toad’s friends, Mole (Colin Campbell), Water Rat (Claud Allister), and Angus MacBadger (Campbell Grant) to save him.

The second story, “Ichabod Crane,” is based upon Washington Irving’s classic American short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” first published in 1820 and later contained in his story collection, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Bing Crosby narrates and sings the story of itinerate schoolteacher Ichabod Crane, who arrives in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, New York to be the new schoolmaster in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod falls in love with Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of the wealthiest of the local farmers, much to the chagrin of her other suitor, Brom Bones. Brom decides that he needs to scare Ichabod off, so near the end of the Van Tassel’s annual Halloween ball, he tells the tale of The Headless Horseman that haunts Sleepy Hollow. After leaving the party, Crane, who is deeply superstitious, has a wild encounter with the Horseman… or does he.

Although not considered to be one of the very best Walt Disney animated features, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad has some of the most beautiful color seen in animated films. It’s all practically applied and not just for the sake of being pretty; in fact, the film won a 1950 Golden Globe for “Best Cinematography, Color.” While the Mr. Toad segment is very nice (and features beautiful character and set designs), the treat here is, of course, Ichabod Crane. What makes it better is Bing Crosby, whose narration and singing give Ichabod Crane color and warmth.

As strange as it may sound, this short segment (which runs less than 35 minutes) features some of the best animation Disney ever did. Talk about the art of animation: the characters move flawlessly in a symphony of movement that is an exercise in mathematical precision. The sequence that begins when Ichabod enters Sleepy Hollow until the end of his race with the Headless Horseman should make any shortlist of all time great action sequences in animated films. It’s scary (as scary as I remember it as child), and a great example of something Disney did well in their classic animated movies – create an atmosphere of fear.

The color, the sound, and the motion: even this work considered a minor affair shows that when Disney animators were at the height of their powers, they were really up there. Actually, there’s an action sequence at the end of Mr. Toad that would be considered the best work by any other animation studio. Still, it pales next to the chase in Ichabod, and that’s what makes The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad essential Disney.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

NOTES:
1950 Golden Globes: 1 win: Best Cinematography – Color

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Disney Cartoon Short "Aquamania" Has Goofy Dad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Aquamania (1961)
Running time: 8 minutes
DIRECTOR: Wolfgang Reitherman
WRITERS: story by Vancy Gerry and Ralph Wright
PRODUCER: Walt Disney
LAYOUT ARTISTS: Dale Barnhart and Basil Davidovich
ANIMATORS: John Lounsbery, Dick Lucas, Dan MacManus, John Sibley, and Art Stevens
BACKGROUND ARTIST: Ralph Hulett
Academy Award nominee

SHORT/ANIMATION/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring: (voice) Pinto Colvig

Disney’s cartoon short, Aquamania, was a 1962 Oscar nominee in the category of “Best Short Subject, Cartoons” (with the nomination going to Walt Disney). Goofy is Mr. X (Pinto Colvig), a suburban husband and father who is also an “aquamaniac,” which as the narrator informs us is a boat aficionado. One weekend, Mr. X takes his son, Junior, to the beach for an afternoon of boating. However, Mr. X and son inadvertently end up in a water ski race, and an unlucky octopus gets dragged along on Mr. X’s wild ride.

Aquamania is a Chuck Jones-influenced short, but the animation isn’t nearly as pretty as Disney cartoon shorts that the company released less than a decade earlier. There is, however, outstanding animation in terms of physical comedy and also the animation of characters and objects in rapid and constant motion. The torturous obstacle course through which the filmmakers put Goofy is a wacky wonder.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, March 30, 2007

Avatar Beats Angry Mel Gibson Flick at Weekend Box Office

Box Office Estimates (U.S.) for the weekend of January 29 - 31, 2010

1 Avatar 20th Century Fox $30,000,000

2 Edge of Darkness Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $17,120,000

3 When in Rome Walt Disney Studios Distribution $12,065,000

4 Tooth Fairy 20th Century Fox Distribution $10,000,000

5 The Book of Eli Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $8,770,000

6 Legion Sony Pictures Releasing $6,800,000

7 The Lovely Bones Paramount Pictures $4,735,000

8 Sherlock Holmes Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $4,510,000

9 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel 20th Century Fox Distribution $4,000,000

10 It's Complicated Universal Pictures $3,720,000 [END]

Go to Box Office Mojo report for more details.