Disney exec: 'You don't need a good story.'

Lasseter, and all of the other creatives we fans prize the most, are always telling us how important story is. Story, story, story . . . "No amount of great animation will save a bad story," says Lasseter. That is a credo that I'm consistently reaffirming through Disney, etc. and is something I believe strongly in. It's why Pixar and Disney are as successful as they are today, and why so many people love Disneyland.

However, Walt Disney Animation Studios' Chief Technical Officer, Andy Hendrickson, disagrees. Earlier this week at SIGGRAPH, Andy decidedly stated that if you're producing a tentpole film like one by Pixar, or a film in the Pirates franchise, story is massively overrated:

People say ‘It’s all about the story.’ When you’re making tentpole films, bullshit.

Pointing to one of Disney's larger successes in recent box office history, Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Hendrickson said “The story isn’t very good, but visual spectacle brought people in droves. And Johnny Depp didn’t hurt.” It's really sad to hear someone say it, probably because it's true, but box office numbers don't always come from a good story. But, as pointed out by our friend here, they always come from lots of pretty pictures and famous actors.

Nothing will ever replace a good, solid story--even if it doesn't make the studio a billion dollars, it makes a great movie, and isn't that the top priority? If it isn't, it should be. Perhaps that's what's wrong with Hollywood nowadays. They want fatter wallets and couldn't care less about the story. Very sad, but, I concede begrudgingly, is probably true . . .

Source: Cartoon Brew

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New 'Pirates' Trailer

Above you will find a brand new trailer for the fourth installment of Bruckheimer's Pirates franchise.

First, let's discuss the trailer itself. More specifically, the elephant in this post--that little intro to the trailer. It was odd. Really odd. But I'll excuse it just because I love the character of Jack Sparrow. In fact, I'm sure that the only reason the peculiar intro was there was to showcase Depp's character even more. But, as I said, I'll ignore its strangeness just because I love the character so much...

Now, the film in general. I am not entirely sure what to make of On Stranger Tides just yet. Being a piratical history enthusiast as well as a lover of Disney and cinema, I am very excited that this new Pirates film will have the historical aspect of Blackbeard in it. I have studied the biography of Blackbeard, as well as other pirates, and am very excited to see how they will treat him as both a brand new character and a historical entity--Ian McShane seems to make a great Blackbeard, and I can't wait to further see how he portrays him.

However, the plot doesn't seem incredibly strong. Similar to my issues with Cars 2, this film seems rather gimmicky and void of true, deep emotion. Granted the only Pirates film with any "heart" was Curse of the Black Pearl, I still wanted to see the screenwriters try a little harder to make the audience fall back in love with Sparrow and new supporting characters. It doesn't seem like there will be much room for this in such an adventure-heavy, emotionless film. However, the lack of emotion will leave much more room for crazy adventures and stunts and hilarity from Jack Sparrow.

Having said that, I'm excited to see Blackbeard, excited for Jack Sparrow, and I'm a complete sucker for pirate adventures. It isn't fair for me to judge the movie before I've seen it, and I'll still be first in line for the midnight showing come May 20, 2011.

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'Rango' Trailer

The new trailer for an upcoming animated film, Rango, has just been released. Watch it above.

The film is being produced by Nickelodeon Studios, and stars the always-great Johnny Depp.

Here's the unofficial synopsis from Wikipedia:

The story of Rango, a chameleon with an identity crisis, who embarks on a journey of self-discovery taking place in the western town of Dirt.

This trailer looks promising. The animation looks spectacular and the premise has a lot of potential for both jokes and strong characters. However, there is also a lot of potential for them to over-do their jokes and end up with an annoying, hour-and-a-half long skit show of a lizard in Mexico.

Let's hope they can keep the humor powerful, but also develop a strong story with great characters.

The film is directed by Gore Verbinski, stars Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Bill Nighy, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, and Timothy Olyphant, and will be released some time next year.

Stay tuned for more on Rango...

For more, visit RangoMovie.com.

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My 'Alice in Wonderland' Review (Updated)

In 1865, an Englishman named Charles Lutwidge Dodgson wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. The novel was full of whimsy and adventure and playful poetry. Almost a century and a half later, Walt Disney released Alice in Wonderland, an adaptation of both the original novel by Carroll and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. The animated classic differed greatly from the novel, leaving out much of the story while retaining the main characters, the overall spirit of the novel, and some of the poems re-written as songs.

Now, 50 years later, Tim Burton has released another film version of the classic novels. This new film is not an exact adaptation of either the first novel or its sequel, but is much closer to Through the Looking-Glass.

(Spoiler Alert!)

The film opens in England when Alice is only a child. She tells her father all about her strange dreams involving a rabbit hole and a Mad Hatter. After her father tells her that she must be mad, but the best people are a little bit mad, the film cuts to thirteen years later when Alice is almost 19. She is attending her own engagement party and runs away once an awkward Englishman asks for her hand, following a white rabbit in a waistcoat down a hole.

After an exciting montage of Alice falling down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in the familiar room with only a table, a key, and a bottle that reads "Drink Me." After some shrinking and growing, Alice makes it outside and is greeted by the Door Mouse, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the Cheshire Cat, and some talking flowers. The next act of the film consists of the familiar Alice characters discussing about whether or not this Alice is the right Alice. Eventually, you find out that the right Alice is the one who visited Wonderland as a little girl. It has been prophesied that this real Alice will slay the Jabberwocky and restore the White Queen to her throne, which was taken by her evil sister, the Red Queen. This is where the central theme of the film comes in to play: even though there is a prophesy, can Alice control her own fate?

The rest of the film follows Alice as she infiltrates the queen's lair disguised as a girl named “Um,” retrieves the Vorpal Sword from the Bandersnatch's lair, rescues the Mad Hatter from the evil queen's clutches, and, finally, battles the dreaded Jabberwocky.

(End Spoiler Alert!)

But, enough about the story. As is usual with Tim Burton, the story does not reign supreme in Alice in Wonderland. I think that he kept the story simple so that the audience could focus its attention on the lovable characters and stimulating visuals.

That being said, the story didn't completely fall flat on its face. The film's plot was different from anything that Lewis Carroll ever wrote, but was still closer to the novels than the animated version was. It was closer in the sense that it included many of Carroll's poems and creatures that were left out of the cartoon. An aspect of the plot I loved was the deep character development bestowed upon Alice. In the animated version, you are immediately thrown into Wonderland, without a care about what happens to Alice. Burton was able to make audiences care about her. Although the plot was simple, it certainly wasn't awful.

Tim Burton is a visionary. Many believe that he simply slaps white paint on people's faces, hangs up some spiders, and calls a film good. But I actually enjoy watching his films. The settings of Alice are extraordinary. Burton has created an entirely new universe, based on Carroll's vision, that's filled with gorgeous castles, vast stretches of dead trees, and a gigantic chess set battlefield. The backgrounds of bright, peculiar flowers and an almost organic sky add an immense amount of depth to Alice. Since the plot isn't at the heart of the film, it could be debated that the visuals are at the heart, since it is clear that they are what Burton poured the majority of his efforts into.

However, the characters of Alice in Wonderland are almost as (if not more) interesting to look at as the eye candy that Tim Burton dishes up in heaping portions. My favorite character is Bayard the talking bloodhound. His CG animation is seamless and he is so cute and innocent. My next favorite is the March Hare—a disgruntled, completely insane and anthropomorphic hare who is hilarious to watch. The Mad Hatter is also a great character. With his orange hair, crazy eyes, and iconic hat, Johnny Depp works more magic on yet another role. The Hatter is funny, spontaneous, very enjoyable to watch, and is a great character in the sense that the audience is really able to feel for him. Some other great characters include Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the White Rabbit, the Red Queen, the Bandersnatch, the Cheshire Cat and the Blue Caterpillar--all of which were beautiful on screen and were wonderfully animated.

From the moment the opening credits start rolling, you know that Danny Elfman scored Alice in Wonderland. How, you might ask? Well the first thing you hear are pounding, unmelodious violins--a classic for Elfman. The rest of the film's score is much of the same stuff, mostly involving no real melody to hold on to. There are no songs, but at least Elfman manages to keep the score very subtle and keep the musical annoyances to a minimum. Overall, the Alice score is really unimportant since you are so busy consuming Burton's new universe with your eyes.

I wouldn't call Alice in Wonderland a masterpiece, but it is a beauty. Burton took a classic novel and did what he does best: creepify and beautify. Although the plot is incredibly simple, it is believable enough and works very well within the limits of the familiar world and characters. The characters are all magnificently animated and very entertaining. Even though the score falls flat, it remains pretty much unnoticed while you're watching the film.

Loaded with spontaneity, great acting, spot on character development, and loads of eye candy, I'll give Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland an 8 out of 10. While I didn't like it near as much as I love the classic Disney animated version (I'm a sucker for Mary Blair), Burton's Alice is actually better than I thought it would be (and is far better than his recent rendition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). I especially appreciated his attention to character development. Regardless of whether or not you love Tim Burton or Lewis Carroll, I'd recommend seeing the new Alice in Wonderland.

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