Originally Posted By Indigo Okay guys and gals. By the looks of things in the movie reviews, Disney still hasn't figured out how to tell a put a well told animated story (hand drawn or CG) on the big screen. And yet, Pixar (with Disney's help no less) has cranked out 6 in a row. How does Disney turn this around? What is Pixar doing that Disney isn't? How tough is it to write a good story anyway? Finally, what do you think audiences are looking for in animated films? Can Disney even provide that and still be 'Disney'?
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I haven't seen Chicken Little, so I don't know if I agree with the bad reviews. But the following quote from Roger Ebert's review speaks to your question Indigo: >>The problem, I think, lies with the story. As a general rule, if a movie is not about baseball or space aliens, and you have to use them, anyway, you should have started with a better premise. The best animated films are based either on sturdy fables that deserve retelling ("Beauty and the Beast"), new stories involving archetypal emotions ("Finding Nemo") or satire ("The Incredibles").<< Finally, what do you think audiences are looking for in animated films?<< I think that filmakers need to ignore that very question. Focus groups won't be able to tell you that because they won't know it until they see it. I rented Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" last weekend. On one of the featurettes, they told how Hitchcock wanted a song in the movie that would connect Doris Day's character with her kidnapped son in the film. He didn't know whhat kind of song he wanted. The songwriters came back with the now-famous Que Sera, Sera. Hitchcock smiled and said "That's the kind of song I wanted." I think audiences are the same way. Focus groups might get you a big opening weekend, but it's unlikely that they'll clue you in to anything other than what they've already seen. I am always amazed that right in the children's section of any book store or library, there are hundreds of books with great stories waiting to be told. Surely some of them would be an ideal source for future Disney films.
Originally Posted By jmenomeno I think that it's easy to write a good story...it's maintaining it in the face of many, many implied goals that's the problem. Kar2oonMan has very valid points. The current management group really chooses not to risk - so they use focus studies to make sure that everything works to their goals. This reduces risk, to be sure, but it also results in projects being done by committee, and that's not a positive thing when members of the committee have no understanding of the project at hand. Risk has to be undertaken to be a leader, or else you end up being a follower. Disney is slowly but surely heading that route, and it's a shame.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>As a general rule, if a movie is not about baseball or space aliens, and you have to use them, anyway, you should have started with a better premise.<< I think this should be engraved on a shiny brass plaque and mounted throughout the halls of every movie studio. I'm as cynical as the next person, and then some. But I'd love a movie that takes a risk by going the other way and daring to be true to the original source. Beauty and the Beast was like that. There was no need to elbow the audience with "Ain't this corny, Doc?" references. Instead, they created a timeless, beautiful movie (that was nominated for Best Picture, by the way). I'm not saying every movie needs to be cookie-cutter variations of Beauty and the Beast. But not every movie needs to be a wise-guy chucklefest either.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss If it wasn't tough to write a good story, every book published would be a best seller, and every movie made would be a hit.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 As someone who has one freelance writing for years -- sometimes it's hard to even write a bad story --LOL ! Why is PIXAR doing it and almost no one else ? Good question. And as popular as Shrek was, to me it was still more about gags and slapstick than the story. As for Chicken Little of course I want to see it first - but initial feedback far less than stellar....and if even Disney thought it was that good it would have been released before now. But look at the 'storytelling in JII, Stitch's great Escape, ITTBAB etc. -- bad breath, farts, etc....this is what is passing for humor...hard to embrace that much. At first I was going to say when you start with a classic fairy tale like B&B - it surely helps -- but most of PIXAR's movie's are about friendship - courage - not based on classic Brothers Grimm-- yet the talent is there to get it right. If you take Lilo & Stitch out of the mix -- the last 7- 8 years for the Disney creative team have been abyssmal. The creative team there is broken IMHO.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 If writing a good story were easy, the Star Wars prequels would be as universally loved as the original trilogy.
Originally Posted By cheesybaby Is it really that tough? Try writing a good story and let us know, Indigo.
Originally Posted By Blackie Pueblo I'm an aspiring writer and let me tell you it isn't easy. You have to really hit emotions to make a good story. Then the worst is once it's written, and someone takes it to make a film, it's in their hands. My friends and I started an independent film company, and I have a bunch of ideas I think are really good for short films. But once I write the script my "partners" take over and the "director" will edit out scenes or change what he thinks needs to be changed. Sometimes it comes out good, sometimes the changes ruin or take things away. Check out some of my short films at: <a href="http://www.newlineagefilms.com" target="_blank">http://www.newlineagefilms.com</a>
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <If writing a good story were easy, the Star Wars prequels would be as universally loved as the original trilogy.< Amen to this !
Originally Posted By basil fan Do you find that viewers under the age of 21 prefer the prequel trilogy? It seems that way to me. Any younger LPers care to give their preferences? Disney's Second-Class Villains <a href="http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/disney/henchmen.html" target="_blank">http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/ disney/henchmen.html</a>
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I don't know about that, my soon to be 21 year old daughter and her friends all saw the special releases of the original set when they were released and they all prefer them to 1 - 3
