He's baaaaaccccckkkkkkk!

The Avengers hits US theatres today, surely set to obliterate box office metrics on its way to blockbuster gold, financial nirvana, accolades for the actors and kudos for the studio.  Millions of people will watch it and be thoroughly entertained.  A small group will watch it and be thoroughly underwhelmed.  An even smaller group still will watch it and bemoan the continued decline of everything – society at large, superhero genre filmmaking, democracy as we know it, the ozone layer. These people are always annoyed at something.  Their sentences often begin, “When I was a kid…” as if the world was any less a shithole when they were 10.  Not surprising, most are grandparents.

Storyboard panel showing The Pirate Captain!

It's just a nifty day, as shown here by a nifty storyboard sequence from the new Aardman and Sony film, The Pirates! Band of Misfits.

Charles Darwin and Mr. Bobo

We've got a nifty collection of model sheets from Aardman's and Sony's new feature, The Pirates!, which hits the theatres in the US today.  Take a gander when you have a moment. Click each image to view a higher-res version.

Martin Scorsese's Hugo. Image © 2011 GK Films. All Rights Reserved.

Two hours of schmooze followed by over three hours of presentations by teams all vying for Best VFX Oscar gold, the annual VFX Bakeoff was a long but ultimately enjoyable evening. Always a gathering of industry legends, this year was no different – giants Rob Legato, Scott Farrar, Joe Letteri, Michael Fink, John Knoll and John Dykstra were just some of the presenters.  Though it’s possible to glean new insights into how a particular vfx shot was handled, the most entertaining part of the evening remains the occasional quip or funny anecdote shared by a presenter.  While the victuals at Kate Mantelini are always great (upscale mac n’ cheese + cold night = smile), each year it seems more and more people get squeezed into an impossibly narrow space.  While not great for locomotion or bathroom breaks, the sardine can confinement does make for interesting eavesdropping.  You don’t really catch entire conversations, nor complete context, but your ears do perk up if you catch something particularly funny, biting or just plain mean.  After all, this still is Hollywood.  And while it’s not quite Housewives of the Renderfarm, it’s still pretty amusing. 

Disney "Beauty & the Beast 3D" Lumiere. ©2011 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

It’s been close to 2 decades since I last saw the original Beauty and the Beast, sitting mesmerized right alongside my then 3 year old daughter Becky as we watched the enchanted love story unfold before us.  The fact Belle’s face soon adorned sheets, towels, plastic dinnerware and a closet full of other toddler accoutrements throughout my house didn’t obscure the fact that the film was cinematic and animation excellence and worthy of all the acclaim, honors and cash it garnered.

20 years later, sitting mesmerized right alongside my now 23 year old daughter as we watched this beautiful new version of the film, I can safely say the ends justify the means and the tremendous amount of work to bring this film to 3D has produced a visually stunning experience.

Merida rides in this concept art from Brave. Merida does not play major league baseball for the Atlanta Braves.  All images courtesy of Pixar.

At a casual glance, anybody taking on Disney in a court of law would seem either fabulously wealthy, fabulously nuts, or both.  So, I find this news item of particular interest.  As reported on the Yahoo Sports blog Big League Stew, Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves are slinging some arrows at Pixar, challenging them over the name of the upcoming animated feature, Brave.

Lion King

On IndieWire, Bill Desowitz delves into the 3-D retrofitting of Disney's The Lion King. He talks to those in charge of the work and those who worked on the original classic as well.

Megamind. All images courtesy of DreamWorks Animation.

If you’re looking to spend a couple hours sitting back and having a good time, then get yourself to the theatre this weekend and go see Megamind, DreamWorks’ latest animated feature.  When I got to the press screening last Saturday, I was actually in a good mood for a change. It was my birthday, I’d eaten an In-N-Out double-double for lunch and for a few brief hours, I was mostly pleasant to be with.  I put on my 3-D glasses in search of some good old fashioned entertainment and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed.  The film looked great, the story resonated with me and kept my attention, the running gags were used wisely, not beaten to death, the 3-D done seamlessly and expertly without obvious gimmicks or flaws. 

Belinda Luscombe just published an article on the Time Magazine website in which she ponders why adults cry so easily when they watch animated kids movies.  My guess is that they’re still upset over the cost of tickets and armfuls of popcorn, candy and sky blue slushies, but the economics of the cinematic experience are not to be confused with the more cerebral and emotional aspects of the animated film viewing experience discussed in the article... Alan Becker’s fantastic flash-animated stick figure is back with another installment of the ongoing personal computer battles popularized in 2 previous films...Filmmaker Ray Grigg’s conservative political documentary I Want Your Money opens this Friday in selected theatres throughout the US, complete with a very animated Barack Obama.