The Iron Giant's Dream (New Scene)

Wander Over Yonder Season 2 Trailer at Comic-Con

 Looks like they are turning up the heat on Wander Over Yonder. There's a lot more action, and the new super villain is a girl. We also get to see some male Zbornaks.

I like the MST3K tribute with He-Man thrown in, and Sylvia as Gigantor. According to Disney XD, new episodes will be begin Monday, August 3rd.

                               

(artwork copyright Disney)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg00b_nz8PE&feature=youtu.be

Matthew Luhn from Pixar at Woodbury University

All day session at Woodbury today with storyboard supervisor Matthew Luhn from Pixar. Some great stuff on storyboarding, especially when he shows how vital it is to hammer out a story before you commit to millions of dollars in animation. Matthew covered things from not crossing the line of action to "stacking" a shot. I'll try to update this post with more details asap. Glad I made it:)

(copyright Matthew Luhn/VanArts)

http://matthewluhnstory.com/cartoons/

http://www.vanarts.com/

Big Hero 6

Finally saw Big Hero 6, so I'm not going to worry about spoilers here.

(art copyright Disney)

It's been a crazy autumn, so I'll be commenting and updating on this article, and others as I update this blog.

Update: When I get a chance before the Holidays.

Update: 12-29-14, okay, I'll say the film is the Iron Giant meets the Incredibles.
Troubled kid meets special robot, and overcomes adversity. I appreciated the work and design that went into Big Hero 6. But the formula of the plot wouldn't let me fall in love with the film.

Space Jam 2 - update

Too much up in the air. No one can confirm if LeBron is in or out. If it means jobs in Los Angeles, that's fine. But there must be a way to give Bugs and Daffy relevant exposure without turning them into second bananas to celebrities who will become quickly outdated.

(My cleanup of Taz for a Kool-Aid commercial, Taz copyright Time/Warner)

Story ideas: Have Bugs take on world hunger, organic foods and factory farming? Put Daffy Duck on Wall Street? (He should have gone there years ago after Chuck Jones turned him into a whiny, greedy, little backstabber). Have Elmer Fudd confront the NRA? The sky's the limit, but remember the grief Brad Bird went through with the Iron Giant.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/animationscoop/warner-bros-developing-space-jam-2?utm_source=asDaily_newsletter&utm_medium=sailthru_newsletter&utm_term=Blogs%3A%20asDaily%20V2&utm_campaign=Blogs%3A%20Animation%20Scoop%20Daily%202014-02-22

Update:

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/space-jam-sequel-is-in-the-works-96410.html

Johnny Sokko Iron Giant Mashup

Sorry, I couldn't resist this; I'm surprised no one else has done this before. (Maybe it's a bad idea.) Or no one remembers Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot.

Anyway, What If Hogarth Hughes and Johnny Sokko had to trade robots for a mission?
If you remember, both robots get blown up at the end... Or did they?
It would be even scarier if Giant Robot and the Iron Giant had to fight each other; who would win?
I know, I should get back to work. Just blowing off steam from the CTN Expo
http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/


With apologies to the Toei Company Ltd., Mitsunobu Kaneko, Brad Bird and the crew at Warner Brothers Animation. (All artwork copyright Toei Company Ltd. and Warner Brothers Feature Animation.)

The Iron Giant lives! 10 year anniversary reunion.

Got to see Brad Bird and the other top artists that brought this great film to life.
This blurred picture is my only decent snapshot of some of the crew that was there that night. Trying to avoid being a total fan-boy, I let the younger fans and animation students get autographs and pictures taken with Brad Bird. Almost near the end, I was able to shake his hand, but Brad was distracted, and Warner Security was trying to herd us towards the exits. They also turned out the lights, so Brad couldn't see who I was. I tried using the flashlight in my cell phone, but that was not effective.

I'm still disappointed, but not surprised, when big corporations have to cajoled into producing gems like the Iron Giant. Some have complained that the animation isn't on a Disney level, or that the scenes are too talky. I say look at "Home on the Range" or "Treasure Planet", and ask which of their worlds draws us in.

Still, it was a privilege to be there, and I got to speak a bit with some of the other artists, especially the one who developed the cel-shaders for the Iron Giant in Maya. He gave the CG a more hand drawn look, and he was working with one of the early beta-versions of Maya. Gotta tip my hat to him!