Pixar back on form with Inside Out

Pixar have released a brand new trailer for their upcoming film Inside Out and what a treat to the eyeballs it is too.

All we knew at first was that the film was set inside a girls head and we follow the lives of the little, dare I say it, 'brain trust' that control her emotions. Now from this trailer we are thrown completely! with the inclusion of multiple 'brain trusts' in multiple heads. The emotions are all linked to their specific characters personalities but fall back on their standard emotions of Anger, Sadness, Fear, Joy and Disgust, also their names.

I'll be honest and say that I haven't laughed this hard a trailer in years and it promises some more sharp humour and clever set ups that we were used to previous Pixar films, pre-Brave. Pixar seemed to have finally realised what their winning formula is and are back on form with Inside Out. One can only imagine how the rest of the plot will pan out. Mum's Anger meeting Dad's Anger, a switch of personalities, the introduction of animal emotions? Who knows but we all wait with not so much baited breath but joyful intrigue.

Pixars 'Numbskulls meets the Seven Dwarves' or Inside Out is set for a UK release in July so stand by for more teasers!

New Mickey Mouse animated by Eric Goldberg

Mickey Mouse is back this Christmas in a more traditional style, away from Paul Rudish's great re-imagined creations. Mickey and the gang are animated by legendary animator Eric Goldberg for the new parade at Disney 'Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party'.

Great to see the gang making a new appearance but they seem very secular and how does Donald manage to spin on that slow moving bauble?

1st Anniversary for 'Deja View'

Congratulations to Andreas Deja for his first year in blogging. Over the last year his blog 'Deja View' has presented us with a wealth of knowledge from the Disney back catalogue. From scene planning to character designs to films that never even saw the light of day.

I personally have enjoyed every single post and have learnt so much from each one. His knowledge on the nine old men is amazing and his personal collection of animation drawings certainly proves that. He is truly a Disney icon and fanatic and I look forward to lots more posts and insights.

Keep up the good work Andreas and heres to another year on top!

Here are some drawings that he did for a film that never made it further that initial development. This had to be my favourite of his posts, I just love his characters, the movement and acting he gets out of a single drawing.

New 'Wreck-It-Ralph' trailer

Just watched the Disney's new 'Wreck-it-Ralph' trailer. For their 52nd animated feature it's about time they broke away from convention but to go down the parody route just seems a bit too easy and non-adventurous.

It does pose a new idea though, putting famous computer game characters into one film. Just feel that it isn't very Disney, more Dreamworks and even they've cut down on output like this.

Fingers crossed its a great film! Ever the optimist!

A Tribute to Glen Keane

There is a great tribute to Glen Keane doing the rounds at the moment and thought that I would share it with you all on my blog.

What an amazing animator he was at Disney and will always be remembered for such memorable characters such as Ariel, the Beast and Tarzan. His drawings and style were always so structured and very classical, very reminiscent of the the old renaissance artists. Powerful and well posed, he really was the something different within Disney Animation.

In directing 'Tangled' he really pushed his style of designing and animating through into the final film. His structure and animation were visible and is a sign that he was constantly improving his art and therefore pushing the boundaries of what animation could be.

I feel that in leaving Disney he will be able to push himself further and develop things that we've never seen before. Bring it on!

The Work of Sandro Cleuzo

Thought I would share some work from one of my favourite animator/illustrators Sandro Cleuzo. I think I stumbled across his blog sometime a couple of years back and have been an avid viewer ever since.

The characters he designs use the grand old technique of Milt Kahl with his straights on curves yet he seems to pull away from this ideal with very broad expressions adding a sort of slapstick cartoony effect. His creations seem to cry out to be animated and they are so full of personality and life that they seem to live and breath right there on the page.

As for his animation well thats a whole new ball game. The thing that I would point out the most is the imagination and use of poses. Below is a walk cycle of his I found a while ago and just the manner in which the archer moves is totally unique and neatly thought out. Just that quick double bounce tells you so much about what he is like, happy, free spirited and maybe slightly naive.

              

As you've probably guessed I'm an avid fan and will definitely be posting more about him when I find new things. Head over to his blog now at http://inspectorcleuzo.blogspot.co.uk/ to find out more and look through his character back catalogue. He also has a great feature on there called 'Milt Kahl Day' in which he post beautiful drawings of the master of animation. It has sadly been missing for a while but there are tons of previous posts holding a wealth of information. So go get 'em!

My Christmas Film

This year instead of sending out cards I have decided to make a Christmas film instead, so here it is. It took me just over 2months to achieve and was all done with hand drawn principles. The sound was created by my brother Jake who did a great job and the backgrounds were coloured in by my girlfriend Hannah Lott who is an illustrator and you check out her great work here : www.hannahlott.com.

The film was great fun to make and I am really happy with the result, it was worth all the stress! For better quality go to http://vimeo.com/33457170

Hope you like it and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

When Glen Keane met Tom Sanders

Well some exciting news!! I met Glen Keane! One word........Amazing! I was in Melbourne and saw there was a Disney exhibition so I thought i'd take a look as you do.

The exhibition focused on a few films. There was artwork (preliminary, design and animation drawings and brilliant maniquins from most of the films. Included was Snow White, Cinderella, Sleping Beauty, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Princess and the Frog and Disneys' new film Tangled.


It wasnt until the next day that the true amazement happened. The following day I sat and listened to Roy Conli, the director of Tangled and the legend Glen Keane talk animation for over 2 hours! Glen talked about all his films and the characters he designed and animated, from the bear in Fox and the Hound, through Ariel, the Beast, Tarzan and on to his latest desgin work for Tangled. He drew Ariel, Beast, Tarzan and Rapunzel for us and explained about poses and general drawing gestures.


The talk was truly inspirational and lots better than my time at uni haha. When I met Glen Keane afterwards I couldn't help but thank him constantly, but I did spare some time to give him my card :)


Below are some photos of my meeting and some things from the exhibition book. I am in the process of trying to upload the talk at the moment so it should be up in the next few days with any luck.