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Surprise Snowstorm

Funny story…

So last week I headed over to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a neat 100th birthday tribute to artist Mary Blair. It was a fun show, hosted by the always-delightful Alice Davis, and featured a panel of artists who discussed Blair’s work.

A rather surprising fact-drop occurred when moderator Charles Solomon introduced panelist Mike Giaimo as “art director of the upcoming Snow Queen.”

So… we’re on again with that?

This isn’t even the first time I’ve been startled by a casual re-announcement of Snow Queen during a presentation of something else. At the 2009 D23 Expo, veteran animation producer Don Hahn included artwork from the film in one of his presentations. You can trace back the rather bizarre history of this project through random stories we’ve posted over the years; the film has been re-incarnated so many times and in so many formats that it must be trying to wrest the title of “most tortured development” from Rapunzel/Tangled.

The last we’d heard was early last year, when the film was allegedly shelved again. But now, apparently, it’s back. Of course when I tweeted about this I was greeted with “Duh, you didn’t know that?” So maybe everyone else knows. Maybe you know. But I’m telling you anyway.

This is pretty exciting news. Hopefully it’ll be traditionally animated. That hopper is kind of empty now that Pooh has passed. Of course the way projects are constantly popping in and out of existence, I can’t keep track of this merry-go-round anymore.

I’m glad Giaimo is on board. A fan of Mary Blair and Eyvind Earle, he served as art director for Pocahontas and created that film’s unique look. Hopefully we’ll get a hand-drawn film with a unique and stylish visual flair.

Maybe they’ll stick to their guns this time. After the highly enjoyable Princess and the Frog and Tangled, I look forward to what they can come up with.

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