Shorts
Features
Shelved Projects
Shorts
Glago’s Guest
Release Date Unknown – dir. Chris Williams
Read our coverage
Glago’s Guest is something of a departure for Disney; the short is a science fiction tale that depicts the meeting between a lonely Russian soldier at a distant Siberian outpost and an extraterrestrial. Set to employ 3-D animation, the film has been described by its director as “serious, suspenseful and arty.”
After its debut at the 2008 Annecy Animated Film Festival, the short was to premiere in front of Disney’s 3D-animated feature Bolt on November 26, 2008. Glago’s Guest is directed by Chris Williams – the same Chris Williams who directed Bolt itself. In an odd twist of fate, Williams won the job on Bolt when John Lasseter was impressed with the story reels for Glago’s Guest. Lasseter was looking for someone to take over production on the troubled American Dog project when its former director Chris Sanders left the studio. Williams, a former story artist at the studio, got the nod, and both his debut films were slated to premiere together. Obviously that didn’t happen, and animation fans still await the short’s release.
Much like at Pixar, Disney looks to use its shorts as testbeds for new technological innovations. Glago’s Guest will push 3-D character design and textures; shorts producer Chuck Williams was quoted as saying “there’s human animation and a step toward what they’re doing on Rapunzel, but also the hair and cloth were a challenge beyond what has ever been done before at Disney. Shapes are stylized and pushed, and the proportions are exaggerated, but the environments and detail are photoreal.” Like its intended theatrical counterpart Bolt, Glago’s Guest was to be released simultaneously in conventional and stereoscopic 3-D formats.
The Ballad of Nessie
Release Date Unknown – dir. Kevin Deters & Stevie Wermers-Skelton
Read our coverage
The second production from the directors of How To Hook Up Your Home Theater, The Ballad of Nessie eschews Goofy’s – goofiness – for a sweeter tale depicting the origin story of a female Loch Ness Monster. An elaboration of a project Wermers-Skelton began whilst a student at CalArts, the short is being produced in traditional 2-D animation and uses much of the same talent as their Goofy short including animators Dale Baer, Andreas Deja and Mark Henn. With an aesthetic inspired by the works of Disney legend Mary Blair, the short will sport a very stylized look akin to storybook illustrations.
Despite its traditional roots, Nessie will also innovate. The president of Disney Animation, Ed Catmull, told Businessweek that the kilts that characters wear in the short will provide an exercise in helping animators improve their skills at drawing fabric in a naturalistic way.
Rumors are that production is nearly complete on Nessie, although the eventual release date has yet to be announced.
Untitled Mickey, Donald and Goofy Short
Release Date Unknown – dir. Eric Goldberg
Little is known of this project so far, but animator Eric Goldberg is said to be boarding a short involving Disney’s legendary trio that Goldberg compares to classic efforts such as Boat Builders. Goldberg took an interest in the shorts program upon his return to the studio in 2006, and has a desire to especially focus on the classic characters. Goldberg is currently working on animating for The Princess and the Frog, so it’s probable that this project is a few years off.
Untitled Goofy “How To” Short
Release Date Unknown – dir. Kevin Deters & Stevie Wermers-Skelton
The directors of How To Hook Up Your Home Theater have expressed a desire to return to the “How To” series in the future. Several different concepts were pitched at the time they decided on Home Theater, so there are already several existing ideas for this sequel.
Untitled Meet the Robinsons Spinoff
A short is said to be in production that will spin off a character from 2007′s Disney 3-D animated feature Meet the Robinsons. It is unknown what character will be featured, and whether the short would be a sequel or prequel to the film.
Features
Rapunzel
2010 – dir. Nathan Greno & Byron Howard
Read our coverage
From the Disney animation site:
In this new telling of the classic fairy tale, “Rapunzel,” audiences will be transported to a stunning CG fantasy world complete with the iconic tower, an evil witch, a gallant hero and, of course, the muysterious girl with the long golden tresses. Expect adventure, heart, humor, and hair… lots of hair, when Rapunzel unleashes her locks in theaters for the 2010 holiday.
Directed by Nathan Greno & Byron Howard. Produced by Roy Conli.
Winnie the Pooh
July 15, 2011 – dir. Stephen J. Anderson & Don Hall
Read our coverage
This traditionally animated project will attempt to recreate the look and feel of the Disney Pooh shorts of the 1960s and 70s.
Directed by Stephen J. Anderson & Don Hall.
Reboot Ralph
March 22, 2013 – dir. Rich Moore
Read our coverage
This project, originally titled Joe Jump, was the brainchild of artist Sam Levine until it was canceled in 2008 after four years of development. Now it appears to have made a return. The original story was about a videogame character from the early years of gaming who is forced to enter the modern digital world. Rumor is that the story has been extensively retooled. The film will be computer animated, and released in 3-D.
Directed by Rich Moore.
Shelved Projects
King of the Elves
Originally scheduled for 2012 – dir. Aaron Blaise & Robert Walker
Read our coverage
From the Disney animation site:
Legendary storyteller Phillip K. Dick’s short story (his only experiment in the fantasy genre) becomes the basis for this fantastic and imaginative tale about an ordinary man living in the Mississippi Delta, whose reluctant actions to help a desperate band of elves leads them to name him their new king. Joining the innocent and endangered elves as they attempt to escape from an evil and menacing troll, their unlikely new leader finds himself caught on a journey filled with unimaginable dangers, and a chance to bring real meaning back to his own life.
This project, which had been officially announced with some fanfare by Disney, mysteriously disappeared from their website and release slate sometime in late 2009.
Directed by Aaron Blaise & Robert Walker. Produced by Chuck Williams.
The Snow Queen
Originally scheduled for 2013? – dir. Chris Buck
Read our coverage
What we said at the time: This adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale has been in development at Disney before, most recently from around 2000 to 2003. Now confirmed by Disney producers Don Hahn and Peter Del Vecho to be back on the production slate, the film is expected to be a traditionally animated release sometime around 2013.
The project seems to have vanished after The Princess and the Frog failed to become a blockbuster in late 2009.
Directed by Chris Buck.
Recent Comments