BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eff you, Zemeckis. You and your dead-eyed, zombie troupe, uncanny valley miasmas.
And shame on Apple Corps, although I’m not surprised.
The original Yellow Submarine isn’t an untouchable classic, but it does have some interesting animation. If Pixar or Disney Feature Animation, or even some ambitious independent studio, was doing this I’d be ecstatic. Nothing could make me happier than some wild animation and digital surround remixed Beatle tunes. But a horrific plasticine Macca gurning to the motion capture antics of some hack actor? No thanks.
Seriously, Lasseter, you’d better watch this like a hawk or I’m going to get Blue Meanie all up in Pepperland.
Agreed…the original (especially after it’s 1997 restoration) still holds up beautifully. Why gussy it up with useless cheap 3D tricks? Doesn’t need it.
The 1997 restoration (especially the soundtrack) is indeed awesome. The first time I listened to the soundtrack with headphones it blew my mind – such a difference from the other CD releases!
I should also probably add that the magnitude of my negative reaction probably comes from the massive differential in happiness that came between reading a headline about Disney getting the Beatle rights for an animated film and then reading that it was for Zemeckis’s motion-capture studio. That much of a buzzkill that quickly could sour anyone…
“with a surging REINTEREST in The Beatles”?
If you can’t create a franchise, buy on.
Plans are already to make the movie, a Broadway musical and the replace ‘La Nuba’ (spelling?) at WDW with a Cirque show based on this – a true multiplatform explotation of their purchase.
It all depends, of course, on how badly ‘Christmas Carol’ and ‘Avatar’ implode in December. The public willingness to visit the Uncanny Valley is going to be really tested. A flat out rejection of both movies (akin to what happened with ‘Beowulf’) could pretty much end the project.
As you said webmaster…Booooooo! But of course, the Beatles themselves had little faith and /or were indifferent to the original, at first that is.
Phil: You are right about that – the Beatles had next to nothing to do with the original film. The only interested party, I think, was Paul, who ironically was a big Disney animation fan. I remember reading an article ages ago that Paul had been disappointed with the final product because it wasn’t Disneyesque enough. Since I read that, I’ve always regretted that Paul hasn’t done anything with Disney over the years.
AV: I would totally go for a La Nouba replacement based on this. That would actually probably coax me into going for the first time. I remember when the Love show debuted there was a rumor that it’d come to WDW too. That didn’t happen, but maybe this will. I’m sure they’re paying through the nose and will maximize the investment.
This will indeed be the Christmas of the Valley. Polar Express was able to make some bank because of the popularity of that book. Is the public really clamoring for *another* Christmas Carol adaptation? Especially with creepy photorealistic characters?
Avatar, though…. Cameron may be a maniac but he makes good movies 🙂