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By Michael - November 23rd, 2009  Story sketch for King of the Elves by Ralph Zontag, circa 2007 Steve Hulett from the Animation Guild spent his day at Disney feature animation and has a few tidbits of note.
First, and unsurprising when you consider recent reports, is the fact that merchandise from The Princess and the Frog is selling like gangbusters well before the film even premieres. Disney’s Consumer Products division is usually far, far from my field of interest, but for those of us who love traditional animation and hope to see it spring back to life, this is nothing but good news. This film isn’t a sequel, or franchise, so the fact that millions of little kids already know and love these characters enough to clear shelves of the film’s merchandise means that they’ll be lining up when Princess hits theaters. The fact that the film, by all accounts, appears to be quite good makes the situation just about as perfect as it can get.
Next up is Joe Jump, the previously-abandoned computer animated project that is recently said to have staged a comeback from production limbo. Hulett reiterates that the film has, indeed, been moved from the back burner and has returned to active development.
Sadly, Hulett also reports that King of the Elves is being “retooled”. The long-in-development project, based on the 1953 short story by Philip K. Dick, seems to have gone into turnaround once more. Recent reports indicated that one of the film’s directors had departed the project, and the TAG Blog now confirms that it was director Robert Walker. It’s rumored that a new co-director has joined remaining original director Aaron Blaise on the project. It’s unknown how deep these story problems run or how it might affect the film’s previously-announced 2012 release date. The animation process is indeed a confusing and mysterious one, but hopefully the project will re-emerge from these troubles even stronger than before.
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By Michael - November 23rd, 2009 It’s been a long time since I’ve done an official roundup of notable links and stories from around the web. This is mostly due to the fact that I can now easily post links of note in Ye Olde Twitter Feed, but also due to my general tonal A.D.D. as I constantly drift the blog from one field of interest to another. But there are a couple of nifty things that I wanted to point out tonight.
First is the latest post by Foxx at Passport to Dreams, which examines the textures and colors of Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom. Rigorous exegesis, indeed! I’ve drifted from the theme parks lately because when I’m too busy elsewhere I get neurotic that my story research is getting too cursory, but Foxx is totally who I want to be when I grow up. Now I just want high-res pictures of Adventureland tile for backgrounds and desktops!
Judging by the number of times I see other sites link to its stories, you’re probably already aware of Sam Gennawey’s SamLand blog. If not, you should subscribe to its RSS feed immediately. Sam’s blog is probably the most exciting original-content site to open in the time since I started Progress City. Some of his stories of choice include an excellent multi-part series on WESTCOT and the early plans for the Anaheim resort, which I endorse despite the fact that I’m totally bitter that he scooped my years-long attempt to get a copy of the Anaheim expansion proposal. But whatever!
I wanted to mention another story because it has perhaps the most amusing high-concept of any Disney blog post I’ve seen. Sam is an urban planner, which of course is a subject near and dear to those of us at the Progress City Council. With that in mind, he wrote a two-part analysis of Disneyland’s Toontown from a planning perspective. If you ever wondered what the zoning makeup of Toontown might be – and frankly, who hasn’t? – check it out.
Ok, geez. Peer pressure now. What am I going to write about…
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By Michael - November 21st, 2009 To celebrate the DVD release of UP, Pixar recently released a short animatic film on their Facebook page. The short, George & A.J., was written and directed by Josh Cooley; despite its story-sketch approach it’s quite hilarious. In fact, it winds up being a funnier short than the more polished Dug’s Special Mission from the DVD. While I wouldn’t pass up extra Dug for anything in the world, I am disappointed that this great little short didn’t make it on the DVD or Blu-Ray release. In any case, you can see it now for free online!
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By Michael - November 21st, 2009 
You kids. I slave all day over a hot keyboard, and every year I get a record amount of hits just from people looking for pictures from Disney’s latest animated features. But who am I to argue? Here are the latest publicity shots from the upcoming Disney animated feature The Princess and the Frog.
I’m excited about this one, especially after seeing the film’s first act at the D23 Expo. A couple of the characters’ designs bother me, looking a little more Bluth than Disney, but the filmmakers seem to have the story and characters locked down perfectly. The first act breezed by, getting a number of important story beats across without dwelling on them unnecessarily or in a heavy-handed manner. It showed a deft touch that was refreshing and appreciated.
I received a review copy of the film’s soundtrack yesterday, and a review is forthcoming. It’s a good one, though – Randy Newman’s songwriting combined with talented voice artists makes for a pleasing New Orleans vibe that will blend well with the film’s lush visuals.
For now, though, enjoy the pretty pictures!
Continue reading Princess and the Frog!!! Photos! Here! Tiana and Naveen! Etc!
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By Michael - November 19th, 2009 
This might seem totally random, but stick with me. Today is actor Alan Young’s birthday, and while most notices will probably dwell upon his best-known turn in the 1960s television classic Mr. Ed, Disney fans who might not know him by sight will definitely know him by sound.
After a long career in film and television, Young began a second career as a voice actor. His most iconic voice role, and the reason we bring all this up, is that of Scrooge McDuck beginning with Mickey’s Christmas Carol in 1983. He continued voicing Scrooge through the run of the DuckTales animated series and into the present day.
Young’s Scottish brogue, used for Scrooge as well as his character Filby in George Pal’s fantastic 1960 version of The Time Machine, might leave fans assuming Young is merely a great voice artist. While that’s undoubtedly true, it’s not in the way fans of Mr. Ed‘s all-American Wilbur Post might expect. It turns out, and I didn’t realize this until today, that Young was born in northern England and raised in Scotland. So it turns out that Alan has more in common with the world’s richest duck than most would expect.
And so it is that we’re wishing Alan Young a very happy birthday as well. It’s a fascinating coincedence that I wind up sending birthday greetings to both the designer of my favorite Disney attraction and the voice of my favorite Disney character in the same evening. What better way to celebrate than a dip in the Money Bin?
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Story sketch for King of the Elves by Ralph Zontag, circa 2007
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