Sony has gotten in on the CGI animated film bandwagon, and the trailer for their first cartoon feature film, Open Season has gone online.
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...you know, they bragged that they managed to hire some PIXAR talent to kick off their new animation studio's first effort.
It's wrong to judge a film by the teaser, but this looks like yet another "short skit idea stretched beyond all reason" in the making.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Curses! I just posted about this in the movie guru thread and I thought I beat you to it.
Either way, I think it looks pretty funny. Then again, I'm partial to anything with tiny critters with Scottish accents and beavers with chainsaws. Most of these animated films don't need to be masterpieces, they just need to be funny. I think this has the potential.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
It does look funny...but will it be able to be a full-length film?
I don't have a problem with funny movies...but I do have a problem with ones that pad a weak plot.
But, this is just a teaser. And I'm pre-judging. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Most animated films aren't any longer than 90 minutes anyway. Wherever the plot is weak they will jam site gags and pop culture spoofs in to plug the leaks.
Just look at Madagascar and Robots. It's practically a recipe for an animated film these days. Pretty colors for the kids, adult humor for the parents and other adults, each group considers the other group's stuff to be filler.
I'm interested enough to see a full length trailer though.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
I like the Scotish squirrels.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Oy!
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
My mentor is an animator on this. It's interesting hearing what it's like to be working on it every week. The Dreamworks mentors are much more relaxed right now, since their crunch time ended a long time ago.
I used to complain about how lousy non-Pixar animation studios were, but I'm getting a better perspective now that I'm in this program with the guys who actually work at these places. Sounds like the main difference isn't the quality of the employees, but the management styles of the handful of people at the top. At Pixar, story is king, and the directors and producers give it room to breathe. At Dreamworks, at least, the story is given a backseat to getting something funny out the door quickly. I don't think they spend 2 years in pre-production there, though I could be wrong.
In any case, the animators themselves at these places are all top-notch, and I'll go see anything they turn out just to admire their work. Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
The Shrek films spent at least two-three years in pre-production. I know that for a fact. Not sure about the others.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
An old friend of mine (with whom I lost touch long ago), recruited away from Pixar, is one of the directors of Open Season. I'll probably see the movie in her honor. While it's likely that will be after it's rentally available, Mooselet may be old enough for a fullish-length movie in a theater by then, so who knows?
--Pop
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
That's the problem - look at Madagascar. Mildly amusing at the time, but ultimately an empty (crappy) movie.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
I agree with kat. I had fun at the time I saw Madagascar, but I don't see my self ever even renting it again, much less owning the thing. On the other hand, there's not a single Pixar movie I'm not proud to have in my DVD collection. (Cars may break that trend, I dunno. The trailer doesn't make me want to see it.)
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Cars looks pointless. It's the first of the new generation of animated movies that I will be skipping.
And I thought Madagascar was really funny. I'll buy it just to see the penguins.
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