Trouble at the Studios with 'Frozen'

I'm sure you've all heard, but Disney laid off a bunch of the hand-drawn animators a while back, and once again shut down the hand-drawn animation department. Obviously very sad, but something that Disney has done quite a few times in the past, and those animators had seen the writing on the wall since a short period before Tangled was released. Looking at past Disney history, I'm fairly confident they'll eventually re-open and close the department again in the future. CG is cheaper, easier and the company makes the excuse that CG films make more money, therefore ink and paint is a waste of the company's time. Truthfully, it's not so much the medium in which an animated film is created, but the social climate, advertising and content is what really sells or doesn't sell something. Maybe one day the suits will care enough to figure that out.

But perhaps the original way the company made feature animated films really was the better way to do things. Surprise surprise, Frozen, that upcoming CG animated feature to open in November, is apparently having some significant trouble right now. Apparently all of the people in the animation studio were asked to literally stop all the other work that they were doing to come and help fix this significantly troubled film.

Final artwork for Olaf, a sentient snowman that Elsa, the Snow Queen, created as her first attempt at making an evil snowman for her army. Olaf turned out more goofy and friendly than evil.

Is it really any wonder that they're having a tough time? The Snow Queen project has been in development at Disney for decades. It's the on-again, off-again fling Disney animation has been having. It was in development years ago, but when Disney felt that The Princess and the Frog underperformed with audiences because it was a princess film, they shelved it once more. But even then, they were having issues...issues with the Snow Queen's character, the plot, etc.

They have some strong people working on this project. They have the tools to succeed, although I think they should have given themselves more time and, well, focus. The feature film animation department used to work on only one project at a time. They didn't set severe deadlines on themselves, though admittedly that had plenty of drawbacks. Watch Waking Sleeping Beauty and you'll get the full story there.

Disney may be a powerful company, but their image will always be rather vulnerable because the public expects so much from them. Frozen could be a true powerhouse of a film, but it must have all the bells and whistles. Dreamworks continues to churn out films that make bank at the box office, but (at least in my opinion) they are nowhere near as good as most Disney films.

Advertising, Disney. Please, for the sake of your company, don't screw up the advertising!

Speaking of which, we still don't have a trailer for Frozen, and the film opens in about 6 months! I wonder if the negative feedback on the looks for Anna and Elsa (from those fake movie posters - I had a feeling they weren't genuine) have anything to do with that? Yes, the posters were fake, but the models were fairly accurate. Truthfully, the similarity in looks between Rapunzel and Anna were a bit disconcerting, not to mention the fact that she looked cross-eyed in the image. And then the Snow Queen, the character that admittedly everyone was honestly the most excited for, ended up looking like a fairy out of a Tinkerbell movie.

Last year at Destination D, there was a panel all about Frozen (that's where the image of the sentient snowman came from). And a little before that event, a video was composed as promotional material for the film - yet, interestingly enough, it was never shown at the D23 event. However, the video was leaked a week ago, and the internet was in a slight frenzy. The video has been pulled for the most part, but I still stumbled across it accidental today while doing a little research for this article. Some stills have been shared online, so I'll share some of them here now (and of course, if Disney wishes for me to take them down, I will do so). If you don't want anything spoiled (though I doubt you would have clicked to read this article then), get out of here now!

Here's a first look at one of the castles in the film. I am guessing that this is the castle that both Anna and Elsa grew up in, as they are sisters. Who knows if this part of the story is still the same, but from what was told at Destination D last year, a major coronation ceremony was taking place when Elsa's powers reveal themselves in a rather unfortunate way. This is even more tragic for her, as there is a prophecy that pretty much calls her out for ruining her kingdom in snow and frost. The girl flees, creates her own castle of ice and an army of evil snowmen, and hides inside from the rest of the world. Presumably Anna misses her sister and wants to make things right, so she goes on the dangerous quest of finding her sister with a "ragtag team."

Once can guess that this is Elsa in her icy palace. I really love this artwork with the stylization and the contrast between cold and warm, something emulated in the designs between Elsa and Anna.

Anna and Kristoff mountain climbing. This could be a set-up for a pretty interesting action sequence.

Another piece of concept art of Elsa. I'm fairly confident that this will not be how her hair looks in the final film (from everything I've heard, it sounds certain that she will have a long fishtail braid), but the dress is fairly close and if anything this just looks quite beautiful. Something that I have heard is that the snowflake motif is like the signature to Elsa's work.

This looks to be Elsa's ice castle. I feel a little bit of Maleficent's Forbidden Mountain Fortress in this, but not per say as ominous. Elsa is probably more misunderstood than evil - I like that.

More of Elsa's handiwork. What a spectacular image! I really hope we see this in the finished version of the film.

Note the color of Anna's hair. She's now more of a strawberry blonde while Elsa keeps the platinum locks, emphasizing warm vs cool colors. Her long cape is also shredded, yet she appears more free.

I'm sure many of you remember those fake movie posters. In the one featuring Anna, I noticed at least one significant white strand in her braid. While the image overall looked like unrefined CG, I don't think that was just a highlight - I'm wondering if the strand has any significance, as Elsa has white blonde hair that looks exactly like that. Anna and Elsa are sisters - is it just because they are related, or could this mean that Anna has some winter magic in her as well?

Disney created a few moments of unfinished CG animation for this video. Here are Kristoff and Anna running from something, only to come to the edge of a cliff.

Here is Anna, covering herself from Elsa's icy attack.

Elsa forming her snowflake trademark.

Actually seeing something makes me more excited about this film. Disney may be holding off any sort of promotion because they are hard at work fixing the film, but I really wish they would officially release something - anything. This leaked video might have been a mistake, but if anything I think it has helped the film. They need to start generating some buzz!

I figure that there will be a major Frozen panel at the D23 Expo this year, which I will of course be attending and covering. They had a big one for The Princess and the Frog, so why not this feature film? And it will be August, so whether they like it or not, they'll have to have something to show by then, as winter will be a hop skip and a jump away.

So, what do you think? How do you feel about Disney not sharing this promo video last year? Do you think that Disney will get Frozen's loose ends tied together nicely by the time the film opens in November? Are you excited for the film? How do you feel about the 2D vs 3D animation debacle? Talk about it here!

P.S. - Many thanks to The Rotoscopers for all their information and insight on this upcoming Disney release!

Disneyland's Fantasy Faire Simply Magical!

The new princess meet and greet for Disneyland, entitled 'Fantasy Faire' opened Tuesday, having gone through different sets of previews last week. I decided to enjoy it like the average visitor instead and had quite a lovely time on opening day, and wrote a review for it here.

As this is a princess blog, it shouldn't be that big of a surprise that I love the new offerings. But I am a die-hard Disneyland fan, so I'm also from a group of fans that tend to get a little picky about things like theming, paint and whether or not that audio-animatronic is working properly. When a figure from its a small world goes missing since before the holiday overlay last year, I notice (I'm looking at you, yodelers).

That said, we fans debate on these issues extensively and do not always agree. I've noticed a significant amount of griping coming from MiceChat over this new area, and I have to say that on this issue, I have to disagree with them. I hear complaints ranging from the new Royal Theatre tent's colors being too bright that it intrudes on Sleeping Beauty Castle drawing your eye to criticizing the area for aiming specifically towards girls, to which I say the California sun will tarnish that tent's colors rather quickly and that as we are a patriarchal society, we constantly devalue anything that is inherently geared towards the female gender while ignoring the fact that most things we do have are aimed at a white male audience (Carsland, anyone?) and receive very little criticism for it.

Look, we're not all going to enjoy the same things. It is impossible to please everyone at the same time. Walt was very noble in attempting to create a place where families can enjoy something together as a family, and even though not all of you will appreciate the new Fantasy Faire, there will be many more that do, and Disneyland is still a place where families can go and enjoy the day together. I'm sorry that the Carnation stage is underneath everything and swing dancing has been moved to Downtown Disney, but really, is it honestly the end of the world when a prime piece of Disneyland real estate remains dead for most of the day and suddenly gets some new life into it that we all know will be enjoyed by a significant percentage of visitors? There are plenty of places to swing dance. Honestly, you could swing dance anywhere if you really wanted to. My boyfriend has chosen to be cute on many occasions by randomly dancing with me in places like the mall parking lot. But you can't meet Belle from Beauty and the Beast just anywhere, and it's cruel to expect families to wait in 45 minute lines out in the Anaheim heat with no protection or relief from the elements while Aurora is dying in her velvety heavy long-sleeved gown.

Swing dancing may still come back to the area - Disney hasn't made any sort of official announcement yet. This is a new area that they are displaying to guests and they need time to access the area for any tweaking or additions they wish to make before complicating things with dancing on the floor every night. Then add to the fact that the new Tangled Tower has a very beautiful effect at night that you can only really appreciate if it's quiet and not too bright out there. Let the new area stretch it's legs a bit before crying foul play.

In short, I'm sorry you're upset if you feel a piece of Disneyland history has been taken away from you, or that a tradition that you've celebrated in that area is no more, or at least on hiatus for the time being. But Disneyland is not just for you, it's for everyone, and Disney has to play to it's major audiences. Far more critical to the Disneyland experience is meeting your favorite characters, and for a great deal of people they are the princesses. This gives the heroines a royal set-up for families to enjoy, and it has been themed very well. The stage is now also actively being used and is doing what a theatre should do - bringing the magic of live performance to an audience. The new shows are actually very well done, and you should come out to see them, no matter what age or demographic you are.

Disneyland will continue to change. It cannot stay the same forever if Disney wants to continue to entertain guests. That doesn't mean that change should happen for change's sake. In this case, the change was logical and has proven to be a successful one. Now if you really want to gripe, just take a look at Tomorrowland and look at the remnants of 1998... ;)


Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Be sure to subscribe to me here and at my new site (you'll find the link through the link at the top of the article)! See you at Fantasy Faire!

A Disney Fashion Report: Alfred Angelo, Harrods & Sephora

As part of the Cinderella anniversary celebration last month, along with the new Disney Bridal collection for 2013, Alfred Angelo debuted the Cinderella Diamond Collection. Part of what is so special about these 5 dresses is that they come in blue, but a bride can also get them in white or ivory.

The first two and the last one are my personal favorites! If you love any of these gowns, you had better hurry and check out one of the trunk shows they'll be located at. They will only be available to try on through March 2013. For tour dates, just head to alfredangelo.com.

Of course, the regular collection has some nice additions to the Disney Bridal line, too. This first one, the new Belle gown, is my personal favorite - I can't help but think this is what the bridal baby of Ines Di Santo and Kenneth Pool might look like.

Belle

Snow White

Rapunzel

Tiana

Ariel

Jasmine

Cinderella

Aurora

Alfred Angelo isn't the only one designing Disney Princess-inspired gowns, though. Oh no. For Harrods' holiday window display this year, many of the big-name designers have created their own spin on Disney's popular princesses and heroines' ensembles to create some really stunning gowns and fantastic displays.

Cinderella by Versace

Aurora by Elie Saab

Ariel by Marchesa

Mulan by Missoni

Jasmine by Escada

Belle by Valentino

Pocahontas by Roberto Cavalli

Rapunzel by Jenny Packham

Snow White by Oscar de la Renta

Tiana by Ralph & Russo

Gorgeous, aren't they? I only wish I could see these displays in-person myself! For more info, check out this link at Vogue here.

As for Sephora, the Cinderella Collection has proven to be quite popular. I was informed that women have literally been fighting over makeup palettes. Ladies, I understand the love over this Cinderella makeup, but please, let's not hurt each other! Besides, from what a little bird told me, Cinderella will not be the only Disney Princess Collection released at Sephora.

Apparently Cindy was just the first princess to be released, and we should expect to see a long line of Disney Princess Collections released. I personally cannot wait to see which princess gets introduced next!

In the meantime, however, if you still want your Cinderella pieces, you'd better hurry up and get them quick! The Sephora in Anaheim in Downtown Disney is the last to have any on display, acts as the main stocking location for these items, and once they're gone, that's it! No more! They are clearing out their inventory for the holiday season and these beauty buys will not last forever. It may not be as soon as midnight, but it is coming. If Disneyland is too far away, you can still order some of these items online. Everything is quite nice, and of good quality. I especially enjoy the perfume. It is light, elegant, and can easily go from day to night.

Disney is quite fashionable this time of year, isn't it? What do you think about the new looks from the runway and the Harrods displays? Are you planning to grab any last-minute Cinderella Sephora buys, or have you already? What do you think of them? Are you excited for the future collections coming? Let me know in the comments section!

This Cinderella is Ready to Go Shopping!

The busy summer has finally come and gone. Disney California Adventure is now seeing healthy crowds while finally making Disneyland bearable to trek during busy periods for the first time in years. The Magic Kingdom is continuing its Fantasyland makeover, and so far it looks pretty amazing! And on top of all that, The Walt Disney Company is helping Disneyland Paris refinance with 1.3 billion euros.

It seems fitting that at such a lovely time as this that Cinderella will be re-released for home entertainment (October 2nd, to be exact). It really wasn't that long ago that an edition was released on DVD, but I'm sure many will still be more than happy to upgrade to Blu-Ray - plus, Tangled Ever After is going to be included as part of the extras.

The products that have been created to tie in with this release have actually been rather impressive. With the success of the special edition Rapunzel costumes, I think the people responsible for Disney merchandise thought it would be a good idea to do something similar with Cinderella.

I don't mean to gush, but I really love this costume! The detail is gorgeous...this is obviously not the typical run-of-the-mill Cinderella gown. If you have a little princess at home, she would probably love this. The dress does not come cheap ($149.50, not the average Disney princess costume price), but it may be worth it for you. The accessories come separately, of course, but Cindy's shoes light up and the carriage detail is very pretty (reminds me of the special edition Swarovski Cinderella jewelry).

As an adult female, I have expressed my frustrations in the past about how I feel there is very little for someone like me to purchase for my Disney enjoyment. Disney Store has really stepped up their game, however, and now there are some nice things for adults for this Cinderella promotion too, and taking on a very nice vintage poster look. My favorite is actually the Limited Edition Classic Cinderella Ceramic Set (say that 5 times fast). This would be a very nice display piece. I do wonder why Prince Charming was not included, though.

Overall the product offerings are nice. I do wish they had created some bird plush (they are just as instrumental in helping Cinderella as the mice), but it is overall pretty solid.

It's not just the Disney Store that has gotten in on the act, though. Oh no. Disney wants this to be much bigger than the typical Blu-Ray release. They have partnered with Sephora, DSW and *gasp* Christian Louboutin, the shoe designer.

Here's Cindy's slipper from the classic film:

Here is what Christian Louboutin and DSW came up with, respectively:

Truthfully, as a fashionista and Disney fan, I was hoping for something a bit closer to what we saw in the film. The shoes are nice, but not quite what I was expecting. Still, I love how the Louboutins scream "fairytale."

I am more excited about the collection from Sephora. I loved the Villains collection from MAC, and now I cannot wait to get my hands on some of this makeup! You can check out the collection here. I'm not sure if this is going to be the entire collection or if the items shown online are just a sample for BeautyInsiders (it is free to join if you would like to purchase any of these items). The collection will not be officially released until October.

So, are you or anyone else you know going to embrace the re-release of Cinderella in style? If so, how/with what? What do you think about the different product offerings? Are they fit for a princess or should they be thrown out with the rags? Let me know what you think!

P.S. - since my last post, I have joined Pinterest. I'm kind of in love with it and I pin a lot. If you'd like to check out my boards (there's a ton of Disney-related pins and boards on my profile) just go here.

A New Redhead for Us to Love - Merida!

This Friday, the general public officially gets to experience Merida’s world when they see Brave, the new film from Disney, and the Pixar division’s first princess film.

This is all pretty ironic, considering that in November of 2010, Disney’s Ed Catmull had stated that Disney was not planning on doing any more fairy tales for a while. Disney expected Tangled to not do so well at the box office…of course, they were proven wrong. So now we are getting Brave, and Disney has put the story of the Snow Queen back on the table.

Granted, Brave got the renamed title treatment that Tangled did. Originally, the film was called The Bear and the Bow…not necessarily princess-like, but the title was not as quirky or solid. Tangled was renamed because Disney feared that calling the film by its title character (who is, in fact, a girl and a princess) would have scared boys away. Who knows if it was the name change or the simple fact that Flynn was actually made into a solid character? In any case, the film did well and the boys at the office were reminded why Disney became a household name in the first place.

So the girls are back. And with every successive film starring a princess, Disney seems to get better and better with portraying a strong and independent female that little girls can idolize and women can relate with.

I have felt some trepidation regarding this film, I must admit. I love Pixar’s films; the stories are solid and heartwarming, harkens back to classic Disney films, and the animation impresses me with every viewing. However, this is the first time they will be featuring a female lead as the main protagonist, and the first time that they are dealing with a fairy tale. The original director for this film, Brenda Chapman, was to be Pixar’s first female director, but due to creative disagreements, was fired from the film. While it is not unusual for these things to happen while working on an animated film, it comes as a nasty sting here, especially towards women, who are still not getting an ample amount of creative expression in the entertainment industry. As a woman, it gets frustrating to hear about people fearing to alienate the male populous regarding entertainment when females have felt that alienation for most of history itself.

So I can’t help but wonder what specifically happened here. Was her presence actually hurting the film, or was it something that was just harder for the male-dominated studio to relate to and understand? Is it not crucial that a female perspective is expressed in Brave, considering that for the first time Disney is showing the complicated relationship between a daughter and a mother who is not a villain?

I can’t help but think of the film Incredibles. It is a fairly entertaining and solid film, but the one aspect of the movie that I have always felt wasn’t quite right was the mother/daughter relationship. This is not something that can be simply explained to men, and is not something that they can generally understand. And when working in a creative environment, it can be difficult for some men to relinquish some control and listen to a female perspective, even if it would make the final product stronger. The glass ceiling is still very present, and I’m hoping that in the case of Brave, it will not hurt the film.

I have mostly positive thoughts for this film, though. It is fun to see a princess that is not really interested in sitting pretty, but rather being active and adventurous, one who takes charge in controlling her own destiny. That is the stuff that solid films are made of. The fact that Merida is an archer is just, well – cool! I was happy to see at Disneyland when the merchandise for Brave had just been released that of all of their items, they were mostly sold out on the archery sets (and I’m not going to lie, I kinda want to get one for myself - FYI, the online Disney Store is already sold out of them!). And from what I have seen in the previews, the dynamics between Merida and Queen Elinor feel more natural and honest.

Some have complained that while Disney is trying to push the fact that Merida does not want to get married (and really, who could blame her from the selection she’s offered?), the film is still centering its plot on marrying Merida off, and if they really wanted to be progressive, that issue would not have been included in the film. However, I disagree with this sentiment – sure, it would be nice to see a female protagonist just doing her own thing without the focus being on making her an accessory to someone else, but we are dealing with a fairy tale that takes place in an age where this is simply what happened to young women everywhere, princesses especially. Marriages were used to bond other families, tribes and kingdoms together. Women were expected to carry on their bloodlines and have as many children as they could because the life expectancy of children making it past adolescence was perhaps 1 or 2 in 5, and just living in general your life expectancy was to make it to 30. Heirs needed to be produced to ensure that the family name and bloodline could carry on. Yes, it is a fairy tale, but it is set in a certain time period to make the story more believable to general audiences. And let’s be honest – we still have parents arranging marriages in this day and age all over the world, or in more modernized places, mothers pushing their daughters to get married because they want grandchildren.

I am also very, very happy that Kelly Macdonald voiced Merida. Reese Witherspoon was originally supposed to voice the character, and while I love her, she is not Scottish. A Scottish accent is not easy to fake, so it is better to hear some authenticity.

While Brave appears to be expressing a similar style to Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon (a fantastic film, but from a different studio), the sweeping images of the Scottish highlands in the trailers remind us that we will be seeing a film from the animation geniuses at Pixar. While the merchandise and final trailer have mostly given away the film’s plot, I am excited to see this movie and welcome a new redhead into my heart, one who hates having her wild mane brushed, acknowledges corsets for what they are, and is incredibly brave. That’s the kind of girl modern females are aching to see.

So, are you planning on seeing the film this weekend? Are you one of the lucky few that have gotten to see it in previews? Or is Merida scaring some of you boys away? J