The teaser trailer for the movie.

It won't be for another year until this movie comes out, but I'm REALLY exicted that they putted up a teaser trailer so soon!

Heh, I already love Titian and the Frog. X3

I recall Gary Goldman talking about this film in the classes I took last quarter. He was talking about how Disney wanted to go fully digital on the film and actually have the animators draw everything directly on the computers, but things weren't working out right so the animators ended up using paper, anyway. It's good to see that computers haven't completely taken over the industry.

It looks cute, although I'm not a big fan of Randy Newman. I guess his music might be alright for the film, but I'd really rather see something more classic jazz and less Hollywood for the soundtrack.

Didn't HBO cover this in that "ethnic" fairy tales series they did?

The frog and the princess both have really boring designs. I remember when they first started talking about this movie, they put out a promo image of the princess. She was wearing a cool 20s looking outfit with a hat and beads, her hair was poofy, and she actually looked black. There was tons of character in the drawing.

Now she just looks like another generic Disney female. I was hoping for a Disney princess with a totally different look, appropriate to the period and with some ethnicity. The trailer isn't showing that.


Is it just me or is that firefly totally offensive? A cajun accent isn't so bad, but they made him sound really stupid, and they made him way ugly. I don't think a snaggle-tooth dopey-eyed cajun character is a good idea. Unless they're trying to do something clever that we won't know until the movie comes out.

skoolmunkee
The frog and the princess both have really boring designs. I remember when they first started talking about this movie, they put out a promo image of the princess. She was wearing a cool 20s looking outfit with a hat and beads, her hair was poofy, and she actually looked black. There was tons of character in the drawing.

Now she just looks like another generic Disney female. I was hoping for a Disney princess with a totally different look, appropriate to the period and with some ethnicity. The trailer isn't showing that.


Is it just me or is that firefly totally offensive? A cajun accent isn't so bad, but they made him sound really stupid, and they made him way ugly. I don't think a snaggle-tooth dopey-eyed cajun character is a good idea. Unless they're trying to do something clever that we won't know until the movie comes out.

Agreed on everything here. Kinda sad.

I with you there as well, skoolmunkee. The promo image I saw for the film made it look pretty good, but now I'm not so sure. Originally, I was excited with the idea of having the moving set in New Orleans during the Jazz Age, and no disrespect to Randy Newman and all, but...a Jazz setting and a Jazz soundtrack kinda go hand-in-hand, do they not? And the firefly is just...yeah. A little too much.

Is it just me or is that firefly totally offensive?

You were expecting more from Clements and Musker? Have people forgotten all the flack Disney got for their "culturally sensitive" rendition of the Middle East in Aladdin? Although it wouldn't surprise me much if the big wigs over at Disney weren't trying to pull a "Producers" on us to kill off 2D animation once and for all. The future of theatrical 2D animation kind of hinges on this film, it would really suck to see it fail.

On another note, apparently Princess Tiana is being added to the Disney Princesses line a bit early. I'm still not sure how a Princess in New Orleans works, but whatever, they have other non-princesses in the line, too (like how the Hell is Mulan a princess?).

Other than the firefly (what were they thinking?), I think this looks really cute. I like the style, not because it's innotive, but because it reminds me of the Disney movies I grew up with.

isukun
Although it wouldn't surprise me much if the big wigs over at Disney weren't trying to pull a "Producers" on us to kill off 2D animation once and for all. The future of theatrical 2D animation kind of hinges on this film, it would really suck to see it fail.

CRIPES don't say that! Theatrical cartoon animation MUST make a comeback here! XO

SarahN
CRIPES don't say that! Theatrical cartoon animation MUST make a comeback here! XO

Well, it's pretty much true, when you think about it. *shrug* Home on the Range was supposed to be Disney's last 2D animated movie, and most every other animation company (outside of the U.S.) are all-out CGI. So, as sad as it is, traditional animation in the theaters really is at stake here. :(

Most of your non-Disney studios still consider Disney to be the benchmark for industry standards. When Disney closed down their 2D studios so did most of the other production companies who were making 2D animated films, including Dreamworks, Warner and Fox. If Disney can prove 2D is feasible with this film, the other studios will likely follow suit.

Theatrical cartoon animation MUST make a comeback here!

I whole-heartedly agree with that sentiment. As an animation student who specializes in 2D animation, nothing would make me happier than to see 2D make a comeback.

To ease people's fears, I don't think even a poor showing with this movie will kill 2D animation altogether, but at worst just mainstream theatrical releases of 2D animation. It remains a frequently-used tool of independent studios (the kind of people who make stuff like Perspolis) and it's still a mainstay of numerous Japanese studios. I do want this film to succeed so we can get back our classic Disney animation.

Pixar's actually pushing to restore 2D animation in Disney. Don't expect them to give up right away.

Hawk
Pixar's actually pushing to restore 2D animation in Disney. Don't expect them to give up right away.

Is it? Good for them! I know 2D animation is still going strong outside the U.S., but like you said, the "mainstream" is what I'm mainly worried about.

Hawk
I do want this film to succeed so we can get back our classic Disney animation.

Oh, I sooo agree with this. 2D animation still has it's beauty of it's own. :)

Isukun
I'm still not sure how a Princess in New Orleans works, but whatever, they have other non-princesses in the line, too (like how the Hell is Mulan a princess?).

Think they're bad? Dora the Explorer's sometimes been classed as one!

Personally I think she does look quite ethnic. Stylised but still, you can tell the character is black and not just overly tanned.

It's also good that Disney is going back to what it's done best for nearly 80 years. But what makes movies memorable is the story. Whether the characters are digitally rendered or hand drawn adds to the visual element, but in the end, technology upgrades. Effects go out of date and in the end you're left with the story.
Pixar movies succeed because the stories are so likeable and original. Yes the CGI assists in drawing in the crowds, but it's the ability to entertain both adults and kids at once that makes pixar movies drag you into worlds you've never seen before. That requires good storytelling and not just flashy images.

Sooner Disney realises that and gets back into the old routine, the better.

skoolmunkee
The frog and the princess both have really boring designs. I remember when they first started talking about this movie, they put out a promo image of the princess. She was wearing a cool 20s looking outfit with a hat and beads, her hair was poofy, and she actually looked black. There was tons of character in the drawing.

Now she just looks like another generic Disney female. I was hoping for a Disney princess with a totally different look, appropriate to the period and with some ethnicity. The trailer isn't showing that.

Sorry your going to have to explain to me the whole "She actually look black" thing to me.

Personal I hated the that picture. Too outdated for me. I also like the fact that she looks no better or worse than any other Disney princess.

I don't know maybe I'm being a little bias because I'm really excited about this movie coming out.

FanGurlZ
Sorry your going to have to explain to me the whole "She actually look black" thing to me.

Well, there's a big difference between African American black and "Barbie" black (a blackfaced version of the white Barbie). In other words, her facial structures actually fit that of an African American.

korosu

FanGurlZ
Sorry your going to have to explain to me the whole "She actually look black" thing to me.

Well, there's a big difference between African American black and "Barbie" black (a blackfaced version of the white Barbie). In other words, her facial structures actually fit that of an African American.

Okay. I see what you mean now. I just wish they didn't change the size of her lips from the original sketches. I also hope that she has her hair down during the movie.

isukun
Although it wouldn't surprise me much if the big wigs over at Disney weren't trying to pull a "Producers" on us to kill off 2D animation once and for all. The future of theatrical 2D animation kind of hinges on this film, it would really suck to see it fail.

I thought it died back in 2004 with Home on the Range ? ...According to the media, that was supposed to be Disney Animation's last 2D feature film. I read an article a few years back that said they got rid of a large majority of their animation department around that time. ....I guess they are trying to bring it back. Which would be good for me, because I have a BFA in 2D Animation, and I would love to actually use it for once....

Oh and by the way, my husband is from the New Orleans area and he says he has never seen any fireflies there since the day he's been born. ...Maybe in the bayou....but not in actual New Orleans, and it looks like the movie is set in the French Quarter. No fireflies there. Stick that girl in a shack in the bayou, and we'll get realistic. ;)

And I'm really tired of Randy Newman....he must have some sort of long-standing contract with Disney....(sigh)

In other words, her facial structures actually fit that of an African American.

When I look at the old picture, I don't see much "black" in her facial features. Apart from the darker skin and the hair, the old picture looked pretty much like the "Barbie black" you're describing. Just imagine it with paler skin and blond hair.

There was an intermediate image, though, that had a different facial structure, but used a hair style similar to the current one (the ball of hair was larger, less clean cut, and higher up on the back of the head). She looked more African in that picture. They kept some of the design elements in the final, but apparently decided on a more generic face.

She's identifiably black in all three versions, but I still feel like the first one was the most 'ethnic' representation, which I liked. The facial structures of the 2nd and 3rd are generically oval with relatively pointy chins, while the first was a square face with a stronger jaw. That isn't necessarily a 'black' thing but it certainly differentiated her as a female Disney character design.

Her eyes as well (in the first one) were extremely different to anything Disney usually does, but they've gone with the usual animation eyes in the third one. Maybe for visual flexibility or range, but I would have thought Mulan could show they could use different eye designs and still have a range of emotion.

That the hair gets progressively 'tamer' in the 3 versions seems like another watering down to me. I'm hoping her hair is only slicked back and boring like that for a few scenes. It would be great to see Disney representing a black princess with more 'natural' hair and not just hair it would be easy to manufacture a doll with.


lastcall - but he wasn't there in the 20s, maybe there were still firelies back then? (More probably the firefly is from the bayou and has come to the big ol city for some reason. They certainly designed him to look like he's from the backwoods.)

In the first design, the picture seems to be modeled after those 1920's pictures of flapper girls. It's hard for me to read it as black because I've seen pictures utilizing the exact same pose and costume elements with white women. If I saw that picture as line art, I wouldn't even know the character was supposed to be black. The chin isn't really square, either. The basic shape of the face in the first pic is the same as every white Disney princess, she just has her head tilted back slightly in the picture and the digitalization makes it look kind of like a square chin.

I guess we'll have to disagree then. :) However I'm also a bit sad that the whole 1920s costume design seems to have been dropped (or just wasn't present in the trailer?) Watching the trailer you'd have no idea of the time period or location or anything.