Yeah, Princess and the Frog will be 2D.
I wonder what others there might be after that one that will be 2D.
It also makes me wonder why we’re still getting things like Bolt and Rapunzel… Not entirely sure, but my guess is they could have already been in development before Lasseter’s decision that Disney should produce 2D animated films again… Or maybe a change of mind? I guess it is too early to speculate, because even if Disney is still moving back to old grounds, it might take a few years before we actually see the significant changes.
I wanna watch Rapunzel and the Frog Princess.
Of course, I miss Classic Disney, however, one thing I enjoy about most fairy tale twists is that the female characters are more believable and tougher than classic Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Cinderella. One thing that irritates me about some classic Disney is how the women seem to be obedient and not at all like strong feminists. I’m more into Mulan, Belle, and Meg, even though they’re not really princesses.
OK, to keep from straying too far off topic…
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However, do you think that Pixar wanted Disney to notice this hidden message?
I don’t think the feminist part (If at all) has anything to do with 2D vs. 3D animation. I think it’s just more of a times thing, and yes times sure do change, as you see more of the recent Disney Princesses have stronger personalities.
I wonder… If Brad Bird really intended it to be like this. Now that we all think of it - it’s a really elaborate message. But I just wonder if it was intended to be that way or not… But sure thing is, this isn’t the first time Pixar movies have had some sort of nod to Disney in one way or another.
Like in WALL-E, a lot of people said they hid an extinct Disneyland attraction in it called the “Wedway Peoplemover”. Fans rage for Disney to bring back that ride, and I wonder if the Peoplemover is really a hidden Easter egg in WALL-E, maybe it’s Pixar’s nod to Disney to bring it back.
I absolutely did not notice that at all. Now that you point it out…wow.
Sort of ashamed to say this, but I found it funny that Disney was sponsoring “Wall-E” after watching it. If you go into the other themes of it, it’s obviously bashing a bit on businesses that take quantity over quality in an effort to make quick profits.
I have faith in Disney. With Pixar, I feel that the glory of the past era will rise once again. However, with the pieces of art from Pixar, we’re also getting medicore movies, cheap teen idols, and knock-offs of classic movies from Disney.
Faith? A lot of us have it, but it’s slowly thinning out. Let’s hope a Remy emerges from this mess of a kitchen representing the name of Walt Disney.
I think Disney really hit rock bottom a few years ago when they fired ALL of their remaining hand-cartoonists, instead favoring the cheaper computer alternative. They had been laying them off for quite a while at a slow rate, then they laid off the remaining several hundred (or it might have been 1,000) all at once.
I like that they’re going back to it again, and I DO appreciate the stonger princesses (I’m rather militant about equal treatment, both racial and sexual. I don’t think women’s roles should be put down, I down think race should factor into ANY decision, and I strongly support men that wear what they want…there’s a famous quote that it’s impossible for a woman to cross-dress.)
Anyhoo, I really really hope that PIXAR has got Disney back on track again.
Woah woah woah woah wait. Hold up. This is getting a liittle mature…I really agree that as the times change, the view on women change. Snow White was made in a time that women where seen as small, fragile, and feminine. I don’t think ti has anything to do with the type of animation, just the time of it.
Ever since I first saw Ratatouille I noticed that it’s a very good metaphor film. I always imagined Remy as more of a Brad Bird, but yes, you’re summary fits quite well and makes more sense as a whole. Clearly Remy has some qualities of Brad Bird in him, after all, he wrote the film, but it is perhaps more apt to make him more akin to one of the founding fathers of Pixar, John Lasseter. It would be even better if Pixar followed through on leaving Disney and going on their own (I know why this didn’t work out, but still.) Because then it’s just like Remy running his very own restaurant at the end of the film, La Ratatouille. And if this was the first Pixar film free from Disney, as it was going to be, it would work out perfectly. But regardless, things seem to be working out, and the metaphor still holds strong. I can’t help but think Brad Bird had it in mind.
The comparison to the ‘cheapening’ of Gusteau’s made me think of how the Disney company just went out of it’s way to slap the name on anything. (I still don’t see how a plastic toothbrush looking like Cinderella can be considered ‘magical’).
Walt Disney was always the innovator, wanting to try new things. Like Gusteau says, ‘you may try things that do not always work.’ Disney did this, and in one way, that can be said of ‘Fantasia.’ We see it for it’s artistry all these years later, but at the time, some felt Disney was doing something that was too ‘high-brow.’
Of course, Walt took risks everywhere (with his brother Roy handling the finances, which seemed to really be a major task given Walt’s penchant for pushing the envelope). What I find amazing is that Walt risked his own money in many cases and such. In one interview, animator Milt Kahl remarked how Walt put his life insurance into the pot to get Disneyland made. Think about it-how many people who own a business will put in their own money or finances? Imagine if Michael Eisner just had said, ‘forget my bonus this year, I’m reinvesting it into the company to try some new things.’
I can see Remy moreso being an encapsulation of PIXAR as opposed to just one director. Remy holds to the ideals, but has his own ideas and ways to utilize them. The soup could almost be his way of saying ‘here’s something that I think people will like,’ and Skinner’s trying of it is kind of like the old ‘guard’ saying, ‘you’re playing with fire here…you want to shake things up, and that’s dangerous.’
Of course, there’s the idea of ‘doing something unexpected,’ or ‘follow the recipe.’ If you consider it, after Walt passed away, there were many who just ‘followed the recipe’ for many years, with the ideas of innovation and new story directions just getting sidelined (watching ‘Robin Hood,’ that film just seems to be a ‘follow the recipe’ film).
Good point. Maybe Colette’s lines where winking at Disney. Walt often did unexpected things, like Fantasia, which you mentioned. After he died, it seemed a lot of people thought “It was his job to do something unexpected. It is our job to follow the recipe.”
EVIDENCE:
See? AAAAAAAAA! This is gonna be as popular as…The Adventures of Milo and Otis! ROFLOL XDDD
Also, think about this quote from Monsters, Inc.:
This reminded me of Eisner, Eisner, Eisnerrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Makes sense…that’s a good point. But Linguini (it was actually Remy) still did something unexpected, in a way. Like a whole new turn on the way things work. When Gusteau’s was out of business, they started a whole new one. So could that also mean something… 
Oh my god A113, that looks soooooooo bad!!! ahaha, I’d probably go see it just because it looks that bad though.
but then you’ll be putting money in their pocket for a bad movie.
Not to get off-topic, but…
You watch your language. That was a great movie. 
– Mitch
Most likely because they were already in production, and it didn’t make sense to kill them after spending so much money. Keep in mind that these movies take years to produceand would have started well before the merger.
The previews for Bolt actually look OK. If it was truly bad, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter would have stepped in and had them rework the story much like they did with several of the Pixar films.
I agree…I actually liked that movie…even though it has been a while since I last saw it. 
But that Chihuahua movie looks horrible…Disney is going downhill, but hopefully it’ll pick up with “Up” and “The Frog Princess”.
A113, you are right. That quote really is very Eisner…a friend of mine called it “Hurricane Eisner” when he was in charge, though I know it’s a pretty popular trm now.
Who’s the head of Disney now? Is it Lassater, or am I completly dumb?
-Kim
Well, Disney has been going downhill because of Eisner (and other factors) for the last decade. Anyways, Disney’s new CEO is Bob Iger (since 2006) which is really helping Disney. Ed Catmull is president of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios. John Lasseter is the Chief Creative Officer for the afformentioned studios and he has big input in Imagineering. Steve Jobs is also Disney’s biggest shareholder (at 11% I think) and is on the Disney board.
Hopefully this kind of leadership will bring Disney back to it’s former glory, and I really think it can.
Oh wow…where have I been? Well, things seem to be going well since 2006 and with this team, you may be right about them being able to retsore Disney glory. Thanks for the info Martini!
-Kim
I am so glad that this thread exists, as i was just about to make one myself.
I was watching ratatouille last year when the exact same thought struck me, that the movie was partly a metaphor for disney animation, as well as pixar.
I even made a blog about it when i was bored one night! Rather than just babble on about the same thing, i’ll just quote my own blog. It’s a bit long and does stray away from ratatouille slightly…for which i can only apologize.
Eesh…I sure can ramble about a whole lot of nothing.
But this is a great thread and i’m glad that other people have though of the metaphor! 
That’s very interesting, Mark-E! You’ve clearly thought this through. And I like the comparison you made between The Little Mermaid and Snow White to show that although two films can be very different, they can have the same feel, and that’s what Lasseter does.