The Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, CA, recently hosted a press event for their upcoming movie, TANGLED. Having been around the name "Disney" from such an early age and having so much of it influence my life to this day, it was truly an honor and an experience of a lifetime to attend a behind the scenes look at Disney's new animated film.
Walt Disney had wanted to create the Rapunzel story back in the 1940s, but the studio never got around to it. The time had finally come and the right team of 50+ animators took on the task of bringing TANGLED to life.
The morning began with the screening of the movie on the Walt Disney studio lot. Before the film began, producer Roy Conli and directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno gave a short introduction. They explained that even though the voices and sound have been finished, the animation was only 60 percent complete. The remaining parts were shown as very rough storyboards or as unfinished CG animation.
For those of us who may have felt that Disney has lost its magic during certain spurts in recent history, seemingly creating movies just for the heck of it, TANGLED is a breath of fresh air. It was very important for Howard and Greno to achieve the timeless feel from past Disney movies created decades ago.
"We love Disney from the 40s and 50s and we looked at what made those movies great. Because we're making a computer-generated movie, this would all be fresh; it would be unlike anything you've ever seen before, but it's still tied into our roots," Greno said. TANGLED is as close as a computer-generated 3-D film can possibly get to the classic 2-D animated masterpieces that Walt Disney himself helped supervise.
The film was originally slated to be entitled Rapunzel, but as Disney's story for the film developed, it became clear that the leading male character, Flynn, had an equal part in the storyline. Here's where the name change to Tangled came in. However, the new title may also bring influence at the box office.
Disney was expecting a higher turnout for The Princess and the Frog, which some may believe can be attributed to the use of the word "princess" in the title, and had deterred male audiences from viewing the movie. Instead of using the female lead's name as the title, like many other Disney films have done ("Sleeping Beauty", "Mulan", "Snow White", "Mary Poppins", etc.), hopefully boys and men will realize that it is not a story solely about the girl. Not that a title should ever discourage one from seeing a movie, however; I watched my fair share of Peter Pan, Hercules and Aladdin. Even so, the directors and producers have done a wonderful job in balancing the storyline between the two lead roles.
After the movie screening, the press was split into four groups according to the character on our badges. The groups rotated around the studio experiencing different presentations. My first stop was in the room dedicated to "Character Creation" which included a panel of a handful of animators who each discussed their specific role in the making of TANGLED.
Rapunzel's 70 foot hair was treated like an actual character. The main belief shared by all the TANGLED animators is that "it's not JUST hair." The animators discussed how they had to study physics and the movement of real hair so that it would look completely natural and not robotic in any way.
The second item on the agenda was a small studio tour including the Tangled Production Pod where Conli, Howard and Greno's offices are located. The common area was themed with some vintage "Sleeping Beauty" and Cinderella artwork from the 50s. Unlike the exotic trips that were taken to Africa in order to gain inspiration for "The Lion King", the directors and producers took a trip to Anaheim and visited Fantasyland inside Disneyland for creative ideas for this movie.
Tim Mertens, who has previously worked with Howard and Greno on Disney's "Bolt", gave a short presentation about the editing process. He explained that he will ask any Disney cast member who has some acting ability, to perform some lines of dialogue called "scratch dialogue." With this, he can work on the timing and placement of character lines before the actual recording is done.
The third featured area during this time allowed a chance for individuals to break free from their group and have a picture taken in front of a green screen. The printout, which was given to each person who took a photo, featured the character of Flynn. There were also four games set up and those who participated in all four received an authentic lithograph from the movie.
After the activities, the journalists were ushered back to the theater where they had watched the movie earlier in the day. Here, the directors offered many words of praise for the animators who had given so much time and effort to this movie. After a short film dedicated to the animators, Greno and Howard had a surprise for the audience that was not on the schedule: John Lasseter descended the steps to the front of the theater to a round of applause.
The chief creative officer for Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, discussed how this studio has changed over the years after Pixar and Disney merged. They have really worked to make it more of a filmmaker-driven studio said Disney's head honcho, in contrast to others, which are executive-driven studios. Lasseter said of Tangled, "Even though this is based upon a well-loved tale, this is such a fresh, modern, and contemporary take on it with all the characters and the humor. But with all the humor, we never forget the heart. The hallmark of a film with the name Disney on it -- is heart. Walt Disney said, 'For every laugh, there should be a tear,' and we really believe that."
The last few hours of the day at Disney Animation Studios were committed to a lunch hour, a photo date with TANGLED's leading man Flynn and topped off with the Swag Bag complete with shirt, hat and brush...for ALL that hair!
For its 50th animated feature, Disney has done a tremendous job with TANGLED. The filmmakers and animators have created memorable characters. Rapunzel (who I'm convinced, MUST use anti-breakage shampoo, considering all the stunts her hair pulls) is a sheltered, but enterprising young girl. Flynn Rider (voiced by Zachary Levi) is the roguish, confident thief (think Renaissance period Aladdin) who befriends Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) by accident. The horse, Maximus, is sure to win over audiences with his hilarious dog-like characteristics. Pascal, Rapunzel's faithful chameleon sidekick, is an unwavering ally in good times and bad. The villain of the film, the deceitful Mother Gothel, will undoubtedly join the ranks of famous Disney villains like Ursula and Maleficent when TANGLED opens November 24th in Disney Digital 3D.
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