|
Exclusive: Disney Animation announces first Marvel movie, ‘Big Hero 6′ |
 |
 |
 |
|
Walt Disney Animation Studios is announcing its first movie inspired by a Marvel comic Thursday, an adaptation of a lesser known crime fighter series called “Big Hero 6.”
Directed by Don Hall (“Winnie the Pooh”) and due in 2014, the CG-animated movie will center on a robotics prodigy named Hiro Hamada and his robot companion BayMax, who join a team of superheroes in a high-tech city called San Fransokyo.
(For a closer look at the city of San Fransokyo, see the video above).
Even die-hard comic book fans may have trouble recalling the Marvel series, which was created by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau in 1998 and is something of a whimsical love letter to Japanese culture. Characters in the original comic include a samurai, an agent who invented a nanotechnology-based Power Purse and a monster born from a child’s drawings.
For Hall, the absence of a detail-obsessed fan base for the series was part of its appeal, as it left every character and setting open to interpretation.
“I was looking for something on the obscure side, something that would mesh well with what we do,” Hall said. “The idea of a kid and a robot story with a strong brother element, it’s very Disney.”
The original comic is set in Tokyo, though Hall’s film takes place in a mythical mash-up of Tokyo and San Francisco, a conceit that allows Disney’s animators to imagine a uniquely stylized cityscape — and indulge a studio-wide affinity for Japan fed by that country’s strong animation tradition.
“Marvel properties take place in the real world,” Hall said. “We were looking for something to do where we could make our own world — bring in the Japanese influences, have recognizable landmarks mashed up with a Japanese aesthetic.”
Hall, a lifelong comic book fan who started at Disney Animation in 1995, was in the midst of directing “Winnie the Pooh” when Disney acquired Marvel in 2009. He found “Big Hero 6″ while digging through Marvel’s library for ideas and pitched it to Disney’s chief creative officer, John Lasseter, in 2011.
“Big Hero 6″ is being produced wholly at Disney Animation, but Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada has been participating in brainstorming sessions about the project.
“Don was a huge fan of Marvel,” Quesada said of Hall. “He understood what we did. I didn’t have to explain our world to him. The relationship between Hiro and his robot has a very Disney flavor to it … but it’s combined with these Marvel heroic arcs.”
For Hall, the movie itself is a mash-up of two passions — animation and comic books.
“It’s basically geek wish fulfillment,” Hall said.
SOURCE |
|
Disney gives Brave heroine Merida a makeover |
|
|
|
|
When Disney Pixar released Brave last year, the animated movie’s spunky heroine Merida was like a breathe of fresh air.
With a messy mop of springy orange curls atop her head, Merida is sporty and fierce, determined and strong, and rides on her horse through the Scottish Highlands shooting arrows. She isn’t anything like the typical female protagonist in children’s films—a prissy, pink-wearing princess who’s waiting for her knight in shining armor to charge through the castle door.
Merida and her fiesty ways quickly captured the hearts of children and their parents. It was clear that America was hungry for a female protagonist, an anti-princess, a role model for little girls, somebody who could kick Cinderella’s butt (although Merida would never do that because she’s not a bully).
But now some moms are concerned that the girl with an adventurous spirit and independent mind might be losing some of her girl power. Is this really something to worry about?
This week, Merida was officially welcomed into Disney’s Princess’ Royal Court…after undergoing a mini makeover.
Here’s the before…
And here’s the after…
Notice her curls are more wavy than springy, her waist smaller, her cheekbones higher, her pose sassier, her mouth prettier. And she has lost her trusty bow and arrow. She has matured and looks more like a teenager on her way to a Taylor Swift concert than a determined young girl about to take aim at an archery range.
Moms are in disagreement over Merida’s new look. Some are disenchanted and think the new Merida is too sexy for young girls. They’re mourning the loss of her girlish, sporty look.
Over at Glamour.com, Petra Guglielmetti writes.
Having a curly-haired daughter has changed my feelings about hair texture in this world. More specifically, I wish there were more celebration of natural curls in our popular culture. So you can imagine how I feel about the news that Disney has given a keratin treatment to its heroine Merida. Yeah, those curls have definitely been smoothed a bit. They’re more likeVictoria’s Secret model waves now.
Some moms are so outraged that they’ve started petitions on Change.org asking Disney to bring back the original Merida.
Carolyn Danckaert, co-founder of A Mighty Girl, a girl empowerment website selling books, toys, movies, and clothing for “smart, confident, and courageous girls”, launched a petition on Change.org a few days ago, and over 18,000 folks have signed on so far.
Carolyn writes:
Merida inspired countless young girls by showing them that they too could go off on adventures and save the day; that it’s not about how you looked that matters but what kind of person you are. With Merida, girls finally had a princess role model that looked like a real girl, complete with the ‘imperfections’ that made her such a unique and appealing character. By redesigning her to fit the mold of the Disney Princess line and making her skinnier, sexier and more mature in her appearance, Disney is sending the message that for girls and women to have value — to be recognized as true princesses — they must conform to this narrow definition of beauty. With our petition, we’re calling on Disney to return to the original Merida that we all know and love and to keep Merida Brave!
But some feel these moms are overreacting to what they’re calling a benign makeover.
Kristine Cook of the blog MamaPop.com writes:
Certainly, this type of thing is subjective, but I’m, ah…I’m having trouble seeing the scandal here. There’s SLIGHTLY more skin around the shoulder, her hair looks combed, and she’s wearing relatively modest dress, but with more gold stuff on it. So, um, be furious?
Cook also reminds us that women sometimes get dressed up—and when they’re taking off their play clothes and putting on a ball gown that doesn’t mean they’re changing their interior qualities. We might lounge around the house in sweats in the morning, put on our sporty gear for a hike and then when we go out to dinner we slip into a dress, do our hair, wear a little makeup. When we put on our fancier attire, we can still be that independent, adventurous person.
“If a woman changes her clothes, IT DOES NOT EQUAL that the woman is therefore better one way or another,” Cook writes.
SOURCE |
|
|
Disney's profit rises on parks, 'Oz' movie |
|
|
|
|
Media giant Walt Disney Co reported a 32 percent increase in profit that beat Wall Street expectations, boosted by higher spending and attendance at U.S. theme parks, and the movie box office success of "Oz the Great and Powerful."
Revenue for the company that operates cable networks, theme parks and a movie studio increased 10 percent to $10.6 billion. At the parks division, revenue gained 14 percent and operating income climbed 73 percent as resorts in Florida and California attracted more visitors and guests spent more.
CEO Bob Iger said Disney parks drew more visitors thanks to investments in new attractions such as Cars Land at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and the expansion of Fantasyland at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
"The product that we recently put online really worked, like California Adventure and Fantasyland, and the product we had online for years and years in many respects looked better to consumers," Iger told analysts on a conference call.
Profit rose 8 percent at the media networks unit, the company's largest division, helped by higheradvertising and fees from cable operators at sports network ESPN.
Those strong performances helped offset a poor showing by the broadcasting division.
Operating income declined by 40 percent at the broadcasting unit, as the ABC television network brought in less advertising revenue amid a ratings slump and higher programming costs. Iger said he wanted a stronger primetime lineup at the channel, with more shows produced by ABC rather than other studios.
"We could use a few more hits, and certainly a few more hits that we own," he said.
Overall, net income increased 32 percent from a year earlier to $1.5 billion for January through March, Disney said on Tuesday. Adjusted earnings per share rose 36 percent to 79 cents, beating Wall Street expectations of 77 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
BLOCKBUSTER QUARTER
Disney's movie studio recorded a profit of $118 million, compared with a loss a year earlier from the box office bomb "John Carter." This year, the "Wizard of Oz" prequel lifted second-quarter results.
The studio also is looking at a big third quarter with current blockbuster "Iron Man 3," a Marvel superhero sequel that has grossed $711 million around the world since its release.
Disney is working on sequels to the "Star Wars" franchise after last year's $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm. The company is also developing "Star Wars" properties for television and parks, Iger said.
The interactive gaming division recorded a loss of $54 million. Iger had set a goal of turning the unit profitable in 2013. He told analysts it was now "doubtful" the unit will break even this year after the company delayed the release of its Infinity games and toys initiative to August from June. Infinity "is going to help drive profitability for fiscal 2014," he said.
Shares of Disney fell to $65.28 in after-hours trading, a 1.2 percent drop from their earlier close of $66.07 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Investors likely were taking profits after the shares had run up more than 30 percent this year, Evercore Partners analyst Alan Gould said. "It's selling into strength," Gould said. "The only weak area was the broadcasting. I don't see anything negative here."
SOURCE |
|
Euro Disney cuts loss, cautious about outlook |
|
|
|
|
Euro Disney, the theme park and hotel group east of Paris, reduced its net loss in the first six months of its financial year after refinancing its debt, but was cautious about the outlook for the full year owing to the "difficult" economic climate.
In the six months to March, Euro Disney made a net loss of 89.1 million euros ($117.0 million) from a loss of 11.8 million euros in the same period of last year.
The group said that this reflected the benefits of the refinancing in 2012 and also an improvement operating performance.
In September, the parent group Walt Disney of the United States lent the company 1.3 billion euros at 4.0 percent and less than the rate of 5.1 percent being charged by banks.
The burden of financial charges fell by 12.6 million euros in the first half of the company's financial year.
Sales in the six months rose by 2.8 percent to 567.7 million euros.
Revenue from the tourist activities comprising the theme parks, hotels and retail outlets, rose by 1.8 percent to 561.1 million euros.
SOURCE |
|
