OT(?)--Disney to close Orlando animation studios--TOMORROW!


Off topic? I don't really think so.

With an ever diminishing supply of animation goes the opportunity for the creation of songs and music.....wonderful songs we all grew up with, and more recent memorable music my wife and I have been able to experience for the first time with our son. It's music that is shared the world over, making this startling enough news to be mentioned on the Today Show this morning.

Don't forget to draw a tear in Mickey's eyes on your calendar tomorrow.

Mike
 
........well Disney was doing amazing animation long before there was ever a Disney MGM Studios...........
and maybe now the company can impress everyone with
the Disney QUALITY and not try to impress the world with QUANTITY......

DL FLIGHT 295
aka
DC-88 SPACELINER
 

X-S Tech

Active Member
yeah but for over a year now FL was the ONLY place where ANY traditional animation was being done. Burbanks all computers and pencil pushers now.
 
What's Mike E. really planning.......

DL and X-S, your thoughts reflect the two opposing sides of the coin......maybe this COULD be an effective "downsizing," as we now say; but my main concern is that if ol' Mikey E. approved the closure, it most likely is not with "what's best for Disney artistry" in mind.

Mike
 

David S.

Member
Really sad news. I guess old "Eisnereezer Scrooge" is running out of time to do fun things like close favorite attractions and fire talented artists since his contract expires in 2006, so this gave him a chance to further cement his legacy as a penny pinching miser by further destroying Walt's.

I found this article really interesting and well written:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/na...-home-headlines
 

X-S Tech

Active Member
Michael this is only the latest in a long line of signals that have been going on for the last 2 years. After Shrek, Disney really started doing heavy layoffs of the Animation division. Several computer features started ramping up for production. Less and less traditional animated stories were being entertained, unless they were of the Television/direct to video variety (When the heck is Snow White 2 coming out?!!). In Burbank, animators were either layed off, sent to work at WD TV or chosen to retrain on computers. Most were layed off. To most of us it was sad but there was still hope as no official announcement had been made. Perhaps the company was just scaling back. About a year ago, Disney went so far to sell off the animation desks, and other specialized equipment, first to interested employees and then to outside parties. While the end of 2D in California was pretty obvious, Disney assured it's staff that Florida would remain open to produce traditional films as they had proven themselves at producing successful films on modest budgets. But with the closure of Florida's studio, that's it. There is no more traditional feature animation being done at Disney. The computer is now king where once story and heart reigned supreme. The most incredible animators of our time, draftsmen whose talents in art far surpass Eisner's business sense, are forced to compromise thier vision to make the studio a quick short sighted buck.
 
...well, that's nite quite what i was getting at, having a design background it's truly sad that there is no longer any tradition annimation being done. And that the Disney MGM studios seems even more empty without some kind of functioning animation, but in reality yes: too much of someting destroys the quality of something. And I would say, yes: id downsizing gets rid of projects at WDI like "all star resorts" and many other cheap fixes....then yes. But WDI has suffered enough already.and to quote a line from the Main St. Market House Phones in regards to WDI: Mr: Eisner: "THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO BURN"



DC-88 SPACELINER
aka
DL-FLIGHT 295
 
Driven to tears.......

X-S, thanks for the sad synopsis; the facts are almost too painful to read......

Interestingly, just last night, my son suddenly announced that he wanted to see "Skeleton Dance," the first Silly Symphony, from 1929(he's 13 now, obviously well-versed with vintage Disney artistry). Granted, not a feature-length production, but watching it, what struck me was that despite its rather simple drawings, by Ub Iwerks, it still had an interesting, timeless look to it--its images and music were still refreshing, decades later, in 2004.......the loss of Disney traditional, feature animation is nothing short of an American tragedy.

Mike
 
All I can say, Bill, is that I've certainly been concerned that the end might be iminent, but not always knowing what to believe on the net, and with a strong tendency to be a boundless optimist(yes, there's a problem, so how do we fix it?), I could never quite fathom that the production of traditionally animated feature films would ever be abandoned. It's still a bitter pill to swallow, I still can't believe it......

Mike, how do you sleep at night?
 

Jessica L

Member
What a great article, thank you for sharing. This is really a sad day indeed, especially for me - as it was always my dream to be an animator and the only place I wanted to work was at the Orlando animation studio. They know how to do it right, and they have the heart and soul to create artwork that moves, and moves us at the same time. I take the closure as a personal blow and a blow to Walt himself - he started the company on traditional animation, and now it's slipping away faster than Eisner can count his cash. It just makes me sick - and I'm looking forward to 2006 when that arrogant Ei$ner can get the boot. What kind of legacy is he trying to leave anyway? He doesn't get it at all and that's really sad....

Does anyone know what will happen to the animation tour at MGM? It has always been one of my favorite things at WDW, especially the very clever movie with Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite ("Look, I'm a corporate symbol!"). I imagine that will become another gift shop for princess items (which always manages to amaze me, considering the past 5 or so films did not feature a princess).

"I only hope that we never loose site of one thing, that is was all started by a mouse" -- and ended by the greediest man on earth...

Jessica
 

SharonKurland

Active Member
Jessica-

The MGM Animation Tour is still up and running. When guests are asking about the empty fishbowl, I've heard that the CMs are supposed to say the artists are "on break," "not in yet," "it's their day off," etc.
 

Jessica L

Member
Well that's somewhat of a relief - I love that tour. Do you happen to know if they will just keep it like a "museum" of traditional animation, keeping the tables and everything as it is now - or will they switch it over to look more like a computer animation studio? I hope it's the former, just as I'd hate to loose such a wonderful window into the traditional style.

Thanks for the update!
Jessica
 

SharonKurland

Active Member
Jessica-

That, I don't know. I know that the rent has been paid on the building through 2015. What they plan to DO with the space is beyond me...and knowing Disney, they probably don't know either . Or if they DO, they're certainly not telling .

-Sharon-
 

X-S Tech

Active Member
I saw the animation exhibit in April and it was drastically different from when I was there last. You got to watch a short film about the many characters, and then an "animator" showed you how computer animation was done: all he did was show how they drag points of articulation on a character. Nothing in depth about this process that is supposedly the greatest thing since sliced bread. He then showed us how he drew Koda from Brother Bear. Not how he animated him, how to draw him. He did take questions but of course with so little info given no one had anything interesting to ask. My guess is that Disney will continue to glorify the work that went into traditional animation while pointing at the sucess that computer animation should bring (so far only from other studios, not Disney).
 

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