Breaking: Disney Chairman Rich Ross Resigns

We rarely cover corporate news, or details of hiring or firing, here at A113Animation - this blog is primarily focused on the entertainment side of things - however, this is too huge a piece of news in terms of the scope it affects animation: Rich Ross has stepped down as Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

The former creative head of Disney Channel, responsible in his reign there for Hannah Montana and High School Musical, had been running Disney's film department for the past two and a half years - a tenure recently marred by such box office failures as Mars Needs Moms and John Carter.

Disney CEO Robert Iger said, of Ross's departure:

“I appreciate his countless contributions throughout his entire career at Disney, and expect he will have tremendous success in whatever he chooses to do next”.

No successor has thus far been named and it will likely take some time to fill the position, but, depending on the success of Marvel's The Avengers (which will almost certainly be an enormous hit), Marvel Studios (owned by Disney after all) President, Kevin Feige may be considered a front runner for the job.

Via Reuters.

Tank-a-mania!

On the flip side of success stories when it comes to animated films (most recently Rango) there are always some films that, for want of a better word, and in one way or another, tank. This year's examples of those films, so far, are Hop and Mars Needs Moms.

Hop, the second film from upstart animation company, Illumination Entertainment (the company who was, last year, responsible for the widely successful, Despicable Me) is a CGI/Live Action mash-up (a la Garfield and Yogi Bear) and seems to have fallen into the same pot hole that most of these films do; namely, bad reviews. Hop, which stars Russell Brand as the Easter Bunny who instead wants to follow his dream as a drummer, currently holds a very low rating of 24% on review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes.

We'll have to wait and see how Hop does at the Box Office, but one film that we can judge as a Box Office bomb right now, is Disney's Mars Needs Moms.

The last film from Imagemovers Digital (now closed), the company behind Polar Express and A Christmas Carol, using motion capture technology, has tanked in every sense of the word. The mo-cap method of animation is generally a very unpopular one, as it seems to cross the uncanny valley, and this is one of many reasons why the film is failing. Currently holding a Rotten Tomato score of 40% (not particularly awful), the film has grossed a meagre $30 million + and is currently on track to lose well over $100 million. It is very rare for a Disney branded film to do so badly.

We'll have to keep our eyes peeled for these films, but I wouldn't hold your breath for Hop or Mars Needs Moms.

Mars Needs Moms Released!

Disney and Imagemovers Digital's latest animated released, the motion capture film, Mars Needs Moms was released today (trailer above). The film has been heavily advertised by Disney, but was released to a slightly apathetic reaction; it currently holds a 51/100 rating on Metacritic and a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I guess it's a matter of opinion, so only time will tell.

Stay tuned for more! Thoughts?

Also, remember to vote in the poll to the right as to which blog logo you prefer!

Mars Needs Moms Clips

Well, Disney and Imagemovers Digital's next animated release, Mars Needs Moms is out tomorrow! As such and to help feed the hype we have four new clips from the film (below), showcasing various scenes in the film and the absolutely stunning animation:









This film is starting to look ever better, definitely seems like a hybrid of WALL E and Tron: Legacy. Stay tuned for more and please share your thoughts!

Also, please remember to vote in the poll to the right as to which blog logo you prefer!

Trailermania: Puss in Boots, Kung Fu Panda 2, Mars Needs Moms

YouTube is a veritable cornucopia of new trailers and clips today, we've been treated to a horde of brilliant videos.



First of all, and to me most importantly, we have our first ever look at Puss in Boots. The trailer above looks fantastic, I love it, Puss is my favourite Shrek character - and whilst I think the Shrek franchise has lasted a tad too long - Shrek 4 was a strep back in the right direction and this looks great. The film comes out this November and I can't wait for it! On this note we have a cool poster (top).



Secondly from DreamWorks, we have the newest Kung Fu Panda 2 trailer. Whilst I don't live in confidence that this film will be great, the trailer is. The battle action scenes look Lord of the Ringsy. The film does like quite far removed from its predecessor.



Finally, we have two Mars Needs Moms clips (above and below) for Disney and Imagemovers Digital's upcoming mo-cap film. The animation actually looks really good, as does the plot. It seems like WALL E meets Tron: Legacy.



I'm looking forward to all of these film and all of the clips are great. Thoughts?

New Mars Needs Moms Trailer

Disney just uploaded the second trailer for Imagemovers Digital's upcoming motion-capture animation film, Mars Needs Moms. Whilst the trailer seems just to be, more or less, a rehashing of the previous trailer, it further showcase the eerily beautiful animation created by mo-cap.

Imagemovers' previous films (A Christmas Carol, Polar Express) haven't exactly been groundbreaking, but this does like quite good. Personally, I think it has a feel of WALL E about it.

The film is due to be released (in America) on 11th March this year. The film is also set to be the last film from Imagemovers Digital before it's closure later this year.

Thoughts?

Mars Needs Moms Trailer

The trailer for the latest film from Disney and Imagemovers Digital, who recently made A Christmas Carol, has recently surfaced onto the official Disney Movie Trailer YouTube Channel.
The film uses motion capture technology for its animation, it looks interesting, if not wholly original.
The film casts the voices of Seth Green (Robot Chicken) and Joan Cusack (Jessie, Toy Story 2 and 3) and is out next year.
Poster below.