With Disney now calling alot of the shots for Pixar, one of the things we can expect is sequels; and one that we will be seeing soon is Finding Dory.
If it's a sequel:
Disney has often gone for the straight to dvd cash cow prequel route, but given the success of the Toy Story franchise, it seems like Pixar really know what they're doing in terms of sequels (I try to ignore cars).One thing I've been wondering is where exactly they're going to go with the story. Ultimatley they might just go with the same kind of plot as the first movie, only now we're finding Dory instead of Nemo, hence the title.That wouldn't be the most interesting story, but it doesn't really sound that unlikely.
Maybe we'll see what kind of life Dory has been living since the previous movie, She said she remembers things better when she's with Marlin, what kind of things will she begin to remember?
(If they force a romance between Marlin and Dory and make a "Hey kids, if you only have one parent there's something wrong with your family" type thing, I'm gonna be annoyed)
Maybe Marlin will have to make the same journey across the ocean that he did in the first movie, Maybe a now older Nemo will have to go after Dory instead. Maybe we'll run in to Dory's family.....
Wait a second.....
There's something interesting.
Dory's family.
"Short term memory loss. It runs in my family, atleast I think it does.... hmm, where are they?"
"I look at you and I'm home"
Could finding Dory include Dory finding her family or could this story actually be a prequel?
If it's a prequel:
Now, I don't usually like prequels; I feel they can often lack tension because we know they will have to end in a way that leads to the original, so if it looks like something terrible is going to happen to Dory.... well, we know it won't, unless it's amnesia. Despite this, Dory's backstory could be quite interesting and possibly the better idea.
Think about it, we have a fish with short term memory loss who doesn't know where her family is and can speak whale and read the human language; something interesting must have happened in her past, the question is how daring are Pixar going to be about it and what can they get away with under Disney? The prequel approach, like mentioned, would mean ending where the first movie started with Dory not being able to remember her family and being on her own assumingly because of it.
With the non idealistic and less cheery tone they took with Monsters university in terms of character plight, they might just do the same with Dory. Dory's story leading up to the original movie could be quite a sad and tragic one for such a joyful fun character, but that sends out a good message right? When life gets you down, just keep swimming!
Dory is clearly sad about not being with her family and misses her home, where ever that may be. Whatever may be the case in a prequel, there will have to be the inevitable tragic separation of Dory and her family in order for us to end up where the original began.
Poor Dory, she's so carefree and happy (maybe because she can't remember alot of bad things), it would be interesting to see such a sad backgound story....
Or maybe I'm overanalysing and they'll just go for the sequel....
The backstory possibilities are interesting, dammit!
This deleted scene from Disney's Wreck it Ralph was from early on in production where Felix and Ralph game jumped together and Ralph's early design was a Yeti.
The scene itself gets pretty interesting when Vanellope starts to fantasize about winning the race and expressing her hate for Taffyta; being able to relate to her situation Ralph joins in to make for a hilarious yet slightly disturbing conversation:
Vanellope:
When I win the Derby, I'm gonna treat Taffyta just like she treats me. No, no, worse. Yeah. Like if I saw her in the street dying, I'd just sit there and watch and laugh my head off.
Ralph:
You could step on her hands too, I bet.
Vanellope:
Oh, yeah, yeah. Break her hands. That's good.
Ralph:
Exactly! So she couldn't crawl!
Vanellope:
And then I'd watch her die. That would be so great...
Ralph:
It sure would...
Have a look for yourself!
I love how realistic that dialogue is in terms of hate, but as funny as I think it would be for it to actually be in the movie, I think we can see why this wasn't left in. It was pretty dark, even if comedically so, and made Vanellope a little too spiteful of a person.... and Ralph for that matter.
Plus pretty much the entire plot of the movie changed by this point...
TheLion king- Unsatisfying ending
The Lion King we know spawned from two previous scripts, "King of the jungle" and "king of the beasts", both incredibly different from the final creation and a fair amount darker, incorporting some real life elements that lacked the Disney spirit. In one of the early versions Simba had to learn about the circle of life the hard way, learning that one day he would grow to eat the very animals he befriended......IT'S THE CIIIIIRCLE OF LIIIIIIIIFE! When the Lion king was becomming more the Lion king and less the Discovery channel, the final battle between Scar and Simba was still in place pretty much as it is in the film now, but instead of Scar being thrown from pride rock, Simba is thrown (landing safely) instead whilst Scar maniacally laughs from pride rock, slowly being consumed by the bush fire..... so he pretty much saved Simba's life....
Okay.... So Simba didn't need to go up there, he could have just sat there and let the fire do it's work.... The drama just got sucked right outta that scene, didn't it? Plus on that dramatic climb up pride rock to reclaim his rightful place as king, Simba would probably be roaring from the exact spot the now barbecued Scar's dead body is lying.....HAKUNA MATATA!!!
Lion king 2- Zira commits suicide
Disney sequels aren't exactly known for being amazing, but here's a deleted scene that was clearly just a little too dark. This scene is pretty much the same as what is in the movie, but with a few extra lines of dialogue.
So the villain of the movie, Zira, hangs from a ledge high over a river with a current that will surely kill her if she falls in. Kiara, our protagonist, tries to save her, but Zira swipes at her, losing her grip and falls....
Did you ever notice that she looks like she's smiling madly as she falls? Well, that's because she is. The deleted segement was already animated, they used the same frames.
The original scene had Zira willingly let herself fall, seemingly mad with pride in favouring death over turning her back on Scar. Damn, Disney...you saved that for a sequel?
Toy story- Douchey the Cowboy
Toy story went through a lot of changes. Woody was originally kind of a villain, boasting his role as Andy's favourite toy to the others and ordering slinky around like a little slave dog. Woody was a bit of a douche, he was just too bitter and hateable. Just listen to how he talks to Slinky! Toy story would have been VERY different if Woody was this kind of character. I imagine they would have had him progress in to a nicer guy by saving Buzz, but after he was that mean, would you even care?
Aladdin- Lost mother character
Aladdin originaly focussed more on the relationship between Aladdin and his mother as he stole to help her make ends meet. Aladdin would obviously feel bad about having to steal and dissapointing his mother, but he would vow in a song entitled "Proud of your boy" to make their lives better and make her proud; I'm guessing that's where the lamp ect would come in.
It's quite sad this song didn't make it in to the movie, it's so heartfelt and touching. I guess they wanted Robin Williams making loads of pop culture references instead....
Lilo and stitch- "Tourists, prepare to die!" Living in beautiful Hawaii must have it's downsides, like not being able to go anywhere without constantly being asked where the beach is by tourists. Lilo and Stitch originally had a scene just like this. Lilo got just a little too sick of putting up with all the tourists and pretends that a siren being tested is a real Tsunami warning. (Notice all the jabs at the ignorance of the tourists)
It fits her personality just fine, but again was a little too mean spirited. This scene must have nearly made it in to the final film considering it's actually been animated, but im assuming was replaced with the similar scene in which Stitch has an episode when reacting to a camera flash. Plus, those people just push right past Jumba and Pleakley.....they're aliens, even if you're running for your life you'd notice that...
Finding nemo- Crazy Gill
Gill is one of the Dentist's fish. Gill recounts his home "bad luck bay" and his family members to Nemo, giving him hope of escaping back to the ocean. Nemo looks out of the tank to see a child being read a book that matches Gill's story exactly. Gill has either gone crazy from being in the tank for so long that he believes this is his life, or he is lying just to give Nemo hope. In seeing the story was fake, Nemo's hope of escape are dashed.... and he's probably scared of going insane...
This scene, again, was a little dark.... Seems like they substitued the dark nature of going insane from being in the tank for too long with the character of Bubbles....
I couldn't embed the video here, so here's the link:
(The following artice was originally written as a creative project for Film Studies)
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most well
known names when it comes to the world of animation. His films have received
praise worldwide for both their animation and stories, eventually leading him
to be compared to that most famous of western animators, Walt Disney,
especially for those newly introduced to Anime. There are definitely
similarities between the two, but differences can arise in the existence of
Disney as a company rather than the man himself. Is the title “Japanese Disney”
really suitable for Miyazaki? Disney holds distribution rights after all.
The main focus film of my project is the 1988 film "My Neighbour Totoro", Totoro being the forest creature you just saw. My neighbour
Totoro is one of Miyazaki’s most well-known movies, the character Totoro being
synonymous with Miyazaki’s name and the film company, Studio Ghibli. The film’s
simplistic nature is its charm, added to by the film’s central child characters
Mei and Satsuki in their innocent and imaginative exploration of the forest
surrounding their home.
You would think with the film’s success
Miyazaki would be more than happy to cash in on various pieces of merchandise,
especially given Japan’s love for cute culture, but this is where Miyazaki and
Disney begin to differ. Miyazaki only agreed to have merchandise produced from
his films due to the reality of not being able to make back a films budget on
ticket sales alone, Miyazaki wants his audiences to value the real world over
the worlds of his creation and not indulge themselves in merchandise; you won’t
find Totoro on the shelves of a mass produced Disney store.
Both Disney and Miyazaki embrace a simpler enjoyment of
being a child, but Disney does so in a more manufactured manner. Disney has
theme parks all over the world and produces Disney branded merchandise,
Miyazaki with studio Ghibli has the Ghibli museum in Japan which he designed
himself to embrace visitor’s imagination in a more naturalistic way. The
visitors experience is not given to them in the guise of singing animatronics,
but through simplistic elements using natural wonder and beauty to their
advantage.
The official Totoro can be bought from the Ghibli museum in Japan. Simplicity in storytelling, although it
may not feel like one in recent years, is a trait that Disney and Miyazaki
share. Disney’s earlier works were simpler and embraced the medium of animation
to a masterful level. Miyazaki’s works continue to portray this stunning level
of animation today, much due to his continuous involvement as a perfectionist
animator; if he isn’t happy with what animators have done he frequently
reanimates the frames himself. He contributed to over half of the 144,000
frames animated in his 1997 film “Princess Mononoke”. He believes that the
physicality of the characters is important to communicating a sense of realism
in his fantasy worlds; movement of creatures will be based on how real animals
move and react and is provided through a much smoother animation and stylised
art style than in a lot of other anime.
Seen in the clip are sisters Satsuki and Mei, waiting at the bus
stop for their father, alone apart from Totoro. Despite the colourful and
magical worlds provided by the wonders of the forest Totoro, the film’s story
is really a focus on the two young girl’s struggle with life’s realities. Their
mother is sick in hospital and unable to see them; their father constantly
having to work. The story is not one of good VS evil, but the threat of
loneliness in these children’s separation from their mother, taken directly
from Miyazaki’s childhood. Totoro helps provide relief for the two and shows
that no matter how dark life may seem, there is still beauty in the world.
The two main characters are simply two little girls acting
like two little girls; if they were Disney characters they would probably be
stereotyped in to wanting nothing more than to be princesses. There are so few
female Disney protagonists that they are referred to as princesses, even if they
are not; Mulan and Pocahontas being prime examples. It seems that Disney has no
problem in stereotyping its characters, something that Miyazaki avoids. That
being said, his movies have their fair share of princesses.
The difference between Miyazaki’s and
Disney’s portrayal of heroines is that Miyazaki aims to portray a sense of
reality through them. Although Miyazaki’s heroines can be or referred to as
princesses, their characteristics and personalities are not defined by this.
They exist as equal human beings to the point where the fact that they are princesses
is completely irrelevant. Miyazaki uses female protagonists as he feels
portraying male protagonists has become to canon and stale, so female
protagonists can show more purpose and impact.
Here we see Princess
Mononoke, visibly far from anything we see from Disney. Her title of Princess
of the beasts is far from endearing and only has the purpose to highlight her
feral nature. She is not a princess as Disney has us see them, but this is
exactly why Miyazaki’s heroines are so real; they are human beings acting on
circumstance, they act as humans rather than stereotypes with little ties to
gender. So why would Satsuki or Mei need to be any different?
The two sisters do what children do. They are not trying to act like
adults, but when they do it’s to pretend they are not scared or in sibling
rivalry. These little details in character relationships really help to portray
a level of humanity as opposed to a manufactured reality, and who would expect
from a movie involving a magical forest Totoro?
Mei and Satsuki’s roles as both children and sisters feels
incredibly real, and with so much care taken in to making sure the film’s
original beauty remains in the script in western distribution it’s no wonder.
The characters of Mei and Satsuki are played by actual young children, it may
sound trivial but this isn’t something that is usually done; especially in
anime. Dubbing anime from one language to another requires matching mouth
movements of pre-animated characters on screen whilst maintaining a quality
standard of acting, this can be difficult so roles of young children can often
be played by adult women. If Mei and Satsuki were played by adults rather than
children, the sense of realism would be very low and the audience may not
identify with the characters. The wonder of Totoro really does come from the
two young girl’s performances and if you don’t believe their characters are
having fun onscreen, you’ll believe their actresses had fun in the recording
studio. Part of why the two sister’s relationship feels so genuine may be due
to the fact that their voice actresses are
sisters. Sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning provided the voices of Satsuki and Mei
and so they could apply their own sisterly relationship to their roles, they
could even interact and record lines together naturally in the booth, again
something that is happening less in the world of animation.
Although the film is happy enough on the
surface, its darker themes are still present. In wanting to show that hope can
spark from darkness it would be out of character to have had the mother die in
this movie, but Miyazaki doesn’t refrain from showing the young girls
struggling to deal with the threat that she might. This can’t exactly be said
to be un-Disney like because we all know what happened to Bambi’s mother, but
what Miyazaki does is show that it’s ok to be scared and feel sad about life’s
problems; whatever “distraction” the forest Totoro’s may serve as, Miyazaki
makes sure that the realities are not brushed over or substituted, but shown as
things to overcome and live through. The two express their feelings as children
would, through tantrums and yelling, once again contributing to the creation of
two realistic and human characters.
This level of humanity and strong links to nature are clear
traits of Miyazaki’s work and communicate his concern with the environment and
modern society in a creative and unique style sparked from his own personal
views and experiences. Whereas his childhood struggle with his own mother’s
illness is presented through Mei, the beauty of the forest represents how
beautiful life can be despite its hardships and portrays a once greener Japan
from Miyazaki’s childhood.
Despite differing from Disney by being personal to the
director in charge, Miyazaki’s more recent films can be said to seem more
similar to Disney, especially as they are adaptations with the directors own
unique take on pre-existing stories much like the majority of Disney films.
Miyazaki has taken influence from western authors, one being Dianna Wynne Jones,
the writer of the book “Howl’s moving castle” which he made in to the 2004
movie of the same name.
Despite featuring levels of feminism and a
lack of an antagonist, this film actually differs from Miyazaki’s other works
and seems closer to a Disney film. Firstly the film not only has a happy
ending, but the two main characters Sophie and Howl end in a genuine
relationship as opposed to an ambiguous one in a Disneyesque style happily ever
after. Miyazaki’s usual traits of beauty in the natural environment are still
present, but to a lesser extent. Lush thick forests are instead replaced with
fields of flowers and mountain landscapes. Clearly environmental themes are
present, but they do not serve as much a part of the story as they did in
Totoro or Mononoke. Instead the focus is on the characters and their strength
to overcome the threat of war in a world of magic and wizards, as well a focus
on a more prominent love story. Miyazaki’s own views naturally influence the
film, but with a fairytale ending with the first “true love’s kiss” for a
Miyazaki movie to top it off, this movie doesn’t really differ too much from
Disney.
So is Miyazaki the Japanese Disney? His films
remain very personal to him from their writing to their animation, an advantage
he has over the films made by Disney as a company. Disney movies are very moralistic
but follow stereotypes that Miyazaki’s films don’t,he shows more of a realistic
portrayal of both characters and situations; he also has a greater level of
involvement in his films. Whereas both Disney and Miyazaki have had a profound
effect in the world of animation, the title of “Japanese Disney” can be
suitable in the way that Miyazaki is to Japan what Disney is to western
audiences.
