Waking Sleeping Beauty trailer

(watch it full screen)



Even better , go watch the high-quality Quicktime version of the trailer here:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/wakingsleepingbeauty/

"Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairytale. It is a story of clashing egos, out of control budgets, escalating tensions… and one of the most extraordinary creative periods in animation history. Director Don Hahn and producer Peter Schneider, key players at Walt Disney Studios Feature Animation department during the mid1980s, offer a behind-the-magic glimpse of the turbulent times the Animation Studio was going through and the staggering output of hits that followed over the next ten years. Artists polarized between the hungry young innovators and the old guard who refused to relinquish control, mounting tensions due to a string of box office flops, and warring studio heads create the backdrop for this fascinating story told with a unique and candid perspective from those that were there. Through interviews, internal memos, home movies, and a cast of characters featuring Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Roy Disney, alongside an amazing array of talented artists that includes Don Bluth, John Lasseter, and Tim Burton, Waking Sleeping Beauty shines a light on Disney Animation’s darkest hours, greatest joys and its improbable renaissance."

Pups of Liberty - a new animated film by Bert & Jennifer Klein

Directed by Bert and Jennifer Klein, copyright Picnic Productions 2009.

This new animated film looks absolutely charming. "Pups of Liberty" is a 15 min. animated film directed by Bert and Jennifer Klein. The story of the 'Boston Teabone Party' told with cats and dogs. Beautiful 2D hand drawn animation.


(and check out the full crew list : http://www.pupsofliberty.com/FullCrewCredits.html . Quite the impressive pedigree this film has !)

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*UPDATE: There is now an interview about the making-of "Pups of Liberty" with the directors Jennifer & Bert Klein on Michael Sporn's blog. Check it out :

http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=2018

Many nice stills from the film are posted and Michael mentioned that in his next blog post tomorrow he will be posting some pre-production artwork from the film that the Klein's sent to him for the interview.

"Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes" by Walt Stanchfield

It seems there is a plethora of animation riches being published these days.

Another set of books to add to your MUST HAVE list is "Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes" Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Walt Stanchfield , edited by Don Hahn.

Go to Don Hahn's website to see a "trailer" for the book where Don speaks about the material contained in these two volumes:

http://www.donhahn.com/

These weekly handouts from Walt Stanchfield are something that those of us who worked at Disney in the 80's and 90's treasure. Now they are being shared with the whole world . (actually they've been "shared" quite a bit by being copied, scanned , and passed around from hand to hand or from website to website , but this is the first time that ALL of Walt's notes have been formally compiled into two handy volumes . 800 pages of material ! )

The press release from Don Hahn says:

"I am so pleased to announce that for the first time ever, we have assembled all of Walt Stanchfield’s amazing handout notes and lectures into a two volume collection titled, DRAWN TO LIFE - 20 GOLDEN YEARS OF DISNEY MASTER CLASSES. Walt was an animator, trainer, mentor and coach for decades at Disney and helped breathe life into the new golden age of animation with his teachings. He influenced such talented artists as Tim Burton, Brad Bird, John Musker, Glen Keane, Andreas Deja and John Lasseter.

To me, DRAWN TO LIFE is one the strongest primers on animation ever written. The material spares no detail on the craft of animation, but also digs deep into the artistic roots of animation. It is a publication that has been anticipated for many years by every artist and student that Walt ever came in contact with. It has been a labor of love for me and I am so proud that Walt’s teachings will live on in these two volumes."

Pre-orders are being taken now. Official publishing date is March 27.



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The Chestnut Tree - Hyun-min Lee

Another fine piece of hand-drawn animation for your edification and inspiration . Story and Animation by Hyun-min Lee. This started life as a student film and was finished up with some support from Jennifer and Bert Klein, and Don Hahn.

A film about a girl revisiting her memories of her childhood spent with her mother. Hand drawn animation set to piano music by Chopin