A New DuckTales Movie?

[Taylirious]

I was watching this...

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txj6ROnIUIo[/yt]

DuckTales Theme Song With Real Ducks

And for some reason it got me thinking, wouldn't a new Ducktales movie be cool with how CGI is now? I loved the show when I was younger and I would be all for it.

To my knowledge there is no plans for such movie but who knows?

 

[Trekker4747]

I loved DuckTales.

But considering how these adaptations and movies are done these days I don't think any project made would be worth seeing or faithful to the original series. Shit, it'd probably be some stupid wormhole made by Gyro that sends the characters into our world where they initially clash with and then have wacky adventures with Jason Bateman.

 

[Christopher]

I see no reason to do it in CGI. If it were brought back, it would make the most sense to do it in 2D animation, to capture the style of the original Carl Barks comic books on which DuckTales was based. As well as capturing the style of the show itself. Many of DT's episodes were superbly animated -- the work of Tokyo Movie Shinsha, the best animation studio in Japan and one of the best in the world. High-quality 2D animation is gorgeous, and it's a crime that Hollywood is driving it to extinction because of its fixation on the current fad of 3D computer animation. That's like abandoning painting as an art form because of sculpture -- it makes no sense to pick just one instead of letting both thrive. There are some things that are better suited for 2D animation, and I think DuckTales/the Carl Barks ouevre is one. Certainly some cel-shaded computer animation could be used for 3-dimensional backgrounds, sets, vehicles, effects, and so forth, but the character animation should be traditional.

The question is whether Alan Young would be able to reprise the role of Scrooge McDuck. He's apparently done so in video games as recently as last year, but he's 94 years old, so frankly there's no guarantee he'd be, well, available for any such movie unless it comes along really soon. And it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Scrooge; only a couple of other actors ever have, and only once each (Bill Thompson in a 1967 short and Will Ryan in a 1987 short).

 

[Taylirious]

I am not opposed to 2D and it can look spectacular but who is doing 2D in feature films these days? I think Disney has fully embraced 3D CGI for animated features.

 

[AvBaur]

^ I concur. If Disney were making a new DuckTales movie, or any other movie starring their classic comic-book characters now, it would almost certainly be CGI.

After unsuccessfully trying to revive hand-drawn animation with "The Princess an the Frog" and "Winnie the Pooh" a couple of years ago, Disney seem to have abandoned the art form altogether these days. Which is unfortunate, because I think those two movies probably failed because they were too old-fashioned and nostalgia-based, and not because audiences won't watch hand-drawn animation.

 

[Christopher]

I am not opposed to 2D and it can look spectacular but who is doing 2D in feature films these days? I think Disney has fully embraced 3D CGI for animated features.

Yes, and that's exactly the problem. They shouldn't limit themselves that way. It's artistically wrong to do everything in 3D just because it's trendy. Some things should be in 2D. I mean, come on, we still have stop-motion animated movies -- this season alone we have Boxtrolls and The Book of Life coming up. That's an old-school technique and it still thrives despite the competition of 3D computer animation. So it makes no sense that we don't still have 2D animated movies as well.

 

[AvBaur]

I mean, come on, we still have stop-motion animated movies -- this season alone we have Boxtrolls and The Book of Life coming up. That's an old-school technique and it still thrives despite the competition of 3D computer animation. So it makes no sense that we don't still have 2D animated movies as well.

Actually, I'm quite sure "The Book of Life" is CG. If you're looking for another upcoming stop-motion movie, how about "Shaun the Sheep"?

 

[Timby]

its fixation on the current fad of 3D computer animation.

Computer-animated films have been a thing since 1995. After nearly twenty years, I think they're well past the point of being a "fad."

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

Yes, and that's exactly the problem. They shouldn't limit themselves that way. It's artistically wrong to do everything in 3D just because it's trendy. Some things should be in 2D. I mean, come on, we still have stop-motion animated movies -- this season alone we have Boxtrolls and The Book of Life coming up. That's an old-school technique and it still thrives despite the competition of 3D computer animation. So it makes no sense that we don't still have 2D animated movies as well.

What about money?
Is it cheaper to do it with CG than to traditionally do it?
Because these things are RARELY about the art. And if it's simply about maximizing profits...

 

[cardinal biggles]

I mean, come on, we still have stop-motion animated movies -- this season alone we have Boxtrolls and The Book of Life coming up. That's an old-school technique and it still thrives despite the competition of 3D computer animation. So it makes no sense that we don't still have 2D animated movies as well.

Actually, I'm quite sure "The Book of Life" is CG.

It is, although they've animated it to look like stop-motion.

 

[Christopher]

Computer-animated films have been a thing since 1995. After nearly twenty years, I think they're well past the point of being a "fad."

Of course not, but the fad is the assumption that they need to replace traditional animation rather than simply coexisting with it. The reason for that prejudice is the belief that 3D animation is more "modern" and 2D is somehow "outdated," and that's entirely about fashion, not quality, because good 2D still looks spectacular.

 

[Timby]

Computer-animated films have been a thing since 1995. After nearly twenty years, I think they're well past the point of being a "fad."

Of course not, but the fad is the assumption that they need to replace traditional animation rather than simply coexisting with it. The reason for that prejudice is the belief that 3D animation is more "modern" and 2D is somehow "outdated," and that's entirely about fashion, not quality, because good 2D still looks spectacular.

One of them makes money hand over fist from kids. One of them does not. And that's what it's all about.

 

[Christopher]

^But again, that's not about quality, and that's my point.

 

[AvBaur]

What about money?
Is it cheaper to do it with CG than to traditionally do it?
Because these things are RARELY about the art. And if it's simply about maximizing profits...

Not really. I think they cost about the same, at least if you want high-quality animation.

It's just that CG movies have made a lot of money over the past two decades, whereas the last few hand-drawn releases were not exactly big hits.
And because making a Disney-style hand-drawn feature film is very expensive, no studio is willing to risk the investment when they can just make a "safe" CG movie for roughly the same amount of money instead. This is also the reason why nobody is making big-budget animated movies aimed at adults.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

No to DuckTales, Yes to original Carl Barks and Don Rosa stories being made.

Don Rosa's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_and_Times_of_Scrooge_McDuck is just made for 12-part, or more, movie or tv-series. (see my avatar)

Never cared for DuckTales. Never understood why it just couldnt have Donald Duck instead of pilot guy. And Scrooge would never pay for thatkind mansion.

EDIT: Disney Comics are generally so different from Disney cartoons. It would be fun to see Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse movie or series with characterisation taken from comics.

 

[Timby]

^But again, that's not about quality, and that's my point.

Oh, come on, dude. You first accused 3D / computer animation of being a fad (you literally said it), got called out on it, then backpedaled to saying that your point was that the fad is the idea of computer animation replacing 2D stuff (which is still not a fad, I don't have numbers in front of me but I'd bet money that the ratio of CG / traditional animation releases has been at least 70 / 30 for ten years if not more), and now you're saying it's about quality.

 

[Christopher]

What about money?
Is it cheaper to do it with CG than to traditionally do it?

I don't think so, no. The thing about 3D computer animation is that it's very hard to make it look good. Computers want everything to be smooth and mathematically pure and weightless, and animators have to fight against that and work very hard in order to create a sense of texture and weight and physicality and life. So 3D animation only really looks good if it has a lot of time and talent put into it, and that requires a lot of money. There's also the problem that every individual character and object in a 3D animated scene has to be modeled individually. A 2D artist could just draw a whole crowd in one drawing, but in 3D that crowd would have to consist of hundreds of separate CG armatures and skins and so forth, and that takes a hell of a lot of computing power to render. That's why 3D-animated TV shows like Beware the Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have such sparse, empty city streets all the time.

Never cared for DuckTales. Never understood why it just couldnt have Donald Duck instead of pilot guy.

Err, because Donald Duck has one of the most annoying and incomprehensible voices in animation history? If ever there was a character who worked better on the page than on the screen...

Oh, come on, dude. You first accused 3D / computer animation of being a fad (you literally said it), got called out on it, then backpedaled to saying that your point was that the fad is the idea of computer animation replacing 2D stuff (which is still not a fad, I don't have numbers in front of me but I'd bet money that the ratio of CG / traditional animation releases has been at least 70 / 30 for ten years if not more), and now you're saying it's about quality.

That's not backpedaling, it's just clarification. Just because we don't always find the best words to make our points the first time out doesn't mean we're changing our positions. This is casual conversation, written extemporaneously without much editing, so we often don't realize how our words will be interpreted by our listeners. That leads to misunderstandings, and so we need to choose different words to clarify what we meant the first time. I'm sorry I wasn't clear right off the bat, but there's no need to be confrontational about a simple misunderstanding.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

Never cared for DuckTales. Never understood why it just couldnt have Donald Duck instead of pilot guy.

Err, because Donald Duck has one of the most annoying and incomprehensible voices in animation history? If ever there was a character who worked better on the page than on the screen...

Well, maybe that could be toned down. Same with Mickey. Comic and cartoon Mickey are two completely different characters. Maybe advertise series as "re-imagined" characters.

 

[Christopher]

^Donald did appear in DuckTales on a recurring basis, with Tony Anselmo giving him the same voice he always had. The premise of the series was that Donald sent Huey, Dewey, and Louie to live with Uncle Scrooge once Donald was drafted into the Navy. And maybe that answers the question of why Donald was left out, because it helped establish a relationship between Scrooge and the nephews and soften Scrooge somewhat.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

I've read about why Donald was left out, but never really understood the reasoning with it. Donalds nephews have similar voices. If DuckTales came out now, I would hope that there was same much outcry about butchering of Barks's original stories as there is about new Fantastic Four movie

I realise that comics based Duck movie or tv-series probably wouldnt be a success in USA, but would be big in Europe. Disney comics are definately bigger in Europe than Marvel or DC.

And I bet that had you shown picture of Carl Barks to random people here in Finland, more people would recognize him than Stan Lee. Might have changed now with younger people thanks to Marvel movies.. And Don Rosa always gets city block length autograph lines when he visits Finland, and other countries.

How about Ultraheroes movie?
https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/1141393.jpg
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Ultraheroes

EDIT: Or Anderville-series for Mickey Mouse:
http://www.fabriziomosconi.com/recensioni/immagini/fumetti/mickeymousemysterymagazine.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MM_Mickey_Mouse_Mystery_Magazine