syntheticgerbil

I agree with you fully Toblix, and you certainly have good taste in exceedingly artistic adventures (a lot of people don't mention Kyrandia, even though those were gorgeous (first two especially)). I think it's not really a nostalgia thing but a matter of personal taste and preference along with what standard you hold art and animation to. 3D generally falters in both full blown CG movies and games because it will always lack the personal artist touch of someone moving a pencil around and organically creating the line flow as well as the animation. Traditional 2D animation is drastically different than 3D, the latter always falling into some degree of clumsiness or technically imposed robotic like movement, so with the way it's done now, it may never give off that personable feeling that people get from paintings or pen and ink animation. Although some would argue, I think great motion capture (at least for artistic purposes) is a pipe dream. The benefit from 3D is better pipelines and work flow once it's set up, not worrying about conflicting drawing styles, and the ability to use more realistic or varied textures and animation usually lends to 3D being more easily welded now. So yeah, while I would love for Telltale games to be 2D or 2.5D because of some of the concept I've seen there, it would pretty much deconstruct their whole engine and business model I'm sure.

I was really more confused about the popularity You Have to Burn the Rope because it was basically the same joke as Quest for the Crown, which came out a few years before. http://www.lanceandeskimo.com/flash/quest.html I didn't think it was even innovative in joke terms. Amusing enough though, but not what I would think should be award winning.

Hahah, that makes me think of a disgruntled texture artist adding swastika bump maps on some walls in secret.

I still read his blog everyday and he mostly only has good things to say about color theory and appeal but tends to repeat himself each time. He seems to spend more time hitting on female wannabe animators younger than half his age, making weird long posts about how rap music is not really music, and posting pictures of his creepy decades old Hanna Barbara toys that he still has hanging around. I can't wrap my head around that stuff.

Ahaha, you mean that's a microphone and not a stick on handlebar mustache?!

Oh man, I'm incredibly familiar with this feeling. I almost wish the guy just would have shut up and stayed in hiding forever. Now I have a love/hate relationship with a guy who was somewhat my animation hero beforehand. Similar experience with Doug TenNapel...

I was sick most of this week, but this thing really cheered me up. I too would like to know what's going on with Chris' computer. I'm happy my call appeared. It took me being in a sleepy haze after a long drive last week to work up the courage to leave that message.

Oh man, I saw Mac and Me at about 4 years old I think and it made me feel extremely sick. I think the aliens were too disgusting for me to feel anything but terrified and grossed out when they were on screen. I didn't realize Mac and Me had all that McDonald's product placement until seeing that Youtube video a couple of years ago. I guess I completely blanked out on that part. The Last Dragon is a fun one as well. I'll have to check out some of the rest you listed, HT, CHUD seems particularly appealing to me.

Hahaha, but they put Dragon's Lair on Blu-ray!

Oh my goodness, this sounds like a must see. I'll see if I can track it down in the near future.

That would make sense. I tried to run a few Amstrad games on a different emulator and they all had black borders around each side. I guess it's more jarring when it's just at the bottom.

This is ridiculous, the original deal was made with Disney for Miramax to distribute Mononoke and Buena Vista to do the DVD releases. You are being ridiculously stubborn and completely overlooking that FACT to purposefully not see that obviously the two companies that Disney owns is carrying out a deal made with the parent company Disney, as stated in the original deal. You're only argument is that Miramax is not Disney because it's not the same building which is the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard. You're making use of misinformation out of your own stubbornness to get the last word. Okay do you have a source for any of that or did you make that up too? The link you gave was pretty flimsy and poorly written in explaining anything. As far as I can tell, you found some far fetched source you seem to think states that the French company Wildbrain somehow took over the selling of distribution rights for everything the Japanese company Ghibli puts out. Find some more sources that say it much clearer and I'll believe you. I certainly can't find any looking myself. Everywhere else says Ghibli got it's own rights to distribute after Tokuma collapsing in 2005. Either way, your "oddly enough" aside at the end seems to contradict what you are trying to say. Please read more carefully. I did not say they had exclusive rights, but the deal is obviously still going, is it not? John Lasseter is doing the PR for Disney. Out of all of the films released since Mononoke, Disney has released all except one in the US, if I'm not mistaken. They are also due to released the Earthsea one, not to mention the plethora of DVD releases. Unless you can prove that the deal is not being expanded on and that Disney is actually bidding for each film continously, then go for it. Otherwise again, stop making stuff up. Anyways, either provide some solid sources on your next reply to me or forget it. I'm not looking to get this topic closed too. I don't know what else I can say on this matter, it's already gone on too long.

Yeah, it's definitely funny sometimes, especially in Monkey Island 2 I seem to remember your line being changed when you were about to say something extremely inappropriate, but I agree that it's better to be use line change joke sparingly.

Well on that I was going by the way some people debate how close their relationship really is beyond business matters. I don't know for sure either way. Okay, it still was not a one off deal, Disney still releases their films. No relationship was ended. You didn't prove either. You made that stuff up. Spirited Away, Ponyo, and Howl's Moving castle were all added to the original Disney/Ghibli deal as that link I showed you earlier indicates. The deal wasn't ended for a new deal to be made. Obviously, and this is where you really fail to pay attention, the Disney distribution of Ghibli films is still alive and well. Also, in no way did you prove Miramax is a separate company from Disney except that you said they are in different buildings. You also failed to address that the original deal was made with Disney with Mononoke being released by Miramax in theaters, which is a key point you keep ignoring. Well er... except Disney still distributes them in the US, which is a major point you've overlooked. What does Wildbunch have to do with this anyway? Wildbunch is not their distributor for the whole world just Europe. The link you gave basically says they are still distributing for Europe (which it also notes they did during Spirited Away, before Tokuma went under) so stop making stuff up. With Tokuma going under, Ghibli came in control of themselves, essentially becoming "independent" as some say. They still obviously choose to work with Disney. The Disney/Ghibli deal is still very obviously ongoing whether Tokuma distributes or not. Sounds like you have some kind of heroism attached to Lasseter though, especially indicated by your original sarcastic comment which started this mess. I've given more than enough reason *FOR ME* to dislike him and you can turn a blind eye if you want but I say the guy is a dick (sweaty and caustic), and you aren't changing my mind with making up facts and the Disney/Ghibli deal. So in other words, is it *really* that hard to see why the guy wouldn't back a Steve Purcell type film? That's why earlier I said everyone who went to CalArts is in love with Miyazaki. It's standard fare, so telling me Lasseter is this huge fan means nothing. Just about everyone states the Miyazaki influence in the animation world.

Separate buildings or not, Miramax is Disney and has been since 1993. It's not an unknown fact. If you correctly read the deal on the page, it was orginally made with the Disney company, not Miramax. Miramax releases the first movie, Princess Mononoke, theatrically under their studio label and not the Disney studio label, but it is still a part of the Disney deal and on Disney's dollars. How is this at all a separate bid from Miramax? No relationship ended obviously, and there was no "one picture deal" as Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo will attest to. Just because you switch the substudio that the parent studio owns doesn't make much of a difference, it's still the Disney/Ghibli deal. But if you want to think that Miramax is some completely different company that does not answer to their parent company Disney or get involved in their deals, so be it. I can't argue against your perception of Miramax. Okay, I never said Disney owns the US distribution rights, theatrical or home video, to *ALL* Ghibli films. Of course Disney cannot just release every new Ghibli film at their own will, but they have obviously been in business together for some time now. At the time of the deal there was only one theatrical release. Spirited Away did not exist at that point. All I see is a deal that was expanded upon, not drawn up as a simple one-off. You still have not provided sources that Miramax (as a separate company) had only a "one picture deal" and that "the relationship was ended" because of the sword. What the American Dog concept art ultimately shows is that Disney was gearing up to put out maybe one of the weirdest American animated movies in years (or decades) and it was axed for being "too risky." Whether you love Chris Sanders or not, there's no way that theatrical release could have been a bad thing for US animation except maybe in terms of dollars. The complaints Lasseter made about the story were a cop out, just as he later said that him and Chris Sanders are great friends (after firing him) while Sanders was stating how upset, angry, and burnt out he was. And then we got Bolt staring Miley Ray Cyrus and Lasseter goes on to promote Tinkerbell home video DVDs with a stupid grin. There's no way I can possibly see this guy in a good light beyond careful business decisions. And either way, Lasseter did not have anything to do with the original Disney/Ghibli deal, which was my original point in that case. Even though he is a Miyazaki fan and has been involved with some of the dubs, he is still doing his job as a chief creative officer to offer the right kind of PR for Ponyo. Whether or not they are close friends, which I see as somewhat exaggerated, he is still doing his job. Also you may want to check out this link and search for "John Semper Jr." who is a former Buena Vista employee/translator who takes fault with Lasseter hogging the credit (and his lack of) for Kiki's Delivery Service and Laputa: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/anime/hayao-miyazakijohn-lasseter-press-conference.html I'm just going by what Disney brands them as. Anyways, to reiterate my point, which is all I was trying to say especially since I'm not a big Ghibli fan either, I know we're all made to think that Pixar is the greatest animation company to come out of America in decades and that John Lasseter is some kind of animation genius, but I can bet you that they are not the type of company that will ever release a Steve Purcell directed movie (if they even do that) with his weird brand of humor and timing intact along with his type of characters.

Miramax is Disney, they still own them to this day, just sans Weinsteins now from 2005 on. It's still part of the Disney company. I don't know what you are talking about with this "one picture deal." Care to provide sources? Also in the interview where Miyazaki mentions the "no cuts" sword, which I am well aware of, no where does he say that that was the end of the relationship. The film was still released under Miramax. If anything it just seems to be a failed attempt to successfuly market and theatrically release a Ghibli film in the US under their "arthouse" label, and so later films were pushed under the regular Disney/BuenaVista label. The relationship has continued as you can read here and here: http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/disney/ http://www.screendaily.com/disney-gets-spirited-away-for-north-america/408506.article Nonsense you say? I'm not saying I like the Weinsteins either, especially how they mucked about with Brothers Grimm, and whatever John Lasseter is doing is really just his job. He's no savior for Ghibli. So he's a fan of Miyazaki? Everyone who has ever went to CalArts is also a fan of Miyazaki. It's nothing new.

Hahaha, I will forever be afraid of the sweaty caustic dick! I'll definitely agree with all of that. I also enjoy the Brad Bird directedmovies, but none of them seem to be as good as The Iron Giant. Maybe it's the lack of Vin Diesel? Also all of this movie business talk makes me wish someone would just come out and say that the Pirates of the Caribbean movie was derived from what would have been the Monkey Island movie. Then they could publish an awesome artbook full of all of this leaked concept art.

I think what inevitably happens is we think we are hot shit and then go into the thread and get envious of everyone else's productiveness.

Er... except (like was just referred to twice) Bolt's the product of his decision(s). It's not at all just something he puts up with, he injected the homogeny himself. Reposting those links for you: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/chris-sanders-no-longer-directing-american-dog.html http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2006/10/10/6133.aspx Here's a another link on exactly the "risk" American Dog would have taken: http://alwaysanimated.blogspot.com/2008/11/art-of-american-dog.html It's also funny not one Chris Sander's picture appeared in the Art of book. I'm not a Sander's fan, but surely that is an insult. Also, Lasseter is not the one who started the Disney company importing, translating, and localizing Ghibli films. You can thank the Weinstein's for doing that originally through Miramax. Lasseter is just following through on the deal, you can be sure. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is while Pixar is probably the most versatile of animation companies in the US, it is still owned by the largest media company in the world, and will probably not be making any films that go very far beyond their output so far in terms of risk or subversiveness. I really doubt any hypothetical idea for a movie starting with Steve Purcell would end up as anything recognizably as his work, even if given complete "control" as a director. Had they not allowed themselves to be bought out by Disney for resources, distribution, team, and IP ownership a few years back when everyone was crossing their fingers hoping Pixar would become it's own independent animation company, things would probably be very different.

Yeah I don't know if he's moving up at all, I just assumed he was still doing storyboards, since I think that's what he's been doing the whole time. Probably shouldn't have assumed as much. I just figured his heart was always more with Sam and Max or Toybox. It would be nice if I saw Steve Purcell's character designs or something similar in the next Pixar movie art book, but one can only hope. I still really doubt Lasseter would ever fund or greenlight a "Steve Purcell movie" because he would surely find it, "too quirky for its own good." (http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/chris-sanders-no-longer-directing-american-dog.html & http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2006/10/10/6133.aspx) To me, maybe because of where I read about animation, a lot of great things happen at Pixar in spite of John Lasseter. Wall-E didn't have any proper dialogue for 45 minutes, which were definitely the strongest minutes, and once fat people started talking, the movie sort of devolved from there. I see all of their movies eventually anyways and buy some of their artbooks, which is way more than I'll do for any other US CG animation studio at the moment. By the way, MONKEYISLANDMONKEYISLANDMONKEYISLANDMONKEYISLANDMONKEYISLANDMONKEY

Actually vimes, you hit the head of all of the nails. With all of that said, I just think the guy is the ultimate "de-risker." Especially when you see great original character designs and ideas in the concept books by some of their artists that never get used and inevitably end up going for something much more light on the eyes (Where there's always an excuse paragraph saying the character had to be tweaked for 3D). I get the idea he sort of butts into each movie with his standards for quality control that all of the Pixar movies sort of end up having similar themes or messages while following the same flow in which the story unfolds. Seeing the Lasseter video a year or two ago where he grits his teeth and talks on and on about what a great innovative idea it is to make a series of Tinkerbell 3D movies during the Disney "fairies are forever" campaign was enough for me. http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disneys-tinkerbell.html Anyways, that's all my opinion of course, because there are probably way more that feel Pixar is the apex of American animation. I think Steve Purcell works there more out of stability, not really to move up in the system and become a director. It's probably an endless amount of fun to do storyboards for that company and I would love to be able to see some one day.

That was the point I was trying to get across. Very good, thanks.

Oops, completely forgot about all of those. There's another site with a different artist, but it's not as good as Purcell's so I can't be bothered at the moment. That's probably a bad idea, I'm sure John Lasseter would come in and start rubbing his sweaty dick all over Purcell's storyboards and designs, telling him how to make things appealing and how to have a story with real heart (before he comes). You know, more like Tinkerbell IN 3D!

It's weird because he says to stop him if he is repeating any, but I think only 3 of his pictures were released...

Haha, I guess there is a universal disgustingly awkward and sterile way to draw for patents... at least video game ones.