2D coming back?

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As some of you may already know if you check IMDB regularly, Tippett Studio is one of the shops that has beem awarded Enchanted, a magical tale about a fairy princess. Or something like that. Here's a little blurb from the IMDB page about the recent news.

The Walt Disney Co. is planning to revive traditional hand-drawn animation next year with its live-action/animated Enchanted, Disney watcher Jim Hill reported on his website today (Wednesday). A traditionally animated test sequence has already been created for the film by veteran Disney animator James Baxter, best known for his supervision of the character Belle in Beauty and the Beast, according to Hill. "And those who have seen this particular piece of rough animation say that it is 'simply stunning. A wonderful throwback to the sort of films that Disney used to make.'" Baxter, Hill said, has been secretly working on the sequence with a small crew at his own studio in Pasadena, and, he added, his work is likely to be displayed by Pixar's John Lasseter and Ed Catmull as they make their well-known case for reviving hand-drawn animation to Disney chief Robert Iger. Said Hill: "They're going to tell Iger: 'Doesn't that look terrific? People are really going to eat this picture up. They've been waiting for Disney to do a new film that features traditional animation. Which is why this movie is going to do HUGE box office next year.'"

As mentioned by a comper here,

Interesting logic. The film will do HUGE box office because it features cel animation, but the vast majority of the film is live-action/CG? ooookay...
I agree, since this show is not wholly 2D. We're doing the visual effects, while Baxter Animation is doing the traditional animation pieces. If the film does well, I'll say it's because of its story and characters, not solely because of the way it was animated. Here's more information.

Here's another kicker.

Calling it "one of the more bizarre orders" from China's film and broadcast watchdog, Daily Variety reported today (Wednesday) that henceforth movies and TV shows featuring live humans together with animated figures are banned in China. The trade publication cited a report appearing in the government-operated Xinhua News Agency that referred to an order by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued on Feb. 15. The order stated that "human live-action, so-called animation pieces will not receive distribution or distribution licenses." The reason, the order said cryptically, was that such films jeopardize "the broadcast order of homemade animation and mislead their development."

Does this mean that China is not going to a place to farm out traditional animated works that interact with live action performers, a la Roger Rabbit, Looney Toons, to name a couple? Wow. What a strange development.

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