3 months ago
Three days aft a barbarous playground onslaught near nan lakeside municipality successful condolences and shock, and successful an amphitheater facing nan nationalist parkland wherever nan calamity occurred, nan Annecy Intl. Animation Festival inaugurated this year’s version pinch a show of solidarity and communal defiance.
“In consequence to barbarity, this show will clasp up productivity and creator perspective,” said arena organizer Dominique Puthod arsenic he addressed nan lively crowd. “You will bring colour and wonderment to nan eyes of young and aged alike, connected bruised and battered paper, arsenic a tribute to life.”
“The champion consequence to this calamity is to unrecorded moreover much forcefully and much intensely,” added Annecy politician François Astorg. “With this condemnation creation and civilization celebrates life, and enables america to alteration nan world to make it a amended place.”
With those rousing words, nan animation showcase kicked disconnected what promises to beryllium a banner edition, boasting grounds attendance numbers, a important workplace presence, and a spotlight connected Mexico’s animation industry.
Annecy mislaid small clip honoring some transatlantic delegations, preceding nan screening of opening movie “Sirocco and nan Kingdom of Air Streams” pinch nan charming, black-and-white short “Kikiriki” from Mexican animator Ram Tamez (“The Beast”), followed by nan world premiere of nan Disney’s “Once Upon A Studio,” from board Dan Abraham and Trent Correy.
A passion project, started connected nan alert successful anticipation of nan Mouse House’s centenary this year, nan nine-minute short brings astir 1 100 characters backmost to life, throwing hand-drawn, CG and unrecorded action characters into a dizzy operation arsenic they collectively buzz astir nan Roy E. Disney animation building connected nan Disney workplace lot, causing gentle comic mayhem and starring towards a sentimental adjacent group to nan studio’s astir emblematic song.
Of course, nan short originates pinch an icon of a different sort, focusing connected seasoned animator Burny Mattinson (who passed distant this February, conscionable awkward of his 70th day pinch nan workplace – making his relation longer than Walt Disney was alive, head Trent Correy pointed retired onstage). “Boy, if these walls could talk,” says nan legendary animator successful his last surface role.
Ben Croll
Soon enough, nan walls very overmuch do, arsenic Mickey and Minnie outpouring loose from hanged photos, rousing Tiana from “The Princess and nan Frog,” Peter Pan and Wendy too, Moana, Maui, and Merlin, alongside Elsa and Goofy and Winnie nan Pooh. Oh and astir 1 100 much – pinch “Zootopia” instrumentality favourite Flash Slothmore drafting nan screenings 2 biggest laughs.
The imaginative squad brought backmost much than 40 original sound actors, matching them pinch commensurate down nan scenes talent. Disney stalwart Eric Goldberg – who acted arsenic lead animator connected nan Genie successful “Aladdin” and co-helmed “Pocahontas” – headed hand-drawn animation for nan short, while “Raya and nan Last Dragon” supervising animator Andrew Feliciano oversaw CG.
“This is simply a emotion missive to nan medium, to Disney animation, and really a convey you to anyone successful nan assemblage that’s ever connected pinch a movie complete nan past 100 years,” said head Dan Abraham.
Future plans are arsenic of yet hazy for nan centenary short, though 1 should safely presume immoderate shape of wider broadcast aliases distribution earlier nan day twelvemonth is out. But successful Annecy connected Sunday night, those gathered successful nan amphitheater-turned-haven could count themselves among nan happy fewer to spot nan short first-hand. And successful a metropolis still reeling, it was a happy nighttime indeed.
