After the December, 2009 release by Walt Disney Animation’s latest creation, Princess and the Frog, you might wonder what Disney has planned next? Well, for the past couple of years development has continued on “Rapunzel Unbraided”, which instead of being set in New Orleans of the early 1900’s, goes back in time to when Disney princesses traditionally lived, i.e. a medieval world where people still live in castles. Rapunzel Unbraided, set to be release in 2010, after a series of missteps, is headed to the big screen.
I am guessing that audiences will be very interested in Rapunzel, as I believe that the Princess and the Frog, due to be released in December, 2009, will be a huge commercial success as well as an artistic achievement, and wrote about why I have concluded this here, www.associatedcontent.com/article/2236591/the_princess_and_the_frog_likely_to.html.
If you want to see concept art for this latest Walt Disney Animation Feature film then look here, www.disneyanimation.com/projects/rapunzel/index.html, where by clicking on Rapunzel you can see a couple of the pieces of concept art used when animators began creating this film. While this film is rendered in a “CG”, or computer generated environment, it has much the same feel as other animated classics that Disney had produced over the years, such as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. But will the film also have an intriguing story? Or at least one good enough to pack theatres next winter?
It might be too early to say one way or the other, but Rapunzel Unbraided appears to be a new “re-telling” of the classic story. This is nothing new as Disney has always added to, and taken away elements, from classic stories when turning them into major motion pictures. Walt Disney in fact fought a long battle with the author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers, over the film that Disney produced by the same name. However, giving Rapunzel a new lease on life could be good, as Disney’s past princess movies have been so formulaic that they even mocked themselves in the run away hit “Enchanted”, a combination animated and live action film produced by Disney.
Because Disney’s creative branch is overseen by John Lasseter, who has the final say on both Pixar and Disney Animated Features, you can be sure that he has signed off on a compelling plot. Chances are good that audiences will enjoy this animated feature when it is released by the Mouse House in 2010.
Also, concept art for “Prep and Landing” can be found on the Walt Disney Animation website listed above. Why this computer generated film wasn’t expanded into a full length animated feature (its just half an hour), and will be released on ABC instead, is a mystery to me.
Sources:
Walt Disney Animation
http://www.disneyanimation.com/projects/rapunzel/index.html
Mary Poppins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Poppins
Prep and Landing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prep_and_Landing
