Seth MacFarlane's Flintstones Reboot Shelved

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It was reported around this time last year that 20th Century Fox had acquired the rights to reboot The Flintstones from Warner Bros. The reboot was being handled by Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, The Cleveland Show and American Dad, a purported super-fan of the series. The reinvisioned version of the beloved Hanna-Barbera show was due out in 2013, but has now been delayed for the foreseeable future.

The show has been put on hold, with no mention of when production may resume again, to accommodate MacFarlane's insanely busy schedule. In addition to the previous trifecta of Fox shows, MacFarlane is also working on Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey - a successor to Carl Sagan's Cosmos - and awaiting the release of his first feature film, Ted. So, it's no surprise that he would find it difficult to accommodate time for The Flintstones in there - even though the reboot is said to be a passion project for him, given his lifelong love of the show.
In addition, sources indicate that the script hasn't gone down all too well so far, with Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly telling MacFarlane that he liked it, but didn't love it. Whilst the show hasn't been scrapped, it has been postponed indefinitely, until such a time that MacFarlane has room in his schedule to work and rework the show's script. Several staff members have been let go, with MacFarlane looking into finding places at American Dad for others.
The idea seemed a little bizarre from the start: an animator and director renowned for his raunchy and often offensive humour, tackling the remake of such a beloved and revered show; but MacFarlane's love for the series is blatant and it would've been interesting to see where this went. Here's hoping it's back on track soon.
Via The Hollywood Reporter.

New Brave Images Show Merida's Swordplay

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Disney and Pixar have released two new images from their next feature film, Brave. These newest images both show the film's fiery-haired protagonist, Merida, practising her swordplay, but are polar opposites in tone. The first image (above) details a scene, presumably, from towards the end of the film, showing a tense, dramatic test of strength, with Merida standing centre, wielding a large sword.

The second (below) shows the very different relationships Merida has with her parents; showing jolly, fun-filled sword practice with her father, King Fergus, whilst her mother, Queen Elinor, lingers in the background, looking her over.


Be sure to click to see the enlarged high-res versions; Pixar never skimp on the detail.

Brave is due out on 22nd June in the US, and 17th August here in the UK.

Classic Cartoons #5 - Steamboat Willie

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I'm sure using this short film now will come back to bite me when I do my Bitesized Biography of Walt Disney and am in need of a short film to pair with it, but today's Classic Cartoon is the third Mickey Mouse cartoon, but the one that is often regarded as the mainstream debut of the famed mouse, the cartoon that put Walt Disney on the map - Steamboat Willie.

I'm currently amidst reading the biography of Walt Disney by Neal Gabler and what it stresses heavily, and what comes through when watching this short film, is how important this short film was to the early years of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released in 1928, Steamboat Willie was the first Mickey cartoon to be distributed, and became a phenomenal success - much needed after a string of knock-backs and failures from the Disney studio; Willie provided them their big break. Steamboat Willie was the first Mickey to be synchronised with sound, and whilst that was surely a contributing factor in its success, another surely is the fantastic characters and timeless storytelling. Though quite the little sadist here, using animals as musical instruments, Mickey was and is a sign of the eternal optimism and childlike joy that Disney himself represented. The story, simple in premise, remains brilliant today, at 7 minutes, the short flies by and remains possibly the truest definition of a Classic Cartoon.

Inducted into the National Film Registry, to be preserved forever, in 1998, the starting sequence of the short is now widely recognisable for its prefacing of Disney animated releases. Steamboat Willie is the epitome of classic Disney storytelling.

The Corner - Heather Reviews The Avengers

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Where can I start? Where can I possibly start? Starting atthe beginning would require delving back to 2008, when Iron Man and TheIncredible Hulk were released. These two films were the beginning of aMarvel-lous work of cinema. Following the aforementioned films came Iron Man 2(2010), Thor (2011) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011, also). Thiswas the beginning of the Avengers… It was here the Avengers were to, indeed,assemble.

Directed by Joss Whedon (who helped write the Toy Story 1script; produced hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse and Firefly)meant that great things were expected. And boasting a cast of incredibly talentedactors – Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man); Chris Evans (Captain America); MarkRuffalo (The Hulk); Chris Hemsworth (Thor); Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow)…etc, put a lot of pressure onto what was already expected from this film:wonders. It definitely delivered. Another point worth making: so manysuperheroes. In a one-superhero film it seems perfectly… perfect, seeing themtake the limelight. In The Avengers, so many heroes – who was to dominate?Chris Hemsworth (Thor) was interviewed by Empire Magazine and quoted saying“It’s not an easy mix. They [the characters] all have some friction”. However,Whedon pulled it off…
I must say, I expectedaction-action-action-serious-save-the-world. Instead, there were genuinemoments in which the whole cinema-audience were laughing: the children, theteenagers, the grandparents… It was brilliant. Of course, even Whedon has theOne-Liner illness, but it was very much appreciated in this case. Of course,being the witty, handsome, rich, ex-weapon-maker, Tony Stark (Downey Junior)was given most of these. The occasional “guys, I’m bringing the party to you”and “I don’t play well with others” was much appreciated. The Hulk, terrifyingat times, also proved to be a character that could inspire hilarity to thepoint of hysteria – unfortunately, Loki found out the wrong way that the Hulkcould indeed “bully” a God.
The camera work was stunning; the acting was stunning; themusic was stunning. There is so much to praise.
 The Avengers followsanother of Earth’s plights – honestly, will we ever not be the target of an alternate race?! – this time the product ofLoki’s unwanted administrations. Loki steals the Tesseract (an object creatinga portal from Asgard to Earth) and uses it to unleash an army unto Earth,hoping – in typical villain style – to conquer Earth with his army and allies.However, one thing Loki couldn’t possibly have foreseen: The Avengers. All ofthe superheroes gathered to make a team, a rescue-mission for Earth. Or, as TheHulk (Ruffalo) put it: “not a team, we’re a time bomb”. Sure, the crew haverough patches – which friendship groups don’t? Friendship groups. Yes. That’swhat they are like: there’s the one who acts like a prat, and in doing so,becomes wittily charming – that would be Tony Stark (Downey Jr.). Then there’sthe one who doesn’t get on with him – Captain America (Evans). Then you havethe geek, who they use for science as well as credit – Hulk. The two assassins,which friendship group doesn’t have assassins? – those being Hawkeye (JeremyRenner) and Black Widow (Johansson). Then there is Thor.
Confession time: I love Thor. There we go. Deep breaths. Iam limiting myself to that little smidgen of adoration. Be thankful.
And of course, the leader of this rag-tag gang? It couldonly be Nick Fury, played incredibly well by Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson hasthis character down to a ‘T’. He masters the brooding, commanding Fury, rockingthe eye-patch all the while. It is hard not to appreciate acting like his,where he has obviously thought long and hard about his character, and it shows.
I’m going to stop ranting and raving now, because it couldget out of hand, especially if I start on Thor again… He is wonderful, though.Acting skills, heroic-abilities and all. Sorry. I digress.
Ten out of ten. Nothing less. If there was an eleven, itwould be that. Highly amusing, but not too much, filled with action, likeablecharacters – and legitimately unlikeablecharacters – brilliant acting and directing. High standard.
I wouldn’t expect anything less.

Aardman News 8 - Wallace and Gromit in A Jubilee Bunt-a-thon

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Before you get too excited, this isn't a new Wallace and Gromit feature film, nor is it even really a short film - what this is, is a "new mini animation" featuring the plasticine duo preparing for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The 1 minute long short film, more like the previous Cracking Contraptions series than the half hour TV specials, is being released by the National Trust at a series of events this summer - for a list of locations, visit the National Trust's website. The short film, entitled A Jubilee Bunt-a-thon, sees barmy inventor, Wallace, and his loyal pooch, Gromit, putting up the bunting to celebrate the Queen's big day and you can see a 30 second clip from it above.

There's also a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the production of Bunt-a-thon (below), showing the painstaking and wonderful process that stop-motion animation undergoes. The video features some words from the duo's creator, Nick Park, and from Creative Director, Merlin Crossingham (one of those fantastic names that makes you proud to be British) who said:

"To complete a minute of film, we have three animators, working flatout for 3 weeks."


It really puts into context the hard work that goes into, not just stop-motion, but animation in general! Look forward to this short film probably making its way online later this year.

New Brave Featurette - Kilt

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What we've seen from Brave in the past has been, with a few exceptions, very tense, very ominous, very eerie and very badass. However, what we're treated to today is a much more light-hearted, jovial advert for the film - a featurette satirising fashion adverts, selling Kilts. The advert may seem a little adult or low-brow for Pixar, but, in my opinion, this is a very needed move. As fantastic and exciting as Brave looks, up until very recently it's showed very little of its funny side - of the side that'll attract the majority of its audience: kids. Animation may be an art-form that perpetual children like myself enjoy, but the fact of the matter is, their key demographic is actual children, so comedy is an essential.

As it's Pixar, the film will undoubtedly be a deft blend of comedy, pathos and emotion, but it's a smart idea - marketing wise - to try and get that across in its advertisements.

The featurette (above) parodies the oftentimes ridiculous fashion adverts we're regularly subjected to; advertising the traditional kilts that populate Brave. It, as well as being very funny, features a decent amount of previously unseen footage - including a shot of Merida's father, King Fergus, fighting the demon bear, Mor'du.

Brave hits US theatres on 22nd June, and arrives here in the UK a couple of months later on 13th August (up slightly from its previous due date of the 17th).

Via iTunes Movie Trailers.

Brave: Happy Mother's Day

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Mother's Day hit a few months ago here in the UK, but it's fast approaching for our US readers, and today Pixar unveiled a new video clip (above) from Brave to help promote this. The video has a great message and it's very admirable of Pixar to promote the often undervalued holiday, but far more interestingly, from an animation standpoint, is the actual footage used.

The video  showcases a lot of new footage from Brave that we haven't hitherto seen. These new clips include footage of Merida as a child, learning to use her bow, and the strained, yet, at its heart, pure, relationship between mother and daughter; Queen Elinor and Merida.

Brave hits US theatres on 22nd June, and UK cinemas on 13th August.

And also, remember to get your mums something nice for Mother's Day guys - you can't overplay how brilliant they are.

Also, Brave has been given a PG rating due to "some scary scenes and rude humour". It is the third Pixar film to be rated as such. Full story on The Pixar Times.