How many of you remember what happened back in March? When
the premiere issue of Disney twenty-three hit newsstands and then all the
Internet movie news sites went crazy because that magazine featured an article
on Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”? Scans of the pictures that
accompanied that piece suddenly seemed to be everywhere on the Net.
Well, the second issue of Disney twenty-three has been out
for several weeks now. With thousands of copies of this magazine being
purchased at Barnes & Nobles around the country. Not to mention all of the issues
that got out mailed to people who actually signed up for D23, the Official
Community for Disney Fans.
Which is why I have to wonder: Given all the copies of the
Summer 2009 Disney twenty-three that are currently out there, why is it that no
one’s been talking about the “Rapunzel” promo piece that’s included
in this issue?
There’s lots of juicy info to be found in Carmen Esquer’s
four page article. Much of which comes straight from “Rapunzel” ‘s two directors,
Nathan Greno and Byron Howard.
For those of you who don’t know, Greno & Howard have
become Walt Disney Animation Studios’ go-to guys. The team that John
Lasseter now turns to whenever he’s got a WDAS project that’s gone off track. And since Nathan & Byron were the ones who
fixed “American Dog,” taking the bares bones of Chris Sanders’ quirky Hollywood
road picture and then building “Bolt,” John was hoping that these two could run
a similar sort of rescue mission on “Rapunzel.”
Byron Howard (left) and Nathan Greno, co-directors of “Bolt” and “Rapunzel.” Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
Now what made this kind of difficult was that Greno &
Howard were both huge fans of Glen Keane, “Rapunzel” ‘s original director. In
Carmen’s article, Byron recalled how – when he used to work at Walt Disney
Feature Animation’s satellite studio in Florida …
“Every now and then, not very often, (one of Glen Keane’s
scenes for ‘Pocahontas’) would come down to Florida,” (Howard) says. “We wouldn’t
get the best scenes; we’d get more like the connective tissue. But when a Glen
scene would show up at our doorstep, we would covet it. Glen is such a
celebrity in the animation world that we’d just marvel at how he’d draw stuff
and kind of fight to be the one cleaning up those drawings.”
So – given how these two clearly revere Keane – it must have been awkward for Nathan & Byron
to then have to step in for Glen in an effort to get “Rapunzel” ready for its
already locked-in holiday 2010 release date. But what made this situation
somewhat easier to deal with is – while Keane is no longer directing “Rapunzel”
– he remains one of the film’s executive producers.
So Nathan & Byron’s version of the classic fairytale going
to be different than the one that Glen was trying to get out of the ground?
According to Howard …
“This Rapunzel … is out of the tower and heading for
adventure by the end of Act One. “(This) story is more about what happens when
she leaves the tower” Byron says. “The moral of the story, really, is that you can’t
live your life in a tower. It’s about experiencing the world and living your
life. Even though our heroine is physically out of the tower, mentally it’s difficult
for her to completely leave it behind. She’s like an indoor cat that gets out
of the house; it’s really hard getting the cat back in. It’s great to have a
character who is so innocent and so smart. And it’s even better to see her wake
up.”
Okay. Admittedly, that is a very different way to approach a
Disney Princess picture. And given that “Rapunzel” is actually a CG film …
Well, Greno & Howard are looking for ways to connect this new WDAS project
to all the other Disney fairytales that came before it. Which – in this case –
will be “Rapunzel” ‘s production design.
As Nathan explained he & Byron’s plan for this animated feature
to Carmen:
“The design of (this) film will try to put … a fresh twist
on a 1950s retro vibe. “Byron and I are such huge fans of Disneyland, and of
Fantasyland in particular,” Nathan says. “The architecture of Fantasyland is
nostalgic 1950s Fantasyland. There’s real appeal and style that are used in
films like Cinderella, so we’re doing research on that style …”
Copyright 2009 Disney. All Rights Reserved
And to provide further connective tissue to the Disney fairy
tales that preceded this picture, Greno & Howard have turned to the Academy
Award-winning composer of “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin,”
Alan Menken.
According to Greno, this Disney Legend did a superb job on “Rapunzel.”
Working with lyricist Glenn Slater, Menken …
“ … delivered this lullaby that Rapunzel and Mother Gothel
sing to each other that activates the magic in Rapunzel’s hair. The song’s
lyrics say ‘You are my forever,’ which – depending on who sings it and when –
takes on entirely different meanings. Sometimes it’s a love song between our
prince, Flynn, and Rapunzel; other times it’s a terrifying, possessive theme
used by Gothel. But it’s great, because it’s a very heartrending, beautiful
song, and (Menken) really nailed it.”
Speaking of Flynn, at the time that Esquer sat down to talk
with Greno & Howard, “Rapunzel” ‘s new directors were still trying to get a
handle on how Disney’s newest prince should look.
“We had a couple of
versions of (Flynn), and John Lasseter came in and went, ‘Well, this guy is
okay, but I don’t know. Is he drop-dead gorgeous? I think women will want him
to be drop-dead gorgeous.’ So he said, ‘What you guys have to do is get all the
women in the studio to send you the names of their favorite hot men. Put photos
of all these hunky guys in the room, take the best features of each of them,
and make one amazing, dynamic character.’ So that’s the process that’s going on
right now. This place has turned in junior high. It’s like working in the
office of ‘Tiger Beat.’ “
Which may sound like a somewhat odd idea. But Ron Clements
& John Musker did this exact same sort of thing when they were working on “Aladdin.”
They consulted with the women working at Walt Disney Studios back then to see what
their title character should look. Which is why Aladdin wound up looking more
like Tom Cruise than he did Michael J. Fox (i.e. the “Family Ties” star that
Ron & John had originally used as Aladdin’s inspiration).
Getting back to “Rapunzel” now … Though Nathan & Byron have
only been on the job for eight months now, Disney executives clearly seem
enthusiastic about the work that these two have already done on “Rapunzel.”
Earlier this month, studio execs screened the entire first act for buyers who
were attending this year’s Licensing International Expo in Las Vegas. And those
who attended this secretive screening had high praise for this
still-in-production animated feature.
Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
If you’d like to learn even more about “Rapunzel,” then I
suggest you pick up a copy of the Summer 2009 issue of Disney Twenty-three. This
particular issue has a number of great stories, including Michael Singer’s
profile of Jerry Bruckheimer.
Speaking of which … Walt Disney Pictures is hyping “G-Force”
(i.e. Bruckheimer’s latest production for the studio) as being “ … fast, furry
and furious.” But there’s one F that the Mouse’s marketing department isn’t
mentioning. Not yet, anything. And that “F” stands for “franchise.”
Yep, Disney’s deliberately leaving its
Guinea-pigs-as-secret-agents picture open-ended. More importantly, this movie’s
villain (SPOILER AHEAD) manages to survive “G-Force” ‘s explosion-laden finale.
Which means that he lives to bedevil Darwin,
Blaster and Juarez in a follow-up film. Which – if all goes according to plan –
could be popping up at a theater near you as earlier as the Summer of 2011.
Your thoughts?