+Saxcat20 Let's Plays Did you not know that they want to make 8 new movies? Dragons Lair is just the start, hopefully it'll do well and give them the money that they need to make more.
I personally think that Shrek can be to blame for this...at least its success, to the point where it had quite an effect on the mainstream animated film industry like a bad cold and it seems like it's refusing to go away easily. In fact, I don't think Shrek being CGI was the only reason it started killing hand drawn animation. I think it was also because it was sticking it to Disney when it was doing so. If you see the appeal of Shrek and how a lot of us grew up with the Classic Disney films, and the folks at Dreamworks behind Shrek would find it fun if it mocked things by being more anti-Disney, consisting of making pop culture references and characters being crude or unpleasant toward each other, plus Shrek was CGI and Disney wasn't back then...at least, not outside of Pixar. When Shrek became a huge hit, it apparently attached a stigma to Disney like, "Disney's way out! Shrek is where it's at!" and once more people were convinced, it meant a shift away from hand drawn animation.
I totally agree with Bluth on how everyone in Hollywood has jumped onto the CG band wagon, and left 2D animation twisting in the wind. 2D is just another form of animation, and there's no reason why we should only have one type of animation over the other. Both hand drawn, and CG animation can, and should be able to coexist, and I wish Hollywood would get it's head out of it's ass, and realize this! Not every animated film has to be CG!
***** I know it does. But like Mr. Bluth said, it kind of becomes a little boring after a while. It all blends together and it makes me miss traditional animated movies. But as you said, in those movies it really works.
+GunvorPlays Even when CGI works well, like in pixar, dream-works, and now disney etc. it still does not have the same feeling as traditional animation. When people ask me what i mean by that i have one simple answer, watch the opening of Hunchback of Notre Dame... it's up here on youtube if you don't have the film yourself...watch that opening i think it's like 5-9 minutes, just watch that...come back to me and tell me when was the last time you saw a CGI film deliver the same feelings, impact and power as that did? granted the music helps but just the style...the textures the colors, the story being told through these hand drawn images and the feelings and power they give off, there is no actual way to describe that feeling, it is something that is experienced, not something that can be defined/measured or quantified... Those moments are exactly what Don Bluth is talking about... Now CGI has great moments...but what for them I've noticed it's the story and characters that create the power of the film...as they should, but it's not at least for me, the animation/style that impacts the movie...now this is both good and bad, good becasue character and story are important, bad because animation that makes you feel enhances and or changes the power and look of a an animated film, and losing that means you lose a bit of the translation.
+Federico Cappella Personally I wish Frozen had been hand drawn... especially because Anna and Else look like they have the EXACT same model unsed as Rapunzel...... And I think the Ice magic and stuf would have looked so awesome and seeing hte hand drawn faces and poses for the characters I always feel like they convey more emotion than the end product. I personally think the best animated movy is Insideout and the How to train your dragon series, they make full use of the CGI and it feels awesome. Some earlier movies, esüecially dreamworks always felt a little.. clunky. I don'T know. How they threw things towards the screen just so they could say "Oh look 3D effects" -.- it was annoying. Well sadly the last big handdrawn animated movie, Kiss the frog, didn't make quiete as much money so they concluded people didn'T want it anymore
+GunvorPlays Gets a little boring? Just because it doesn't have human touch, it doesn't mean it doesn't have human heart on it. The problem I have with fans of 2D animation is their usually (I said usually as in some cases, but not all) bias against 3D. Some movies use their 3D style and depth to great effect especially on action, that's the thing Tangled bothered me the most, out of all, it is still pretty tame and acts like a 2D movie, I love the movie, but from a technical standpoint it could have gone either way. But I will say this, one thing that needs to die is motion captured movies like Polar Express and Mars needs Moms, that 's not animation in my eyes, that's a coat of digital paint over something real
+Arch92Flo Wish I had extra cash to donate, but all my cash is going to schooling. I'm giving them all of my hope for a successful project though. I am also spreading the word to my animation enthused friends as well.
DzRocked Great. I couldn't spare a lot. Being an animator was one of my dreams but I'm not very good at drawing to begin with. Not at all. Best luck to your friends.
Can I just say right now that if Don Bluth hadn't made the great movies he made in the 80s, Disney might never have bothered to step up their game and make the great movies they made in the 90s? I think we owe him an even bigger thank you than you think.
@@zeanzern4396 That might also be the reason why Don Bluth films in the 90's suck, because he may have lost creative control. Since All Dogs go to Heaven bombed at the box office, that meant that Don Bluth didn't have much money which only made things harder for him. The good news is Anastasia have inspired FOX to create Blue Sky.
Wow, what a fantastic interview. The idea of being "married to art" and the loneliness of that really struck a chord with me. I love how honest and genuine these guys are and how well Doug really managed to get so much great insight out of them.
I'm surprised Doug didn't bring up the fact that Disney always tried to release a movie at the same time as they did for competition or preserve their title. I remember when The Little Mermaid got rereleased in theaters the same week as Anastasia. My sister wanted to see The Little Mermaid and I threw a fit over her wanting to see the same VHS movie I had listened to 100 times. I wanted to see something new and different and thankfully the movie paid off for us both. I'm more than willing to bet that Disney is gonna try to lineup their next animated film when Dragon's Lair does officially come out or even lower, rerelease Frozen into theaters that same weekend. I'm praying to God that this movie is a success and paves the way for more films by these two. I've been wanting Don and Gary back for so long and now they're finally here.
+Tomáš Zelenka I can't help but wonder if that was one of the movies Don was talking about when he mentioned European movies doing hand-drawn animation.
+Tomáš Zelenka I WANT to see it but it never came into cincema here in Germany, at least not the bigger once, it's not on youtube, netflix or anything... and I don't really have so much money as to buy all movies I'd like to see on DVD .... T.T Really want to see it but in a LEGAL way!
I recommend you to watch An American Tail. It's a very wonderful movie as well. An American Tail also has a very wonderful soundtrack with a beautiful story and amazing characters.
My first don and Gary film was "the land before time" and this movie inspired me that is hope for everyone. And just like Don and Gary, there is still hope for them two.
I loved Thumbelina as a little girl, her voice and the songs and how beautifully she was drawn. Now that I'm older, I can really appreciate all the effort that went into making her (and the whole film) so perfect! "Once there was the sun"! Thank you gentlemen for this gem
The thing that I've always loved about his movies was the family element. And when he said that he never had that because of his love for animation almost made me cry.. he was living a family life vicariously through his art. Oh the feels. 😢
America: "Meh." * throws traditional animation in the garbage * Japan: * picks up tranditional animation, dusts it off. * O_O * looks left then right, to check no one is coming back for it. * * cackles with glee and runs off. *
night mare All true for the majority of anime, but only because they are "mass produced." Focusing on aspects of character design and setting over fluidity of animation has also become part of the style, and naturally prohibit animation fidelity since the character models are typically more complex. While it's never emphasized as much as in western works, there are movies that up the number of frames and cut fewer corners like Studio Ghibli's movies. I don't remember saying they were the same as Don Bluth's films, or even mentioning Don Bluth at all. At any rate, the fact remains that the majority of all traditional animation in the world is now produced in Japan.
night mare "No details over fluidity isn't a style choice it's actually a cheap choice." It's used both ways. Cheaply for low budget anime, artistically for high budget anime.
night mare No I didn't. I was using one of these newfangled things called an "analogy." I don't mean that literally all western animation has been thrown away, only that it's much less prominent in American culture than it used to be and has been somewhat replaced by CG animation.
+Locutus Borg To this day I haven't found a japanese animation that has drawn the correct mouth movements of a full dialogue scene, only small phrases and words.
My god, the very first thing Don said is what I've thought for years. When I look a what other countries do with animation then look at what America does with it, it makes me weep especially with what we used to do, like with your work Don.
He's just so earnest. He takes credit for his work even when people don't like it. I still love Thumbelina, even if the script isn't so good. And what he said about cg! THANK YOU!!!! We can still have cg just bring back the 2D!! PLEASE! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!
I'm kind of shocked that Don didn't mention the tragic death of Judith Barsi as his biggest hurdle. Apparently she had mentioned that she wanted to have a role in all of Don's movies after Land Before Time and then was horrifically taken by her father, right before All Dogs came out. It's probably due to him wanting to let her memory rest in peace. That being said, I can only imagine the loneliness this guy has had to deal with. Animation is a rough job.
Richard Wheeldon Considering some of the movies and comments that storytellers have made (i.e. David S. Goyer, Chris Nolan, Alan Moore, etc), it's nice to see a filmmaker who shows signs of being a human being.
I wondered why Don Bluth films suddenly started sucking...I'm glad he's thought about what happened too. It makes me really excited to see how he's grown as a creator since then and knowing what he knows now. Can't wait for that movie!
Don's introspective comments on his toughest thing he had to overcome broke my heart. It was raw and honest. Glad to hear he is happy though and has achieved his dreams. An incredible talent and inspiration.
That's the scary thing that I can agree with Bluth: While 3D and computer animation and such is the current now thing, hand drawn is basically turning into a dying art. I think the reason why Bluth wanted to do a Dragon's Lair movie wasn't just so that he could made a film that was long overdue, but perhaps as a means to try and inspire this generation. Who knows who the next Walt Disney Chuck Jones, Don Bluth, or whoever will be, but with the way things look, it is basically, going to be an end of an era. Best of luck to you guys on making the film very successful.
History might repeat itself, Don and Gary left Disney to challenge them back in the 70's, but now forty years later they are now making a new hand-drawn film in the midst of a CG saturated market.
You know I could never find a way to word the felling a lot of artist fell.. that Don Bluth so put it beautifully.. It really is being married to the art's. It truly takes that much dedication to make it as a artist.. I been felling minute share of too it lonely its tedious its monotonous without any comfort or company for hours and days on end but at the same time its what wakes me up its what gets me excited about the day is creating worlds it the only possible thing I think to do and dedicate the rest of my life leaning and improving.. my life would be empty without it. I can not think of a better way to word it. I admire both Don Bluth and Gary Goldman work and it was nice to hear from there point of view. I think this is just what I needed to hear today. thanks for hosting the interview. also looking forward to the Dragon's Lair Movie.
This just makes me really sad that traditional 2d animation isn't much of an option anymore. Even then, when it IS done much of it may be done on computers and they mess around with it so much it doesn't "feel" drawn. It's when the simpsons start losing it's uniqueness. Stuff like that is too clean looking. It lacks personal soul.
+Evenglare Valenstar Plenty of people still make 2D animation, outside of the US that is. Maybe Bluth should be working together with some European studio.
I have so many wonderful memories of loving the work they made from my childhood, and it certainly did have a profound impact, I'm an art student now and thumbalina and Anastasia were so inspiring for me as a young child. I did start crying near the end of the video though......proud to have supported their indiegogo and really happy to see how sweet and honest they are with all of this. I'm having a....really hard time in uni at the moment and things like this remind me of why I wanted to do it. if I'll succeed I don't know but having things reignited helps.
amazing experience. Thanks for the video! really liked what Don Bluth said about animation in Snowhite (Eviil Queen) - that moment really scared me as a kid...no zombie or any vampire scared me, like this scene did...
As someone with no kids, never been married, and has no interest in either, who just works and tries to live comfortably and better myself in various ways I totally understand and relate to Don's lonliness. While I'm generally happy I do have moments where I wish there was something or someone to give me something instead of me giving my all to everything I do being the reciever and not the giver for once.
Wow, I disagree with both of you... first of all DON BLUTH IS A FREAKING GENIUS with more talent than most people can ever dream of possessing, Wilson. Now that that is out of the way, I hate Nemo, it is the movie that made me realize I hated CG animation. There are some exceptions to the rule but it is the general rule for me, personally. Still love Bluth, though, so to each his own.
@@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090 I was referring to movies like troll in Central Park and pebble and the penguin and I'm my opinion at least, even his good stuff is pretty mediocre.
I think I know what Don's talking about with artwork being a lonely pursuit. I'm very ameteur, but even I tend to isolate myself a lot when I work on my projects. But, it's okay... if that's what it takes, I accept that. Drawing and writing are the two things I love most in life. Like obsessions. 90% of the time, I'm thinking about my projects and the next step I need to take to complete them. So you can imagine I don't keep it together very well during my day job.
+I'm The Saint same. I make extreme use of the note and draft features on my phone to input story ideas i may have, putting them down quickly and well-structured enough so as not to forget the idea or dialogue i figured. Same with actual paper and the note and word functions on my computer. . Same with drawings. I'll put them down on paper, shading and all, before putting them through digital paint.
Doug must have had the greatest self control EVER to stop his inner fanboy emerging!!! Bet he turned off the camera and just collapsed into Robs arms, crying 'Did ya hear that, he wants to name his child after meeeee'
This interview was so awesome. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman really seem like great guys. I hope their Dragons Lair project really pans out well--I am really looking forward to see what they cook up!
"I know that CG tries harder to give more realistic, beautiful look-- well why don't you just hire an actor? Because if you keep moving that fantasy, that magic of animation towards the live-action pretty soon I'm not sure you have animation anymore." Bluth tells the truth! I mean it's great and I love that CG has greatly improved and has allowed us to create astounding effects in movies. But when it comes to animation-- and this is why I miss traditional hand drawn animation-- emotions, ideas and story is told visually! Sorry to go off tangent a little, but I think this is why I enjoy anime-- they are big on visual story telling. Even though it's animation and does't "look real", you have connection to the characters and story just like in the Don Bluth classics. It's shouldn't always be about how "real" something can look, it's "what story do we want to tell, and how do we visually tell it?"
Hey Don and Gary here is what I want to see in your Dragon's Lair movie; Every comical death scene (you know, the ones without him actually dying) of the main hero. I wasted my money playing that game (in the 90s) and all I was rewarded with is a montage of Dirk dying in the most painfully frustrating fashion. You could at the very least owe me back my money's worth of those scenes.
thanks for the lovely interview. don bluth and gary goldman are my heroes. you have such a kind understanding for quality things, and I'm appreciative that you can not only crack a hilarious joke but be a humble host as well.
I personally believe Don Bluth and Gary Goldman deserve the Honorary Oscar These are 2 guys that not only managed to make 13 theatrical Animated films consistent and always with quality animation, but went Head-to-Head with Disney, won some of those fights, and one of their films are considered one of the best animated films ever made. That and while Disney was moving on to Digital coloring in the 90's to reduce costs/time making the films, Don Bluth sticked with traditional cels and perfected it even if his later movies left much to be desired, and Pebble and the Penguin was badly re-made in Hungary. And even when Don Bluth finally moved on to digital with Anastasia in '97 he completely blew Disney out of the water with the sheer scale and magnitude of the animation quality and design, and now they're going to push it even further with Dragon's Lair, which I dearly hope it get picked up and made, animation today lacks truth, stuff you see nowadays is like 2 hours of lies on the screen, Don Bluth is one of the few that can deliver something memorable.
A pleasure to watch this interview, featuring the 2 legends. I can't wait for Dragon's Lair (and Space Ace, if permitted) to be granted a full length movie. Any chance we'll see one with Andre Meadows?
I guess 4:37 explains why Carol Lynn Pearson was only credited for writing in the first trailer that was featured in the Rock-A-Doodle VHS. She could've gotten "Story by" credit.
Don Bluth took a badly written version of a script for Thumbelina and tried to fix it in a week? That's pretty impressive that they turned out what they did. While the movie has its flaws, it's still pretty good in my personal opinion. It actually was very faithful to the source material and updated the fairy-tale fairly well. Plus it had great songs, beautiful animation, and pretty likable characters (Not great but likable). Its main problem, in my opinion, was only that the stupid bird kept on ruining everything. A lot of the writing flaws I'd say is the fairy-tale aspect and is based off emotion rather than logic. This is the same argument I make when people criticize The Swan Princess but that's another story.
Don liked Tangled YEAH. I love you man. I loved Tangled. I think Tangled reminds me of Anastasia. Some CGI films are very artifical looking whereas more are brilliant and life-like. I hope hand-drawn animation will make a return again. I miss hand drawn animation.
This video just made me happy to be alive. Don, Gary, your movies made me want to become an animator. I'm not there yet, but everyday I'm moving closer to my goal. Thank you for the inspiration, without artists like you, I would not have the drive and passion I do today. Good luck on your feature film, I anticipate its release.
My favourite movie is Anastasia. Her story is very powerful, scenes are beautiful and music is just amazing. (I always hoped for another movie about her adventures...) Anyway...Don Bluth and Gary Goldman are real masters!
I love Anastasia!! It is possibly my favorite princess type movie from any company! I would have to really scrutinize my list of favorites to decide but if it isn't my absolute favorite then it is extremely close to the top. I jist love the animation, the characters, the story, the music, it is all jus wonderful! I actually watched the Anastasia Broadway production and found myself disappointed with it, nothing against the actors, they were great, but it just lost all the magic and wonder of the movie. Everyone typically complains that it "isn't historically accurate, blablablaaa!" but it wasn't meant to be, it was meant to be a "what if?". There were quite a few people who claimed to be Anastasia or one of the other family members, there was even someone who claimed to be a child that the Tzar and Tzarina had secretly before their deaths. So the movie was more like "What IF one did survive?" and I thing that is crazy cool!
"...I just need your money" lol. But seriously Don, I love your work and I want the movie to be a success but don't pull a Tim Schafer/Keiji Inafune on us please
+AT Productions Mighty No. 9 raised a lot of money as a Megaman spiritual successor, but is now getting a lot of bad hype/reviews for the trailer, but most importantly was the Red Ash kickstarter fiasco... Basically they tried raising money for a spiritual Megaman Legends successor WHILE THEY WERE STILL MAKING MN9, didn't succeed until an investor came in and saved them, having the money raised go towards stretch goals which were never stated what they were. While the kickstarter was still active, though, it was clear that the MN9 release date was going to be pushed back on Amazon, but the company denied this and said Amazon doing that was some technical error, then officially announced the delay after it was done. Sure, the reason for the delay and the delay was justifiable and fine (video games, happens all the time), but flat out lying to the fans just to try to get more money for their failing kickstarter kind of left a bad taste in everyone's mouth...
The Red Ash kickstarter stretch goals were stated on the last or second to last day. Also believe it or not the publisher was already on board with the game. It was going to be happen anyway. There are pictures of Inafune and the publishers at E3 or some convention like a two weeks before the kickstarter came out.
Man, who could ever really hate on Don? Sure, his works in the 90s were weird and...pretty bad...but the animation was still amazing. Just like they said, the scripts were what killed the movies in that time period, so if they had better scripts, they'd still be classic Don Bluth films. Granted, I think Rock-a-Doodle Doo was a weird film but the animation is something that draws me to it (no pun intended) and makes me call it a guilty pleasure. Who else thinks like this?
It's funny I loved these random movies as a kid: All dogs go to heaven, American Tale, Land Before time, and Anastasia, but it wasn't til I started watching Doug's reviews that I realized they were all connected and led to me watch so much of Don Bluth's work. Even if you can't help with the IndieGoGo, please go see this movie when it comes out. Let's show the world that 2D animation isn't dead, that it can still tell a great story, and that it shouldn't be forgotten. Most of all though, do it so we can see Doug review the movie (you know he will).
Today I watched a FX ad that was showing their new movies. What I noticed is all the movies were CG animated and just blended together. If you didn't know the films you'd think they were all the same movie, it was weird. Even with all the complaints giants like Disney got for 2D character designs most can tell the difference between films in a montage. So maybe the lack of diversity due to the lack of human touch and sticking with established trends is CG animation's problem.
I was kind of surprised to hear them praise Tangled; I thought that was such a rip off of Anastasia! Not only in terms of the general story (lost princess and con man fall in love while uncovering her past), but there were very specific moments that felt lifted straight from the original, like Rapunzel staring at a painting of her family, trying on the crown in a mirror, and the whole "did he run off with the money?" bit. Flynn even looks like Dimitri - same vest and hairstyle!
I can't wait for the Dragon's Lair to happen! I've always loved Don's movies and I grew up watching them. (heck I even bought the DVD versions of some of them) and I always remember that wonderful feeling that I had watching them. Every one of them is unique story, unique characters and settings, yet they make it work. I really wish they will make more movies.
i wonder about the voice acting... but if i should give a suggestion that you probably already did: don't forget casual talk, it's useful to make the characters more human.
You know Don Bluth, you can always make movies based off appropriate children's books or novels if you're out of ideas or read other appropriate people's screenplays that they're selling to you, in order to help your company become more successful.
In the movie, I would like to see either Dirk having visions of what would happen if he messes something (In the Dragon's Lair like Style of failing a event) Or save it for Bloopers at the end of the movie.
+Jenifer Joseph As a child, that moment always made sense to me. Car Face knew that the rats worshiped this alligator that lived in the sewers, and he knew that they would sacrifice Charlie and Anne Marie to him. He thought this would be the way to get rid of them However, the plan backfired, because King Gator loved Charlie's voice. So he didn't eat them, but became friends. I always figured (even as a five/6 year old) that this was why Gator went after Car Face at the end..because they had become friends
One thing to remember with the crowd-funding campaign (which I'm not sure many people know) is that the money isn't going towards the full movie, it's going towards the production of a demo-reel to pitch to bigger studios for a cinematic budget, which makes sense. I'm sure quite a few people knew that already, but definitely good to know.
Oh god I totally agree with Don Bluth about CGI being like puppets! It really feels like there is about just one or two styles when it comes to big CGI animation movies, if it weren't for the time setting, it would be almost impossible to tell some movies apart. I mean I would love to see those Frozen sketches of Elsa in actual (good) 2D animation. I think Disney's 2D animation had its final nail on the coffin with Princess and the Frog, they just tried way too hard to please everyone that they came up with a pretty bland story and characters. I hope Dragon's Lair gives a chance for 2D animation to be back, there's just a beauty to hand drawn animation that 3D animation as a whole kinda lacks.
yakurimoe It's not weird. That's why The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, ParaNorman, Chicken Run, Wallace & Grommet, and Kubo and the Two Strings are such great films for many people. The Book of Life is all CGI, but since it imitates stop-motion animation, it has more character and emotional impact than the average CGI film. It's also part of why so many film buffs enjoy old monster movies and films like Clash of the Titans (the original).
yakurimoe I agree, I can count only two CG movies I actually enjoy the animation of, Advent Children and Strange Magic, any other CG movies I enjoy are in spite of the animation. I also agree that they do all look the same; Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna all have the same freaking face. None of the other princesses have interchangeable faces, none.of.them. I did actually very much enjoy the Princess and the Frog despite thinking I wouldn't. I think the biggest problem with it was the lack of good marketing. I was discussing this with someone recently that some of the Disney movies I enjoy the most are ones that were marketed very poorly and didn't do well (for example, Treasure Planet and Atlantis), I believe this is something that PatF also suffered from. In a way I think Disney may have even done that one purpose, they wanted an excuse to kill off their traditional animation. I used to love Disney, and I still do love the older Disney movies, but as for current Disney I find the only genuine Disney original properties I still find joy in are the Pirates movies, aside from those the only other movies I only enjoy that Disney continues to cranking out are properties Disney has purchased such as Marvel and Lucasfilm. Perhaps I am disenchanted and jaded (pun is a happy accident).
well that wasnt about the 2nd installment of frozen, called 'burned' where anna firepowers awaken. and elsa has to go thru a fire dungeon to save her. like anna had to endure the blizzard in the first one. ;) planes formula rinsed and repeated. ;)
I am completely in agreement with Don about the human touch of hand drawn animation. I have always hated CGI, personally. There are a few 3D animated movies that I truly enjoy and 95% of the time it is in spite of the animation. I can only think of two CG movies I enjoy the animation of, Advent Children and Strange Magic.
The only thing that will get Disney to change it's opinion on 2d animation is for a competitor company to rise up and force them to. Just like before with Don Bluth.
@@luisthekingjaime94 Cool to know you're also a fan :) It's hard to find An American Tail fans these days. It's a really great film and needs more recognition.
@@retrofan4963 the one movie that really got to me was the land before Time another movie were Steven Spielberg movie executive producer and so was George Lucas
@@luisthekingjaime94 Yeah, Land Before Time is also a really great film. As far as I'm aware, Land Before Time and An American Tail are the only films Steven Spielberg collaborated with Don Bluth.
Kind of sad we didn't get to here Bluth elaborate more on the Land Before Time sequels. I'd at least have loved to hear his thoughts on the 4th movie, Journey Through The Mists, since I think it's one of the only sequels(other than The Great Longneck Migration where he meets his father) that caould be considered a worthy sequel to the original.
Honestly, In my opinion, none of the Land Before Time sequels give a strong impression to me. They're all either bad, mediocre or okay. The original Land Before Time is the only Land Before Time movie that's really good(In my perspective). Land Before Time sequels are just cash-ins of the success of the original
I agree with what Don said about the magic that you don't really get with CG. Although I do think there are more advantages to CGI(like the flying scenes in "How to Train your Dragon", the fight scenes in " Kung Fu Panda", and the particles in the emotions in "Inside Out"), Hand Drawn animation still shows the passion and effort because it's hard to draw so many frames and keeping it consistent, especially with a full figure. And when it looks great, you can tell there was time and effort put into every second. Also, where can I tell Don my idea's for dragon's lair? Can I tell them here? If so, I wanted to say, maybe have Daphne be put into the sexy outfit when she's captured? And have a few near death experiences in the film that look like the deaths in the game please?
Isaiah Williams Disney already had great flying animation with The Rescuers-Down Under(on par with HTTYD, and 20 years older). In the 90s it was a mix of hand drawn animation and CGI that captured the magic so well.
I hope Doug takes to heart what they said about scripts and starts to acknowledge writing in his reviews more. Some videos, especially Why Do Good Directors Go Bad, really need it.
i love how fast Don just says "no, it was us"
"i just need your money..."
Humble and honest at least.
+Breno Ranyere
Takes a real man to own up to their mistakes. Good on ya gents.
+Breno Ranyere
I know, right? Tis a sign that there's a human being in there somewhere.
Barry Manilow O__o
Don is a wonderful man and a great animator. I am so glad he gets one more chance with Dragon's Lair.
+Saxcat20 Let's Plays I wonder if it will come out in theaters when it's done, I would totally bring my family.
+Saxcat20 Let's Plays Did you not know that they want to make 8 new movies? Dragons Lair is just the start, hopefully it'll do well and give them the money that they need to make more.
fingers crossed!
+Arron Litchfield Would they live that long? They're really old at this point...
1tastiger1 Oh come on dude, let's not be fatalistic.
"I don't need any pity, I just need your money".
I love hand drawn animation. I'm upset Disney has abandoned it. I'm glad these guys are still keeping it alive.
+Jason T Scott-West Both Hand Drawn and CG are styles. Why are people abandoning a style for another, Variety is the spice of life after all.
***** My point exactly.
No school like the old school...8)
I personally think that Shrek can be to blame for this...at least its success, to the point where it had quite an effect on the mainstream animated film industry like a bad cold and it seems like it's refusing to go away easily. In fact, I don't think Shrek being CGI was the only reason it started killing hand drawn animation. I think it was also because it was sticking it to Disney when it was doing so. If you see the appeal of Shrek and how a lot of us grew up with the Classic Disney films, and the folks at Dreamworks behind Shrek would find it fun if it mocked things by being more anti-Disney, consisting of making pop culture references and characters being crude or unpleasant toward each other, plus Shrek was CGI and Disney wasn't back then...at least, not outside of Pixar. When Shrek became a huge hit, it apparently attached a stigma to Disney like, "Disney's way out! Shrek is where it's at!" and once more people were convinced, it meant a shift away from hand drawn animation.
Sara Houck you watch mysterious mr enter's videos don't you?
I remember watching American Tale when I was a kid. I still have it on VHS. It was my favorite childhood movie.
Dragon's Lair is funded! Congrats Bluth!
+FemaleAnimeMaster Not just that, but the people that funded at least $5 will have a digital sneak peek of the first draft of Dragon's Lair!
+Crazy Luigi Plus, the campaign has passed its 3rd stretch goal of $400k
DoctorWarpdrive That's what I meant by that!
+FemaleAnimeMaster Oh yeah baby. Getting really hyped now!
I totally agree with Bluth on how everyone in Hollywood has jumped onto the CG band wagon, and left 2D animation twisting in the wind. 2D is just another form of animation, and there's no reason why we should only have one type of animation over the other. Both hand drawn, and CG animation can, and should be able to coexist, and I wish Hollywood would get it's head out of it's ass, and realize this! Not every animated film has to be CG!
Hand drawn animation FOREVER!
+GunvorPlays CG has it's power, not on movies like TMNT but on movies like Frozen, or Inside Out it works really well
***** I know it does. But like Mr. Bluth said, it kind of becomes a little boring after a while. It all blends together and it makes me miss traditional animated movies. But as you said, in those movies it really works.
+GunvorPlays Even when CGI works well, like in pixar, dream-works, and now disney etc. it still does not have the same feeling as traditional animation.
When people ask me what i mean by that i have one simple answer, watch the opening of Hunchback of Notre Dame...
it's up here on youtube if you don't have the film yourself...watch that opening i think it's like 5-9 minutes, just watch that...come back to me and tell me when was the last time you saw a CGI film deliver the same feelings, impact and power as that did?
granted the music helps but just the style...the textures the colors, the story being told through these hand drawn images and the feelings and power they give off, there is no actual way to describe that feeling, it is something that is experienced, not something that can be defined/measured or quantified...
Those moments are exactly what Don Bluth is talking about...
Now CGI has great moments...but what for them I've noticed it's the story and characters that create the power of the film...as they should, but it's not at least for me, the animation/style that impacts the movie...now this is both good and bad, good becasue character and story are important, bad because animation that makes you feel enhances and or changes the power and look of a an animated film, and losing that means you lose a bit of the translation.
+Federico Cappella Personally I wish Frozen had been hand drawn... especially because Anna and Else look like they have the EXACT same model unsed as Rapunzel...... And I think the Ice magic and stuf would have looked so awesome and seeing hte hand drawn faces and poses for the characters I always feel like they convey more emotion than the end product.
I personally think the best animated movy is Insideout and the How to train your dragon series, they make full use of the CGI and it feels awesome.
Some earlier movies, esüecially dreamworks always felt a little.. clunky. I don'T know. How they threw things towards the screen just so they could say "Oh look 3D effects" -.- it was annoying.
Well sadly the last big handdrawn animated movie, Kiss the frog, didn't make quiete as much money so they concluded people didn'T want it anymore
+GunvorPlays Gets a little boring? Just because it doesn't have human touch, it doesn't mean it doesn't have human heart on it. The problem I have with fans of 2D animation is their usually (I said usually as in some cases, but not all) bias against 3D.
Some movies use their 3D style and depth to great effect especially on action, that's the thing Tangled bothered me the most, out of all, it is still pretty tame and acts like a 2D movie, I love the movie, but from a technical standpoint it could have gone either way.
But I will say this, one thing that needs to die is motion captured movies like Polar Express and Mars needs Moms, that 's not animation in my eyes, that's a coat of digital paint over something real
Support Don Bluth's work. I did. He is a master of all masters. Don't forget what he has given to us.
+Arch92Flo I wish I could but I don't have the money.
I will
The end of all things Subtle the thought that counts.
+Arch92Flo Wish I had extra cash to donate, but all my cash is going to schooling. I'm giving them all of my hope for a successful project though. I am also spreading the word to my animation enthused friends as well.
DzRocked Great. I couldn't spare a lot. Being an animator was one of my dreams but I'm not very good at drawing to begin with. Not at all. Best luck to your friends.
Can I just say right now that if Don Bluth hadn't made the great movies he made in the 80s, Disney might never have bothered to step up their game and make the great movies they made in the 90s? I think we owe him an even bigger thank you than you think.
I agree
@@zeanzern4396 That might also be the reason why Don Bluth films in the 90's suck, because he may have lost creative control. Since All Dogs go to Heaven bombed at the box office, that meant that Don Bluth didn't have much money which only made things harder for him. The good news is Anastasia have inspired FOX to create Blue Sky.
Wow, what a fantastic interview. The idea of being "married to art" and the loneliness of that really struck a chord with me. I love how honest and genuine these guys are and how well Doug really managed to get so much great insight out of them.
I'm surprised Doug didn't bring up the fact that Disney always tried to release a movie at the same time as they did for competition or preserve their title. I remember when The Little Mermaid got rereleased in theaters the same week as Anastasia. My sister wanted to see The Little Mermaid and I threw a fit over her wanting to see the same VHS movie I had listened to 100 times. I wanted to see something new and different and thankfully the movie paid off for us both.
I'm more than willing to bet that Disney is gonna try to lineup their next animated film when Dragon's Lair does officially come out or even lower, rerelease Frozen into theaters that same weekend. I'm praying to God that this movie is a success and paves the way for more films by these two. I've been wanting Don and Gary back for so long and now they're finally here.
Miguel Salizar Disney is crazy petty.
See Song of the Sea. Great 2D animated movie. Every shot looks so beautiful that it could be printed and framed. And the soundtrack is great.
+Tomáš Zelenka I can't help but wonder if that was one of the movies Don was talking about when he mentioned European movies doing hand-drawn animation.
Zodia195 I hope so.
+Tomáš Zelenka I WANT to see it but it never came into cincema here in Germany, at least not the bigger once, it's not on youtube, netflix or anything... and I don't really have so much money as to buy all movies I'd like to see on DVD .... T.T Really want to see it but in a LEGAL way!
89taklung You should have travelled to Czech Republic, they played it here :)
I recommend you to watch An American Tail. It's a very wonderful movie as well. An American Tail also has a very wonderful soundtrack with a beautiful story and amazing characters.
Don Bluth: Now don't cry...
Too late.
sometimes old fashion still works.
Just like Steampunk; "Out with the new, in with the old."
+MasterJunior93 Unless is the movie Old Fashion, which sucks so bad that Twilight is a better romance movie.
+MasterJunior93 It's Quite literally exactly like practical effects vs. CG
+MasterJunior93 Which is why Cinderella (2015) worked so well.
+MasterJunior93 There's a very good saying that fits this: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
My first don and Gary film was "the land before time" and this movie inspired me that is hope for everyone. And just like Don and Gary, there is still hope for them two.
Mine too
"I don't your pity,I want your money"
-Don Bluth 2016
Famous funny quotes
I loved Thumbelina as a little girl, her voice and the songs and how beautifully she was drawn. Now that I'm older, I can really appreciate all the effort that went into making her (and the whole film) so perfect! "Once there was the sun"! Thank you gentlemen for this gem
Pur9leRain It was Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in the Little Mermaid. I still love Thumbelina!
The thing that I've always loved about his movies was the family element. And when he said that he never had that because of his love for animation almost made me cry.. he was living a family life vicariously through his art. Oh the feels. 😢
America: "Meh." * throws traditional animation in the garbage *
Japan: * picks up tranditional animation, dusts it off. * O_O * looks left then right, to check no one is coming back for it. *
* cackles with glee and runs off. *
night mare
All true for the majority of anime, but only because they are "mass produced."
Focusing on aspects of character design and setting over fluidity of animation has also become part of the style, and naturally prohibit animation fidelity since the character models are typically more complex.
While it's never emphasized as much as in western works, there are movies that up the number of frames and cut fewer corners like Studio Ghibli's movies.
I don't remember saying they were the same as Don Bluth's films, or even mentioning Don Bluth at all.
At any rate, the fact remains that the majority of all traditional animation in the world is now produced in Japan.
night mare
"No details over fluidity isn't a style choice it's actually a cheap choice."
It's used both ways. Cheaply for low budget anime, artistically for high budget anime.
night mare
No I didn't. I was using one of these newfangled things called an "analogy."
I don't mean that literally all western animation has been thrown away, only that it's much less prominent in American culture than it used to be and has been somewhat replaced by CG animation.
+Locutus Borg To this day I haven't found a japanese animation that has drawn the correct mouth movements of a full dialogue scene, only small phrases and words.
buntado6
Your point?
This is doubly moot if you've exclusively watched dubs.
My god, the very first thing Don said is what I've thought for years. When I look a what other countries do with animation then look at what America does with it, it makes me weep especially with what we used to do, like with your work Don.
He's just so earnest. He takes credit for his work even when people don't like it. I still love Thumbelina, even if the script isn't so good. And what he said about cg! THANK YOU!!!! We can still have cg just bring back the 2D!! PLEASE! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!
I'm kind of shocked that Don didn't mention the tragic death of Judith Barsi as his biggest hurdle. Apparently she had mentioned that she wanted to have a role in all of Don's movies after Land Before Time and then was horrifically taken by her father, right before All Dogs came out. It's probably due to him wanting to let her memory rest in peace. That being said, I can only imagine the loneliness this guy has had to deal with. Animation is a rough job.
Please have Bruce Campbell voice the knight.
+KilroyTheGreat
I second this notion. Bruce Campbell oozes charisma in every role he plays.
+KilroyTheGreat Don Bluth looking through the comments section. That's hard to Imagine.
Richard Wheeldon
Well, he's pretty much proven he's a human being with his "No, it was us" comment.
Ikrani DON BLUTH IS A HUMAN, AND HE HAS A LIFE? Dear god.
Richard Wheeldon
Considering some of the movies and comments that storytellers have made (i.e. David S. Goyer, Chris Nolan, Alan Moore, etc), it's nice to see a filmmaker who shows signs of being a human being.
Doug Bluth, make it happen ladies!!!
I liked this comment ........why did I like this comment?!
+Kaizerdramon swiggity swooty Don must get dat booty
If Don Bluth had children, he probably would've made an awesome grandfather.
I wondered why Don Bluth films suddenly started sucking...I'm glad he's thought about what happened too. It makes me really excited to see how he's grown as a creator since then and knowing what he knows now. Can't wait for that movie!
Don's introspective comments on his toughest thing he had to overcome broke my heart. It was raw and honest. Glad to hear he is happy though and has achieved his dreams. An incredible talent and inspiration.
That's the scary thing that I can agree with Bluth: While 3D and computer animation and such is the current now thing, hand drawn is basically turning into a dying art.
I think the reason why Bluth wanted to do a Dragon's Lair movie wasn't just so that he could made a film that was long overdue, but perhaps as a means to try and inspire this generation. Who knows who the next Walt Disney Chuck Jones, Don Bluth, or whoever will be, but with the way things look, it is basically, going to be an end of an era.
Best of luck to you guys on making the film very successful.
mas8705
Even film makers in India know that CGI is just a tool, not something to base your entire film around.
Don't worry Don Bluth's camera. You are forgive. Don't be too hard on yourself. You did good, you did really good
he was executed immediately after this interview
Ian Baker what... no...
Let's start a petition to get his job back :(
+Ian Baker rip
History might repeat itself, Don and Gary left Disney to challenge them back in the 70's, but now forty years later they are now making a new hand-drawn film in the midst of a CG saturated market.
Man, I really do miss hand-drawn animation.
5carecrow94 we could try to bring it back. If Don Bluth dies, Someone will continue on his lifeswork.
I finally got a lot of answers I have been wonder since the 90s. Thank you Doug, also omg you're so lucky to be able to talk Don. Amazing.
Thank you for the double-interview, Doug!
You know I could never find a way to word the felling a lot of artist fell.. that Don Bluth so put it beautifully.. It really is being married to the art's. It truly takes that much dedication to make it as a artist..
I been felling minute share of too it lonely its tedious its monotonous without any comfort or company for hours and days on end but at the same time its what wakes me up its what gets me excited about the day is creating worlds it the only possible thing I think to do and dedicate the rest of my life leaning and improving.. my life would be empty without it. I can not think of a better way to word it.
I admire both Don Bluth and Gary Goldman work and it was nice to hear from there point of view. I think this is just what I needed to hear today. thanks for hosting the interview.
also looking forward to the Dragon's Lair Movie.
This just makes me really sad that traditional 2d animation isn't much of an option anymore. Even then, when it IS done much of it may be done on computers and they mess around with it so much it doesn't "feel" drawn. It's when the simpsons start losing it's uniqueness. Stuff like that is too clean looking. It lacks personal soul.
I think computers can enhance traditional, like it did with the Disney renaissance.
+Evenglare Valenstar Plenty of people still make 2D animation, outside of the US that is. Maybe Bluth should be working together with some European studio.
+AliG4life I don't know if it counts but there are games that used hand-drawn animation.
Like Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak and Banner Saga.
Slutty Witch Ashley I'd rather not have a bad acid trip for 11 minutes
+Evenglare Valenstar did someone say anime?
Don bluth is one of the coolest elders ever xD
I have so many wonderful memories of loving the work they made from my childhood, and it certainly did have a profound impact, I'm an art student now and thumbalina and Anastasia were so inspiring for me as a young child. I did start crying near the end of the video though......proud to have supported their indiegogo and really happy to see how sweet and honest they are with all of this. I'm having a....really hard time in uni at the moment and things like this remind me of why I wanted to do it. if I'll succeed I don't know but having things reignited helps.
amazing experience. Thanks for the video!
really liked what Don Bluth said about animation in Snowhite (Eviil Queen) - that moment really scared me as a kid...no zombie or any vampire scared me, like this scene did...
I love how honest Bluth was "no, it was us!"
As someone with no kids, never been married, and has no interest in either, who just works and tries to live comfortably and better myself in various ways I totally understand and relate to Don's lonliness. While I'm generally happy I do have moments where I wish there was something or someone to give me something instead of me giving my all to everything I do being the reciever and not the giver for once.
I think, as old school animators, it would have been kind of neat to hear their opinions on Hayao Miyazaki's work.
Don Bluth loves Finding Nemo. Nobody can ever slander that movie now.
Wow, I disagree with both of you... first of all DON BLUTH IS A FREAKING GENIUS with more talent than most people can ever dream of possessing, Wilson.
Now that that is out of the way, I hate Nemo, it is the movie that made me realize I hated CG animation. There are some exceptions to the rule but it is the general rule for me, personally. Still love Bluth, though, so to each his own.
@@Maxi23543 umm all dogs go to heaven is a mastapiece!
@@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090 where did I say that all dogs go to heaven was crap?
@@Maxi23543 you weren't very specific by the "worst movies ever made."
@@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090 I was referring to movies like troll in Central Park and pebble and the penguin and I'm my opinion at least, even his good stuff is pretty mediocre.
I think I know what Don's talking about with artwork being a lonely pursuit. I'm very ameteur, but even I tend to isolate myself a lot when I work on my projects. But, it's okay... if that's what it takes, I accept that. Drawing and writing are the two things I love most in life. Like obsessions. 90% of the time, I'm thinking about my projects and the next step I need to take to complete them.
So you can imagine I don't keep it together very well during my day job.
+I'm The Saint
same. I make extreme use of the note and draft features on my phone to input story ideas i may have, putting them down quickly and well-structured enough so as not to forget the idea or dialogue i figured. Same with actual paper and the note and word functions on my computer.
.
Same with drawings. I'll put them down on paper, shading and all, before putting them through digital paint.
Doug must have had the greatest self control EVER to stop his inner fanboy emerging!!! Bet he turned off the camera and just collapsed into Robs arms, crying 'Did ya hear that, he wants to name his child after meeeee'
This interview was so awesome. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman really seem like great guys. I hope their Dragons Lair project really pans out well--I am really looking forward to see what they cook up!
"I know that CG tries harder to give more realistic, beautiful look-- well why don't you just hire an actor? Because if you keep moving that fantasy, that magic of animation towards the live-action pretty soon I'm not sure you have animation anymore." Bluth tells the truth! I mean it's great and I love that CG has greatly improved and has allowed us to create astounding effects in movies. But when it comes to animation-- and this is why I miss traditional hand drawn animation-- emotions, ideas and story is told visually! Sorry to go off tangent a little, but I think this is why I enjoy anime-- they are big on visual story telling. Even though it's animation and does't "look real", you have connection to the characters and story just like in the Don Bluth classics. It's shouldn't always be about how "real" something can look, it's "what story do we want to tell, and how do we visually tell it?"
He predicted the remake of The Lion King... it's not even live action, it's animation pretending to be live action
Hey Don and Gary here is what I want to see in your Dragon's Lair movie;
Every comical death scene (you know, the ones without him actually dying) of the main hero. I wasted my money playing that game (in the 90s) and all I was rewarded with is a montage of Dirk dying in the most painfully frustrating fashion. You could at the very least owe me back my money's worth of those scenes.
thanks for the lovely interview. don bluth and gary goldman are my heroes. you have such a kind understanding for quality things, and I'm appreciative that you can not only crack a hilarious joke but be a humble host as well.
Such a fantastic interview! Thank you for sharing and thanks for Don Bluth and Gary Goldman for doing this :D
I'm so envious of Doug... Being friends with so many of the people I worship... I'd chop off my left hand to befriend these people...
Willcraft Animations
I wouldn’t chop any part of my body
I personally believe Don Bluth and Gary Goldman deserve the Honorary Oscar
These are 2 guys that not only managed to make 13 theatrical Animated films consistent and always with quality animation, but went Head-to-Head with Disney, won some of those fights, and one of their films are considered one of the best animated films ever made.
That and while Disney was moving on to Digital coloring in the 90's to reduce costs/time making the films, Don Bluth sticked with traditional cels and perfected it even if his later movies left much to be desired, and Pebble and the Penguin was badly re-made in Hungary.
And even when Don Bluth finally moved on to digital with Anastasia in '97 he completely blew Disney out of the water with the sheer scale and magnitude of the animation quality and design, and now they're going to push it even further with Dragon's Lair, which I dearly hope it get picked up and made, animation today lacks truth, stuff you see nowadays is like 2 hours of lies on the screen, Don Bluth is one of the few that can deliver something memorable.
Amazing interview - and they are so honest is well, but fantastic legends. :) So excited for Dragon's Lair The Movie.
Oh man... I will admit that I haven't seen all these guys' movies, but... man, it's nice to see how down-to-earth Bluth and Goldman really are.
A pleasure to watch this interview, featuring the 2 legends. I can't wait for Dragon's Lair (and Space Ace, if permitted) to be granted a full length movie.
Any chance we'll see one with Andre Meadows?
I guess 4:37 explains why Carol Lynn Pearson was only credited for writing in the first trailer that was featured in the Rock-A-Doodle VHS. She could've gotten "Story by" credit.
Don Bluth took a badly written version of a script for Thumbelina and tried to fix it in a week? That's pretty impressive that they turned out what they did. While the movie has its flaws, it's still pretty good in my personal opinion. It actually was very faithful to the source material and updated the fairy-tale fairly well. Plus it had great songs, beautiful animation, and pretty likable characters (Not great but likable). Its main problem, in my opinion, was only that the stupid bird kept on ruining everything. A lot of the writing flaws I'd say is the fairy-tale aspect and is based off emotion rather than logic. This is the same argument I make when people criticize The Swan Princess but that's another story.
Don liked Tangled YEAH. I love you man. I loved Tangled. I think Tangled reminds me of Anastasia. Some CGI films are very artifical looking whereas more are brilliant and life-like. I hope hand-drawn animation will make a return again. I miss hand drawn animation.
What's your opinion of An American Tail?
This video just made me happy to be alive. Don, Gary, your movies made me want to become an animator. I'm not there yet, but everyday I'm moving closer to my goal. Thank you for the inspiration, without artists like you, I would not have the drive and passion I do today. Good luck on your feature film, I anticipate its release.
My favourite movie is Anastasia. Her story is very powerful, scenes are beautiful and music is just amazing. (I always hoped for another movie about her adventures...) Anyway...Don Bluth and Gary Goldman are real masters!
What's your opinion on An American Tail?
I love Anastasia!! It is possibly my favorite princess type movie from any company! I would have to really scrutinize my list of favorites to decide but if it isn't my absolute favorite then it is extremely close to the top. I jist love the animation, the characters, the story, the music, it is all jus wonderful!
I actually watched the Anastasia Broadway production and found myself disappointed with it, nothing against the actors, they were great, but it just lost all the magic and wonder of the movie.
Everyone typically complains that it "isn't historically accurate, blablablaaa!" but it wasn't meant to be, it was meant to be a "what if?". There were quite a few people who claimed to be Anastasia or one of the other family members, there was even someone who claimed to be a child that the Tzar and Tzarina had secretly before their deaths. So the movie was more like "What IF one did survive?" and I thing that is crazy cool!
"I don't need your pity, I just need your money."
LOL what a legend!
nostalgia critic was the key to dragon lair getting a movie as and Don bluth
"...I just need your money" lol. But seriously Don, I love your work and I want the movie to be a success but don't pull a Tim Schafer/Keiji Inafune on us please
AT Productions The whole Mighty No. 9/Red Ash kickstarter fiascos
+AT Productions Mighty No. 9 raised a lot of money as a Megaman spiritual successor, but is now getting a lot of bad hype/reviews for the trailer, but most importantly was the Red Ash kickstarter fiasco... Basically they tried raising money for a spiritual Megaman Legends successor WHILE THEY WERE STILL MAKING MN9, didn't succeed until an investor came in and saved them, having the money raised go towards stretch goals which were never stated what they were. While the kickstarter was still active, though, it was clear that the MN9 release date was going to be pushed back on Amazon, but the company denied this and said Amazon doing that was some technical error, then officially announced the delay after it was done. Sure, the reason for the delay and the delay was justifiable and fine (video games, happens all the time), but flat out lying to the fans just to try to get more money for their failing kickstarter kind of left a bad taste in everyone's mouth...
The Red Ash kickstarter stretch goals were stated on the last or second to last day. Also believe it or not the publisher was already on board with the game. It was going to be happen anyway. There are pictures of Inafune and the publishers at E3 or some convention like a two weeks before the kickstarter came out.
Man, who could ever really hate on Don? Sure, his works in the 90s were weird and...pretty bad...but the animation was still amazing. Just like they said, the scripts were what killed the movies in that time period, so if they had better scripts, they'd still be classic Don Bluth films. Granted, I think Rock-a-Doodle Doo was a weird film but the animation is something that draws me to it (no pun intended) and makes me call it a guilty pleasure.
Who else thinks like this?
It's funny I loved these random movies as a kid: All dogs go to heaven, American Tale, Land Before time, and Anastasia, but it wasn't til I started watching Doug's reviews that I realized they were all connected and led to me watch so much of Don Bluth's work. Even if you can't help with the IndieGoGo, please go see this movie when it comes out. Let's show the world that 2D animation isn't dead, that it can still tell a great story, and that it shouldn't be forgotten.
Most of all though, do it so we can see Doug review the movie (you know he will).
Today I watched a FX ad that was showing their new movies. What I noticed is all the movies were CG animated and just blended together. If you didn't know the films you'd think they were all the same movie, it was weird. Even with all the complaints giants like Disney got for 2D character designs most can tell the difference between films in a montage. So maybe the lack of diversity due to the lack of human touch and sticking with established trends is CG animation's problem.
You know, Don really put a lot out there in this interview. Good on him. I hope the pitch he crowdfunded will land on open minds.
I was kind of surprised to hear them praise Tangled; I thought that was such a rip off of Anastasia! Not only in terms of the general story (lost princess and con man fall in love while uncovering her past), but there were very specific moments that felt lifted straight from the original, like Rapunzel staring at a painting of her family, trying on the crown in a mirror, and the whole "did he run off with the money?" bit. Flynn even looks like Dimitri - same vest and hairstyle!
+Sarah Maybe that's why he liked it.
I freaking love Anastasia! It is crazy under-rated.
+Jade Prescott I also find An American Tail crazy-under-rated as well.
I can't wait for the Dragon's Lair to happen! I've always loved Don's movies and I grew up watching them. (heck I even bought the DVD versions of some of them) and I always remember that wonderful feeling that I had watching them. Every one of them is unique story, unique characters and settings, yet they make it work. I really wish they will make more movies.
i wonder about the voice acting...
but if i should give a suggestion that you probably already did: don't forget casual talk, it's useful to make the characters more human.
Both parts of the episode are really, really good interviews and they're really inspiring as well.
Im quite young (Not too young!) but i love hand drawn animation, i also really loved don bluth's films
I don't need pity I need your money.
-Don Bluth
there are a lot of good videos that Doug has produced, this is the first one that lives up to the word Awesome
I really enjoyed that, made me really happy.
what a great pair, land before time was one of my favourite films of all time.
You know Don Bluth, you can always make movies based off appropriate children's books or novels if you're out of ideas or read other appropriate people's screenplays that they're selling to you, in order to help your company become more successful.
I grew up in 91 and it was all hand-drawn animation I grew up with. MAN those were the days.
This was so good. Thank you Doug.
In the movie, I would like to see either Dirk having visions of what would happen if he messes something (In the Dragon's Lair like Style of failing a event) Or save it for Bloopers at the end of the movie.
I remember all dogs go to heaven it wasn't bad
+animefan 64 No he was saying how it went through multiple rewrites to make it good
+Jenifer Joseph now it makes sense no wonder it so good
animefan 64 Also you need to have A BIG LIPPED ALLIGATOR MOMENT
Jenifer Joseph xDD
+Jenifer Joseph As a child, that moment always made sense to me. Car Face knew that the rats worshiped this alligator that lived in the sewers, and he knew that they would sacrifice Charlie and Anne Marie to him. He thought this would be the way to get rid of them
However, the plan backfired, because King Gator loved Charlie's voice. So he didn't eat them, but became friends. I always figured (even as a five/6 year old) that this was why Gator went after Car Face at the end..because they had become friends
Wow, this explains a lot. I was wondering what happened to Bluth in the 90s. Man, do I wish things turned out differently.
One thing to remember with the crowd-funding campaign (which I'm not sure many people know) is that the money isn't going towards the full movie, it's going towards the production of a demo-reel to pitch to bigger studios for a cinematic budget, which makes sense. I'm sure quite a few people knew that already, but definitely good to know.
Oh god I totally agree with Don Bluth about CGI being like puppets! It really feels like there is about just one or two styles when it comes to big CGI animation movies, if it weren't for the time setting, it would be almost impossible to tell some movies apart. I mean I would love to see those Frozen sketches of Elsa in actual (good) 2D animation. I think Disney's 2D animation had its final nail on the coffin with Princess and the Frog, they just tried way too hard to please everyone that they came up with a pretty bland story and characters. I hope Dragon's Lair gives a chance for 2D animation to be back, there's just a beauty to hand drawn animation that 3D animation as a whole kinda lacks.
yakurimoe It's not weird. That's why The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, ParaNorman, Chicken Run, Wallace & Grommet, and Kubo and the Two Strings are such great films for many people. The Book of Life is all CGI, but since it imitates stop-motion animation, it has more character and emotional impact than the average CGI film. It's also part of why so many film buffs enjoy old monster movies and films like Clash of the Titans (the original).
yakurimoe I agree, I can count only two CG movies I actually enjoy the animation of, Advent Children and Strange Magic, any other CG movies I enjoy are in spite of the animation. I also agree that they do all look the same; Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna all have the same freaking face. None of the other princesses have interchangeable faces, none.of.them.
I did actually very much enjoy the Princess and the Frog despite thinking I wouldn't. I think the biggest problem with it was the lack of good marketing. I was discussing this with someone recently that some of the Disney movies I enjoy the most are ones that were marketed very poorly and didn't do well (for example, Treasure Planet and Atlantis), I believe this is something that PatF also suffered from.
In a way I think Disney may have even done that one purpose, they wanted an excuse to kill off their traditional animation. I used to love Disney, and I still do love the older Disney movies, but as for current Disney I find the only genuine Disney original properties I still find joy in are the Pirates movies, aside from those the only other movies I only enjoy that Disney continues to cranking out are properties Disney has purchased such as Marvel and Lucasfilm.
Perhaps I am disenchanted and jaded (pun is a happy accident).
Don't be afraid to use your ideas if others don't like the way they look, UNLESS, you don't respect this person's values/character
Great interview!
I just love those guys.
Great interview.
well that wasnt about the 2nd installment of frozen, called 'burned' where anna firepowers awaken. and elsa has to go thru a fire dungeon to save her. like anna had to endure the blizzard in the first one. ;) planes formula rinsed and repeated. ;)
+WRKFLO
so its basically just taking a bat and beating that dead horse
That closing image with the entrance of a theater and Dragon's Lair written on it.. Imagine seeing that in real life. How awesome would that be?
2D has its own magic, while CG also has its own advantage.but like Don said,if they go harder on CG why didn't they just hire an actor?
"I don't need your pity... I just need your money." XD
Fantastic Interview! Great job! this was absolutely intriguing :)
Thank you Don,for nimh,thumbelina,and Anastasia!
I really hope to see Dragon's Lair Movie. I can't wait!
This was wonderful. Thank you.
Thank you, Don, Gary, and everyone else!!!
I am completely in agreement with Don about the human touch of hand drawn animation. I have always hated CGI, personally. There are a few 3D animated movies that I truly enjoy and 95% of the time it is in spite of the animation. I can only think of two CG movies I enjoy the animation of, Advent Children and Strange Magic.
The only thing that will get Disney to change it's opinion on 2d animation is for a competitor company to rise up and force them to. Just like before with Don Bluth.
Am I the only one who loves An American Tail? That film is honestly my favorite movie of all time.
I love it to lol
@@luisthekingjaime94 Cool to know you're also a fan :) It's hard to find An American Tail fans these days. It's a really great film and needs more recognition.
@@retrofan4963 I still can't believe Steven spielberg was the producer
@@retrofan4963 the one movie that really got to me was the land before Time another movie were Steven Spielberg movie executive producer and so was George Lucas
@@luisthekingjaime94 Yeah, Land Before Time is also a really great film. As far as I'm aware, Land Before Time and An American Tail are the only films Steven Spielberg collaborated with Don Bluth.
Kind of sad we didn't get to here Bluth elaborate more on the Land Before Time sequels. I'd at least have loved to hear his thoughts on the 4th movie, Journey Through The Mists, since I think it's one of the only sequels(other than The Great Longneck Migration where he meets his father) that caould be considered a worthy sequel to the original.
+DoctorWarpdrive
2 and 5 were good to, in their own way. They're heart-string tuggers.
Honestly, In my opinion, none of the Land Before Time sequels give a strong impression to me. They're all either bad, mediocre or okay. The original Land Before Time is the only Land Before Time movie that's really good(In my perspective). Land Before Time sequels are just cash-ins of the success of the original
I agree with what Don said about the magic that you don't really get with CG. Although I do think there are more advantages to CGI(like the flying scenes in "How to Train your Dragon", the fight scenes in " Kung Fu Panda", and the particles in the emotions in "Inside Out"), Hand Drawn animation still shows the passion and effort because it's hard to draw so many frames and keeping it consistent, especially with a full figure. And when it looks great, you can tell there was time and effort put into every second.
Also, where can I tell Don my idea's for dragon's lair? Can I tell them here? If so, I wanted to say, maybe have Daphne be put into the sexy outfit when she's captured? And have a few near death experiences in the film that look like the deaths in the game please?
Isaiah Williams
Disney already had great flying animation with The Rescuers-Down Under(on par with HTTYD, and 20 years older). In the 90s it was a mix of hand drawn animation and CGI that captured the magic so well.
this interview is on point! Good questions, nice mood and great answers.
I hope Doug takes to heart what they said about scripts and starts to acknowledge writing in his reviews more. Some videos, especially Why Do Good Directors Go Bad, really need it.