ANIMATED SHORTS: TALKING TO DON BLUTH

[MattBrady]

DON BLUTH DISCUSSING SOME SECRETS OF NIMH
DISNEY SIGNS SHAUN, NY ANIME HONORS FERNANDEZ & ORR, MORE

by Steve Fritz

I remember the last time I talked to Don Bluth. He was not in a very good mood.

It was just after the release of Titan A.E., and Fox had just cut his studio out from under him. I would find out later that the studio had also taken the film away from him and rewrote it to suit what they thought would be a success, but I didn’t know it at that time.

When I heard later on that Bluth and longtime partner Gary Goldman quit the business, I could certainly understand. Like another titan of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Ralph Bakshi, Bluth had enough of being the industry’s punching bag and called it a day.

If only the industry knew what it was losing.

For those who don’t know, Don Bluth was raised in a part of Utah where he had to jump on a horse and virtually ride miles upon miles to see a movie. As he would say, his favorite part was watching the animated shorts they would then still show before the main feature. On his rides home he would think about there would be nothing greater than being an animator.

And he would get his wish.

In the late 50s, while still a teenager, Bluth got the opportunity to work as an assistant on Disney’s Cinderella. After graduating from college, he would eventually get a full time job at the Mouse Factory. He would work on such films as Jungle Book, Winnie The Pooh and a number of other films. He also made some steadfast friends, the most important of them being Gary Goldman.

Still, it would soon turn into a nightmare for him. Say what you will about your personal opinion of Walt Disney himself, but when he died the studio went into a dark period that nearly killed the studio. It was during this time he, Goldman and John Pomeroy would do what many thought was just plain insane, break from the House the Mouse built and set up their own operation. Set up in a garage in the back of Bluth’s house, this little operation’s second project was a film entitled The Secret of NIMH. American animation would never be the same after that film.

Fox Home Video has just released a 2 DVD set honoring this landmark animated movie. Aside the expected incredible restoration work done on the project, it includes all manner of games, historical documentation and a ton of commentary from Bluth and Goldman about the making of this movie.

So when I was offered the opportunity to talk to Don one more time, I just couldn’t say no. He was in a very cooperative and better spirit than the last time I talked to him. Here’s what he had to say:

Newsarama: I had fun talking to a former protégé of yours, Bruce Timm.

Don Bluth: Oh really? What did he say?

NRAMA: He admired the high standards you set and that you were almost evangelical about animation.

DB: (Laughs) That’s really funny. When you say evangelical it makes me think of Sunday church and pounding at the pulpit. It’s sort of yes. What I think it is throughout my career I have always been very dedicated in the belief that animation is an artform. It’s our job not to just maintain the status quo but move upward. It’s very difficult because animation has become a business. Disney is the big watchdog of the business and they want to maintain total control.

That said, all the movie companies have stockholders and all the stockholders are concerned about is making money. Real art, if we can get a little uppity here, is about taking risk and in taking those risks you end up spending a little more money than you originally budgeted. Stockholders get a little upset when they feel their profit margins are getting a little low or the costs get a little high.

NRAMA: Well, wouldn’t you say that old Uncle Walt was a risk taker?

DB: I think so. When I was at Disney I remember hearing this one time and it hurt me badly. I heard one high up in the company say ‘Thank goodness Walt’s gone. We finally got the company in the black.’ All I could think is how could you say that? Without Walt’s risk taking there wouldn’t have been a Disney in the first place. Also, how could you maintain making anything to the public that will keep the titillated and entertained? Walt was always looking for something fresh and new.

I mean just think of all the frontiers he opened up. People thought a theme park---oh wait!…in his day they called them amusement parks—were dirty places you never took your family too. He changed that concept.

What was interesting is when he started, there were 14 different animation studios just in the U.S. Today his alone is the only one remaining and it’s still on top. What people don’t realize is it was highly, highly competitive in those days and you had to be innovative to stay on top. Another thing is more people made movies from their heart. These days, if it isn’t based on a comic book, a thrill ride or some other established commercial property they think they can make multimillion dollars on, they won’t justify doing it.

NRAMA: With all that in mind, here you are in what I consider the real dark ages of animation. How did you convince anyone to put up $6 million to do a feature film like Secret of NIHM?

DB: During the time we were working at Disney, there was a bunch of us that got acquainted. What we noticed that the 9 Old Men who were still there were instructed to teach us their techniques and different things they had learned over the years. That way we could continue the Disney way. Well, I’m not sure they really wanted to do that. Many times we would ask them questions and they ‘couldn’t remember’ how they did it. Also, we noticed the current director in charge, Woollie (Wolfgang) Reithermann, was gradually pulling every production value out of the movies by saying ‘it’s too expensive…we don’t need it.’

So when we got to Rescuers, I noticed that we weren’t even putting white in the eyes, just black dots, shadows were eliminated, double passes of the camera were eliminated, things like that. So my colleagues and I started saying, ‘this isn’t what we grew up loving.’ We started asking ourselves if it really was that expensive? We didn’t know if that was true. So we decided to do our own test.

So we took over my garage and actually bought some equipment. There we started making a little film called Banjo The Woodpile Cat, and it even aired on ABC. It took us about four years to make it, but we learned a lot while we were making it. We learned that all the things we were told not to do weren’t that hard. In fact, they were easy! So we went back to Disney and said so, and they got very annoyed with us and didn’t want to hear it. It got so frustrating we just left. We did it on my birthday, November 13, 1979. We left to go and make Secret of NIMH.

That was a groundbreaking thing for us. There were 17 of us. We were saying we can make a picture that looked like the Golden Age.

What got us the money is we took Banjo and started showing it around. So there was a man in Chicago, Joe Greenberg, who said ‘I’ll put up the money to make this picture.’ It ended up being $6.5 million. Then we just started in. We started training new people who hadn’t been broken.

What was interesting about NIMH was the Fates were on our side even if Hollywood thought differently. For instance, we had originally signed a distribution deal with United Artists. Then Michael Cimino did something called Heaven’s Gate…and it shook the world.

So what happened was United Artists went belly up and was bought up by MGM. Now at MGM there was a guy there named Spiegelmann who said he hated animation and he would spend absolutely no money distributing NIMH. We were orphaned.

So what happened is the producers on the film, Aurora, who were now the producers of the film put together a dog and pony show to get the prints made and the film distributed. So we looked like a lame duck coming out of the gate.

NRAMA: I remember the only way I saw NIMH when it came out was in an art house.

DB: Because of MGM we never got a true opening, much less any real write-ups. We didn’t know what was going to happen.

What happened was the critics started to look at it and write positive things.

NRAMA: From there you went on to do Dragon’s Lair with Dirk The Daring.

DB: That’s right. We did Dragon’s Lair and then Space Ace. That kept our crew together and kept the money rolling until we got the next feature, which was with Spielberg and American Tail.

How that all happened is Jerry Goldsmith, who did the scoring of Secret of NIMH, was a friend of Steven Spielberg. He took it over to Steven and basically said ‘Look at this!’ So Steven did and couldn’t believe there were people who could still do this kind of stuff. He demanded our number thinking we could do something together.

NRAMA: I guess what people forget is in his own way Steven is a big fan of animation.

DB: Definitely. He loves it. So does an old friend of his named George Lucas.

NRAMA: How does it feel to see this wonderful collection out?

DB: I think it’s a good thing. I didn’t think MGM would ever really release it again. I think it’s kind of cool that now at least it will get into the homes and we’ll reach a whole new generation who has never seen NIMH before. Gary Goldman worked really hard on putting that set together. I mean he rounded all that footage of us working in the garage himself.

Working conditions in the garage were pretty grisly. I mean one of the stories is we had a hard time finding background artists. We couldn’t find anybody who could paint like they used to paint. We wanted to go back to what looked like gouache and watercolors, but no one knew how to do it.

NRAMA: So what did you do, train yourselves?

DB: Yep. We found a person named Don Moore, who was an illustrator. We looked at his portfolio and he had one little painting that made me say look, if he could do that…

So as a test, we had him paint the backgrounds of the whole owl sequence. The first few attempts didn’t look good at all. Then one day he came back with something that made me say ‘Don! You did it!’ So we threw out all the other things he had done, had him do them over and he wound up training a lot of guys who went on to be background artists.

NRAMA: Is he still involved in the business?

DB: Last I heard, he went on to Disney and recently they laid off 1,200 artists. He was one of them and I don’t think he’s come back.

NRAMA: It’s interesting to think that in many animation circles that NIMH is considered the starting point of the US’s animation renaissance.

DB: What’s interesting is Disney will claim they started it when they came out with The Little Mermaid. That’s not so. What really got things rolling again was American Tail because you really should measure things in terms of dollars, and it made a lot of money. I remember that before that Disney released what was their lowest point in their history…

NRAMA: Black Cauldron.

DB: That’s it. I remember everyone saying the audience is gone, they don’t want animation anymore and such. So Steven was cooking away here with American Tail. I think that shook up the Disney management. Their pride would not let them take that.

NRAMA: I think the good news is John Lasseter actually trying to reinstall traditional animation back to Disney these days.

DB: Yes. Still, the fight these days is the left brainers versus the right brainers, the artists versus the businessmen. If the businessmen let you have the freedom, you’re fine. If they won’t, they you end up fighting this enormous battle you often don’t win. The lawyers, CPAs and other high mucky mucks are all about control. If they can’t control, and artists honestly scare them, if they can’t quantify it, that drives them mad.

NRAMA: I guess you learned that the hard way over at Fox.

DB: And at Disney. When I was there it was corporate. I used to get into these huge, huge battles.

NRAMA: Then look at it this way. It looks like the U.S. animation industry is in a much better way post-NIMH than pre-NIMH.

DB: I agree. I do think that with the advent of 3D CGI what has happened is we have lost a form of animation that was our tradition. Since Toy Story, a lot of studios have run over and decided they should do only 3D movies instead of 2D. And it’s a blessing and a curse.

It’s caused people to write better scripts. It’s also caused a lot of people to enter the animation industry who can not draw. Now they’ve become puppeteers. With CGI it’s a puppet inside the machine. All you have to be able to do is move it. The curse is we are losing a beautiful artform that many people still love.

NRAMA: Well, haven’t you set up a new studio yourself?

DB: Well, you know I did 12 movies and then quit. It’s nice to sit here in Arizona and not have to worry about keeping 400 people employed. Yes, there are a couple of pictures I would like to make.

NRAMA: You, Gary and John are still together?

DB: John and I are not.

NRAMA: It’s you and Gary.

DB: Yeah.

NRAMA: I noticed there’s a studio called Arcana and they are putting out some Dirk comics.

DB: They look pretty good. We don’t get too much input into those, but they do show us some of the art and make sure we approve the story. I think what they do is pretty cool.

NRAMA: So you leave creative control to them?

DB: Yeah. As long as I get final say, I don’t mind.

NRAMA: So how’s life for you these days?

DB: Life is really good. The picture that I would love to make, that I would actually come out of retirement to do, is Dragon’s Lair. I could get excited over that. It would be contemporary and still appeal to a teenaged audience.

Another critique I have about movies these days is when I see a film, I look for two things. The first is if the art just knocks me out. The other is the story. If the story is compelling, then I’m more than likely to enjoy it. These days too many films just rely too much on wise ass gags and hope that will let them get away with it.

NRAMA: Do you still go to the movies?

DB: Many times I make myself do it. If after 20 minutes I’m just bored I’m prone to either turn it off or walk out.

NRAMA: Well, I just saw Ratatooie and I thought it was an incredible film.

DB: Well, his Incredibles was very good and his Iron Giant was just incredible. He does know how to tell a story. He knows that’s really the important part. Even bad animation could be forgiven if the story is good.

NRAMA: So you may not be knocked out by the animation on The Simpsons, but is it still worth while?

DB: Yes, because they know how to tell a story. But you know, I looked at Ice Age and I could not get into that one at all.

NRAMA: I don’t know about that. I think the sequences with the Scrat were just brilliant. In many ways they are the true heirs to Chuck Jones.

DB: Basically, that’s it. They do great Roadrunner gags and Chuck Jones was very good. He was a master. He was a very intellectual man and was fun to talk to. We all miss him.

NRAMA: So things are overall very good for you?

DB: It is. I had my moment in the sun.

NRAMA: Aren’t you teaching?

DB: I am. I wrote a couple of books that I thought might help. I’ve also been teaching privately. I’m also doing something else that I’m absolutely loving. I’m doing live, legitimate theatre. I’m directing stage plays.

I always loved storyboarding. I’ve found out that storyboarding is like directing.

NRAMA: So now you’re making sure actual human beings are hitting their marks.

DB: Pretty much.

NRAMA: So where’s the theater?

DB: It’s right in my home. I have a huge living room. So I turned it into a private theater which can seat about 60 people. We do about 14 shows of a specific play and the place is always sold out. We’re doing Sleepless In Seattle right now and next we’re doing It’s A Wonderful Life.

DISNEY SIGNS SHAUN

Aardman Animations has found an American home for its internationally successful Shaun the Sheep. The animated series (www.shaunthesheep.com), which won the Cristal Award as “Best TV Production” at the Annecy Animated Film Festival, will premiere on Disney Channel on Sunday, July 8th in prime time. Since its successful launch as the most viewed show at MipCom 2006, the property has sold to primary broadcasters in 145 territories including Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, India, France, Benelux, Japan, and Latin America.

Targeted at kids 5-10, Shaun the Sheep follows the comedic misadventures of a young sheep who leads his barnyard buddies into all sorts of funny and calamitous situations, turning peace in the valley into mayhem in the meadow. As a character, Shaun was first introduced in Nick Park’s Oscar-winning Wallace & Grommet animated short A Close Shave.

While the rest of the flock is content to spend all day chewing on the cud, Shaun is out to have as much fun as possible – whether flying a kite, organizing synchronized swimming in the water troth, or nipping into town for a pizza!

“Shaun was always destined to be the star of his own show,” says Miles Bullough, Aardman’s Head of Broadcast and executive producer of the series. “The show has been hugely popular with broadcasters around the world and we’re thrilled that Disney Channel will bring its enormous marketing expertise to his American debut.”

At the heart of this endearing series is Shaun, a young sheep with a master’s degree in mischief and a talent for tomfoolery. He’s surrounded by some very funny pals, including the Naughty Pigs, and Timmy the baby lamb. Together they run rings around their hapless sheepdog Bitzer, as he tries to stop the Farmer from finding out what’s going on behind his back.

NY ANIME TO HONOR SPEED & TRIXIE

With the rapidly growing interest in Speed Racer, it should come as no surprise that the first NY Anime Convention has decided to honor the original voices of Speed and Trixie in their debut con.

That’s right kids, the incredible Peter Fernandez and the beloved Corinne Orr will be the main honorees of this con come December. Fernandez and Orr have lent their talents to hundreds of projects including Castle in the Sky, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Kaidohmaru.

"I'm very excited to be part of the New York Anime Festival. After all, I was born in Manhattan!" Fernandez said. "It's just amazing that Speed Racer has had such a long life and there's only more up ahead."

What Fernandez is remarking on is no less than the Wachowski Brothers announced Speed will be the subject of their next feature-length film. Nickelodeon has also announced it has contracted Anime Works to do a new TV series telling the tale of the next generation of the Racer family, where Spritle is now a teacher of Speed’s son, Speed himself has disappeared but he did leave something behind, the Mach 6. Apparently both Fernandez and Orr will be involved in the new TV show, too.

"I'm so lucky to have so many fans, to have such great times, and to be a child again every time I'm in front of an audience," states Orr, who is also the voice of Snuggles the Downy Soft Bear. "I'm truly looking forward to this December!"

NYAF revealed this news -- and much more -- on its redesigned official website located at www.newyorkanimefestival.com. The new, feature-rich NYAF website replaces a previous, teaser site and new areas will constantly be added throughout the summer, fall, and winter with additional announcements about the guests, events, and exhibitors of NYAF 2007.

"It all starts now," notes John McGeary, Show Manager for NYAF. "The New York Anime Festival has been focused on the launch of our website, and now that it's here, we'll be making a lot more news and a lot more noise. We're privileged to have Peter Fernandez and Corinne Orr as our first Guests of Honor, and we're eager to announce additional Guests of Honor and even a North American Premiere shortly."

Peter Fernandez spent his early years modeling and acting in New York City. Following the outbreak of World War II, he put his career on hold, joined the Army, and advanced to the rank of Technical Sergeant. After the war, Peter returned to New York and worked as a prolific writer, actor, and director for television and radio. While he is most known for voicing Speed in Speed Racer, Peter has lent his voice and talents to hundreds of films and television series including A Fistful of Dollars, Astro Boy, Castle in the Sky, Cinema Paradiso, Day of the Dead, Gigantor, Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, Mothra, Star Blazers, Superbook, Taro: The Dragon Boy, That Man From Rio, The Space Giants, Ultraman, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. He recently worked on Courage the Cowardly Dog and Kenny the Shark and continues to act and direct today. He was also recently honored by receiving the first Lifetime American Anime Award.

Corinne Orr was born in Montreal, Canada. Early on, Corinne's mother enrolled her in elocution lessons, and soon the young Corinne was hooked. At the age of 10, Corinne became heavily involved in theatre, and by 14, Corinne was working with the Montreal Repertory Theatre and Montreal's Mountain Playhouse alongside William Shatner and Christopher Plummer. With her stage background, Corinne quickly landed work on radio, animation, and TV. Corinne's animation credits include Star Blazers, Ultraman and Marine Boy, but she is most widely known for her role as the voice of Trixie in the classic Speed. She continues to work in such series as PB&J Otter.

STAR WARS/ROBOT CHICKEN NOW ONLINE.

Our pals at Adult Swim just thought Newsarama might be interested to know that www.adultswim.com has posted the entire episode of the Robot Chicken Star Wars special with optional video commentary from Seth Green and Matt Senreich!

Check it out at: http://www.adultswim.com/shows/robot...uff/rcsw/ivcp/

In related news, don’t forget [AS] will be adding Fridays to its mix starting next week. A full disclosure of their plans is forthcoming from the big guys at the local pool, Mike Lazzo and Keith Crofford in our next column.

ANDO OVER AT ANIME NETWORK

Lots of interesting news coming from ADV/Anime Network. Here’s the run down:

First of all, Anime Network has announced that Heroes star James Kyson Lee will guest host its popular original series, Anime Access, which gives viewers a virtual backstage pass to anime’s hottest events. This time the Anime Access crew heads to Long Beach, California, to go behind the scenes of North America’s largest anime convention, from June 29 through July 2.

Lee, who plays Ando Masahashi (Hiro’s best friend) will not only interview voice actors and creators, but also give anime fans the chance to share the spotlight and maybe even see themselves on Anime Network on August 16, 2007.

"We were undoubtedly delighted at the chance to have Heroes’ James Kyson Lee guest host Anime Access for its coverage of one of the year’s top anime events," said Stacy Dodson, Anime Network’s Director of Programming and Operations. "We knew he was a huge anime fan, so who better to add to our incredible Expo lineup than a passionate participant who also happens to be part of another major pop culture phenomenon."

Anime Network also announced it will start airing Air TV on its VOD service beginning July 19. Air tells the tale of Yukito Kunisaki, a wandering puppeteer on a journey to find “the girl in the sky,” a tradition his family has held for generations. Upon arriving in a new town, he is befriended by a lonely young girl named Misuzu, who offers him a place to stay. Yukito soon begins to suspectthat Misuzu has ties with “the girl in the sky” when she begins to speak of dreams of flying, but before his suspicions are confirmed, Yukito meets two more mysterious girls. Yukito must piece together the lives of three different girls to discover the truth of “the girl in the sky”

At the same time, ADV announced it has acquired the rights to the anime series based on the game Xenosaga. A director is about to be announced and sub voice cast recruited. Expect a lot more on that in the very near future.

BANDAI ANNOUNCES RUFF OFF SOS TOUR

Bandai wanted to correct its previous announcement about its upcoming and previously reported SOS Tour. Michelle Ruff will not be on the tour and has been replaced by Stephanie Sheh, the English voice of Mikuru. The tour is in support of Bandai’s planned release of the series Haruhi.

This now means the American voice actors on board are Wendee Lee (Haruhi), Crispin Freeman (Kyon) and Johnny Yong Bosch (Itsuki). They will join their voice acting counterparts from Japan: Aya Hirano (Haruhi), Yuko Goto (Mikuru), and Minori Chihara (Yuki) in a live concert on Saturday June 30th 2007 at 4:30 pm at the Long Beach Arena, next to the convention center. In additional fan favorite ASOS Brigade members Paddy, Haruka, and Kana, will also be part of the concert.

“It’s exciting to have east meet west at the SOS Brigade Invasion Tour,” said Ken Iyadomi, President of Bandai Entertainment. “This is an event Haruhi fans won’t want to miss.”

Anime Expo will be held at the Long Beach Convention Center June 29-July 2, 2007 at Anime Expo 2007.

NEXT COLUMN: We have a sit down with Marcia Wallace about her now two-decade gig as Edna Krabapple. Also expect some thoughts and opinions on Brad Bird’s absolutely incredible new film, Ratatouille.

[Bullet_Train]

I knew he hadnt put out a movie in quite some time I didnt know he quit. The man's a legend and tackled ballsier themes than Disney. People died in Bluths film, good people not just the villain or a charcter to get the hero motivated.

[0bsessions]

Y'know, I was just researching some of this stuff on Wikipedia a couple of weeks ago. I had Secret of NIMH in my head for some reason. Great article.

And did I read that right, Bruce Timm was a protégé of his? Explains quite a bit. Just about every good television animation in the early nineties had his hand in it in some way (Be it directly like Batman, or his work being a primary influence ala Gargoyles).

I watched NIMH again for the first time in like a decade last year. Great movie that was.

[Peasily]

Yes, please, more 2D animation! Feature films in 2D from Bluth, Dini, Tartakovsky, Bakshi, and whoever else would be most welcome.

[flintlockjaw]

Nice interview with Don.

I worked for Don at Fox and I can tell you that the studio didn't pull the rug out from Don. Don had vital input to the movies that Fox made. Just so happens he made bad decisions like everyone else.

It wasn't a case of a big bad conglomerate crushing artistic integrity. It was far from from it.

[Mek]

Ironically enough, I've been on a Bluth-binge the last few weeks, so I was morbidly amused to see this article come up.

While I'm not really keen on his depressing/melodrama plots, the animation sure is beautiful to look at!

[Charlie Hustle]

I'm allergic to caaAAaaa i'm allergic to CoOOoo. gotta love jeremy and his sparklies.

Bluth is the man.

[Zugernaut]

Great interview.

[kedsie]

I would definitely be on board for a full-length Dragon's Lair film.

[Crusader K]

The Secret of NIMH was absolutely brilliant!

I first saw it on HBO many years ago and was stunned by the artwork and the heart infused in the movie. I mean, you had that utterly creepy and scary moment with the Great Owl, the underwater elevator that went down to the rats' lair, the shift from anthropomorphic drawing to stunning realistic renderings during the flashback at NIMH iteslf.

Hell, I even liked the song Paul Williams sung! If you have never seen this movie before, run out and watch it now!

[coie1985]

Too bad NIMH was a horrible movie, and his best reviewed/most successful movie was Anastasia--a blatant rip off of the "new" Disney formula... Don, you can try all you want to take credit for the resurgence of animation, but Disney is right to claim that it started with Little Mermaid.

[LunarDaydreamer]

Wonderful Don Bluth interview, brilliantly chatty and superbly entertaining. Following on from the Conroy interview, i'm loving these so much - thank you Steve!

I remember as a little 'un going to see a double bill of Secret & Xanadu - and even though it was chucking it down with rain afterwards and we had to wait ages for a bus, I couldn't stop going on about them.

And yes, that was me saying I love Xanadu. Unconditionally. And I realise it's pretty much only me.

May I ask, was the chopping and re-telling of Titan A.E. done with or without Joss Whedon's blessing, or did he come onboard at that point to 'fix' it?

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by 0bsessions

Y'know, I was just researching some of this stuff on Wikipedia a couple of weeks ago. I had Secret of NIMH in my head for some reason. Great article.

And did I read that right, Bruce Timm was a protégé of his? Explains quite a bit. Just about every good television animation in the early nineties had his hand in it in some way (Be it directly like Batman, or his work being a primary influence ala Gargoyles).

I watched NIMH again for the first time in like a decade last year. Great movie that was.

Yes, Mr. Timm actually was an animator (maybe an assistant) on NIMH.

What I found interesting is Timm did his early days with Bluth, then Bakshi and John Kricfalusi on The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and the New Beany & Cecil. It goes a long, long way towards explaining Kevin Conroy's saying there's a dark, very artistic bend to Bruce's work. -s

[CaptainTemerity]

Originally Posted by LunarDaydreamer

Wonderful Don Bluth interview, brilliantly chatty and superbly entertaining. Following on from the Conroy interview, i'm loving these so much - thank you Steve!

I remember as a little 'un going to see a double bill of Secret & Xanadu - and even though it was chucking it down with rain afterwards and we had to wait ages for a bus, I couldn't stop going on about them.

And yes, that was me saying I love Xanadu. Unconditionally. And I realise it's pretty much only me.

May I ask, was the chopping and re-telling of Titan A.E. done with or without Joss Whedon's blessing, or did he come onboard at that point to 'fix' it?

Lies, I tell you! Lies!

I love Xanadu. To this very day, I still quote it to be my most favorite of films.

I also deeply loved Nihm. And Anastasia, although the American Tail films didn't agree with me too much. I do, however, disagree with a previous poster. I remember Black Cauldron bombing, and then this huge achievement that was Tail. I loved Little Mermaid, but I do think it owes something to Tail because it helped force Disney to get back on track again.

A Dirk the Daring movie would be an easy sell for me. I miss the TV series, honestly.

[Whipsnakes]

American Tail and Secret of NIMH are my two favorite animated movies of all time

[Blackbeard]

Originally Posted by kedsie

I would definitely be on board for a full-length Dragon's Lair film.

I'll second that!

Wonderful interview, Steve.

[0bsessions]

Originally Posted by coie1985

Too bad NIMH was a horrible movie, and his best reviewed/most successful movie was Anastasia--a blatant rip off of the "new" Disney formula... Don, you can try all you want to take credit for the resurgence of animation, but Disney is right to claim that it started with Little Mermaid.

You're one of those people who hate sunshine and puppies, aren't you?

If you say the Sandlot was anything shy of genius, I'll be ready to declare that you're a bloody communist.

[napdyno]

As a young child, I always favored the Disney animated films such as the the Little Mermaid or Cinderella to Bluth's films such as the Secret of NIMH or An American Tail. They just didn't seem to appeal to me as much compared to the catchier, lighter Disney features. After reading this interview however, I'm tempted to re-explore Bluth's old films. My adult preferences nowadays lean more towards those movies created by Pixar than Disney, and it'll be interesting to see how Bluth's films hold up today. All in all, this interview proves to be a very enlightening and wonderful insight to the those early days of the American animation renaissance.

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by napdyno

As a young child, I always favored the Disney animated films such as the the Little Mermaid or Cinderella to Bluth's films such as the Secret of NIMH or An American Tail. They just didn't seem to appeal to me as much compared to the catchier, lighter Disney features. After reading this interview however, I'm tempted to re-explore Bluth's old films. My adult preferences nowadays lean more towards those movies created by Pixar than Disney, and it'll be interesting to see how Bluth's films hold up today. All in all, this interview proves to be a very enlightening and wonderful insight to the those early days of the American animation renaissance.

One has to remember that Steven Spielberg loved to throw a pound of saccherine into any animated project he worked on until Pinky & The Brain. NIMH is probably the purest we'll ever see in a Bluth production because that and Banjo were about the only two movies he did that weren't Spielberg or Fox managed. -s

[JLAJRC]

I loved American Tail. I even owned a Fievel doll.

Not mentioned, but Bluth's biggest contribution was probably The Land Before Time, which he directed. I saw it a couple of months ago on HBO and it's a good movie for being so short.

[NedPepper]

The Secret of NIMH is absolutely a brilliant piece of animation. And An American Tail had a poignancy that was missing from a lot Disney animation.

Hats off to a great career, Mr. Bluth. I put you up there with another hero of mine, one Jim Henson.

And why am I not surprised that Bruce Timm worked with him? Just kept it coming.

I think Brad Bird will carry the torch. Iron Giant is a beautiful movie. And who doesn't like the Incredibles?

[Gorjirus]

What?!

No mention of my favorite Bluth film, Rock-a-doodle-doo?!

Watched that movie over and over again when I was a little kid.

Though, I have to admit I like American Tail: Fievel Goes West, more than the original American Tail.

[Hoopertoon]

I'm old enough to've seen "...NIMH" in the theatres and LOVED it! Same with "An American Tale", "Land Before Time" and "All Dogs..."! And don't get me started on how many quarters I dropped in "Dragon's Lair" and "Space Ace"! But "Rock - A - Doodle" just didn't do it for me. I didn't even bother with "Pebble and The Penguin" or "A Troll In Central Park"! "Anastasia" and (what little I saw on cable of) "Titan A.E." were so heavily rotoscoped that I wondered why this one - time brilliant animation director didn't just go the extra inch and make those movies live - action! But when I learned he published a newsletter / magazine I jumped at the chance to subscribe and got about a four or five or so issues before the plug was pulled....and I was extremely disappointed when it was! When I first met my wife, her (then) two - year - old daughter loved "....NIMH" and watched it incessantly. And so I re - discovered it all over again. I would love to see a new Bluth film...if he would stick to animation and 86 the friggin' rotoscoping!!!

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by NedPepper

The Secret of NIMH is absolutely a brilliant piece of animation. And An American Tail had a poignancy that was missing from a lot Disney animation.

Hats off to a great career, Mr. Bluth. I put you up there with another hero of mine, one Jim Henson.

And why am I not surprised that Bruce Timm worked with him? Just kept it coming.

I think Brad Bird will carry the torch. Iron Giant is a beautiful movie. And who doesn't like the Incredibles?

For the record, I saw Ratatooie. It WILL put Bird in the pantheon. I'll say more on Thursday. -s

[Charlie Hustle]

Originally Posted by NedPepper

I think Brad Bird will carry the torch. Iron Giant is a beautiful movie. And who doesn't like the Incredibles?

His new flick about the rat that wants to be a chef looks HILARIOUS