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Post by vanessajoyce on Aug 11, 2008 19:53:51 GMT -5
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Post by Viva la Vida on Aug 11, 2008 20:33:13 GMT -5
That was a fairly good read. I'm glad you posted it here  An important fact about sci-fi animated films(which isn't pointed out in the article) is that most of them have done very poorly at the box office. The Iron Giant, Titan A.E., Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Treasure Planet were all financial failures with catastrophic consequences -- Fox's and Square's animation studios closed down while Disney temporarily abandoned traditional animation for CGI. Atlantis: The Lost Empire fared better but it was still considered a disappointment. Lilo & Stitch was a success, but that film took place in Hawaii with the typical sci-fi locations and elements mostly in the background. WALL-E, of course, was very successful and acclaimed, but that doesn't guarantee that the other upcoming sci-fi animated films will be as well. Sci-fi animation is a very hard sell. |
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Post by vanessajoyce on Aug 11, 2008 23:31:35 GMT -5
Yeah, but I don't think they've done poorly at the box office because they were sci-fi. Some were not marketed well ("The Iron Giant") and some were just -- well, really bad ("Titan A.E").
And, to be honest, Fox's animation division -- more accurately, Mr. Don Bluth's animation studio -- hadn't put out anything worth anything for awhile, sci fi or not. I think Titan AE just nailed the coffin shut.
Same with the Disney attempts -- "Treasure Planet" and "Atlantis". If Disney had been putting out great films up to that point and these films had followed suit, I don't think they would have been failures. Disney was on a losing streak and these films just happened to be part of the same losing streak that started with "Pocahontus" and would still be going on if they hadn't kicked out Eisner and brought in Iger, Catmull and Lasseter.
Again, I first question the storytelling, not the subject matter or setting, if an animated film does badly. Sometimes a good film does do badly at the box office, but Disney and Fox have hardly been good examples of fantastic storytelling in the past 10-15 years.
Kind of off-topic but related to the above . . . I really wish people would stop "crediting" Pixar for "killing" cel animation. Disney, DreamWorks and Fox killed people's confidence in cel animation by doing really, really horrid films and expecting audiences to just take the abuse.
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Post by Viva la Vida on Aug 12, 2008 6:29:25 GMT -5
It's true that quality plays a role, but I still believe that sci-fi animation is generally a turnoff based on box office data. The gross and per-theatre average of Treasure Planet's first weekend was MUCH lower than even that of the other films from the decline period. Brother Bear the following year did more than double of TP's overall gross, and that didn't receive as much hype or fanfare(In fact, I remember reading that Disney wanted to quietly dump it's final traditionally-animated films so they could move on to CGI). Yeah, as you can tell, I follow box-office numbers compulsively.  I agree completely about the belief that Pixar killed 2-D; that's just total crap. In fact, isn't it Lasseter and Catmull who decided to have Disney bring back 2-D shortly after the merger? |
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Post by vanessajoyce on Aug 12, 2008 8:32:18 GMT -5
Hmmm . . . you're starting to convince me. (And I love the fact that there's someone on the forum who follows those numbers -- I like knowing I can get authoritative answers on any forum I'm part of. ) Okay so as a track record for sci fi + animation films, we have: "Treasure Planet" "Atlantis" "Titan A.E." "The Iron Giant" "Lilo & Stitch" (although I wouldn't use that example definitively -- I agree with you the sci fi isn't the point of the story) "Final Fantasy" "Spirits Within" I'd mention films like "The Ghost in the Shell" and "They Were 13" but I think we're focusing on the North American box office. (The Asian market already accepts animation in any genre -- especially sci fi.) Can anyone else think of any other sci fi + animation films that have come out in the past 20 years? (Not counting this summer's stuff like "Fly Me to the Moon" or "Clone Wars") Could it be that WALL-E will set a precedent that will convince other animation companies to get out of the "sass-talking animal" genre and take on more sci fi topics? Or is sci fi considered too risky based on past examples? Thoughts? |
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Post by MidgardDragon on Aug 12, 2008 9:06:33 GMT -5
Just a quick qorrection, "Final Fantasy", and "Spirits Within" are the same film, it's "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within". They did release another Final Fantasy movie based on one of the games (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children) which sold very well on DVD, but I believe only had a theatrical release in foreign markets. |
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Post by vanessajoyce on Aug 12, 2008 9:08:50 GMT -5
Oh, wow -- I was hoping my ignorance in not having that film (or I thought, "films") wouldn't come out. Thanks, MD!  |
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