Techtite's Movie Reviews!

"What would Walt Disney have done if given a computer? If anything, he would try to do what he always did...on computers. That's what Keane's animation team is trying to do. If you ask me the task sounds ominous, though also fascinating."

--from the article

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Rapunzel Unbraided

"Early Look," By Techtite

(Most Recent Update of this page's "Early Look": Thanksgiving 2007)

To those unaware, Rapunzel Unbraided is to be the first of the best of both worlds, a Disney fairy tale, completely CGI. Upon release in 2009, be sure to see the review on this very web page, so feel free to link to it in advance...! However, clearly this sort of movie is to be a very big, ballyhooed affair, so allow Techtite.com to use this page in the meantime, for a sneak peek at all the early news, buzz, and promos as they all roll along.

Let's begin with what this movie could accomplish, if it succeeds. As many fans will tell you, even though Disney scored around a decade of new hits with The Little Mermaid and Aladdin and Beauty & the Beast and The Lion King, they've gotten off the beaten track as of late. Add to that the fact that computer animation has taken over --sort of-- and the question arises: can Disney do the impossible (again), and make another fairy tale style story, but...in computer animation?

That's the task handed over to Rapunzel Unbraided's director, Glen Keane. If the name sounds familiar, he was the lead animator for such modern classic characters of Disney lore as Ariel, "The Little Mermaid." He's also helped make modern classics such as Beauty & the Beast, as well as movies I always felt were less appreciated than they should've been, like Disney's Tarzan. No newcomer to animation; word is that he began his career as a layout artist in the cult hit Star Trek animated series of the 1970's. Now he's finally a director, and of Disney's first completely computer animated fairy tale.

Here's the task the way I see it. I love modern animation, but I love classic animation too, and both seem to need each other at this point. Computers do a swell job at making the most impossible animation seem more possible. Then again; where is the "magic"...? Think of the scene when Cinderella is cleaning a floor, and suddenly you can see her singing in all the soap bubbles as they rise away. Then there's the exquisite detail of the typical backdrop in a Disney fairy tale, with every leaf of every tree perfectly drawn. Computer animation lacks the same sort of "life" and it shows.

See, the way I see it; the makers of Rapunzel Unbraided want what all of us want: to see computer animation break the barrier between the intricate yet rather pastel-colored CGI world, and the two dimensional yet admittedly exquisite animation-cel world. What would Walt Disney have done if given a computer? If anything, he would try to do what he always did...on computers. That's what Keane's animation team is trying to do. If you ask me the task sounds ominous, though also fascinating.

This brings us to the standard “how are they doing so far?” question. I have no inside track per se, but from what I've heard at this or that convention, I'd say they're doing very well, indeed! This page will be updated with whatever early test footage has been "allowed" online (and by "allowed" I mean; the photos were found on at least three other message boards and web sites besides ours, so please don't sue us...!). At the top of the page is a thumbnail image of what appears to be an early look at the actual CGI. At left is an apparent conceptual photo of Rapunzel, who it would appear is being made to be as spunky as most modern Disney princesses (Ariel, Jasmine, and though she's not an actual "princess" per se, Belle). Cool.

Mind you; this is a very early bird news report. It has been said that Shrek took over 7 years to complete, if not longer. So it may be of little surprise to you that this Rapunzel film is not scheduled for release until 2009. Of course, this begs the question of a progress report --which we'll update for you here, when possible-- though with all the obligatory tabloid rumors and gossip and hearsay, the status may be "iffy" for some time. Here's a look at some of the early gossip, of which we can "unofficially" report the following as either true, false, or a definite "maybe":

• No, Reese Witherspoon is not the voice of Rapunzel, although reports were that she was offered an executive producer position had she signed on (the unofficial word is that she was present for awhile on the project, but dropped out in early 2005).
• No, the script will not be an exact Rapunzel retelling, but like many modern Disney tales (Aladdin, Little Mermaid), the story will be vastly Disney-updated. This may include either an Aladdin style dose of humor, or simply a modern alteration of the story (I mean, come on; the prince climbs her hair while it's still on her head? Dude! Ouch...!).
• As of November 2005: Word was that Keane had taken the job onto himself for retooling the script due to demands to make it less "this" or more "that." Some said this was a questionable move to place in the hands of the director, because Keane had never written an animated tale before.
• New information as of November 2007: Now IMDb credits the scriptwriters as the work of five people; none of them Keane. The good news is that these writers have apparently decided not to "reinvent the wheel," as it were, and stick with the original story. The drawing-board idea was to have Rapunzel be a modern, real-life girl thrust into fairy tale land by an evil witch. This idea has since been scrapped, and the film is now a true blue retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale, albeit with modern humor a la most recent Disney classics, like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.

Be sure to check here for additional early buzz, right up to the (hopeful!) opening weekend, when this page will be updated with a full review. We'll keep you posed here on whatever news we learn until that time comes.

---Techtite

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