Disney Reviving Hand-Drawn Animation

The Walt Disney Co. is planning to revive traditional hand-drawn animation next year with its live-action/animated Enchanted, Disney watcher Jim Hill reported on his website today (Wednesday). A traditionally animated test sequence has already been created for the film by veteran Disney animator James Baxter, best known for his supervision of the character Belle in Beauty and the Beast, according to Hill. "And those who have seen this particular piece of rough animation say that it is ’simply stunning. A wonderful throwback to the sort of films that Disney used to make.’" Baxter, Hill said, has been secretly working on the sequence with a small crew at his own studio in Pasadena, and, he added, his work is likely to be displayed by Pixar’s John Lasseter and Ed Catmull as they make their well-known case for reviving hand-drawn animation to Disney chief Robert Iger. Said Hill: "They’re going to tell Iger: ‘Doesn’t that look terrific? People are really going to eat this picture up. They’ve been waiting for Disney to do a new film that features traditional animation. Which is why this movie is going to do HUGE box office next year.’"