Glen Keane has left Disney

This is a sad, sad day for hand-drawn animation.

Indeed, I want to wish him the best of luck. But Disney has also taken a major dent.

Well, if he thinks it's time to move on, then best of luck to him.

Where do you guys think he'll go?

I swear, if Disney loses another brilliant mind to Dream Works Animation, that would be...well, it would just be embarassing.

edited 24th Mar '12 9:24:40 AM by Mort08

You were thinking that too? I mean, there was a rumor about Dreamworks making a beeline for Keane..

I know Disney hasn't been perfect, but thinking about all the people who've left Disney over the years does make me a bit sad. The creative minds that may have helped invigorate and inspire eventually have to move on and pursue other projects. It's kind of bittersweet.

edited 24th Mar '12 9:59:08 AM by blueflame724

People leaving make room for new people to get noticed.

And the man didn't die, after all.

Does this mean no more barefoot female characters in Disney films anymore?

Mm, yeah, we need more Cinderella sequels where she keeps slipping out of her shoes because her feet are freakishly small.

Yeah with that first post here I was thinking that he died. Jeez, it's not that dramatic, haha. Since he left voluntarily I'm interested to see what he does now. The only one that should be sad about this is Disney, otherwise, it's just a man looking for new things.

From a 2011 interview:

"Who are your inspirations as far as family, friends, or even other artists go?

Glen Keane / : Frederic Back is my favorite animator – a Fench Canadian artist in his 80′s now who created The Man Who Planted Trees. It is a tour de force of personal expression. I dream of doing something so beautiful someday." http://www.fusedfilm.com/2011/03/roundtable-interview-with-the-disney-animator-glen-keane/

edited 24th Mar '12 2:39:52 PM by harkko

Alright, so unless the person died, we can't feel at least somewhat sad?

edited 24th Mar '12 8:24:24 PM by blueflame724

A more in depth look.

He left because... there's no more hand-drawn animation do be done at Disney in the near future.

:(

Traditional animation and CGI are both tools in Disney Feature Animation's toolbox right now. The Princess and the Frog brought traditional animation out of mothballs over there because John Lasseter decided it fit better with that style. Apparently, nothing currently in production is going that direction.

According to a special feature I saw on the Chicken Little DVD, they have software that can translate rough 2D animation to the model, but I can understand wanting purer work. I have a hard time imagining that system running very smoothly anyway, and I never saw it demonstrated again.

I'm pretty sure they've kept using the tablet system well after Chicken Little though.

That's good. I like having it as a weapon against "ZOMG HAND DRAWN ANIMATION IS DEAD! ALL THOSE ARTISTS ARE GOING TO STARVE IN THE GUTTER!"

edited 25th Mar '12 1:23:14 PM by TParadox

This podcast confirms several things at once.

• It murders the Mickey Mouse movie rumor. (I still think that that should be Disney's most promising next idea for a 2D film.)
• It confirms that Ron and Jon's 2D features they had intended to make, after The Princess And The Frog, is canceled.
• All major animators who made a name for themselves are doing something else.
• John Lasseter gave up on his goal of trying to bring 2D back at Disney.
• Jake Daniels PACKS A PUNCH! XD

edited 25th Mar '12 4:31:42 PM by Shota

So Disney is pretty much CGI from here on out?

:(

edited 26th Mar '12 4:06:05 PM by PippingFool

For now.

You never know what comes down the line...

All projects currently in the pipeline are CG... but they had official plans to kill off 2D animation a few years ago. Home on the Range was intended to be their last 2D film ever, and then John Lasseter took over and declared that Princess and the Frog should be hand-drawn.

Some people blame Atlantis: The Lost Empire for that decision. However, as I recall, it came a few weeks after Dreamworks made the same declaration, which was a direct result of the box office disaster that was Sinbad, so I blame the Disney/Dreamworks rivalry. Thus, Jeffrey Katzenberg is responsible for everything I don't like in the industry.

Because he didn't get the promotion he wanted.

edited 26th Mar '12 5:19:47 PM by TParadox

And now he's in talks with developing a Dreamworks branch in China, further prohibiting North American animators from getting work.

Also, their "pipeline" is surprisingly small! They got Wreck It Ralph and another Prep And Landing inevitably, and then The Snow Queen for the year 2013..... ... ... and ummmmmmmmm ... ... ... ... ...

edited 26th Mar '12 5:45:17 PM by Shota

That's incredibly tragic. I'm sure everyone is aware the infamous of 2D vs 3D argument, but that being the reason he left? How heart crushing.

Not necessarily. He doesn't take any sides, but the reason he left was because Disney is not making any hand-drawn feature films as the moment, which really has nothing to do with the debate.

Considering the box office mediocrities of Princess And The Frog and the new Winnie The Pooh movie. The 2D Animation output is going to be frighteningly low.

This kinda makes me sad as I was hoping that Mort was going to be 2D after the 3D King of Elves...

They're not doing Mort at all because they wanted to make it Lighter and Softer, which Pratchett wouldn't allow. Apparently the whole "working for Death" aspect was too extreme for them.

Anyone else remember when Disney had some balls?