Disney Is Ditching CGI Movies
This became inevitable the moment Disney completed its merger with Pixar. Disney’s foray into computer animation is over. According to Jim Hill Media through JoBlo, they’ve fired everyone off of what was supposed to be their next CGI feature, American Dog, and what’s more their new Animation head John Lasseter is ending all future CGI productions.
Instead, Pixar will now be the sole provider of computer animated movies for Disney. Disney meanwhile, will go back to doing what it used to do best: Traditional, 2-D animated movies. Lasseter has always believed that there’s still a place for that kind of animation in the industry, he’s always been adamant that it’s the story which matters, not how it’s animated, and now Disney’s going to try and prove it.
This is fantastic news. It never made sense for Disney to have two divisions producing CGI movies anyway. They were in effect, competing against themselves. Pixar doesn’t need their mediocre animated movies further cluttering up the landscape, they have their hands full with DreamWorks, BlueSky, and all the others. Maybe, just maybe Disney can bring 2-D animation back.
Whether American Dog will now be done in traditional animation or not remains unclear. We do know that Disney has Enchanted and The Frog Princess coming in 2-D. Those movies are to be something of a test, to prove to Disney execs that there’s still money to be had in making movies with colored pencils and ink.
So it looks like when Meet the Robinsons hits theaters next year, it will be the second and final computer animated movie from Disney Animation. It ends there. The others will from here on out be Pixar, proudly displaying the Disney logo alongside Luxo Jr. As it should be.