Disney 'Returning to Hand-Drawn Animation'

(Guardian Unlimited) – Having officially abandoned hand-drawn cell animation, Disney is reportedly re-turning to the art form on their forthcoming feature, Enchanted. The film features the voices of Susan Sarandon and Amy Adams and tells the story of a fairytale princess who finds herself banished to New York City. It will reportedly showcase a mix of live action with old-style cell animation. According to Disney expert Jim Hill, a rough sequence for the film has already been completed by the veteran animator James Baxter, who is best known for his work on 1991's Beauty and the Beast. "Those who have seen this par-ticular piece of rough animation say that it is 'simply stunning'. A wonderful throwback to the sort of films Disney used to make," Hill said on his website, jimhillmedia.com. Stung by the poor performance of home-grown features such as Treasure Planet and Atlantis, Disney has become increasingly reliant on its partnership with Pixar, creators of the hit computer-animated films Toy Story, Monsters Inc and The In-credibles. Disney released its last hand-drawn animated feature, Home On the Range, in 2004. At the time the company admitted that there were no plans to make any more. Ironically, Disney's rumored re-turn to cell animation may be partly down to the influence of Pixar front-man John Lasseter, who recently took over the role of chief creative affairs officer at Disney Feature Animation. Despite making his reputa-tion as a champion of CGI, Lasseter is a long-time fan of the older Disney films. "I can't wait until I can get Disney back to the traditional animation business again," he said recently. Enchanted is scheduled for release in 2007.

Holy cow!