Tidbits: Ralphie's Title, STX Animation & 'Leap!' Leaps Again

Two of today's bits come from CinemaCon, one didn't...

Walt Disney Animation Studios' sequel to their 2012 video game adventure Wreck-It Ralph finally has title...

It is...

Next year, he's gonna break it 👊. Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 opens in theatres on March 9, 2018. pic.twitter.com/u1qQn7TUUI

— Disney Animation (@DisneyAnimation) March 29, 2017

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2...

Ummm... I don't know what to think of this title. Right now, I'm thinking, take off the "Wreck-It Ralph 2" subtitle, or move it to the front, and it's a bit better. The placement is what's bothering me, not so much the title. The logo is also giving me an Emoji Movie feel, which isn't... Quite... Good...

But this is from Disney Animation. This is from Rich Moore and Phil Johnston. They've been working on this for a while, so... A title is just a title. I still think it could be better, though.

Someone also happened to snap a photo of the big slate Disney showed off during their presentation, which looks exactly like the one they showed roughly two years ago...

So now we know what The Incredibles 2's logo looks like. No more Roman numeral. Disney Animation's second 2018 release, Gigantic, didn't see a logo change. I say they should stick with it. Interesting that the "untitled fairy tale" slated for 7/28/2017 is still on there... It's less than four months away, and no title, no info, no this, no that. What could it even be? I thought it was going to be this currently-filming pic called Magic Camp, but I hear that's not it. Hmmm...

Next up... STX has their animation plan...

Earlier, STX - quietly making the waves as a distributor amongst the heavies - went over some animation plans. For a while, we've known that they've been planning an animated film based on the Uglydolls toyline. Illumination was once set to do that film, but after abandoning it, STX got a hold of it. Simply titled Uglydolls, STX plans to release it on May 10, 2019. Robert Rodriguez is set to direct it... A very interesting choice! Rodriguez has quite the resume, though not all of his family films were winners.

Anyways, I still think it's quite the pick. I have few feelings about this project, being something based on a toyline and all. The dolls themselves are certainly odd-looking, and it's a nice break from the typical character designs you see. It looks like something Illumination would've sunk their teeth into, but... I'm interesting to see how Rodriguez pulls this off.

STX also has an original animated movie on the docket, one starring Eddie Murphy. Apparently titled Bo the Bull, all we know is this: It's about a bull who wants to be a clown.

Another animated picture on their slate is a planned adaptation of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, the nearly 50-year-old stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. A psychedelic update of the Biblical story of Joseph, it falls in line with STX's apparent need to make family-friendly animated features. Of course, we animation fans know that Rice got around long after this production... Doing such minuscule things like... Writing the lyrics for Aladdin and The Lion King's songs...

Not the most thrilling slate, as I was kind of (naively) hoping that STX would break the mold and do bolder animated pictures... But it looks like they'll playing the same game everyone else is in on. I still wish them luck, though.

Lastly, the Weinstein Company - to no one's surprise - has delayed Leap! yet again.

The film, delayed for the second time, will now debut on August 30, 2017. No real compelling reason was given, it's probably just an excuse for Harvey Weinstein to further destroy the film. That's nothing new in the world of Weinstein. It probably would've been so much easier for them if they had just left Ballerina (the original film) alone, and just released that here back in March, like they had initially planned to do. As far as I'm concerned, Leap! really ain't Ballerina... Just like how Doogal ain't The Magic Roundabout. I don't understand how the guy doesn't get it...

All of the non-American animated films he has hacked up have sunk like stones. The one family film he didn't destroy, Paddington, did pretty well at the domestic box office. It was leggy, it got outstanding reviews by US critics, how could he not learn from that? How could he not learn from Arabian Knight and Doogal?

Anyways, Leap! is looking to be Underdogs Deux. Underdogs is his "re-imagined" version of the Argentinian animated film Metegol, which already got a halfway-decent English dub (released in the UK) before he got his hands on it. It was delayed roughly four times, and then it just went straight to video. I think Leap! will suffer the same fate... Of course, they wouldn't ask themselves, "Was the 're-imagining' of it even necessary?"

Well, if ya had only left it alone...

Box Office Catchup: 'Batman' Holds On, 'Rock Dog' Disappears

A few weekends have gone by, nothing of note had really happened.

This weekend, The Lego Batman Movie held its own against Disney's beast of a movie. Still in the Top 10, The Lego Batman Movie collected $4 million for the weekend, and is now up to $167 million domestically. Worldwide, the film has pulled in $287 million, as it's still bubbling up overseas. Not a bad gross if you think about it, considering that The Lego Movie made less than $500 million worldwide. Lego Batman, like its predecessor, cost $80 million to make. They're all set...

In 19th place is Moana, even though the Blu-ray has been out for a couple of weeks. It's up to $248 million here, I wonder if Disney will fudge some numbers and get it past two-five-oh. Sometimes, they'd do that by double-billing the movies with their then-newest releases. For example, by the time Tangled was out on all home media formats, it was at $198 million domestically. Disney kept it in theaters all throughout April, and when Pirates of the Caribbean's fourth entry came out in May of that year (2011), some double-feature screenings had Tangled. Tangled finally crawled past the $200 million mark, the first time a Disney animated film had done that since The Lion King.

So maybe Disney may do just this for Moana when Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 comes out in May. Or maybe, coincidentally, Pirates of the Caribbean cinque.

Worldwide is another story. The picture is finally out in Japan, and the opening gross was around $5 million. Some are questioning this, but Zootopia had opened with $3 million, so it all depends on the legs. Things play out differently in Japan than they do here. Moana's next target is Big Hero 6, which finished up with $657 million worldwide. It may or may not beat it, I think it has something of a shot at doing it. If it does, then it'll the third biggest Lasseter-era Disney animated feature.

Sing is right below Moana on the domestic weekend chart. $269 million here, $589 million everywhere. Should be wrapping up its run soon.

In 24th place is Rock Dog. Losing roughly 900 screens this past weekend, the film 75%. $10 million looks like the final total here, and that's around the same amount it made overseas. Lionsgate will probably yank more screens next weekend when their Power Rangers hits. A big flop, sadly.

Trolls still rolls in 69 theaters, but there has been no dramatic change with the numbers. No matter, Comcast is clearly pleased with the results, if Trolls 2's release date didn't already confirm that.

In limited release, the Swiss-French frontrunner My Life as a Zucchini has made $219k. The Red Turtle has made $788k. For some reason, the 2004 Danish CG flick Terkel in Trouble is still playing! Running in 12 theaters last month, it's now playing in 2, and the thing has made $104k to date. This is way more than what its first two (!) American releases took in, combined. Those American releases occurred in 2010, six years after the film came out in its country of origin.

Strange, strange, strange...

Batman Succeeds: 'Lego Batman' Wins the Weekend Again

No shock, really.

The Lego Batman Movie wasn't facing any tentpole-esque competition this week. Not even the big budget epic The Great Wall, which might make its money back because of the Chinese and overseas grosses. Universal pretty much dumped that one here, so the mini figures had the weekend all to themselves.

Falling a good 35%, The Lego Batman Movie collected $20 million and is sitting at $98 million domestically. Not as strong as The Lego Movie's second weekend drop, but it doesn't matter. The thing is doing damn fine for a spin-off. Worldwide, it is currently at $170 million, more than double the budget. We're off to a good start!

Moana surged a few spaces ahead, going from 17 to 13, and rising 37%. No theater expansion or special promotion or anything, it just... Jumped a bit. There's still some oil in this tank. $244 million domestically, $573 million. Japan will do the rest in a matter of weeks.

What's impressive is the weekend performance puts it ahead of Sing, a leggy smash that opened nearly a month after it. Sing tumbled 58%. $266 million here, it should top out between $270-275 million here, making it Illumination's second biggest non-Despicable Me film behind The Secret Life of Pets. Worldwide, the film is up to $528 million. China just got the film, Russia and Japan get it next. Let's see how high it goes from here...

Monster Trucks is down 70%, not much has changed. $60 million worldwide. No update on Trolls, whether it has ended its run or not. I wonder how the home media sales are...

UPDATE: Four-days are in...

The only major change here is The Lego Batman Movie, which looks to make $107 million by the end of today. Worldwide, this puts its a few clicks higher, $179 million.

Brickbuster: 'Lego Batman' Wins the Weekend Box Office

The bricks sold the tickets...

Projections for The Lego Batman Movie were all over the map, some suggested it could open as high as $85 million. It didn't quite do that, in fact it made around the same amount I thought it would make all along. $53 million, not too bad!

The Lego Batman Movie cost a bit more than its surprisingly lower budget predecessor, but it's no matter. By weekend deux, it'll probably make it all back. Worldwide, the film sits at $90 million. A handful of countries, including China, Australia (where it was made, no less!), and Japan, haven't gotten it yet. It's sure to do fine in those territories.

What's more impressive is that it staved off Fifty Shades Darker. That film was #1 on Friday, but because Fifty Shades is one of those frontloaded films that a base audience flocks to on the first day of release, it slipped, letting Lego Batman take the trophy home. Since the first movie was sort of a one-and-done thing, Fifty Shades Darker unsurprisingly opened with nearly half of the first movie's opening weekend take.

Sing took a tumble, land right outside of the Top 10. Dropping 59%, the film is now at $265 million here and $501 million everywhere. Perhaps the sky is $275 million domestically (making it their biggest non-sequel yet), and $570 million worldwide, if it breaks out in France and Japan.

At #17 is Moana, up to $243 million stateside and $565 million worldwide. Japan is getting it soon, $600 million worldwide is pretty much a given at this point.

Monster Trucks is a goner. Dropped 70%, is at $32 million here and $58 million everywhere. Perhaps the film can find a following on TV/video, it's supposedly not all that bad. I saw bits and pieces of it, wasn't terrible or anything.

Trolls is on Blu-ray, but was still playing in some areas. It's pretty much done now. Looks like the final worldwide tally will be $339-340 million.

Weekend Box Office Report: Steady Drops

The calm before the storm... The Lego Batman Movie - currently garnering rave reviews - is out in a matter of days...

Sing still sits in the Top 10, staying at #7. It dipped 36%, made $4 million, and now sits at $262 million. Worldwide, it has jumped up to $487 million. France and the UK recently got it, China, Russia, and Japan are next. I expect it to do very well in the first two of those three territories.

Good ol' Monster Trucks slipped 49%, $31 million here, $57 million everywhere. Like I said on another post, I expected it to do way worse. The more I think about it, the more I think it should've been like Paramount's own Super 8. A town-set monster flick made for roughly $50 million, why in the world did Monster Trucks have to cost $75 million *more* than that? Oh right, something about confidence in it possibly kickstarting a Transformers/Ninja Turtles-esque franchise.

Despite losing over 1,000 screens, Moana eased 46%. $242 million here, $554 million worldwide. Still hanging in there, looks like it'll settle for a sub-$255 million domestic gross. $600 million worldwide is in sight!

No update on Trolls' gross. With the Blu-ray out tomorrow, I reckon its run will end pretty soon. There wouldn't be any major change anyways. We still await the verdict from DreamWorks on whether it was a success or a loss...

Laying Down the Bricks: 'Wreck-It Ralph 2' Cast Details Surface

The sequel to Walt Disney Animation Studios' video game adventure Wreck-It Ralph is almost just a year away from hitting theaters. As expected, some new details are oozing out...

Wreck-It Ralph 2, unsurprisingly, will bring back its four main players: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch, and Jack McBrayer. When the film was first announced this past summer, some were worried that the two latter two wouldn't come back, but I had a feeling all along that they'd be in numero due. I mean, why scrap two major characters in the first one? I guess it was all based on the concept art and the plot synopsis mentioning just Ralph and Vanellope.

Today, it was revealed that two good-sized names are part of the cast. First up is the voice of Ariel herself, Jodi Benson. This will be Benson's second Disney Animation role ever, as he hadn't lent a voice to anything produced by the studio after The Little Mermaid debuted in 1989. Benson mostly did voice work for Disney's direct-to-video sequels and TV shows in the 90s and 00s, and also voiced Barbie in cousin studio Pixar's Toy Story sequels. It's a bit unusual to me that Benson wasn't in any Disney animated films for nearly 30 years, but it's great to see her return to the house. I can only imagine what kind of character she'll be playing in this film.

The other new arrival is also no stranger to voice acting, James Corden. Corden's animated resume may not be great (Norm of the North, the English dub of Animals United, yeesh!), but he must have the chops, for the studio barely ever miscasts in my opinion. Give him the right script and he'd probably nail it. When you're given something like Norm of the North, what the heck are you supposed to do?

Now according to Den of Geek, John C. Reilly might be voicing other characters in the film. They also suggested the possibility of Ralph meeting other versions of himself, which is what I've been speculating for a long while. I love the idea of Ralph - who comes from a 1982 arcade game - meeting a mid-90s, more-detailed, console game version of Ralph, or a really detailed, hyper-realistic PS4/Xbox One-like Ralph.

This is played with in the first film, as the three game worlds are all visually very different from each other. There are little details and such that enhance this, such as the Nicelanders in Ralph's home world having limited movements and very simplistic, shape-based character designs. I have a feeling they won't pass that opportunity up. I think it'd be fun to see these 80s video game characters meeting future versions of themselves, and perhaps meet characters that were introduced in later games. Did Fix-It Felix, Jr. become some sort of big Mario-like adventure series in the mid 80s? Who knows!

I have a feeling some breaking news will come about in a month, because the film opens in March of next year. This year is basically 2015 all over again, because two Pixar films are opening, hogging up the usual November slot Disney Animation likes to take. So I guess we'll hear some real news on March 9th, some time before that. As for a teaser? Since the movie is a March release, and Pixar's got a film hitting in the summer... I think that's when we'll get our teaser. Zootopia's teaser debuted before Inside Out in summer 2015, so I see a similar roll-out for this one.

What say you?

Weekend Box Office: 'Moana' Sing-Along Does Well, 'Sing' Stays

Sing remains a force to be reckoned with...

At work today, both screenings of it were PACKED. Like the first two Despicable Me films and The Secret Life of Pets, the legs for the thing are ridiculous...

Slipping a wee bit, the picture fell 31% and made $6 million for the weekend. It's now at $257 million domestically and $463 million worldwide. Sing 2 is probably going to make double that amount four years from now.

Monster Trucks continues to hold on well, though the drop was a bit harder than Sing's. It sits at $28 million here and $47 million everywhere, it probably could've done much worse.

Moana's limited Sing-Along re-release didn't quite send the picture to the top of the wave, but it did give it a nice little drop of 10%. Moana has collected $240 million to date, closing in on $250 million domestically. Worldwide, it continues to grow, as it now sits at $530 million. I think Japan's going to rocket this one into the six-oh-oh territory.

No major change or jump for Trolls, the movie is on its last leg.

In a couple weeks, The Lego Batman Movie should shake up the snowglobe.

Frontrunners: Best Animated Feature Nominees Announced

It has begun...

Five films have been nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar...

The choices are no surprise, really. Zootopia, Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life as a Zucchini, and The Red Turtle. Two are universally-acclaimed Disney animated features, one is a stop-motion adventure from a beloved house, another is a stop-motion film from a mainstay distributor, and the last one is a French production with help from none other than Studio Ghibli. In a year of strong mainstreamers and very strong indies, this batch isn't too bad.

We could perhaps argue that something like Your Name. or April, and the Extraordinary World deserved the last indie slot over The Red Turtle, or we could argue that Finding Dory was better than Moana, but overall I'm pretty content. Dory not making it is a bit bittersweet for me. I can acknowledge the movie's issues, at the same time it would've nice to see a film about disabilities at least be in the running. But a spade is a spade, I felt Moana had a tighter story structure and a little more verve. On the bright side, Life, Animated is up for Best Documentary, a film about how the Disney animated classics greatly helped an autistic boy through his life. Kind of evens things out, for me.

I'll be very happy if either Zootopia or Kubo take it home. One is Disney Animation at their greatest (I have it close to the Walt films I hold so near-and-dear), the other is a LAIKA masterpiece. Both near-perfect films, and of course the Academy Awards lived up to their predictability by not giving one of these two marvels a Best Picture nomination. I guess Toy Story 3's nomination will be the last time the Academy puts an inferior cartoon movie on the level of a "real", "legitimate" live-action movie... Despite having one more slot, but no. Nine it is. What else is new?

On the bright side, Kubo and the Two Strings broke some ground! It is the first caricature animation film to get a nod for Best Visual FX since The Nightmare Before Christmas... Way back in 1993, when there was no "Best Animated Feature" category. The Jungle Book is also up for that, though the movie is technically a 99% fully animated movie with one live-action element. Given the acclaim, it could've been up for Best Picture or Best Animated Feature, but the latter category is obviously for animated movies that aren't trying to be exact recreations of real life.

Best Animated Short... One mainstreamer (Pixar's Piper), a VR short by Feast director Patrick Osborne (Pearl), a film made possible by Pixar's Co-op program (Borrowed Time), and two indie entries (Blind Vaysha and Pearl Cider and Cigarettes). I'm rooting for Borrowed Time, not only because it was a great Western piece for adults that was smart (American adult animation not relying on gratuitous violence and sex?!), but because I heard from a reputable source that The Walt Disney Company gave Pixar guff over this project. I want it to win, even if it doesn't teach a lesson or two.

Anyways, it seems obvious that Zootopia takes home the feature statue. What takes home the other statue?

To recap, I'm rooting for:
Feature: Zootopia and/or Kubo and the Two Strings 
Short: Borrowed Time
Docu: Life, Animated

What say you?

Weekend Box Office: 'Sing' Still Carrying a Tune

Hey look, a January weekend that wasn't all that dry!

On the live-action end, M. Night Shyamalan's newest posted a great $40 million opening, putting it up there in the top January openings. Makes up for the relatively shoddy last few weeks. (Though Hidden Figures' success is quite something!)

Anyways, onto the real news... Sing is still in the Top 5, now at #4. It collected $9 million this weekend, down 36%. Grossing $249 million domestically to date, it's a few days away from surpassing the domestic gross of the first Despicable Me. Worldwide, it is now at $427 million. This one should be at over $500 million when all is said and done, I think.

Monster Trucks is somewhat beating the snark and bad buzz, for it held on quite well. Dipping 36% and collecting $7 million, it now sits at $22 million here and $41 million everywhere. It's still a crushing flop, but the decent-sized drop (and the fact that it's still getting good-sized crowds at my theater) tells me that audiences are kinda digging it. Perhaps Paramount should've had a wee bit more faith in this one?

Moana didn't move, staying in 12th place. Falling a solid 41%, it took in $2 million for the weekend, and is now at $236 million domestically. Should still reach $250 million at the end of the line, worldwide it has finally cracked five-oh-oh, now sitting at $509 million. If it's a breakout hit in Japan, $600 million is doable.

No major changes for Trolls: $152 million domestically and $337 million worldwide.

Weekend Box Office Report: Paramount Finally Rips Band-Aid, Others Hold Well

In an alternate universe, maybe Paramount's misguided mishap would've been the next Avatar...

Anyways, we all saw it coming. Monster Trucks' tires deflated. Opening at #7, behind several holdovers, the film took in $10 million for the three-day. It's also doing nothing in the few territories it's out in. With a 3x multiplier, the thing won't make more than $30 million, so yes. Big loss, but again, we knew it was going to happen. Paramount knew it back in August, the spillover from the previous guard is finally here and off their chests. Cult favorite in a few years? Or something that'll be locked in the bad box?

Paramount Animation will be fine. A few days ago, it seemed like a few heads were optimistic about their more animated future. By that, I mean we'll be seeing more caricature animation films from them, less live-action movies with hyper-real VFX elements.

Sing still crows, dropping a great 33% and reeling in $18 million for the weekend. At this point, somewhere between $250-270 million seems to be the sky. The picture's now at $397 million worldwide, still has to open in some key markets, as noted before. How long before Universal and Illumination officially ink Sing 2's 2019 release date?

Moana is now out of the Top 10, but it's still hanging ten. (My theater lost it this weekend.) It fell 38%, the gross to date is $231 million domestically. Worldwide, it's now at cruising its way towards $500 million, as it's now at $482 million. Finally past the 3x mark, Disney must be happy. Does it break out in Japan? Could it get to $600 million? We shall see...

Trolls is still around, dropping 12% and making 385k. $151 million domestically, $338 million worldwide. Still waiting on the verdict from DreamWorks themselves, whether this thing's a profit-maker or not.

Storks officially ended its run this past Thursday. $72 million here, $182 million worldwide. Non c'è male!

What are saying for The Lego Batman Movie's opening numbers?

UPDATE: MLK weekend totals...

Four-days are in...

Monster Trucks has made $15 million now, an $29 million worldwide.

Sing is now up to $238 million domestically, and $402 million worldwide.

Moana is still at $233 million, as it's pretty late into its run. $484 million worldwide.

Trolls stayed the same.

Weekend Box Office Report: Everyone Slips

Well, now that the holiday season has pretty much ended, things took dips...

Sing still leads the pack, sitting at #3. Falling 54%, it collected $19 million and the film sits at $213 million domestically. Is a $300 million final gross in play for this thing? I wouldn't be shocked if it got that high, as it is yet another leggy Illumination monster. Worldwide, it's at $356 million. It has yet to open in the UK, China, Russia, Japan, and ironically the country it was produced in... France. The film has already made over 4 1/2x its budget.

Moana had a milder dip, easing 41% and collecting $6 million for the weekend. The film is now at $225 million domestically, keeping Walt Disney Animation Studios' winning streak going, and passing the studio's Big Hero 6. If the film keeps it up, we could be looking at a $250 million domestic haul. Still yet to open in some key territories, Moana is up to $450 million worldwide. That's very good for now, as that is exactly 3x the picture's budget. I see some sites are writing Moana off as an underperformer. It is anything but... Not every animated feature is destined to magically pull Frozen/Zootopia/Inside Out/Secret Life of Pets numbers out of a hat. It's just the way it goes. Besides, the movie has already made 4x its opening weekend gross... Underperformance alright.

Down 35% this weekend was Trolls, still shining. It's now in the sub-500k zone, taking in 430k for the weekend. The picture looks to stop somewhere below $155 million domestically, and worldwide it's pretty much done. $340 million or below for the final global tally. That would be 2.7x the budget. DreamWorks seemed happy with Home, which made 2.9x the budget. Penguins of Madagascar made 2.8x its budget, but they deemed that a flop. I'm not sure what the verdict will be for Trolls, but I think all's well because of Trolls' very good domestic performance (something Home had, but Penguins didn't) and the consumer product sales I think were strong. I haven't seen so much merchandise for a DreamWorks movie in years.

Storks is surprisingly still playing in some theaters out there, but nothing has really changed: $72 million domestic / $180 million worldwide.

I'll of course cover Monster Trucks, as that is a Paramount Animation-branded flick and I'm curious to see how it does despite the fact that the distributor took a huge writedown on the picture many months ago. $115 million to be exact. The real box office fun will begin again with The Lego Batman Movie next month...

New Year Box Office Bash: 'Sing' Sings Loud, 'Moana' Rides the Wave

Illumination's newest, big shock, is an unstoppable beast.

Sing had excellent three and four-day grosses. The four-day on this one was a fantastic $56 million, up 60%. The picture now stands at $180 million domestically and $277 million worldwide. Already 3 1/2x the $75 million budget, the usual for Illumination's films. Just you watch, in a few weeks, that untitled Illumination film set for summer 2019? That's probably going to be Sing 2.

Moana was no slouch, either. Moving from #6 to #4 on the charts, rising while other new competitors fell, it took in $14 million for the 4-day. That's up 85%, and the film has made $213 million stateside. It's a few millions away from passing the studio's own Big Hero 6, the original 1992 gross Aladdin collected, and should be past Team Emeryville's Brave ($237 million) in a couple of weeks. We saw an uptick in the foreign box office too, for Moana is now at $402 million worldwide.

While not Frozen 2.0 at the box office, it is doing very respectable business. To be disappointed, I think, is silly. Frozen's success was a once-in-a-blue-moon all-the-planets-align kind of thing, Moana looks to at least outgross Tangled at the worldwide box office once it hits a few more key markets in the coming months.

Even Trolls jumped up. $900k for the 4-day, up 133%! It has finally crossed $150 million domestically and sits at $332 million worldwide. It's out everywhere, so there are no more markets for it to open in. The current gross is still only 2.6x the budget, not sure what DreamWorks wants. Are they okay with 2 1/2x the $125 million cost? Or do they expect it to make around 3x the budget? Or is the merchandise doing the rest of the work?

There haven't been any updates on Storks since December 22nd, so I'll safely assume it ended its run. $72 million domestically, $179 million worldwide. Not bad for a film that got slipshod marketing, as it only cost $70 million to make. Warner Bros. ought to be happy with how it did.

Carrying a Tune: 'Sing' Opens Well

Now that the Christmas week and weekend are over, what are the results?

Illumination's Sing lead the animated pack, which isn't surprising given that it's the new film from the reliably hit-making Despicable Me creators. That being said, the opening wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be. It's still very good, because Illumination is smart with budgets. For those who don't know, they send the work to a French studio they own called Mac Guff. This is why their animated films cost less than $80 million to make.

Sing also debuted at #2, because of a strong hold-over for Rogue One. It pulled in $35 million for the three-day, and $55 million for the five-day. With Monday estimates already in, the film is currently at $76 million. Worldwide? $93 million. Key markets like the UK and Japan haven't gotten the film yet, it doesn't open in the country it was made in until next month. Russia and Japan have to wait until March. I'm sure it'll do fine over in those territories. Look for a leggy run with this one...

With a bevy of new releases, Moana slipped from second place to sixth. Only dropping 41%, the weekend total was $7 million, bringing the picture up to $180 million domestically. Monday estimates take it to $183 million. Worldwide, it's at $327 million. Like Sing, it has yet to open in a few major markets as well. At this point in its run back in 2010, Tangled was at $146 million. This means $237 million might be the ceiling for Moana, which is pretty darn good. That would be a stellar 4.3x the three-day opening weekend gross, 2.8x the five-day. Tangled made 4.1x its three-day, and 2.9x its five-day. If Moana performs more like that, then we'll be looking at a possible $240 million+ gross.

Trolls lost over 1,000 theaters and dipped 71% for the three-day, with a $390k take, $575k for the four-day. Worldwide, it is at $329 million. The picture looks to finish somewhere below $155 million in North America, a solid number that puts it between Kung Fu Panda 3 ($141 million) and Home ($177 million). Here's hoping the last two Fox-DreamWorks pictures do well.

No numbers for Storks just yet...

To be updated...

Staying Afloat: 'Moana' Holds on Well in the Face of 'Rogue One'

Moana has some serious staying power!

Not even the new Star Wars event could stop it dead in its tracks, or make it drop more than 45%.

Moana dipped an excellent 31%, making $12 million for the weekend and collecting $162 million domestically overall. Still not out everywhere around the world, the worldwide total is $282 million.

Four weeks into its run, Tangled was at $127 million, while Frozen was at $192 million. If it keeps following former's path, the finish will be $235 million domestically... But who knows, will it surge in the coming weeks? Or stay the course? Christmas week gave these two big bumps, I assume the same will happen to this film. I think it still has a shot at $250 million domestic.

Trolls wasn't as lucky, but all is fine for now considering that the film topped $140 million last weekend. Falling 54%, the glittery colorful flick is now at $147 million domestically and $323 million worldwide. So far it has made 2 1/2x its budget, and I'm not sure if DreamWorks wants more than that.

Remember, Penguins of Madagascar made 2.8x its budget and the studio considered that a loss... But they didn't consider Home, which made 2.9x its budget, a flop. Perhaps that's because Home fared far better here than Penguins. The Madagascar spin-off missed $100 million in the states, whereas Home made $177 million. I think that a lot to do with it. With an amount not much less than that, Trolls could be fine. Again, we'll have to wait and see.

Storks still flies a bit, but hasn't inched past $71 million domestically yet. Worldwide it saw an itsy boost, it is up to $179 million.

A re-issue of The Polar Express got onto the charts with a tiny $67k.

The Secret Life of Pets is pretty much done, yet still rolling in some houses. Same numbers as last weekend: $368m domestic / $875m worldwide.

Atop the Wave: 'Moana' Stays at #1

In its last weekend with little competition, Moana was victorious.

Narrowly edging out newcomer comedy Office Christmas Party, Moana grossed a great $18 million, down a strong 34%. A little less than Tangled's drop during that frame, and much less than Frozen's, Moana could still make 4x the three-day and cross $220 million domestically. I have a feeling Moana will hold on well against Rogue One and Sing, but will it hit two-five-oh domestically?

We shall see.

Worldwide, now that it's out in a couple more territories, it's at $240 million.

Trolls lingers in the top ten, more than a month after its debut. With a small 35% drop, it took in $3 million for the weekend, and it's now at $145 million here. Worldwide, it has made $317 million. More than 2 1/2x the $125 million budget. Let's hope it goes even higher from here, because if it falls short of what DreamWorks/Uni want, I fear it could lead to even more layoffs. We don't need that, and it's why I don't want The Boss Baby and Captain Underpants to go belly-up.

Storks still plays in over 200 theaters, but it's pretty much running on a low amount of fuel. $72 million looks to be the final total here, and $177 million everywhere. The only market it's relatively new to is South Korea, but I doubt they propel it far past $180 million. Still, $177 million on a $70 million budget is A-OK. Perfectly shows that you have to be budget-conscious sometimes, because your animated movie can't just easily pull $200-250 million worldwide grosses out of a hat.

The Secret Life of Pets still barks a bit, but nothing much has changed: $368 million stateside, $875 million worldwide. Wonder if Sing comes anywhere close...

Finding Dory ended its run on the 8th. $486 million domestically, as said before the biggest for an animated film in North America, topping the record held for 12 years by Shrek 2. Worldwide is a different story. It barely eked past Zootopia, made a stellar $1,027 million, but didn't quite flood Frozen.

Now we shall see how Moana does on the battlefield next weekend...

Battling a Seastorm: 'Moana' To Hold On Well

This is the weekend where most of the big movies take a real tumble.

Moana, like the other recent November/holiday season Disney Animation films before it, was always going to drop over 50% this weekend. Let's look at the historical examples...

Tangled scored $68 million for its five-day Thanksgiving debut back in 2010, $48 million for the three-day. The second weekend gross was a 55% drop from the three-day. For Frozen, it was 53%. Both very solid, when things could've been worse. Live-action blockbusters usually get hit harder this weekend, with 60%+ drops.

Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6, by contrast, opened at the beginning of November in their respective years. They tumbled 58% and 57% on their first post-Thanksgiving five-days, respectively.

Moana's numbers yesterday suggest that it will also dip lightly, and brave the oncoming wave. I always wondered why the first post-Thanksgiving weekend 3-day is the big drop off... Perhaps audiences shifting to holiday shopping and getting ready for the festivities? Or is it because of Thanksgiving break ending, and that taking away from the weekend?

Apparently it's on track for a $30 million+ weekend, a magnificent 47% drop... Frozen made $31 million on its second weekend... The legs are going to be quite strong for this one. Makes me wonder if it'll go a little above the amount I originally thought it would make in the end. At the end of the weekend, Moana should be well past $120 million. At that point in time, Frozen was up to $134 million.

Trolls looks to ease as well, projections say a roughly 54% dip is in play, putting the film above Kung Fu Panda 3's domestic gross from earlier this year. Both are doing fine in the top ten while blockbusters and smaller pics come and go.

Update...

Dropping an estimated 49.9% (!!!), Moana has collected $28 million for the weekend. It is now up to $119 million here, and it opened in a few key territories this weekend, so the worldwide gross is up to $177 million. Like most November-release Disney animated films, it'll be a slow crawl because many markets don't get this picture until the end of the first quarter of next year.

Trolls dropped 56%, made $4 million, it's up to $141 million here and $296 million everywhere. Really seems to be stalling overseas for some reason.

The Secret Life of Pets still lingers, with $368 million domestically and $874 million worldwide. Walt Disney Animation Studios won't be the only big studio having a banner year, because Sing is poised to do very, very well.

No word on the storks just yet...

To be updated...

Oceanic Epic: 'Moana' is a Thrilling, Fun, Familiar Adventure

The big epic Broadway-style musical has returned with Walt Disney Animation Studios' 56th animated feature, Moana...

Warning, spoilers ahead...

How is it? If this past spring's Zootopia was the studio's grand new dish, Moana was the menu favorite... But this menu favorite was served up in a way that made its familiar elements feel fresh and fun again. No doubt about it, Moana is through-and-through a 90s Disney Renaissance film, and it is definitely a Ron Clements/John Musker film. Does it really do anything new? Not really. It's certainly more Little Mermaid than it is Treasure Planet. But is it executed very well? I think so.

Moana works off of Oceanic folklore to create a very cool, sometimes wild, and sometimes surreal fantasy adventure that only animation can do. Our main heroine loves the ocean, adventure, and doesn't quite want to fit into the mold that her society wants her to fit into. Long ago, demigod Maui stole the heart of the island goddess Te Fiti, a small green glowing stone. This unleashed hell on the islands, and little by little Moana's home island of Motunui is decaying. Crops are dying, the land is falling apart, soon it'll be curtains for her people...

Upon her grandmother's death, Moana sets sail to find Maui, intending to take him and the heart stone to where it belongs. Maui is hesitant, because of the dangers out there that want the stone, and because he doesn't have his legendary magical fish hook to fend for himself. What ensues is a buddy comedy on water, Moana and Maui really don't get along at first, not dissimilar to Tiana and Naveen's relationship in The Princess and the Frog. Little by little, as they work together, they begin to bond. While Moana is determined to undo the mistakes Maui has brought upon the islands, Maui is incredibly stubborn and quite arrogant. I really liked how these two worked off of each other, and it makes for some pretty good comedy too.

Also supplying some comedy is a stowaway rooster, Heihei. Dumber than the average chicken, Heihei is never overused in the way some Renaissance era sidekicks were. There was very little lowbrow humor, too, the tone was surprisingly pretty even for a 90s-style picture. Certainly more even than Frozen, in my humble opinion. The pacing was also pretty shocking too, the first act refreshingly takes it time while the middle feels a little bit wonky in places. Am I just too nuts about pacing? Rarely do I ever say something's so well-paced these days.

Visually, the film is indeed very nice. While I'm getting tired of photoreal computer animation, the lighting and color work in this film is still resplendent. Its most exciting parts, visually, used traditional animation along with other unexpected visual choices: Maui's tattoos, folk art-like cut-outs during the 'You're Welcome' song sequence, and the psychedelic visuals of Tamatoa's brilliantly over-the-top 'Shiny' number. I will be brutally honest though... I really wish this film was done in traditional animation.

This is not a dig on CGI or the sheer work that the Disney Animation team put into this movie's look, but it's a just a personal choice. I'm really beginning to sour on computer animation that's trying to be photoreal while trying to keep that unreal quality that makes animation so unique, but this is another rant for another day. The colors, character animation, lighting, and imagery still wows. The water too, just... Amazing...

What I particularly liked was how adventurous it was. Coconut-wearing pirate creatures pulling a Mad Max: Fury Ocean on our heroes, a whole seabed-like land full of weird monsters, a big battle with a lava monster, the ocean being a character, it was pretty imaginative and epic. I wasn't watching an animated Broadway musical set in a few key locations, it was like a Broadway musical and a sprawling trek, in the way something like Aladdin was. The cast is refreshingly small for this kind of narrative, but the faces we see are nonetheless entertaining and likable.

Bolstering all of this is the music from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i, and Mark Mancina. The tunes follow the 90s beats, but are very enjoyable and leave you humming. 'Shiny' is a grade-A villain song, just our campy crustacean baddie basking in his collection. Moana's 'I Want' song is good stuff, as is the epic 'We Know The Way', some of the more emotional ones in the latter part of the middle third are sharp. Moana's grandmother returns in spiritual form to sing her the song of the ancestors, the scenes concerning Moana's grandmother in particular really hit home for me, having lost my grandmother a few years back, the sequence in question almost mirrored how it happened. Her reunion with her granddaughter is one of the film's most poignant moments.

Moana is in every way a work of Disney animated comfort food. It has the big songs, it has the spunky heroine who wants more, the music, the occasional over-the-top fun, a memorable baddie, some sadness, and a good touch of comedy. For me, this balanced all of the elements better than many of the Renaissance films did. At the same time, it bucked a few trends from that era. Our big epic battle with the lava witch isn't quite what one might think, there's really no towering bad guy to stop.

Tamatoa is a temporary monster that they have to trick, while the lava witch Te Ka is an enraged Te Fiti who needs her heart back. Really, most of the conflict is Maui's doing, and he's cocky to boot. Thankfully there are no twist villains either, because that could've been a mistake and would've felt quite redundant. The comic relief sidekick isn't overbearing or noisy, nor does this fowl in question interrupt deeper moments. In fact, Moana puts him in a pot and locks it in the boat's compartment, he stays put for a little while!

While not a particularly mind-blowing work, Moana is more than a pleasant diversion. It certainly does have things on its mind, and the telling of them is quite subtle. One of them I liked is Maui's initial search for more power, resulting in the stealing of the heart-stone. Self-discovery and confidence are also the name of the game too, and even a little dash of empathy. The film is not a joke-a-thon matinee or Redbox rental, and to be fair, none of the Disney animated films made under John Lasseter's watch have been just that. Moana basically continues the winning streak without anything really new to bring to the table. It certainly isn't the ambitious and wild Zootopia, nor is it the exciting and sprawling Wreck-It Ralph, but everything in it coagulates so well. Again, comfort food, but prepared with passion.

Soooo, what about our short film?

Inner Workings is a zippier Reason and Emotion with some dashes of Team Emeryville's recent mind movie, and in terms of the animation and directing, it's a lot of fun. As I've said before, I absolutely love the off-kilter style they went for, and the presentation itself compliments this style. If Disney Animation is going to stick with CGI, they might as well move away from whatever style they're using and go for looks like this, but that's also another ramble for another day. The 80s vibe was very cool, and there was some good humor in it, too. Some jokes were stretched a little thin, and perhaps the brain was a little too much of a worrywart, but it was overall very enjoyable and a real visual treat.

Quite the double-bill, and the perfect capper to Walt Disney Animation Studios' great year. Two new films, both great, both successful, I say we animation fans got the goods.

Weekend Lookout: 'Moana' Makes Big Waves

To the shock of no one, Walt Disney Animation Studios' new, big, epic musical about a princess that happens to star The Rock is going to come in like a tidal wave...

Collecting $15.6 million yesterday, it's almost on par with Frozen's opening Wednesday - $15.1 million. Frozen went on to score the biggest 5-day Thanksgiving week gross: $93 million. If Moana follows a similar trajectory, it could very well top Frozen. This means it could make roughly $65-70 million for the three-day alone. It's all set, and will be locked and loaded when Rogue One rolls in next month.

In the long run, I don't think it'll pull a Frozen. Frozen was one of those leggy phenomenons that came in out of nowhere, had little-to-no major competition (Walking with Dinosaurs? Hobbit 2? Zzzz?), and impressed. Moana is sure to be very leggy in its own way, but I'm not quite sure if it'll make it to $400 million domestically. Ahead are some prime hits, like Disney's own Rogue One, Illumination's Sing, and maybe something else. I'm ready to be wrong on this one, though. One thing's for certain, I think... It'll breeze past the big three-oh-oh.

It's great to see directors Ron Clements and John Musker score a huge hit again. Their last three pictures either flopped or underperformed.

Sadly, I probably won't be seeing the film until next Friday due to plans and such. So far, the reception is outstanding and I've heard nothing but great things about it.

This situation will be the opposite of what happened in 2002. That year, Walt Disney Feature Animation readied two films: Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois' weirdo sci-fi family drama Lilo & Stitch, and Ron Clements and John Musker's sci-fi quasi-steampunk retrofuturistic adventure Treasure Planet. While Lilo hit big, Treasure Planet crashed and burned. A shame, because Treasure Planet - in my opinion - is a pretty good film.

In a way, this year is a teensy bit similar. We have one Ron & John movie in the autumn/holiday season, while the more experimental flick came out first - Zootopia. Zootopia cleared $1 billion, Moana could do it if it has the oomph worldwide. Imagine that! Disney Animation releasing two films in the same calendar year for the very first time in 14 years... And getting monstrously good results.

Give it time, I think we'll be hearing about what the duo are going to tackle next. The reason Moana arrived 7 years after their previous film is because it wasn't going to be their next. After the release of The Princess and the Frog, Ron and John wanted to adapt one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld stories - Mort. It had a lot of promise, but by late 2010, Disney couldn't quite secure the rights. Ron and John then pitched three ideas to John Lasseter, Lasseter okayed the Oceanic adventure...

Thanksgiving Gross Update...

Moana did quite well on Thanksgiving, though it fell a bit behind Frozen. Suffice to say, it still can make more than $85 million for the five-day...

I got to see footage of it today. Remember how I said I won't be able to see the full movie until next Friday at the earliest? Well, I'm currently down in Walt Disney World, and I checked out the roughly 15-minute preview at Disney Hollywood Studios. This alone got me more excited for the film than any of the trailers or TV spots, but it's no surprise, for marketing isn't made to get people like interested. It's worked so far, so can't complain there. Just a personal sidenote.

The wait - because life gets in the way sometimes - to see this one is going to be a little bit of a bummer, but I'm going to try my dardnest to see it as soon as possible!

Friday gross...

$21 million, a good $5 million behind Frozen. Not bad, not bad. The five-day should now be in the low 80s... Still #2, topping Toy Story 2. Three-day weekend gross should be in the high 50s...

The three-day...

$55 million estimated. $12 million less than Frozen, $20 million below Zootopia, just a million less than Big Hero 6. Very solid opening... Where could it land? Well, let's look at Tangled's multiplier. $200 million off of a $68 million five-day, that's 2.9x. If Moana does that, $234 million in the bag. If it plays like Toy Story 2 did back in 1999, we get $248 million. Cool, cool.

Worst case scenario, I think, would be Good Dinosaur legs. If it plays out like that Pixar film, which is doubtful at this point, it would still pocket a fine $181 million domestically. I've seen some here and there worry that Moana isn't cutting it. No worries, it's doing quite fine!

Since parts of the world aren't getting Moana for a little while, it's only at $16 million overseas. Like most fall Disney Animation and Pixar releases, the international roll-out will be staggered. Poor Japan, as usual, has to wait til March to get it. I'm so sorry for reminding you of this...

Elsewhere in animation land...

Trolls eased, thankfully. Down 40%, now at $135 million domestically and $291 million worldwide. It's little by little climbing. No numbers for Storks yet, as that's pretty much on its way out.

Actuals

Moana actually made a little bit more than Big Hero 6 for the three-day. $56.6 million, barely eked by $82 million for the five-day. Great launch! Make Trolls' 40% dip 39%. $291 million worldwide, c'mon pick up some steam!

The Secret Life of Pets and Storks are pretty much on their last few legs, the latter looks to make around $180 million worldwide when all is said and done. The former inches up on $875 million worldwide.

Going Inward: Another Look at 'Inner Workings'

Disney has been unusually zip-mouthed on Inner Workings, the very cool-looking short that's set to debut with Moana this coming Wednesday...

Entertainment Weekly interviewed director Leo Matsuda, and he went over some things that he already mentioned about the short, like how it's personal to him and both sides of his family (Japanese and Brazilian). He also mentioned how the encyclopedias he read as a kid inspired the short, how the short is ultimately about balancing things out in life, and that it'll be set in a "surreal", Wes Anderson-inspired (!) 80s California...

In addition to that, here are some stills...

I'm really digging the stylized design they went with. Even though I have praised Walt Disney Animation Studios' current output, I do think that their CG should branch out. This short makes me think of Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom, which definitely clashed with Disney's then-new house style that was developed in the post-war years. Even the Mary Blair-tinged films! Ward Kimball's abstract ideas dominated the whole short, a style that was definitely at odd ends with what we saw in many of the features of the era, to say nothing of all the short films. Some works pushed into new directions (Mars and Beyond immediately comes to mind), and eventually we got an animated feature that looked unlike any previous Disney animated production... Sleeping Beauty.

Basically, I'd love to see a new Walt Disney Animation Studios film go down an Inner Workings-esque route. Just something completely different, but still very appealing and palatable to audiences. Visually, the newest stuff is nice, but outside of Zootopia I think it's also nothing too special. Frozen, Big Hero 6, and what I've seen of Moana (minus the 2D tattoos) have great lighting and color work, but in terms of the character design and art direction, it's nothing really new. I don't want to say bland because the work is there, the sweat and dedication is on the screen, but...

Zootopia at least played with a very cool-looking city set in another world, and had excellent character designs that translated well to CG. Zootopia to me was Disney Animation's most visually exciting film since Wreck-It Ralph. That film worked off of three different styles of art direction (and even had some variety in its character animation, like the Nicelanders moving like 8-bit characters), it's quite something.

Matsuda confirmed that his short didn't use any new techniques, and that it isn't going to be a Paperman-esque leap forward, but some 2D is still there. Whatever was used, I love the style of the CG, I want to see more of that in the modern Disney feature animation. Hopefully one day we'll get a CG equivalent of Sleeping Beauty, the out-there work of a concept artist blown up into a roughly 100-minute movie.

Another interesting bit is that this short was actually set to be attached to Zootopia... It was delayed because the studio "needed all hands on deck", pushing this short back a bit. I still think Disney could've filled the gap by putting a classic Mickey short in front of the movie, but hey.

What say you?

Another Crack at It: Lin-Manuel Miranda Teaming Up With Byron Howard for Mystery WDAS Feature

Perhaps Lin-Manuel Miranda is the new Ashman-Menken for Disney Animation, if the Lopez duo already weren't.

It's no secret, Mr. Miranda's everywhere in the world of the mouse. Prior to doing the music for Moana, he contributed some Cantina material to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and is currently locked for Mary Poppins Returns and the planned live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Yes, you could say he's quite ingrained in Disney. Of course, his work with Disney Animation won't stop with Moana...

In an interview with Vulture, the Hamilton creator mentioned that he's working on an all-new project with none other than Byron Howard. Howard, for those who don't know, conceived Zootopia and directed it with Wreck-It Ralph director Rich Moore. He was also one of the directors of Tangled, and one of the directors of Bolt. Prior to directing, he was a story man at the studio since the mid 90s. Apparently they're building this one from "the ground up", which I think indicates that it'll be another original story that's not based on any pre-existing IP. Mr. Miranda says...

"That's the fun thing about working with someone and having it go well — you go, 'Okay, what else can we do?' Lasseter took me aside and said, 'I have an idea: Here's Byron, and you guys should start talking.'"

He went on to mention that the project could take years to come together, which is of course unsurprising given how animation development usually goes in features-land. Walt Disney Animation Studios, according to the Bancroft Brothers themselves in this great interview conducted by my friend Iry of Impero Disney, have things planned out for the next ten years. A whole pipeline, a tentative decade-long chart of projects. Odds are, Lin-Manuel and Byron's project is on that very roster.

Whatever these two conjure up, it's sure to be something to look forward to. Howard's Zootopia is a triumph, not only one of the best animated films of the decade, but my pick for best post-Walt animated feature from the Disney powerhouse. (Yes, I understand that's a bold, bold claim.) Mr. Howard's other works, I think, are damn fine too! Tangled seriously grew on me not too long ago, the story in that one is top-notch and it's got a particular stretch in its middle act that's absolute perfection.

Then there's Bolt. Say what you will, I think Bolt's a rock-solid buddy picture with a consistently good script and great characters. Yes, what it did was nothing new then and now. Yes, it didn't re-invent the animation wheel. Yes, it was not American Dog... But I really don't care at this point, what matters to me is, it was a necessary step to into a new, successful era. Walt Disney Animation Studios seriously needed to bounce back from the Eisner/Stainton days, so I can understand why Bolt is risk-averse. While it all didn't amount to a huge hit in the end, it at least got the best critical reception for a Disney animated film since Lilo & Stitch.

So yes, sign me up for Howard's next! Lin-Manuel being involved leads me to believe that it will be a musical, or at least something that involves songs. (Could be a Tarzan situation where most of the songs are sung off-screen.) Whatever it may be, I am excited nonetheless.

Now of course, Disney Animation should be careful. The work of Lin-Manuel Miranda is certainly great, and currently hot. That being said... Don't overuse him.

What do I mean by that? With the future musicals, vary things up a bit!

In the 1990s, I feel that Disney Feature Animation was walked into a tiger trap. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken brought something indelible to the studio, that's undeniable, but Disney tried too hard to keep repeating such a winning formula after the huge success of Beauty and the Beast. Executives wanted more Beauty and the Beast-type pictures, and soon they wanted more Lion King-esque films. The following films were forced to fit into this kind of mold, and by the late 1990s it seemed like Disney was making the same film over and over again.

Luckily, this hasn't been the case recently. Lasseter-era Disney's first musical, The Princess and the Frog, brought Randy Newman on board. Newman hasn't done a Disney animated musical since, sadly. I'm one of the few who really dug his soundtrack for that film. Menken came back for Tangled, alongside Glenn Slater. Winnie the Pooh brought in Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez, new blood. They went on to do the music for Frozen, and look what happened there. They'll return for the studio's next musical in line, Gigantic.

It's fantastic that Disney has brought in someone new, but hopefully they'll continue to get more new songwriters for their heavy-on-singing features. I think they should go beyond Broadway for their upcoming musicals, beyond that bombastic, sweeping style that many associate with modern Disney. When can we see a rock musical from these guys? Or a more folksy musical? Or something that really goes beyond?

Another ramble for another day, I'm still excited to see and hear what Lin-Manuel Miranda will bring to Walt Disney Animation Studios. He's only one feature in, so perhaps getting a little antsy about him being overused is hyperbole on my part.

What do you think about Byron Howard and Lin-Manuel Miranda teaming up for a Disney animated feature? Sound off below!