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Cohen’s Cartoon Corner by Karl Cohen
A scene from Pixar's 'Finding Dory' now in theaters. photo: courtesy Pixar
Pixar's 'Finding Dory' Hit at Sneak Previews
A 20+ minute preview of the film was shown at Cinema Con, an annual trade show held in May in Las Vegas. The Hollywood Reporter said that at Cinema Con, “The footage for “Finding Dory” drew a loud round of applause from theater owners, who also repeatedly applauded throughout Disney's brief presentation looking back at its hits of the past year, including “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Zootopia.”
Disney also announced they are developing a live action “Peter Pan” feature. Another article noted, "There is no shortage of amazing content from Disney's first class studios" (Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm.) "They are simply the best of the best." (The stock is again slowly rising, above $100 a share.)
'Piper', a short by Pixar opens 'Finding Dory'. photo: courtesy Pixar
'Piper' Will Be 'Finding Dory''s Short
Pixar’s “Piper” tells the sweet story of a hungry sandpiper hatchling who ventures from her nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline. Oh no, she has a fear of waves. Parents take note, "This is a story about overcoming your fears.”
Disney Museum's Pinocchio Show
The Walt Disney Family Museum opened on May 18th (till January 9th, 2017) this great exhibit, "Wish Upon a Star: The Art of Pinocchio", of never-before-seen works of art that were used by the studio to create the great film "Pinocchio". The exhibition was created by the museum to let visitors discover the artistic process and to step behind the scenes to explore how one of the most influential animated films of all times was produced.
The exhibit’s guest-curator is John Canemaker, the remarkable Academy Award, Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning independent animator, who is the author of several books about Disney and the head of the animation department at New York University.
Promo poster from 'Pinocchio' when it opened in in 1940. photo: courtesy Disney
Canemaker will be doing a presentation for the opening of the exhibit; sharing the history of how the film came to be, the animation complications the Studio navigated, and on Vladimir Tytla and Milt Kahl, two of the master animators who brought the story to life. Canemaker dives into their creative processes to examine their individual styles. Discover how Tytla and Kahl cemented their place in animation history with their masterful work on “Pinocchio,” the film masterpiece that brought animation to unprecedented creative heights.
Mr. Canemaker is giving the same presentation twice, once at the museum for a paying audience and a second time near San Jose State University, two blocks from the campus at the Hammer Theater on Friday 5/20 at 6 pm. The San Jose event will be free.
Gorzyki’s New Film Gets Award
Martha Gorzyki’s new film was honored at the Impact Docs Awards. Gorzyki, who heads the animation program at SF State, has created images to go with her sound collage that she constructed out of interviews with people from Burma. They describe the atrocities and suffering they experienced before coming to the US.
Her animated documentary “Voices From Kaw Thoo Lei” premiered in January at the Impact Docs Awards Festival in Los Angeles where it received an Award of Merit. It was also screened at the Siouxland Festival in Sioux City, Iowa on Feb 24th, was also shown by the 35th Annual Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival in April and it will be shown by the Artist's Forum of the Moving Image in New York City in May.
Karl Cohen is an animator, educator and director of the local chapter of the International Animation Society and can be reached .