January 31-February 6, 2000

Variety -  Page 40

This excerpt comes from a long article on animation called
H'W'D SINGS NEW TOON TUNE

Dino Reality

"Money and technology are also allowing for a high degree of realism [in animation]. That becomes clear when Variety got an early look at "Dinosaur." The key to the film is reality: The creatures are stunningly realistic (until they start talking) -- and the use of real backgrounds adds an extraordinary dimension.

Disney sent crews all over the world to capture appropriate backdrops. The reality of the creatures, down to the most miniscule movements of whiskers and tails, adds a poignancy to the story, which involves the destruction of the environment through natural disaster."

 
A Trailer's 5 Minutes of Fame 
 

By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ 
Daily News Staff Writer

The hottest thing in movie theaters these days isn't even a movie — it's a five-minute trailer for "Dinosaur," a computer-animated megafeature from Disney that won't open until the Memorial Day weekend.

But the "Dinosaur" preview — being shown in theaters before Disney's "Toy Story 2" — is thrilling audiences with its richly detailed depiction of a prehistoric Earth populated by realistic dinosaurs that make "Jurassic Park's" vicious T. rex look like Barney.

Read entire article by clicking here.

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Disney To Increase Digital Releases
 Disney said on Thursday that it plans to step up digital exhibition of its features, adding Bicentennial Man (1999), Mission to Mars (2000) and Dinosaur (2000) to the already-announced Toy Story 2 (1999) slated for release in theaters sporting new digital projectors and boosting the number of digital venues to 12 by March. In a statement, Bicentennial Man (1999) director Chris Columbus said, "The digital presentation of a feature film gives us an opportunity to experience our cinematic future now. The image is crystal clear with vibrant colors and exquisite detail. Seeing digital imagery for the first time was as exciting as seeing my  first projected film." 

Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton are directing this combination of live-action and animation. - source: Cinefantastique Magazine, September 1998, p. 6.

Some sketches from Dinosaurs have turned up on the web. Here a couple. The rest are at Ain't It Cool News.

Tragedy Strikes: "TRONA, Calif. (AP) -- A crew member working on the set of Disney's upcoming film ``Dinosaur'' was killed and another was seriously burned when a metal boom touched a high-voltage power line." Who said it was easy to make dinosaur movies?

Ooops! We goofed. The actor is not "J.B. sweeney," it's D.B. Sweeney.  According to the Internet  Movie Database website,  it also has the voices of Kiefer Sutherland, Alfre Woodard, and Joan Plowright. The IMDB erroneously reports, however, that the film's title has been changed to Expedition.  Sources near the studio tell us that Expedition is a totally separate film that may involve Phil Tippett.

Talking dinos?
The newest "rumor" is that J.B. Sweeney has recorded part of the soundtrack for the production.
Brian Franczak and Peter Van Sholly both contributed some designs to early stages of the production. They are no longer working on the production.
Jon Davison, producer of Starship Troopers, currently a boxoffice smash wanted Disney to make a dinosaur film with Phil Tippett's special effects over ten years ago! Gee! It takes a long time to get movies made, huh?

Will they talk?
Some say they will. Some say they won't. Apparently people are changing their minds over at Disney. No music though: just straight dino drama! Nothing like it ever made before!
Doug Henderson, famed dino artist, has contributed some swell design drawings!

Production News
Development continues on Dinosaurs. The film will combine CG (Computer Graphic) dinosaurs with live-action background plates filmed in real forests and mountains. The dinosaurs themselves will be extraordinarily realistic: Disney Feature Animation has developed special software to construct the dinosaurs.

Early versions of the lead characters are constructed in a computer by first making the "bones" move the proper way. The second step is to make the muscle move realistically. Third, the "skin" is placed over the bone/muscle animal.

No details about the story are available at this time, but the dinosaurs will talk. Dinosaurs will not, however, be a musical: it will be a dramatic story.

Disney puts Dinosaurs Movie into Production
Started years ago, this CGI (Computer Graphic Imagery) dinosaur movie is finally in production! It will take three years to complete! Disney is still searching for the perfect director for this project!

These items will be published in May 2000. You may order now and the books will be shipped it to you as soon as they're available.