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Digital Media FX - The Power of Imagination

Digital Media FX News Archives

Tuesday - June 26, 2001
- Bromeliad Trilogy to be One Animated Movie?
- Historic Disney Memorabilia Shipped to Walt Disney World
- Final Weekend Box Office Numbers
- News Link of the Day - Right in the Fuehrer's Face

Bromeliad Trilogy to be One Animated Movie?
(by digitalmediafx.com) In May, Digital Media FX announced plans by PDI/DreamWorks to bring Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy to life in animated form under the direction of Andrew Adamson. Now, according to BBC News, Pratchett's Books - Truckers, Diggers and Wings - will be turned into one movie versus three.

Earlier reports from DreamWorks created an impression that different movies were going to be made from Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy, which DreamWorks acquired the rights to this year. Jeffrey Katzenberg was even quoted, in early May, as saying, "There are few authors whose work lends itself to animation as well as Terry Pratchett's. His Bromeliad trilogy is a wonderful blend of fantasy, adventure and humor and I am honored to be able to bring his books to the screen, beginning with Truckers."

Creating three movies doesn't appear to be the case, according to the BBC News, which made the following two comments based on interviews with both Jeffrey Katzenberg and Andrew Adamson:

"Andrew Adamson will be in charge of turning British author Pratchett's books Truckers, Diggers and Wings into one film."

"...But Adamson thinks that, unlike with Shrek, it will be a challenge to condense Pratchett's three books into one movie."

Digital Media FX has made an official follow-up inquiry to DreamWorks about whether there will be one movie or three based on the Bromeliad trilogy.

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Historic Disney Memorabilia Shipped to Walt Disney World
(by digitalmediafx.com) Many historic Disney items - like props from the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie - left California yesterday en route to Disney World in Florida, where it will be displayed as part of Disney World's "100 Years of Magic Celebration." A sampling of over 400 items making the journey include:

-- Walt Disney's office desk, chair and cabinet
-- 1954 Special Effects Oscar from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"
-- "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" animated feature-film props circa 1939-40
-- "Pinocchio" film props circa 1941
-- Sleeping Beauty castle model
-- Mickey Mouse Club guitar
-- Peter Pan's Flight attraction model
-- Tree of Life model from Disney's Animal Kingdom

"Talk about 'precious cargo,'" said Walt Disney World Co. President Al Weiss. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime shipment that carries significant historical meaning to our company and our guests from around the world."

The shipment was sent via FedEx. The Airbus A300 that carried the cargo was designated "Spirit of Imagination."

All items will be on display at Disney-MGM Studios inside a new attraction called "Walt Disney: One Man's Dream," a multi-sensory entertainment experience based on this man who was willing to bet everything on his own dreams. The venue will open Oct. 1, when the Walt Disney World Resort kicks off the 100 Years of Magic Celebration, which runs through Dec. 31, 2002.

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Final Weekend Box Office Numbers
(by digitalmediafx.com) Final weekend box office numbers are in and here are the results for the top animated and visual effects movies:

The gain/loss represents the movie's performance when compared to last weekend.

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News Link of the Day - Right in the Fuehrer's Face

According to the New York Post:

"How does the Cartoon Network deal with ethnic stereotypes in the old cartoons?
Sometimes the network withdraws them altogether, as it did earlier this month when it pulled 12 shorts from its annual "June Bugs" marathon of Bugs Bunny cartoons.

And at other times, it surrounds them with a lot of historical context, which the network hopes will help some viewers understand how the outrageous caricatures of Blacks and other minorities came to be in the 1930s and '40s…"

Click here for the full story.

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These news articles and all digitalmediafx.com content are ©copyright 2001 by Joe Tracy and may not be reused for any purpose without expressed written consent of the author and Digital Media FX. All rights reserved.