All we saw for this was a couple pictures, on the wall and some on the video tape. 3D computer animation against photographed backgrounds which are heavily manipulated on the computer. Now, the Upcoming Features website says that it has been renamed Expedition, I think they are confusing two seperate movies, Expedition and Dinosaur, because that would make this the new movie to be directed by Phil Tippett (head of Tippett Studios, and three time acadmy award winner for FX on movies like Jurassic Park and Return of the Jedi) both have a somewhat similar premise, and will be realized through 3D computer animation, but Expedition, which is based on a book by Wayne Douglas Barlowe "Expedition: Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D. Voyage to Darwin IV" (quite the title, eh?) also features human characters, and not dinosaurs, but strange creatures discovered on an expedition to another planet. Dinosaur focuses entirely on dinosaurs and early mammal creatures struggling to survive after the the giant asteroid's collision with Earth.
Dinosaur utlizes never before used technology to bring the dino's to life. They are literally created from the bones up. The computer graphics team has written proprietary software which allows them to start with the skeleton, then add muscles and skin. When animated the dinosaurs will have realistic muscle bulges and wrinkling of the skin because of this special system.
Dinosaur:
The title (singular) is still a working one, as is a round logo showing a dinosaur in
silhouette with a red meteor streaming through the sky. The film opens close-up on a
rock and as the camera pulls back we can see that it is a meteor hurtling in the direction
of the sun. Then begins an opening sequence that is nothing short of gob-smacking. It
shows an amazing array of dinosaur life interacting with each other. All the while the
action centres around an egg wbhich is stolen by a dinosaur after its mother is scared
away and lost, dropped in a river and picked up by a flying dinosur before it is dropped
on an island. Anyway, an Iguanadon hatches from the egg and is brought up by a pack
of lemurs on the island. Then the metor hits and the Iguanadon heads with the lemurs to
mainland and when he gets there (he has never seen other dinosaurs before) the film is a
journey to escape the devastation of the meteor. Although the dinosaurs are voiced, this
in NOT a musical comedy and they don't break into song. It is actually quite a thrilling
drama. Disney was careful not to make it a film of extinction, but of hope. The CGI is
beyond description. You will know what I mean when it opens around Christmas-time.
Everyone who has seen its progress has been astounded. The dinosaurs make Jurassic
Park look like crude claymation. And the opening scenes and the music and
awe-inspiring. This has definitely set new boundaries for animation.
Fantasia 2000:
The film will be premiered at Carnegie Hall on December 17 with the soundtrack
being played live by the London Symphony Orchestra. The whole production will then
move around the world for similar live performances to London, Paris and Tokyo
before heading back to the US for a New Year's Eve performance to see in the
Millennium (let's not get into arguments about when that is, as far as Disney is
concerned it is December 31, 1999). Early in the new year it will start its exclusive
season at Imax theatres around the world before going into general release in Spring.
Various new talents are being taken on board to provide the links between the different
segments, including Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones and Oprah Winfrey.
Back to Disney Page
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan
Fantasia 2000
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