ReBoot ReGenerated

Okay, I can talk about this now. For the last four or five weeks I've been more-or-less holed up in my office re-imagining a new direction for the re-launch of the much beloved, prematurely canceled, computer-animated series ReBoot. And it's been a lot of fun. And it ain't over yet.

The basic idea is that parent company Rainmaker Animation assembled five teams and charged each with coming up with a new direction for the rebranding of the show, which they intend to relaunch with a feature-length trilogy. In the meantime they're attempting to enlist the avid ReBoot fanbase by putting the five pitches up online. Fans can interact with the creators and offer their thoughts/comments/criticisms and eventually vote for their favourite take. And it seems to be, um, working. It's been just over twenty-four hours since the site went live, and it took the fans all of two nano-seconds to weigh in. I think I can safely say the response has been overwhelming, and only time will tell how it all plays out.

The host site is Zeros2Hereos, and even though there are some issues with the the site, it is a beta-test version and I've been assured that the outstanding issues are being dealt with as I type (fingers crossed). At the moment, finding your way to our team's project, ReBoot: ReGenerated, is a little tough. You can start by going to the ReBoot Launcher, and then clicking on any one of the sample art images or "Follow the Team" links except, of course, ours. A Flash window should pop up, and if you then click on ReBoot: ReGenerated you should be on your way.

So, check it out. And let me know what you think because... that's kinda the whole point.

The Tease

The project I alluded to in a recent post is about to launch... here's the teaser. Check back for the lowdown later this week.

*Playback makes it official.

Rat-a-too-ee

I'm not sure whether it's the fact that I've been immersed in animation work myself lately, (wink-wink), or that Esther and I were recently in Paris, or that we're about to become parents ourselves in hours/minutes/days... but seeing Ratatouille in a matinee theatre filled with kids on summer holidays was a blast. It's about Remy, a rat who happens to have a culinary gift, and the inept restaurant garbage boy who helps him achieve his dream of becoming a chef. We went to see Toy Story in 1995 under similar circumstances, and ever since I've made it a point to see animated films in the afternoon with the kids. They're just so present in the moment, oohing and ahhing, spitting laughter, giggling uncontrollably... gasping, sometimes even whimpering, during the scarier scenes. And when the male lead Linguine got kissed full on the mouth by his love interest Collette, one little girl let out a genuinely disgusted "Eeewwwwh!" I imagined how great it would feel to be the filmmaker, sitting in the back row.

Pixar's Ratatouille is the second directoral effort from Brad Bird. His previous film, The Incredibles, won him an Oscar, and is one of my favourite films just because it's so darned fun.

And it's also worth mentioning that this film has once again taken animation to a whole new level visually. The rats looked cute, of course, but also wet and bedraggled, and turned my stomach slightly when they streamed across the kitchen floor en masse. But Paris - and the Notre Dame from the banks of the Siene - never looked so beautiful.