Finding Dory is a roaring success all over town, and that in itself is a feat for Andrew Stanton, who hasn’t directed an animated movie since 2008’s Wall-E. But for Pixar fans hoping that the acclaimed talent will stay in animation for good…savor this one, because if his recent comments are to be believed, than Dory might be his last animated feature (for a while, anyhow).
In a recent one-on-one interview with CinemaBlend during his press rounds, Stanton voiced very clearly his intention to jump back into the world of live-action filmmaking:
I’m not getting any younger, so I’m probably going to flop to live-action for a little bit
His reasoning for wanting to go back to live-action were all the things that animation is the complete opposite of – faster turnaround, freedom of improvisation and increased flexibility in the production process:
It’s the antithesis of animation. Animation you get to control everything, and it’s awesome in that sense. But there’s no spontaneity, and it takes a long time! And so there’s high risk for the complete opposite reasons of live-action, but I need a little bit of short term spontaneity — to play with that.
While he stayed mum on what project he was planning to work on, he told CinemaBlend that we should be “hearing something” in the coming months, saying here:
I have a lot of options. But I definitely want to get busy before the year is out.
The last time he dipped his toes in live-action was in 2012’s sci-fi adventure film John Carter. Unfortunately, that film was met with a tepid critical reception and it became one of Disney’s pricier flops in recent memory.
As a whole, animation directors and their transitions to live-action have thus far yielded mixed results. Brad Bird was able to make the jump successfully with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Recon, before landing a miss with last year’s Tomorrowland (that film was also a pricey flop for Disney).
The next director to make the jump will be Chris Wedge – a key figure of Blue Sky Studios – with his live-action/CG hybrid film Monster Trucks. You can watch the trailer for that film here:
Hopefully, Andrew Stanton’s skills as a director (which were on display in John Carter, nonetheless) can translate to a roaring success on the live-action front.
What do you think? Are you looking forward to Andrew Stanton’s return to live-action? Why do you think the transition is difficult for some animation directors?
