Fine Tuning: Disney's Cell Reproduction Business & Animation Industry News

Box Office and Industry Layoffs

• 💰 "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" has surpassed 1 billion dollars worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023, and is now available on Video on Demand just days after its theatrical release.
• 📉 "Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3" had a strong opening weekend, earning $114 million domestically and $282 million globally.
• 😥 DreamWorks Animation laid off 33 employees (2% of its workforce), a move attributed to NBC Universal's cost-cutting measures to appease Wall Street, not related to the writer's strike.

Animation Industry Shifts and Projects

• 🎬 Bill Damashic, a former DreamWorks Animation executive, has been appointed head of Warner Animation Group, bringing experience from films like "Madagascar" and "How to Train Your Dragon."
• 🎶 Disney is reviving the animated musical project "Incas, the Ramaperinkas," featuring a score by the Sherman Brothers, which was previously shelved due to the 2008 financial crisis.
• 🎭 The Disney stage production of "The Lion King" celebrated its 10,000th performance on Broadway, highlighting the success of Disney's theatrical ventures.

The Rise and Fall of Cell Reproductions

• 🖼️ The market for animation cells emerged in the 1950s, with early Disney parks selling original cells for around $150.
• 🗑️ Historically, cells were sometimes discarded or even used in playful ways by animators, with figures like Dave Smith rescuing them for archives.
• 📈 In the 1990s, Disney began producing cell reproductions to meet demand for affordable animation art, especially during the "second golden age" of animation, coinciding with major film releases like "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast."
• 📉 The advent of computer-generated imagery (CGI), starting with "Toy Story" in 1995, significantly impacted the market for hand-drawn animation cells, leading to a decline in their value and the market for reproductions.
• 📺 Original Simpsons cells were once available for around $25 at Fox stores, a stark contrast to the thousands they once commanded.