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Tag: Inside Out

  • 20 years later, ‘The Powerpuff Girls’ still breaking stereotypes

    20 years later, ‘The Powerpuff Girls’ still breaking stereotypes

    MUMBAI: Home-grown animation is finally finding its way to Indian kids’ TV channels but the fact remains that most of the cartoons are predominantly male-oriented. Whether it is a storyline revolving around boys or about a male protagonist, the number of stories about girls is limited. Indian channels are replete with examples such as Chhota Bheem, Pokemon, Doraemon, and Popeye (wherein Olive Oyl is constantly in the need of being rescued).

    One show, which has been the bastion of Cartoon Network (CN) for more than two decades, is The Powerpuff Girls. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios with Nick Jennings as executive producer and Bob Boyle as co-executive producer; it has earned more than $2.5 billion in retail sales in its lifetime. The cartoon was dubbed in various languages such as Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Finnish and Danish.

    It was in 1995 when the heroic girls got their first animation showcase on a programme called What a Cartoon! Only in 1998 did The Powerpuff Girls get taken seriously with the final episode concluding on 25 March 2005. Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup weren’t merely cartoons but an image of women empowerment to every girl on the planet. The popularity soared among girls who could finally connect with avatars that represented their inner ambitions of making the world a better place.

    Come February, the network is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the global rollout of new episodes, events and products that will continue till 2019. The fourth sister, Bliss, will also return throughout the year.

    In most shows around that time, and even now, male characters were given the more masculine qualities like strength, valour, courage and the tag of being the ‘rescuer’ while the females were restricted to roles of the humble daughter or girlfriend or a side character (Misty in Pokemon, Shizuka in Doraemon). The transformed world hasn’t impacted these characters from being named as ‘all-time favourites’. The vast differences in the personality traits between the strong, funny, deceitful, greedy, smart, charming male characters against the humble, soft-spoken, dependent female characters frame the plot of these shows.

    Today efforts are being made to show female characters without the sexism implicit of earlier times. The cases in point are Merida from Brave, Princess Elsa from Frozen and Princess Riley from Inside Out. Kim Possible was also a groundbreaking show aired in 2002-2007 that showed the life and adventures of a teenage girl.

    Kids imitate what they see and especially characters they fall in love with. These early-age behaviours mould their adulthood as well, making it a strong case for producers to create a balance and indulge in enforced role-reversal.

    Also Read:

    NICK & Motu-Patlu films most watched kids channel & programme in BARC week 13

    Kids today watch more animated content than ever

  • Disney hits $4 billion at global box office in record time; lines up 22 films till 2020

    Disney hits $4 billion at global box office in record time; lines up 22 films till 2020

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney Studios has crossed the $4 billion mark at the global box office, beating its previous studio record by nearly six weeks.

     

    As of 7 October, 2015, Disney collected $1.4 billion in the US and Canada and $2.575 billion at in international markets. This is the third consecutive year the studio has breached the $4-billion box office milestone. 

     

    The studio’s revenues in 2015 were driven by the worldwide success of Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disney•Pixar’s Inside Out, Disney’s Cinderella and Marvel’s Ant-Man.

     

    In addition, Inside Out has crossed the $800 million mark at the global box office. It’s the third highest grossing Pixar film of all time and made its debut in China this week.

     

    Additionally, Walt Disney Studios has also unveiled new and updated release dates for several upcoming projects.

     

    Marvel unveiled Ant-Man and the Wasp, a sequel to this summer’s Ant-Man, which is set for release on 6 July, 2018. Black Panther will now open 16 February, 2018, and Captain Marvel is set for 8 March, 2019. 

     

    Three new films are set for 2020, the titles of which will be revealed at a later date.

     

    Pixar will release Cars 3 on 16 June, 2017, Coco on 22 November, 2017, and The Incredibles 2 on 21 June, 2019. Toy Story 4 will now debut 15 June, 2018. Two new (as-yet-untitled) Pixar films are set for 2020.

     

    Building upon the success of films such as Cinderella and Maleficent, Disney Live Action selected release dates for four fairy tale films in the coming years: one in 2017, one in 2018, and two in 2019.

     

    Next up is The Jungle Book in April 2016, followed by Alice Through the Looking Glass in May and Pete’s Dragon in August.

     

    Finally, Gigantic, a unique take on Jack and the Beanstalk from Walt Disney Animation Studios featuring music from Oscar-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, will be released on 9 March, 2018. A new Walt Disney Animation Studios film is set for November 2020 and a new Disneytoon Studios film is due out in April 2019.

     

    Walt Disney Studios head of distribution said, “2015 has been a record-setting year both domestically and internationally thanks to a strong slate of films from all of our brands. With an incredible pipeline of both original stories and anticipated sequels featuring our most beloved characters, we are set to deliver some fantastic movies well into the future.” 

  • Sky ties-up with Disney-Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’ to promote broadband offer

    Sky ties-up with Disney-Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’ to promote broadband offer

    MUMBAI: Sky is making superfast broadband more accessible to everyone with the launch of its best ever fibre deal. Effective immediately, customers can get superfast, super reliable Sky Fibre broadband (normally ?10 a month) free for 12 months, the first time that any major broadband provider has offered a whole year of superfast speeds at such a low price.

     

    To launch the offer, Sky has joined forces with Disneymedia+ and Pixar Animation Studios to create a new TV ad featuring characters from Disney-Pixar’s latest feature Inside Out. 

     

    The new campaign, which launched on 10 July, features the characters from the new animated epic, which broke the record for the biggest-ever US opening for an original film and will be premiering in the UK on 24 July. 

     

    The 50 second animated advert introduces Riley Anderson and the little voices inside her head – Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness – to showcase the emotions we all feel if our broadband fails to perform as we would like it to. 

     

    The offer is available to everyone switching to Sky Fibre when they take Sky line rental. A one year contract means there is no obligation beyond the free period.

     

    With more and more people wanting to try fibre, Sky Fibre is a great option for those who want superfast speeds but don’t need unlimited usage. It offers download speeds of up to 38Mbps and comes with a 25GB monthly usage cap, allowing customers to download an album in seconds or a full movie in just over 3 minutes. Customers who want unlimited usage can choose Sky Fibre Unlimited for just ?10 a month (normally ?20 a month).

     

    The offer represents a saving of ?186.13 over a year when compared with the closest comparable services from BT. According to research by Ofcom, Sky Fibre also has the most reliably consistent speeds and the fastest peak time speeds for up to 38Mb fibre broadband.

     

    The new campaign follows strong growth in Sky’s broadband business as customers continue to switch to Sky for better quality and value. More than five million customers now choose Sky for broadband including 100,000 new customers in the most recent reported quarter, up 43 per cent on last year.

     

    Sky Broadband director Lyssa McGowan said, “We know there are lots of people who would like to try superfast speeds but are put off by the high prices charged by some providers. With this ground-breaking offer, we’re making Sky Fibre even more accessible. Now superfast broadband is genuinely for everyone.”

  • Dolby Vision to debut on Disney’s ‘Tomorrowland’ and ‘Inside Out’

    Dolby Vision to debut on Disney’s ‘Tomorrowland’ and ‘Inside Out’

    MUMBAI: Disney’s Tomorrowland, which releases in theatres on 22 May, 2015, and Disney Pixar’s Inside Out, which releases on 19 June, 2015, will be the first Dolby Vision titles to be shown at Dolby Cinema locations around the globe.

     

    In addition, Disney’s The Jungle Book, due on 15 April, 2016, will also be presented in Dolby Vision, with more titles to be announced.

     

    Dolby Cinema, featuring Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, is a premium cinema offering for exhibitors and moviegoers that combines spectacular image and sound technologies with inspired design to make every visit a completely captivating cinematic event.

     

    “Dolby is thrilled to collaborate with Disney and Pixar to push the cinematic boundaries through the powerful combination of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Dolby Cinema delivers an unforgettable cinema experience that transports moviegoers into the heart of the action,” said Dolby Laboratories president and CEO Kevin Yeaman.

     

    Dolby Cinema begins with the filmmaker’s vision—using the full storytelling capabilities that Dolby offers in image and sound production to transform the way movies are made. Combined with state-of-the-art image, sound, and acoustic capabilities, the movie comes alive to deliver cinema in its purest form.

     

    “The Dolby Cinema experience is a very exciting prospect for both filmmakers and film fans. Dolby has been so vital to the advancement of cinema sound, it makes complete sense for them to turn their attention to enhancing and improving the quality of motion picture images as well. Our team was delighted to collaborate with Dolby, and we are proud thatTomorrowland is the first film to be presented in their stellar new Dolby Vision process. The brightness and clarity of the images, yet with richness and detail in the blacks—WOW. The picture quality, especially in 4K laser projection, is nothing short of stunning,” said Tomorrowland director Brad Bird.

     

    Dolby Cinema features the Dolby Vision projection system, which uses state-of-the-art optics and image processing, to deliver high dynamic range with enhanced color technology and a contrast ratio that far exceeds that of any other image technology on the market today. The result is a richer, more detailed viewing experience that delivers strikingly vivid and realistic images that make viewers feel like they are in the movie’s world. Dolby Cinema also includes the award-winning Dolby sound technology, Dolby Atmos, which moves audio around the theatre, even overhead, with amazing richness and depth. Dolby Atmos debuted in 2012 on Disney Pixar’s Brave.

     

    “Our studio and our filmmakers put so much into creating high-quality, immersive experiences for audiences, and that includes using the latest, cutting-edge technology to enhance the stories we tell. Disney has been a longtime collaborator of Dolby, and we’re excited for the continued storytelling possibilities that technologies like Dolby Cinema deliver,” said The Walt Disney Studios EVP – theatrical distribution Dave Hollis.