SDCC: Disney’s Tron Legacy, Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland

Published by Jeff Leins on July 23, 2009

Disney’s 3D Panel just finished a few hours ago at the San Diego Comic-Con and I’ve compiled the details from the panel.  Here is the news on Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and Tron Legacy.

A Christmas Carol:
The director discussed the work they’ve been doing on making motion capture more lifelike for A Christmas Carol.  One of the challenges and criticisms from previous works like Zemeckis’ The Polar Express and Beowulf was the “dead eyes” of the characters.  They have learned how to read the retina correctly and were literally pointing 4 HD cameras each capturing 60 frames per second at Jim Carrey to show every minor movement of the face during his performance.  Reactions were incredibly favorable from the crowd on attendance.  Collider referred to the level of detail as astonishing while Slashfilm called it remarkable and beautiful.  Zemeckis also dodged a question on a Roger Rabbit sequel, but there’s more on that in my earlier post.

Alice in Wonderland:
Tim Burton was on hand to answer question about his 3-D adaptation Alice in Wonderland.  They showed the teaser trailer which leaked yesterday (working copy here) and fans were wowed by the effects.  You can see a picture of the Cheshire Cat above, voiced by Stephen Fry.  Johnny Depp showed up to a standing ovation, waved, and left before answering questions.  At the end of the section, the moderator (comedian Patton Oswalt) said their holding a tea event in San Diego and to follow the updates on Twitter.

Tron Legacy:
The sequel to 1982’s Tron finally has a title: Tron Legacy.  No more calling it Tron 2.0, Tron 2, Tr2n, or any other ridiculous name.  Garrett Hedlund (Sean Flynn), Jeff Bridges (Kevin Flynn), and Olivia Wilde were present for questioning, along with the directors of both films.  They played the same footage that blew away audiences at last year’s Comic-Con, plus a reel of the movie’s beginning.  Disney also said the movie is scheduled for 2010, not 2011 like they had previously suggested.  The official logo comes from AICN, so click there for a larger version of the new Tron Legacy title.  Many more concept art photos were shown (three included below from Slashfilm).  Tonight is the viral event (described in detail here) with possibly a working “Flynn’s Arcade” a few blocks from the convention center.