May 18, 2012

Tron Uprising" Preview Talkback

Tonight at 9:30 PM ET/PT, the pilot for Disney's "Tron Uprising" airs on the Disney Channel (also available online). Personally, I think the series is a game-changer and a milestone for US-produced animated action.

For decades, the standard look for animated adventure was the model Doug Wildey started with Hanna Barbera's "Johnny Quest" (1964). Later, Bruce Timm and his team at Warner Animation developed the field with "Batman: The Animated Series" (1992), and there is no denying that animation brought a new feel to the genre.

"Tron Uprising" continues in that tradition, but takes it up a notch, or rather, a big notch. To be fair, the pilot airing tonight shows only half the picture: the beautiful visuals designed by art director Alberto Melgo and lead character designer Robert Vallee. The pilot version of "Beck's Beginning" consists of elements of the previously announced mini-sodes originally planned for the show's preview (instead of presenting it as a series of bite-sized episodes, as originally intended, Disney execs made a 31-minute decided to edit it down to episodes), so it is a bit of a paste-up. Producer/director Charlie Bean ("The Ren & Stimpy Show," "Dexter's Laboratory," "Samurai Jack," "Amazing World of Gumball") has the perfect sensibility for this show.

But so far, I love what I'm seeing. What do you think? Below, please see some of this gorgeous production material. Top row: two spectacular production paintings by Mielgo and a third by Jun Ann; second row: model sheets for the lead characters; third row: several storyboards for the ballet and (at my request) Beck's model sheets (click on thumbnails to enlarge). Click on all images for larger versions.