Secret of the Magic Gourd

[Neal]

I tried to find an existing topic for this film, but nothing came up.

I was just curious, could this count as one of the Disney 'hybrids'?

I was thinking it channeled "Pete's Dragon" - boy meets magical creature.

Pete's Dragon is considered a hybrid because the animated portion - hand drawn - is distinguishable from the 'real world'.

I realize a mixture of CGI and other techniques are used to make such characters as Gollum seem a part of the real world in LotR, and we are not supposed to consider them separated - LotR is not considered an animated or hybrid film.

However, are we really supposed to be convinced that Bailey is like Gollum in this film - in that he is 'real'? To me, it seems as if we are supposed to know he's separated.

If he was hand drawn, people would more than likely call this a hybrid. Does the fact he's in CGI mean it isn't?

Because to me - it seems as though Bailey is supposed to be seen as a different but connected entity - he's in this 'real world' but he's not of the same 'flesh and bone'.

I don't if any of this makes sense; it was just something I was pondering.

[EricJ]

I tried to find an existing topic for this film, but nothing came up.

I was just curious, could this count as one of the Disney 'hybrids'?

I was thinking it channeled "Pete's Dragon" - boy meets magical creature.

Just a Disney co-funding/production on China's own developing CGI studio, now that China's industries are becoming more isolationist, and trying not to rely so much on Western cartoons and Japanese anime.
And like the recent Ghiblis, Disney had a US clause written in to the development deal, in case it became a hit.

(And according to the making-of interviews, seems the story had been a well-known beloved children's-book favorite since the 50's, that most of the older generation had grown up on--
Although the Mao-era "Wishes won't replace hard work" message did smack slightly familiar of all those "educational" Soviet-era children's stories where a boy meets a genie or wizard, and shows how magic can't compete with modern telephones and airplanes... )

[Neal]

I didn't mean was it American.

I meant, could it be labeled a hybrid - rather than pure animation (which it clearly is not) or pure live-action (which some may want to label it).

[Ben]

We've spoken a little bit about this in some other threads, but you're right in that it never really got its own thread.

Here's my Animated View:
http://animated-views.com/2009/the-secr ... gic-gourd/


Ultimately, I'd be tempted to count it in the hybrid list BUT for the fact that it's a co-pro, albeit one with a very heavy dose of Disney input, but still a co-pro and therefore not <I>quite</I> so pure as a Song Of The South, Poppins, Bedknobs, Pete's Dragon or Roger Rabbit, et al.

If it was hand-drawn, I think I'd still say the same thing...the film is basically a 50/50 split; it's a Disney film that's not a Disney film, and it's a hybrid that's not a hybrid: the Gourd <I>is</I> a special effect at the end of the day, even if he's been very well animated. However, this was a film made not for an international market and steeped in the general tradition of the hybrid films, but specifically made for a local market.

I think it's also made clear that Bailey is only "visible" to Raymond, from what I remember, and the whole thing could even be passed off as a dream, unlike Elliott, who was very much "real" and was seen by everyone else.

[Neal]

That helps to answer how I was feeling about this film/Bailey.

How much input did Disney have into this film vs. Roger Rabbit - which seems to be the only co-production hybrid (from what I can tell) - unless you count Enchanted since Baxter Animation lent their talents to that one.

Either way, I think Bailey is a very endearing character gag-wise/visually and would love to see more of him, either in merchandising or the parks (but I know that won't happen in the U.S.)

[Ben]

Well Roger Rabbit and Enchanted were totally in-house productions, with only the animation production handled by sub-contractors (and even then not wholly independently from Disney's staff).

Disney's Chinese office had a lot of input into this film and acted far more than just a financier, helping to shape the story and give it the Disney touch. Their "clause in case it was a hit" was nothing of the sort: from day one the film would not have had an international distributor and Disney, basically because it was paying for the thing, simply kept those rights, just as it has on India's Roadside Romeo.

I wouldn't be surprised to see some participation from a Bailey gourd in the Chinese parks, but really its all about character recognition in the US and international parks and, as a non-theatrical feature in those markets, you're right in doubting that he'll likely be seen in those parks.

[Neal]

Alright. Thank you, now I understand what separates Gourd from the others.

This is another case of me wanting to take everything Disney has touched and put it on some sort of 'list' or match it up with previous films when there is no connection.