These Two Talking Moose Let Their Antlers Down
By NEIL GENZLINGER
hen the Disney film "Brother Bear" came out last year, some critics complained that it was short on the savvy humor that has worked so well in the company's most popular animated hits. The DVD version, which has become an unexpectedly big seller, seems intent on making up for that with a vengeance: lurking on it is a surprisingly subversive special feature in which two guys who sound a lot like the beer-loving McKenzie brothers dissect the movie, the art of animation, even Disney itself.
The two guys are Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, Canadians who first invaded the United States more than 20 years ago as Bob and Doug McKenzie, buffoonish comic characters with a heavy preference for the words "eh" and "you hoser."
In "Brother Bear" Mr. Moranis and Mr. Thomas provide the McKenzie-ish voices of two moose named Rutt and Tuke. And for the DVD feature they get to let their antlers down completely: as the movie plays soundlessly, Rutt and Tuke deliver a ridiculous stream-of-consciousness commentary in which they discuss the use of stunt doubles in animated films, insult each other, debate acting methodology and tweak Disney like a pint-size Michael Moore. It is light years away from the usual dry DVD commentary, and for a company as conscious of its reputation as Disney it is a bit revolutionary.
"This is a real breakthrough feature for us," said Andy Siditsky, senior vice president of worldwide creative services and DVD production at Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney's DVD-distributing arm. "We took a feature that normally is a very dull feature and made it more approachable."
Getting to that nutty end product, though, required some serious business. First was resolving what Mr. Thomas and Mr. Moranis would bring to the movie itself. Disney had the pair's trademark sound in mind, but the men were not eager to give up that franchise.
"Essentially they wanted the McKenzie brothers," Mr. Thomas said. "But we didn't want to give them the McKenzie brothers. So they said, can you give us something like the McKenzie brothers?" Thus Rutt and Tuke sound quite a bit like Bob and Doug, but they aren't. Even though, essentially, they are.
More dicey was whether Rutt and Tuke's 85-minute commentary for the DVD should bring compensation for the two performers.
"We said, `If you're asking us to improvise wall-to-wall nonstop, what you're talking about is an original comedy album,' " Mr. Moranis said. Negotiations followed, capped by a confidentiality agreement.
The hard-nosed back-and-forth apparently paid off. In May, Variety's DVD Exclusive publication estimated that since the DVD and video were released March 30 they had generated $146 million in the United States, far outstripping the $85 million the film made in theaters. Overseas sales have also been robust, and next week Rutt, Tuke and pals begin recording "Brother Bear 2."
In any case viewers who watch the DVD commentary are getting a skewed sort of education in the finer points of animation. For instance Rutt and Tuke point out that the appearance of a chipmunk in an animated film is always a harbinger of danger. And Rutt explains how Disney has been able to keep costs under control all these years:
"You know those ads in the magazines and stuff, `Learn to Draw'? So, like Walt Disney Company says, `Draw a bear exactly like this,' and they get thousands of drawings of bears in, and then they put them all together and color them in, and that becomes the bear part of the movie."
"Brother Bear" is a message-heavy tale about a man who is transformed into a bear. Chuck Williams, the film's producer, said the idea for a Rutt and Tuke commentary came out of a brainstorming session several years ago, as the film itself was taking shape. An inspiration was the 1990's television show "Mystery Science Theater 3000," in which a human and his robot companions talk trash while dreadful old science-fiction films play.
"We wanted that sort of sense of irreverence about the movie," Mr. Williams said. "The movie at times is so serious, it's a fun movie to make fun of and poke fun at. And Disney is, too, somewhat."
The commentary was entirely improvised, with the best material from three or four viewings spliced together. For Mr. Thomas and Mr. Moranis, it was a chance to resurrect their McKenzie personas, first developed a quarter-century ago for the "SCTV" comedy show (which itself has just been released on DVD for the first time). There was a McKenzie comedy album, "Great White North," in 1981; a film, "Strange Brew," in 1983; commercials for Molson's beer in the 1990's.
"Every time Rick and I thought, `Well, I guess we're about done with the McKenzies,' we'd get a call from somebody else," Mr. Thomas said. "These characters just won't die."
And they can still be outrageous. The DVD's commentary feature begins with the type of disclaimer usually heard at the beginning of a talk-radio show. But Mr. Williams said the project made it through the Disney gantlet remarkably unscathed.
"What I was worried about was that the lawyers would get involved and want to cut out every reference to anything," he said. "But most of the funny stuff, 90 percent of it, stayed in."
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | Help |
Now this sounds great and i am suprised and happy that disney did do this!!!
By NEIL GENZLINGER
hen the Disney film "Brother Bear" came out last year, some critics complained that it was short on the savvy humor that has worked so well in the company's most popular animated hits. The DVD version, which has become an unexpectedly big seller, seems intent on making up for that with a vengeance: lurking on it is a surprisingly subversive special feature in which two guys who sound a lot like the beer-loving McKenzie brothers dissect the movie, the art of animation, even Disney itself.
The two guys are Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, Canadians who first invaded the United States more than 20 years ago as Bob and Doug McKenzie, buffoonish comic characters with a heavy preference for the words "eh" and "you hoser."
In "Brother Bear" Mr. Moranis and Mr. Thomas provide the McKenzie-ish voices of two moose named Rutt and Tuke. And for the DVD feature they get to let their antlers down completely: as the movie plays soundlessly, Rutt and Tuke deliver a ridiculous stream-of-consciousness commentary in which they discuss the use of stunt doubles in animated films, insult each other, debate acting methodology and tweak Disney like a pint-size Michael Moore. It is light years away from the usual dry DVD commentary, and for a company as conscious of its reputation as Disney it is a bit revolutionary.
"This is a real breakthrough feature for us," said Andy Siditsky, senior vice president of worldwide creative services and DVD production at Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney's DVD-distributing arm. "We took a feature that normally is a very dull feature and made it more approachable."
Getting to that nutty end product, though, required some serious business. First was resolving what Mr. Thomas and Mr. Moranis would bring to the movie itself. Disney had the pair's trademark sound in mind, but the men were not eager to give up that franchise.
"Essentially they wanted the McKenzie brothers," Mr. Thomas said. "But we didn't want to give them the McKenzie brothers. So they said, can you give us something like the McKenzie brothers?" Thus Rutt and Tuke sound quite a bit like Bob and Doug, but they aren't. Even though, essentially, they are.
More dicey was whether Rutt and Tuke's 85-minute commentary for the DVD should bring compensation for the two performers.
"We said, `If you're asking us to improvise wall-to-wall nonstop, what you're talking about is an original comedy album,' " Mr. Moranis said. Negotiations followed, capped by a confidentiality agreement.
The hard-nosed back-and-forth apparently paid off. In May, Variety's DVD Exclusive publication estimated that since the DVD and video were released March 30 they had generated $146 million in the United States, far outstripping the $85 million the film made in theaters. Overseas sales have also been robust, and next week Rutt, Tuke and pals begin recording "Brother Bear 2."
In any case viewers who watch the DVD commentary are getting a skewed sort of education in the finer points of animation. For instance Rutt and Tuke point out that the appearance of a chipmunk in an animated film is always a harbinger of danger. And Rutt explains how Disney has been able to keep costs under control all these years:
"You know those ads in the magazines and stuff, `Learn to Draw'? So, like Walt Disney Company says, `Draw a bear exactly like this,' and they get thousands of drawings of bears in, and then they put them all together and color them in, and that becomes the bear part of the movie."
"Brother Bear" is a message-heavy tale about a man who is transformed into a bear. Chuck Williams, the film's producer, said the idea for a Rutt and Tuke commentary came out of a brainstorming session several years ago, as the film itself was taking shape. An inspiration was the 1990's television show "Mystery Science Theater 3000," in which a human and his robot companions talk trash while dreadful old science-fiction films play.
"We wanted that sort of sense of irreverence about the movie," Mr. Williams said. "The movie at times is so serious, it's a fun movie to make fun of and poke fun at. And Disney is, too, somewhat."
The commentary was entirely improvised, with the best material from three or four viewings spliced together. For Mr. Thomas and Mr. Moranis, it was a chance to resurrect their McKenzie personas, first developed a quarter-century ago for the "SCTV" comedy show (which itself has just been released on DVD for the first time). There was a McKenzie comedy album, "Great White North," in 1981; a film, "Strange Brew," in 1983; commercials for Molson's beer in the 1990's.
"Every time Rick and I thought, `Well, I guess we're about done with the McKenzies,' we'd get a call from somebody else," Mr. Thomas said. "These characters just won't die."
And they can still be outrageous. The DVD's commentary feature begins with the type of disclaimer usually heard at the beginning of a talk-radio show. But Mr. Williams said the project made it through the Disney gantlet remarkably unscathed.
"What I was worried about was that the lawyers would get involved and want to cut out every reference to anything," he said. "But most of the funny stuff, 90 percent of it, stayed in."
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | Help |
Now this sounds great and i am suprised and happy that disney did do this!!!
