《冰雪奇缘》重塑迪斯尼魔法？

    然而，迪斯尼动画的确引入了皮克斯一项关键特征：他们让导演（而不是工作室高管或动画主管）负责整个故事。不同于许多动画工作室，皮克斯让导演决定叙事的弧线。技术被用来服务于故事叙述，而不是充当电影的出发点。“迪斯尼动画过去是一家由行政高管驱动的工作室，”拉塞特说。“现在，它是一家由电影制片人驱动的工作室。”这是一个重大转变，迪斯尼动画耗费了相当一段时间才完成了这个转变。它首先在电影《公主与青蛙》(The Princess and the Frog)使用这种制作权力框架，这部电影虽然深受评论界好评，但票房却非常令人失望。2010年和2012年相继推出的《魔发奇缘》(Tangled)和《无敌破坏王》(Wreck-it-Ralph)终于让迪斯尼动画尝到了甜头，这两部电影的票房收入和评论反响均超出了预期。娱乐分析师怀伯说：“迪士尼动画最近三年来接连制作出真正的好电影。”

    随后，迪士尼动画工作室推出根据安徒生童话《冰雪女王》(The Snow Queen)改编而成的《冰雪奇缘》。其实，早在上世纪40年代，迪士尼公司就萌生了这个想法。当初拉塞特（他最初就是在迪斯尼动画工作）回到迪士尼动画工作室的时候，他依然记得一系列描绘冰冻世界的画作，并从储藏室中把它们重新挖掘出来。“我从来没有忘记那些画，”他说。“那些画面堪称美轮美奂，简直令人难以置信。”拉塞特随后向电影《泰山》(Tarzan)的导演，也就是在那段黑暗岁月里离开迪斯尼的克里斯•巴克展示了这些画作，说服他重返迪斯尼。后来，他又引入了《无敌破坏王》的编剧珍妮弗•李，后者也是第一位执导迪斯尼动画片的女性。《冰雪奇缘》的故事超越了时间概念（一个经典的迪士尼故事理应如此），同时又具备现代感——两姐妹都是意志坚强，具有现代敏感性的角色，而不是被动地等候男士垂青的女性。

    《冰雪奇缘》的影响力远远超出电影院，从而使其成为伊格尔执掌迪斯尼动画期间赖以成名的协同效应的一个重要例证。这部电影的主角安娜和艾莎，以及雪人奥拉夫已经成为最畅销的玩具，在迪斯尼主题公园开发《冰雪奇缘》景观将是另一个合乎逻辑的步骤。出自罗伯特•洛佩兹和克里斯汀•安德森-洛佩兹之手的电影音乐也非常适合在百老汇演出。就以我们家为例。拜我的女儿所赐，这部电影的歌曲，比如《随它去》(Let It Go)和《你想堆雪人吗？》(Do You Want To Build A Snowman?)，已经成为我们日常生活的背景乐。

    接受《财富》杂志(Fortune)采访时，伊格尔首次确认迪斯尼公司正在就开发一部百老汇音乐剧进行磋商，但并没有设定具体的期限。“我们不苛求速度，”他说。“我们要的是精益求精的品质。”

    伊格尔说，这部电影对员工士气的带动作用很难量化，但非常重要。迪士尼动画再也不是老气横秋、屈居皮克斯之下的二等公民。珍妮弗•李说：“让我倍感幸运的是，我来到了一个把故事摆在创作过程首位的环境之中。”尽管一部电影的影响还无法撼动迪斯尼公司庞大的营收根基（尤其是ESPN体育频道成为它的利润大户以来），但动画片毕竟是，并且将永远是这家娱乐业巨头的情感核心。伊格尔说，“如果从长远的角度来考虑迪斯尼公司的本质，以及这一品牌的成功和活力等问题，那么这就是一个极其重要的事件。”是我自己的原因，还是因为天越来越暖和了？（财富中文网）

    译者：叶寒    

    They did, however, import one key Pixar attribute: They put the director, rather than the studio chief or the animation head, in charge of the story. Unlike many studios, Pixar lets the director determine the arc of the narrative. Technology is used in service of the storytelling rather than as its starting point. "It was an executive-driven studio," says Lasseter. "Now it's a filmmaker-driven studio." It was a major shift -- and one that took a while to catch on; first used with The Princess and the Frog, a well-reviewed film with disappointing sales, it began to catch hold with Tangled (2010) and Wreck-it-Ralph (2012), each of which outperformed financial and critical expectations. "Disney Animation has done three years in a row of really great stuff," says analyst Wible.

    Then came Frozen, based loosely on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, an idea that had kicked around Disney since the 1940s. Lasseter, whose first job was at Disney Animation, remembered a series of paintings of a frozen world and dug them out of storage when he came back. "I never forgot those paintings," he says. "They were so incredibly beautiful." Lasseter showed them to Chris Buck, the director of Tarzan, who had left Disney in the dark years, and helped convince him to come back. Later, he brought in Jennifer Lee, a screenwriter on Wreck-it-Ralph who is also the first woman to direct an animated Disney feature. Frozen's story is both timeless, as a classic Disney tale should be, and modern (both sisters are strong protagonists with a modern sensibility rather than passive females awaiting a man).

    Frozen's impact goes far beyond the movie theater, making it a key example of the synergy Iger has become known for during his Disney tenure. Anna and Elsa, the lead characters in the movie, have already become top-selling toys, as has Olaf the snowman, and a Frozen attraction at Disney's theme parks would be another logical step. Its music, written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, is a natural for Broadway. In my house, for example, the movie's songs, such as "Let It Go," and "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" have become the soundtrack to our lives, thanks to my daughters.

    In his interview with Fortune, Iger confirmed for the first time that Disney is in discussions to develop a show, though there is no set time frame. "We're not demanding speed," he says. "We're demanding excellence."

    What this means for morale, says Iger, is harder to quantify, but also important. Disney Animation is no longer the frumpy second fiddle to Pixar. "I was very lucky that I came into an environment where the number one creative process is the story," Lee says. "It was like a startup because of this creative freedom and this energy." Although the impact of one film won't rock Disney's gargantuan bottom line -- especially since ESPN contributes so much of the profit -- animation is, and will always be, the emotional core of the business. Says Iger: "If you think long term about what Disney is and the success and the vitality of the brand, this is a very, very important event." Is it me, or is it getting warm in here?