"Focusing on 3D" is very different from "shutting down". The West Coast studio has been moving toward 3D for awhile; "Treasure Planet" has a great deal of 3D, and Long John Silver is actually a 2D character with a 3D robot arm. They've ramped up production of their next feature, the all-3D "Chicken Little". So this isn't a big suprise.
But it doesn't mean that "the animation department" is closing down. Disney TV is still churning out their direct-to-video dreck (Dumbo 2, Hunchback 2, Peter Pan 2....), and the Florida studio is working on some really cool looking feature animation: "Lilo and Stitch", "Bears", and "The Snow Queen".
And Florida isn't their only remaining studio...there's still a good deal of work being done in Paris, in Australia, and in Asia. Disney's not at their best right now...matter of fact, they're struggling...but they're not "closing down". Not yet.
"Focusing on 3D" is very different from "shutting down". The West Coast studio has been moving toward 3D for awhile; "Treasure Planet" has a great deal of 3D, and Long John Silver is actually a 2D character with a 3D robot arm. They've ramped up production of their next feature, the all-3D "Chicken Little". So this isn't a big suprise.
But it doesn't mean that "the animation department" is closing down. Disney TV is still churning out their direct-to-video dreck (Dumbo 2, Hunchback 2, Peter Pan 2....), and the Florida studio is working on some really cool looking feature animation: "Lilo and Stitch", "Bears", and "The Snow Queen".
And Florida isn't their only remaining studio...there's still a good deal of work being done in Paris, in Australia, and in Asia. Disney's not at their best right now...matter of fact, they're struggling...but they're not "closing down". Not yet.