Production Gets "Tangled" Up In Animated TV Series Return Set for Disney Channel in 2017

Disney's 2010 animated feature 'Tangled.'

Tangled, a new animated TV series for "kids, tween and families', based on Walt Disney Animation Studios' acclaimed hit feature film, has begun production with voice actors Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi reprising their roles as Rapunzel and Eugene (also known as Flynn Rider).  The series will premiere in 2017 on Disney Channels worldwide, it was announced by Gary Marsh, President and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Channels Worldwide. It will also reunite Disney Legend and Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater.
Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was developed by two respected animation industry veterans Chris Sonnenburg (Disney's "Enchanted") and Shane Prigmore ("The Lego Movie"). Feature animator Chris Sonnenburg most recently has been boarding on Gravity Falls and Futurama and Shane Prigmore has designed characters on projects as diverse as The Boxtrolls, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, and Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
The studio hasn’t revealed if the series will be 2D or CGI, but the publicity artwork released by Disney today is drawn, and considering Disney TV’s current Toon Boom pipeline and Prigmore’s well regarded character design skills, all signs point to a 2D series.
Marsh said, "The genius of the original movie was its seamless blending of cinematic adventure, character-driven comedy and touching emotion.  And we are fortunate to have several of the creative talent from that movie on board with this new production.  With the addition of Chris and Shane as Executive Producers, we have the perfect team in place to create a series worthy of the original film."
Set between the events of the 2010 feature film and the start of the 2012 short film, Tangled Ever After, which centered on the wedding of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, the animated series unfolds as Rapunzel acquaints herself with her parents, her kingdom and the people of Corona. Her irrepressible spirit and natural curiosity about the world drives her to the realization that there is so much more she needs to learn before she can truly accept her royal destiny. She boldly puts her ascension to the crown and impending marriage on hold to seek out epic adventures, much to the dismay of the King who, after missing out on Rapunzel's youth, must accept that his daughter is now an independent young woman. Accompanying Rapunzel on her journey will be Eugene; the slick, plucky chameleon sidekick, Pascal; the awesome, no-nonsense steed, Maximus; the Snuggly Duckling Pub Thugs; and newcomer Cassandra, a tough-as-nails handmaiden, who becomes Rapunzel's confidant, according to Disney — who will likely also find that frying pans make great weapons.
In 2012, Disney Channel presented the Tangled Ever After short, which delivered 5.0 million Total Viewers, 2.6 million Kids 2-11 and 1.4 million Adults 18-49.
Sonnenberg is the executive producer and supervising director and Prigmore is co-executive producer and creative director.  Jase Ricci ("Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles") is story editor. Celebrated artist Claire Keane ("Frozen," "Tangled"), daughter of Disney Legend Glen Keane who was animation supervisor on the feature film, consulted on development of the animated series. Emmy Award-winning Kevin Kliesch ("Tangled Ever After") will serve as score composer.
Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th animated feature Tangled introduced audiences worldwide to long-locked Rapunzel and charming bandit Flynn Rider in one of the most hilarious, hair-raising tales ever told. Debuting over Thanksgiving in 2010, Tangled opened with $68.7 million and went on to earn $200 million domestically and more than $593 million globally, becoming one of Walt Disney Animation Studios' biggest releases of all time. Featuring music by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, the film was nominated for Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards for best animated film, as well as best song for “I See the Light,” which also won a Grammy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. Rapunzel, Flynn and their friends Pascal and Maximus returned to the big screen for a royal wedding in the 2012 short film Tangled Ever After. Guests can experience the magic of Tangled at Disney Parks around the world, including dazzling encounters with Rapunzel herself at Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Rapunzel is not only one of the top-selling roleplay dresses at Disney Store but one of the most popular Disney Princess characters overall across licensed, Disney Store and Disney Publishing merchandise.
It’s not exactly Tangled 2, which failed to get off the ground because “her hair was gone,” but it still sounds as if the TV show might tide over fans of the Tangled film franchise until a feature sequel finally arrives.
The studio also released this full length teaser image (below):

Concept art for the “Tangled” TV series released by Disney Channel.

Animation Legend Eric Goldberg Joins USC School of Cinematic Arts Faculty To Teach Character Animation

Veteran animator Eric Goldberg has joined USC School of Cinematic Arts’ John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts.
Goldberg will teach classes on the fundamentals of character animation beginning in the fall of 2015, it was announced by Tom Sito, Chair of SCA’s John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts.
Eric Goldberg is widely known within the international animation community as one of the leading character animators working today. In his forty-year career he has given life to some of cinema’s most beloved animated characters, including Robin Williams' unforgettable Genie in Aladdin, Phil in Hercules, and Louis in the Oscar-nominated Best Animated Feature The Princess and the Frog.
Comments Sito: “We are thrilled that Eric is coming aboard. His incredible talent, and vast knowledge of character animation gleaned from years working with such masters as Chuck Jones, Richard Williams, Ken Harris, Tissa David and Art Babbitt, will be an invaluable resource to our program.”
Goldberg is joining an already formidable SCA Animation faculty that includes Peter Chung (Aeon Flux), Eric Hanson (The Fifth Element) and Sito himself (Beauty and the Beast, Roger Rabbit).
Eric Goldberg is a veteran director, designer and animator who has worked extensively in New York, London and Hollywood creating feature films, commercials, title sequences and television specials.

Goldberg is best known for his work with Walt Disney Animation Studios. His first Disney assignment in 1990 was Supervising Animator of the wise cracking Robin Williams-voiced Genie in “Aladdin.” Subsequently, he co-directed the successful “Pocahontas,” and animated the feisty Danny DeVito-voiced satyr Phil in “Hercules.” Following that he directed two critically acclaimed sequences in “Fantasia 2000,” “Carnival of the Animals” and “Rhapsody in Blue.” The latter was a labor of love inspired by both George Gershwin and the legendary theatrical caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, who served as artistic consultant on the film.
In 2003, Goldberg served as animation director on Warner Bros.’ live-action/animation feature Looney Tunes: Back in Action, directed by Joe Dante. For the film, he handled the legendary characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Wile E. Coyote, Yosemite Sam and the entire Warners stable, as well as providing the voices for Speedy Gonzales, Tweety, and Marvin the Martian.
Most recently Goldberg has been animating at his alma mater, Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he served as Supervising Animator for Louis (the trumpet-playing alligator) in Academy Award Best Animated feature nominee “The Princess and the Frog.” In addition, he supervised both the character of Rabbit, and the “Backson Song” sequence in “Winnie the Pooh.” He also was the Supervisor of hand-drawn animation in the 2013 Oscar-nominated short film, “Get a Horse.”
Currently, Goldberg is creating exploratory animation for the upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studio feature, Moana.
In February 2011, he also received the prestigious Winsor McCay Award from ASIFA-Hollywood for lifetime achievement in animation.

PBS Unveils New Two-Part Documentary Special "American Experience: Walt Disney" Set To Premiere September 14-15

PBS' American Experience will offer an unprecedented look at the life and legacy of one of America's most enduring and influential storytellers in Walt Disney, a new two-part, four-hour special premiering Monday and Tuesday, September 14-15, 2015, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).
Executive produced by series EP Mark Samels, directed and produced by Sarah Colt, and written by Mark Zwonitzer, American Experience: Walt Disney features rare archival footage from the Disney vaults, scenes from some of his greatest films, and a host of interviews with biographers and historians, experts and contemporaries, animators and artists who worked on Snow White and other early films, and designers who helped create Disneyland.
“For many Americans — and for me — the twinkle and swish of the Sunday night Disney logo was pure magic. It was an invitation to a special event,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Officer and General Manager, General Audience Programming for PBS. “For my kids, introducing them to animated Disney movies from Beauty and the Beast to The Lion King brought us great joy and taught them life lessons. Now viewers of all ages can learn about the life and legacy of the man behind the magic and his continuing impact on our lives and culture.”
The Walt Disney program includes interviews with artists who worked at the studio, including Rolly Crump, Robert Givens, Don Lusk, Floyd Norman and Ruth Tompson, Imagineer Marty Sklar, Disney producer Don Hahn, costume designer Alice Davis, composer Richard Sherman, son-in-law Ron Miller, and academics and authors who have written extensively about Walt Disney including Neal Gabler, Susan Douglas, Richard Schickel, Steven Watts, Ron Suskind, and Carmenita Higginbotham.

"Walt Disney is an entrepreneurial and cultural icon," said American Experience Executive Producer Mark Samels. "No single figure shaped American popular culture in the 20th century more than he."
In 1966, the year Walt Disney died, 240 million people saw a Disney movie, 100 million tuned in weekly to a Disney television program, 80 million bought Disney merchandise, and close to seven million visited Disneyland. Nearly fifty years later, his reach remains enormous. Few creative figures before or since have held such a long-lasting place in American life and popular culture.
Disney’s movies grew out of his own life experiences. He told stories of outsiders struggling for acceptance and belonging while questioning the conventions of class and authority. As Disney rose to prominence and gained financial security, his work was increasingly celebratory of the American way of life that made his unlikely success possible.
A polarizing figure — though true believers vastly outnumber his critics — Disney’s achievements are indisputable. He created one of the most beloved cartoon characters in history, Mickey Mouse; conceived the first ever feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; pioneered the integration of media and marketing with thousands of branded products; invented the anthropomorphic wildlife documentary; and conceived Disneyland, the world’s first theme park and the fulfillment of a lifelong desire to create a world unto itself.
From Steamboat Willie to Pinocchio to Mary Poppins, Disney's movies grew out of his own life experiences. He told stories of outsiders struggling for acceptance and belonging, while questioning the conventions of class and authority. As Disney rose to prominence and gained financial security, his work became increasingly celebratory of the American way of life that made his unlikely success possible.
Major funding for Walt Disney provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence. Additional funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers. American Experience is produced for PBS by WGBH Boston.