Back in June, I reported that a 3D version of Beauty and the Beast was being slated for a 2011 release. Hollywood Reporter now reports that the rework has been pushed back until 2012 or later.
Converting pics to 3D costs $15 million or so per movie and theatrical prospects are limited for any re-release. So the campaign is really all about the eventual release of “Toy Story 3D,” “Beauty and the Beast 3D” and other converted animated features on Blu-ray disc.
And to make that feasible, Americans are going to have to get down to their corner mega-merchants and start buying 3D TV sets.
Hopefully this signals the beginning of the end of a mindless fad. Until they can do 3D without the glasses, or without glasses that dim the overall color and brightness, 3D is destined to be an expensive detour.
I like 3D. I like the way it’s being used to add depth-of-field rather than to throw things at the camera these days. It works best for CG animated films which are rendered in 3-dimensional space anyway. Can’t say that I noticed any loss of vibrancy for ‘Up’ and ‘Toy Story 3’.
For something like Beauty and the Beast which is mostly traditional 2D Cel animation I don’t really see the point though.
luv 3D but not the glasses…perhaps something like welding masks would be better…