Why ‘Hotel Transylvania’ Director Genndy Tartakovsky Left ‘Popeye’
Genndy Tartakovskyhas made Sony a decent chunk of change with hisHotel Transylvaniafilms. The sequel, which Tartakovsky helmed, just earned over $50 million this past weekend. One would guess that kind of box-office haul would score the animated director a little cart blanche, but, in spite of his financial success, that’s not entirely the case. Learn why after the jump Tartakovsky leftPopeye.
The directorexited the projectback in March. He had been attached to the film for over three years, and was attempting to make a more old school animated movie. Opening up toThe Wrap, theHotel Transylvaniadirector elaborated on whyPopeyedidn’t move forward:
We made a version that we were happy with, and the studio didn’t like that version. It’s still a mystery for me that they didn’t like that version. They wanted to do “Popeye” for the brand recognition and I loved the character and grew up with it, so there was a tug of war. They wanted it really updated, and I can only update it a little before it isn’t “Popeye” anymore. To be truthful, it was in the middle of the Sony hack and the studio was really struggling. It was just really bad timing.
That’s a completely reasonable explanation for why Tartakovsky leftPopeye. A year ago we got ourfirst-lookat the film, and watching this test-footage again, the playfulness, the physical comedy, and the period setting doesn’t scream “modern.”
With or without Tartakovsky, this project will get made. It’s difficult to say if the character is still relevant anymore, at least for kids, so the trepidation on Sony’s part is understandable. But would throwing a bunch of pop culture references into aPopeyemovie really make a difference? There’s ways to introduce the character to a modern audience without modernizing the character. The old school quality of the brawny hero is what’s appealing aboutPopeyein the first place. Obviously we’ll never see the character again with his signature pipe, especially in an animated movie, but if you’re going to make aPopeyemovie, why not make it an actualPopeyemovie? Based on this footage, that was Tartakovsky’s intention.
Of course a modernizedPopeyecould work, but it’s too bad theHotel Transylvaniadirector isn’t getting the opportunity to make his vision of the film. Whenever he works on a personal project, likeSamurai Jack, that’s when his best work happens — and his next film is, according to the director, personal. Tartakovsky might makeCan You Imagine?next, which has been described as “a fantastic journey through one boy’s imagination.”
