Fri Oct 10, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger

'Rapunzel' gets Makeover

New Directors Step in on Disney FIlm

Glen Keane, a veteran animator who has worked for Disney since the late 1970s, has had to drop out of directing Rapunzel.  The talented animator, one of the first artists at Disney to embrace the computerization and digital options, has a non-threatening ailment but has had to cut back his work.

Stepping in to complete the project, expected in late 2010, are Bolt’s director Byron Howard and Bolt's storyboard director Nathan Greno. They step in to replace Keane and Dean Wellins as directors and according to Ain’t it Cool News, it has as much to do with Keane’s health as the disappointment Disney has in the creative direction.

Keane is the son of Family Circus creator Bil Keane and his credits include The Rescuers, Pete’s Dragon, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Tarzan.

An in-house memo said, “Glen will step back as a Director but stay attached to Rapunzel as an Executive Producer and Directing Animator. At the same time, Dean will move into development to pitch three new ideas for one of our future feature projects and focus on directing one of his CG shorts.”

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