15 Facts About the ‘Tron’ Franchise Ahead of ‘Tron: Ares’

Despite receiving only mixed reviews and attracting modest box office receipts when it was released in 1982, You see It received a lot of attention for being different from any other movie ever made. A mix of early computer effects, animation, and live action, the film — about a programmer (Jeff Bridges) who gets sucked into a virtual terrain — developed a cult following. Before the third part of the series is shown. Tron: Aresarriving in theaters on October 10, check out some trivia facts and notes about the project that helped usher in the digital age of cinema.

1. The throne is inAs inspired by Pong.
2. You see It was originally going to be a cartoon.
3. Some Disney animators refused to work on it You see.
4. Effects of You see Only 2MB of memory was used.
5. the You see The discs were part of a no-weapons policy.
6. Pac-Man has a cameo You see.
7. You seeIts release date was chosen though.
8. early You see The offer actually caused Disney shares to decline.
9. Playboy He wanted to do it You see Spread image equalizer.
10. The Oscars were snubbed You see On charges of fraud.
11. You see Inspired by Pixar.
12. Jeff Bridges didn’t like the way he looked TRON: Legacy.
13. the You see The man was banned from seeing the sequel.
14. Elijah Wood starred in A.J You see sequel.
15. Star Wars and Marvel may have helped delay the third installment You see film.

The throne is inAs inspired by Pong.

In 1976, freelance animator Steven Lisberger came across an illustration clip put together by MAGI, a computer company that was at the forefront of experimenting with graphics software to create visual effects. Lisberger was fascinated by the idea that traditional cell animation was a time-consuming process, but it was not Until he saw Early Atari video game Pong that he was convinced that a film set within a computer-generated world was viable.

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You see It was originally going to be a cartoon.

At that time, Lisberger and co-producer Donald Koechner began working on it You see (taken from the word “electronic”), the two planned to use their extensive experience in animation to make it a feature film cartoon Framed by only two Live sequences. After being rejected by MGM, Columbia, and even… Stan Leethe partners pitched the film to Disney, which invested in a test clip (you can see above) from director Lisberger for the first time that combined animators and live-action artists. When he met that Executive approvalLisberger got the green light for the $17 million film.

Some Disney animators refused to work on it You see.

Not everyone at Disney was enthusiastic about the computer-generated project. It has been said that traditional animators at Disney felt threatened by the ability of computers to force their craft into obsolescence He refused publicly To help Lisberger in any way. Instead, he used director Sid Mead and famous French artist Jean “Moebius” Giraud to design the costumes and storyboard for the film.

Effects of You see Only 2MB of memory was used.

The work it took to achieve the distinct visual style You see It was a multi-layered process. CGI was used for the backgrounds and light cycle races. Traditional animation techniques hand painted vibrant costumes. The actors (Bridges and David Warner) performed in front of a black screen so that virtual sets could be dropped during post-production. To obtain computer-generated images, Lisberger only needed a used computer Two megabytes of memory And 330 MB of hard disk storage space.

the You see The discs were part of a no-weapons policy.

In network devices You seeWar is waged with flying discs. The latter was a deliberate choice on the part of Lisberger, who… He wanted the movie To distance herself from any violent images the children might think of emulating at home. If they decided to recreate the fights they saw on screen, he thought the worst they could do was hit their heads with a Frisbee.

Pac-Man has a cameo You see.

In a nod to Lisberger’s video game inspiration in the film, viewers can take a photo Glance Pac-Man is in the scene where the villain Sark (Warner) is lecturing his troops. You can even hear the game Waka waka Cue the soundtrack. Lisberger and his team included a few early Easter eggs, including a digitally rendered lake that appears in a fleeting shot on the featured image appearance From Mickey Mouse’s head.

You seeIts release date was chosen though.

You see It was originally scheduled to be released in the 1982 Christmas season, which would have led to some interesting counter-programming against studios releasing the serious drama in time for Oscar consideration. But the plan was scrapped when Disney discovered that animator Don Bluth, who defected from the company in 1979 and publicly criticized it as “stale,” was about to be fired. Secret NIMH In July. You see He was Scroll to top For a July 9 release in hopes of crushing the Bluth project. Nimh to make $14 million; You see It handed over $33 million, but neither was considered a runaway hit.

early You see The offer actually caused Disney shares to decline.

Thinking they were doing themselves a favor, Disney held a special screening of the movie You see to stock market analysts days before the first public offering. But instead of receiving positive publicity, the studio was dismayed to discover that the mixed reaction actually caused their stock to fall by $2.50 the next day. One called it a “dangerously disjointed and flawed story” and told his clients to sell Disney shares. An angry Disney executive He said New York Times It’s probably the latest stock market pitch: “What Does a Stock Analyst Know (about Movies)?”

Playboy He wanted to do it You see Spread image equalizer.

While movie marketing had become an almost exact science, Disney’s publicists were not entirely sure at the time who the target audience was You see It will be. Computer users? Video game players? teens? While they were planning the strategy, Playboy Make an offer: They did it Photographic models With the circuit boards strategically placed to maintain their modesty. Disney refused.

The Oscars were snubbed You see On charges of fraud.

When it came time to announce the nominees for Best Visual Effects at the 1983 Academy Awards, You see It seemed like a sure thing. Instead, it was ignored. Why? According to Lisberger, this was because the industry viewed computer effects as a shortcut. “The academy thought we cheated using computers,” he said. He said the San Francisco Gate In 2002. Alternatively, the Academy nominated Blade Runner, evil spiritand at; at beat.

You see Inspired by Pixar.

Pixar animator John Lasseter (toy story) was a young storyboard artist at Disney when You see It was in development. After taking a look at the production, he convinced the studio to let him shoot a 30-second test reel featuring CGI backgrounds. The company liked it, but at the time, they were more interested in saving money than fueling a new wave of technology.

But Lassiter wasn’t discouraged. “I was completely blown away,” he said. Animation world In 2012. “A little door opened in my mind. I looked at him and said, “This is it! This is the future.” “

Pixar will, to some extent, return the favor in 2010, when the film’s producers return the favor TRON: Legacy Soldier Lasseter and other Pixar creatives show a rough cut of the film and provide commentary.

Jeff Bridges didn’t like the way he looked TRON: Legacy.

Bridges returned to the role of Kevin Flynn in the long-gestating sequel in 2010 TRON: Legacywho sees his son Sam visiting the network. To represent his younger self, Bridges underwent then-new digital de-aging technology. He wasn’t entirely happy with the results. “I didn’t like the way I looked,” he said. He said Entertainment Weekly. “I felt more like Bill Maher than I did. It was kind of weird.”

the You see The man was banned from seeing the sequel.

You see Megafan Jay Maynard became an internet meme after photos of his tight, low-tech costume made headlines in 2004. When Disney released TRON: Legacy In 2010, people were asking for his opinion. The problem? He was kicked out of the theater. according to timeMaynard went to the show in Minnesota but was taken out, perhaps because management decided that his bright wardrobe would be too distracting to other guests. When he finally got a chance to see it, he said He said The second part was so good it almost made him cry.

Elijah Wood starred in A.J You see sequel.

After mixed reactions to the latecomers TRON: Legacy Sequel In 2010, Disney decided to continue the franchise in a more financially modest manner with TRON: Uprisingan animated series for their Disney XD channel. Elijah Wood Express Beck, a mechanic who entered the world of digital betting. The series debuted to poor ratings in 2012 I continue Only one season.

Star Wars and Marvel may have helped delay the third installment You see film.

You see Movies take a very long time to load. Twenty-eight years have passed between the 1982 original and the 2010 sequel, while there was a 15-year gap between the 1982 original and the 2010 sequel. TRON: Legacy and Tron: Ares. According to Joseph Kosinski, who directed legacy I was once looking forward to the third movie, and the Wookiees and Iron Man are partly to blame.

“I mean, you have to remember that when we did it TRON: Legacy“Disney didn’t own Marvel,” Kosinski said He said In 2017. “Disney didn’t own Lucasfilm…they own everything now. But this was before they owned everything, so from a studio standpoint, they have a certain number of slot machines and a certain amount of money to make movies, and if you can make a Star Wars spinoff or another Marvel movie, and they all do incredibly well, You see A movie that, even though I think it will be a hit, the question is: will it do as well as one of these?

Disney will soon discover: Tron: Aresstarring Jared Leto, tops Disney’s Q4 slate with no Star Wars or Marvel films.

A version of this story was published in 2016; Updated for 2025.