Day One of D23 and Other News

With the D23 Expo underway, as well as the Disney Studio always wheelin' and dealin', I've got a lot of news for you. Right here, right now:

• This first piece of news is Disney-related, but not D23-related. Guillermo Del Toro, one of my favorite writer/directors of such films as Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, has opened up an animation studio. This studio is known as "Disney's Double Dare You!". That's right: Disney's. One of Hollywood's best obscure/creepy filmmakers has opened an animation company within the walls of Disney Studios. The studio will be under the watch of Dick Cook and (hooray!) John Lasseter. Del Toro is very busy with his current slate of upcoming films, but will direct for DDDY (Disney's Double Dare You!) in the future. The current project at DDDY is Trollhunters, written (but not directed) by Guillermo who is also producing. So what should we expect from this new studio? Will the films be truly creepy, or just Coraline creepy? Will they appeal to kids, or to adults? I don't know...

• The Associated Press is reporting that 'Pirates 4' is officially official. It has a real title: "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," and Johnny Depp is, of course, its star. The film will be released in 2011. I can't wait! Although I am not a huge fan of the 2nd and 3rd 'Pirate' films, I do love the character of Jack Sparrow.

• The D23 Expo is going on right now! To see what happened on day one, I'd recommend you check out the following links:

1. WDWNewsToday; Some stuff from the CarsLand room, and, mostly, the Disney Legends ceremony.
2. Disney and More: The really great-looking Imagineering Legends session.
3. Cinematical has an article about Tron at the D23 Expo, as well as a huge gallery of pictures from it.
4. The LA Times documents both days of the expo thus far, but mainly the stars that showed up, which include John Travolta, Johnny Depp, and Tim Burton. (The OC Register has a similar article.)
5. Jim Hill discusses an upcoming D23 presentation which will showcase what The Muppets ( I sure do love those little guys) will be up to in the next couple of years.

There is even more Disney news out there. Upcoming Pixar is reporting that Cars 2 is going to be a "Hitchcockian Spy Thriller." Their source is Mr. Lasseter who is quoted to have said:

Mater, who we know from the series of cartoon shorts Mater’s Tall Tales (more on that in our blog in a minute) is prone to exaggeration, gets involved in a "Hitchcockian" case of mistaken identity, saves the life of a British secret agent called Finn McMissile (who looks a heck of a lot like an Aston Martin) and becomes embroiled in a huge spy thriller. Only no-one believes him.

And, finally, here is the newest trailer for the upcoming Disney film, The Princess and the Frog. This movie keeps looking better and better:



That's all the news for now, but stay posted since we still have more Expo news headin' your way.