'The Art of Brave' info, cover

As you know, each animated film coming down the pipeline gets its own Art of book. Pixar's upcoming Brave is no exception, with an Amazon page for the volume sprouting up.

The book will be published by Chronicle Books with a set release date of May 31, 2012. The cover can be seen at the top of this post.

The Art of Brave is being written by someone new to the scene, Jenny Lerew. But a quick IMDb search shows that she is no foreigner to the world of animation, having been a story artist on films such as How to Train Your Dragon, The Road to El Dorado, Lady and the Tramp II, and Flushed Away. She also has a blog, Blackwing Sketchbook, which showcases her simply stunning yet simple illustration work.

Pre-order the book at Amazon now, or go get it at the bookstore in June. It's always worth the read.

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Ray Bradbury on Disneyland

Holiday was a popular magazine published from 1946-1977. Last week, a blog archiving the articles of the old periodical published a 1956 article from prolific science-fiction author, Ray Bradbury. In his article, The Machine-Tooled Happyland, he summarizes--quite emphatically, poetically, and philosophically--how great and influential Disneyland is.

It is definitely worth the read.

Check it out here.

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'Art of Pixar': Colorscript Awesomeness! (Plus a new 'Toy Story' book!)

Coming out later this week on November 2, The Art of Pixar is a complete collection of Pixar's colorscripts.

I got my hands on a copy, and, lemme tell you, this book will knock your socks off. The colorscript is a true artform in itself, and this book showcases just how detailed and important they can really be. The book, compiled and written by the oh-so-talented Amid Amidi includes colorscripts from every Pixar film thus far, in their entirety, from Luxo Jr. to Cars 2 and La Luna.

Only a fraction of the pages have text on them, but those that do are rich with information and descriptions about the process that Pixar has refined to a fine science.

I highly recommend the book. While it won't have as wide appeal as the typical "Art of" book, it is a very unique look into a process not many know about. It is just beautiful.

Check it out on Amazon here.
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Also, Amazon has recently created an entry for a brand new Toy Story 'art of' book,' listed for release in late 2o12. The description reads:

"[The book] recounts the origin and growth of one of the most significant and successful franchises in Hollywood history. Readers... will discover interviews... artwork... and untold details of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs that the filmmakers experienced while creating such unforgettable characters."

The book, titled simply The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey, is being written by the 'Art of TS3' author, animation historian Charles Solomon.

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'Art of Pixar' Book on its way

Briefly: According to Amazon.com, later this year, Chronicle Books will be publishing a book entitled The Art of Pixar: 25th Anniversary: The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation. It is by everyone's favorite animation guru/Cartoon Brew writer Amid Amidi, who also wrote The Art of Pixar Short Films several years ago. A while back, he was set to write The Art of Toy Story 3, but then announced that he wouldn't be anymore; many believed he had a falling out with Pixar, but now it appears that the exact opposite is true.

It looks like the 320-page hardcover book will land just in time for Christmas, around early November. . . And I can't wait to get my hands on it! 320 pages of Pixar at my fingertips... Oh boy!

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DreamWorks epic to star Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine

It has just been revealed by DreamWorks Animation that their upcoming 3D epic, Rise of the Guardians, will star Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Alec Baldwin, and Isla Fisher.

Peter Ramsey will be directing the series, along with co-director William Joyce who is the author of the upcoming series of novels The Guardians of Childhood, upon which the film will be based. Also worth mentioning is the fact that everybody's favorite ex-Hobbit director, Mr. Guillermo Del Toro is on as executive producer!

The screenplay "follows a group of heroic childhood legends, each with extraordinary abilities. When Pitch (Law), an evil spirit akin to the Boogeyman, lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world."

When announced in 2009, DiCaprio was set to voice Jack Frost, which has been taken over by Star Trek star Chris Pine. Other character's include the Easter Bunny (Jackman), Santa Claus (Baldwin), and the Tooth Fairy (Fisher).

This plot sounds rather cliché (and is just begging for awful jokes), and you know how I feel about 3D. Also, the star-studded cast is never a good sign--when a studio packs stars on the screen it usually always means they're compensating for something. That something is usually story. Still, I won't pass judgment on this project just yet; that isn't fair.

However, I will pass judgment once it's released on November 21, 2012.

(But, honestly, I'm way more looking forward to DW's Peabody.)

Source: Variety

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'Wookiee the Chew': Best Mash-up Fan Art Ever

James Hance, whom I just decided is one of the best artists on the planet, has recently released the above set of images (courtesy of BoingBoing) depicting Han Solo as Christopher Robin, Chewbacca as Pooh, R2D2 as Piglet, and an AT-AT as Eeyore.

Genius.

In my opinion, two of the greatest human creations to come out the past 100 years are Star Wars and Winnie-the-Pooh. To see both of them combined so flawlessly and artistically makes me wish I had thought of doing it first. But, then again, I could never draw as well as Mr. James Hance. Man, I could look at these illustrations all day long.

The main reason, is that the illustrations are in the wonderful, classic style of E.H. Shepard and the original A.A. Milne volumes of Winnie-the-Pooh.

He will be selling the first volume of Wookiee the Chew here on his site soon. I'm definitely getting one. What a brilliant, well-executed idea. After I receive my copy, I'll post my thoughts...

Source: BoingBoing

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Teddy Newton on 'Day & Night' picture book

Above you'll find a nice little slideshow narrated by Teddy Newton all about his new Day & Night picture book.

I'd like to thank Chronicle Books for the video, as well as my review copy of the book.

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Thoughts on the 'Day & Night' Picture Book

I had a great day today because I received my review copy of the Day & Night picture book. Based on the great Pixar short by Teddy Newton, this 40-page picture book is a delight. It follows the same plot as the ground-breaking short and has equally-awesome art. While it doesn't strike you quite like the animated short does, it is still a great book due to its style--it almost reads more like a comic than a children's book.

Although it is intended for children, it will feel right at home as a part of your geeky Pixar collection. It fits right into mine.

You can purchase it wherever children's books are sold, or from online retailers such as Amazon.com.

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'The Men Who Would Be King'

If you look at Disney, etc. often, you'll know I am a Pixar and Disney guy, and not too fond of DreamWorks Animation as a whole. Sure, they have some great films such as Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, but, overall, their films aren't of the same quality as Disney or Pixar. Still, I love movies and animation, and am interested in all of the studios' histories and creative methods. Therefore, I am definitely going to pick up a copy of The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks. It has great reviews (here's one from Business Week), and apparently contains a lot of thorough research and animation history. Here's an interview with the book's author, Nicole Laporte. When asked if DreamWorks will ever surpass Pixar, Laporte comments:

The Pixar culture is the anti-Hollywood studio. It’s based in Northern California. They nurture these ideas over years. At Dreamworks, it’s much more about the way a live action movie gets made. You hire Judd Apatow to come in one day and write some jokes and punch it up. At this point, Pixar is head and shoulders above everyone. I don’t see them passing on the crown any time soon. But I think Katzenberg has seen the folly of his ways. I think he realized you have to let the artist be the artist.

The book is available from Amazon now for $18.50.

Source: Cartoon Brew

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'Toy Story 3' News: The 'Art Of' and a New Still

(At Toy Story 3 Director Lee Unkrich's request, I have taken down a portion of this post so that all of you can enjoy the film even more. Sorry about that, Lee!)


The Art of Toy Story 3 page is up on Amazon. The list price is $40.00 and it's up on Amazon for $26.40. The release date is scheduled for May 26, 2010. The product page states that the book "includes an extended introduction showcasing the art and story development behind the first two films, a special gatefold of Toy Story 3 color scripts, as well as a gallery of over 250 pieces of concept art. This deluxe volume provides a memorable narrative of the entire Toy Story trilogy." The book includes a preface by John Lasseter and a foreword by Director Lee Unkrich and Producer Darla K. Anderson.


And, the final piece of Toy Story 3 news is a brand new still image from the film. Judging by the background, I'm guessing this still is when the toys first enter the (eventually terrifying) daycare center.

Toy Story 3 will come out on June 18, 2010, and I cannot wait a second longer...

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Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' Is Looking Weirder Than I Could Have Imagined [UPDATED]

Briefly: Here are some really cool photos that have been recently released for Tim Burton's upcoming re-imagining of some of the most beloved novels of all time: Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. Above is the first official picture of some of the cast; Johnny Depp as the very odd-looking Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter (Burton's wife) as the pompous Red Queen, and Anne Hathaway as the striking White Queen. Read more about the film here, or look below for some really interesting (those are quite the tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum...) photographs that should make you as excited for the quirky, potentially creepy film as I am, which is hopefully better than Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:





Update: CC2K has gotten their hands on the script for the film! Read their article (which is packed with spoilers) if you want to learn much more about the movie which, from reading the article, looks a lot closer to Carroll's original story than any adaptation I've ever seen. Read all about it here.

Source: /Film, USAToday

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Hidden Oswald in Children's 'Up' Book

Briefly: Hidden Mickeys are all the rage when it comes to classic Disney stuff. You can find 'em in the parks, the movies, and almost anything else. What isn't common, however, is a hidden Oswald.

That's right, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt's creation before good ol' Mickey, makes a guest (and almost invisible) appearance in the Up Little Golden Book! (See the close-up above and full page below, thanks to CB).

I love seeing a 'revival' of Oswald, one of my favorite early Disney characters, especially in something Pixar-related! This just shows how comfortable Disney and Pixar are getting together. Isn't it nice seeing them get along so well after all of the previous conflict?


Source: Cartoon Brew

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Tons of 'Up'!

The #1 movie in America is also one of my favorite films of all time, and definitely of this year: Up! And, seeing as it's so successful, there is a ton of news about it:


/Film has a great article about all of Pixar's amazing and classic easter eggs within Up. It covers A113, the Pizza Planet Truck, characters from future and past Pixar films, and more! Read it now!



Above is a short video of Tom Myers and Michael Semanick, and is all about the sound behind Up.


Partly Cloudy is now available for purchase on iTunes for $1.99. And, although I think it is the worst Pixar short so far, I still enjoy watching it, and I will definitely download it.


Upcoming Pixar has a great review of The Art of Up. I am definitely going to get a copy of it, and you probably will too after reading the review.



From Stitch Kingdom, above is an iPhone commercial that features everyone's favorite 2009 animated film!


On a slightly separate note, here is the first official Toy Story 3 image from Disney!

So, there's all there is to know about Up right now, but I'll keep you up-to-date as new news about the film comes out (awards season, any one?).

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The Pixar Treasures

Amazon has now started taking pre-orders for the exciting new book The Pixar Treasures. It is by the author of The Art of WALL-E and The Art of Up, Tim Hauser. It is a "scrapbook of instinct and inspiration, experiences readers can touch, and visions that exist only in the imagination." It will have a separate chapter for every one of Pixar's films, as well as other chapters about the creation of the studio. The book will become available on September 22 of this year. It looks amazing with all of its "removable keepsakes" and stories, I am definitely going to get it, and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves Pixar.

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Walt Disney's 'Lord of the Rings'

Here is a pretty funny fan-made picture of what Walt Disney's Lord of the Rings would look like.

In fact, there are plenty of rumors surrounding the fact that he did at one point own the rights to Tolkein's classic series of novels, but obviously never did anything with them. This was presumably due to their somewhat dark subject matter and the fact that it would have been very difficult for Disney to make them his usual "family-friendly" Disney film.

This fan-made mock-up features Merlin as Gandalf, Grumpy as Gimli, Peter Pan as Legolas and Pinocchio as Frodo. Very, very cool.

I wish that Walt had made a Lord of the Rings movie, even if he did cast it similar to the above photo...

Source: Cinematical

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'Where the Wild Things Are' Poster Released [UPDATED: Script for the Film Leaked!]

One of my favorite books, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, is being adapted into a movie which will be directed by Spike Jonze. The initial testing audiences have said that the movie was too incredibly creepy, so Jonze made some adjustments, and the above poster is for the resulting film that is due for a release of October 16. And I suppose that it is much less creepy now, since this poster was first released in the latest edition of Nick Magazine.

The cast includes Catherine Keener, Max Records, Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara and Forest Whitaker.

Source: ComingSoon.net

UPDATE: I have gotten a hold of the actual script from this upcoming film and I have uploaded it to the public file hosting site Uploading.com. Enjoy downloading it as a PDF here, but remember that you found it on Disney, etc. Happy reading!

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Twenty-Three Quarterly Magazine Reveals More About D23

D23, the mysterious club being revealed by Disney on March 10, has mostly been revealed. Some people around the internet have gotten a hold of the first edition of the magazine attached to the club called "Twenty-Three". The magazine is basically a book; it is 62 pages of colored photos, well-written articles, and interesting sidebars of information. It costs $15.95, but I imagine that you will receive them in the mail if you become a member of Disney's new club (and I know that I am going to become a member).

The "magazine" reveals a lot of new information regarding the club, as well as other aspects of upcoming things at Disney. The magazine describes the new membership club by describing that it "celebrates the adventure Walt embarked upon and the amazing legacy that lives on in the work of Disney storytellers, animators, film-makers, Imagineers and Cast Members around the world."

There are currently no details about membership prices, perks or anything else. All of that will be announced on March 10, and will be promptly posted here to satisfy your curiosity.

Also revealed in the first issue of "Twenty-Three" is some very interesting information regarding the short, Partly Cloudy, that will be attached to Pixar's upcoming feature Up. To read the exclusive article, click your way over to The Pixar Blog. Here's a short summary of Partly Cloudy's plot from The Pixar Blog:

Partly Cloudy’s protagonist is a cloud named Gus who makes the ‘tougher babies’ like alligators and porcupines. Peck is Gus’ stork who’s grown tired of having to deliver all the tough babies and wants to move on to softer ones like kittens and humans. The short’s climax is when Gus thinks Peck quit in search of easier deliveries.

That's about all that has been revealed through the first edition of "Twenty-Three" that was presumably put on shelves too early by some outlets. Read all previous D23 posts here. Come back in two days to read all about Disney's announcement of its new club, D23.

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A Coraline Review (Plus a Hidden Connection to Pixar [UPDATED])

I saw Coraline, and I was impressed. The animation was beautiful, the plot was thorough and didn't stray from Neil Gaiman's original and wonderful novel, there were happy and creepy elements, and the whole movie did what movies should do: entertain and inflict emotion.


The plot follows a girl who has moved into a very old house. She gets very bored and lonely, so she goes exploring. Eventually, after meeting some quirky neighbors, she discovers a very odd for. It is very small, just small enough for her to fit through it, and it is wallpapered over. In the drawer in the kitchen she finds a key with a button on it, this key unlocks the door, and she goes through due to her own curiosity. What lies on the other side is a world identical to her own, except for everything is much more colorful and exciting; her parents give her more attention, there are musical numbers and delicious meals...but everyone has buttons for eyes. But this wonderful new world isn't as great as Coraline had thought...


The plot is fairly predictable, and I feel like the beginning dragged on a bit too long and the end was a little bit rushed, but it was overall a great movie. The animation was the best part.

The animation was phenomenal. It was all stop action, which has a wonderful effect. The style was quirky and unique with lots of colors and neat effects. The animation was by far my favorite part of the movie.

As I said earlier, Coraline does what all movies should: it inflicts emotion and entertains the audience. The plot is so strong and thorough because they set it up so that the audience really cares for the main character, Coraline. But it also entertains due to the comedy and creepiness. Coraline's quirky neighbors lead to lots of humor. The evil, alternate world that Coraline enters is very creepy. Not initially, but eventually, that world becomes very scary indeed. In fact, there were some parts where I was so entertained, creeped out, and invested in the plot that I felt my heart beating an my adrenaline spiking. There were some parts were really intense. Thus, it was entertaining and it inflicted emotion.


There was one interesting part of the movie that I haven't mentioned, however. When they move into this old house, there is a moving van out front with the name "Ranft Brothers" printed on the side. This is the Pixar connection. Henry Selick, the director of Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, was a good friend of Joe Ranft, who worked on the storyboards of Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, and did a voice of a rabbit in Monkeybone--all of which were at the side of Henry Selick. Joe was one of the first members of the Pixar team; he did truly brilliant writing, plotting and voicing for Pixar. Tragically, Ranft died in a car crash a few years ago, but his brother, Jerome still works in the art department at Pixar. Jerome provided the voice for one of the movers in Coraline. Since they were good friends, Selick paid homage to his buddy with this little title of the moving company in Coraline, "Ranft Moving" and by giving the voice of one of the movers to Joe's brother, Jerome.

UPDATE: Cartoon Brew has some very nice stills, as well as an article repeating wht I have stated here. Here's one of the stills and a link.


Coraline had everything a decent movie should have: a great style, deep characters, a major conflict that the audience feels invested in, humor, eeriness, and a clever talking cat. The only thing I'd change about it is I'd speed up the first half of the movie, and slow down the second half; the beginning really dragged on and the end felt very rushed. But, overall, I would give Coraline a 9 out of 10. Actually, a 9.5 out of 10 because of the Pixar connection.

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Winnie-the-Pooh Returns to the Hundred Acre Wood

It was over 80 years ago that A.A. Milne wrote The House at Pooh Corner, his second book based upon a lovable bear (which, in turn, was based on his son's stuffed bear). It was the two original books written by A.A. Milne and illustrated by E.H. Shepard that created the characters we know most commonly today as Disney's. But the only true spirit of Pooh and his friends are found in the original, wonderful books from the 1920s.


Now there will be another Pooh book. No not a cartoon-y Disney commissioned sequel, but one authorized by Milne and Shepard's estates; it is the first authorized sequel that will continue the original storyline created by Milne. It is tentatively titled Return to the Hundred Acre Wood and will be written by David Benedictus (who has converted the Pooh books to audio CD) and illustrated by Mark Burgess. According to the Telegraph, the man in charge of Milne's estate has said the following:

We have been hoping for a good many years that we might one day be able to offer the world a sequel which would do justice to the original Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

We believe that David Benedictus and [illustrator] Mark Burgess have captured the spirit and quality of those original books.

We hope that the many millions of Pooh enthusiasts and readers around the world will embrace and cherish these new stories as if they had just emerged from the pen of A. A. Milne himself.

I hope that this new book will do the original Pooh books justice, as they are very good stories. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney and their depictions of Winnie the Pooh, but with their recent CG attempt at Winnie the Pooh with Christopher Robin being replaced with a girl is, quite frankly, terrible. I love the original series The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, but I don't think that anything will replace Milne's classic Winnie the Pooh stories.

The book is planned for release on October 5, 2009, setting it up for potentially lucrative Christmas sales.


Source: The Telegraph

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Film Pushed Back Almost 9 Months

Briefly: The film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was scheduled for release in November of this year. Today, however, Warner Bros. announced that the movie has been pushed back to a release in July of 2009! The 9-month push back was caused by multiple things, including the fact that Warner Bros. is still experiencing setbacks from the writers' strike, and they want to be apart of the summer movie season (which is the most lucrative time of the year for movies). Filming is done, but they just don't feel like this November is the right time to release, I guess. As you know, the preview is already out:

Source: Reuters

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