With Cars 2 coming out tomorrow, everyone's already setting their sights on the next Pixar flick, Brave.
At the top of the post you'll find the first official still from the film, released by Pixar in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. Expect a hi-res version soon.
Queen Elinor
Lord Macintosh
The Wise Woman
Princess Merida
More exciting then that pic, though, is the above concept art, offering a look at some characters we've yet to see. Very cool! What a wonderful style.
Also, the official Brave site has gone live at Disney.com/Brave. Not much content yet, but worth a look.
Brave comes out exactly one year from yesterday, on July 22, 2012.
Dutch Animation blog Animatie unearthed the above still from Brave. It's our first look at a fully-rendered Princess Merida, which matches concept art we saw back in March.
The still is presumably taken from the upcoming teaser for the film, which will be attached to Cars 2 later this summer on June 24.
Big news! The geniuses behind Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run are developing a brand new, clay adventure all about pirates!
It is based on Gideon Defoe's book The Pirates! In an Adventure With Scientists (which will also be the film's title in the UK), and will be titled The Pirates! Band of Misfits for it's US release. The film is being headed by Chicken Run director and Aardman co-founder Peter Lord. It will feature the voice talents of Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, and Brendan Gleeson.
No word on a release date for the film yet, but I can't wait to see it. I grew up loving Wallace and Gromit, and there's just something about Aardman's style, and clay stop-motion altogether that just gets to me--it is so stylized and awesome! Expect more news about this in the coming months . . .
The Ballad of Nessie is an upcoming, traditionally-animated Disney short. The film will be a take on the classic Loch Ness Monster story, and will be attached to Winnie-the-Pooh on July 15 later this year.
Above and below you will find the brand new, hi-res stills from the short, which is being headed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (How To Hook Up Your Home Theatre and Prep and Landing). Some of my favorite animators are involved in the project, including Andreas Deja and Mark Henn.
This looks great! As if I didn't need another reason to be excited for Winnie-the-Pooh!! I am so glad that Disney is re-embracing the wonderful art form of traditional animation. It is just so great to look at and watch . . . Is it July yet!?
For more info on the interesting production methods behind the short, check out this great post from Cartoon Brew.
Above you will find a full, extended, super awesome trailer for Pixar's upcoming film Cars 2. Below, you will find a collection of just-released stills. Click to massively embiggen. . .
And here is the pièce de résistance, a collection of retro Cars 2 posters (courtesy of Empire), straight from Emeryville, California. Click these to embiggen, too. . . Boy oh boy, would I want a print of that London poster for my wall.
I'm still questioning Cars 2. As I've been saying all along, it looks like it has great characters, spectacular animation, and even a cohesive plot, but I just don't see any room for the coveted "Pixar heart" that they've had in every film since Luxo, Jr. But I'm not going to pass judgment on the film just yet. If anyone's earned my trust and respect, it's Pixar. I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt until I see the film later this year.
No, your monitor isn't broken. The image to the left is accurate and real--a team at National Geographic created Carl Fredricksen's house and tied 300 helium-filled weather balloons to it!! Although the house wasn't actual size, it was still fairly large at 16 by 16 feet, and flew at an altitude of 10,000 feet for over an hour.
This is quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen.
This was done for a new National Geographic TV series, How Hard Can it Be?
Since Disney, etc.'sposting has been on a temporary hiatus as of late, this shall be a massive link round-up summarizing all of the important Disney, Pixar, entertainment, and "everything in-between" news from the last few weeks. Enjoy....
At the top of this post, you will find some wonderful mash-up art from DeviantArt user iamclu, courtesy of HeyUGuys. It is just awesome, ain't it?...
Rumors that a Toy Story short will be attached to Cars 2 have been all but confirmed. After it was leaked that the next short will include Ken and Barbie going to Hawaii, Mike at The Pixar Blogdid some very thorough investigating and discovered an Amazon.com product page for a picture book based on the short. Here's the synopsis:
Bonnie is off to Hawaii, and Barbie and Ken are excited to go along on their first tropical vacation! But when they're accidentally left behind, it's up to Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the toys to create a Hawaiian paradise right in Bonnie's room.
Based on the latest animated short featuring the toys from Disney/Pixar Toy Story, this full-color storybook includes punch-out postcards that girls and boys ages 3-7 will love sending to their friends!
Read all about the short and its synopsis at The Pixar Blog here or Amazon here.
Above you will find a video tribute, The Beauty of Pixar, by Leandro Copperfield, who says that "Pixar's films have always been important in my life." It is a very well-edited video, and will remind you just how great Pixar is.
As we get further and further into this Awards season, more news of the Oscars are being leaked and announced. Recently, Variety has reported that Disney will not enter Randy Newman's Toy Story 3 scoreinto the running for Best Original Score. Instead, they will focus their efforts on promoting his tune We Belong Together for Best Original Song. It really is a great song, and helps to lighten the mood of the film while it plays during the closing credits. Not only that, but it is a great song on its own. It definitely deserves one o' them little gold guys. Also, I think it is a smart move for Disney not to enter Newman's score--there are tons of great scores this year, and I doubt the Academy would vote for a score that is simply (yet expertly) an extension of two already-existing scores.
You may have heard of Disney's brilliant "For Your Consideration" ad campaign for where they are comparing stills from Toy Story 3 to past Best Picture winners including The Sting, Lord of the Rings, The Sound of Music, Platoon, Shakespeare in Love, and Slumdog Millionaire, among others. They are very funny, and I hope they manage to snag Pixar the Best Picture nom and, with some luck, the award itself. Go to the Disney Awards site here to see the newly-released series of advertisements, as well as an additional (and boldly hilarious) one here.
Current accolades for Toy Story 3 include: being at the top of Moviefone's list of the best films from 2010, being at the top of Rotten Tomatoes' list of the best films from 2010, being on Quentin Tarantino's list of the best films of 2010 as well as Edgar Wright's top 5 list, a Golden Globe nom for Best Animated Feature, being one of the films honored on AFI's list of the top ten films of 2010, and being at the top of Time Magazine's list of the best films from last year. With all of that under its belt, how can you say that it won'twin that Best Picture Oscar? I think it will. It just has to...
While we're on the topic of Pixar, it's worth noting that the U.S. Postal Service has announced that later this year, a collection of commemorative Pixar stamps will be released. They'll be in sheets of twenty, include the above five designs, and instead of having a set value, they'll be valid for every first-class letter forever. Expect to see them on August 19 later this year.
Above, you will find a behind-the-scenes video for the upcoming animated film Rango. The short video, which features Johnny Depp, is very interesting, showing how director Gore Verbinski coached the voice actors while also incorporating their movements into a type of mo-cap/animation hybrid. It's really quite interesting...
The headline How Disney Designed The Military's Electromagnetic Launch System says enough about this article. A bizarre, surprising, and thoroughly engaging read... Check it out here.
In an interview with Collider, David Fincher let loose the information that his upcoming remake/adaptation 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea will be in 3D. Although I hate 3D with a fiery passion, I am very, very excited to see a version of Jules Vernes classic story told with modern effects by one of my favorite directors. Read the full interview here.
Tron: Legacy was visually-stunning, but was quite under-whelming. The story was weak, the acting was dry (although I appreciated seeing Jeff Bridges returning to a Dude-type philosophy on the big screen), and the overall feel of the movie just didn't do justice to its original counterpart. I couldn't even follow the Light Cycle scene well enough to enjoy it! I certainly agree with RT's 49%. However, it is doing decently at the box office, having made over $130 million so far. They still need $40 million more to make their money back, but I'm sure that they will...
Let's conclude this New Year's link round-up with a bang. Watch the above video of the "Fountains and Fireworks" show that was shown at Disney's California Adventure a couple of nights ago...
And that's all there is to post about for now! You are now completely up-to-date on all Disney, Pixar, entertainment, and everything in-between news. I hope you enjoyed it, and be sure to keep checking your favorite blog for all of the best news...
Above you will find the very first still from Pixar's next feature film, Cars 2, opening June 24, 2011.
Check out the new official synopsis for the film here.
That synopsis makes me a tad bit skeptical. The plot seems too...normal? I'm not sure. It seems like a gimmicky premise that we'd see in a DVD spin-off or something like that. But we'll see; I won't pass any judgments just yet, especially with master story man John Lasseter on hand to direct.
Here's a gorgeous new poster for the film. And, also, stay tuned for the brand new Cars 2 trailer, debuting tomorrow at 11 AM ET/8 AM PT at Disney.com/Cars. (The trailer is also set to show before Disney's Tangled.)
(P.S. Sorry for the lack of posting lately. My internet and computer have been on the fritz this past week. But fear not! Regular posting will resume shortly...)
The Toy Story 3 Blu-ray has been officially released, and I'm planning to watch the complete trilogy back-to-back-to-back this weekend. It's gonna be awesome.
Anyways, to coincide with the release of the Blu-ray and DVD, Disney has released a few things online for our viewing pleasure.
The first is this set of previews, letting you in on what you'll get to see within the Bonus Features section of the Blu-ray.
Next up is a set of storyboards from the "Thrown Away" sequence in Toy Story 3. They are huge images, and slightly cleaner than I'd have expected storyboard drawings to be. Still, they get the action across effectively, and obviously did their job well:
NPR's Fresh Air conducted a wonderful interview with Lee Unkrich and Michael Arndt here. It's definitely worth a listen--if you wondered why you cried at the end of the movie (twice), this will satisfy your curiosity. They talk about everything from advances in technology, to the infamous story retreats, to how Lee thinks of his animators as his actors. Give it a listen if you've got the time. You'll enjoy it. I promise.
Also check out Ned Beatty's (voice of Lotso) recent interview with Hollywood.com here.
I also thought I'd mention this article published in the LA Times yesterday. It predicted a victory for the Conservatives at this year's midterm elections, based purely on the popularity of Toy Story 3. While I think that this theory is completely absurd, it's an entertaining op-ed piece.
Finally, Walt Disney Animation Studios has released the complete Toy Story 3 screenplay, written by Michael Arndt, for your reading enjoyment here. It is located on their "Awards" site, which also indicates the other categories that they hope Toy Story 3 will be nominated for. These include Best Original Song for Randy Newman, Best Director for Lee Unkrich, and Best Picture for Darla K. Anderson. See the complete list of potential nominations here.
I'm calling it right now: Toy Story 3 will be the first animated movie to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars. Maybe I'm just being blindly optimistic, but that's how I see it playing out. It really is the most critically-acclaimed and thehighest-grossing film of the year. It deserves Best Picture.
I loved Toy Story 3, and am now the proud owner of the complete trilogy on Blu-ray. I'm planning on watching every Toy Story, as well as every special feature, this Friday night. And I can hardly wait.
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.
Toy Story 3 is only two weeks away. Two weeks. I can hardly wait, and I know that if you're reading this post, you're very anxious to see the sure-to-be-hit this June 18, as well.
Well, in typical marketing style, Pixar has released 20 new still images from Toy Story 3. Nothing too new about them--mostly just high res versions of stills that can be seen in the trailer. Still, it's something to stare at and pass the time during these next two weeks...
Hi. My name is Adam and I love to write and to read. I shoot and go to a lot of movies. I am an avid collector of Disneyland souvenirs, Pixar stuff, celebrity photographs, and everything else.
Queen Elinor
Lord Macintosh
The Wise Woman
Princess Merida
