Monday Link Roundup [UPDATED]

Update: Here is the just-released Princess and the Frog official movie poster!

Here is a quick list of brief links that you oughta check out if you want to keep up with the latest Disney, Pixar, Movie, Gadget, and everything in-between news:

• Disney's upcoming 2D feature, The Princess and the Frog, has a newly released trailer! Here it is:

The Princess and the Frog looks different from what I expected, but it looks like it (hopefully) will be a great animated film. I cannot wait to see more of the Louis Armstrong-inspired character Louis the Alligator, animated by everybody's favorite lead animator Eric Goldberg, who was also the lead animator for the Genie in Aladdin.

• The LA Times has a great article documenting the history of Star Tours 2.0, the just-opened renovation to Star Tours in Anaheim.

• Upcoming Pixar has an article that discusses the line of brand new, vintage Up posters, similar to the one above.

• Here is a video of "Cluster Ballooning" that took place at Pixar as a part of Up's marketing campaign.

• DisneyStore.com has a ton of new Up merchandise, including a Dug the Dog plush, a Wilderness Explorer T-shirt, and more!

• Forbes has an interesting article about animation that I don't absolutely agree with, but it is still a good read.

• The re-release of Toy Story in 3D is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Read about it at /Film, read all about it here.

• Pixar has released their updated versions of RenderMan for Maya and RenderMan Studio.

• And, finally, the big news of the week is that Pixar is opening a new studio for shorts and other smaller Pixar projects in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada!

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The Aflac Duck Goes 'Up'

Here is the new Aflac commercial that is set to show in the U.S. starting May 9. What does this have to do with Disney? Well, the commercial includes Carl Fredricksen, his wife, and more scenes from Up! The commercial features a young Carl and his wife having financial troubles, then moves on to feature more footage about Aflac, its duck, and Up. Enjoy!

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Stephen Colbert on 'Up'

Briefly: Stephen Colbert made some very funny remarks about Up on Monday. Watch it here (after the advertisement):



Source: The Pixar Blog

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The Lasseter Family Winery

Briefly: John Lasseter is my hero. He is the head of Walt Disney Imagineering, the head of Walt Disney Animation Studios, and he is, and has been, very influential at Pixar. Everyone knows that Lasseter never does anything halfway, especially when it comes to films and their stories. Well, Mr. Lasseter isn't necessarily moving on from these dream positions at Disney, but he is starting something new that has nothing to do with film or story, but it does have to with quality . . .

Let's cut to the chase: The Lasseter Family Winery is now open for business in Glen Ellen, California. According to the official site, "the story of Lasseter Family Winery began in 1992 when John and Nancy Lasseter moved to the town of Sonoma and discovered the art of winemaking through a group of amateur winemaking friends. For them, it was a leap from appreciating wine to immersing themselves in the winemaking process."



Their winery "meets one simple goal: to produce the highest quality wine possible."

And, the best part of all, Wally B. has made an appearance in Lasseter's winery's logo!

You can order wine right this second from John Lasseter himself!

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Disney Buys Into Hulu

Briefly: Disney has recently bought into Hulu, one of the most popular video streaming sites on the internet. As of right now Disney, NBC, and News Corp all own around 27% of Hulu, with the rest falling in the hands of a private equity firm.

What does this mean to you?

Well, now Hulu will include Disney/ABC movies and TV shows for you to stream straight to your computer.

I am guessing that this inclusion of Disney into Hulu will further increase its ever-rising popularity on the net. Watch out YouTube.

Source: The Washington Post

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MORE 'Up' Clips!

Yep, we're on the final stretch. Up comes out in only 26 days. It is only a matter of weeks until we all get to sit in the dark movie theater with our popcorn, and enjoy the antics of Russell, the lovable grouchiness of Carl, the mystery of a computer-animated South America, the humor of a talking dog, and the beauty of Pixar. But, we still have to wait.

I know, I hate to wait for that, too, but we have to.

Anyways, I have some clips from Up that may cheer you up. Watching these may make it a bit easier to wait.

This first one is a short featurette, Inside Up: Dug the Talking Dog, all about everybody's favorite South American talking Dog: Dug. It is very interesting, and very funny:


This next one is on Disney.com. It is called Ditch 'Em and it is a short clip of Carl trying to escape from Russell and Kevin. Enjoy! (If you don't want to watch the Jonas Brothers first, you'll have to select the Up clip on the right)

If you are still thirsty for more Up, look at all of many articles about it. (This Pete Docter interview is especially interesting).

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Pete Docter on 'Up'

The Good 5¢ Cigar, a student newspaper at the University of Rhode Island, has a great interview with Up director, Pete Docter. read the interview here (after loading the page a few times, it requires registration to view any more articles--so read all you can right away!).


During the interview, Docter discussed how "Carl was fun because he could be a jerk and likable at the same time. He could slam the door in the kid's face and you're like, 'eh, well, he's earned that.'"

Another interesting part of the interview is when Pete Docter was asked if, since Up's main characters are human (a 1st for Pixar), the characters of Up are more easy to relate to. "Even though this might be a bug or a monster or a fish," Docter replied, "there has to be something about what they're going through that I can relate to on some level." Docter also talked about character development in Carl, and in general: "There's this weird thing where the more specific you get, the more generally it applies. If you're foggy about a character's situation then you're always looking at it at arm's length. There's something about Carl's situation that I think appeals to people in some way and that's what we're looking for in any character."


I really like that description of character development by Docter. What he says is very true, but the concept he discusses would never occur to you. Brilliant.


Pete Docter also describes several of the Pixarian's trips to Venezuela: "This one we actually got to go to South America and, right where Venezuela meets Brazil and Guyana, there's this place called Triple Point, and right on that point is this amazing, weird tabletop mountain. It's full of these weird rock shapes and it's very wind swept...It's as close as I'll ever get to going to Mars. It just felt really alien. I kind of think people are going to watch the movie and go, 'Boy you guys have an active imagination. But this is all real, it's actually there."

What a place! I can't wait to see Up to see this gorgeous, exotic place he is talking about. It sounds absolutely incredible.


There's plenty more wonderful stories and tidbits by Pete Docter, director of Up, in the interview.

Up comes out on May 29 of this year! Only 28 more days!

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