Above you will find the trailer for the upcoming film Hop, starring Russell Brand. Oh, and its by the guys who did Despicable Me Looks like it might some sorta funny jokes. Like a rabbit that poops jelly beans.
Heh.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
'Hop' Trailer
'Pooh' Wrapped
As of this past Friday, February 10, Walt Disney Animation Studios' newest hand-drawn film Winnie-the-Pooh is in the can! Production has been wrapped, and now all that's left is a bunch of marketing and several months of waiting...
Although I don't entirely agree with their decision to release the film on the same day as the sure-to-be-blockbuster Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, I think it's still gonna be a smash hit--everybody loves Winnie-the-Pooh and Eeyore and Piglet, and seeing the refreshing return to the classic animation of the beloved Pooh cartoons of decades ago will lure both young and old audiences to theaters. Even so, the film cost under $40 million to make, and therefore its apparent that Disney doesn't need (or, frankly, expect) it to come out number one at the box office; a modest opening will easily make the film's budget back.
As if the film by itself wasn't super awesome enough, John Cleese will be narrating, Tom Kenny (Spongebob) will be providing the voice of Rabbit, and everyone's favorite elderly Pixarian, Bud Luckey, will be doing the voice for Eeyore! This is a great cast. This movie cannot come out soon enough...
The film is being directed by Stephen Anderson (Meet the Robinsons) and Don Hall and is set to be released on July 15, 2011.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
'Superman Classic'
Robb Pratt, animator on Pocohontas and Tarzan, recently released the above animated short, Superman Classic, and it is just great. The animation style is a joy to watch, the dialogue is pretty darn funny (especially the line, "Can I help it when my bladder gets a little Silly Susan when I get nervous?"), and the music from the original Superman serials adds a lot. Watch it above, and then hear Rob Pratt discuss how and why he made it . . .
We want more of this, Robb!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Brad Bird Officially Quits Animation (...kind of)
This past Sunday, the Annie Awards, an annual ceremony for the animation community, was held in Los Angeles. And, as was feared and predicted among us Pixar-lovers, DreamWorks Animation took home almost all of the awards, leaving just one for Pixar (Best Short - Day & Night).
Bigger news than that, however, is that Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and The Iron Giant, has officially quit the business of animation forever . . . well, sort of. Watch the hilarious video embedded above to see what I mean--it is his acceptance speech for the coveted Windsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award. (Oh, and jump to 4:30 for the actual speech.)
Great stuff!
Friday, February 4, 2011
A Great Interview with Guillermo
Guillermo Del Toro recently talked with NY Times' Daniel Zaleweki. The main focus of their discussion concerns his upcoming film At the Mountains of Madness, an adaptation of a classic story by H.P. Lovecraft which is being produced by James Cameron, but it also covers The Hobbit, Frankenstein, and even his childhood. The entire interview is incredibly interesting--the way it's written makes it feel like you're reading a detailed and flowing narrative instead of a simple interview.
It's easier for you to just read it than for me to try and explain it. Read it here.
Oh, and for a laugh, look at the below photo, which features Del Toro enjoying a Lakers game with famed DreamWorks dude Jeffrey Katzenberg. Although I hate seeing ol' Guillermo fraternizing with the enemy, it is an interesting dynamic to picture in your head...
Two Super Bowl Spots: 'Rango' and 'Kung Fu Panda 2'
Briefly: Above and below you will find Super Bowl spots for two animated films that I am very much looking forward to: Rango and Kung Fu Panda 2, respectively. Expect to see epic trailers for Pirates and Cars 2 during the big game on Sunday, too.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Happy Birthday Pixar! (with Link Round-up!)
It was 25 years ago today that the best movie studio of all-time officially came into being. Above you will find their original logo--it would soon be replaced, however, by a cute little lamp named Luxo, Jr.
Over at Cartoon Brew you can read Pixar's full, original press release from February 3, 1986. It is very interesting to see what the studio thought of themselves then, without having known how successful and iconic they would become.
At The Pixar Blog you can read the wonderful story of Pixar's creation from David A. Price, author of The Pixar Touch.
Anywho, in honor of Pixar's illustrious 25 years (and having being my favorite film studio of all-time), here is a massive Pixar link round-up for your reading pleasure:
Probably the most exciting bit of news is that Randy Newman will perform his Oscar-nominated song from Toy Story 3, "We Belong Together," live, during the Awards ceremony on February 27. Also performing will be Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi accompanied by Alan Menken with their piece "I See the Light" from Disney's Tangled. I am much more excited for Mr. Newman's performance since, as you know, the music from Tangled didn't exactly knock my socks off, whereas I just loved all of the songs from TS3. Just writing this post got the chorus of "We Belong Together" stuck in my head . . . again.
While we're on the subject of the Academy Awards and the third Toy Story, it's worth mentioning that Lee Unkrich and Teddy Newton (director of Day & Night) will both be on-hand at a symposium at the Smuel-Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on February 24 to join all other nominees in the Animation categories in order to "discuss their films' development and their creative processes as well as present clips illustrating their techniques." Let's hope these discussions will be recorded and uploaded to the worldwide web so we can all get our Pixar-thirsty, grubby little mitts on 'em.
Now, while we're on the subject of Day & Night, it has recently won the VES (Visual Effects Society) Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short. It is no surprise that the short won for its visual effects--it definitely broke several barriers in the field by combining classic 2D animation techniques with the world of CG... TS3 was also nominated, but lost to How to Train Your Dragon.
Above, you will find a picture of Tom Hanks recording his voice for an upcoming Toy Story Toons short, most definitely the short that will be attached to Cars 2, whose synopsis can be found here. He is surrounded by the energetic crew of animators (turned directors): Angus McClane, Bobby Podesta, and Scott Clark.
Speaking of Pixar shorts, in a recent interview with AWN, Reher of Pixar, leaked some info about future Pixar shorts. Reher told AWN that:
Read the rest of the larger discussion with Newton, Reher, and Wellins for more interesting tidbits on Pixar, their short films, and the overall process.It's funny, the new film we're finishing production on now, which will be attached to Brave in 2012, it's three characters and two sets, and man, how easy it is. It's different, there're no gags…It's beautiful, it's lyrical, it's very different from all the other ones. It's amazing how easy it can be when you just have 3 characters and 2 sets."
It has long been said by many that Lee Unkrich looks like Office regular Andy Bernard (played by the always-funny Ed Helms). To secure any and all suspicions, Mr. Unkruch went to the set of The Office and took the above photo, tweeting: "Amazing day visiting set of The Office. How is it that all these people are so incredibly cool and friendly? Reminded me of Pixar." This is not the first time that Pixar and The Office have united--Woody and Up and numerous other Pixar-related themes and characters have made their way onto the show in the past. Being a huge Pixar and Office fan, I think it is all very, super cool.
That's all the Pixar news out there for now! (Unless you call the constant "leaking" of new Cars 2 characters news. If that's the case, head over to TPB for the scoop).
Once again, Happy Birthday, Pixar! It's been 25 wonderful years of great films, whimsical stories, and truly timeless characters.
I cannot wait to see what the next 25 years will bring . . .
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