Monday, April 25, 2011

Even More on 'Cars 2'...


After the wild week that led up to Easter, I find myself having to post yet another link round-up to catch up on all the amazing news I've missed recently! I'm sorry to my loyal readers. My life has been a bit upside-down lately... But have no fear!! Normal posting has returned, and you can expect many more posts from Disney, etc.

But, for now, here are lots of awesome links (and commentary) so that you (and I) can catch up on everything we might have missed.


Stitch Kingdom has posted a ton of new Cars 2 stuff, including almost 1,000 new characters, some fun facts about the film, and some minor spoilers. Check it out here.

Also over at SK is a collection of brand new Cars 2 concept art and a series of panels showing how the development of a shot progresses--from storyboard (like the image at the top of this post) to final film.

AWN has a great interview with Lasseter all about Cars 2.


Denise Ream, producer of Cars 2, discusses the film in a recent interview with Collider. She discusses how Cars 2 is the most effects-heavy film ever attempted at Pixar. Having seen the trailers and considering the epicness of the premise, this doesn't surprise me in the least...

TPB has a tip-off that Giacchino, everyone's favorite composer, might be doing the underscoring for the short attached to next year's Pixar flick Brave. This sounds about right... Go Giacchino!!

Also at TPB is info about the awesome trip taken by the creative team at Pixar as research for the foreign escapades of Cars 2.


Finally, if you happen to be in or near Walt Disney World around May 13-15, be sure to check out Pixar weekend in Epcot! Speakers include Jonas Riviera and Michael Giacchino (!), but there will be plenty more activities, including Meet and Greets, fun activities for kids, and an awesome Pixar-themed topiary.


That's all the Pixar news I could scrounge up for you, my beloved reader. As I've said before, the more I see about Cars 2, the more excited I am. It looks like it will be a large-scale, exciting, fun action movie. Let's just hope it's got the touching Pixar heart we've all come to love and expect.

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

'Cars 2' Updates! (Epic Triptych, Giacchino, Posters, and more.)


Sorry that there haven't been any posts recently. News has been slow and I have been busy . . . Luckily, I've managed to scrounge together some great Cars 2 updates for your reading pleasure.

The first but of news can be found at the top of this post. That epic bit of Cars 2 art is a super awesome triptych, released several days ago on the film's Apple Trailers page here. There are over 400 posed characters and it took 5 months to complete. Read all about it at The Fan Carpet here. So cool . . .


Head on over to MovieWeb to read this awesome Michael Giacchino interview (Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Up, Lost, Star Trek, and much more). He discusses working for Pixar, why the studio stands out from the crowd, and also his inspirations for Cars 2 (the soundtrack for which is available for pre-order, by the way). I am very glad that Mr. Giacchino is doing the score for Cars 2--he really lets the subject matter influence his music, so I am very excited to see how he incorporates Japanese, Italian, and British musical motifs into the unified soundtrack. Should be excellent, as all of his stuff is. I am also very excited to hear his score for Super 8, The Ballad of Nessie, the upcoming reboot of Star Tours, John Carter of Mars, and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol . . . sheesh. Does this guy ever sleep?!

Some more British characters have been announced for the flick.


The final bit of news is the releasing of the above two vintage posters. They feature scenes from the British segments of the film, and are super cool. Especially the one on the right.

Cars 2 will be released on June 24 later this year.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Forbes: Scrooge McDuck wealthiest fictional character in 2011

Forbes has recently compiled a list of the top 15 wealthiest fictional characters, as of 2011, taking into account inflation, the resources they own, etc.

Scrooge McDuck is at the top of the list at $44.1 billion, having made a killing this past year as the price of gold has soared 30%. (McDuck's #1 status reminded me to become, once again, excited beyond belief about this.)

Others on Forbes' list include Mr. Burns, Artemis Fowl, and Tony Stark.

See the entire list here.

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Monday, April 11, 2011

Pixar POP! figures to enter Disney Stores, empty my wallet

To the left of this text is a POP! figure, and it is planning to steal my hard-earned cash as I type this sentence.

At just four inches tall, it's adorably simple and, of course, lovingly Pixarian. It is one piece of a more massive collection of POP! figurines, including Woody, Buzz, Mike Wazowski, Mickey Mouse, and Maleficent, with "Incredibles, Lotso, Boo, Jack Skellington, Minnie Mouse, Belle, Steamboat Willie, the Beast, and more surprises" set to come.

Some Pixar and Disney bobble heads are expected to pop up in a similar style, as well.

Wave One of these beauties, which includes the mentioned Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story characters, as well as mickey and Maleficent, is expected to hit North American Disney Stores and DisneyStore.com this May.

Oh boy . . . !

Source: Pixar Talk

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DCA's 'Little Mermaid' gets some music



Watch the above video. It's a very interesting look at the process behind the score for California Adventure's upcoming attraction Ariel's Undersea Adventure. It includes some never-before-seen looks at the attraction, which is currently in the final stages of construction.

This ride is gonna be awesome. (Although I don't know about that creepy King Triton animatronic . . . )

It is, of course, apart of Disney's total revamp and renovation of the sorry little stepbrother to Disneyland in California. I'll be heading down to LA later this summer, excited to see more of the changes! . . .

Lookin' good, Imagineers. Lookin' real good . . .

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Saturday, April 9, 2011

NYTimes talks Muppets

Today, the New York Times posted a very interesting article about the upcoming Muppets film.

The article discusses the fact that Kermit and his pals, who have most likely been shoved aside in favor of more computer-generated characters, haven't had a decent hit since The Muppet Movie 32 years ago. If this next film (called, quite simply, The Muppets) is a flop, the Muppets may be gone forever. After all, having something that doesn't make money is bad business.

Before this film got the greenlight, the world's favorite banjo-playing frog was stuck doing theme park gigs and viral videos, but now he has a shot. And, so far, it looks promising. You have to remember that the Muppets were made to act as if they were real, and play to an adult audience. For that reason, it is a very good sign that Nick Stoller and Jason Segal (Get Him to the Greek, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) are the upcoming film's screenwriters. They know a thing or two about adult humor, which is meant to be in Muppet films.


The film features Amy Adams and Jason Segal bringing a new Muppet, Walter, to Hollwood in search of Muppet Studios. The studio is broken down, but Kermit is willing to get the gang back together for a big fundraising variety show!

The plot sounds rather cliche, but I don't care. I'm sure it'll be awesome once the Muppets take hold of it. And, although the script is very simple, it sounds like lots of awesome add-ons made their way into it, such as a massive song-and-dance number that shut down Hollywood Boulevard for two days. Or tons of celebrity cameos, including Neil Patrick Harris (!), Ricky Gervais, Zach Galifianakis, Alan Arkin, Emily Blunt, Lady Gaga, Danny Trejo, and Dave Grohl. You surely know that I'm not one to drool over the star power of a picture, but come on! Neil, Ricky, and Zach!? In one movie with the Muppets?! How much better could it get? Maybe the fact that a Toy Story short comes before it!?!

OK. Sorry. I'm calm . . .

Needless to say, I love the Muppets. You love the Muppets. Everyone loves the Muppets. In fact, I am having serious trouble figuring out why Disney has waited so long to release a huge Muppets movie like this. Hollywood is obsessed with already-established characters, and it seems like a no-brainer to do a big budget Muppets movie.

Oh well, at least we're finally getting one; hopefully with more to come. Let's all hope, for the sake of future Muppets films and things, that this movie makes Disney lots and lots of money . . .

Read the full article here, and do your part on November 23 later this year and go buy three hundred tickets to The Muppets.

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Pixar's 25th gets fan art


Planet-Pulp is a new art gallery blog by Jayson Weidel for showcasing awesome fan art. Each month they have a different theme for artists, and this month's theme is Pixar, in honor of the studio's 25th anniversary.

After the jump you will find the ones I liked the best. Or, look at the whole collection here.













Aren't those great?! Too bad they aren't selling prints . . . Or maybe it's a good thing, 'cause I'd be flat broke if they were.

Keep checking Planet-Pulp for awesome, themed fan art. Next month's theme is Saturday Morning TV and the month of May is Star Wars!

Source: /Film

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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Five New 'Winnie-the-Pooh' Clips


Hot on the heels of news about Winnie-the-Pooh's soundtrack, I have found five brand new clips from the upcoming film (well, four from the film and one featurette). Rather than embedding all of them here and muddying everything up forever, I will just give you some nice, easy-to-handle hyperlinks . . .

Eeyore's New Tael

Pooh Wanders to the Next Paragraph

Film's Introduction (dubbed in German)

Untitled Clip (also dubbed in German)

Disney movie Preview for Pooh

The film will be released later this year on July 15. Read more about it here.

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Listen to the 'Pooh' Soundtrack Now!

Here is a link to the French Disney website, on which you can, for a limited time, stream the entire Winnie-the-Pooh soundtrack!! It is a bit finnicky and takes a bit to load, but it is totally worth it!! When before I thought there was no way for me to become more excited for the movie, they have to go and release an amazing soundtrack like this, which makes me exponentially more excited.

Not only does it include Zooey Deschanel, as I giddily and previously reported, but it also includes the musical stylings of M. Ward (the "Him" in the group She & Him)!! This is such exciting news, I can't even explain how exciting it is . . . I listen to She & Him and M. Ward's solo stuff at least twice a week, usually more. Seeing that they are going to be teaming with Disney on Winnie-the-Pooh is making me, in fact, freak out.

Listen to the soundtrack (which will be available to purchase on July 12) now while you have the chance, and then go and see the sure-to-be-awesome Winnie-the-Pooh this July 15!

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Monday, April 4, 2011

Pixar Studio Story: Tia Quits!



Watch the above video, just released on Disney/Pixar's YouTube channel, all about some awesome April Foolin' pranks that go down at Pixar Animation Studios.

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'Cars 2' Viral campaign



Above you will find a viral advertisement for Cars 2 released by Pixar. What on the surface appears to be a low-quality commercial for a cheesy Emeryville Car Company is actually a clue that leads to, what Mr. Lasseter calls, in sticking with the subject matter of Cars 2, "top secret" footage from Cars 2.


The video, which is accessible through cars-n-deals.com, was recently promoted at WonderCon in San Francisco.

I won't spoil the fun of finding the link for you. You'll just have to watch the above video and keep an eye out for the clue (or call the phone number if you get really stumped) . . .

(Oh, and see if you can find the awesome Pixar Easter Egg in the ad, too!)

Don't worry if it takes you a few minutes to find the clue. Especially because the secret clip is totally worth it. Trust me. After seeing that clip, I am no longer skeptical about the awesomeness of Cars 2 (which is now pretty much a certainty).

Boy oh boy do I love viral marketing campaigns . . .

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Unkrich in TIME's 'Influential People' Poll

Any of you who thought that TS3's award season had run dry are gravely mistaken. Everyone's favorite Toy Story 3 director, Lee Unkrich, has been nominated for yet another award: TIME Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential People of 2011!


Fellow nominees include Lady Gaga, Mark Zuckerberg, and Barack Obama. Currently, Mr. Unkrich is 32nd out of 203 nominees, beating out Kanye West, Christian Bale, Oprah, George Clooney, and Christopher Nolan, as well as 171 other high profile celebrities, government officials, etc.

Help a Pixarian make the list of TIME's Top 100 Most Influential People of the Year by voting for Lee here.

See the current results of the poll here.

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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Deschanel Meets Pooh



The above video is a short featurette recently released by Walt Disney Animation Studios discussing the music for their upcoming film Winnie-the-Pooh. Songs for the film will be provided by one of my favorite actresses and singers, Zooey Deschanel. You may remember her as the female lead of Elf and (500) Days of Summer, and the lead singer of the super awesome band She & Him.

Listen to a preview for the brand new song So Long, by Zooey made just for Pooh, in the video above. Never-before-seen footage from the film can be seen in the video, too!

The film will be released on July 15 later this year, and now I am even more excited to see it since one of my favorite musical artists is providing the music... Oh boy!

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