Monday, July 24, 2017

So Long....


Hello again.

It's been rather quiet around here for the past while. Recent developments have made it more difficult to maintain a blog and give it the attention it needs, thus Pixar Corner fell into an unscheduled hiatus for the past year. I have been inactive on social media this year as well, so as to dedicate more time towards tending to other aspects of my life.

I don't want to leave this site collecting dust when I know I can no longer take care of it as well as I used to. As such, I have made the decision to close the book on Pixar Corner. However, I'm not about to go without first reminiscing and showing a bit of gratitude. So apologies in advance, I may get rather sentimental.

This blog has been an adventure beyond my wildest dreams, surpassing anything I could have ever imagined when I first started, and I mean that quite sincerely. When I began doing this in 2010, I was an eager and excitable 11-year-old with no real sense of what journalism or blogging were. My writing was clunky, and yet by some miracle, people embraced what I was doing. I soon started getting comments from people telling me, "Great job!" and "Keep up the good work!" That meant and still means the world to me.

As time went on I continued receive comments, emails, and tweets from fellow Pixar fanatics who appreciated the blog, and it never ceased to blow my mind. This was never a professional news site by any means, just a pastime for a kid who happened to really like Pixar and animation. So the fact that I had people from around the world enjoying my little blog and going out of their way to let me know was surreal, and I am, as the Toy Story Aliens would put it, "eternally grateful." If you ever reached out to me to tell me you liked Pixar Corner and are reading this now, consider this a virtual hug. Or handshake, whichever you're comfortable with.

Another one of my favorite aspects of running this blog was getting to mingle with the minds behind many of the other Pixar blogs on the web. Where in other cases news sites of similar subject matter may regard each other as rivals and sworn enemies, the Pixar blog community is by far the friendliest group of individuals I have ever encountered on the internet. Despite being the new kid on the block (and literally being a kid, when the rest of the bloggers were adults), I was never treated like I was lesser. My interactions with fellow bloggers were never anything but delightful, and I am grateful to all of them for being so welcoming and supportive every step of the way.

A year into my blogging journey, the unimaginable continued to occur. In May of 2011 I was invited to tour the Pixar studios in Emeryville, California. Yeah, it's as ridiculous as it sounds. I was twelve years old at the time and felt like I had just been handed the Holy Grail. Looking back, it's even more mind-boggling now. I had grown up admiring the studio from afar, watching behind-the-scenes material on the films' DVDs and dreaming about how great it would be to visit the place where the magic happens. Needless to say, walking through those doors and into the studio atrium was unlike anything I have ever experienced, and a moment I will never forget.

Two years later, I was blessed with the opportunity to tour Pixar Canada in Vancouver, before it sadly closed its doors a few months later. That visit was every bit as fulfilling as Emeryville. The people I met there were unbelievably warm and encouraging, giving me inside looks at how the films are made and even telling me they liked my blog. There I was, standing amidst artists who I look up to and whose work I love, and they were complimenting me on something I had done. I've gone on and on about it time and again, but it was surreal, to say the least.

I'd like to give a sincere thank you to Pixar publicist Chris Wiggum for graciously supporting the blog and showing me around the studio all those years ago. A heartfelt thank you also goes out to Pixar Canada's General Manager/Vice President until its closing, Amir Nasrabadi, who helped make my studio visits happen and was incredibly kind and supportive as well. Thank you, Chris and Amir, for making a wide-eyed kid's dreams come true.

A big thank you goes out to Paul Robin as well, who designed the Pixar Corner logo and header, as well as several delightfully clever seasonal headers, which you can still view under the "seasonal headers" section of the site. Thank you for sprucing up this blog with your creativity, Paul.

On that note, I guess I'll wrap this up. It's bittersweet writing this, but I am so very thankful for all the opportunities this blog has brought about in the past seven years, and the people I have encountered because of it. I realized a childhood dream, improved my writing, and even met my best friend in the world, all thanks to a silly little Pixar blog. Thank you to everyone who ever stopped by and to all those who supported me along the way.

So long, partners.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

First Official 'Cars 3' Poster Released

Right on the heels of the chilling teaser trailer last week, Yahoo! Movies has premiered the first official poster for Pixar's upcoming Cars 3.


Sporting the film's tagline "From this moment, everything will change," the striking poster captures the intense moment from the trailer that shook the world and traumatized children. Like the trailer, this poster is visually stunning and seems to serve as a powerful metaphor for the trials McQueen will face in the next chapter of his life.

Pixar Planet France also stumbled across a more vibrant international poster for the film, featuring McQueen—no longer in mortal danger—speeding across a beach.


See Lightning McQueen back in action next summer when Cars 3 hits theaters on June 16!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

McQueen Is a Wreck in 'Cars 3' Teaser Trailer


The first teaser trailer for Cars 3 was finally released on Monday. Those expecting more of the lighthearted antics of McQueen and Mater that have become a staple of the franchise may be in for a bit of a shock, however....



Looks like McQueen is in for a rough time in this threequel.

Unlike most of Pixar's teasers, which are usually pretty jovial, this one is bleak and humorless. The colors are muted. There is no dialogue, no jokes. Only a (gorgeously animated) race, which echoes the opening scene of the original Cars, and a very intense crash, which also harks back to Doc and the King's accidents in the first film.

One thing is certain; this teaser did its job because it has everyone talking about Pixar's next movie. Though the Cars franchise is often shunned and labelled as the inferior runt of the studio's prestigious library of films, the new 50-second teaser has set the internet ablaze, amassing over 4 million views in its first 24 hours and nabbing the #1 spot on YouTube's trends.

Cars 3 races into theaters next summer on June 16.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

'Finding Dory' Gets A Final Trailer


As Pixar gears up to finally release Finding Dory in just 17 days, the studio released a final trailer for the highly anticipated sequel last week, offering fans one last glimpse at the film before it swims into theaters. Check it out below.



Two clips from the film were also released, featuring the surfer sea turtle Crush, voiced again by director Andrew Stanton and newcomer Hank the septopus, voiced by Ed O'Neil.




All signs point to this being yet another delightful and heartfelt entry into the Pixar catalog, one which hopefully does right by its predecessor. In any case, it will be great just to see Marlin, Nemo, and Dory on the big screen again for the first time in over a decade. Today, coincidentally, marks the 13th anniversary of Finding Nemo.

Finding Dory hits theaters on June 17. You can buy tickets now!

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Another Year in the Bag


Though it certainly doesn't feel like it, today marks six years since I started writing this little blog. It seems like just yesterday I was an eager 11-year-old with a passion for Pixar, animation, and storytelling, counting down the days until Toy Story 3. Today, I am an eager 17-year-old with a passion for Pixar, animation, and storytelling, counting down the days until Finding Dory. In that sense, not much has changed, but this blog has paved the way for a lot of personal growth. I think it's safe to say that I am a much more capable writer now than I was six years ago (you can look back at my earlier posts and judge for yourself). Above all, running Pixar Corner has shown me the value of hard work and has also granted me the chance to connect with some remarkable people. The Pixar and animation fan communities are among the most amiable and encouraging that I have ever encountered, and it is always a pleasure to interact with a fellow animation enthusiast.

I regret that, as of late, I've not been able to dedicate nearly as much time to the blog as I would like, but I intend to clear up my schedule soon so I can return to blogging regularly, as I really do enjoy it. Every step of the way has been delightful, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

I say essentially the same thing every time the blog's anniversary comes along, but I can't stress enough how grateful I am for all the support I have received these past six years. Truly, every word of encouragement has stuck with me and has motivated me to keep going. Thanks for stopping by.