Finding Nemo Sequel In the Works?

You've probably heard the peculiar news that popped up Tuesday morning regarding a sequel to one of Pixar's most beloved films, Finding Nemo. A story by Deadline claims that Andrew Stanton (director of the original Nemo as well as Pixar's WALL-E and the recent Disney live-action film John Carter) is currently back at Pixar developing a Finding Nemo 2.

According to Deadline, Stanton hopes that by making a sequel to his Oscar-winning animated film to make up for the $200 million loss that his live-action directorial debut John Carter cost Disney (although the film's bad marketing is likely to blame, not Stanton), the company would give him another chance at directing another live-action film.

I, along with many others, find it incredibly hard to believe that Stanton would be agreeing to do a sequel to Nemo (one of the studio's finest films in my opinion) just for the sake of getting to possibly do a, say, John Carter 2. It just doesn't seem right, given that Pixar has stated it will only produce sequels if it has a story just as good as or even better than the original. Deadline does state, however, that Stanton "has a concept the studio loves", but we're still unsure about how much of this story is actually true. If we really are getting a Finding Nemo 2, however, then Andrew must have come up with a heck of a story.

The Hollywood Reporter later stated that Lindsey Collins (co-producer on WALL-E and producer of John Carter) will be producing the Nemo sequel, and that Victoria Strouse is supposedly writing. Again, nothing has been officially confirmed by neither Pixar nor Disney.

I had always somewhat dreaded the idea of a sequel to Finding Nemo, as it is a perfect stand-alone film and even has the words "the end" in its final shot, but when I think about it now, a Nemo 2 might not be quite as bad as I imagined it in the past. I am confident that Pixar has not lost its touch and still has the ability to make films that can be forever cherished by audiences around the globe, so if Andrew Stanton really does have an idea so great that it deserves to be made into a film, so be it. I have no doubt that it would be a great film. Although I would much rather see a sequel to The Incredibles, as I am sure most people would too.

Finding Nemo 2 would no doubt break box office records, possibly even beating Toy Story 3 for the title of highest-grossing animated feature of all time. After all, the original Nemo held that record until the Toy Story threequel came along in 2010.

The news of Stanton working on a Finding Nemo sequel was met with uproar on the Internet when it broke on Tuesday. Most die-hard Pixar fanatics weren't too keen on the idea of a Nemo 2, but many others seemed to be overjoyed at the idea of a sequel. "Finding Nemo 2" quickly rose to the top of the list of worldwide trends on Twitter, and stayed on there for the rest of the day. Of course, many ignorant people quickly jumped to the conclusion that Finding Nemo 2 had been officially announced, and seemed to all of a sudden think the same about a Toy Story 4 and Monsters, Inc. 2. Although we do indeed have another entry into the Monsters franchise coming next year, it's been a while since it was announced that the film would be a prequel titled Monsters University, and a teaser trailer for the upcoming film was even released last month. "Toy Story 4" and "Monsters Inc. 2" soon joined the Twitter trends list. But just to clear things up, contrary to popular belief, Toy Story 4 and Monsters, Inc. 2 are in no way whatsoever being produced at the moment.

Andrew Stanton himself soon tweeted:

"Didn't you all learn from Chicken Little? Everyone calm down. Don't believe everything you read. Nothing to see here now. ‪#skyisnotfalling"

Now this isn't entirely denying the fact that Nemo 2 isn't indeed being worked on at Pixar, but it is implying that some element of the news reported on Tuesday may not be completely true; whether it be that a Finding Nemo 2 is coming our way, or simply that Stanton is doing the film just for the opportunity to do another live-action flick.

I guess we'll have to wait for official confirmation from the studio.

Stanton and Docter Teaming Up for Short

(L-R) Pixarians Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter

Andrew Stanton, director of Pixar favorites Finding Nemo and WALL-E, has recently been working on the live-action Disney film, John Carter, in theaters March 9. This has led many to believe that, like director of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, Brad Bird,  Andrew Stanton has left the Pixar. However, he himself tweeted that he "never left Pixar" and the he "never will".

Director of Monsters, Inc. and Up, Pete Docter is currently working at Pixar directing his latest film, one that takes you "inside the human mind".

Well, how exciting is it to hear that these two geniuses are collaborating to make a new Pixar short film together? Pretty darn thrilling, right?

Here's what Mr. Stanton himself said:

Yeah. As a matter of fact I’m developing a short film with Pete Docter. There’s an idea that he and I have had for years that we are finally getting around to doing which is kind of funny. We are both way too busy, but we just love the idea of doing this one little project together and then I’ve been… I executive produce a lot of the films over there and so I spend a lot of… People keep thinking I’ve been away from there, but I actually have been on campus for the last year and a half just helping watch over other stuff, but I don’t have a feature film of my own that’s an animated Pixar film that’s coming up soon, no. That’s a ways away.

We probably won't see this short anytime soon, but at least we know it's coming, and it's very unlikely it will disappoint. How can a short film directed by Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter fail?

(via /Film)

Pixar at D23 Expo

At last, some Pixar news to share with you all.

You've probably heard of D23 Expo, often called "The Ultimate Disney Event for Fans and Families". This year, for the first time ever, Pixar will be present at the event, and it seems that it will be pretty hard to ignore Pixar's presence at D23.

Many Pixarian "celebrities" will be present at the event, such as Kelly Macdonald and Kevin McKidd from Pixar's upcoming release, Brave, Ricky Nierva, production designer for Monsters University, Jim Morris, general manager of the Pixar studios, and best of all, a group of almost all of Pixar's directors, from John Lasseter, all the way to Dan Scanlon! Not to mention, legendary Pixar composer Michael Giacchino will be there too. Wow, if I was lucky enough to be attending the event, I'd probably pass out from all the excitement.

Here is an official list of all the Pixar-related panels to enjoy at the giant event:

A Conversation with the Pixar Creative Team

Enjoy a rare opportunity to spend some time with the key figures responsible for Pixar’s unprecedented success, including John Lasseter (chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios), Jim Morris (general manager, Pixar Animation Studios), Pete Docter (director, Monsters, Inc., Up), Andrew Stanton (director, Finding Nemo, WALL-E), Bob Peterson (co-director, Up), Lee Unkrich (director, Toy Story 3), Mark Andrews (director, Brave), and Dan Scanlon (director, Monsters University).

The Characters of Monsters University

Director Dan Scanlon and Production Designer Ricky Nierva discuss how they combine hair, horns, and a lot of heart to bring the wonderful Monsters University characters to life.

Michael Giacchino’s Music of Pixar

In this musical presentation, award-winning composer Michael Giacchino explores his early influences through the creation of modern-day classic scores from Ratatouille, Up and Cars 2.

The Art of Brave

Production designer Steve Pilcher and shading art director Tia Kratter show how they and their team put paint to canvas and fingers to computer keys to create the stunning visuals of Scotland for Disney•Pixar’s upcoming film Brave.

Pixar Shorts

This retrospective screening of the animation studio’s legendary short films will be followed by a panel discussion with several of the filmmakers, including Ralph Eggleston (director, For the Birds), Andy Jimenez (director, One Man Band), Angus MacLane (director, BURN-E), Pete Sohn (director, Partly Cloudy), Teddy Newton (director, Day & Night), and Enrico Casarosa (director, La Luna).

So not only will many Pixar celebs be there, but we'll probably get our first peek at Monsters University, and see more concept art from Brave! This is sure shaping up to be one heck of an event!

Visit D23's official website for further details, and if you are interested in attending, you can buy tickets there as well.