The Oscar Comes Home to Emeryville

The 85th Academy Awards are officially history, but will definitely not be forgotten anytime soon. I mean, come on, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe singing and dancing on a stage together? How exactly do you top that?

It was also an exciting night for Pixar, as the studio's 13th feature film Brave won them their 7th Oscar for Best Animated Feature, which just so happens to mark the 30th golden statuette the studio has ever won.

Be sure to visit this link and watch short yet exciting video of the trophy coming home to the studio in Emeryville and the crew celebrating in Pixar's giant atrium.

Congratulations Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews, Katherine Sarafian and the rest of the team!

Brave Claims the Golden Statuette

Tonight was an exciting night. At the Oscars this year, I think we had the finest selection of Best Animated Feature nominees that we've had in a long, long time. So naming one of these the best was no easy task.

My goodness. Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates!, Wreck-It Ralph, and finally Brave. All absolutely amazing films. Brave had won the BAFTA and Golden Globe, but Ralph won the Annie, so ultimately the battle was between these two.

Pixar ended up walking away with the prize and directors Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews (who, unsurprisingly, wore a kilt) came up to receive the award. Many people argued that Ralph should have won the Oscar, but personally I think both films were equally deserving - and at least Ralph won the Annie, and is still a superb and brilliant film.

Congratulations to the team at Pixar for their 7th ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and here's hoping they take home an 8th golden statuette next year for Monsters University!

Behind the Scenes of Brave

A lot of Brave clips, featurettes, and TV spots have been posted online lately, but we haven't seen much from 'behind the scenes' of the film - that is, until now.

These first two vids gives us a glimpse at what you expect to find when you go watch Brave. They include short interviews with director Mark Andrews and producer Katherine Sarafian, along with some of the cast members, Brenda Chapman, and Pixar honcho John Lasseter.

The second of these, particularly, gives us a lot of insight into all the hard work that went into making Brave. This is, after all, a film that has been in the works since 2005. This second video lasts over five minutes, and focuses on the inspiration, story, art, characters, and music of the film; all the aspects that, if done well, will make Brave a true masterpiece.

Also, you can check out these individual interviews with Kelly Macdonald (voice of Merida), Emma Thompson (Elinor), Billy Connolly (Fergus), Craig Ferguson (Lord Mactintosh), and Kevin McKidd (Lord MacGuffin/Young MacGuffin). It's really interesting to hear the cast's different thoughts on the story, film, and the characters, so I strongly recommend watching these videos.

Brave hits theaters in just eleven days!

(Hat tip to Pixar Portal)

Spectacular First Look at Brave!

It's been quite a while since we first heard that Pixar was making Brave. At the time, the film was entitled 'The Bear and the Bow', and we had only been introduced to a simplified synopsis. Finally, Entertainment Weekly got us our first good look at Pixar's first fairy tale! But it sure doesn't look like your average princess movie! Even though the main character is a princess, remember that it's Pixar making Brave, so there is no need for boys to not watch this movie! Lee Unkrich even once described it as 'gritty' in an interview. So Brave may be a fairy tale, but not your typical 'girly' princess fairy tale, but rather, a spectacular, 'gritty' adventure for all audiences.

This past October, we heard that Brenda Chapman had been replaced by Mark Andrews as director for the film. However, it appears that Chapman will still be credited as co-director for Brave. Another change that EW informed us of today is that Reese Witherspoon will not be playing the lead role in the movie as princess Merida, she has been replaced by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald. I think this change was a rather smart move, because Scotland is the setting for Brave, so it makes sense to have a Scottish actress voice a Scottish princess. Below take a look at some more beautiful concept art for the film. Dang, Pixar artists are GOOD!!!


The new, updated synopsis:

The rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland serve as the backdrop for Brave, a new tale that joins the lands’ ancient lore stories of epic battles and mystical legends passed down for generations. Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and produced by Katherine Sarafian, Brave is the grand adventure of Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald), a skilled archer who confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts to discover the true meaning of courage. The film also features the voices of Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson and Robbie Coltrane. Brave, full of heart, memorable characters and Pixar’s signature humor, takes aim at theaters on June 22, 2012, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D in select theaters.

Catch Pixar's 13th on June 22, 2012!

Awesome Pixar News Bundle!

A lot of awesome new things have been going on in the Pixar world lately (as always). Read below to find out what the awesome new things are.

-I sometimes like to save the best for last, but this was too exciting to hold off until the end. OK, here it goes. The first teaser trailer for Cars 2 has been released on the Internet! Woo Hoo! It was assumed that it would be coming for the first time on the DVD/Blu-Ray for TS3, but it came two weeks early! While I'm on the subject of Cars 2, the official website now includes the teaser trailer and some cool concept art of the film, including the art seen above and below. Also, director Brad Lewis has now been made co-director, while former co-director John Lasseter takes his spot as director. This is pretty exciting for me because I am a huge fan of John and he hasn't directed a film since the first Cars. Wow, there sure has been a lot of news about Cars 2 lately. The new trailer, Michael Giacchino is composing, John Lasseter directing...what's next? They may be having a few difficulties with the film as has been rumored, but I totally doubt Pixar will make a bad movie! I have complete faith in Pixar, and they would definitely not screw up after 11 hits! A bad Pixar movie...there is NO SUCH THING!!!


-The director has also been changed for another upcoming Pixar movie. Brenda Chapman is no longer directing Brave. However, she is not leaving Pixar, as previously assumed. Mark Andrews will be replacing her as director. This is a bit of a shocker. Brenda Chapman was going to be Pixar's first female director, and she came up with the story for Brave herself. But I'm sure whatever it is they're doing at Pixar, it's for the best.



-Just a quick announcement, The Incredibles is coming to Blu-Ray high definition next spring!