Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters To Replace Flying Tires at Cars Land

via Disney Parks Blog

Earlier this year we learned that the Luigi's Flying Tires ride in Cars Land at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim would be closing to make way for an all-new attraction. Last month the Disney Parks Blog offered a glimpse at the Flying Tires' successor, "Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters".

Picture from my July 2015 trip to Disneyland of the walls currently surrounding Luigi's Casa Della Tires

Luigi's relatives will serve as the ride vehicles in this new attraction, which will make use of the same trackless ride technology seen in Pooh's Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland. Though no fixed date has been set yet, Rollickin' Roadsters is expected to open in early 2016.

More details and images regarding the new Cars Land ride are bound to emerge as 2016 draws closer, so stay tuned!

Luigi's Flying Tires to Be Replaced at Disneyland

For almost three years now, Cars Land has entertained millions of guests at Disney California Adventure, the second of two parks at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. Based on Pixar's Cars films, the themed area is an exact replica of Radiator Springs, the fictional town featured in the films, and is home to a variety of restaurants and gift shops, as well as three rides, one of which will be closing on Monday to make room for an updated attraction featuring new technology.

via Disney Parks Blog

Luigi's Flying Tires will close tomorrow, February 16, and be replaced by an all-new attraction in early 2016. The new currently untitled ride will introduce both a new ride system and ride vehicles. The above concept art gives us an idea of what we can expect to find occupying the space at Luigi's Casa Della Tires next year.

Though the concept behind it was certainly a fun one, Luigi's Flying Tires was the only element of Cars Land that left me rather underwhelmed when I visited Disneyland in 2013. Based on the concept art, however, the new attraction will be a worthy addition to the immersive themed land and I look forward to experiencing it.

Are you excited about the new attraction at Cars Land? Are you sad to see Luigi's Flying Tires go? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments!

Confirmed: 'Incredibles 2' and 'Cars 3' In Development

You can keep pinching yourself as many times as you like, but this is no dream. The day has finally come, ladies and gentlemen. We have been begging, pleading, and clamoring for this announcement for years now, and Pixar has finally answered our prayers today by announcing that they are indeed making Cars 3. Oh, yeah, and a certain other sequel known as, yes indeed, The Incredibles 2.

The news broke today at the annual Disney shareholders meeting, where Disney CEO Bob Iger let it slip that both sequels are indeed currently in development over at Pixar. No other details were given, leaving fans to speculate about the plots and release dates.

So it's official: The Incredibles 2 is finally happening. It's hard to believe that the original film turns 10 years old this year. Over the past decade, it seems that no sequel has been asked for more than an Incredibles sequel. Fans have constantly inquired of director Brad Bird about when we could see another film starring the family of supers, and every time he has spoken about the matter, he's said that it will only happen if he can come up with a story better than that of the original.

Recently he stated:

I love the world. I love the characters, and if I could come with a story that was as good or better than the original, I’d go there in a second. I have pieces of things that I would love to see in a sequel, but I haven’t got them all together yet, and I certainly wouldn’t want to come out there with something that is less than the original. … Sequels are not part of the business plan at Pixar. It’s all about the filmmakers being passionate about going somewhere.

Well, it looks like he's finally put those pieces together. Bird will reportedly pen the sequel's script, although it is currently unknown if he will return to the director's chair for the Parr family's second outing. It is reassuring to know he is involved in the project in some form, however, and I can definitely see him directing The Incredibles 2 once he's finished with Tomorrowland (which hits theaters next year).

The announcement comes right on the heels of yesterday's news that the original Incredibles film is being converted to 3D. No word yet on whether the film will be given a theatrical re-release once the conversion is complete, however that does seem a bit unlikely at the moment after Disney's past two 3D re-releases underperformed at the box office. But who knows, they could bring the film back to theaters in a few years in order to pump audiences up for the second installment, similar to how Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were released in 3D as a double feature a few months before Toy Story 3 hit theaters.

As for Cars 3, it was bound to happen eventually. It's obviously the less exciting of the two films announced today, but I don't see how its existence is a problem. I love the Cars universe; it's got some great characters, the first film is fantastic in my opinion, the shorts are great as well, and I still think Cars 2, while underwhelming, is decent and definitely not the piece of garbage most people claim it is. And if you've been to Cars Land at Disneyland, there's no denying that it's pretty darn impressive. Plus, who's to say the third film won't be any good? For all we know, it could be better than the second installment, and heck, it could even surpass the original! According to Michael Wallis (voice of Sheriff in the films), Cars 3 will take audiences back to Route 66 and will even include Route 99, so it seems like it will be closer in style to the first film than the second.

Overall, not a bad day in terms of Pixar news. We're finally getting the sequel everyone has been praying for, and the sequel that no one really asked for, but could still prove to be good, if not excellent.

And please, if you're still on that whole "Pixar is all about sequels now" bandwagon, do recall that there are not one, not two, but three (and probably more) completely original and very promising projects in the Pixar pipeline as well.

What do you think? Are you excited for The Incredibles 2? How excited are you for The Incredibles 2? What are your thoughts on Cars 3?

Three Mini 'Cars' Shorts to Premiere Tonight on Disney Channel

Pixar Canada has just announced via Twitter that not one, not two, but three new "shorty shorts" (titled Hiccups, Bugged, and Spinning) starring your favorite characters from Cars and Cars 2 will be debuting tonight at 8:21, 8:50, and 9:13 pm on the Disney Channel. The shorts are all directed by Jeremy Lasky and are just under 90 seconds long, but nonetheless it's always quite exciting to see more of the characters from the Cars universe.

For those who don't have access to the Disney Channel, the shorts will be posted onto Disney.com and the official Cars website on Sunday so you'll be able to catch them sooner or later.

Don't miss Hiccups, Bugged, and Spinning tonight on Disney Channel, and see them online this Sunday!

Mater Stars in Holiday TV Spot for Disneyland

As Christmas looms ever closer, everyone is beginning to get into the holiday spirit, including the Disneyland Resort. This new TV spot released earlier this month stars Cars' Mater posing as Santa Claus while being pulled by his team of reindeer - no, tractors...reintractors, as he flies over some of the newest parts the resort, including Cars Land, while he sings his own rendition of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland".

It's a nice little commercial, it sure makes me want to visit Anaheim; I know for a fact that Disneyland is gorgeous at Christmastime, this TV spot gives you just a small lick of everything that's in store.

Expect to see a new seasonal logo up on the blog soon! Christmas is just around the corner...

Pixar Fan Videos

You never know what the creative fans of Pixar will create...

A couple of weeks ago, the same dudes who are working on the ambitious project of transforming the first Toy Story into live-action posted their live-action take on the heartbreaking yet heartwarming finale scene from Toy Story 3. They did an unbelievable job:

Also, Toystructor, a reader of this blog, emailed this fantastic video of a remote-controlled Mater crashing into a wall of Jenga blocks - in slow motion. Everything is cool in slow motion, but this...this will blow your mind.

It's amazing what all the imaginative folks out there can create, don't you think?

Behold the Awesome Cars Die-Cast Exhibit!

There's a pretty astonishing exhibit going on right now over at the Peterson Automotive Gallery in Los Angeles. It's called "From Silver Screen to Die-Cast: Disney-Pixar Cars Imagined by Mattel". It is essentially an exhibition of every single Cars, Cars Toon, and Cars 2 die-cast car ever made. Being both a big Cars fan and a Cars die-cast collector, I would not miss a chance to get into this spectacular exhibit!

And it features more than just little collectible cars. There is even a section that educates people on the history and evolution of Cars die-cast packaging! The astounding 1:55 scale fully-animated Lightning McQueen ALIVE toy also makes an appearance.

There are also some sweet recreations of famous Cars posters and movie scenes using the die-casts, along with a car-shaped shelf filled with more die-casts! Another section of the exhibition focuses on extremely rare or never-before-seen Cars die-casts.

The exhibit will also give you a sneak peek at the new Cars die-casts coming in 2012!

Watch an awesome video from the exhibition below:

 

I would do nearly anything to go see this downright mind-blowing exhibition.

Awesome Map of Cars Land!

Click to enlarge

I've been reading some information about Disneyland lately, and I just happened to stumble upon this very detailed map of the new attraction at Disney's California Adventure, "Cars Land", inspired by Pixar's 2006 film, Cars. This map not only shows the locations of all the attractions in Cars Land, but it features in-depth descriptions of all these attractions, and what you will find there when the highly-anticipated land opens in the next summer. Cars Land is sure going to be an amazing addition to the park!

Cars 2 Clip: "Disguises"

A new Cars 2 clip has debuted, and I must say, it is one of my favorite clips that have been released! It's from the scene where Mater is trying on various disguises for his mission...but then gets a little off task. Good ol' Mater, funny as can be.

Cars 2 will finally hit theaters in just 11 days!!

Which is your favorite Mater disguise?

Sneak Peek: New Pixar Short 'La Luna'

On Thursday, an upcoming Pixar short entitled La Luna was announced! It is scheduled to premiere this June at the Annecy International Animation Festival, and is directed by Erico Casarosa. Enrico joined Pixar in 2002, and has worked as a story artist on Cars, Ratatouille, and Up. Right now, he is head of story on an upcoming Pixar film. Seen above is the official logo for the short film. It looks extremely nice, and very classy.

Read the first official synopsis for La Luna below. Sounds very interesting. I can't wait to see another short little Pixar tale.

La Luna is the timeless fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait.

A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family’s most unusual line of work. Should he follow the example of his Papa, or his Grandpa? Will he be able to find his own way in the midst of their conflicting opinions and timeworn traditions?

Judging by the fact that "la luna" means "the moon" in Spanish and Italian, many people are assuming that the Moon will be key in the short's plot.

The still seen above was also revealed on Thursday, and it looks quite nice. As you can see, the characters have a very simplistic design, but sometimes simple can be the best way to go.

You can hope to see La Luna in 2012, as it is probably the short film that will be attached to Brave.

'Cars' & 'The Incredibles' Now Available on Blu-ray!

It seems like only yesterday I was announcing that Pixar's Cars and The Incredibles would be coming to astounding Blu-ray high definition on April 12 (Cars now on a second edition Blu-ray, but The Incredibles for the first time ever). Time flies and they've already hit store shelves!

The new Cars Blu-ray is basically the same as the one that was released back in 2007, except that you can now watch Mater and the Ghostlight (co-directed by Dan Scanlon, director of Monsters University) in HD, and it comes with a free admission (only up to $8.50) for the sequel, Cars 2! Also, you can now enjoy the new cover art, which matches the Toy Story and Toy Story 2 re-releases from last year.

At last, the wait is over, and we finally get to see what has probably been Pixar's most action-packed film in glorious Blu-ray high-definition! Also, you can now enjoy a whole bunch of new 'Incredible' bonus features, alongside all your favorite original DVD extras! One of these new features is New Nomanisan Island. Ever wondered what happened to the island that used to be Syndrome's hideout after the villain was defeated? Well, this new bonus will surely answer your question! The Incredibles Blu-ray also comes with a coupon to watch Cars 2 this summer!

So if you're interested in buying either (or both) of these new releases, act now, before they all get sold out!

'Monsters University' Director Confirmed

Last week came the announcement of the upcoming Monsters film being a prequel called Monsters University. Soon after that, it was confirmed at Pixar's blogger's event that the director for the film would be Pixarian Dan Scanlon. Mr. Scanlon worked on parts of the screenplay for Cars, and also did some storyboards for the film. He co-directed the short film Mater and the Ghostlight. Good luck directing, Dan!

Pixar By The Numbers

Have you ever wondered how many people currently work at Pixar? Or how long it takes to make a Pixar movie? Or how many toys are in Toy Story 3? Well, I've gone around the Internet and read my Pixarpedia and tried to answer a lot of those curious questions as best as I could. A lot of the answers are estimates, because it would be almost impossible to get the exact answers to everything. So I encourage you to read on, and let all (or at least most) of your questions about Pixar be answered!

• Around 1200 employees...or more...work at Pixar Animation Studios.
• The average Pixar movie usually takes 4 to 5 years to create...or in other words, about 1460.97 to 1826.21 days.
• As many people know, Pixar has made 11 films up to date, and will release their 12th film, Cars 2, on June 24, 2011.
• Pixar's highest grossing film, Toy Story 3, earned an estimated $1,063,171,609 at the box office. It became the 5th highest grossing film of all time, the #1 animated film of all time, and the highest grossing film of 2010.
• John Lasseter has directed 4 of Pixar's films to this day, and is set to make his 5th debut as director this year with Cars 2.
• So far, there are 9 hilarious Cars Toons, and more will be released in the years to come.
• Randy Newman has scored 6 Pixar movies, including all 3 Toy Story films.
• John Ratzenberger, considered Pixar's 'lucky charm', has voiced 9 Pixar characters, including Hamm the piggy bank and Mack the truck.
• Ever since the Best Animated Feature Film award was introduced to the Oscars in 2001, Pixar has been nominated 8 times, and has won 6 times.
• Not only has Pixar made many fantastic feature films, but the company has created 19 ground-breaking short films, their most recent being Day & Night. Their 20th short, Hawaiian Vacation, will be played in front of Cars 2.
• Pixar has received 10 Academy Award nominations for their short films, and has won 3 times.
• Pixar was founded in 1986, so the company has existed for 25 years.
• Russel, the 8 year-old wilderness explorer from Up, has over 40 badges!
• In Pixar's Ratatouille, the word 'rat' is used 51 times!
• Sulley, the big, blue, furry monster from Monsters, Inc., has around 2,137,000 hairs in total!
• Carl Fredricksen from Up uses about 10,000 to 20,000 balloons to lift his house up into the air!
• In Toy Story 3, Andy only has 12 toys left...but at Sunnyside Daycare, there are probably over 100 toys!
• In Pixar's Cars, there are, of course, over 200 cars seen in the film...probably a lot more!
• There are exactly 96 days left until the North American theatrical release of Cars 2!!!

Of course, those are only a few of Pixar-related facts, because well, with numbers, Pixar always goes.........

To Infinity, and Beyond!

Pixar News Bundle!

Since I have been very busy lately, unfortunately I have not been able to update my blog. In the past week, there has been some cool news popping up, so this post is just catching up with all the news I missed.

First up, details and a cover image (seen below) for the Blu-ray release of The Incredibles have been released! Pixar's hit from 2004 will make its way onto high-definition Blu-ray on April 12 this year, and some of the new bonus features included will be:
-The Incredibles Revisited (Filmmakers Roundtable)
-Paths to Pixar: Story Artists
-Studio Stories: Gary’s Birthday
-Ending With A Bang: Making The End Credits
-Interactive “New Nomanison Island” Top Secret Redevelopment Plan
This Blu-ray will include an admission to Cars 2, which hits theaters two months later. Also, The Incredibles Blu-ray is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Also on April 12, a new edition of Cars will be released on Blu-ray. It is likely to also include new bonus material, and will also come with an admission to Cars 2.

Two awesome new 'For Your Consideration' posters for TS3's campaign were revealed at Awards Daily. Looks like they're also going for the Best Director Award. In my opinion, Lee Unkrich does deserve that award, for all the effort he put into directing the third installment of the Toy Story films. Also, I absolutely love the poster with Woody and Buzz shaking hands, it has been my favorite one out of all the posters that have been released.

Everyone knows Rotten Tomatoes, the site that has all the information you need on actors, critics, and of course, movies. Each year, Rotten Tomatoes gives an award called the Golden Tomato to the best film of that year, in their opinion. This year, the winner for that award is none other than Pixar's latest hit, Toy Story 3!! Congratulations to everyone at Pixar for winning the award for the 4th year in a row!

That's pretty much all the excitement that's happened in the last week, but also, a few new Cars 2 things came out, but to me, this was so exciting, that it deserved its own post, so that will be the next post you see here on Pixar Corner!

More On "Cars Land"

A few days ago I posted some cool new info on the all-new Cars-themed attraction coming to Disney's California Adventure in 2012, Cars Land. Well, yesterday I was searching the web for something new on Cars Land and I found some cool pictures of the upcoming attraction here. I have also posted them below with my own little captions. Enjoy!

A summary (in pictures) of what you can expect to find at Cars Land when it opens in 2012.

A crowded Radiator Springs filled with guests looking for more Cars action!

The "E"-ticket ride at Cars Land, Radiator Springs Racers.

The Tractor which guests will be riding on the exciting new ride, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree at Cars Land.

Look forward to more awesome news and info on Cars Land right here, on Pixar Corner!

Are you as excited as I am for Cars Land to open?

Watch "Monster Truck Mater" on Cars Website!

Are you a fan of the Cars Toons? If you are, then you should get over to the official Cars website and watch the all new Cars "Toon", Monster Truck Mater!

Mater is an amateur monster truck wrestler named the Tormentor, but as he goes defeating different opponents along the way, he grows from amateur to World Champion! Mater is then faced with his toughest opponent yet, so he must team up with his partner, Frightening McMean, to defeat him!

I watched Monster Truck Mater twice already, and I have to say, it is probably the funniest one of the Cars Toons yet! I hope you enjoy it too!

"World of Cars Online" Now Officially Open!

After a long wait, the "World of Cars Online" is finally open! You can create your own car, enter Radiator Springs and compete in sorts of events such as races, tractor tipping, and more! Join Lightning McQueen, Mater and the rest of the car gang on an online game like none other! You can also apply for sponsorship (which is like membership) which will give you access to what cars without sponsorship can't have, but the game is really fun to play even without sponsorship. You can also do missions for the characters from the "Cars" films. This is a really fun game to play and I suggest you do play it, but always remember your Internet safety.

The Pizza Planet Truck

Did you know that the Pizza Planet truck is featured in every Pixar feature film (except the The Incredibles)? It's true. In some it may be easy to spot (Toy Story/Toy Story 2) but in other Pixar movies it is really tricky to find it! My guess is that it will once again be in Toy Story 3. Apparently Pizza Planet is always busy delivering pizzas! Also, there are real Pizza Planet restaurants both at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris. Below is also a picture of the toy Pizza Planet Truck from the collection of the little Cars figures.