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!

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)

Brave: One Year Until Release, First Poster!

The date today is June 22, 2011. Exactly one year from today, Pixar's 13th film Brave will hit theaters! When I first heard that Pixar was going to do a fairy tale, I wasn't quite keen on the idea, but I was still pretty excited since Pixar has never let me down. Over time, as more concept art was released, I started to see how this could be really cool. But after seeing this gorgeous poster I am now ten times even more excited. Brave will not only feature Pixar's first female protagonist, but it will have a darker tone to it than any other previous films from the studio. Now Pixar has stated that they are not trying to scare all their fans away, and that Brave will preserve all the humour and great characters that all Pixar movies have, but it will have a darker tone, and you can tell by the look of the poster. I mean, compared to the Toy Story logo, it is definitely going to be a different type of movie.

Coincidentally, the very first teaser poster for the film was released today, exactly one year before the film's release! It is absolutely stunning, and I think it is one of the best posters for a Pixar film that I have ever seen. Just look at the amount of detail on it! I also love the tagline, "Change Your Fate". There's just something cool about it. Also, you can see what appears to be a bear hidden between the rocks behind the logo. That bear keeps popping up here and there in concept art and now this poster, and remember, before being given the name Brave this movie was originally called "The Bear and the Bow", so this bear is obviously going to be key in the film's plot. I'm also curious to know what those blue sparks in the poster are...

Also, read more Brave and its new teaser poster on Entertainment Weekly. Comments by Brave director Mark Andrews and producer Katherine Sarafian are included.

Brave hits theaters in one year exactly, and don't miss the teaser trailer in theaters with Cars 2!

So what do you think of the poster?