'Riley's First Date?' Premieres at D23 Expo

A long-running Pixar tradition is that of including an original short based on the latest theatrical Pixar feature on the home release for said feature. The Incredibles had Jack-Jack Attack, Cars had Mater and the Ghostlight, WALL-E had BURN-E, and so forth.

Inside Out is the latest film to receive a home media short film, and Pixar took advantage of this weekend's D23 Expo to screen the new short, Riley's First Date?, for attendees.

Photo credit: Inside the Magic

The short is reportedly very funny and was received warmly by the crowd. Director Josh Cooley, who is also co-directing Toy Story 4, took the stage alongside Inside Out director Peter Docter and producer Jonas Rivera to introduce the short, which they say was inspired by every father's fear of having their daughter show up one day with a boy. The short sees Riley's parents having to deal with this very issue, and hilarity ensues.

Fortunately the rest of the world will not have to wait long to see Riley's First Date? as it will, of course, be included on Inside Out's DVD and Blu-ray releases, which hit stores November 3, less than three months from now.

Pixar Previews Upcoming Slate at D23 Expo

This weekend was jam-packed with excitement for Disney, Pixar, and animation enthusiasts alike, as Disney hosted its fourth biannual D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. The expo's animation panel, featuring looks at upcoming films from both Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, took place on Friday, and Pixar certainly did not come empty-handed.

The three-hour panel got off to a rousing start when Pixar and Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter took the stage wielding a shirt cannon. Known for wearing his signature (and custom-made) Hawaiian shirts, the animation honcho proceeded to gleefully bombard the crowd with, yup, Hawaiian shirts.

Pixar's presentation provided further details and looks at the upcoming The Good Dinosaur and next year's Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory. Additionally, the studio surprised the crowd in officially unveiling an all-new original film; Coco. The film was announced back in 2012 as "the untitled Pixar movie about Día de los Muertos," but we had heard little about the project since then. Many even believed the film to have been abandoned, but fortunately this is not the case. Coco will arrive in theatres in the fall of 2017. Lastly, Pixar previewed the recently-announced Toy Story 4 and gave new details regarding the film's plot. The presentation ended with a live performance of "You've Got a Friend In Me" from Randy Newman as Toy Story characters hit the stage in celebration of the original Toy Story film's 20th anniversary this year.

Full posts about each of the films previewed at the expo are on the way; stay tuned.

Cars 3 and The Incredibles 2, though present on the studio's poster slate on the expo floor pictured at the top, were absent from the presentation since they are still both in the early stages of development and will not be released until after 2017. We did, at the very least, get a look at those two films' logos.

All in all, it was an exhilarating day that left fans eager to experience what the future of Pixar has in store.

Edit: Disney posted a great brief recap on Twitter of all that went down during D23 Expo's animation panel. Check it out:

Paws what you're doing and get a glimpse of what @disneyanimation and @disneypixar presented at #D23EXPO. https://t.co/pGEJnmX8CG

— Disney (@Disney) August 18, 2015

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!

First Full-Length Trailer for 'The Good Dinosaur' Is Beautiful

Apologies for the blog silence this past month. I'll be catching up on some missed news this week, but things should be back to normal now, just in time for D23 Expo!

They've made you cry over toys, monsters, fish, and robots, to name a few. This November, the masterminds at Pixar Animation Studios will have you shedding tears over a young Apatosaurus and his pet boy. Only a little over a month after releasing the first teaser trailer for The Good Dinosaur, Pixar released a full-length trailer for the upcoming film. If you haven't already, watch it below:

There is much to take in here, but let's start with the visuals. From that two-and-a-half-minute trailer alone, it certainly looks as if The Good Dinosaur will be Pixar's most beautiful-looking film yet, which says a lot considering the studio's entire library consists of numerous visually stunning films. With Dinosaur, the studio seems to be pushing the limits of what computer animation can do. Everything from the dirt and plant life to the flowing rivers and wide landscapes looks phenomenal and almost real. That scene with the fireflies is particularly breathtaking. Even the film's cartoonish characters and creatures have touches of realism; upon closer inspection one will notice the scales on Arlo.

We know that the film will be light on dialogue, much like Walt Disney's Dumbo and Pixar's own WALL-E, and the trailer makes that clear. While the dinosaurs in the film do talk, the film revolves around the relationship between Arlo and the human boy Spot, who, being of different species, presumably cannot communicate verbally. The artists will have to rely primarily on visuals to tell the story, and I, for one, find that extremely exciting.

Lastly, though the trailer gives away little regarding the film's story, it definitely seems to have a strong emotional core, as is common with Pixar movies. Pretty visuals go a long way, but as one of Pixar's famous mottos says, "story is king". From the look of things though, the look isn't the only thing Pixar has done right here.

Thus far, The Good Dinosaur is shaping up to be a movie you won't want to miss out on. Mark your calendar; the movie arrives in theatres November 25.

Pixar Debuts Two Stills from 'Sanjay's Super Team'

Pixar has made it a habit to use their theatrical short films to test the waters for bold new concepts and visual styles. The wonderfully inventive Day & Night, for example, mixed 3D computer animation with traditional 2D animation and yielded fabulous results. The upcoming Sanjay's Super Team, set to debut in theaters this Thanksgiving alongside Pixar's next feature The Good Dinosaur, will evidently be unlike anything the studio has ever done before.

In an article published earlier this week by USA Today, two stills from Sanjay's Super Team were unveiled, giving us a look at the distinct visual style, or rather, styles, that will feature in the new short, which draws its premise from director Sanjay Patel's childhood. The film will seemingly employ two different art styles to distinguish Sanjay's experiences in the real world and within his daydream. The short is also heavily influenced by Patel's Hindu background. Described as a sort of Hindu version of the Avengers, the deities Durga, Vishnu, and Hanuman will be brought to life in Sanjay's daydream.

The first thing that stands out to me is that the artists at Pixar have clearly taken a much more cartoony approach than usual. Sanjay has particularly large eyes, for instance, perhaps meant to be a literal embodiment of his wide-eyed persona. The daydream scenes will undoubtedly be a riot and very different from anything we have ever seen in any Pixar feature or short. It is always a treat to see the talented filmmakers at the studio step out of their comfort zone and push the boundaries of what computer animation can do.

This does not mark the first time that a Pixar short is inspired by the director's personal childhood experiences and infused with a cultural touch. La Luna was based largely on director Enrico Casarosa's memory of the strained relationship between his father and grandfather and featured a touch of Casarosa's Italian heritage, most notably in the short's music.

Catch Sanjay's Super Team in theaters this fall with The Good Dinosaur on November 25.