The 83rd Academy Awards (UPDATED LIVE)

The night began as Anne Hathaway and James Franco gave a brief introduction to the 83rd Academy Awards. Tom Hanks, voice of Woody, presented the awards of Best Art Direction (which went to Disney's Alice and Wonderland), and Cinematography (which Inception won).

Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis presented the awards for Best Animated Short AND Best Animated Feature. Day & Night unfortunately lost to The Lost Thing. But, it is already a victory to be nominated. Congrats to Teddy Newton! The Best Animated Feature Film award went to...

TOY STORY 3!!!!!!!!!!

Director Lee Unkrich came up to recieve the award, and thanked everyone at Pixar, and stated that Pixar is the 'most AWESOME place on the planet to make movies!!!", and I totally agree with him!

Best Adapted Screenplay went to The Social Network, but congratulations to TS3 and Pixar for being nominated!

Best Sound Editing was one of the other awards for which TS3 was nominated, and did not win, but as I have stated, it's already a victory to be nominated. The award went to Inception.

Randy Newman did an AMAZING job performing his song from Toy Story 3, 'We Belong Together'!

Billy Crystal, voice of Mike Wasowski from Monsters, Inc., came up to talk for a few minutes.

Randy Newman won the the award for Best Original Song for his amazing song from TS3, 'We Belong Together'! Congratulations!

And the winner for Best Motion Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards is...

The King's Speech

Today was not the day that an animated film won the big one at the Oscars, but, as all the films which were nominated for an Oscar this year, Toy Story 3 was truely a masterpiece. The night concludes with a lovely performance by the PS22 Chorus. Good night everybody, and congratulations to Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson, John Lasseter, Randy Newman, everyone else at Pixar, and all the other great people who were nominated for an Oscar.

Sneak Peek at 'Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation'

Entertainment Weekly got us a nice first look at the upcoming Pixar short, Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation with two cool shots. One of them features the whole gang dressed in their Hawaiian wardrobe, and the other one includes Ken, Barbie, Mr. Pricklepants, and Mrs. Potato Head. It has also been revealed that the short film will be directed by Gary Rydstrom, who also directed the 2007 short, Lifted. Judging by these stills, it sure seems like 'Hawaiian Vacation' will be a lot of fun!

Watch the toy gang on the big screen again right before Cars 2 this summer on June 24!

Amazing New Cars 2 TV Spot!

Before watching: With the broadcast of the NASCAR Daytona 500 on Sunday came the spectacular Cars 2 TV spot seen below, packed with a bunch of new footage. Wow, now I REALLY can't wait for June 24. Sure looks like there's another hilarious, action-packed Pixar film coming our way.



After watching: Now that right there, is just a small sample of what is coming this summer. Expect to see much, much more in theaters this June when Cars 2 makes its debut. Also, remember we have another full-length trailer coming next month.

Toy Story Short #2 Coming In November!

We heard not too long ago that Pixar was releasing the first of their upcoming Toy Story shorts this summer in theaters along with Cars 2. This weekend, it was confirmed that the second of these short films starring Woody, Buzz, and the gang is set to hit theaters in November with Disney's The Muppets. No plot details have been confirmed yet, but stay tuned because we are likely to hear in the coming months.

Watch the first Toy Story short on June 24 alongside Cars 2, and see the next one November 23 with The Muppets.

Disney and Marvel Present...The "Disney•Pixar Presents"

Disney bought Marvel back in 2009, so now Marvel Comics will be releasing a brand new monthly magazine entitled the 'Disney•Pixar Presents'! The magazine will feature characters from some of Pixar's films including Toy Story, Cars, and The Incredibles, and is aimed at readers of all ages.

The Disney•Pixar Presents will first issue this May. This first issue of the magazine will use the characters from Cars and will be called Cars Magazine #1. It will be written by Alan J. Porter and Mark Cooper, and 'penciled' by Allen Gladfelter, Travis Hill, and Magic Eye Studios. Read the press release for the first comic strip below:

Rev up those engines and join your favorite characters from CARS in DISNEY•PIXAR PRESENTS: Cars Magazine #1 as Lightning McQueen organizes a charity race for young cars with special needs, but he didn’t invite Piston Cup champion Chick Hicks. The snub gets Hick’s competitive juices flowing, and he’s out to show McQueen a thing or two about racing! Will Hicks ruin the good nature of the Radiator Springs Rally Race? Find out this May everywhere books and comics are sold.

The Disney•Pixar Presents will regurgitate some of the material used in Pixar's BOOM! comics which will be replaced by Marvel's Pixar comics. Some of the people who worked on the Pixar BOOM! comics are being brought in to work on Marvel's 'Presents'.

Read this official description, taken directly from the Marvel website:

Marvel and Disney Publishing will debut DISNEY•PIXAR PRESENTS, a new monthly magazine featuring some of the most popular characters from the acclaimed Disney/Pixar films. Intended for readers of all ages and priced at $5.99, the first issue will hit stores in May 2011.

Each issue of the magazine contains 96 full color pages of content, including a mix of brand new stories, classic adventures, puzzles, games and more. Featuring characters from Disney/Pixar’s hit movies Cars, Cars 2, The Incredibles, Toy Story 3, and more, DISNEY•PIXAR PRESENTS will be available at bookstores, retail chains, comic stores and more. The series debuts with DISNEY•PIXAR PRESENTS: Cars Magazine #1

“We’re excited for the launch of DISNEY•PIXAR PRESENTS, teaming with our friends at Disney/Pixar to bring some exciting new material to fans all over the world and introducing a whole new generation to comics,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor-in-Chief. “We’re committed to providing a great product and ensuring these books are available in locations that parents and kids frequent. The Disney/Pixar library includes some of the most popular characters of all time, making DISNEY•PIXAR PRESENTS exactly the kind of comic magazine that kids and parents have been demanding!”

You can hope to get your hands on this awesome magazine when it first issues this May!

New Cars 2 Trailer Coming Next Month!

That's right. An all new Cars 2 trailer with never-before-seen footage of the film is coming in March 2011. Catch it here next month. I can't wait to see McMissile in action again. And McQueen racing. And Mater...umm......towing.

Meet The Newest Cars 2 Still

As the release of Cars 2 keeps coming closer and closer, we keep getting more and more Cars 2 stills! This new shot feautures good ol' Tow Mater and espionage master, Finn McMissile. They seem to be at a Japanese airport. It gives us another great look at what the film has in store for us.

June 24 is coming closer!!

Another Cars 2 Still!

Here we have yet another beautiful shot from the upcoming Cars 2! This new still features (from left to right) Lightning McQueen, Mater, Luigi, Guido, Fillmore, and Sarge. It appears as if they are entering an airplane, possibly taking them to the World Grand Prix. You can view the previously released Cars 2 stills here. Look forward to even more awesome shots of the film!

Via Stitch Kingdom

Cars 2 Races Into The Toy Fair!

Every year, the spectacular Toy Fair is held in New York City. Of course, Pixar was there to celebrate all the new toys coming this year, including an all new line of Cars 2 toys!

Present at the Fair were Emily Mortimer (voice of Holley Shiftwell) and Sir Michael Caine (voice of Finn McMissile). Director John Lasseter was unable to make it to the event this year, however, he sent a taped message, which was screened there so that everyone could hear what he had to say.

Mr. Lasseter claims that Cars 2 is "not a parody of a spy movie. It is a spy movie."

Both Mrs. Mortimer and Sir Caine came up onto the stage for a talk. Emily Mortimer talked about her experience of working with Pixar, and Michael Caine told the audience how he just loved the name Finn McMissile the moment he heard it.

What's a toy fair without the revealing of new toys? Check out these three collectible cars of McQueen, McMissile, and Shiftwell that will join the popular die-cast collection of Cars toys. I am personally a big fan of these Cars collectibles, and I collect some of these myself, so I am eager to get my hands one these! I hope they also make a John Lassetire one!

Not only were these miniature versions of the characters revealed, but also, a life-size replica of the British spy Finn McMissile was shown off at the Toy Fair! It is said to tour the US this year, along with the replicas of Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater.

Photo credit: Stitch Kingdom

Also, check out what The Pixar Blog and The Pixar Times have to say on the topic. The Pixar Blog has a video of footage which you can also see below, and The Pixar Times has got a bunch of high-resolution images from the event!

All the awesome Cars 2 merchandise and toys hits store shelves this spring!

Happy Valentine's Day! From Pixar Corner

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Remember to tell all your friends and family how much they mean to you. After all, life would be terrible without the people you love.

Let's look at some Pixar examples, of characters that really care about each other.


Just imagine Mike without Sulley...


...Ken without Barbie...


...If The Incredibles weren't united as a family, they wouldn't be so incredible...


...and imagine how sad a place Radiator Springs would be if McQueen and Mater weren't best buds...


...and who would dare wonder what the world would be like if Woody and Buzz weren't friends for infinity and beyond...

Happy Valentine's Day! ;)

John Lasseter Gets 'Car'formed! [100th Post!]

Everyone knows John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer at both Pixar and Disney, and of course, the director of the upcoming hit of the summer, Cars 2. I've always been a big admirer of him, and I am sure many others have too. So I am happy to announce that Mr. Lasseter himself will have a cameo in Cars 2! He will play none other than John Lassetire, the car version of himself.

Not much is known about John Lassetire at the time, although there isn't very much to know. He will have only one line in the whole film (as Lee Unkrich did last year in TS3..."New toys!"...sound familiar?) but even though it is just one, simple line, it still means a lot to John (Lasseter) and his admirers.

John Lassetire is said to be the the pit crew chief of one of the many racecars in the World Grand Prix. He is described as a good ol' yellow American pick-up truck.

His own cameo was actually a complete surprise to Mr. John Lasseter, and this is what he had to say on the subject:

"It was news to me. I did not know about that, so I was a little surprised. I ended up voicing this character. It was just one line, but now I have a ‘Cars’ character. I’m very excited about that. He’s a good ol’ American pick-up truck, which I think is very appropriate for John Lassetire."

See John Lassetire on the big screen when Cars 2 makes its debut in theaters on June 24!


Also, this is completely off topic, but this is Pixar Corner's 100th post! I am very happy that I have been able to continue this blog for nearly a year now, and I have REALLY enjoyed writing about Pixar on the Internet. Let's hope for another 100 posts and even more in the future!



Photo credit: The Pixar Blog

Cool Pixar Pic: Tom Hanks Doing Voicework for 'TS' Shorts

This picture has been online for a week now, I just haven't gotten the chance to write a post on it. Seen above is picture which Tom Hanks, known by Pixar fans as the voice of Woody, tweeted last week.

He simply said:

3 directors boss "Woody" around for Toy Story shorts. Come on, guys! Hanx

The three directors appear to be Bobby Podesta, Mark Walsh, and Angus MacLane. Could they be working on the previously announced 'Hawaii' short? Or possibly another one of the anticipated short films? After all, 'Hanx' did say 'Toy Story shorts', with an 's'. Plural.

The first of the ought-to-be-fantastic Toy Story shorts hits theatres alongside Cars 2 on June 24th, 2011!

Are you excited for the upcoming Toy Story Toons?

Cars 2 Character Profiles: Raoul ÇaRoule

Meet the World Grand Prix's French contender, Raoul ÇaRoule. Raoul sure seems like he's full of energy and ready for some serious racing, French style. Look out Lightning, I think you've got some competition!

Read this official description:

Raoul ÇaRoule
Known as the “World’s Greatest Rally Car,” #6 Raoul ÇaRoule was born in Alsace, France. A restless soul, Raoul joined the famous ‘Cirque du Voiture’ French circus where he learned Gymkhana – a graceful, drift-filled motorsport that taught him pinpoint timing and an unparalleled ability to navigate tricky courses with ease. He’s the first car to ever win nine consecutive rallies. Raoul is confident he can use his rally experience to pull ahead of his fellow World Grand Prix racers during the three courses’ touchy dirt sections, especially with his fans in the stands waving banners that read: “ÇaRoule Ca-Rules!”

Fun Fact: This is a bit obvious, but Raoul's paint job includes the colors from his nation's flag; blue, white, and red.

Also, check out his turntable video:

Big Oscar Picture...Find the Pixarians!

The Oscars are quickly approaching and, as always, we have the annual picture with all the nominees, taken at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' annual luncheon. Of course, many people from Pixar can be found in this picture. Test yourself and see how many Pixarians you can find! I'm warning you though, it WILL be hard! So far I've been able to locate Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Randy Newman.

Here is a list of all the Pixarians present:

• Lee Unkrich


• Darla K. Anderson


• John Lasseter


• Randy Newman


• Andrew Stanton


• Michael Arndt


• Teddy Newton


• Tom Myers


• Michael Silvers
  

See how many you can find!

New Cars 2 Poster

Surfing around the web is one of the ways that help me find interesting stuff for my blog, and sure enough, that's how I stumbled upon this. Seen above is the newest poster to the highly anticipated film of the summer, Cars 2. It's pretty similar to the first one we saw a few weeks back, but this poster features some of the characters from the movie (Lightning McQueen, Mater, Finn McMissile, Holley Shiftwell, Luigi, and let's not forget Guido). I haven't found this poster in high resolution (the one seen above is the best I could find) but once I have, I will post it on the blog. So stay tuned for the high res version of this neat poster, and also, we'll probably be seeing a whole bunch of other new posters for Cars 2, so as I said, stay tuned.

Pixar's 25th!

Hooray! Pixar turned 25 years old yesterday! In those 25 years, the company has managed to create 11 feature films which have all been worldwide phenomenons, create the spectacular software RenderMan, and receive tons of nominations and awards for their marvelous work. So congratulations to John Lasseter, Ed Catmull, and all the other great people that work at Pixar. Let's hope we get to see another more 25 years (and beyond) of Pixar's wonderful work!