Lee Unkrich Begins Work on New Pixar Film!

Yup, you read the heading right. The Academy Award-winning director of Toy Story 3, or as we like to call him, Lee Unkrich, has just started working as director on a brand-new film at Pixar this week!

On Thursday night, he tweeted: Tomorrow is a big day that may determine the next four years of my life. Wish me luck.

The next day, he tweeted that on Monday he would "get started on a new movie". However, this intriguing tweet has mysteriously disappeared from Twitter...

Lee did an astonishing job in finishing off the beloved Toy Story saga, and even won an Academy Award for his work, so expect this new film, whatever it may be about, to be just as fantastic as TS3.

Lee has also started a blog on Tumblr, where fans will get the chance to follow his journey through the making of the film, although don't expect him to come right out and say what his new film is about. Keep in mind how secretive Pixar is when it comes to their films that are still a few years away. We only found out what the "Unknown Pete Docter Project" was until just recently, remember? So I guess for now we'll just have to refer to Lee's new Pixar movie as the "Unknown Lee Unkrich Project".

Also keep in mind that Lee has just started working on this film, so it'll probably be a while until we see it up on the big screen, or before we even find out what it's about. Expect it to arrive sometime around 2015 or 2016 at the least.

So even though we'll all be slightly older by the time we get to experience another Lee Unkrich-directed adventure, at least we can say, "Hey, did you hear? Lee's cooking up another masterpiece for us at Pixar."

Fall has arrived at Pixar Corner!

Fall has just begun, and to celebrate, we have an all new seasonal alteration of the Pixar Corner logo! This amazing new logo was, once again, generously created by Paul Robin. As you can see, it's the same concept as the original logo, but with a few special modifications to make it feel like autumn has really arrived.

The biggest difference is probably that the classic Luxo ball has been replaced with a pumpkin, and not just any pumpkin...a pumpkin with Mike Wazowski's face carved into it! After all, what better way to represent Pixar and fall than with a Mike Wazowski Jack O' Lantern? Also, you probably noticed the change in colours in the background, to give it that autumn feeling.

I hope you all enjoy the Fall 2011 Edition of the Pixar Corner logo, and most of all, I hope you all have a wonderful fall! We also have a couple of Pixar events happening this season, like the release of the latest Toy Story Toon, Small Fry on November 23, and the arrival of Cars 2 on home video on November 2! So keep coming back here to Pixar Corner, because there's a lot of Pixar news and excitement coming this fall!

Special thanks to Paul for creating another masterpiece for Pixar Corner! Be sure to check out his blog, "The Adventures of Paul Robin"!

Paul Robin's "Toy Story - Halloween" Adventure!

The autumn season has just arrived, and Halloween is fast approaching, so many people are already out there hunting for the perfect costume to wear this season. Paul Robin, designer of the Pixar Corner logo which this blog proudly wears, and his friend Timmy Worm have already got their costumes picked out!

On his blog, Paul recently posted this phenomenal piece of art of Paul and Timmy dressed up as Buzz and Woody for Halloween. Read his post here.

A months ago I myself requested that Paul and Timmy dress up as Woody and Buzz, and so Paul went right ahead and created this fabulous piece of art. On his blog, Paul encourages all his readers to share their ideas for a "Paul Robin Adventure" so that he can bring these ideas to life! Visit Paul's blog here, and see if you can come up with anything that will put this talented artist to work!

I really encourage you to visit Paul Robin's blog; you have seen what a great artist he is, and you can serve as fuel to help him share even more masterpieces.

The Adventures of Paul Robin have just begun! Share your creative ideas for an adventure and he'll bring them to life, just like he did with mine!

Inspiration for "Small Fry"?

A few weeks ago while navigating on YouTube, I found this short video featuring Woody, Buzz, Hamm, Rex, and some other little guys...

This video is, without a doubt, one of the "Toy Story Treats" that were created way back when the first Toy Story came out. The Toy Story Treats were brought back for the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D Re-release in 2009, and posted on the Toy Story website, although I don't recall ever seing this one on there.

Watch it here:

Now, read the synopsis for the upcoming Toy Story Toon, Small Fry:

"In the latest Toy Story Toon, Buzz Lightyear is left behind at a fast food restaurant when a kids’ meal toy version of Buzz takes his place. While Bonnie's toys are stuck with the annoying 3-inch-tall Buzz impersonator, the real Buzz is trapped in the restaurant at a support group for discarded toys. As Woody and the gang devise a way to rescue their friend, Buzz tries to escape the toy psychotherapy meeting."

Hmm..."annoying 3-inch-tall Buzz impersonator"...is it just me, or do these two things just have a lot in common?

I guess we'll find out soon enough from the creators of Small Fry whether or not this short but amusing "Treat" served as the inspiration for the upcoming "Toon", which by the way, hits theaters November 23 with The Muppets!

Stunning New "La Luna" Still

Once again, we are here getting a small but satisfying bit of La Luna news. It was recently announced that "Luna" is set to be the short to play infront of Brave this coming June, and before that, we had gotten a fairly decent sneak peek at the upcoming short film, with a few stills, a poster, and even a clip. Now, I present to you yet another amazing still from the short, a closeup of the main character in the film.This image just so happens to be from the 30-second clip that was released a few months back. Also, in case you hadn't been informed of this yet, the little boy set to star in La Luna is named Bambino--which literally means "little boy" in Italian. As simple as this still, and the short in general, may be, it looks absolutely wonderful. I don't know what the best part is; the extremely simple yet sophisticated design of the boy, the nice background full of shining stars, the light shining on the boy's face...it's all just spectacular. If what we've seen so far is any indication, it sure seems like we have a classic fable on the way, because La Luna looks like it's shaping up to be almost as beautiful as the Moon itself.

Footage from D23 Pixar Panel!

From left to right: Brad Bird, Ronnie del Carmen, Peter Sohn, Dan Scanlon, Bob Peterson, Mark Andrews, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Jim Morris, John Lasseter

Even though it's already been a while since D23 Expo took place, I recently stumbled upon a really cool video with actual footage from the Question/Answer period with the Pixar "brain trust" panel from the event. And here's the best part: it has the whole entire event on camera. I'm sure all you Pixar fans who could not make it to the event would love watching this, as it shows pretty much all of Pixar's best (excluding Lee Unkrich, who was set to attend but, unfortunately, could not make it to the event at the last moment) and they talk a bit about some of Pixar's upcoming films, so I wouldn't miss out on that. Here's the down side: the video is about and hour and a half long, so it might feel like forever until you get caught up on everything from the panel, and since there's nothing like actually being there in person, it does lack that exhilarating feeling of being in the presence of some of the best film makers of our generation. But I do suggest you watch it, even if not all of it, or some of it today, the rest another day, but it's up to you.

And without further ado, here is the video:

Don't you just love the excited "whoot"s and applauses at the beginning?

Photo credit: The Pixar Times

Real-Life Pizza Planet Truck Coming Soon!

This is unbelievable. We recently got a life-size replica of the famous house from Up, and now, we are actually getting a life-size replica of the one and only Pizza Planet Truck!!!

A group of students from California are working on a very interesting project called The Road to Pixar. First, they are going to replicate the iconic "Pizza Delivery Shuttle", but then, (wait for it), they're going to take it on a roadtrip up the state of California, all the way to Emeryville, the home of Pixar! Man, I wish I could come along with them...

Along the way, they're going to be interviewing groups of people of all ages about how Pixar's films have affected their lives, and they're going to film the entire making of the truck, along with the trip and interviews.

And the best thing is, you can help them! On their website, you can choose the amount of money you wish to give, and you get something in return as well. A minimum of $5 will get you your name on the credits of their film, whereas $1000 will earn you the credit of executive producer. There are a whole bunch of other rewards and perks,which you can check out here.

Also on their website, you can check out loads of awesome videos of the work they've been doing on the truck, read about all the members of their team, and contact them.

This is going to be one heck of a project. If you live somewhere in California, be sure to be on the look out for the Pizza Planet Truck!

Awesome Commercial: To Infinity and Beyond!

If you've visited any toy stores lately, you may have spotted "To Infinty and Beyond!", the new brand of space-themed Toy Story action figures. The collection includes Woody, Rex, Zurg, and of course, Buzz, all in wicked new costumes ideal for exploring the galaxy.

Check out this spectacular commercial for the new toys, made using stop-motion animation:

Doesn't it remind you of Andy when he played with his toys?

For the Birds

Click to enlarge

How cool is it for a Pixar fan when you go outside and explore the world and then find something that resembles a famous Pixar icon? For me, it's pretty cool.

You probably remember the hilarious Pixar short For the Birds, which was released back in 2000. Yesterday afternoon, I was lucky enough to see the sight seen above and it immediately called the classic animated short to mind. So of course, I went ahead and photographed it.

Here's a closeup:

Seeing all those little birds lined along that telephone wire reminded me that anyone with imagination can turn a sight as simple as that into a fantastic short for the world to enjoy and cherish.

Seen any cool Pixar sights out in the world lately? A luxo lamp at the super market? A red-haired girl that looks like Merida? If so, please share it in the comments, or email it to pixarcornerunofficial@gmail.com!

Cars 2 Returns to Theaters for Labour Day

This weekend, Pixar is bringing Cars 2 back to the big screen all across North America for all those who did not get a chance to see it during its first round, and also to hopefully make a little extra money. Of course, many Pixar fans will also get the opportunity to watch the film one last time before it is released on home video in November.

So if you missed Mater and McQueen earlier in the summer, or just want to watch the spy-thriller one more time on the sliver screen, now's your chance!

Cars 2 is in theaters for Labour Day weekend. Go! Go! Go!