Happy Halloween 2011!

(Photo credit: pixarjunkie)

Can you believe Halloween is already here?

The festival of thrills, chills, pumpkins, and of course, candy, brings new surprises every year. Pixar fans also always come up with new ways to infuse the beloved characters into their Halloween celebrations. For example, costumes of Pixar characters are very popular among children and adults alike, and the characters from the animated films also make fantastic Jack O' Lanterns!

This year, I dressed up in a homemade Woody costume, and carved a Mike Wazowski pumpkin.

Check out this brilliant Halloween costume, inspired by the famous Pixar Luxo lamp!

 

I hope everyone had a safe and pleasant Halloween! And don't forget, Cars 2 comes out on DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow!

Awesome Stills From 'Air Mater'

It's been almost a whole year since we last saw a brand-new Cars Toon, so now that Air Mater is coming on the Cars 2 home release, it's quite exciting to see Mater in another one of his hilarious Tall Tales.

While we won't get to see Mater fly until Tuesday, we can enjoy these fantastic new images from the short. They're amazing! Pixar Canada did a spectacular job on this Toon!

Doesn't Mater look AWESOME as a Falcon Hawk??

Catch Air Mater on the Cars 2 home release this Tuesday. Don't miss out, because Mater is going to fly! This is going to be the best Cars Toon ever!

Pixar Book Talk!

Books. What would we do without them? They educate us, entertain us, and help us discover new things. There's been a whole lot of news about Pixar-related books lately.

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First of all, Steve Jobs' authorized biography came out on Monday! I haven't had the chance to see it just yet, but I plan on at least obtaining it from the public library, if not buying it,  sometime soon. The bio, entitled simply Steve Jobs and written by Walter Isaacson, tells the story of Jobs' brilliant and inspirational life; how he co-founded Apple, how he helped bring them back to the top, how he invented the contraptions we know today as the iPad and iPhone, and, what he is best known for by animation fans around the globe, how he helped bring Pixar to life. Steve Jobs is available now, and I would not miss out on this good read.

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Also, we have another one of the popular "Art of" books coming up next month, but this time, it's not focusing on just the latest Pixar release, it's focusing on all their films so far, from Toy Story all the way to Cars 2. It even includes the majority of their short films--including the upcoming La Luna. So, naturally, this new book is called, The Art of Pixar. It's being released this year to celebrate Pixar's 25th anniversary.

One of the unique aspects of The Art of Pixar is how only nine of its 320 pages contain text (not counting captions of the pictures and artwork throughout the book, of course). This book is all about the art, or, more specifically, a type of art form which Pixar uses to perfect all their features and shorts. It is called, the color script. Also, it will include a foreword by Pixar honcho John Lasseter!

The Art of Pixar will have all the color scripts for all of Pixar's feature films and most of their short films, and it will be available on November 2! You can pre-order and read the official description of the book here.

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Lastly, another "Art of" book was just announced. No, it's not The Art of Brave (although we are likely to hear about that in a few months or so), but it is The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey, or in other words, "The Art of all 3 Toy Story movies". Amazon.com has listed it as a 192-page book, hardcover, which will be available on August 7, 2012. As the name suggests, it will be a retelling of the making of the beloved Toy Story franchise, and will include concept art from Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and of course, Toy Story 3, as well as interviews with the filmmakers! Don't forget to check out the official description here.

If you are an avid Pixar and Toy Story fan, this book sounds like something you probably won't want to miss out on.

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Were you looking for a good book to read or one to look forward to? Well then, hopefully this blog post gave you some ideas.

Pixar Canada Reveals Studio and Current Project!

Until today, Pixar's studio in Vancouver, BC, Canada, remained quite mysterious. Now, the Vancouver Sun has given us an inside scoop on what the studio has been up to for the last year and a half.

First of all, it has been confirmed that Air Mater is in fact being produced at the Vancouver studio, as previously speculated. But after seeing the concept art which was revealed when the studio first opened, it was almost certain that something involving Mater flying was being worked on at Pixar Canada. Don't forget to catch Air Mater, the first ever Pixar project to come from the Canadian studio, on the home video release of Cars 2 on November 1!

Also, the location of Pixar Canada has now been revealed to the public; Gastown in Downtown Vancouver, where the famous steam clock can also be found. Having have visited this street several times before, I can tell you that it is quite the sight with countless flowers everywhere you look, and fancy lamp posts lined along the the street. I'm almost certain that Pixar is very happy with the place they chose to put their second animation studio.

As seen in the picture above, the replicas (or at least copies of the replicas) of McQueen and Mater that have been touring the United States and Canada for the past few months are now on display right in front of the Pixar Canada studios, to mark the location of where dozens of talented artists and animators go to work everyday. These two cars may stay there only temporarily, but there is a chance that they could stay as permanent decor, or at least be moved slightly.

We are prone to find out what else Pixar Canada is cooking up for us soon, but for now, just enjoy Air Mater on the Cars 2 Blu-ray and DVD!

Sneak Peek at Cars 2 Blu-ray/DVD!

We are already halfway through the month of October, and before you know it, it'll be November! And you know what that means...Cars 2 on Blu-ray and DVD!

As always, Pixar has released a few clips of what is to come on their next home release.

Check out this cool trailer for the film. It's not a new trailer however, it's one of the ones we saw a few months ago before the theatrical release of Cars 2. So now instead of "Coming soon to theaters" it says "Coming soon to Blu-ray and DVD", but it's still a really awesome trailer.

Here is a short clip called "Getting Behind The Wheel", which shows how the geniuses behind the sequel to Cars got to experience the racing world while making the film.

The next clip is an extended look at Hawaiian Vacation, the Toy Story Toon which played in front of Cars 2 in theaters, and will be included as a bonus feature on the home video release. If you haven't watched Hawaiian Vacation, I think that this clip gives you a pretty good taste of what the short has in store.

Lastly, here is a 5-minute sneak peek at Cars 2 itself. That's right! Five full minutes of awesome footage from Cars 2! It's the entire scene where Mater gets Lightning involved in the World Grand Prix after seeing the cocky Francesco Bernoulli boast about how he could easily beat Lightning McQueen in a race.

Also, you may have seen this already, but here is a nice and short look into Air Mater, the latest Cars Toon, which will be on the Cars 2 Blu-ray and DVD as well.

Race on over to your local retail store on November 1st and get your hands...er, I mean wheels...all over the smash hit of the summer, Cars 2!

'Nemo' and 'Monsters' Set to Return in 3D!

Seeing as The Lion King has been rocking the box office lately in 3D, and how Pixar's Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Double Feature in 3D back in 2009 got tons of people running to the theater, it comes as no surprise that Disney has decided to re-release four of their most beloved films in theaters,  and this time the four classics are being given the honour of being screened in the miraculous third-dimension. Out of these four films which will be getting the 3D treatment soon, two of them are, of course, Pixar films.

Returning soon in 3D are the Disney classic (and the first ever animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars) Beauty and the Beast on January 13, 2012, Pixar's beloved Finding Nemo on September 14, 2012, the other all-time Pixar favorite Monsters, Inc. on January 18, 2013 (only a few months before its prequel Monsters University hits theaters), and last but not least, one of Disney's most famous tales, The Little Mermaid on September 13, 2013.

I am very excited to see all four of these films return to the big screen; I have great memories with all these movies. Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite Disney Princess film, and I was always quite fond of the characters from The Little Mermaid. As for the two Pixar films, they are to this day still on my list of all time favorite films of all time. I remember watching Nemo in theaters (twice) when it came out in 2003, and watching Monsters over and over again at home on DVD...which I continue to do in the present day.

All these films are going to look amazing in 3D, but in my opinion, Finding Nemo is going to look the most stunning. After all, it has all the depth of the ocean, which should look fantastic in 3D, plus there are so many other breath-taking scenes, which 3D will probably bring to full power. For example, the jellyfish scene will look unreal if any previous 3D releases are any indication. If you ask me, some people in the theater may even start getting a little nervous due to the fact that there will be gigantic jellyfish right in front of their faces. And don't forget the astonishing high-speed ride with the sea turtles! That is going to look (and feel) unbelievable!

As for Monsters, Inc., I really think that the most eye-grabbing scene in 3D will be the famous door chase at the factory. If you've watched Monsters, Inc., I think you know what I mean.

We still haven't heard many details on the previously announced Ratatouille 3D re-release, however, so it's very probable that this one will be released after Nemo and Monsters, possibly in 2015 or 2016, but only time will tell. Luckily, we can now see that as time progresses more and more of Pixar's classic films are being converted to the 3D format, so we may even see A Bug's Life in 3D someday, which would be amazing!

I think that bringing all these cherished films back to theaters many years later is an excellent idea; it gives all those who grew up with the stories a second chance to relive the excitement of watching the films in the theater for the first time. And as for the younger generations, they may already be quite familiar with the movies, but they now get the chance to, for the first time, see them in theaters. On top of all this, we now get to see the movies in an all the experience...in epic 3D!

Nemo Finally Coming to Blu-ray!

Andrew Stanton's classic Pixar film Finding Nemo remains the only Pixar films that hasn't been released in glorious Blu-ray high-definition....that is, until now.

Disney and Pixar have announced that the beloved tale about family, friendship, and taking risks is, at last, coming home in HD. How did they make the announcement? By uploading a teaser trailer for the Blu-ray release of course!

As you can see, this teaser is a simple yet clever twist to the famous scene from the film, and also the first real proof we have that Nemo actually is finally coming to Blu-ray!

A release date for the Finding Nemo Blu-ray has not been confirmed just yet, but stay tuned as we are bound to hear in the months to come.

How cool is it to finally get to the the blue sea on Blu-ray HD?

Remembering Steve Jobs

You've probably heard the sad news by now. Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc. and an incredibly talented innovator, has passed away at the age of 56.

Steve was an immensely gifted visionary, a genius, and a friend to many people. He revolutionized the computer industry, and pretty much the entire world. He was even part of the Disney Board of Directors, and a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. On top of all this, he helped bring Pixar to life, after buying Lucasfilm's "Graphics Group" so that they could become their own company. He saw the potential in John Lasseter, Ed Catmull, and all the others, and together they created the studio that so many people now know and love.

Jobs was CEO of Pixar until Disney bought it in 2006, and was CEO of Apple until just recently resigning in August due to his health. Steve over went a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

I visited Apple's website earlier, and of course, they had the new iPhone 4S all big and bold on the homepage. Then I visited it about one or two hours later, and there was a big black and white photo of Steve Jobs, next to the text that read, Steve Jobs: 1955 - 2011. Clicking on the text would lead you to this message:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and inspiring mentor. Steve leaves the company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

For anyone who would like to offer concolences, share memories, and remember the late Steve Jobs, an email has been created by Apple at rememberingsteve@apple.com.

Also, be sure to read his biography, simply titled Steve Jobs: A Biography, which will be available in November.

There have been many words offered for Steve. Here are a few...

From John Lasseter and Ed Catmull:

Steve Jobs was an extraordinary visionary, our very dear friend and the guiding light of the Pixar family. He saw the potential of what Pixar could be before the rest of us, and beyond what anyone ever imagined. Steve took a chance on us and believed in our crazy dream of making computer animated films; the one thing he always said was to simply ‘make it great.’ He is why Pixar turned out the way we did and his strength, integrity and love of life has made us all better people. He will forever be a part of Pixar’s DNA. Our hearts go out to his wife Laurene and their children during this incredibly difficult time.

From Bob Iger, CEO of Disney:

Steve Jobs was a great friend as well as a trusted advisor. His legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. It will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed, and the culture he defined. Steve was such an “original,” with a thoroughly creative, imaginative mind that defined an era. Despite all he accomplished, it feels like he was just getting started. With his passing the world has lost a rare original, Disney has lost a member of our family, and I have lost a great friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Laurene and his children during this difficult time.

From Samad Rizvi of The Pixar Times:

As both Apple and Pixar are close to my heart, seeing the passing of Steve Jobs is tough to contemplate. There are no words that can possibly summarize the effect that he had on the world. While he will be missed, his legacy will live on in Cupertino, Emeryville, and all across the world.

And there are so much more out there, but if I listed even 0.01% of them, this blog post would go on forever.

My prayers, too, are with Steve's friends and family. He was, and always will be, an incredible and inspirational man, and is one of the best examples there is that one person can make a difference. I wish I could have had the chance to meet him in person, but he will always be one of my idols. Goodbye Steve Jobs.

Rest in Peace Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

The Adventures of WALL-E

It's always great to just take some time and work on a hobby. Sometimes, something really amazing can come out of simply using free time to, say, photograph a tiny toy version of the beloved robot, WALL-E. Apparently that's what lots of people actually do in their free time.

Check out this blog on Tumblr, with a good set of creative pics of the adorable WALL-E doing everyday activities!

Also, on this Flickr page, another talented photographer has posted tons and tons of clever WALL-E shots.

It's great to see people that some of Pixar's characters serve as inspiration for many creative projects and ideas.

A round of applause to these photographers...and of course, to WALL-E.