Mater Stars in Holiday TV Spot for Disneyland

As Christmas looms ever closer, everyone is beginning to get into the holiday spirit, including the Disneyland Resort. This new TV spot released earlier this month stars Cars' Mater posing as Santa Claus while being pulled by his team of reindeer - no, tractors...reintractors, as he flies over some of the newest parts the resort, including Cars Land, while he sings his own rendition of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland".

It's a nice little commercial, it sure makes me want to visit Anaheim; I know for a fact that Disneyland is gorgeous at Christmastime, this TV spot gives you just a small lick of everything that's in store.

Expect to see a new seasonal logo up on the blog soon! Christmas is just around the corner...

Let The Awards Season Begin!

A year is a surprisingly short amount of time, when you think about it. Just yesterday we were laying eyes upon the first "For Your Consideration" ads for Cars 2, and counting down the days to Brave. Here we are once again, anticipating the approaching awards season and hoping Pixar's latest feature film may be honored with some recognition and bring home some shiny statuettes.

Pixar have released their first FYC poster for Brave, and it is, not surprisingly, stunningly beautiful. The image in the poster is taken from the river scene in the film, which for me was one of the highlights of the movie.

Unfortunately, Pixar went home empty handed this past February at the Oscars; the marvelous La Luna was beat out in the Best Animated Short Film category by the equally dazzling Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, and Cars 2 failed to earn a nomination for Best Animated Film. This year, however, I hope will see better results for the studio at the Academy Awards; Brave was nothing short of spectacular, though I feel it is an extremely underrated film. It does have some pretty heavy competition for the Best Animated Film category though, with other brilliant masterpieces like Disney's Wreck-It Ralph and Laika's ParaNorman also standing with a fighting chance. If the award ends up going to another film, though, Brave has a more than strong chance at winning the awards for both Best Original Song ("Touch the Sky", anyone?) and Best Original Score.

One thing is certain; whether it wins anything or not, Brave is an incredible motion picture and it doesn't need an award to prove it.

'Monsters, Inc.' Coming to Blu-ray 3D!

This news has gone rather unnoticed, but it looks like Pixar's 2001 hit Monsters, Inc. will be arriving in the Blu-ray 3D format sometime soon, although we have no idea when exactly this will be.

Amazon has a 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition listed for pre-order, and Disney Movie Shop has also put up an offer which will save you $8 on your purchase of this Blu-ray combo pack. However, both sites claim that this release is "coming soon", but neither one states a fixed release date. I guess we can expect this to be out sometime after Monsters, Inc. 3D has hit theaters, likely around January. One thing's for certain though, the Blu-ray 3D of the film will be out by February 18, 2013, which is the date that Disney Movie Shop's offer expires.

No word on whether or not this pack will come with new bonus features or not, but chances are that it won't, but Pixar could always pleasantly surprise us.

I do not yet own Monsters, Inc. on Blu-ray, so I'll hopefully be able to pick up this release. Be sure to also check out A113Animation's review of Monsters, Inc. in 3D, it'll give you an idea of what to look forward to in the classic comedy's re-release.

Finding Nemo Blu-ray Trailer Hits Web

With Brave and the Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 2 now out, the Blu-ray release of Pixar's beloved Finding Nemo is just on the horizon. Yes, at long last we'll be able to own every single one of the studio's films on Blu-ray, as the 2003 aquatic adventure remains the only one to not yet be available in the format.

Disney and Pixar posted the trailer for this Blu-ray release:

You'll be able to purchase a 3-disc Collector's Edition (two Blu-ray discs and the DVD), or the 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition (Blu-ray 3D, two Blu-rays, DVD & digital copy), much like with Brave.

I'll be picking up the 3D version as this truly is the perfect film for the 3D format and I was blown away when I saw Nemo in 3D back in September (feel free to have a look at my review here).

Finding Nemo arrives on Blu-ray December 4th, and Up, which was the first ever Pixar movie to be released in theaters in 3D, will also be available for the first time on Blu-ray 3D on that same day.

Brave Hits Store Shelves!

And once again, we have come full circle. Yet another Pixar film has made it onto Blu-ray and DVD so we can all now enjoy it from the warmth of our homes and put in up on that shelf next to Pixar classics from years past. Brave, the thirteenth feature film to come out of the animation power house, has finally arrived on home video.

If you haven't yet made the jump from DVD to Blu-ray and don't plan on doing so anytime soon, you can purchase the standard DVD of the film, but keep in mind that you won't get a whole lot of special features with this version (just the new Legend of Mor'du short, La Luna, and the audio commentary).

For those who do own a Blu-ray player, you can get either the 3-disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray combo pack, which includes the the Blu-ray disc of the film, an entire Blu-ray disc dedicated entirely to bonus material, and the regular DVD. If you want to own the film in 3D, then you can get the 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition, which includes everything that the 3-disc version has, plus the 3D Blu-ray disc and the digital copy.

Retail stores often offer an extra bonus item the first few days that a film is on sale. Best Buy has a neat steelbook case and a nice little lunchbox, and Walmart is offering a cute Angus plush toy. Target's Digibook version includes a 32-page storybook of the film.

In the US, the DVD is selling for $19.99, the 3-disc Collector's Edition goes for $22.99, and the 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition is $27.99 (at most stores).

Also available today is Volume 2 of the Pixar Short Films Collection; a must have for all fanatics of the studio.

Will you be getting either one of these releases?

Pixar Main Building Renamed After Steve Jobs

Last year, Pixar opened up a brand new building on their campus in Emeryville and titled it Brooklyn. However, as far as I'm concerned, the original building built in 2000 has never had an actual name - that is, until now.

This building will from now on be referred to as The Steve Jobs Building. Mr. Jobs was known to most as the head of Apple, but he was also the co-founder of Pixar and helped the company kick off when he bought it from Lucasfilm back when it was called the Graphics Group, and was CEO at the studio until Disney acquired it in 2006. It's been one year and one month since Steve Jobs passed away, and the company that he set the foundation for is now paying tribute to him by renaming their main facility after him.

Jobs had an integral part in designing this building, so this is really an absolutely appropriate and touching way to honor the late innovator. He may not be walking this Earth with us anymore, but Steve Jobs lives on in the legacy he left behind, not only at Apple, but at our favorite animation studio in the world.