New Mystery Pixar Film Due In 2015

A short while ago, the Walt Disney Studios unveiled their upcoming release schedule, which included not only some approaching entries into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also an all-new project from Pixar - but is it really all-new?

The press release didn't give any title for this upcoming Pixar feature; it simply stated that a new untitled animated film from Pixar is scheduled for release on November 25th, 2015. If this release date actually remains untouched until 2015, then it mark the first ever year in which the studio releases two new movies. Of course, this was originally supposed to happen in 2011, but has been postponed over and over again each year. Only time will tell whether 2015 will be the year or not.

While this new project is now set for late 2015, Lee Unkrich's new Día de los Muertos film, however, still has not been given a release date - unless, of course, that this "new" film is in fact Lee's film. After all, Día de los Muertos takes place at just about the same time as Halloween, so November 25 wouldn't be that far away from the holiday itself.

So whether this is the new Lee film or a brand-new one, we can't be sure yet, but hopefully Disney and Pixar will clear it up for us real soon. Let's keep our fingers crossed, because I don't know about you, but this is going to be bugging me until I know for sure.

Pixar Announces Latin-Themed Film, Dino Film Given Title

All us Pixar fans were overwhelmed Tuesday evening with the loads of Pixar-related news that tumbled onto the web. So let's get started this massive blog post...

We had heard in September that Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3, was now working on a new film at the studio. No plot details whatsoever were revealed at the time, just that fact that Pixar was beginning a new project and that Lee would be the one directing it. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we know what Unkrich is up to. Ever heard of Día de los Muertos? Well, in case you haven't, it translates to "Day of the Dead", and it's essentially a Mexican holiday which is celebrated in early November in remembrance of those who have passed away.

Lee Unkrich tweeted:

So excited to finally reveal my next movie at Pixar: a story set in the world of the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos.

Disney and Pixar have also confirmed that TS3 producer Darla K. Anderson will produce the new "Día de los Muertos" film. No release date has been given yet, but expect sometime in 2015 or 2016; the film seems to have started production not too long ago, and most Pixar films take an average of four years to be completed.

Next, the new Bob Peterson-directed film, which, until Tuesday, was known as "The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs" has now been given a title and a new release date. The film has been given the simple name of The Good Dinosaur, and is now scheduled for release on May 30th, 2014. Pete Docter's project which "takes you inside the human mind" remains untitled, but it is now set for June 19th, 2015.

Here is the official synopsis for The Good Dinosaur:

What if the cataclysmic asteroid that forever changed life on Earth actually missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? This hilarious, heartfelt and original tale is directed by Bob Peterson (co-director/writer, “Up;” writer, “Finding Nemo”) and produced by John Walker (“The Incredibles,” “The Iron Giant”).

And for the 'Human Mind' film:

Pixar takes audiences on incredible journeys into extraordinary worlds: from the darkest depths of the ocean to the top of the tepui mountains in South America; from the fictional metropolis of Monstropolis to a futuristic fantasy of outer space. From director Pete Docter (“Up,” “Monsters, Inc.”) and producer Jonas Rivera (“Up”), the inventive new film will take you to a place that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen: the world inside the human mind.

And finally, for Lee's 'Day of the Dead' film:

From director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson, the filmmaking team behind the Academy Award®-winning "Toy Story 3," comes a wholly original Pixar Animation Studios film that delves into the vibrant holiday of Día de los Muertos.

Even after all this excitement, Pixar was not finished with their explosion of news. The audience at CinemaCon was treated to the new teaser trailer for the upcoming prequel Monsters University. The teaser, I've heard, revolves around a younger Sulley pulling a sort of prank on a sleeping Mike in a dorm room. The whole audience is said to have been laughing. A Pixar employee confirmed on Twitter that we will see this trailer in June when Brave hits theaters. I am super excited to see it.

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn’t stand each other. “Monsters University” unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

Screaming with laughter and fun, “Monsters University” is directed by Dan Scanlon (“Cars,” “Mater and the Ghostlight,” “Tracy”) and produced by Kori Rae (“Up,” “The Incredibles,” “Monsters, Inc.”). The film opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, 2013, and will be shown in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.

It seems I've covered everything...

Pixar's calendar seems loaded with nothing but awesomeness, and they seem to be exploring completely new worlds and possibilities, which excites me even more.

So if someone asks you, "Do you know what Pixar is working on right now?", you can tell them, "Yup. They're taking us back to when Mike and Sulley were in college, then showing us what the world would be like if dinosaurs had never gone extinct, followed by a vivid journey into the human mind, and later an immersive story set in the world of the Día de los Muertos holiday." How awesome is that answer?

Pixar Pogo Remixes!

Lee Unkrich just tweeted Pogo's new remix, "Boo Bass", which was made by simply using sounds from Monsters, Inc. Just watch and be blown away.

Also, Pogo has made some other neat Pixar remixes in the past, entitled "UPular and "Toyz Noize". It's really hard to pick a favorite, don't you think?

Does Pixar Have A Chimp?

Lee Unkrich's Twitter display pic. He loves chimps.

If you've ever seen the bonus material for the Monsters, Inc. DVD or Blu-ray, you've probably noticed the completely random "pet" chimp walking around the Pixar studios as the filmmakers casually explain how the movie was made. This has led many people have ask themselves the very same odd question:

"Does Pixar have a pet chimpanzee?"

The answer is actually no, but they did have one for a day, and that happened to be the day they were filming the bonus features for the Monsters DVD. I remember as a little boy seeing this chimp in the background when watching the special features, and thinking to myself, "Man, It would be so cool to work at Pixar, they have a chimp!"

Why on Earth would they decide, of all things, to have a chimp casually making appearances during the bonus material of one of their films? Watch as Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, Bob Peterson, and Darla K. Anderson explain the story behind the "Pixar" chimp.

Quite a funny story, huh? I guess it was pretty hilarious to "inexplicably" have a chimp there, put just pretend like it wasn't there. Lee's love of monkeys and chimpanzees also probably had something to do with having the little ape at the studio for a day.

This chimp, however, isn't the only ape to have worked within Pixar...

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."

Pixar at D23 Expo

At last, some Pixar news to share with you all.

You've probably heard of D23 Expo, often called "The Ultimate Disney Event for Fans and Families". This year, for the first time ever, Pixar will be present at the event, and it seems that it will be pretty hard to ignore Pixar's presence at D23.

Many Pixarian "celebrities" will be present at the event, such as Kelly Macdonald and Kevin McKidd from Pixar's upcoming release, Brave, Ricky Nierva, production designer for Monsters University, Jim Morris, general manager of the Pixar studios, and best of all, a group of almost all of Pixar's directors, from John Lasseter, all the way to Dan Scanlon! Not to mention, legendary Pixar composer Michael Giacchino will be there too. Wow, if I was lucky enough to be attending the event, I'd probably pass out from all the excitement.

Here is an official list of all the Pixar-related panels to enjoy at the giant event:

A Conversation with the Pixar Creative Team

Enjoy a rare opportunity to spend some time with the key figures responsible for Pixar’s unprecedented success, including John Lasseter (chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios), Jim Morris (general manager, Pixar Animation Studios), Pete Docter (director, Monsters, Inc., Up), Andrew Stanton (director, Finding Nemo, WALL-E), Bob Peterson (co-director, Up), Lee Unkrich (director, Toy Story 3), Mark Andrews (director, Brave), and Dan Scanlon (director, Monsters University).

The Characters of Monsters University

Director Dan Scanlon and Production Designer Ricky Nierva discuss how they combine hair, horns, and a lot of heart to bring the wonderful Monsters University characters to life.

Michael Giacchino’s Music of Pixar

In this musical presentation, award-winning composer Michael Giacchino explores his early influences through the creation of modern-day classic scores from Ratatouille, Up and Cars 2.

The Art of Brave

Production designer Steve Pilcher and shading art director Tia Kratter show how they and their team put paint to canvas and fingers to computer keys to create the stunning visuals of Scotland for Disney•Pixar’s upcoming film Brave.

Pixar Shorts

This retrospective screening of the animation studio’s legendary short films will be followed by a panel discussion with several of the filmmakers, including Ralph Eggleston (director, For the Birds), Andy Jimenez (director, One Man Band), Angus MacLane (director, BURN-E), Pete Sohn (director, Partly Cloudy), Teddy Newton (director, Day & Night), and Enrico Casarosa (director, La Luna).

So not only will many Pixar celebs be there, but we'll probably get our first peek at Monsters University, and see more concept art from Brave! This is sure shaping up to be one heck of an event!

Visit D23's official website for further details, and if you are interested in attending, you can buy tickets there as well.

Pixar Articles on TIME Website

There's always an interesting article about Pixar out there on the Internet.

Today I found a 'Pixar timeline' called A Brief History of Pixar on the TIME website, where TS3 director Lee Unkrich was nominated to be on the TIME 100 list. This timeline is a very concise summary of the Pixar films, from Toy Story to Cars 2.

Also, Pixar's John Lasseter landed a spot on this year's TIME 100! John Ratzenberger, considered to be Pixar's lucky charm, wrote the article for the TIME website, which you can read here. I've always been a big John Lasseter fan, so I'm glad to see him on the list of "Most Influential People".

Vote 'Lee Unkrich' on TIME 100 Poll!!!

A round of applause for Mr. Lee Unkrich!! This year, he was nominated to be included in TIME's list of the most influential people in the world, A.K.A. the TIME 100 Poll! Only 100 out of the 203 candidates are chosen to be on this very special list. Luckily, Lee is currently #38 out of all those other people. So you know what you've got to do now......VOTE FOR LEE UNKRICH!!!

(Via The Pixar Blog)

Cool Pixar Pic: Homecoming

One week ago, Toy Story 3 took home the awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the 83rd Academy Awards. Lee Unkrich posted this picture on Twitter. That big, big crowd of Pixar workers was waiting for him at the studio when he returned. That looks like it must have been a really awesome moment, and not just for Lee, but for everybody at Pixar. Not everyone knows how difficult it is to make an animated movie as good as Toy Story 3, so I think it's great that these people's talents are recognized by winning an Oscar. Again, congratulations Pixar.

Also, Lee tweeted this other cool picture, related to his Oscar win. "Safety first." Funny.

Note: I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up with my Cars 2 Character Profiles. I will begin catching up this week starting with Shu Todoroki.

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.

Oscar Nominations!!!

Yesterday, nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards were finally announced! Of course, Pixar's masterpiece from 2010, Toy Story 3, recieved several nominations! Five of them actually. I am super excited to see TS3 recieve so many nominations, and I am sure it will win at least one.

Toy Story 3 was nominated for the following:

- Best Picture (Darla K Anderson)
- Best Animated Feature (Lee Unkrich)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich)
- Best Sound Editing (Tom Myers and Michael Silvers)
- Best Original Song ("We Belong Together" by Randy Newman)

Also, Pixar recieved a nomination for their spectacular short, Day & Night, directed by Teddy Newton.

Conratulations to everyone at Pixar for getting nominated for several Academy Awards for yet another year! Good luck to Lee Unkrich, Darla Anderson, Teddy Newton, Randy Newman, Michael Arndt, Tom Myers, Michael Silvers, and everyone else at Pixar when February 27 comes! Let's hope TS3 becomes the first animated film in history to ever win the Almighty Oscar.

Toy Story 3 Wins Golden Globe!

Last night, the Golden Globes were held, and of course, Toy Story 3 and the geniuses at Pixar behind making all that movie magic were honored with the Best Animated Feature Film award! Pixar's 11th went up against:

-Despicable Me

-How To Train Your Dragon

-The Illusionist

-Tangled

But in the end, of course, TS3 went on to win. Congrats to Lee Unkrich (director), Darla Anderson (producer), John Lasseter (executive producer), and everyone else who helped bring this masterpiece to the big screen!

Photo credit: MSN

Pixar News Bundle!

Since I have been very busy lately, unfortunately I have not been able to update my blog. In the past week, there has been some cool news popping up, so this post is just catching up with all the news I missed.

First up, details and a cover image (seen below) for the Blu-ray release of The Incredibles have been released! Pixar's hit from 2004 will make its way onto high-definition Blu-ray on April 12 this year, and some of the new bonus features included will be:
-The Incredibles Revisited (Filmmakers Roundtable)
-Paths to Pixar: Story Artists
-Studio Stories: Gary’s Birthday
-Ending With A Bang: Making The End Credits
-Interactive “New Nomanison Island” Top Secret Redevelopment Plan
This Blu-ray will include an admission to Cars 2, which hits theaters two months later. Also, The Incredibles Blu-ray is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Also on April 12, a new edition of Cars will be released on Blu-ray. It is likely to also include new bonus material, and will also come with an admission to Cars 2.

Two awesome new 'For Your Consideration' posters for TS3's campaign were revealed at Awards Daily. Looks like they're also going for the Best Director Award. In my opinion, Lee Unkrich does deserve that award, for all the effort he put into directing the third installment of the Toy Story films. Also, I absolutely love the poster with Woody and Buzz shaking hands, it has been my favorite one out of all the posters that have been released.

Everyone knows Rotten Tomatoes, the site that has all the information you need on actors, critics, and of course, movies. Each year, Rotten Tomatoes gives an award called the Golden Tomato to the best film of that year, in their opinion. This year, the winner for that award is none other than Pixar's latest hit, Toy Story 3!! Congratulations to everyone at Pixar for winning the award for the 4th year in a row!

That's pretty much all the excitement that's happened in the last week, but also, a few new Cars 2 things came out, but to me, this was so exciting, that it deserved its own post, so that will be the next post you see here on Pixar Corner!

Lee Unkrich Says "The End."

They made the movie. They released it in theaters. It was a huge success. They release it on Blu-Ray and DVD. They put it in a drawer along with the other Pixar movies.

At least that's what director Lee Unkrich did. He has posted this video on You Tube for all Pixar fans to enjoy.

This officially marks "The End" for Toy Story 3. Well, not the end, but the end of the process of making the film, the end of its run in theaters, until it was released in home video.



Don't forget to look for Toy Story 3 on Blu-Ray and DVD this Tuesday. Finally.

Since it is "The End", it won't be long until the nominations (and awards, duh) start coming in for TS3. In my opinion, TS3 will definitely win Best Animated Movie at the Oscars and has a pretty strong chance of being nominated and possibly winning Best Picture.

Pixar News Lineup

There's been a lot of Pixar news going around lately, but I haven't been able to get on to the computer much with all the homework I've had. I don't like homework. At all.

-First up, it has been announced that composer Randy Newman will not return to score Cars 2. However, Up composer Michael Giacchino will be scoring the film. This should be great. Randy Newman would've done a great job, but Micheal Giacchino is just as talented.

-You may remember the "Chatter Telephone Tipline" video I posted not so long ago. It was about Pixar's secret code, A113. Well, a few more "Chatter Telephone Tiplines" have debuted on the Internet. One is about Lee Unkrich's one and only line in TS3. Lee voiced the Jack-in-the-Box that proclaims, "New toys!" when Andy's toys arrive at Sunnyside. There is also another "Chatter Telephone Tipline" about Sid's cameo in TS3. You may remember Sid as Andy's evil neighbor who tortures toys in the first Toy Story. Well, in TS3 he is a little older, and appears to have gotten a job in the garbage truck business.

-A few more sneak peeks of the bonus features which will be on the TS3 DVD/Blu-Ray have been released. One is a touching video featuring director Lee Unkrich and John Morris, voice of Andy in Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and Toy Story 3. Another one features interviews with Lee Unkrich, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Estelle Harris, and Jodi Benson. Only two days and two weeks until we bring all the action, heart, and humor of TS3 home!

Well, that's it for today, but keep coming back here for everything Pixar, the company that makes the best films in the world!

Note: My post about the Pixar cereal bar will be my next post. ;)

Lee Unkrich Talks About Pixar's Future!

Lee Unkrich talked to Hollywood.com and MovieWeb recently and some of Pixar's future projects were mentioned, as well as the making and success of Toy Story 3. There is a lot of interesting stuff in here, and it gets me even more excited to watch Brenda Chapman's Brave. I'm also really excited for next year's Cars 2 (Don't miss the trailer premiere on the TS3 Blu-Ray and DVD), as well as the new Toy Story Toons. What I'm really looking forward to is finding out the story for Monsters Inc 2, as I mentioned before. Be sure to check out all of Pixar's future releases, and keep coming here for up to date news on Pixar.

Rumors Confirmed! Toy Story 3 & Cars Toons Coming to DVD and Blu-Ray Nov. 2!

The rumors have finally been popped, so it's now official. The highly acclaimed blockbuster phenomenon Toy Story 3 is coming to home video in high definition on November 2, along with all the beloved Cars Toons! This to me, is very exciting news! I always get really excited when my favorite movies come out on DVD and Blu-Ray.


Toy Story 3:
Toy Story 3 will be released in a single disc DVD version, a two disc Blu-Ray version, and a 4 disc Combo Pack (2 Disc Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Copy).
Bonus Features will include:

DVD & Blu-Ray:
- Cars 2 Teaser Trailer
- Day and Night Theatrical Short
- The Gang's All Here, Toys! Epilogue
- Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: The Science of Adventure (with NASA)
- Paths to Pixar: Editorial
- Studio Stories: "Where's Gordon?"/"Cereal Bar"/"Clean Start"
- A Toy's Eye View: Creating a Whole New Land
- Alex Syntek Mexican Music Video

Blu-Ray Exclusive Bonus Features:
- Cine-Explore By Director (Lee Unkrich) and Producer (Darla K. Anderson)
- Beyond The Toy Box: Commentary Track
- Beginnings With Michael Arndt
- Bonnie's Playtime: A Story Roundtable
- Roundin' Up A Western Opening
- Goodbye Andy
- The Accidental Toymakers Of Pixar
- Life Of A Short
- Making Of Day and Night
- Ken's Dating Tips & Lotso Commercials
- Dancing With The Stars At Pixar
- Toy Story Trivia Dash (Game)



Cars Toon Mater's Tall Tales:
The Cars Toon Mater's Tall Tales collection will be released in a single disc DVD version, and a 2 disc version containing a Blu-Ray disc and a DVD. It will contain all the 9 Cars Toons including two new ones: Moon Mater and Mater Private Eye. DVDDizzy claims Bonus Features will include a featurette called "Unmade Tall Tales" and a sneak peek at Cars Land, the upcoming attraction at Disney's California Adventure.

Well, so there you have it. Two great DVD/Blu-Ray releases coming November 2 to look forward to! Toy Story 3 and Cars Toon Mater's Tall Tales are available for pre-order on Amazon.

Toy Story 3 World Premiere!

The stars (or toys) of the show at the Toy Story 3 "Fun Zone"

Most exciting thing I've posted on this website EVER. Yesterday, (June 13, 2010) the world premiere of Toy Story 3 was held at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Everyone was there! John Lasseter, Darla K. Anderson, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson, Joan Cusack, and of course, Mr. Lee Unkrich himself. Even Chelsea Staub and Cole Sprouse were there! This is SUPER exciting. Only 4 days until TS3 hits theaters. This will be a super-duper ultra mega supreme extremely awesome movie for sure! You can check out some pictures of the exciting premiere here and here. You can also watch some videos of the premiere here.

Lee Unkrich (director) and Darla K. Anderson (producer) pose at the World Premiere of "Toy Story 3"

The one, the only, Mr. John Lasseter himself along with his buddies Woody and Buzz at the World Premiere of "Toy Story 3"

"San Francisco Chronicle" Article on Lee Unkrich

The "San Francisco Chronicle" has published an article talking about Lee Unkrich, the director of Toy Story 3. It tells about how he got to Pixar and a lot of other interesting Lee Unkrich facts you might not have known before. Read it here.