New 'Finding Dory' Posters Emerge

A handful of colorful new posters for Finding Dory have surfaced in the past couple of weeks, including the main theatrical poster pictured above. This one puts Dory right in the center surrounded by the film's diverse cast of sea creatures, including a school of regal tangs. The poster is reminiscent of the theatrical poster for Finding Nemo from thirteen years ago.

Four additional posters were released last month, all with the motif of literally "finding Dory".

Lastly, a couple of international posters have also popped up, namely a Japanese version and one for the UK.

via Pixar Post

Finding Dory hits theaters June 17.

Delve Into Dory's Past In Latest 'Finding Dory' Trailer

With just three months to go until the anticipated sequel's release, Pixar dropped the second trailer for Finding Dory this month. Check it out below!

Much like how Toy Story 2 uncovered Woody's backstory, Finding Dory looks to do the same for the forgetful but lovable regal tang, who played the role of the comedic sidekick in the first film.

Though relatively brief, the trailer does give us a first look at some of the new locales the film will explore and introduces some new characters, including Hank the septopus (voiced by Ed O'Neill) and Dory's old friend, Destiny the whale shark (Kaitlin Olson). Fans of the original film will also be happy to see a couple of familiar faces, including Mr. Ray and the surfer sea turtle Crush.

This trailer focuses mainly on comedy, but I expect the film will be just as heartfelt as its predecessor. It is a Pixar movie, after all.

Finding Dory swims into theaters on June 17.

'Inside Out' Wins Gold at 88th Academy Awards

To the surprise of no one, Pixar's fifteenth feature film Inside Out took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at last week's 88th Academy Awards.

Since its release in June, the film has gone on to become a worldwide sensation, earning praise from critics and audiences alike. It performed exceedingly well at the box office, raking in $356.5 million domestically and a walloping total of $856.8 million worldwide, making it Pixar's second-highest grossing film domestically, and third worldwide.

Pixar's own Woody and Buzz presented the award, but not before engaging in some playful banter.

Buzz & Woody present the award for best animated feature film: "Reach for the sky!" https://t.co/vG5LjQdCo9 #Oscars https://t.co/GeNU5jjNgk

— ABC News (@ABC) February 29, 2016

This marks just one of many accolades won by Inside Out, following its Best Animated Feature Film wins at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Critics' Choice Awards, to name a few.

Inside Out was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay but lost to Spotlight. The brilliant Sanjay's Super Team, the Pixar short that was attached to The Good Dinosaur in theaters, was nominated for Best Animated Short Film but unfortunately did not take home the prize, losing out to Bear Story.

The Oscar comes home (picture from Pixar's Twitter)

A big congratulations to Pete Docter, Jonas Rivera, and the entire crew of Inside Out! The film deserves every ounce of praise it has received and is a beautiful, touching story that anyone can relate to and will no doubt be cherished by audiences for years to come.

I'd also like to acknowledge Pixar's other recent feature film The Good Dinosaur, which, with all the hype surrounding its predecessor, has sadly been overlooked by the general public. It's certainly a much simpler, quieter film than Inside Out, but there is beauty in simplicity, and The Good Dinosaur is a perfect example of that. It's a lovely little movie with a unique flavor and a great message, and I hope more people will discover and appreciate it as it grows older. It's out on home media now, so I highly encourage you to check it out if you haven't already.

Pixar President Reveals New Originals Are on the Way

Looking at Pixar's current slate, one thing sticks out; of the five feature films they have scheduled from now until 2019, only one is an original (Lee Unkrich's Día de los Muertos-inspired Coco), while the rest are sequels to past Pixar hits. Sequels are by no means a bad thing, but Pixar's legacy has been built through breaking boundaries and taking audiences to thrilling new worlds, so naturally, fans are also hungry for more original films.

Fortunately, it seems like the studio has more up its sleeve than it has made public. In an interview last month, Pixar president Jim Morris revealed that there are in fact several unannounced original films currently in production at the studio. He briefly mentions that Peter Docter and Jonas Rivera, director and producer of last year's smash hit Inside Out, are currently working on "a new and equally weird idea" and goes on to namedrop Dan Scanlon (Monsters University) and Mark Andrews (Brave), stating that they too are directing new original films. Andrews was known to have been working on a new project since early 2013, but it had not been mentioned since. Newcomer Brian Fee, a story artist at Pixar and part of the studio's Senior Creative Team, is also directing a new film, though Morris did not specify whether this one is a sequel or another original; my money is on the latter.

All in all, exciting news! I always figured that there were plenty of originals in the works, but it's nice to finally have confirmation. Each of the studio's original films always manages to break new ground while being fresh and distinct from anything done before, so I can't wait to see what they have in store.

30 Years

The original Pixar logo

It has now officially been three decades since Steve Jobs bought the Graphics Group, a computer division of Lucasfilm, and Pixar Animation Studios was born. No one could have predicted what would come next.

To celebrate the studio's 30th anniversary, Disney put out a six-minute video featuring one of Pixar's founding fathers John Lasseter. He talks about the studio's beginnings and the basis upon which it was built.

The cultural impact that Pixar and its films have had in just 30 years is monumental, to say the least. Through combining art and technology, the wizards at the studio revolutionized the animation industry and have created characters as beloved as Mickey Mouse, and continue to do so to this day.

Where Pixar has truly excelled, I think, is in making audiences around the world believe that the computer-generated creatures on the screen are real, living beings. Their films are much more than visual eye candy; they have heart. You forget the fact that you are watching a movie and become fully immersed in the fantastical worlds and, above all, the characters. Corny as that may sound, I'm sure many people would agree.

It's crazy to think that what started as a meager computer company has gone on to create some of the most beloved films of all time and inspire a whole generation of artists. I cannot wait to see what they accomplish in another 30 years.