Puss in Boots: Kitty Softpaws Clip

DreamWorks are really laying on the advertising for their next feature film, the Shrek spin-of, Puss in Boots. Today we are treated to a new clip from the studio's official YouTube channel, this time, showcasing the female lead of the film, the mysterious and roguish, Kitty Softpaws.

The clip showcases the romantic side of the film; the relationship between Puss and Kitty, helping to add some extra depth to the film, which, hopefully, won't be a lackluster Shrek spin-off - as it promises to be very good.

DreamWorks' Halloween Double DVD Party Pack

DreamWorks have uploaded a new advert onto their official YouTube channel, advertising a new special holiday double back. The Halloween Double DVD Party Pack includes past DreamWorks Halloween specials: Scared Shrekless and Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space as well as a Shrek parody of the Thriller music video.

I have to say, DreamWorks have always produced particularly entertaining TV/DVD specials, and this seems like a fairly decent deal; although, quite who would ever wish to see a Shrek parody of MJ is beyond me, but I'm sure it will be entertaining, as is the norm for DreamWorks.

DreamWorks Sign With Netflix

DreamWorks Animation, home of Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and many more great and popular films, have just finalised a deal with the Internet movie-streaming giant, Netflix.

The deal replaces DreamWorks' current one with HBO, marking the first time that a major Hollywood studio has walked away from a paid TV deal (as DreamWorks had with HBO) in favour of a web-streaming deal. It's easy to see why DreamWorks have jumped on board the web streaming  bandwagon, as, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal is worth $30 million, per film, to DreamWorks - an already wealthy company.

The deal comes into effect in 2013 - one year early, with DreamWorks being let out of their HBO contract early by the network -, a year which will see DreamWorks release The Croods, Turbo and Peabody and Sherman, and the deal will include the streaming of films from DreamWorks' extensive canon of films: including Madagascar, Antz, Shark Tale and more.

The deal promises to be a particularly good one for both Netflix and DreamWorks!

New Lee Unkrich Film Underway at Pixar

Following on from the D23 announcements of two new Pixar movies - The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs and The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside The Mind - we now get a sniff of yet another Pixar movie in the works in Emeryville. As it turns out that Lee Unkrich, the director of the Best Picture nominated Toy Story 3, has just begun directing a new film.

Lee, an avid Twitter user, Tweeted on Thursday night "Tomorrow is a big day that may determine the next four years of my life. Wish me luck.", now, given that the creative cycle of an animated film at Pixar usually takes about four years, this would certainly point towards Lee pitching a new film to the Brain Trust.

The Pixar Times then tells us that he later Tweeted, before removing the Tweet, "Weekend: Relax. Monday: Get started on a new movie.”, so it appears as if the helmer of the highest-grossing animated film of all time's next project has been greenlit and I certainly can't wait to here more about it.

However, given that we have just passed D23 and the huge slab of news unveiled there, it is unlikely we will be finding out any substantial details about the film any time soon; other than the fact that, given an average of a four year production timeframe, the film will probably be released late 2015, or maybe pushed back to 2016 to allow more time. In my opinion, with Lee already being the director of the latest installment of the Toy Story franchise, it is highly likely that this film could be the ambiguously rumoured Toy Story 4, hinted at by Tom Hanks and John Lasseter. Hanks said he believed Pixar were working on it, he could have meant that Lee Unkrich was working on an idea for it, which has now been approved.

Now, I have often expressed my uneasiness about a fourth chapter in the Toy Story franchise, however many expressed similar concerns about Toy Story 3, and Lee did a stellar job with that, and I have no doubt he'd do the same with a fourth!

The Corner - Week 1 - Heather Reviews Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

A belated review, by A113’s standards, but a review nonetheless, of DreamWorks’ Spirit…

If you were to ask a person to list their favourite animated films, chances are, this would not be listed. Why? Because, in my opinion, Spirit is massively undervalued; it’s funny, it’s quirky, and it’s the only animated film to be seen through a horse’s eyes…

Spirit (voiced by Matt Damon) is a wild, young Kiger mustang, curious by name and nature, and the determined leader of a magnificent herd of wild horses who roam the wilderness of the American Frontier. When Spirit spots something awry in hi herd’s territory, he inspects it, and is thrown tail-first into an adventure. Befriending a young Lakota, falling for a beautiful pinto mare (also known as a paint mare) and outwitting an unyielding squadron of soldiers does nothing to discourage Spirit as he fights to return to his herd.

It was Senior Supervising Animator James Baxter (The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt, Beauty and the Beast) who oversaw the animation of Spirit, himself, and though the horses don’t physically speak, Spirit’s thoughts are conveyed to the audience through the mouthpiece of Matt Damon; songs by renowned singer-songwriter Bryan Adams play a prominent part also.

Little Creek, the Lakota boy, was played by Native American actor, Daniel Studi and It was Senior Supervising Animator Pres Romanillos (Mulan, Pocahontas) who oversaw the animation of this compassionate Lakota, who is captured by the cavalry, which is where he meets Spirit, who has also been caught.

Rain, fiercely loyal to Little Creek, her Lakota owner, is voiced by nobody, which could be seen as a weakness in the film…but instead it seems to add intrigue and mystery to the beautiful mare who bewitches Spirit. The animation of her character was overseen by Senior Supervising Animator William Salazar (The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado).

Enter: The Colonel-stern, determined, strong-willed… The Colonel quickly becomes Spirit’s most relentless adversary on his fight for freedom. He is voiced by James Cromwell (Babe, L.A Confidential), who perfects the short temper of his character, and holds just the right amount of dignity to make this ‘bad guy’ as ‘bad’ as he needs to be, yet still holding on to the last shred of honour. Supervising Animator Fabio Lignini (The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado) oversaw the Colonel’s animation.

One special character, neither horse nor human, is the landscape. It is the landscape of the American West itself, in the 1800s when the landscape was untamed, just like the mustangs who roamed it. To capture this beauty in this film, there were no books or films to compare enough to the actual thing, so a team of eight (including story supervisor Ronnie del Carmen, who, more recently, was the story supervisor on Pixar's Up) took a four-day tour of America’s most treasured national parks and incredible landscapes. The journey must have been successful, for in the many sweeping scenes in Spirit, the landscape is phenomenal and has been encapsulated perfectly, from the way the eagle soars through it, to the way the ‘camera’ pans across its brown and green floors.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron shows us some stunning animation, breath-taking in places, and has a storyline easy to be swept up by. Yet, if there was one gripe… for some it could be too musical. I suppose, this depends on preference. In my opinion, the music adds to the emotion of the film: sorrow in the heart-breaking scenes; laughter in the funny scenes.

For example, in one scene Spirit is shut up in a wide stall on a train. The music behind this particular scene is called “Sound the Bugle” (by Bryan Adams), and fits perfectly with the morose mood. The song has its ups and downs and keeps up with the animation like clockwork when Spirit’s moods heighten-when he believes he sees his family-and falls again. This musical aspect truly is a matter of opinion.

All in all… 8/10, for me; a memorable film with character, and one I’d recommend.