Oscar Results

Last night was the 83rd Annual Academy Awards and the biggest night of the year in terms of films was on full force. As predicted Toy Story 3 was unable to capture the Best Picture award that instead went to The King's Speech and it also lost the Best Adapted Screenplay award to The Social Network, however it did capture 2 Oscars.

Pixar's latest beat out DreamWorks' fantastic How to Train Your Dragon and Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist to win Best Animated Feature and also Randy Newman with his second win (and 20th nomination) won Best Song for "We Belong Together".

Congrats to all involved.

The Simpsons Parodies Animation

In the latest episode of The Simpsons, Angry Dad: The Movie, in which Bart endeavours to turn his little animations about Homer from series 13 into an animated film. From there the episode turns into a veritable plethora of animated parodies.

The episode parodies Pixar (or as it is called here, Mixar, above) showing John Lasseter and co. turning up to the Golden Globes on the famous Pixar scooters, also parodying Randy Newman (below), who sings "You've got an enemy" to Bart. It also then parodies Luxo, Mr. Potato Head and WALL E (above). We also get a parody of a Pixar film, condiments, a film about what happens when food comes to life when people aren't around, I can't imagine where they got that idea from!

They also parody Aardman and Wallace and Gromit, with Willice and Crumble, there's even a special guest appearance by W&G creator Nick Park (above).

You can also see snippets of parodies of DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda and Disney's The Lion King (top). As well as a parody of Sylvain Chomet and The Triplets of Belleville.

The episode is hilarious and is definitely one of the best episodes of The Simpsons in recent memory. The episode also contains little digs at celebrities i.e. Ricky Gervais' somewhat questionable hosting of The Golden Globes this year.

Hop vs. Rio

So, the animated film battle of the iPod game magnates has begun!

Seemingly in somewhat of a measure to take on Angry Birds and Rio, Illumination Entertainment and their upcoming CGI/Live-Action mash up, Hop, have struck back. In the most recent update for Doodle Jump for iPod Touch and iPhone, the beloved game introduced a new feature; if you change your name to Hop or E.B. (the film's main character) you can play as E.B. in the game.

This is a shrewd move by Illumination Entertainment by associating themselves with arguably one of the most recognisable iOS games out there. Not that the company behind Despicable Me needs any extra advertisement. Saying that, Hop is out on April 1st and Rio on the 15th, so there will be some competition.

You can see screenshots of how to unlock the mode and the actual mode itself above.

Also, I implore you to like our Facebook page (at the top right of the page), promoting Toy Story 3 to win Best Picture. The Oscars are tonight, so Toy Story 3 needs all the support it can get against heavy favourites such as The King's Speech and The Social Network.

New Rio Video

As April 15th gets closer, we're getting more and more hype and video packages for Blue Sky Studios' next feature film, Rio, we've already seen several trailers, a superbowl spot and had an announcement of Angry Birds Rio. As those of you who follow the blog regularly will know, Rio is one of the animated films that I'm most looking forward to this year and this new video (above) sheds a lot more light on the film. This newest trailer (of sorts) contains a lot of previously unseen footage, as well as showing more of the musical side that we have been led to believe will largely affect the film.

This newest video has me even more excited for the release of Blue Sky Studios' 6th feature film.

Stay tuned for more.

My First Uploaded Drawing - Rex

The above picture is my first ever uploaded A113Animation  drawing. The picture is of Rex of Toy Story fame, I drew the picture on the Brushes app for iPod touch. I'm personally quite pleased about it, but I'll welcome feedback.

Despicable Me out on DVD and Blu Ray in the U.K.

Finally one of my favourite films of last year, Despicable Me, is out on DVD and Blu Ray in the U.K., I will personally be getting it at the first opportunity. The multi A113Animation Award winning Despicable Me, was great and I really look forward to seeing it again and seeing all the minion mini-movies.

New Cars 2 Characters Debut

Whilst I was away, 2 new Cars 2 characters debuted, and we have two new bios, images and (as of yet) 1 new turntable.

Red Torque Redline



Official Description:

Rod “Torque” Redline is considered by many as the greatest American spy in the world. Recruited after the Cold War for both his brains and brawn, Torque is a tough-as-nails Detroit muscle car with a mastery of disguises.

In his latest deep-cover operation, he obtained vital information about the plot to sabotage the World Grand Prix. So Rod plans a rendezvous with his British counterparts to share his discoveries at the World Grand Prix welcome reception in Tokyo, Japan. But with the bad guys hot on his tailpipe, Rod is forced to ditch the intel early and with the first party guest he sees — a rusty American tow truck named Mater.

Siddeley

Official Description:

Siddeley is a state-of-the-art British twin-engine spy jet. At 176 feet from nose to tail and an impressive 157-foot wingspan, the super sleek silver-bodied Siddeley streaks through international skies at record-breaking mach 1 speeds. Outfitted with all the latest in high-tech spy equipment, including cloaking technology, defensive weaponry and afterburners, Siddeley is Finn’s steadfast partner-in-fighting-crime around the globe.

We've seen Siddeley before, in one of the first images of the film, but this is he first time we've got a description of him, and our first look at Rod. Stay tuned for more Cars 2 characters.

New Cars 2 Trailer - Daytona 500 TV Spot

The above trailer/TV Spot debuted during the NASCAR Daytona 500. The trailer is - simply put - hilarious, I love it and it reveals horded of new unseen footage. It definately makes you want to see the film even more!

Walt Disney Investors Conference Results: Planes and Toy Story Toons

From last week's Walt Disney Investors Conference we got a storm of new details and updates on all things Disney and Pixar. Arguably the most substantial in terms of animated revelations is that concerning the upcoming straight to DVD/Blu Ray Cars spin-off, Planes.

As previously reported and speculated, Planes is NOT a Pixar production, it is indeed being made by DisneyToon Studios. The film is set to be a direct to DVD/Blu Ray one and is due for release in Spring, 2013.

To be honest, whilst I'm sure Planes won't be anywhere near Pixar level, I must admit I personally really want to see it. We have an official press release below:

I'm Back! - Animation News Catch-Up

Apologies for the week long hiatus guys, but even I need a holiday once in a while. Nonetheless, I'm now back. With that being said, look forward to a massive horde of updates over the next couple of days, including:

• All of the news in the animation world that I've missed over the past week, and believe me, there's a lot!
• Some brand new blog features, including Facebook intergration, new logos, word of the week section and... a mysyterious competition page!
• A review of David A. Price's The Pixar Touch book!
• My first ever uploaded drawing!

However, I have a funny story from my holiday; whilst turning on the somewhat questionably limited holiday TV that we had in our hotel, the first progrmme that came up was The Incredibles (in Spanish). It seems I can never escape animation! This leads me into a news feed, below we have a sneak peak at one of the many new features for The Incredibles' Blu Ray release, Nomanisan Island Redevelopment Plan.



Stay tuned for more updates!

New Mars Needs Moms Trailer

Disney just uploaded the second trailer for Imagemovers Digital's upcoming motion-capture animation film, Mars Needs Moms. Whilst the trailer seems just to be, more or less, a rehashing of the previous trailer, it further showcase the eerily beautiful animation created by mo-cap.

Imagemovers' previous films (A Christmas Carol, Polar Express) haven't exactly been groundbreaking, but this does like quite good. Personally, I think it has a feel of WALL E about it.

The film is due to be released (in America) on 11th March this year. The film is also set to be the last film from Imagemovers Digital before it's closure later this year.

Thoughts?

Shrek Forever After Review - It's No Princess, But It's No Ogre Either.

I know this may seem incredibly belated since the film cam out in May, however I only saw Shrek Forever After for the first time yesterday, so I thought I'd best share my thoughts and write up the second full A113Animation Review.

Having not seen the film up until now, I had lots of time to here a very mixed batch of reviews, the general consensus of which seemed to be - whilst no masterpiece - it's a really fun film, well, not to put too fine a point on it; I'll be the judge of that, so enjoy:

Shrek Forever After is the fourth - and supposedly final film - in the franchise that put DreamWorks Animation on the map. Simply put, Shrek 1 was fantastic, one of my favourite animated films of all time, likewise, Shrek 2 was also really, really good... but Shrek the Third was just awful. I literally loathed every single aspect of Shrek the Third, it was stupid, repetitive, boring and annoying, so you can understand why I was sceptical about a fourth Shrek, since it's been a downwards slope since number 1 in 2001. However, (most of) these fears were soon diminished.

New Cars 2 Image - Arrivals

Courtesy of Stitch Kingdom and The Pixar Blog we have a new picture from Pixar's upcoming animated sequel, Cars 2. The picture appears to be Lightning McQueen, Mater, Luigi, Guido, Filmore and Sarge (presumably Lightning's Pit Crew) getting off the plane after travelling to the World Grand Prix.

Not long now until we can see the full film, roll on July.

2 New Cars 2 Characters

The Pixar Times is reporting that Disney unveiled 2 new Cars 2 Characters - Miles Axelrod and Nigel Gearsley - as part of a Cars 2 panel recently held in New York. The decriptions, turntables, courtesy of HeyUGuys, and images are below:

Miles Axelrod (voiced by Eddie Izzard)

Official Description:

Sir Miles Axlerod is a former oil baron who has sold off his fortune, converted himself into an electric vehicle and has devoted his life to finding the renewable, clean-burning energy source of the future—ultimately discovering what he believes is the fuel everyone should be using.  Axlerod is also the car behind the World Grand Prix, a three-country race he created that attracts the world’s top athletes—but it’s really an excuse to show off his new wonder-fuel, Allinol.

Nigel Gearsley

 

 

Official Description:

Nigel Gearsley from Warwickshire, England, is an Aston Martin DB9R racer bearing #9. He got his start racing the Speed Hill Climb—a unique, completely uphill race through the Aston Hill Mountain Area that his family has run for generations. Nigel’s racing career has been anything but an uphill challenge, as he’s won nearly every start in the past few years on the Grand Touring Sports Car circuit, including a string of podiums at Nurburgring and Le Mans. His cool British refinement makes him an imposing presence on the World Grand Prix courses.

As per usual with new Cars 2 Characters, they look particularly awesome - particularly Nigel. Thanks to HeyUGuys for the descriptions.

BAFTA Results

As the evening progresses, I will update each award, stay tuned: Winners in Bold: Update - Slight cockup by BAFTA winners online here BEST FILM

BLACK SWAN - Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin

INCEPTION - Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan

THE KING’S SPEECH - Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin

THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin

TRUE GRIT - Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

A113Animation featured on The Pixar Podcast

I completely forgot to post this until now, but I recorded an intro for The Pixar Podcast that was aired in front of the latest news episode. Thanks to Derrick Clements (who runs the podcast) for featuring it on the podcast and I encourage you all to listen to The Pixar Podcast every week, it really is brilliant. Derrick has had interviews with real Pixar animators Chris Chua, Austin Madison and Craig Good, as well as with Disney director Don Hahn, so I feel honoured to be featured (even in a small way) on the podcast.

Thanks, once again, to The Pixar Podcast and Derrick.

The Incredibles Blu Ray Update

Disney have just provided the full press release for the 4 disc Blu-Ray release of The Incredibles, which you can read in full below:



Everyone’s Favorite Family of Undercover Superheroes Bursts Into High-Definition

Academy Award®-Winning Animated FeatureDisney•Pixar’s THE INCREDIBLES Makes Its Highly-Anticipated Blu-ray™ Debut On April 12th

BURBANK, Calif., February 10, 2011 – THE INCREDIBLES, everyone’s favorite family of undercover superheroes and Disney•Pixar’s two time Academy Award®-winning animated feature film (2004 Best Animated Feature Film and Best Achievement in Sound Editing), makes its highly-anticipated Blu-ray™ debut on April 12, 2011. Releasing as a 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (2 Blu-ray Discs + 1 DVD + 1 Digital Copy), this superset has something for everyone – from the discerning enthusiast who demands nothing less than the highest-quality home entertainment experience, to the family who enjoys the interactive and engaging bonus features that only Blu-ray can provide – making this a “must add” to every home entertainment collection across the nation.

From the creative minds behind the Toy Story films and Ratatouille, comes the hilarious, action-packed animated adventure about a seemingly ordinary family with an incredible secret. Releasing for the first time ever in high-definition and in its original theatrical wide screen version, THE INCREDIBLES has been packed to include fascinating audio commentary by Academy Award®-winning director Brad Bird and his fellow filmmakers, exclusive new bonus features, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes features, hilarious bloopers and much, much more.An explosion of fun, comedy and action-packed adventure, THE INCREDIBLES 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack will be available at retailers nationwide for the suggested price of $45.99 U.S./$52.99 Canada.

BONUS FEATURES:

Blu-ray:

Includes The Following All-New Bonus Features Plus All The Classic DVD Features:

• The Incredibles Revisited – A roundtable discussion with Writer/Director Brad Bird, Producer John Walker, Story Supervisor Mark Andrews, Supervising Technical Director Rick Sayre, Production Designer Lou Romano, Character Designer Teddy Newton, and Supervising Animator Tony Fucile.

• Paths To Pixar: Story Artists – Continuing the popular bonus feature series that viewers have seen on many other Disney•Pixar releases, this exciting new feature showcases multiple Pixar story artists giving viewers exciting insight into their work, their inspiration and the personal paths that eventually led them to a career at Pixar.

• Studio Stories: Gary’s Birthday – Trying to make a movie when there are not enough work days and too many birthday parties? This feature showcases how The Incredibles crew solved that problem.

• Ending With A Bang: Making The End Credits – Interview with Director of Photography Andy Jimenez and Character Designer Teddy Newton about the process of creating the end credits for the film.

• “The New Nomanisan” Island Redevelopment Plan – A guided tour of Nomanisan Island, post-Syndrome, pitching the island as a vacation resort paradise.

Classic DVD Features:

The DVD in the 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack Includes:

• The Incredibles feature film

• The original short film Jack-Jack Attack

• Pixar’s Academy Award®-nominated short film Boundin’ (2003 Best Animated Short)

ABOUT THE FILM:

THE INCREDIBLES follows the adventures of a family of former superheroes who are rediscovering the true source of their powers—in one another. Once one of the world’s top masked crime fighters, Bob Parr (a.k.a. Mr. Incredible) fought evil and saved lives on a daily basis. But 15 years later, he and his wife Helen (the former Elastigirl) have been forced to take on civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs. Today they, and all superheroes, live as mere mortals. Bob and Helen lead all-too-ordinary lives with their children, Violet and Dashiell “Dash” Parr, who go out of their way to appear “normal,” and new baby Jack-Jack As a clock-punching insurance man, the only thing Bob fights these days is boredom and a bulging waistline. Itching for action, the sidelined superhero gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top-secret assignment. Now, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, the family must come together and once again find the fantastic in their family life.

ABOUT THE CAST & CREW:

THE INCREDIBLES, features a top-notch list of voice cast talent that includes Craig T. Nelson (TV’s “Parenthood,” “Coach”) as Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible, Holly Hunter (TV’s “Saving Grace,” 1993 Academy Award®-winning Best Actress for The Piano) as Helen Parr/Elastigirl, Samuel L. Jackson (The Other Guys, Iron Man 2) as Lucius Best/Frozone, Jason Lee (TV’s “My Name is Earl,” Almost Famous) as Buddy Pine/Syndrome, Spencer Fox (The Groomsmen, and the voice of Mudbud in Air Buddies) as Dashiell Parr (Dash), Sarah Vowell (author and noted radio show commentator on public radio’s “This American Life”) as Violet Parr, Jean Sincere (TV’s “Glee,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Frasier”) as Mrs. Hogenson, John Ratzenberger (TV’s “Cheers,” the Toy Story films) as the Underminer, Wallace Shawn (TV’s “Gossip Girl,” The Princess Bride) as Gilbert Huph and many more.

THE INCREDIBLES is produced by John Walker (The Iron Giant) and executive produced by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker and chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios John Lasseter (The Toy Story films, Cars, Monsters, Inc.). Kori Rae is associate producer, and Katherine Sarafian is production manager. Written and directed by Academy Award®-winning Brad Bird (Ratatouille, The Iron Giant, TV’s “The Simpsons”). And playing a major role in creating the film’s retro-futuristic style and exuberant mood is Academy Award®-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up, Ratatouille and TV’s “Lost”).

ABOUT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS:

For more than 85 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company (DIS: NYSE) was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under four banners: Walt Disney Pictures, which includes Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature, Touchstone Pictures and Marvel. Through the Home Entertainment division, innovative distribution methods provide access to creative content across multiple platforms. Original music and motion picture soundtracks are produced under Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, while Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Broadway theatrical productions, Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE! For more information, please visit http://www.disney.com/.

Thanks to The Pixar Times for this!

BAFTA Predictions

Since it is the 2011 BAFTAs tomorrow night here in the U.K., it thought it best to - similarly to my Oscar predictions - give my humble predictions. As previously, the films I want to win are in bold and the films I think will win are underlined, more than one in bold or underlined means I can't decide, none means I haven't seen any of the films nominated:

BEST FILM

BLACK SWAN - Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin

INCEPTION - Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan

THE KING’S SPEECH - Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin

THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin

TRUE GRIT - Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

John Lasseter Cars 2 Cameo

Disney and Pixar have just revealed (courtesy of Mike at The Pixar Blog) a brand new Cars 2 Character, John Lassetire! Based on Pixar head honcho and Cars 2 director, John Lasseter, the car is described as a "hefty", all-American, yellow pick-up truck.

Lasseter is said to be thrilled with the honour and said the following:

"It was news to me. I did not know about that, so I was a little surprised. I ended up voicing this character. It was just one line, but now I have a Cars character. I'm very excited about that."

Congrats to John on his first role in a Pixar movie, in contrast all other Pixar directors have already voiced a character (Pete Docter was Kevin in Up, Andrew Stanton was Crush in Finding Nemo, Brad Bird was Edna Mode in The Incredibles and Lee Unkrich was the Jack in a Box in Toy Story 3).

Kind of makes you want to see Cars 2 even more, doesn't it?

Update

My mistake, John was in 2 previous Pixar films: A Bug’s Life (Harry the Mosquito) and Toy Story 2 (Blue Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot). 

First Full Hop Trailer

The first full theatrical trailer for Illumination Entertainment's (the studio behind Despicable Me) upcoming CGI/Live Action mash-up, Hop, was released yesterday. We had previously seen the teaser trailer, which seemed a little silly, but this new trailer reveals a lot more about the plot. Furthermore, I really like the main character.
Definately looking forward to Hop!

A113

Some familiar faces outside the famous CalArts room.

Obviously, the blog is largely based around the famous 4 letter code, A113, the room number on a room at CalArts (the famous animation school set up by Walt Disney), where oh so many famous animation legends have walked out of - John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Tim Burton etc... So I thought it would be a good idea to compile a huge list of all of the uses of the code I can find, the blog is named after it after all! Feel free to comment and let me know of any more you've found.

A Collection of Things 3

I've once again decided to compile some of the best pictures, videos and articles that I've found in recent weeks, enjoy:

Firstly, we have (below) and in a similar vein to the Pixar Wars characters that we saw a few weeks ago, but a whole lot more detailed, Buzz Lightyear as Boba Fett. Courtesy of James Kennison from You'remockingmearen'tyou.com (awesome Toy Story themed name by the way) who uploads a new buzz drawing every day. Very original and very interesting.

We have 2 brilliant short films this week, we have (directly below) a DC Comic themed fan-boy short film, Superman Classic. It's a very entertaining and detailed short film and is brilliantly devoted to the source material. The film comes from Robert Pratt, a Disney animator who worked on Pocahontas and Tarzan. I love it and it's good to see lots of different types of short films. Robert is also currently working on Cars spin-off , Planes.



On the above note, we have another animated short film, from Pixar animator Cat Hicks, Wild Dogs (below). The films was created while she was studying at Ringling College of Art and Design, it is great, funny and not to mention brilliantly animated for a college film. Cat tweeted this past week that the short will soon air on  BBC, so keep your eyes peeled.



We also have a career montage and (hilarious scripted) acceptance speech from Brad Bird (below) upon recieving the Winsor McCay award alongside Matt Groening and Eric Goldberg. Worryingly, there may be some truth in this faux acceptance speech.

Exclusive: New Cars 2 Characters

Whilst just perusing the official Cars 2 website, I found 2 new (1 previously unheard of) Cars 2 Characters: Francesco Bernoulli and Uncle Topolino. Both look really good and if you click on the bios you find the turntable of Francesco. Uncle Topolino is presumably (from the look of him) affiliated (maybe even the uncle of) Luigi!

I'm really pleased about finding my first exclusive!

Update

Make that 3, found Mama Toplino (below)

Francesco Bernoulli turntable (below) in HD.

Rio at the Superbowl

The above trailer, of Blue Sky Studios' upcoming animated film, Rio, aired at yesterday's Superbowl. Whilst the Superbowl isn't particularly important to anyone outside of the States, having a commercial spot in the Superbowl is a big deal in America and this is certainly great for the publicity of Rio - but from the studio behind the box office smash series, Ice Age, they don't necessarily need it.

The trailer looks great, showcasing more of the musical elements we saw in the first 2 minutes last week. It shows more of the musical sides, as compared to the comedy shown in the first couple of trailers.

Thoughts about the new trailer, comment or use the reaction feature.

2011 Annie Awards, How to Train Your Dragon wins 10, Toy Story 3 Shut Out

Controversy is certain to surround the 2011 Annie Awards and it may well be a year that lives in infamy, mere months after Disney and Pixar publicly withdrew support for the Annie Awards and for ASIFA, due to allegedly unfair voting process, - and the fact that DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, buys each new DreamWorks member of staff an ASIFA Hollywood membership, automatically giving any decent DreamWorks film an edge - and in a similar vein to 2008 (when WALL E was shut out in favour of Kung Fu Panda), Toy Story 3 was COMPLETELY shut out.

While this was to be expected as Toy Story 3 was not officially submitted and only received 3 nominations, it's still disappointing. On the other hand, DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon swept the awards and won a gigantic 10, including all of the individual achievement awards that Toy Story 3 wasn't even nominated for!

Perhaps most importantly, How to Train Your Dragon won the Best Animated Feature Award, beating out Despicable Me, Tangled, The Illusionist and, of course, Toy Story 3. Congratulations to How to Train Your Dragon, it's certainly a fantastic film and one of my favourite animated films of all time and, as previously stated, at this point it seems pretty certain that Toy Story 3 is going to win the Best Animated Film Oscar, so it's nice to see HTTYD get some recognition. However, the fact that it won 10 awards and (the Best Picture nominated) Toy Story 3 won none, is only going to raise questions and controversy. As we saw in 2008 with Kung Fu Panda, I feel that the controversy is going to overshadow the achievements of How to Train Your Dragon.

Congrats to DreamWorks and consolidation to Pixar (who did manage to scoop the Best Animated Short Subject award for Day & Night, along with Brad Bird, Eric Goldberg, Matt Groening winning the Winsor McCay Award), but it's certain that ASIFA needs to have a close look at their process in the near future.

I'm not shocked at this, just disappointed.

Full list of awards and recipients here.

Thoughts?

New Rango Trailer

The above trailer for Nickelodeon Moies' upcoming animated film, Rango, are to be shown at at this year's superbowl, along with the recently revealed Kung Fu Panda 2, "We Will Wok You" trailer. The trailer looks really great and has got me even more excited for the film!

Randy Newman Goes to the Oscars

This afternoon A.M.P.A.S. announced that Toy Story 3 composer, Randy Newman, is going to perform his Best Original Song nominated track, "We Belong Together" at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

Surely this is a good sign for Newman's chances of scooping up another Oscar.

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards take place on 27th February, 2011.

Cars 2, Grem and Acer

We've finally got official details on some of the first characters we saw, way back at the release of the trailer for Cars 2, henchcars Grem and Acer. We got the official descriptions and images for the new characters:

Acer (Peter Jacobson - Taub in "House")

Acer has always felt like an outcast in the car world. The beat-up green AMC Pacer joined forces with fellow “lemon” cars as henchmen for the devious Professor Z, whose clandestine mission is to wreak havoc at the highly visible World Grand Prix. Acer must hunt down the American and British secret agents who’ve stolen crucial information about Professor Z’s underhanded plot—his primary target just happens to be Mater, who’s been mistaken for a spy. Acer tries very hard to be a tough guy, but he’s over-eager compared to his no-nonsense accomplice Grem.

Grem (Joe Mantegna - Fat Tony in "The Simpsons")

Grem is a dented, rusty orange AMC Gremlin. After years of being dismissed for his design, even being called a “lemon,” Grem has a big chip on his fender that has led him to the underworld of international espionage. As a henchman for a villainous boss Professor Z, Grem and his partner-in-crime Acer are trying to sabotage the World Grand Prix and the famous race cars competing in it. When Grem and Acer mistake Mater for an American agent with important top-secret information, the ruthless lemons set out on a round-the-globe chase to stop Mater from foiling their evil scheme.



As with previous characters, these characters are really interesting and beautifully designed, thanks to The Pixar Times for this story.

Update

The turntables are now uploaded in HD and are viewable above.

Checkmate by Chris Chua

Just found this awesome picture by Pixar Animator, Chris Chua, courtesy of The Pixar Times' Pixart section. It shows Geri (out of Pixar short, Geri's Game) playing chess against Carl out of Up. As is to be expected from anyone from Pixar, it's brilliant.

Just great!

Happy 25th Anniversary of Pixar

25 years to this day on 3rd February, 1986, Pixar was born. When Apple head honcho, Steve Jobs bought the Lucasfilm Graphics Division back in '86, I'm not sure even he knew how huge it would become. Since 1986, Pixar have produced 11 consecutive hit animated films and left a mark on critics and audiences alike that may never be matched.

Pixar, later bought by arguably the biggest film company of all time, Disney, has a legacy unmatched in the film industry and John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and the whole team changed the landscape of animated films forever.

I wish Pixar a sincerely heart felt congratulations on their 25th anniversary and can only wish them the best for the future, not that they need it!

On a side note, Kung Hei Fat Choi, happy Chinese New Year!

Kung Fu Panda 2, "We Will Wok You"

A new video has made its way on to DreamWorks' official YouTube page, another teaser trailer for their upcoming animated sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom. Whilst, it's certainly entertaining and you can't help but smile at - pardon the pun- the awesomeness. However, this is the type of advertising that many anti-DreamWorks people use against them, focusing on stupid jokes, pop culture jokes and rock music, rather than advertising any genuinely good aspects of the film.

Kung Fu Panda 1 was great, but DreamWorks don't have a great track record with sequels. I guess only time will tell.

Thoughts?

VES 2011 Results

Last night was the 9th annual Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards Ceremony and DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon was dominant in the animated categories, winning all three awards it was nominated for, these were:

·         Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Simon Otto, Craig Ring, Bonnie Arnold

·         Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture – Toothless

Gabe Hordos, Cassidy Curtis, Mariette Marinus, Brent Watkins

·         Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Andy Hayes, Laurent Kermel, Jason Mayer, Brett Miller

Congrats to the whole DreamWorks team, whilst undoubtedly many will complain that Toy Story 3 didn't win anything, at this point it's almost a certainty that TS3 will win the Best Animated Film Oscar, so it's nice for DreamWorks' brilliant How to Train Your Dragon to be recognised, it's certainly fantastic.

However, Pixar weren't awardless, as Day and Night won the Oustanding Achievement in an Animated Short Award.

Do you agree or disagree with these results, let us know with the new reactions feature below!

Shu Todoroki

Disney and Pixar have just releaed information on a new Cars 2 character, racecar, Shu Todoroki. We were given the first look at Shu (above) and an official description

Shu Todoroki is a Le Motor Prototype racer representing Japan and bearing #7 in the World Grand Prix. Shu was raised at the base of the active Mount Asama volcano in Japan, and soon became a champion on the Suzuka Circuit. His sleek design sports a fiery red Ka-Riu dragon, which Shu borrowed from Japanese legend because he relates to the small, yet fierce nature of the dragon. His team legacy is filled with victories – his coach, a Mazda, was the only Japanese car to ever win at Le Mans – and Shu hopes to prove his champion-level racing on the international stage of the World Grand Prix.

We also have the turntable (below). Thanks to HeyUGuys and The Pixar Times.



Update

Disney and Pixar have finally uploaded the turntable in HD (above).

First 2 Minutes of Rio

Blue Sky Studios recently uploaded the first 2 minutes of their upcoming animated film, Rio, (above) onto the film's official YouTube page. The film looks absolutely beautiful, the animation is stunning, bright and vibrant, and as previously reported the film is a heck of a lot more musical than director, Carlos Saldanha's other films - Ice Age and Robots.

The film looks good so far and is far removed from all other Blue Sky Studios films.

Your thoughts?