Brad Lewis Moving

It was announced today that Brad Lewis, the co-director of Cars 2, is leaving Pixar and joining Tradition Studios, the recently opened animation department of Digital Domain.

Digital Domain, partly owned by Transformers director, Michael Bay, is a visual effects company that recently handled effects on Disney's Tron: Legacy. The company set up an animation subsidiary in Florida back in 2009 and is currently awaiting the completion of a 115,00 square-foot campus, scheduled to open in December.

The producer of Pixar's 2007 Academy Award winning feature, Ratatouille, has been at Pixar for ten years now, after spending over eleven years at PDI and DreamWorks Animation, where he produced Antz.

Lewis, who is set to be a director at Tradition Studios, said to The Hollywood Reporter:

“I am excited to join a company with Digital Domain's talent and expertise and to have an opportunity to be a part of its team in creating family-friendly stories and adventures.”

Lewis will surely be missed at Pixar and will be a huge asset to Digital Domain.

Golden Streak Continues - Cars 2

Amongst all the news today about upcoming Pixar projects, what with the Brave trailer and the possibility of Toy Story 4, we needn't forget the current Pixar film, Cars 2. Whilst Cars 2 is by no means the critical success we have come to expect from Pixar (currently holding 33% on Rotten Tomatoes), it seems people don't mind. As Cars 2 is Pixar's 12th consecutive No. 1 Box Office Opener.

Cars 2 opened to a brilliant opening day revenue of $25.7 million as people went in their droves to see the latest Pixar feature. Estimates suggest that Cars 2 has far exceeded its predictions, at a current estimate of around $68 million for the opening weekend.

As Martin of Upcoming Pixar points out, if these estimates are accurate, Cars 2 could tie Up as Pixar's 4th best opener, and that an exceeding of that estimate could beat The Incredibles $70 million opening.

It seems that Pixar fans aren't put off by a few bad reviews, thus is the trust that Pixar have built up over the years.

Toy Story 4?

Is Toy Story 4 already in the works? According to Tom Hanks, the voice of Woody in the Toy Story franchise, Pixar are working on it now. Hanks appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to promote his newest film, Larry Crowne. When asked whether we would see a Toy Story 4, Hanks responded "I think there will be. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. They’re working on it now."

This is obviously huge news, if it's true, however it's debatable as to whether it is. Last year, when Toy Story 3 came out, we were told that there was no plans for Toy Story 4, but that Tim Allen, the voice of Buzz Lightyear, had signed on in case Pixar decided to produce a fourth film. Don't take Hanks' word for it, as there are always ideas floating about at Pixar, it doesn't mean anything's set in stone.

However, this is still monumental. A fourth film could ruin the perfect ending of the third, but Pixar never cut corners with any Toy Story film before.

Check out the interview with Hanks here and skip to the 6 minute mark for the Toy Story news.

Thoughts?

Brave Trailer Surfaces Online

Contrary to previous statements that it would not make its way online, the teaser trailer for Brave has now been uploaded to the official Disney/Pixar YouTube page. It is absolutely stunning, it's gorgeous, it's tense and it looks unbelievable.

Pixar seem to have outdone themselves. You can see the trailer in all of its goodness above.

The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2 Review - A Masterful Menagerie of Martial Arts Art

Firstly, I'd like to thank the kind folk over at Titan books for the complimentary review copy of this utterly stunning book. Those of you that read my review of the film on which The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2 is based, Kung Fu Panda 2, will know that I wasn't really expecting a lot from the film, as DreamWorks are notoriously not great with sequels. However, DreamWorks have really stepped it up in the past couple of years and I was happy to be proved wrong by the utterly awesome Kung Fu Panda 2. But, one thing that I could never doubt about Kung Fu Panda 2, was how gorgeous it was; the animation in the film was stunning, ergo, the artwork would surely be breathtaking. And it is.

Brave Characters

Although I declared yesterday, that I was not going to post the 4 leaked images of the characters from Brave, since then a great deal of websites have posted them all across the Internet, and Pixar seem to be allowing it. So, I thought I would share the character images with you, which look amazing.

Princess Merida, the main character, voiced by Kelly Macdonald

Queen Elinor, voiced by Emma Thompson

The Wise Woman

Lord Macintosh, voiced by Craig Ferguson

They certainly all look stunning, Brave looks set to be one of the most visually stunning Pixar films. As Cars 2 is now out in America, be sure to see the teaser trailer with 3D showings and wait for the inevitable character roll out.

Pixar News

We have a lot of Pixar news to report today, we have a huge slab of images, news and more. Firstly, today, Pixar's 12th feature film, Cars 2, is released in North America. Pixar's first sequel to a non-Toy Story film is receiving mixed reviews, currently holding a 38%, Rotten, rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film does have a higher top critic rating than Cars 1 received, as it currently holds 60%. Either way, it's not Pixar good, although more reviews will surface as the film opens in other territories. Furthermore, it's what you think of the film that counts, not what the critics say. As Anton Ego said:

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so."

Secondly, as Cars 2 opens, audiences will see the newest adventure of the beloved Toy Story characters, in the first Toy Story Toon, Hawaiian Vacation. To show this, we have been given a glimpse at a new image from the short film (above), and there's a great interview with director, Gary Rydstrom, over at Animation World Network.

Finally, also with Cars 2, viewers will also see the (supposedly) astonishing teaser trailer for Pixar's next feature, Brave (apparently with 3D showings only). So, as the release of Brave is now less than a year away, Pixar have launched the official website for the film, including the film's synopsis and previously released artwork. We also get our first fully rendered (official) look at the main character, Princess Merida, courtesy of this month's issue of Entertainment Weekly. We also got a look at four fully rendered characters from the film, however, Pixar's cracking down on the images being published online, so I will hold back putting them up for now.

Shame. They were really good.

Cars 2 is open now in America and opens July 22 here in the UK.

Update

Actually, forget that, you can now view the character images here.

The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2 Arrives

My complimentary review copy of The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2 has just arrived from Titan books. I'd like to take this quick opportunity to thank Titan books for their generosity and say that it looks absolutely stunning. I will have my review of the book up some time this weekend.

DISCUSS: Most Anticipated Animated Film?

Moments ago, I detailed why Brave is my most anticipated animated film; for a wide variety of reasons, it's the animated film that I most want to see. However, there are many more animated films that I want to see, and it occurs to me that (for some reason), people don't always agree with me. So, SOUND OFF, what's the animated film you most want to see? Arthur Christmas? Puss in Boots? The Pirates? Monsters University? Kung Fu Panda 3? The Croods? Something else?

Let your voice be heard. Comment below.

Why Brave is my Most Anticipated Animated Film

There's a huge slab of animated films due out over the next few years, whilst it's debatable as to whether any of them are going to be worth your time, there's some that I simply cannot wait to see. The pinnacle of this anticipation is Pixar's Brave. The fantastic poster has got me even more psyched for Pixar's first fairy tale, but there's five reasons in particular that Brave is my most anticipated animated film - and one of my most anticipated films in general, behind The Dark Knight Rises of course.

These five reasons are as follows - in no particular order:

1. It's an original film, not a sequel, not to say that I have anything in particular against sequels, in fact my two favourite films of all time are sequels (Toy Story 2 and The Dark Knight). However, I love the feeling of uncovering a new world and new characters. Furthermore, I'm curious to see how Pixar handles their first fairytale.
2. The artwork we've seen so far looks utterly breathtaking, the visual style looks stunning. You can see just how much of a beautiful film Brave promises to be from the poster (above).
3. The brilliant Scottish feel should translate fantastically to create an authentic feel to the film. This is reinforced by the film's voice cast (lead by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald and starring Scottish comedian, Billy Connolly - who recently provided the voiceover for Scottish Disney Short Film, The Ballad of Nessie) and the fact that the score is being composed by Scot, Patrick Doyle (who scored Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).
4. It's (probably) going to be prefaced by the equally amazing and beautiful looking short film, La Luna, which I can't wait to see.
5. Furthermore, it will also (probably) have the trailer for Monsters University attached. I can't wait to get a glimpse at Pixar's first prequel, and I have waited nearly 10 years for a Monsters, Inc. follow up.

Brave looks, and sounds, utterly amazing in every way, shape and form; it seems like a much darker film and a bold new step by Pixar.

Thoughts? Agree? Disagree? SOUND OFF.

John Lasseter to be Recognised with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Disney and Pixar Animation CCO and general Movie God, John Lasseter, is to be recognised by getting his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Lasseter, an Academy Award winner and the director of Toy Story and, the soon to premiere, Cars 2, will be present at the unveiling ceremony on June 17, 2012.

John should be proud, it's a huge honour and one he fully deserves.

My Third Uploaded Drawing - An Alien

You may have noticed the slight change to the blog header, that is because I have just completed another drawing of a character to go on the header. Above you can see the completed drawing, an alien, from the Toy Story Trilogy. As with previously, I drew this picture on the Brushes for iPod Touch App. The app really is quite easy to draw with.

You can see the progress of the drawing (below) in GIF form.

Brave Poster Debuts

The first poster for Pixar's first fairytale, Brave, has debuted online (above). The scenery and general look of the poster is absolutely stunning, the poster is fantastic. Make sure you arrive early to cinemas if you want to see the teaser trailer for Pixar's 13th feature film, as it's rumoured that it won't go up online.

Thanks to Twitter user @BravePixar2012, for bringing the poster to my attention.

Update

EW.com have now debuted the official, hi-res, version of the poster. The poster is also accompanied on EW.com, by some thoughts on the film, trailer and poster, from director, Mark Andrews. More on Brave will be detailed in the June 24 issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Update No. 2

We now have an ultra hi-res version of the poster (now pictured at the top), courtesy of Bleeding Cool. Also, although I didn't notice it, while reading The Pixar Times, I noticed that Samad pointed out, that we can see 'the Bear' (previously in the title of the film, back when it was The Bear and The Bow), staring at Merida.

See it?

Nope? Neither did I. But, if you focus on one of the 'rocks'. Below you can see a zoomed in version of the poster, highlighting the bear.

This gives the film much more of a darker feel; it also makes it seem way more epic. I honestly can't wait for Brave.

New Puss in Boots Trailer

The first full trailer for DreamWorks' spin-off of the Shrek franchise, Puss in Boots, made its way online late last night. Following on from the teaser trailer in March, this is the first proper look we get at the plot of the film and the new characters that are being introduced, such as Salma Hayek (Grown Ups) as Kitty Softpaws and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) as Humpty Dumpty. The film has a very epic feel to it, it looks full of adventure and exciting chases and battles, I'm still sceptical as to whether or not this film is worth making, since the Shrek franchise has been fledgling in recent years. However, this trailer is very encouraging, and I jumped to such conclusions about Kung Fu Panda 2, but I am very happy to admit I was wrong.

DreamWorks has been way more consistent with the quality in the past couple of years, here's hoping they keep up the good work.

Kung Fu Panda 2 Clips

By now you should have heard the hype about Kung Fu Panda 2, it really is awesome. As those of you that have read my review will know, I deem DreamWorks' latest effort even better than the original, it is utterly brilliant. However, if you're on the fence about whether or not to see it, DreamWorks is hoping to sway you into going with a plethora of great clips. We have the above clip, an extract from the brilliant and detailed end-credit sequence, and the below one, one of the many hilarious moments in the film.



These clips are a mere fragment of the brilliance that is Kung Fu Panda 2, you can check more out on DreamWorks' YouTube page, however, to fully appreciate it, you really do have to go and see it.

Luke's Corner: Week 3

Hello and welcome to week 3 of Luke's Corner. I'm sorry about the delay but I have been very busy lately and I apologise for keeping you all waiting, from now on, these reviews are going to come every three weeks, rather than trying (and failing) to do one every week. So, without further ado, today's review is on a movie that has just recently been released in cinemas here in the UK, Kung Fu Panda 2. This is really going to be the most apt second opinion review, coming straight off the heels of William's review of the sequel.

To say this film was great would be a gross understatement, Kung Fu Panda 2 is chocked full of awesomeness that all the family can enjoy. By Batman's cowl, this is a brilliant film. In my opinion, this was much better than the original (which was also great), due to the huge, epic action scenes and battles. These battles really justified the "Kung Fu" in the title.

However, it's more than that, yes, this is an exciting film and it's incredibly fun, but it's brilliantly touching, it's heartwarming and just generally great. If you haven't seen the first film, you'll pick this up quickly, however, I believe this stands brilliantly on its own and heads in a whole new direction.

There's so much that's great about this film, that it seems almost redundant to talk about the animation, but - to put a long story short - it's gorgeous.

For all of these reasons and so much more, I am going to award Kung Fu Panda 2 the very first "Luke's Corner Top Movie Award", an awards that will only be awarded to the very best.

Overall I give it 10/10

Ups: Amazing Animation, Gut-Wrenching Comedy Genius, AWESOME ACTION

Downs: NONE !!!

Luke

New Pixar Film Coming 2013

The Pixar Blog is reporting (courtesy of Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood) that an "original" Pixar film, ergo "not a sequel" is due out on November 27, 2013. There's no details on the film's title, theme or anything else for that matter. However, it is very likely that this is the project that Pete Docter is working on (after wrapping up Up - no pun intended - in 2009.

Also, as The Pixar Blog points out, and as I am inclined to agree, that this could be the Dinosaur film that has been setting the Pixar fan forums ablaze since hints at it were glimpsed way back in 2009.

Anything from Pixar is brilliant, however, a dinosaur film from the acclaimed Emeryville studio would be fantastic, and I absolutely love all of Pete Docter's work.

Regardless of the fact that we know nothing about it, I am already immensely excited at the possibilities. Although, since Monsters University is now due out in 2013, I find it likely that this anonymous film will be eventually delayed until 2014.

Wanted: Fan Art

As some of you may know, I have recently joined the team at PremierPixar, the only Pixar dedicated magazine, and today I'm asking for your help with it. I've wrote a couple of articles for the next issue, a "Cars 2 Special", however, the magazine is looking for reader participation. We want your help with fan art for the issue, if you feel like you can help, contact the magazine, either at premierpixar@gmail.com, or by the magazine's Twitter.

If you feel like you can help, please get in touch ASAP.

Thanks.

First Cars 2 Reviews Surface

With just under a week to go until the North American release of Cars 2 (all of us in the UK will, unfortunately, have to wait until July), the first reviews are beginning to surface, and they, generally, seem good.

Two reviews in particular that seem to be very positive in view of the film are from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Variety cites Cars 2 as "The rare sequel that not only improves on but retroactively justifies its predecessor", claiming "If "Cars" was perhaps the least engaging of Pixar's hugely successful animated features, John Lasseter and his team have hit the creative accelerator with the unexpectedly delightful "Cars 2."" This review sounds very promising and you can read the full, but spoiler heavy, review here.

THR seems to be similarly impressed, saying that Cars 2 features "cooler cars and more action than Fast Five", but also says that "Cars 2 is notably less refined and more rambunctious than Pixar’s recent run of artistic gems". Again, you can read THR's full review of Pixar's latest film here.

From  what I can glean from reviews (there's also a few over at Rotten Tomatoes), the general consensus, so far at least, seems to be that this still isn't Pixar's strongest effort, but most seem to agree that it is leaps and bounds better than the original Cars.

Update

Reviews are now looking decidedly less promising, as Cars 2, currently holds a 55%, Rotten, rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This certainly doesn't look good for Pixar and it could very well be there first Rotten film, however things can always change when the film opens on Friday.

Fingers crossed.

Update No. 2

Be worried. Only one day away from its North American release, Cars 2 has plummeted to 38%. This seems to be an incredibly negative response, however, reading some of the reviews, I believe Cars 2 isn't getting a fair looking. Cars 2 seems to be being reviewed, not on its merits as an animated film, but against other Pixar films; of course it's going to suffer by this comparison. However, there is a very positive sounding review from arguably one of the most influential reviewers on the planet, Roger Ebert, who gave the film as 3.5 out of 4.
Things aren't looking a lot better on review aggregator, Metacritic, which currently holds Cars 2 at 60.

First Full Length The Muppets Trailer

Just after we saw the latest parody trailer for The Muppets, out in North America in November, and as anticipation was building to an all time high, we get the first full length, official, trailer for The Muppets. As if I wasn't excited enough before, I simply cannot wait for The Muppets, it looks hilarious, clever and full of heart. The Muppets have always been some of the funniest characters about and Disney looks set to do it right with the next feature film staring them.

Making the film even more of a must see, is that - as reported back in February - the second Toy Story Toon will air before the film.

November 23 can't come round quick enough.

Picture of the Day: "Ninjutsu VS Kung Fu" Part 5

Today, we have an awesome picture, courtesy of uber-talented artist Andry “Shango” Rajoelina's blog. We showed you some of his work earlier this year, but I absolutely love this one, pitting Ninjitsu against Kung Fu, as we get a mash-up of Michelangelo, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Po, from Kung Fu Panda.

It's awesome, I love it and would you encourage you all to follow Andry's work.

Also, if you haven't yet, remember to check out my review of Kung Fu Panda 2.

Kung Fu Panda 2 Review - It's Awesome (Pun Intended)

Kung Fu Panda 2 is the latest film from DreamWorks Animation, a company that notoriously doesn’t have a great track record with sequels, Shrek 3 was abysmal, Shrek 4 was decent enough, Madagascar 2 was passable; Shrek 2 was the only great DreamWorks sequel however, at least until now. Fortunately, DreamWorks now have another great sequel on their hands, Kung Fu Panda 1 was brilliant, hilarious, gorgeous and touching, one of the few DreamWorks films that could live up to the Pixar standard, and in my humble opinion, Kung Fu Panda 2 is even better.

Assorted Disney News

Not everything on A113Animation will always be dedicated to animation - although if it's not, it's generally closely linked -, today is proof of that. Above you will see the latest trailer for The Muppets, due out in November, and it looks great, parodies can sometimes seem asinine (although we are expecting a proper film-footage trailer very soon), I love this one, it's great. Also, from what I've heard, this trailer's already better than the full Green Lantern film... just saying...

Secondly, Disney have recently released the first teaser poster for Pixarian Andrew Stanton's first venture into Live Action, John Carter (formerly John Carter of Mars). Due to be released on March 9, 2012, this is the first look we get at the two time Academy Award winner's first Live Action feature.

I'm actually very excited to see this film and can't wait to see how Stanton's talent transfers to Live Action.

Wreck-It Ralph

Disney's animated slate was supposed to be blank in 2012, with their next feature, Reboot Ralph, coming in 2013. However, now that Pixar's Monsters University is pushed back to 2013, Reboot Ralph steps forward to 2012, under a new name, Wreck-It Ralph.

Disney's 52nd animated feature looks to continue the studio's recent run of success, and from what I've read of the film, it looks like it may edge us ever closer to being in the Third Golden Age. Looking to continue the recent success of Tangled and Winnie the Pooh, Wreck-It Ralph is a revolutionary film, exploring the world of video games from the inside. The film is set to be directed by Rich Moore, a former long time animation director on The Simpsons and Futurama, and stars the voices of John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch and Sarah Silverman.

The offficial synopsis, courtesy of Disney's Press Release, is featured below:

Wreck-It Ralph (voice of Reilly) longs to be as beloved as his game's perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix (voice of McBrayer). Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes... so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan -- win a medal -- but soon wrecks everything, and accidently unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade. Ralph's only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Silverman), a young troublemaking "glitch" from a candy-coated cart racing game who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it's "Game Over" for the entire arcade?

The films sounds pretty solid to me, it seems like a great shift for Disney, both tonally and in terms of plot, and it's good to see the Disney animation department finally staying awake, after being stagnant for so many years.

Only time will tell, the film is due out on November 2, 2012 in North America, no announcement yet on when it will hit other countries around the world.

New Cars Videos

Firstly, as Cars 2 gets ever closer to its release date, the promotion is stepping it up. This newest ad, parodies existing TV shows and gives us a little bit more new footage from the film; this newest video clip has got me even more excited for Cars 2 and is making it seem ever more epic.

Secondly, we get our first look at Disney's direct-to-DVD spin-off of Pixar's Cars, Planes. It looks... well... you can see for yourself, it doesn't look great, let's put it that way. Not to say it looks bad, I have no doubt the kids will lap it up, however it looks a bit formulaic and the animation (which is outsourced) looks so-so. Furthermore, you'll notice that it says "Disney", there is no mention of Pixar, as this is entirely a Disney project, with Pixar not being involved.

Planes is due out on DVD and Blu Ray in Spring 2013, so I guess we'll see then.

Update

The trailer has been removed by request of Disney.

Aardman News 4 - Straight from Annecy

We've seen a lot out of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, lots of details on the Pixar short, La Luna, and thanks to Aardman Co-Owener Peter Lord's Twitter, we get an article with some in-depth looks and thoughts on Aardman's upcoming slate, Arthur Christmas and The Pirates. The article tells us that Arthur Christmas is fantastic and a great twist on the rather stale Christmas film niche, it also gives us more insight into the film's plot - seeing Arthur and his granddad (the former Santa Claus) travel around the world in the old fashioned sleigh to deliver one last present that was left behind. It sounds great and Skwigly seem to agree, the animation style (CGI here, rather than the trademark Aardman stop-motion) looks great and distinctly Aardman.

The article also gives us a little more details on Aardman's 2012 stop-motion film, The Pirates, which is said to be even more impressive and visually stunning and massively impressive, as well as hilarious. The article also gives us an insight into the genesis of the film, and apparently it has been on the table since the 1990s, but DreamWorks told them that no one would pay to see a pirate film. Since then and the success of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, the film has been put under full production and is being directed by Peter Lord and is set to be released in 2012.

I can't wait to see either of these films, I love anything out of Aardman and would encourage you all to head over to Skwigly to read the full article, it's incredibly interesting.

La Luna - First Clip and More

La Luna, Pixar's newest short film, has just debuted at the Annecy International Film Festival, but it won't debut to the rest of us non-festival-goers until next year (likely with Brave in cinemas), so to pacify us, Pixar have released the first 30 second clip from the 7 minute short. The clip comes courtesy of Animation World Network, also if you head over there you will see a new still from the film (below) and an interview with director Enrico Casarosa.

The clip looks great, the general feel of the film, the characters, the animation and the score all seem top-notch and I can't wait to see the full thing.

My Second Uploaded Drawing - Wheezy

You may recall that a while back I uploaded my first official A113Animation Drawing, of Rex from Toy Story, drawn on the Brushes for iPod Touch app. I have just recently completed my second one, Wheezy (who is, at the time of writing, currently the blog's logo), from Toy Story 2. The Brushes app is just great to draw with, and I am quite pleased with how this one turned out.

You can also see some of the progress of the drawing (below) in GIF form.

New Cars 2 Clip

As anyone who follows my Twitter will know, I am not posting all of these new Cars 2 clips as I am not watching them, as they seem fairly spoiler heavy and I feel I already now way too much about the plot of Cars 2 (from the track listing and reading the Art of Cars 2 book). However, as anyone who follows the blog will now, I LOVE Francesco Bernoulli, he seems fantastic; charismatic and hilarious, so I couldn't not post this clip (which seems very good).

I can't wait to see how Bernoulli (voiced by John Turturro), plays out in Cars 2 when it hits theatres all over in the coming weeks and months.

La Luna Debuts, Poster Revealed

La Luna, the newest short out of Pixar, the one likely to be attached to Pixar's 13th feature film, Brave, debuted recently at the Annecy International Film Festival. According to the short's director, Enrico Casarosa, and his blog, the short was the finale of the opening night. Enrico also shares with us the short's poster (above), which looks really stunning, Pixar have always been on top form for posters (and everything else for that matter), and this seems to be no exception.

La Luna looks and sounds great and, as it is likely going to be attached to 2012's Brave, it is quickly making Pixar's first fairytale my most anticipated animated film.

Luke's Corner: Week 2

Hello bloggers and internet people, sorry for the delay, but I am now back with week 2 of Luke's Corner (No need for applause).

Today I am writing about the wonders of Toy Story 3.

Oh My God this is an amazing film. Although it came out like a year ago it still leaves me in awe. The presence that this movie brings upon me is extraordinary and it is a sheer testament to the level of work at Pixar that they can keep on going strong in a threequel, where so many have failed ( - cough – Shrek, Spiderman – cough - ).

This film is, simply put, awesome. I generally think there are very little faults to this film. The cast is great; the animation is amazing and it once again features some great voice actors including Tim Allen, Tom Hanks and Joan Cusack.

But what I thought made this film really great was the bad guys.

The villains in Toy Story 3 really made this film Disney in my eyes (in the best sense of the word, the classic eras, not the more modern one), yet Pixar keep everything vintagely Pixar, it has their own original, personal stamp all over it. Lotso has to be the greatest combination of evil and cuddly ever and is really one of the best villains ever (including the great evil present in classic Disney films) I found it inspiring how Pixar managed to make a teddy bear evil. Teddy bears are the cutest things. I just didn’t expect it. Kudos Pixar.

But another villain in this film made it great to sit and watch 5 times. Big baby. By Thor’s hammer this is one fascinating villain. A BABY DOLL!! Big Baby is so wonderfully complex; he’s an enigma of a villain. The producers must have put a lot of thought into making this film amazing. Pixar never ceases to amaze me on every conceivable front.

The only thing that I think kind of disappointed me, and I know that I am in a huge minority here, was the ending. I thought they could have put a little more effort into making all of us Toy Story fans get emotional – although I know that William bawled his eyes out. I didn’t find it very emotional. But the film in general was still amazing; it just felt like it was a tad restrained in its ending.

Overall I give it 9/10

Ups: Lotso, Big Baby, Voice Actors, Set, Animation

Downs: Ending, Lack of the Aliens

Thanks for reading,
Luke

Next week: Kung Fu Panda 2 Review

The Art of Cars 2 Review - A Work of Art

The first thing I have to say is that I’m insanely grateful to Abrams&Chronicle for the free copy; however, it won’t influence my review in any way shape or form. Now this is not to say that it needs the help; the book is fantastic and another great addition to the already strong ‘Art of’ range. The book is written by Ben Queen (the Cars 2 screenwriter) and Karen Paik (who wrote the Art of Ratatouille book) and they’re previous professional writing experience shines though, as they do a great job of it. I’m still inclined to say the Art of Toy Story 3 is better, as it felt more special, like a legacy of the franchise of Toy Story, whereas this book deals specifically with Cars 2, not the original Cars. The book is also decidedly less wordy for the aforementioned reasons; however this is somewhat of a good thing, as it brings more attention to the fantastic artwork. The book is still extraordinarily detailed and is just a bit easier to get into, whereas with the previous instalment, you had to sit and read it for a while, whereas here you can dip in and out, yet you will still want to commit to it, which is to be commended.

Picture of the Day: Japanese Up

Disney/Pixar have really stepped up their Tweets as of late and we got a really good one this past week. Disney/Pixar Tweeted that the title of Up was "tweaked for Japan", this linked to the very cool looking poster above, which we are now informed reads "Grandpa Carl's Flying House". You can't make this stuff up. It's not quite as catchy as Up, but I'd still pay to see it.

The Art of Cars 2 Arrives

My Review Copy of The Art of Cars 2 has just arrived from Chronicle Books and while I am endeavouring to avoid any spoilers, I am still reading it thoroughly and it is beautiful. Stay tuned for my full review of the book, coming later this week.

Gnomeo & Juliet Released on DVD/Blu Ray in the UK/Semi-Review

On June 6th (next Monday) Gnomeo and Juliet, a film several years in the making, that was originally planned at Disney before being shut down by John Lasseter after the 2006 Disney/Pixar merger and eventually picked up by Starz Animation, comes to DVD and Blu Ray here in the UK.

The film, based on William Shakespeare's classic play, Romeo and Juliet, came out in early 2011 here in the UK and was met with a quite good box office reception and a not bad critical reception.

Personally, I'd give the film about a 6.5/10, it was very funny and had a fairly sound story (as it was based on a play written by the genius that is Shakespeare), the film also had very solid voice acting (James McAvoy, Emily Blunt et al) and had really good music (from Elton John and Lady GaGa). However, it's not particularly great, the characters are so-so - nothing original - and easily forgettable, the animation is also a bit clunky and certainly is nowhere near the best I've seen this year ( *cough* Rango *cough*). However, there are enough laughs, jaunty tunes and Shakespeare/nerd references (i.e. the house numbers: 2b and not 2b and some glue labelled 'Taming of the Glue') to make this a wholly enjoyable - if not entirely memorable - film.

I'd probably recommend renting it as opposed to buying it, but the decision rests with you. It's still a good film.