Cannes: John Lasseter Talks Upcoming Pixar and Disney Films

John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios) is currently at the Cannes Film Festival where Pete Docter's Inside Out premiered on Monday. But while he was at Cannes, why wouldn't he also talk about the future? Thankfully he did, and some new tidbits on The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, Zootopia and Moana came through. More after the break.

The Good Dinosaur

According to a Variety report, Lasseter told the journalists that it is "a boy and a dog story, but the roles are reversed. Arlo, the dinosaur, is the boy in the story and Spot is the dog".
The Good Dinosaur is what John Lasseter claims is the biggest what if story Pixar has ever told: if the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs had missed Earth, what would've happened? Pixar's answer appears to be: "The dinosaurs would have evolved to a point where they use language, while the human race would've been unable to speak."
Arlo, an Apatosaurus, is the main dinosaur in the film, but T-Rexes, a Pterodactyl and a feathered Velociraptor will also appear in the film.
Variety also reveals some spoilery details about the plot. Read the article linked above if you want to know what happens.
French website Cloneweb stated the scenes witnessed at the presentation looked "incredible", and it was much more photo-realistic than previous Pixar films; especially the scene where the asteroid misses Earth. But The Good Dinosaur also promises moving moments: the Cloneweb reporter claims a two-minute scene in which Arlo connects with Spot under the moonlight made him teary-eyed.
The Good Dinosaur is directed by Pete Sohn (Partly Cloudy) and will be released on the 25th November (US) / 27th November (UK), 2015.

Finding Dory

The film will take place six months after the events of Finding Nemo. Variety evokes characters we've never heard of before, including Destiny, a whale-shark; "She thinks she’s a whale, but she’s actually a shark" explained John Lasseter. You can also expect to meet an octopus, see a giant squid and a kelp forest in the movie.
Andrew Stanton, director of Finding Nemo, is helming this one. The film is set for a 17th June (US) / 29th July (UK), 2016 opening.

Zootopia

John Lasseter notes this is "classically Disney". The world of Zootopia is only populated with animals that act like humans. The main characters are a fox named Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) and a bunny cop named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin).
Some clips and a teaser were received really well by the Cannes audience. Cloneweb states the scenes are "hilarious", the teaser is "very effective" and says there are some easter eggs for cinephiles.
Zootopia is directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore and will open in March, 2016.

Moana

Variety has a synopsis that could be sensed as too revealing, so you know where to go if you don't fear spoilers.
We'll only say that Moana is the story of a 16 year-old Polynesian Princess set thousands of years in the past. One day, she decides to explore some islands, with her pig (Pua) and rooster (Hei). She then meets Maui (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), a mythical hero.
Cloneweb reveals the ocean seems to be treated like a character, and even evokes a scene (finished just yesterday) where the waves take different shapes to interact with a young Moana. The water effects look very good, says the French website.
The film's first scene will be a musical number reminiscent of The Lion King opening. This particular song could be titled "Away, Away", thinks Cloneweb.
Legendary Disney directors Ron Clements and John Musker are directing this film, set to open in late 2016.

7 other films are currently in production at Pixar and Disney.