UPDATED: Michael Giacchino Working On An Unspecified Upcoming Pixar Film

Giacchino (right) with Up director Pete Docter (left).

As part of the promotion for next month's Star Trek Into Darkness, composer Michael Giacchino spoke to Swiss blog Owley, to whom he revealed that he is working on another film for Pixar!

This will mark Giacchino's fifth feature film collaboration with the Oscar-laden studio, after previously composing the scores for The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up and Cars 2. Which film exactly, though, wasn't specified, and Giacchino offered up a very nondescript "a Pixar film". We know that Thomas Newman is scoring Bob Peterson's The Good Dinosaur, and can only he assume that he's also returning to score Finding Dory, so it would seem likely that Giacchino is going to be collaborating with Up director Pete Docter again, on his new film, Inside Out - currently due 19th June, 2015. UPDATE - 14/04/2013, 19:24 (GMT): Owley himself commented below that the actual original English quotation was:

"Michael Giacchino: Also, there is a project I cannot tell you about. And, a future Pixar thing. I can't tell you about that either.

Owley: So, is that a project that hasn't been spoken of yet?

MG: Yeah."

That certainly seems to imply that Giacchino's working on an as of yet unmentioned Pixar film (Teddy Newton's feature?), but it could just be a matter of the phrasing, and our money's still on Inside Out.

Giacchino is also scheduled to collaborate with The Incredibles director Brad Bird again, on his second live-action feature, Tomorrowland.

Via Big Screen Animation.

UPDATED: New Frozen Posters Give Us a Look at its Main Characters

Argentinian movie blog Cine 1 has got three cool (pun intended) new posters for Disney's next animated film, Frozen. The posters are nice and hi-res, but un-nice and scrawled with the site's logo (though a great poster resource, Cine 1 are notorious for watermarking everything).

In addition to the nice title poster above, Cine 1 have two posters which show off the sisters at the heart of Frozen: Anna and Elsa (both below). At the time of writing, Cine 1 has just taken the posters off their site (Disney is apparently emailing round getting people to take them down, so check them out while you can).

Wreck-It Ralph's Out Now in the US - What Are the Critics Saying?

Us unlucky blighters elsewhere in the world will have to suffer through months of rave reviews, but, as of today, American audiences can check out Walt Disney Animation Studios' 52nd animated feature film, Wreck-It Ralph, in cinemas! The film which takes place inside the world of arcade video-games, and is directed by Simpsons veteran Rich Moore, has been the most hotly anticipated animated film of the year, and, judging by reviews, it's been worth the wait.

For Your Consideration: Paperman

Via Big Screen Animation.

It should come as no great shocker that Disney are trying to give their latest short-film a head start in the awards race. The above "For Your Consideration" ads appeared on Cartoon Brew recently, promoting Paperman, the wave-making short film that will precede Wreck-It Ralph in cinemas.

Directed by former Pixar-animator John Kahrs, the short is the first to use Disney's groudbreaking new animation software, Meander. Meander creates CG models of the characters, and blocks out the movements, as with a computer animated film; a traditional hand-drawn animator then draws over the top, and Meander fuses the two together. The innovative technique leads to striking images like the one below, with the depth and immersion of CG, and the personality and heart of hand-drawn: this is the future of animation, folks.

It has a suitably warm sounding story too, with the synopsis reading:

Introducing a groundbreaking technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation techniques, first-time director John Kahrs takes the art of animation in a bold new direction with “Paperman.” Using a minimalist black-and-white style, the short follows the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City, whose destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced the girl of his dreams is gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office. With only his heart, imagination and a stack of papers to get her attention, his efforts are no match for what the fates have in store for him. Created by a small, innovative team working at Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Paperman” pushes the animation medium in an exciting new direction.

One can't help but think that Paperman has a pretty good chance of being successful at the Oscars. Check it out in cinemas with Wreck-It Ralph: 2nd November (US), 15th February (UK).

First Brave Reviews And More TV Spots

Ahead of the US premiere of Pixar's Brave in 11 days, the first reviews have started to surface - and it's looking good! Contrary to the somewhat lukewarm critical reception to their last feature, Cars 2, Pixar look to be back on top form with Brave.

Only a handful of reviews have showed up so far, but the prevailing impression is a good one. Variety's Peter Debruge says that Brave creates "a resonant tribute to mother-daughter relationships that packs a level of poignancy on par with such beloved male-bonding classics as Finding Nemo", whilst citing it as more "conventional" than some of their previous more ambitious projects like 2004's The Incredibles. HeyUGuys gushes about the film in their review, saying:

"What makes Brave truly special is that, even if it were stripped of its dazzling visuals, laugh-out-loud humour and dynamism, it would remain a clever, arresting and emotionally involving, yet inherently simple tale about the turbulent relationship between a mother and daughter and the fact that freedom may not be all it’s cracked up to be. It’s the emotional core, with all those extra elements sprinkled liberally on top that makes Brave the best animated film of the year, rewarding in droves. It’s quite simply, unrelentingly spectacular."

Awarding the film 4/5 stars.

However, although (from a small sample of 5) it currently totes an 80% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating, not all of the reviews are positive. The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy seems less enthused about the film, saying "Pixar's 13th film, which follows an adventurous Scottish princess, is visually stunning and strongly voiced, but doesn't take any real risks.", although it's by no means a bad review, saying it has a "beautiful and eventful prologue", also stating:

"The wild beauty of Scotland, of the verdant forests and the craggy peaks, is lovingly rendered with a gorgeous palette of painterly colors and in very agreeable 3D."

and

"Patrick Doyle's active and resourceful score is another major plus "

Big Screen Animation's Mike Bastoli also said on Twitter "If you read any early Brave review that say Pixar fans might be disappointed by Brave, ignore it."

Also, head on over to Pixar Corner to check out a bunch of great new TV spots for Brave!

Brave is released in the US on 22nd June, and 13th August here in the UK.

5 New Toy Story Films Coming Soon!

Calm down, it's not what it sounds like. It also seems that those rumours about Toy Story 4 have been quieted for now, as Mike from Big Screen Animation just broke some huge Toy Story news!

A Disney e-catalogue tells us that - following Hawaiian Vacation and Small Fry, which were attached to Cars 2 and The  Muppets respectively - Pixar are developing three brand-new Toy Story Toons. Also, and somewhat more excitingly, "two new 22-minute TV specials are in the works for October 2013 and Spring 2014." This is very exciting news and corroborates what Pixar and Disney Animation President, Ed Catmull, said a while back about the role of Pixar Canada.

Look for these shorts and the TV specials to air on Disney Channel sometime over the next two years.

I assume some Cars TV specials will follow soon, and I'm hoping we hear of some other properties being given this treatment soon - A Bug's Life, Nemo or Up particularly seem like great choices!

Thanks to Big Screen Animation for this huge story.

Illumination Entertainment Developing The Cat in the Hat Adaptation

Almost a decade after the critical and box office failure of the live-action adaptation of arguably Dr. Seuss's most famous work, The Cat in the Hat, Universal Pictures are set to have another go at adapting the beloved book, this time as an animated film, Deadline reports.

Universal's resident animation department, Illumination Entertainment, are tasked with adapting the book for a CG animated release, following the enormous success of their adaptation of another of Dr. Seuss's books, The Lorax. The Lorax has topped the US box office for the past two weeks, and that success seems sufficient enough to somewhat expunge the painful memory of the 2003 live-action disaster from the mind of Audrey Geisel, as the widow of Dr. Seuss has agreed to the production of the film. Geisel will also be executive producing the product, with Chris Meledandri set to produce and Rob Lieber penning the script.

Meledandri has been working with the famed author's widow on adapting his works since he ran Blue Sky Studios, with 2008's Horton Hears a Who. Illumination Enertainment are also reportedly working on a live-action biopic about Seuss's life, starring and being produced by Johnny Depp.

Via Big Screen Animation.