Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #39: Dinosaur (2000)

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #38: Fantasia 2000 (2000).

The second Disney film released in 2000 is also a late inclusion in the official canon; for years, fans debated whether Dinosaur belonged in the canon or not. Disney put that to rest in 2010 when they did that retrospective video to celebrate Tangled as their 50th feature film, including Dinosaur as number 39. Even so, the film remains an odd element among its hand drawn contemporaries making its inclusion more of a marketing campaign rather than an honest acknowledgement of its status in the studio's history.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Second Dark Era (2000-2005) Introduction

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #37: Tarzan (1999)

After a very productive and expansive decade, the Disney studios got lost yet again in the dawn of the new century. No longer the only king of animation, the first half of the 2000s were not kind for the studio or their audience. With heavy competition from other studios like Pixar, DreamWorks and Blue Sky, and with the rapid growth and adoption of CG animation, the studio fell behind both artistically and creatively, making serious missteps that resulted in lacklustre films that were not well received by the public and critics. Even worse, most of the films released in this period were box office bombs that resulted on staff reductions and the complete shift from hand-drawn to CG animation. What the studio executives didn't understand, was the fact that the technique didn't matter if they didn't have good stories to tell and, while there are some bright spots here and there, most of this period is filled with disappointing projects that vary from mediocre to absolute disasters. Never in the history of the studio (not even in the 80s) were they in such crisis, to the extent that almost every other studio was better than them. Fortunately, they now seem to be on the right path again, and let's hope that this dark era will never be repeated again.

Tomorrow - Animated Classic #38 Review: Fantasia 2000 (2000).

Cool Logo For Pixar's The Good Dinosaur

Briefly: Pixar News received an anonymous tip that the above logo is being used for Up co-director Bob Peterson's solo-directorial debut, The Good Dinosaur. Pixar Post confirms that the logo is legit - or at least was being used in November of last year. It's a nifty little logo that goes well with the quirky story The Good Dinosaur has - I can't wait to hear more from this film when Monsters University's almost out later this summer.

The Good Dinosaur is co-directed by Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy) and produced by John Walker (The Incredibles), it's released on 30th May, 2014 in the US and 18th July, 2014 in the UK.

John Lasseter Talks About The Good Dinosaur and Pete Docter's Mind Film

Pixar and Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer, Executive Producer and general head honcho, John Lasseter, on a recent promotional tour for Pixar's next film, Brave, spoke about the studio's slate of films beyond that - specifically, Bob Peterson's The Good Dinosaur and Pete Docter's Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind!

Normally I would post small excerpts from the quote's here, to give you a flavour of what he's saying, but as this is John Lasseter, and as what he says is so interesting - it's our first real flavour of plot and inspiration for the films - I'm going to post the entirety of John's comments below:

Read what Lasseter said on Up co-director Bob Peterson's directorial debut (and my most anticipated Pixar film) The Good Dinosaur, after the jump break!

Disney's Snow Queen Now Titled Frozen - Pixar's Dinosaur Film Bumped Off Release Date

Disney recently unveiled the title for their November 2013 release, Frozen. This caused some confusion on Twitter yesterday, as the Novemeber 27, 2013 release date touted for Frozen is the very one that we had been told Up co-director Bob Peterson's Untitled Dinosaur Film would be released on. This in turn led to several reports that that film was now called Frozen; however, courtesy of /Film, we now know that that's not true.

/Film tells us that Frozen is the new name for Disney's The Snow Queen, the adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, a film which has been circling around Disney for years, being on and off the shelf time and time again. Speaking of on the shelf, this now means that The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs has been bumped off its release date. This presumably means that we'll be seeing the film around 2014 - when The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside The Mind is due out.

Whilst this means we'll have to wait slightly longer to see another Pixar film, it means The Snow Queen is finally back on track - for now.

A Look at Monsters University: Updated Character Designs and More

Out of D23 yesterday, we learned a lot about Pixar's upcoming slate: big details on their 2 new films, as well as learning about a particular scene from Brave, but we also got a lot more light upon their first film in 2013, Monsters University.

Monsters U. is a prequel to the 2001 original, Monsters, Inc., set years before the events of that film, and described by Pixar and Disney CCO John Lasseter as an "animated college movie", as such the character designs had to be suitably adjusted. Both characters are said to be 18 in the film, so changes were needed, but (as you can see), the characters still look like the ones we know and love from Monsters, Inc., but in a slightly different light.

Mike is shorter, freckled, has smaller horns and is sporting a retainer.

Whereas, Sulley is thinner, hairier and shaggier.

The Pixar Times also reports that several actors were announced for the film, obviously John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprise their roles as Sulley and Mike respectively, Steve Buscemi also returns, to voice the villainous Randall. In terms of new talent, Dave Foley returns to Pixar (after previously voicing Flik in A Bug's Life) to voice a new character, and Peter Sohn (director of Partly Cloudy and co-director of the new dinosaur film), who voiced Emile in Ratatouille, also lends his voice to the film; Joel Murray and Julia Sweeney also star.

For more information and over 20 character images from the event, head over to The Pixar Times.

Pixar News from D23 Day 2: 2 New Films

Pixar have released a huge slab of information on their upcoming slate at their panel's at D23 today, concerning Brave, Monsters University and the two unnamed films we have heard about.

Courtesy of Hypable, we get a detailed list of all you need to know about Pixar's D23 revelations; the expo revealed some more plot points and details on a scene from Brave, concerning Merida's courtship, and a little bit more light on Monsters University, all of which sound interesting. However, the real point of interest is that of the announcement of two new Pixar films.

These are the, until now, unknown films due out in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

The 2013 film is the long rumoured, but only just now confirmed, Pixar dinosaur film that has been on the cards since we first saw an image of a boy and a dinosaur (above) two years ago. Now, as if the dinosaur premise of the film wasn't enough to get excited about, we also learn that it is directed by Bob Peterson! The co-director/writer of Up is yet to direct a feature film, yet he is the Pixarian whom I most wanted to see direct a film. In terms of top-notch production talent, we now learn that it is co-directed by Peter Sohn (director of Partly Cloudy, the short film paired with Up) and produced by John Walker (producer of The Incredibles).

This sounds amazing enough, but the synopsis provided, giving us an alternate version of Earth, adds more excitement to that:

What if that life-changing asteroid missed Earth? Director Bob Peterson’s hilarious tale depicts a world where dinosaurs never went extinct.

I'm hooked already and can't wait to see that film on November 27, 2013.


The second film is the, also long expected, next Pete Docter film. The director of Monsters, Inc. and Up returns to the director's chair for "an inventive new film that explores a world that everyone knows, but no one has seen: inside the human mind".

Now that sounds immensely intriguing, complicated and exciting all at the same time. In terms of production talent on this one; Ronnie del Carmen (director of Dug's Special Mission) co-directs and it is produced by Jonas Rivera (producer of Up), add onto that that IndieWIRE claim that 2 time Academy Award winner, and the writer of the Toy Story 3 screenplay, Michael Arndt is penning the script, and this, likewise, sounds like a winner.

And that exciting film hits cinemas on May 30, 2014.


Thanks to Hypable, The Pixar Blog and Pixarian, Austin Madison for the news.

Comic-Gone

Disney, Pixar and all other subsidiaries and affiliates will not be appearing at this year's Comic-Con. Instead, the companies major announcements will be made at this year's D23 expo.

D23, "the ultimate Disney fan event", is scheduled to take place in Anaheim, California, running from August 19 to 21, 2011. Major announcements from Disney, Pixar and Marvel will be made at Disney's own event, therefore they have opted out of this year's Comic-Con.

A floor schedule was recently released for the event, highlights of which (concerning Disney and Pixar animation, as well as Marvel) are below:


Saturday, August 20:

• The Walt Disney Studios —11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
  A fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse at the exciting roster of projects on the horizon at The Walt Disney Studios. From exclusive video clips and live performances to filmmaker discussions and star appearances, this session will be hosted by Rich Ross, chairman, The Walt Disney Studios; Sean Bailey, president, Production, The Walt Disney Studios; John Lasseter, chief creative officer, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios; and Kevin Feige, president, Production, Marvel Studios.
  
• The Lion King 3D Exclusive D23 Screening—6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
  Disney fans will have access to an exclusive advance screening of The Lion King in Disney Digital 3D™, ahead of the film's highly anticipated theatrical and home entertainment releases. "The Circle of Life" takes on a new dimension as Simba, Mufasa, Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa grace the screen once again, this time in breathtaking 3D.

Sunday, August 21:

• Marvel Comics —10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  An exclusive and unprecedented experience that will take you through the evolution of Marvel from its first comic book in 1939 to its current position as one of the most important creative forces in the world. During this presentation, which will include interactive Q&A segments, you will not only get an inside glimpse of the history of Marvel and its iconic Super Heroes but also discover why Marvel truly is the House of Ideas. This session will be hosted by Joe Quesada, Marvel's chief creative officer and one of the most respected and sought after writers and artists in the entertainment industry.

The event promises to be amazing, highlights will surely be getting a glimpse at Disney and Pixar's upcoming animation slate (including the unknown 2013 Pixar project and Disney's Wreck-It Ralph), as well as an exclusive screening of the 3D conversion of The Lion King. You can apply for tickets on the D23 website.

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.