'Ratchet & Clank' Gets an Impressive Voice Cast

IGN has some casting news regarding the Ratchet & Clank movie. The CG movie based on the popular video game franchise of the same name will premiere in Cannes (where the Film Festival opened today) in the next few days, but will only be released next year. See which big names joined the voice cast after the break.

DreamWorks Preview Their 2013 Movies

DreamWorks, fresh off a critical hit, if not a commercial one (yet), with Rise of the Guardians, are looking forward to 2013, where - under their new distribution deal with Fox - they will release three films. Towards the end of last week, some post surfaced about said films, which have been previewed for press at the Fox campus.

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.

New Wreck-It Ralph Featurette and Clip Showcase New Footage

IGN have brought us a brand new featurette featuring the voice cast, musical talent and filmmaking crew of Disney's Wreck-It Ralph. The featurette has words from the cast and crew - including John C. Reilly, Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman and Jack McBrayer, director Rich Moore, Skrillex and Owl City!

It features a lot of new footage, - particularly of Felix and "Sugar Rush" - it's just another great entry into Ralph's great marketing campaign. Check it out above.



We also get a new clip from the Halo-themed world of "Hero's Duty" that Jane Lynch's Sergeant Calhoun inhabits. You can definitely here Skrillex's... well, very un-Disney, music coming across. Less funny, but it shows the breadth of diversity that Disney's latest is going to have.

Finally, check out another Wreck-It Ralph viral ad here - this time for "Sugar Rush" itself!

Wreck-It Ralph is released on 2nd November in the US, and 15th February in the UK.

Video of the Day: What If Pixar Made The Expendables 2?

Looking for a film to take the kids to this summer? Not a fan of the usual animated offerings? Want 100% more terrorists in your animated films? Well, then IGN has the film for you: The Expendables 2, Pixar style!

Spoofing the trailer for this year's biggest action-film fare, IGN mashed up scenes from the three Toy Story films, to produce probably the funniest video you'll watch all day! I'm not a huge fan of IGN (well, mainly the people who comment on their site), but they deserve kudos for this; very funny stuff!

And who didn't want to heard Woody say "Track 'em. Find 'em. Kill 'em."?

Via Mashable.

Marvel to Publish Toy Story Comic Books

Via IGN, we get the exciting news that the comic giants, Marvel (owned by Disney, remember), will be publishing a series of comic books based on Pixar's Toy Story franchise to take place between the first and second films.

The 4 issue series, another way of continuing the insanely popular film saga, will tell the story of Andy's dog Buster's introduction into the household and how the toys bonded with him.

IGN also caught a few words off Marvel's Editor-in-Chief on the subject:

"Everyone loves Toy Story, so we're excited to team with our friends at Disney-Pixar to bring readers all new stories of our favourite characters from these blockbuster films," said Axel Alonso, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. "Toy Story allows us to bring great new material to the market that's not only perfect for kids, but also a great read for fans of all ages. What's next for Woody and Buzz in these stories? We can't wait for you to find out!"

This, to me, sounds like a wonderful idea! It's a brilliant way of expanding on the canon, without, hopefully, leading to a fourth film - which would just be unnecessary. Toy Story is the pinnacle of cinema and animation, so this should be fantastic news to any Toy Story, Pixar, Disney, film or comic fans!

Read the full article over at IGN.

John Carter Trailer, Poster and More

Over the past week, there has been a glut of new images, including stills and a new poster (above), from John Carter, acclaimed animation director Andrew Stanton's (Finding Nemo, WALL E). The striking new red poster, gives us some little hints at the film's story and the message about finding one's place in the world, or in another. However, most of the new revelations in terms of the massive battle scenes and in terms of story come from the images and the brand new theatrical trailer (below).

The trailer (above) showcases far more of the plot than we saw in the mystery shrouded teaser. We are shown some of the huge, epic battle scenes that span the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's sci-fi series, as well as a look at the romance of the film and how, exactly, Andrew Stanton is translating the character to the big screen. The film, which reminds me of a cross between Avatar and Prince of Persia, looks intense and vast; the only thing that concerns me is that it looks, although I'll be more than happy to be wrong, like it could be a vast CG pig-out. Sure, it looks a tad corny, but the huge talent behind it that has made Pixar's classics so great, promise a great film, and my hopes are still high.

We've also been treated to a few awesome images from the film, showcasing its action and epic scale. You can see some above and below and view the rest over at The Pixar Times.

Trailer via IGN.

New Small Fry Images and Interview With Director

Following on from the release of the first clip and look at Pixar's next voyage into the world of Toy Story, the Toy Story Toon, Small Fry, we get a couple more images courtesy of IGN. With The Muppets now hitting theatres in the US (although those of us in the UK will unfortunately have to wait until February 2012), audiences who go to see it will be treated to the 7 minute short, that sees Buzz left behind at a fast-food restaurant and the gang inadvertently taking home a happy-meal-like toy instead.

The images give us a sneak peak at the scaled down, toy characters and how they'll slot into the Angus Maclane directed short. Speaking of MacLane, IGN also managed to catch a few words from the Pixar veteran on the short, its voice cast (including Glee's Jane Lynch and Pixarian Teddy Newton) and its genesis, which is definitely worth a read.

Via The Pixar Times.

Pixar at IGN

The film, game and more, news and reviews website, IGN, has posted a couple of interviews with Cars 2 director, John Lasseter. The animation pioneer shares details about the hidden details of Pixar films (above), such as the Pizza Planet Truck and A113 (which this blog is named after) and tells you what you should keep your eyes out for in Cars 2 (which opens here in the UK on Friday).

Secondly, Lasseter shares details about the progress of the film (below) and how it became a spy film in the first place (based on a scrapped drive-in movie scene from Cars 1), as well as the huge scope and scale of the film.



Both of these interviews are very interesting and are getting me incredibly hyped for the film's UK debut on Friday, keep your eyes out for my review shortly thereafter.