Pixar's Untitled Mind Film Takes Form

The next Pixar feature film from the Academy Award winning director of Up and Monsters, Inc., Peter Docter, currently known as The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside The Mind (just rolls of the tongue doesn't it?), is starting to take shape.

Pixar and Disney Animation head honcho, John Lasseter, was on the Charlie Rose show recently and talked about Pixar in general, but touched on Docter's next film. Specifically, about the Up helmer's film, which takes the audience inside the human mind, Lasseter said:

"Pete Docter, from Monsters, Inc. and Up, is doing a new film that takes place inside  of a girl’s mind and it is about her emotions as characters, and that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen."

This is the first real bit of information we're getting about Pixar's furthest off anounced feature, which sounds like their most ambitious film to date, and it sounds very intriguing. So, this not only means that we're going to see physical representations of human emotions as characters, but also that Pixar will likely be looking at their second female protaganist in as many years, following Brave next year. The entire film just sounds brilliantly exciting and evokes memories of Day and Night, the Pixar short attached to Toy Story 3, for me.

I cannot wait to see what Pixar come up with here, it sounds fantastic and it's released on May 30, 2014.

Annie Award Nominations Revealed

ASIFA-Hollywood have revealed the nominations for the 39th Annual Annie Awards, 'Animation's Highest Honor' will be presented on February 4, 2012 and the extensive slate of nominations were released online today.

The top prize, the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature, this year has a whopping 10 nominations, including my personal favourites, The Adventures of Tintin and Kung Fu Panda 2. The full list of nominations for the award can be viewed below:

Best Animated Feature

• A Cat in Paris – Folimage
• Arrugas (Wrinkles) - Perro Verde Films, S.L.
• Arthur Christmas – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations (my review)
• Cars 2 – Pixar Animation Studios (my review)
• Chico & Rita – Chico & Rita Distribution Limited
• Kung Fu Panda 2 – DreamWorks Animation (my review)
• Puss In Boots – DreamWorks Animation
• Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production (my review)
• Rio – Blue Sky Studios (my review)
• Tintin – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall (my review)

There seems to be a large portion of Individual Achievement Awards for Disney's Winnie the Pooh (my review) and DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots - some absolutely gorgeous films. Obviously, as DreamWorks is one of the main sponsors of ASIFA-Hollywood, there's always the accusation of unfairness - especially due to the shut out of Toy Story 3 last year and the lack of nominations for Cars 2 this year, following the very public pulling out of the studio's support for the awards -, but Kung Fu Panda 2 was brilliant, and I'd hate to see a repeat of last year, where How to Train Your Dragon's monumentous wins were overshadowed by screams of fowl-play.

Read the full list of nominations here.

Also, rememeber to vote in the poll to the right, for your favourite animated film of the year, to decide The People's Favourite A113Animation Award.

Once in a Generation, a Genius is Born

Today, December 5th, 2011, would mark the 110th birthday of a true genius, pioneer and inspiration; the man that spawned a legacy and the company that spawned a history, today, we mark the birth of Walt Disney.

I really can't put into sufficient and apt words the difference Walt has made to my life. He is, arguably, the sole reason I publish this blog at all; I started it due to a deep love of Pixar, and from that, animation in general, that spawned from a childhood love of everything Disney. From its roots in 1923 as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, to the production of the films of my childhood, classic Silver Age films like Peter Pan, Jungle Book and 101 Dalmations, to becoming the world's largest media conglomerate; Disney has formed so much that I care about; the sheer magic of those few notes, of that grand old castle.

None of this would have been possible, without the vision of Walt, without one man's inspiration, without one man's heart and soul, without one man's passion. So on this day, 110 years after the world was gifted a visionary, and in this most magical season, I say: Thank you Walt. Thank you for a life time of memories, thank you for the magic, thank you for making my childhood, and indeed my life, what it is. Thank you for being you.

Best Animated Short Film Oscar Shortlist Surfaces

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.) have released the short list of animated short films for consideration for Best Animated Short Film at the 84th Academy Awards.

Amongst those on the list are Pixar's latest offering, La Luna (directed by Enrico Casarosa) - which is set to play in theatres alongside Brave next summer -, and I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, the latest Looney Tunes short film, which is playing with Happy Feet Two at the moment.

The final set of between 3 and 5 nominations will be announced in January, with the awards taking place on February 26.

The full list can be viewed here.

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.