International Poster A-thon

We've been treated to a whole new smorgasbord of international posters for 2 of the animated sequels coming up this year. Firstly we have the above poster, which is the newest French poster for DreamWorks' upcoming Kung Fu Panda 2 (which is personally my favourite poster for it so far) and is a very bright and appealing one.

Secondly, below you'll find 3 of my favourite new Russian Cars 2 posters (you can view all 7 of them at Daily Blam), they are also amongst my favourite posters for the film and are all just great, while the other 4 are also okay, these are my favourites.

Keep your eye out for both of these films later in the year. All posters courtesy of Daily Blam.

Cars 2 Stuff

We have been treated to a new slew of Cars 2 news and tidbits, we have a series of new bits of concept art and production artwork. Firstly, we have a look at the different stages in the Cars 2 progression (above) from the original storyboards to the fully rendered piece.

We have also been treated to a HUGE amount of concept art from the film, that, to be quite honest, I don't have the patience to upload all of, but the saints over at Stitch Kingdom have you covered, so head over there to see the plethora of Cars 2 production artwork now.

Also, though it has nothing to do with Cars 2, and for no other reason than the fact that it amuses me, the above picture (also courtesy of Stitch Kingdom) is of some Easter themed Toy Story egg art, it just looks really great. This also brings me to my next point:

Happy Easter!

The Ballad of Nessie Thoughts

Following on from my thoughts on Disney's latest animated release, Winnie the Pooh, I realised there was one aspect of the film I hadn't reviewed, the attached short film.

Technically I should be saying short films, we are treated to not one, but two short films. Well... I say treated, the first short film was the closest thing to torture I have ever encountered in the cinema, or indeed anywhere. This short film, entitled Jake and the Never Land Pirates, was the kind of torturous, dreadful, awful dribble that could permanently put me off Peter Pan (fortunately Winnie the Pooh didn't ruin its franchise like Jake et al did). Jake and the Never Land Pirates, from Disney Junior, was asinine, stupid, as shallow as a puddle in the middle of September and starred the least likeable characters I've ever had the displeasure of encountering. The plot of the short, and the animation used in it, were just as dreadful, and unfortunately the short lasted WAY too long - although it would be WAY too long if it was a commercial. This short film was more like a trip through Guantanamo Bay than through Never Land, shame on you Disney, for very nearly ruining Peter Pan forever.

As you may have guessed, I loathed this short film and the very thought of it makes me feel ill, if I had to rate this abysmal romp into Never Land, I'd give it, maybe, a 1/10, and that was just for being in close proximity to the excellence that was Winnie the Pooh.

I purposely shunned Jake and the Never Land Pirates from the title in favour of a far superior short film. The Ballad of Nessie, the second short attached to Winnie the Pooh, was sublime.

The classically, and utterly innocently, animated Ballad of Nessie was a Scottish tale of the Loch Ness Monster, with a fairly inspirational - if slightly dark - moral and a FAR more solid plot than the dreadful short film listed above. The film was very funny and original - while a bit too short - and the characters were very likeable. Strange as it may sound, this Scottish short has got me more excited for Pixar's Brave. However, the real star of the short is the animation, it is so refreshing to once again see some classic hand drawn Disney animation, particularly accompanied with Winnie the Pooh, it's just such a charming style. Hand drawn animation is Disney's forte, it always has been, while it's a tad outdated now, it's always nice to see the occasional return to good ole Disney hand drawn excellence.

Ballad of Nessie might as well be the antithesis of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, I'd give Ballad of Nessie a strong 9/10 and suggest napping through the first 5 minutes of the showing of these shorts to circumvent Jake and the Peter Pan Murdering Oiks.

Phew... Good to get that off my chest.

Winnie the Pooh Review - No Bother

This review is of a film that I very much wanted to see, the classically animated and wonderfully charming, Winnie the Pooh. However, as regular blog followers will know, I was unsure how good it would be. I knew a Winnie the Pooh film would be charming, funny and nostalgic, but would it be "the defining film"? Would it be great? Or just good? Would it be purely a nostalgia film, or could it sustain itself? I found that Winnie the Pooh faced some of the same questions that I aimed at Toy Story 3. Fortunately, Winnie the Pooh - like TS3 - did not disappoint.

New British Cars 2 Characters

As Cars 2 will see our favourite high-octane Cars from the 2006 original head around the world for the "World Grand Prix", we have been introduced to several new characters from the several new locales that Cars 2 will visit and today we meet 5 new British Cars 2 characters.

The first character (above) is a London Taxi (I just pray Pixar don't overdo the British gimmick to death, because - as a Brit trust me - it gets annoying) called Chauncy Fares and his one line bio reads "No one knows the sites, streets or shortcuts of London better than the jovial Chauncy Fares, a quintessential London black cab".

Our second new character is called Topper Deckington III and his bio cites him as "a classic British double-decker bus in a vivid shade of red who relishes in his daily Killswitch route through London’s famous bustling Petroldilly Circus".

Thirdly, we have, as you may have guessed, the car version of The Queen, who bio says "With the final stage of the World Grand Prix racing through the historic streets of London, England, the Queen is quietly elated she was invited to preside over the finish line by Sir Miles Axlerod.

Painted in shades of the most royal blues and never without her jeweled crown, the Queen is the definition of decorum and regality, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t enjoy a bit of first-rate competition".

 

Next, we have, as his Royal Wedding gets closer, the car version of Prince William, Prince Wheeliam. "Prince Wheeliam of England is an avid racing fan. He can’t believe his luck that the final race of the one-of-a-kind World Grand Prix is happening on the streets of London. Though he must remain impartial when by his grandmother the Queen’s side, he is privately rooting for his fellow Brits Lewis Hamilton and Nigel Gearsley to cross the finish line first".

 

Finally, we have Sgt. Highgear who "is a member of the regiment assigned to London’s landmark Buckingham Palace. With a recognizable tall bearskin cap atop his scarlet body, he stands guard at his sentry box with pride and conviction".

Surely there can't be that many more Cars 2 characters to come now, but needless to say, these ones look sufficiently cool!