In theaters: May 29, 2009
Check out the rest over at /Film.
Tag: pixar (Page 16 of 19)
Check out these awesome storyboards for Pixar’s upcoming film, UP. It will be released May 29, 2009.
Via Character Design (a site worth bookmarking!)
In theaters: May 29, 2009
The folks over at AWN had the opportunity to interview Peter Sohn, director of the new Pixar short film, “Partly Cloudy.” The short will play before Pixar’s upcoming feature “Up,” in theaters May 29. Peter Sohn was previously an animator/story artist on various Pixar films, including Ratatouille, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo.
AWN: Talk about the pitch and how it went from there.
Peter Sohn: The original pitch was just as I explained: There’s the world of storks that deliver babies, but where do they get these babies from? And my answer was obviously the clouds. And I had done some drawings of these cloud characters — taking some photos and Photoshopping eyes and a nose in and then having some birds all flocking up to the skies. I pitched this story of a smaller gray cloud that [lived below and] made some of the dangerous babies. And I showed John these images and he touched on one of them and said let’s start developing this one. And that was close to a year-and-a-half ago and it’s been a really interesting learning experience for me. Obviously, this is my first [short]. It really is like raising a baby. I felt very much like Gus during this thing — making something and wanting people to like it.
Read the rest of the interview at AWN.
The fine folks over at Empire Magazine, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, have gotten an exclusive interview with Tom Hanks in which they talk about his upcoming projects, including the much-anticipated Toy Story 3.
According to Hanks, he has gone through three complete recording sessions and will no doubt have to do at least one more within the next eight months. He then compares animated film work to “beasts,” revealing that he will probably have to go in for even more sessions after his presumed last.
Also, Hanks revealed that Pixar took a different approach this time in regards to revealing the story to him and fellow co-star Tim Allen. Instead of a traditional script, Pixar invited them to a story reel screening of the entire film. It consisted of moving storyboards backed by music, sound effects and voice work done by Pixar employees. After having seen the reel, both Hanks and Allen were excited and said: “This is great, let’s get to work!”
Synopsis: Everyone knows that the stork delivers babies, but where do the storks get the babies from? Gus, a lonely and insecure grey cloud, is a master at creating ‘dangerous’ babies such as crocodiles, porcupines, rams and more. Gus’s beloved creations are works of art, but more than a handful for his loyal delivery stork partner, Peck. As Gus’s creations become more and more rambunctious, Peck’s job gets harder and harder. How will Peck manage to handle both his hazardous cargo and his friend’s fiery temperament?
Release date: May 29, 2009 – Will play before Pixar’s UP.
As usual, the “experts” are predicting that Pixar’s upcoming masterpiece Up will not be a big merchandising hit due to the film’s protagonists: a chubby boy scout and a 78-year-old cranky man. According to Richard Greenfield of Pali Research, “We doubt younger boys will be that excited by the main character,†while also complaining about the lack of a female lead.
Thankfully, Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, came to the aid of his company’s product. “We seek to make great films first. If a great film gives birth to a franchise, we are the first company to leverage such success. A check-the-boxes approach to creativity is more likely to result in blandness and failure.â€
This feeling is mutual among Pixar’s Pete Docter, director of Up and Monsters Inc., who has been quoted as saying: “We make these films for ourselves,†he said. “We’re kind of selfish that way.â€
The quality of the film is so impressive that it will have the incredible honor of opening the the Cannes Film Festival this year.
Unfortunately all the early praise and Pixar’s prestige aren’t enough to convince retailers and toy manufacturers to support Up. According to reports, Target and Wal-Mart will stock little Up merchandise because there was not much interest from manufacturers; mainly Thinkway Toys, Pixar supporter since Toy Story, which will not produce any Up products.
Fortunately for all those money hungry execs who want tie-in merchandise, Pixar will deliver Toy Story 3 in 2010 and Cars 2 in 2011 — both of which will provide thousands of product opportunities ranging from childrens’ toys to shampoo. So relax, Wall Street.
Via NY Times
Big news for Pixar fans as word spread across the internet revealing that the highly-anticipated animated feature “UP” will have the honor of opening the 62nd Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday May 13, 2009, the first time an animated 3D film has opened at Cannes.
UP is directed by Pete Docter, director of Monsters Inc., who also helped developed Toy Story’s characters and story, along with serving as supervising animator. Not only that, he was also a storyboard artist on A Bug’s Life and wrote the initial story treatment for Toy Story 2. So as you can see, you have nothing to be worried about. Sure, the story is about a 78-year old man and a boy scout who fly away to South America — but when has Pixar ever let you down?
UP will be released in the United States on Friday, May 29.
Synopsis: Everyone knows that the stork delivers babies, but where do the storks get the babies from? The answer lies up in the stratosphere, where cloud people sculpt babies from clouds and bring them to life. Gus, a lonely and insecure grey cloud, is a master at creating ‘dangerous’ babies. Crocodiles, porcupines, rams and more—Gus’s beloved creations are works of art, but more than a handful for his loyal delivery stork partner, Peck. As Gus’s creations become more and more rambunctious, Peck’s job gets harder and harder. How will Peck manage to handle both his hazardous cargo and his friend’s fiery temperament?
Release date: May 29, 2009 – Will play before Pixar’s UP.
Via AWN
Blu-ray Release Date: May 19, 2009
Release date: May 29, 2009
This month, Chronicle Books releases The Art of Pixar Short Films which goes behind the scenes of the small films that helped Pixar become an animation fan favorite. Many look forward to seeing these shorts when they accompany Pixar’s feature-length films in the theaters.
Author Amid Amidi, also author of Cartoon Modern and co-founder of Cartoon Brew, has written up a blog post over at Chronicle Books Blog with behind the scenes trivia that he discovered while writing the book. When you’re done with the list, enter their contest to win a copy of the book and a copy of the Disney DVD, Pixar Short Films Collection, Vol. 1.
