I don’t know what I’m having for dinner, let alone what movie I will want to see in 2012. In a move it hasn’t done in many years, Disney unveiled a detailed road map of its animation production schedule into the next decade.
Probably the most notable item on the list is the return of Woody and Buzz Lightyear for Toy Story 3.
- “Up,” set for release May 29, 2009, will be Pixar’s first 3-D title, and thereafter every Pixar toon will be produced in 3-D. Disney has been an early proponent of the format, starting with 2005’s “Chicken Little,” and all its own toons going forward will use the format as well. Lasseter noted he is such a fan that his wedding pictures were done in 3-D. Along with its new pics, Disney is also releasing Pixar classics “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” in digital 3-D in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
- Larry the Cable Guy, who voiced Mater in “Cars,” took the stage to announce that “Cars 2” is going into production, with a planned release date of summer 2012. It’s being directed by “Ratatouille” producer Brad Lewis and is the first sequel for Pixar outside the “Toy Story” franchise. Though “Cars” didn’t do as well at the box office as some other Pixar titles, it has been a licensing bonanza for the Mouse House.
- Miley Cyrus will be a lead voice opposite John Travolta in Thanksgiving’s “Bolt,” formerly titled “American Dog.” About 15 minutes of footage of the pic screened to some of the heartiest applause of the day.
- “Toy Story 3” will be released June 18, 2010. Plot details for the third part remain under wraps, though the filmmakers said it begins with Andy (owner of Woody and Buzz) about to head off to college. A Ken doll will be the franchise’s newest toy.
- Anchoring the Disney side of things is the hand-drawn musical “The Princess and the Frog,” from “Aladdin” and “Little Mermaid” helmers John Musker and Ron Clements, who were lured back to Disney by Lasseter. It’s set for a Christmas 2009 release. Stills were shown, and star Anika Noni Rose performed a song live, as did Randy Newman and his eight-piece New Orleans combo.
- Disney’s long-in-development CG version of “Rapunzel” finally has a release date: Christmas 2010. It’s directed by studio vet Glen Keane and Dean Wellins.
- Pixar will have two original films in 2011: “Newt,” a romantic comedy directed by Oscar-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom, and “The Bear and the Bow,” a magical tale set in Scotland and helmed by Brenda Chapman, who previously directed “The Prince of Egypt” for DreamWorks. The first Pixar feature from a femme helmer will star the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson.
The final animated film hitting theaters in Christmas 2012 is King of the Elves by Philip K. Dick and directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker.
What are your thoughts? Is the House of Mouse trying to make a comeback trying to restore the grand days of the late 80s early 90s when every animated feature coming from Disney was pure gold?
8 Comments
Everything from Pixar at this point is pure gold. Cars might not been that succesfull, because it was very US centric movie (How many peeps truelly know about Route 66 outside the US. And even less know about NASCAR racing)
Disney’s smartest move in a decade was buying Pixar. But Pixar is now such a huge part of Disney, that you might change Disney’s name into Pixar.
this really doesn’t mean anything, they’ll change and revise this scedule every six months or so
Re: Cars
IIRC most Pixar movies have been making slightly less at the box office each year. What was once a groundbreaking novelty, has become so commonplace that it feels like it’s diluting the market place. CG animated features are every animated feature at this point.
And to be honest, I had no interest in seeing Cars when I first heard about it and saw the trailers. I can handle talking toys, bugs and monsters, but talking cars did nothing for me. I did breakdown and saw Cars in theatres and thought it was great.
Argh, now they’re mining overdone Fairy Tales. GOD, when you’re out of ideas, People, you should just admit you’re out of ideas…
John Lasseter is so amazing…. Disney buying Pixar was one thing, but giving Lasseter the keys to the kingdom (pun intended) was the best move they could ever make. Here’s a person who recognizes that animation, in ALL its forms, is art and must be preserved and promoted. Bringing back hand drawn animation when Disney had (once again) declared it dead, shows how much he loves and appreciates the medium, fully as much as the care he’s put into Pixar and his heavy promotion of the films of Hayao Miyazaki.
“‘CARS 2’… is the first sequel for Pixar outside the ‘TOY STORY’ franchise.”
Really? What happened to the ‘INCREDIBLES’ sequel project?
Salieri, it’s Disney we’re talkin’ here…you have some nerve acting SURPRISED! (heh heh)
Princess and the Frog should be different if only because of the 19th century New Orleans setting and the fact that the Princess in question is black…which, you know, we know because Disney made a huge hulabaloo that this film would feature the first BLACK DISNEY PRINCESS, like they deserve some medal for doing it a mere 140 years after the slaves were freed.
Odd reverse racism there, but what do you expect from the company that keeps withholding a DVD release of “Song of the South” despite theming one of their most prominent park rides around it?
“Cars” gets a sequel because it’s still coming out with new successful merchandise long after the movie is gone. Last time that happened to Pixar was Toy Story.
BTW – There’s no such thing as reverse racism. There’s just racism.