Movie Make-out

Disney and Pixar’s upcoming animated films

Posted by Gordon on April 9th, 2008 at 8:51 am CST | Category: News

Disney and Pixar have announced their a slate of ten animated films, to be released through 2012:

2008: Pixar’s WALL•E (June 27), Walt Disney Animation Studio’s Bolt (November 26)

2009: Pixar’s Up (May 29), Walt Disney Animation Studio’s traditionally animated The Princess and the Frog (Christmas)

2010: Pixar’s Toy Story 3 (June 18), Walt Disney Animation Studio’s Rapunzel (Christmas)

2011: Pixar’s Newt (Summer), Pixar’s The Bear and the Bow (Christmas)

2012: Pixar’s Cars 2 (Summer), Walt Disney Animation Studio’s King of the Elves (Christmas)

Newt, The Bear and the Bow, and King of the Elves have not been previously announced (or leaked), so here’s a bit more on those:

Newt tells the story of “what happens when the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts  on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, and they can’t stand each other.” Perilous journey… love… blah blah. Gary Rydstrom, the director of Pixar’s Oscar-nominated short, “Lifted,” directs.

In the Bear and the Bow, an action-adventure set in “rugged and mythic Scotland,” the “impetuous, tangle-haired Merida… would prefer to make her mark as a great archer. A clash of wills with her mother compels Merida to make a reckless choice, which unleashes unintended peril on her father’s kingdom and her mother’s life. Merida struggles with the unpredictable forces of nature, magic and a dark, ancient curse to set things right.” Brenda Chapman, a co-director of the flawed but intermittently amazing Dreamworks animated film, the Prince of Egypt, directs.

King of the Elves is based on a Philip K. Dick fantasy short story, centering on “an average man living in the Mississippi Delta, whose reluctant actions to help a desperate band of elves leads them to name him their new king. Joining the innocent and endangered elves as they attempt to escape from an evil and menacing troll, their unlikely new leader finds himself caught on a journey filled with unimaginable dangers and a chance to bring real meaning back to his own life.” Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker, who brought us Disney’s 2003 film Brother Bear, direct.

All of Disney and Pixar’s CG-animated films from Bolt forward will be released in Disney Digital 3D, with Toy Story 1 and 2 being re-released in 3D to lead up to the release of the third chapter in the series. Disney is also debuting a Tinker Bell straight-to-DVD series, which I could care less about, although you might get them to baby-sit your four year old, if you’re desperate.

Related posts: Trailer Watch: Final WALL•E trailer, Trailer Watch: Smart People, Chaos Theory, The Forbidden Kingdom, WALL•E, Quick Cuts: Akira, Toy Story 3, Ye Olde Times

Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Newsvine | Furl | Reddit Comments

  • Janus
    Yeah I used to agree with the general sentiment here about Cars. Then my toddler got into it, and of course now it's played enough that I can mouth along Rocky Horror-style when I'm doing the dishes. And you know what? It's actually pretty clever, sweet but not cloying, ENTIRELY nonviolent (try watching Bug's Life with a 2 year old), and yet watchable as an adult.

    (If you find yourself suckered into another viewing by your nephew, try sitting down and seeing how much expression the animators managed to cram into essentially inanimate windshields and bumpers. It's a lot harder than having a real face on a toy or bug to work with.)
  • I can't argue with anybody about despising Larry the Cable Guy, but I think they're still trying. I think all of their non-sequels coming up sound really fun; I'm REALLY excited for WALL•E and Up. The sequels I'm a little less interested in, but I think they'll be good films. As for TS3, I have faith that if they didn't think they could do something at least on par with Toy Story 1 and 2, they wouldn't have brought this back from the dead.

    But, of course, there's always the chance to prove me wrong...
  • Caolan
    I dunno why I have such animosity for Cars, really. I guess after the Toy Story series, and The Incredibles, their movies were just a stream of talking animal and inanimate object flicks. I know I'm generalizing with that statement, I just feel like they aren't really trying anymore, aren't actually coming up with anything creative.
    Then again, as a general rule, I despise anything even remotely affiliated with Larry the Cable Guy.
  • I don't really understand the outright hatred for Cars that adults seem to have. (Go check out AICN's talkback about this official confirmation of the sequel, which had been rumored for some time.) I didn't think it was Pixar's best by any means, but I thought it was gorgeously animated, amusing, and had a sweet message -- one that is far less simplistic than people like to think.

    The real issue here is that kids LOVE it, and it's a kids movie. Sure, it's also a merchandising cash cow, but I don't think Pixar would do any movie just to make some extra money, or we'd have seen Toy Story 3 years ago.
  • Caolan
    Cars 2? You gotta be kidding me. I lose more and more faith in Pixar as days pass.
  • The apparent effort to make the Rapunzel sexier than any animation that has ever been intrigues me.
blog comments powered by Disqus