Vintage Cars...

Vrrrrrm, vrrrrrrm, vrrrrrrm...






I love how Pixar puts out posters that enhance the atmosphere of the world their films are in...




Here are three new vintage-style posters for the new "Cars 2" film. The marketing of this film is moving forward with an every increasing force and it's good to know that there is an artsy side to this. Posters are a great reflection on a film in and of itself. Just like the "Ratatouille" posters or the one sheet marketing campaign of "Toy Story 3," the designs for this further adventure into a world of mechanical hearts is clever. But it's the Lamp, right?

Let's hope the film itself is just as entertaining...

Hat Tip to Cinematical for the pics.

Wandering Around Worlds...

I am speed...







As with every project that the Lamp does, it does more than just the film...

You build the world around that film. Remember those lovely wine/food posters from "Ratatouille?" Or all the concept art that never make it into the film? A great deal of work that goes into a film from WDAS or Pixar will likely never be seen by the public, so it's refreshing when stuff like this pops up. It layers the places we enter when the lights go down in that local theater.



Take these lovely posters for example. Inspired by Harley Jessup and with the help of many members of the Emeryville crew, they have added depth and dimension to a world populated by engines with hearts and eyes that have wiper blades. Nice, eh?



Now, if they'd only sell these in Cars Land...

Hat Tip to The Pixar Blog.

Foreign Cars...

Start your engines...





One of many to come international posters for "Cars 2" is out...

And it's a steal for only 52 payments at the low, low price of- wait. Sorry, I got carried away there for a second. Look for this film to do gangbusters come summer and blow away the take that the original came up with. There are a lot of boys that love this Pixar film that were just babes when the original came out. There's also a nice character banner for us Americans as well.

Now that John is done with this film he can get back to guiding the animators in the Hat Building, where he hasn't been seen near enough of late...

Hat Tip to Collider.

From TronCores To EnCars...

Tractors is sooooooo dumb...




It appears that the success of the TRONcore is a fundamental part of Disney marketing...

While we have to wait another month to find out if the film is successful, the Suits inside the Mouse seem to feel that this approach is a model for future promotion. The people behind the creation of this little two minute infomercial (which I love, btw) are now working on doing the same thing with Lightning McQueen and Mater for next spring.

In what is to be a double whammy of promoting the opening of "Cars 2" and "Cars Land," the resort will likely play host to this promotion during the springtime should the Suits sign off on the current marking plans.

There's a lot of buzz coming out of Carburetor County...

Car Sales: Domestic & International...

No sooner has the North American trailer for "Cars 2" been release than the International trailer debuts as well...

Is it just me or does it seem they took the concept behind the animated short, "Tokyo Mater" and expanded it to a whole movie?

No mater how you feel about the trailer/film, this a Pixar release and will likely be better than 90% of most films out right now, live-action or animated.

And besides that, it's critic proof and will go on to make the Mouse a mint...

Cars Two Teaser Poster Posted...

Rev up those engines...





From Yahoo! Movies comes the first teaser poster for "Cars 2" from the Lamp...

The Myth Of Purity...

Ratatouille 5, Up 27, A Bug's Life 2 and on and on...


Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Monsters 2, sequels, sequels, sequels...

Is this the death of creativity at the Lamp? Has John Lasseter and Ed Catmull finally sold their soul to Bob Iger? Say it ain't so, Joe.

It ain't.

But that won't mean people won't try and say it is. I, like you, love the string of original films that Disney North has pumped out over the past decade and a half. Over that time there has only been one sequel: "Toy Story 2." In my opinion, it's even better than the original film. Other than that film Emeryville has produced a collection of original, unique and somewhat unconventional tales that have had audiences waiting in line every summer for a new Pixar film to grace the silver screen.

Now, around four years after the Mouse brought the company in as a permanent part of the family all the offspring are starting to look... remarkably alike. Almost like forgotten twins. Hmmm. Is this a coincidence? Does this mean the end of the era of Pixar? No, I don't think so. I do know that Iger and crew would love to have more sequels to all these classics, but there is no gun being held to the heads of Lasseter/Catmull. But there is a desire for more product. DreamWorks Animation is now on schedule to put out five films every two years and Pixar has been slowly churning away at producing one pic a year. In 2012 there will be two Lamp films for the first time. I don't see them getting up to as many as Katzenberg plans for his company, but I do think you'll see more films in the future. Perhaps one original and one "familiar" film every eighteen months or so. And I'm not opposed to sequels, just bad sequels. If there is a story there to tell, then I'm fine with them telling it.

That has been Lasseter's mantra all along. Not that they were against sequels, but that they wanted there to be a good story to tell. And so far I have no reason to question their motives. I'm sure the business end of the Mouse does ask/want more of these films, but as long as John and the crew believe in what they do and focus on telling great stories then I won't mind numbers being at the end of a title. I don't think we'll see any more Toy Story films, though. This one is pretty much the closing chapter to that tale. But that doesn't mean Woody and Buzz are going to be retiring. You just won't see them in those films anymore. I'm sure they'll find other jobs in the company. It's a big organization and there are many divisions that would love to have those characters work for them (television, shorts, ads, the parks, ect.).

And then there is the sequel that everyone wants to see. Out of all the projects announced, the one everybody expects still hasn't happened. The Incredibles 2. Well, remember that Pixar is a creative, director driven studio and this is Brad Bird's baby. And Bird is a little preoccupied right now. He's been trying for the longest time to get "1906" up and going and he may be filming the next Tom Cruise M.I. film (Warner, get him to do Superman, pleeeeeaasse!). So unless he frees up time and has a story he believes in, or he give the nod to Pixar/Lasseter that allows them to turn the characters over to someone else don't expect it to happen anytime before 2013-14 at the earliest. If at all.

And not all the films are sequels. Remember that "The Brave" is scheduled for 2012 as well as MI 2. That's the film formerly known as "The Bear and the Bow." And they've got a deep production schedule of films that move further out all the way to 2014, not all of which has been announced yet. More original films will come, but sequels are a part of Pixar and have always been a part of Hollywood. All the way back to the silent days. Rudolf Valentino followed his highly successful "The Sheik" in 1921 with a much demanded sequel in 1926 called "Son of the Sheik." Hollywood has and always will make sequels. So it's not as if it were a shocker that a film studio made more of something that people liked. It's the film business with a focus on business. If they don't make money, they won't make more of something. And there needs to be a desire for people to want to see something before they're willing to make it.

That said, not everything deserves or needs a second helping. I know for a while they tried to make a sequel to "Blade Runner" and it was totally wrong to do so. I loved the film "Highlander" and the ending to that film made any sequel totally transparent as to the blind greed of show business. But again, it's a business. There has never been nor will there ever be a time when it wasn't/hasn't a business as well as an art form. There is no purity in that all they ever wanted was to make art. When John and his small band of cohorts set out to make animated films back in the late 80's it was for the pure love and joy of it. But they weren't planning on doing it for free. It's nice to think that people do things and make art for the Nobelist of intentions, but it's also very naive. Films cost money and they need to make a great deal back to pay for themselves. I have no problem with them making a mint as long as they create something worth the price of my admission. So long as the films Pixar comes out with continue to entertain me like they always have, then I'll be happy to pay for that ticket. And so will many others. Lasseter understands that when they start creating something that bores the audience then they've failed.

I'll trust him to know when that is; he's got a pretty good record so far...

Cars 2 Gets A Toon Up...

Get 'er done by summer 2011...



It appears that WDAS isn't the only studio with story troubles...

Now, before I begin I want to remind you that all films have bumps in the road on their way to the screen. The storied history "Ratatouille" being the one that comes closest to mind. But believe it or not, many Pixar films had problems in their development and some right up until the final year of production (Toy Story 2 anyone?). So with that mentioned, on we go.

If you were to wonder the halls of the Hat Building right now you'd find something unusual. Something that hasn't happened in a good while. I'd say almost a couple of years. Each week you could usually find John Lasseter walking the halls at least once, more likely twice a week as he hurried from meeting to meeting before he headed off to Glendale or some other meeting. But the last month or so he's not been seen that much. And he won't be for another month or so. See, he's been stuck up in Emeryville working on "Cars 2" so that it's ready for release next year. There have been story problems that have developed late last year and into the new year that needed to be addressed. So as of now, John is riding the film as co-director. Now, will he be listed in the credits as that when the film comes out? Not yet determined if he'll get his name up there with that label. We will see as time starts to move closer to the release date.

This doesn't mean doom and gloom for those that look for signs of the Apocalypse. It means that this film, like many before it, needed John's attention and this is a film that is still almost a year and a half out. Things have to be dealt with and his valuable talent was needed to adjust some of the plot points. All this really means is that the story will be better with him involved. So this is a tune up, not a wreck like some of the e-mails I've gotten were worried about.

Just some routine Lamp maintenance...

When Will The Light Go Out?

Nothing last forever and you have to wonder how long before the Lamp flickers...

They produce only one film a year, but have a remarkably consistent strategy of success. Pixar Animation Studios is a studio that would be the envy of all in Hollywood. They're ten for ten with no disappointments and no bombs since their first film came on the scene in 1995. Many thought that as they ramped up production, from a picture every two/three years to one a year, that the quality would slip and so would their record. No so, at least not yet.

So it got me wondering... always a dangerous thing for me, but I thought, what could/would be the first failure for John Lasseter's little Emeryville Kingdom? So I decided to look at their film schedule and try to analyze which one could possibly be a failure, or at the very least, a disappointment.

Over the next four years we can expect four films, should they keep to their current plans:

2010 - Toy Story 3

2011 - Cars 2

2011 - The Bear and the Bow

2012 - Newt

Will "Toy Story 3" be the first to fail? To quote the late John Wayne: "Not hardly." The only way this film will be a failure is if there is a power outage all across the nation the weekend it opens. I'm sure attention to detail has produced a very well done script, but even if it hadn't, can you imagine the crowds going to see this? From those that have been fans since the original to the young kids that have grown up with Woody and Buzz on video and in parks; it's bullet proof. No way will this one be a failure.

Well, then we go to 2011, which for the first time will have two Pixar films in one year. The first will be the summer release of "Cars 2" and the later will be a holiday release of Pixar's first fairy tale: "The Bear and the Bow." One of the reasons the new "Winnie the Pooh" film is coming out in spring is because Bear already has the traditional Disney holding place. But let's start with Lightning McQueen's return first.

I will state confidently that "Cars 2" will not be a bomb, in fact, it's going to make far more money that the original. The first one passed the 400 million dollar mark, which is nice, but not what most were expecting from the Lamp. But what many people don't realize is that the merchandising from the film generates over 2 billion a year and has so far made the Mouse 5 billion plus. There are a lot of kids out there with shoes and backpacks and a ton of other licensed products that have indoctrinated a whole lot of young boys. This film will make bank. And the merchandise associated with it will probably get the Disney company through the current recession.

So then we come to Pixar's other release, its first fairy tale. Uncharted territory for the company. But again, almost every film for them has been uncharted territory. This is the first film that has a chance of failure for Pixar. So the first time we'll see a test of their success will be around Christmas 2011. That's a long ways away and being as how the film will go through several revisions before we see it, I'd gamble that it's going to be a success too. Disney does have some success at selling Princesses after all, don't they? But if there is to be a first failure this will be it.

But if it's not, then "Newt" will appear less than a half year from Bear so it will provide a test as well. This one could really be the first one, since the material it's dealing with isn't something that Disney is used to selling, like a princess. But I've seen Gary Rydstrom's "Lifted" and it's very good, very clever. And like the rest, there's a long time between now and our first introduction to the little salamander/newt/amphibian(?) creature. If the pundits got worried with an old man in "Up," imagine how they'll feel about this character.

So the nearest we'll come to seeing a failure is over two years from now. But if "Newt" or "The Bear and the Bow" aren't going to be a mistake or stumble, what about 2013? That's the next time we'll see the next Pixar film. Will it be a disappointment? Will it crash and burn at the box office? I can't say for sure, but the last time I saw Sully and Mike they did pretty well, didn't they?

Quality is a great business plan...

Release Dated...

Nuff said...

Cars Bumped...

It appears that "Cars 2" has been pushed up to 2011 instead of 2012...

No word yet from Pixar on what will happen to the schedule of "The Bear and the Bow" and "Newt".

Developing...

Cars, The 2012 Model...

It appears that Disney has officially announced the sequel to Cars. Merrick from Ain't It Cool News is reporting that Disney has announced this in New York. The timeline is summer 2012 for the release...

Why then?

Those familiar with this blog will note us talking about that date. It just happens to correspond with a new land opening up in DCA based on the Cars characters. Coincidence? Don't believe it... It's going to be interesting watching the premiere of Cars 2 in the new screening area in Paradise Pier and then going over to experience the land that the film occupies. This kind of synergy falls in line with what John Lasseter has been referring to. Whenever possible, he wants WDI to work with Walt Disney Pictures/Walt Disney Animation Studios/Pixar Animation Studios to maximize the experience of both films and attractions.

Stay tuned.

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News

Developing...

I've been getting a good amount of e-mails today asking about an article over at Ain't It Cool News about upcoming Disney films and franchises...

The post doesn't mention much but states the obvious. I will tell you what I know in relation to what the person said and what I can reveal. I have some sources in Burbank and not all of them are loosed lips but they tend to drop hints from time to time. Some of the Bothans there are in the know and all of what I know, which can't be revealed.

The source says that...

TRON the sequel/reboot will be in 3D.

This is a very good possibility since many projects at the Mouse will be 3-D by 2010, but first they have to come up with an acceptable and budgetable(read: not too expensive) script. That hasn't happened yet. Well see if by late summer something will be ready for approval.

There will be a CARS 2.

Ok, again this is highly possible but is not guaranteed. There are story people inside Pixar working on this as we speak. But no film will come out if a proper script doesn't come to the attention of John Lasseter. He loves these characters and wants them to be shepherded properly. Another thing is the dates seem about right... figure if one comes out it will be around 2012, which is coincidentally when the new Cars Land area opens up in DCA. This will make a great promotion for the park, but remember that at Pixar the first rule of film: STORY IS GOD. No story... no film. Time will tell. At least we'll have a new Cars short to tide us over until the movie... oops. Scratch that. Repeat after me: "You didn't hear about a Cars short, did you?".

National Treasure 3 is planned.

Actually, from what the Bothans tell me a National Treasure 4 is being planned... maybe even a fifth. The Suits inside Team Disney in Burbank couldn't be happier with the way this one is progressing. Nick Cage enjoys doing it and if they find a good idea to work with this series could go on for a while.

Pirates 4 is planned.

Well, yes. But as for the scope and scale of the story? We'll have to see. The writers are a little preoccupied right now with a period piece know as a " Western ". Some of you may have heard of it? I've heard that they have several ideas for the series, but that it will only involve Jack Sparrow and perhaps Barbosa. Will and Elizabeth will not return. As for the Fountain of Youth plot element? Not known, really. The ideas for the film are in an embryonic state and don't expect anything concrete to be penned down until the beginning of next year at the earliest.

Oh and don't ask about the "Jungle Cruise" film right now. I'm still trying to persuade my friends at TDB to get me a copy of the script and, sigh... I better shut up right here.

The article's header mentions 2011 as an important year for Disney. Now where have I heard that before? Lots more will be coming to Blue Sky Disney in the near future regarding this very transformative year for the Mouse... Stay tuned.

Well, that's all I know/or can say about these projects...

Hope that clears up the fog just a bit for you...