Film School Rejects » Animated Fun

Don’t Mess with Pigeon: Impossible

Neil Miller — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:10:48 +0000

Pigeon: Impossible is an awesome little short film that I caught a while back it played at the Austin Film Festival — well, by caught I mean that I skimmed right by it as I blasted through screeners of short films on my way to judging the Student Short Films category. And unfortunately, this brilliant little short by first-time director Lucas Martell wasn’t in my category, and it was unfortunately passed over.

Then like all great pieces of work, it stuck around and reemerged this week over at Laughing Squid, a site I read daily. They posted a YouTube embed of the short, which follows a rookie secret agent who faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.

You can watch the short below, and find more at PigeonImpossible.com. You can also follow Lucas Martell, who spent 5-years animating it, on Twitter at @LucasMartell. I’m not sure what you think about it, but I’d say that this short shows incredible promise.

10 Fun Facts About Pixar’s Up

Neil Miller — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:42:05 +0000

As you might have learned from Rob Hunter’s This Week in DVD column this morning, the masterwork known as Pixar’s Up has hit DVD and Blu-ray today. And while my own special report for This Week in Blu-ray is still upcoming (I’m still sifting through the ridiculous amount of special features), I will say this: you should own this title on the most advanced format you can find.

But enough of that. The folks at Pixar were kind enough to send us over a very cool list of 10 facts (as Up is Pixar’s tenth film) from the production of Up that you might find interesting. Check them out below:

During the production of Up, the Animation Department produced an average of 4 seconds of animation a week.
Paradise Falls is based on the world-famous Angel Falls in Venezuela. Up’s version is 1.8 miles tall or 9,700 ft., which is almost three times higher than Angel falls which stands at 3212 ft.
To walk from the location where Carl and Russell first arrive on the tepui to the top of Paradise Falls would require a 14.5 mile trek. It’s about 6.75 miles across to the nearest tepui when they look out across the landscape.
Pixar had a group of live ostriches come to the studio for reference for Kevin. The ostriches belonged to veterinarian Dr. James Stewart. The Art Department took a field trip to his farm where he also kept zebras.
There are 10,297 balloons lifting Carl’s house.
Pixar consulted with an architect to learn about home foundations to make the lift off of Carl’s house more believable.
All of the crowd dogs were actually a single dog based on Beta, tweaked around in shape and groom to look like a pack of 50.
The Spirit of Adventure is a dirigible, a rigid airship, and not a blimp, which has no rigid frame. It is much larger than any dirigible ever built.
The Spirit of Adventure is 3,061 ft. long, which is 3.8 times longer than the Hindenburg.
The knots connecting Russell’s rope between the garden hose and his backpack on the tether are real usable knots. There is a rolling hitch used to secure the rope to the garden hose, and three-half-hitches connecting the rope to the carabineer on his backpack. Both of these knots would have been something that Russell learned as a Wilderness Explorer.

Are you heading out to buy Up on DVD or Blu-ray today?

New ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ Trailer Focuses On the Boobies

Rob Hunter — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:13:49 +0000

Dreamworks’ upcoming animated film Monsters vs. Aliens is shaping up to be their funniest release yet. Sure it’s directed by Rob Letterman, the writer/director of the abysmal Shark Tale, but the man seems to have learned a lot since then. At the very least, he’s assembled an awesome cast of voices… Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Colbert, Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Kiefer Sutherland, Will Arnett, and Rainn Wilson. Sweet.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Even more important than the cast is the writing, and judging by this new trailer (as well as the first one) it looks to be hysterically funny. When is the last time an animated movie mentioned boobies? (And no, Heavy Metal doesn’t count.) And it’s in 3-D! Monsters vs. Aliens will be unleashed March 27th, 2009.

What do you think of the new trailer? Is Pixar’s throne at risk? Maybe not in regard to the film’s ‘heartfelt’ quotient… but it sure looks funnier than anything Pixar’s done in a while…

First Look: Disney/Pixar’s Tokyo Mater

Neil Miller — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:52:06 +0000

Many of you may have seen some of these photos already, but hopefully you are getting them first here — because you don’t need any other film website, right? Okay maybe not, but either way Disney has sent us over a few high resolution photos from the new Pixar shot film Tokyo Mater, which will be in theaters on December 12th in front of Bolt. Sure, it may be a ploy to get people back into theaters to see Bolt, but let me remind you of two important things: (a) Bolt was a good flick and (b) it’s a Pixar short, so why wouldn’t you want to see it.

Check out the pics below, followed by 9,000 words of a Disney press release.

DISNEY•PIXAR TO PREMIERE ITS FIRST

Disney Digital 3-D™ SHORT FILM

Oscar®-Winner John Lasseter Directs

Animated Short Based on “Cars” Character

BURBANK, Calif. (Dec. 9, 2008) – Disney•Pixar will premiere its first Disney Digital 3-D™ short film – “Tokyo Mater” – directed by Academy Award®-winner John Lasseter, at theaters nationwide beginning December 12. Appearing before Walt Disney Pictures’ “Bolt,” the animated short is the fourth in Disney•Pixar’s “Cars Toons” series, inspired by the hit 2006 film “Cars.”

The series stars Mater the tow truck (voiced by LARRY THE CABLE GUY), Lightning McQueen’s rusty but trusty friend. In “Tokyo Mater,” a routine tow lands Mater in Tokyo, where he is challenged to a drift-style race against a nefarious gang leader and his posse of ninjas. With the help of his friend, “Dragon” Lightning McQueen, and some special modifications, Mater attempts to drift to victory and become “Tow-ke-O Mater, King of all Drifters.”

All of the “Cars Toons” are directed by Lasseter (director of “Cars,” “Toy Story 2,” “A Bug’s Life” and “Toy Story”) and co-directed by Victor Navone (animator on “Cars,” “The Incredibles,” “Finding Nemo” and “Monsters, Inc.”) and Rob Gibbs (story artist on “Cars,” “Finding Nemo,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Toy Story 2″). Kori Rae (associate producer on “The Incredibles” and “Monsters, Inc.”) serves as producer. The previous toons in the series featured Mater as a fire truck in “Rescue Squad Mater,” a daredevil in “Mater the Greater” and as a bulldozer fighter in “El Materdor.” These three “Cars Toons” aired on Disney Channel, Toon Disney and ABC Family.

“I’m delighted to be back in the director’s chair for the ‘Cars Toons’ series,” said Lasseter, who serves as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios and most recently executive produced “Bolt.” “Mater is one of my favorite characters from ‘Cars’ and is the definition of true friendship. The world has grown to love Mater as much as we do, and we are excited to take him on new adventures with his best friend, Lighting McQueen.”

2-D computer versions of “Tokyo Mater” will also be available for theaters showing “Bolt” in 2-D.

‘Astro Boy’ Teaser Trailer Zooms Across the Web

Neil Miller — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:29:06 +0000

The first teaser trailer for Summit Entertainment’s Astro Boy has hit the web with a flash of cool CG-animation. The project is being developed by IMAGi Studios, the folks that brought us the CG-animated TMNT movie in 2007. Like many of you, I was a big fan of the look and feel of TMNT, but would have liked to see it be less of a cartoon (in story) and more like the original TMNT films. Alas, it was still a pretty cool movie — and Astro Boy appears to be cut from the same fabric. Have a look for yourself below.

Official Synopsis: Astro Boy was created by the “god of manga”, Japan’s Osamu Tezuka, in the early 1950s. The iconic character has since found wide popularity around the world as the hero of three acclaimed animated television series spanning over four decades, besides being one of the top licensed properties for merchandising. Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist. Our hero embarks on a journey in search of adventure in a netherworld of robot gladiators before he returns to save Metro City.

The trailer can also be seen in high definition over on AOL Moviefone. Astro Boy will feature the voices of Nicolas Cage, Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland and Nathan Lane. It hits theaters on October 23rd 2009.

Disney to turn Beauty and the Beast 3D for 2010

Michelle Graham — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:27:32 +0000

It seems that all over Hollywood, people are swooning over the 3D concept, pulling old titles out of the closet to dust off and revamp in the hopes of duplicating the smash that was … what, exactly? With Avatar coming next year and generating so much press, it’s understandable that there’s some buzz and excitement about the new approach to an old technology, but there’s been no real indication that 3D is something to go nuts about. This summer’s Journey to the Center of the Earth didn’t break any records, after all.

Yet, announcements continue to pile up, and Disney are one of the most enthusiastic culprits. Their announcement about the Toy Story revamp and 3Dification (it’s a word) made quite a splash, and it seems that they’re not done there. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group president, Mark Zoradi, announced yesterday that the only full length animated movie ever to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture is to be turned into a 3D extravaganza, and can you think of any movie better suited to the treatment? Beauty and the Beast is a Technicolor feast, bright and bubbly with plenty of movement and music, and is probably one of Disney’s greatest achievements. However, successfully altering a childhood classic is a tricky needle to thread, so it is comforting to know that it’s not a bunch of cowboys that will work on transforming Belle and her friends into tangible characters. Instead, the process will be done by the film’s original producer, Don Hahn and directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. According to Hahn, the original movie’s computer files have been preserved and these will be employed in the 3Dification process. He went on to say…

“By going back to the original animation files, which have been carefully archived for 17 years, and using the separate background, effects and character animation elements, we’re able to come up with a fun and unique 3-D experience for existing and new fans of the film,”

Although it sounds like a lot of PR waffle, it also gives hope to long-time fans. Beauty and the Beast has already bridged the gap between traditional animation technologies and computer generated graphics and was only the better for it. Not only that, Disney have already had steady success with another 3D venture where the 3Dification brings something more to the movie. The annual Nightmare Before Christmas 3D re-release has a big following, and deservedly so. Animated movies have a certain quality that can cross the 2D barrier, so hopefully they can find a way to bring the same spark to Beauty and the Beast, without ruining it entirely. It’s just a pity we have to wait until 2010 to see the finished product.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Must Watch: The BURN-E Short from the WALL-E DVD

Neil Miller — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:56:16 +0000

One of the great things about Pixar DVDs is that they always include an additional short film that is somehow related to main film. And with WALL-E, Andrew Stanton enlisted directing animator Angus MacLane — who, in my opinion is going to be the next big Pixar director — to direct BURN-E, a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-esque side story about a little repair robot whose world is also impacted by WALL-E and EVE. As you will see, we do meet BURN-E very briefly in the actual film but we never get to see his entire story. This short film gives us a hilarious look at what happens to him. It has made its way online courtesy of Videolog.tv. Check it out below.

WALL-E hits DVD and Blu-ray on November 18th.

Video Removed at the Request of Disney

Will John Boorman’s Wizard of Oz be Wonderful?

Robin Ruinsky — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 02:57:23 +0000

I liked the movie Excalibur. I think it’s the best depiction of the Arthurian legend put on film. Director John Boorman (Hope and Glory) based it on Thomas Malory’s fifteenth century book Le Morte d’Arthur and it’s an effective adaptation of Malory’s work.

Now Boorman has signed on to direct a new film of a book that has grown into a legend, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. Boorman could be an interesting choice for the job of adapting Baum’s classic book into a new non musical animated film version. Boorman took the world of King Arthur and brought it down to earth making the legends come to life by letting his heroes be flawed. He made Arthur, Guinevere, the knights, even the Wizard Merlin more alive by making them human.

Boorman took the terrors of England under siege during WW2 and by showing the events through the eyes of a child made the bombed out landscape a playground for nine year old protagonist Bill. Who can forget Bill saying “Thank you Mr. Hitler” upon seeing his school destroyed by a German bomb.

What will Boorman do with Oz? The film is going to be created with computer animation and this can really open up the world of Oz in contrast to Dorothy’s Kansas prairie. It’s the first time Boorman has directed an animated film. Let’s see what he does with the technology.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz will have a built in audience of fans who can’t get enough Oz. As the television miniseries “Tinman” showed, there’s more than one way to tell the story of Dorothy, her dog Toto, the Tinman, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and their journey to wish fulfillment in Oz.

Are there Wizard of Oz fans out there and if so how do you feel about the prospect of a new film adaptation?

4 Minutes of Bolt Proves That Michael Bay Could Do Cartoons

Neil Miller — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:58:29 +0000

Apple has released a set of clips from the upcoming Disney Animation Studios adventure Bolt, including a four minute chunk of the film’s opening sequence. The clip features the John Travolta-voiced dog named Bolt in his popular TV show where he plays a dog with superpowers. It also features his TV companion Penny, voiced by Miley Cyrus. As you will see below, the film starts out with a bang that could have Michael Bay’s trigger finger itching. It gives hope to Bay — should making movies with CGI robots not work out in the future, he could always turn to something that is completely computer generated. It could, as a matter of fact, be awesome.

Have a look at the four minute clip from Disney’s Bolt below.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Bolt hits theaters on November 21st. The clip can be viewed in high definition over at Apple.com.

Kung Fu Panda 2 Coming to IMAX and 3D in June 2011

Neil Miller — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:50:13 +0000

Hey kids, take note of this — $626 million dollars worldwide box office gross is going to guarantee that you get a sequel. Then again, you might have already known that. And whether they knew it or not, the folks behind this summer’s surprise animated hit Kung Fu Panda were setting themselves up for the long haul, as Dreamworks has now ordered up a sequel.

The film, which will reunite Jack Black as kung fu fan Po, Angelina Jolie and other members of the original voice cast, will be released in 3D — the new standard for all Dreamworks Animation movies starting next year — on regular and IMAX screens worldwide. And according to the note we received this morning from the folks at Dreamworks, the release date is set for June 3, 2011.

Personally, I am down for a Kung Fu Panda 2. This movie was one of the most delightful surprises of the year so far, and I can’t think of any reason why they shouldn’t make another one. When I reviewed it way back when, I believe I said something along the lines of ‘Pixar good,’ and I don’t think I was kidding.

How do you feel about a Kung Fu Panda sequel?

Must See Footage: Get Zapped by Disney’s Bolt

Neil Miller — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:49:58 +0000

It is no secret that I am a sucker for good animated films — especially those of the CG Animated variety. In fact, both Pixar’s WALL-E and Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda are still among my favorite films of 2008 — and that’s no easy task, as it has been a pretty good year in film thus far, and we’re only in September. But as I look out over the landscape of film that will bring 2008 to a close, there isn’t a whole lote for fans of good animation to get excited about. We recently saw the release of Igor from The Weinstein Company, which was a dud; we also have Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa from Dreamworks hitting on November 7th, and that promises to be mediocre at best; and then there is this film from Walt Disney Animation that has very recently caught my eye — a clever little tale about a Hollywood dog who believes that he is a superhero in real life. It is called Bolt, and it looks like it might be just the right movie to cure my end of the year animation blues.

First, it was the trailer that caught my eye:

[See post to watch Flash video]

Bolt comes to us from the team of first time directors Byron Howard and Chris Williams, who have been around Disney, working as animator and story board artist respectively. It will feature the voices of John Travolta in the title role, as well as Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, Malcolm McDowell, Nick Swardson, Susie Essman, Greg Germann and James Lipton — yes, that James Lipton. Also, oddly enough, it will feature a character voiced by “Macho Man” Randy Savage — who will undoubtedly snap into some sort of beef stick.

As you can see, it doesn’t sport a big name voice cast. In fact, a movie headlined by John Travolta and Miley Cyrus isn’t really much to shake a stick at. Travolta’s better days are behind him and even though she has become a paparazzi darling thanks to some leaked underwear photos, I wouldn’t call Miley Cyrus a serious box office force just yet. Although, there was that Hannah Montana concert movie in 3D — that seemed to play well among the tween crowd. Her presence could help, but I wouldn’t expect Bolt to be selling out theaters all winter long on Miley’s account.

What could help push Bolt along though, is some slick animation from the Disney team, the same team that worked well on Meet the Robinsons. In fact, Bolt has a visual vibe to it that is reminiscent of both Meet the Robinsons and The Incredibles, the latter of which is considered to be one of the best animated films of all-time. But The Incredibles, of course, had that Pixar magic, something that Disney has been unable to harness since it bought Pixar in 2006.

Could Disney finally be getting closer to having a “Pixar-quality” animated feature? Its hard to say just yet, but based on the trailer seen above and the extended clip below, which was released today by Yahoo Movies, I’d say they’ve got one film that could be on its way.

Disney’s Bolt is in theaters on November 21st.

[See post to watch Flash video]

What do you think of the footage released so far from Disney’s Bolt?

Johnny Depp Gets Animated For Gore Verbinski’s ‘Rango’

Rob Hunter — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:09:50 +0000

As if Johnny Depp wasn’t cartoonish enough in Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, the actor is re-teaming with the director for the animated film Rango. Depp will give voice to a household pet, I’m guessing a dog, who goes on a crazy adventure full of fun and self-discovery. I may be reading between the lines here, but I believe Rango will be the first animated dog to come out of the closet.

Rango has a home at Paramount Pictures, not exactly the first studio that comes to mind when you think of animated classics. Yes, they produced South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut and Beavis and Butthead Do America, but those both came from existing animated sources. For the last original animated films from Paramount you have to go all the way back to 1992 to find the one-two punch of Bebe’s Kids and Cool World. They can only go up from there. The movie is written by John Logan, who previously wrote Gladiator, The Aviator, and Bats.

Per Variety, Verbinski will work with Industrial Light & Magic on Rango, but it’s not clear if that means ILM will be animating the entire movie. Verbinski does say that ILM’s animation techniques “will allow us to capture and translate every aspect of Johnny’s performance, using it to drive the computer-generated character in a way that has yet to be seen in an animated feature.” So ILM may just be tasked with creating a drunken, slurring, and wobbly CGI dog into someone else’s animated world.

Rango is scheduled for release in March 2011.

Ken and Barbie do it Doll-Style in Toy Story 3

Michelle Graham — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:30:15 +0000

Yup, that’s right. Barbie’s back, and she has her bitch with her. Everyone knows that the Ken doll is Barbie’s secret love slave (ok, maybe not so secret) and this fact will be committed to celluloid in Pixar’s 2010 release of Toy Story 3, where the pair – brace yourselves – “embrace”.

According to IESB, Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in The Little Mermaid, will return to voice Barbie in the newest addition to the Toy Story saga. For those of you with short memories, Barbie popped up in Toy Story before, during Toy Story 2, when she was both in Al’s Toy Barn (Tour Guide Barbie) and stuck in the pocket of the backpack that Stinky Pete’s condemned to. This time however, she’s bringing her underworld boyfriend, Ken.

On the surface, Ken looks clean as a whistle, but there’s something in those vacant eyes and that oh so empty trouser pouch that indicates that he’s not as innocent as he seems. It’s no surprise then, to find he’s to be played by that rotten tomato & slightly idiotic jester of the underworld, Beetlejuice! While doing an interview for the release of the prequel to The Little Mermaid, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning, Jodi Benson revealed not only her renewed involvement in the newest Toy Story, but also outed Michael Keaton as her whipped boyfriend. Keaton has played with Pixar before, bringing a juicy nasty streak to the idiotic Chick Hicks in Cars back in 2006, hopefully he’ll get a decent chunk to sink his teeth into again this time with Ken. Perhaps one plot aspect could involve him actually believing he has male genitalia and coming to terms with the loss when the others break the news that he’s a eunuch. A nice mirror to Buzz’s plotline in the first film, don’t you think?

This brings the total knowledge about Toy Story 3 to a very meager pile, mostly comprised of a rejected plotline involving Buzz being defective and Andy’s toys shipping themselves to Japan to make sure he’s repaired and not just replaced, and the replacement (which doesn’t sound quite as interesting) where Woody, Buzz and all the gang get dumped in a play school toy box when Andy goes off to college.

Must See: One Last Look at the World of WALL-E

Neil Miller — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:48:01 +0000

Over the next few hours, both myself and Kevin Carr will weigh in with our reviews of the latest Pixar film WALL-E, which hits theaters at Midnight tonight — and if there is one thing I can say with absolute certainty, both reviews will surely be glowing endorsements of the little guy. We have known for a while that he is a cute little robot, but it was nearly impossible to quantify the amount of personality that he would have when he finally hit the big screen. Thankfully, there is little time left before WALL-E will be unleashed upon the masses, ready to knock the world on its collective ass with curiosity, cuteness and creativity.

With that in mind, we have one final featurette to share with you, one that comes to us from our friends over at First Showing. It goes behind the scenes with director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) and gives you a pretty thorough look at the world and story behind WALL-E. Enjoy:

[See post to watch Flash video]

Will you be seeing WALL-E this weekend?

WALL-E Gets a Companion on DVD and Some Pretty New Posters

Neil Miller — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:27:52 +0000

One of the things that impresses me most about Pixar as a production company is their attention to detail and their ability to deliver a product time after time that continues to give more and more. For example, with every one of their DVD releases thus far they have always included an additional short film that features one of the main film’s characters. If you remember back to last year with Ratatouille, its release to DVD contained a never-before-seen animated short called “Your Friend the Rat,” which featured more of Remy and his brother Emile.

For the DVD release of WALL-E, which will undoubtedly be closer to Christmas since the film doesn’t hit theaters until this Friday, Jun 27, they are rumored to be preparing a short film called “BURN-E.” And according to a report over at Pixar Planet, BURN-E is about a second cute little robot:

Though the scoring to Wall-E finished the end of April, we went back today (Wed) to record music for a small little short that’ll be an extra on the Wall-E DVD when it comes out. The short is called “Burn-E” and is about a robot named… you guessed it… Burn-E. Music was by JAC Redford (orchestrator on “Wall-E”) and though I didn’t catch the director’s name, he came out at the end to say hi. Nice that there are some extras planned for the DVD. Of course Wall-E itself will be out in theatres in… less than 10 days!

And while we don’t have any details beyond that, we are completely entranced by all things WALL-E at this point as it appears to be one of Pixar’s more beautifully animated works to date.

In other WALL-E related news, our friends over at Slashfilm pointed us in the direction of a beautiful set of posters from artist Eric Tan, who has done posters for everything from Raiders of the Lost Arc to The Incredibles to X-Men. Just click on the posters below to see more.

Film School Rejects » Animated Fun

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