Disney Pixar News Roundup
Monday, November 24, 2014 at 7:24AM
Good morning everyone, Manuel here bringing some news on the animation front.Hot off the heels of the announcement that Disney Animation and Pixar Studios were getting their own presidents (Andrew Millstein and Jim Morris, respectively), it seemed appropriate to check in on both studios:
2014 marked the first year since 2005 when we didn’t get a new Pixar release. And while there’s been talk of the seemingly unstoppable studio faltering (with talks of yet another project changing directorial hands) they’re revving up the marketing push for 2015’s Inside Out, the latest from Up’s Pete Docter. The film, which follows five emotions in the mind of a young girl definitely has a plot description worthy of classic Pixar films. The voice cast alone should get you excited as we'll get Lewis Black as Anger, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Bill Hader as Fear, Phyllis Smith as Sadness and more importantly: Amy Poehler as Joy! In addition to these character posters, Pixar released five videos introducing us to the emotions at the heart (or mind?) of the film, where you can see these guys in action.
While Pixar’s output has been (arguably) showing diminishing returns, the same cannot be said for Disney Animation studios which is on a roll it hopes will continue for the next few years. They’ve recently released new artwork for their 2016 films: in March we'll get Zootopia from Tangled’s Byron Howard, is a buddy-comedy about a fast-talking fox on the lamb teaming up with a self-righteous rabbit cop while in November we'll get Moana, from Ron Clements and Jon Musker (the folks responsible for The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules) which centers on the eponymous protagonist as she searches for a fabled South-Pacific island.
Are you angry, disgusted, fearful, joyful or saddened by these news? Are you looking forward to getting a new Ron ‘n Jon flick in the near-future, and can we hope it will live up to their legacy?
Disney, Inside Out, Moana, Pixar, Zootopia
Reader Comments (6)
I hate feeling so "over" Pixar. but that's where I'm at. They just don't seem to be pushing themselves anymore. Far more excited about Zootopia and Moana i am.
Moana is the most exciting film since it is a musical. Zootopia could be interesting, for some reason Inside Out does not sound that appealing to me. But I am more of a WDAS fan than Pixar fan anyway. No opinion on The Good Dinosaur?
I'm disappointed that they're doing Toy Story 4. Pixar used to be so fresh, inventive and original.
Re: Pixar, they've got back to back original stories coming out in the next year. If they're good, I hope that will stem the tide of "sigh, Pixar, you used to be so beautiful" stories/comments every time one of their movies comes up. But I doubt it will. If Brave wasn't enough to stop people from saying, "YEAH, BUT CARS 2/MONSTERS U" then I doubt Inside Out or The Good Dinosaur, regardless of quality, will be enough to stop the "YEAH BUT TOY STORY 4" reactions.
That's the success trap for ya. After hitting so many home runs for so many years, doubles and triples aren't nearly as exciting.
Just thinking about the current state of Pixar makes me sad. Especially the Toy Story 4 news. That said, I am cautiously awaiting Finding Dory and The Incredibles 2 just because it sounds like they have the original teams working on them. Really hoping next year is their comeback year with two fresh, original concepts. Really looking forward to Moana as well.
I like the majority of WDAS and don't like the majority of Pixar films (yes even the beloved Toy Story movies). I was very disappointed in Wreck It Ralph and Big Hero 6 and feel they should have been made by Pixar because they're so dated. I don't understand why they don't already have the Lopez's lined up for another musical. Their songs from Winnie The Pooh and of course Frozen are classic Disney. Product placement and Marvel superheroes is not.