April Foolish Predix Pt 1: The Toons!

by Nathaniel R

Last year's animation race proved, just as we predicted, that the Academy's animated branch will only put up with a couple of sequels in any given year. For 2020 that wasn't going to be an issue as the scheduling wasn't sequel heavy. But then COVID-19 happened and the release schedules of everything got pushed back -- the latest calendar move is Disney/Pixar's Soul power-walking to Thanksgiving week where it will replace Disney's Raya and the Dragon, now pushed to 2021...

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Never bet against Disney

by Cláudio Alves

While not all of Disney’s movies get Oscar gold, it’s never a good idea to bet against the studio. This year, Captain Marvel, Dumbo and Aladdin failed to conquer any nomination, but many other Disney properties got in the race, even in categories people weren’t expecting them to. Think of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’s makeup nod, for instance. It’s true most of those movies don’t seem like frontrunners, but if we trust in the patterns of Oscar history, then we can be assured the House of Mouse will earn a couple of statues come Hollywood’s biggest night. 

To prove this point, let's peruse the last decade of the Academy Awards and explore Disney’s many nods and victories. Notice there’s at least a win per year…

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Yes No Maybe So: Pixar's 2020 Films "Soul" and "Onward"

by Tony Ruggio

Pixar gonna Pixar. That is, use cute anthropomorphic beings to explore the many profundities of life and make us cry in the process. Soul appears to be another excellent example of their personal stamp. Better yet, it's one of two Pixar originals this year (their firsts since Coco in 2017 since the last two years have been sequels). Let's do the Yes No Maybe So after the jump... 

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Disney Upcoming World Domination -- Now with Release Dates

by Nathaniel R

After Disney's acquisition of Fox, the Mouse House stands to control an ungodly percentage of the movie business (40%... what is the number exactly?) Today they released their schedule for the next few years, albeit a vague one since many of the movies are untitled. Several things become clear despite the lack of specifics: First, Disney hopes to maintain the luster of Star Wars by abandoning the overselling we've seen these past few years (which have taken a noticeable toll with diminishing box office) and releasing one only every other year, alternating them with Avatar pictures. Meanwhile Disney Animation, Pixar, and Marvel Studios will basically maintain their current clips of two to three titles each per year.  The more distressing thing that appears to be the case if you look at this schedule is that Disney seems to be burning off the Fox properties but must have abandoned anything in the pipeline that isn't finished already save for animated features since they take so long to make and Steven Spielberg's West Side Story which starts filming very soon. Apparently the only reason Disney wanted Fox was for the Avatar franchise? 

You can see the schedule after the jump...

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"Kitbull"

*purrs*

This wonderful short is directed by Rosana Sullivan and it's traditional animation rather than the CG usual from Pixar. The drawing is so expressive -- how great are the cats eyes? -- and as someone who once adopted a ratty-looking nervous and unfriendly street kitten, this really struck a chord. My heart melted when it learned to make a friend. Perhaps other cat owners or pitbull fans will be similarly moved? 

There have been six new shorts from Pixar's new initiative. Here's what they say about this program:

The SparkShorts program is designed to discover new storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques, and experiment with new production workflows. These films are unlike anything we’ve ever done at Pixar, providing an opportunity to unlock the potential of individual artists and their inventive filmmaking approaches on a smaller scale than our normal fare.”