Attached to prints of Disney-Pixar’s Finding Nemo 3-D re-release next month will be a new Toy Story Toon spin-off short starring Wallace Shawn as the adorably naive dino Rex, who goes from Debbie Downer to the titular Partysaurus Rex at bathtime. Cute enough, no? Watch a clip after the jump and tell us if the law of diminishing returns applies to stories built around second- and third-tier Toy Story characters.
More on Partysaurus Rex:
Poor Rex. Buzz, Woody and the rest of the “Toy Story” gang think he is a just a wet blanket. But when Bonnie takes him to bath time, he goes from a party pooper to king of the hot tub! Creating a bubble bash like no other, everyone’s raving about the Partysaurus Rex!
Directed by Pixar veteran animator Mark Walsh and produced by Kim Adams, Disney•Pixar’s new short “Partysaurus Rex” makes a splash in theaters in front of “Finding Nemo” on September 14, 2012.
Director Andrew Stanton may have made one of the biggest flops in a generation, but you know what else he made? The Oscar-winning blockbuster Finding Nemo. Thus today’s big news from Mike Fleming at Deadline: “I’m told he’s now officially come aboard the Finding Nemo sequel and has a concept the studio loves. [...] As for Disney coming through with another live-action project, I’m hearing that nothing is firm but that the studio is working on it. It looks like the studio is ready to give Stanton a mulligan on John Carter. Stanton, who has played a big role in many of Pixar’s hits going back to Toy Story, has an opportunity to put a big flop behind him.” Terrific! All’s well that ends in a $200 million write-down well. [Deadline]
Penélope Cruz, Woody Allen and Geta Gerwig at the NYC premiere of To Rome with Love this week hosted by the Cinema Society. Photo by Nick Hunt/Patrick McMullan Co.
This weekend’s new theatrical offerings include a massive array for any taste. In the studio realm, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter marks the 16th Prez as a savior from Vampires, Pixar’s Brave centers on a Princess who must save her kingdom. Focus’ Seeking a Friend for the End of the World pits a mismatched man and woman on an unlikely road trip, while doc The Invisible War is a fascinating but sad exposé on the sad truth about sexual assault in the U.S. military. Fellow doc Kumaré, meanwhile follows a man posing as an Eastern guru who builds his own following in Arizona.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Writers: Seth Grahame-Smith
Cast: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie
Distributor: Fox
Just the title itself makes it a worthy consideration. In this fantasy/horror pic, America’s 16th President adds another credit to his stellar historical legacy. Vampires are planning to take over the United States and of course he is the man who takes it upon himself to eliminate them…
Brave (Animation)
Directors: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell
Writers: Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi
Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson
Distributor: Buena Vista
Paramount/Dreamworks Animation has been bringing in lots of cash with their big summer animated feature Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and it looks like Disney/Pixar will be reaping some box office gold themselves with Brave. So, for the plot… Princess Merida is a determined gal, who wants to follow her own destiny. She breaks with tradition…
Full Story »Too cute not to share: Pixar has cut a very special Brave promo, just in time for Father’s Day, celebrating all that fathers teach us — how to acquire an inner strength and confidence as children that carries us into adulthood, how to shoot arrows, how to ride horses and become deadly sword-fighting killing machines… you know, the basics.
It’s a nice reminder of what Pixar’s first female-led animated feature represents — a strong heroine whose quest concerns self-possession and courage rather than romance. And archery. Between this and The Hunger Games, a whole new generation of little girls are going to grow up ready to tackle the world with a bow and arrow.
Brave screens at the LA Film Fest before opening nationwide on June 22.
Fingers are crossed that Pixar bounces back from the uncharacteristic critical disappointment that was Cars 2 with their next effort, Brave — a foray into Disney princess territory about a headstrong young Scottish lass (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) who defies tradition in her parents’ kingdom. A new trailer for the animated adventure promises no small measure of spunky girl power as our heroine Merida upends an archery contest where doofus candidates are vying for her hand in marriage.
It’s not a traditional trailer so much as it is a scene from the film, but it conveys a sense of what to expect, tonally. (Watch the first full trailer here.) From what’s been released so far it seems Brave’s story will be its strength; the round, cartoony CG-animated character design doesn’t appeal much to me, but Merida’s spirit is infectious in this twist on the familiar medieval archery scenario. (That’s Billy Connolly voicing her father and Emma Thompson as her mom, in case you were curious.)
Brave hits theaters June 22; leave your impressions below!
Full Story »Because it looks complicated to make, has very limited mobility, and is kind of super creepy, this homemade Pixar-inspired costume — a full-body reconstruction of the anthropomorphic Pixar Luxo lamp logo — may not be the best costume idea for your Halloween movie-related revelries. But you’ve got to see it in action. Shivers. Check it out and stick around for your daily Buzz Break.
• Anne Hathaway is indeed confirmed for Les Miserables, in which she’ll play Fantine to Hugh Jackman’s Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe’s Inspector Javert. Huzzah? [Deadline]
• Sorry, everyone: Salman Rushdie hates Game of Thrones. And he’s won the Booker Prize and was married to Padma Lakshmi, so he knows a thing or two about books and hot women. [Pajiba]
• Scott Derrickson (The Day the Earth Stood Still) co-wrote and will direct Charlize Theron (who will also produce) in a remake of the Dutch horror pic Zwart Water (AKA Two Eyes Staring, which played last month at Fantastic Fest), a ghostly tale about a little girl with an invisible friend who knows things about her mother (Theron). [Heat Vision]
• Wrap up your coffee break by marveling over these five things predicted by The Simpsons, including the fact find ourselves on movie dates to see an unabashedly silly big screen Three Musketeers movie again. [The FW]
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Also in this Monday edition of The Broadsheet: Pixar announces two new films… Paper Wings finds pilot… Peter Jackson talks West Memphis Three… and more ahead.
· Hold your horses, Lone Ranger fans! (Groan.) In a new interview with Deadline, Disney chairman Rich Ross said the film might not be dead just yet. “I’m hoping to do it. I’m certainly hoping. I think it’s a compelling story and no one wants to work with Jerry [Bruckheimer] and Johnny [Depp] more than me so we’ll see how it works.” As Deadline points out, director Gore Verbinski’s name is not-so-conspicuously absent from that quote, meaning perhaps the studio could go ahead with The Lone Ranger at a reduced budget, but without Verbinski holding the reins. Rob Marshall, keep your iPhone charged. [Deadline]
· Speaking of Disney, the studio held its Comic-Con competitor D23 in Anaheim over the weekend, where it announced plots for the next two Pixar films. The first — due out Nov. 27, 2013 — will follow what would happen if dinosaurs had not become extinct; the second, from Up director Pete Docter, will focus on the human mind (Inception cartoon!) and arrive in theaters on May 30, 2014. Before those films are released, Pixar has Brave and Monsters University coming in the summer of 2012 and 2013, respectively. [Slashfilm]
· Sarah Jessica Parker is still pushing for a third Sex and the City film. “I know what the story is. It’s a small story, but I think it should be told. The question is, what’s the right time to tell it?” Answer that question for Sarah in the comments below. [Parade]
· Brian Kirk…
Full Story »Pixar watchers and action fans alike were waiting to see what Oscar-winning animation veteran Brad Bird might do with the reins to the Mission: Impossible franchise, and the first wave of promo materials offers an answer: Pretty much what anyone would do with a slick, globe-trotting, high-octane Tom Cruise vehicle. Can we find greater detail in the first batch of stills from Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol?
The fourth M:I outing sees Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team officially disavowed by the government so they can go deep undercover to find the baddies responsible for the bombing of the Kremlin. Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Josh Holloway and Paula Patton join Cruise in the action pic along with Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Lea Seydoux as a pair of European baddies.
The first trailer seemed to indicate that Bird had lots of fun shooting his first live-action feature, what with all the spy games and set pieces he had to work with. On closer inspection of these first couple of stills, his strong visual sense come through even more strikingly: the vibrant colors on and around Paula Patton as she strolls into a party with Cruise (signage indicates it’s a “Gala Charity Evening” for a company called Singh Technologies); the tricky reflection shot of Cruise free-climbing an office building.
Still, we’ll need to see more from Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (in theaters Dec. 16) to tell how much Bird puts his own stamp on the franchise and genre at large. Click above to launch the gallery.
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