Tag: Pixar (21-30 of 36)

Sep 24 2010 03:25 PM ET

Girl power! Pixar names first female director

by
Tags: , , , , ,

Forget about the boy. Let’s hear it for the girl! Pixar has named its first female director, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Brenda Chapman will direct and write the animated film Brave, due out in June 2012. The story follows Merida, a tomboyish royal with a love of archery. (Sounds like we got ourselves a rival for Robin Hood?) After a fight with her mom, Merida makes a decision with some major repercussions for her father’s kingdom. Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, and Julie Walters are all expected to provide voices for the film.

So congrats to Chapman for nabbing this milestone role. Based on the little information I have about the movie, it looks like it could be a good one. But I’m admittedly a sucker for Pixar films. What do you think, PopWatchers? Will you be looking out for the trailer or passing on Brave?

Sep 13 2010 06:58 PM ET

'Toy Story 3' DVD and Blu-ray extras: Just reading them will make you cry

by
Tags: , , , , , , , , Movies

Toy Story 3, the No. 1 animated movie in box office history — and a film that made 87 percent of PopWatch readers cry at least once – will hit DVD and Blu-ray on Nov. 2. If you don’t have a Blu-ray player, you might need to find a friend who does. The DVD extras will include the short film Day & Night, which played before the movie in theaters; a closer look at the creation of the toys in the film; a ”hybrid animation documentary of Buzz’s visit to the International Space Station” produced in conjunction with NASA; Pixar editors sharing anecdotes about their careers; a look at the returning and new voice talent in the film; a sneak peek at the new Toy Story-themed playland at Hong Kong Disneyland; and a series of stories about life at Pixar Studios (the Toy Story 3 animators shave their heads to mark the start of the film, an animator finds a hidden room at Pixar, and “the majestic and expansive Pixar cereal bar is explored”). The Blu-ray combo pack comes with all those features, plus: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 24 2010 09:00 AM ET

'Mad Men,' 'Monsters Inc.,' and 'The Middleman,' together at last!

by
Tags: , , , , About Last Night, Mad Men, TV

Blakenship-Roz-IdaImage Credit: AMC; Disney/Pixar; Eike Schroter/ABC FamilySunday night’s Mad Men featured yet more Miss Blankenship, Don’s new dottie secretary. She’s funny and all — although honestly, she’s a little much for me — but I felt like I’ve seen her before. Because I totally have! Because she’s basically Roz from Monsters Inc., and Ida from The Middleman. (So far, Miss Blankenship has yet to display an undercover superstrength of some sort, but I’m guessing it’s there. How could it not? Someone has to save Sally Draper!)

Separated at birth, PopWatchers. I’m telling you. Whom did I forget? I’m sure there someone… Oh, also, your daughter’s psychiatrist called!

Jul 26 2010 04:34 PM ET

'Toy Story 3: Inception': Watch this dream of a fake trailer

by
Tags: , , , , , Movies

ken-leonardoImage Credit: Disney/Pixar; Melissa MoseleyWill we ever tire of movie mash-ups? Not when they’re as imaginative as this few-weeks-old faux trailer for Toy Story 3: Inception, a clip that — depending on your point of view — imbues the Pixar blockbuster with a sense of brooding menace, or gifts Christopher Nolan’s brain-acher with yet another layer of phantasmagoric weirdness.

Either way, the result does make you wonder, A) if these two films are really as different as one might have previously imagined, and B) whether there’s any movie that can’t be improved by the presence of a jovial toy octopus.

Check out the trailer after the jump and give us your thoughts.

READ FULL STORY »

Jun 23 2010 03:55 PM ET

'Toy Story 3': Best reaction you witnessed from a child?

by
Tags: , , , , Movies, Those Crazy Kids!

toy-story-3-buzzImage Credit: Disney/PixarThere are those adults who would go to a late showing of Toy Story 3 in an attempt to avoid seeing it with children who haven’t yet learned that one doesn’t talk during movies. Then there are those of us who can’t do that know that hearing what an uncensored child says during a Pixar film is part of the experience. What’s the best reaction you witnessed at Toy Story 3? My Father’s Day afternoon screening had plenty of surprisingly well-behaved kids. (On second thought, I’ve never had a problem at Pixar movies because they hold children’s attention.) The moment I was reminded I was surrounded by kids was when (spoiler alert!) Buzz was about to be switched to demo mode. One boy at the back of the theater screamed “Noooooooooo!” The isolated outburst wasn’t annoying, it was heartwarming. You felt how much he loved Buzz and didn’t want him to change.

Your turn.

More Toy Story 3:
Toy Story 3 Q&A: John Morris, the voice of Andy, on how he won the role
Toy Story 3 poll: Did you cry?
Owen Gleiberman reviews Toy Story 3
Owen Gleiberman’s message to men: Yes, it’s okay to cry at Toy Story 3
 10 Pixar classics: EW’s movie critics rank ‘em

Jun 20 2010 03:39 PM ET

'Toy Story 3': Have adult moviegoers finally embraced animation?

by
Tags: , , , , About Last Night, Movies

Toy-StoryImage Credit: Disney/PixarKnowing full well that Toy Story 3 was on its way to a record $109 million weekend, I walked into a 7:30 p.m. showing on Saturday, expecting to find a theater consisting of mostly parents and their kids. This was, after all, an animated film or “cartoon” — a label that’s still used derogatorily by some adults. But to my pleasant surprise, my sold-out auditorium was packed with grown-ups, and nearly all of them had arrived sans kids. This made for a particularly satisfying movie-going experience. There were no crying babies or incessantly chatty tots, and while Toy Story 3 is a movie that children will undoubtedly devour, its poignant coda will be appreciated most by those with multiple decades beneath their belts. And so when that moment came — a brief facial expression from a college-bound Andy — my theater was reduced to sniffles.

There are a couple of possible explanations for why my Toy Story 3 theater contained an adult-to-child ratio of approximately 9-1. On one hand, I went to a 2-D showing. (I’m against wearing those 3-D sunglasses unless a movie, such as Avatar, absolutely demands it.) So maybe parents whisked their kids to the pricier 3-D shows, while we childless adults opted for two dimensions. But I think something else was also at play here. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 18 2010 11:22 AM ET

'Toy Story 3': Q&A with the voice of Andy, John Morris

by
Tags: , , , Movies

toy-story-andyImage Credit: Disney/Pixar; Courtesy of John MorrisJohn Morris was seven when he was cast as the voice of Andy in Toy Story. He went to an open call for boys, who were each told to bring their one favorite toy. He brought his entire X-Men collection. “I remember my mom saying, ‘No, no, no, you have to choose one toy, and I was just like, ‘Unheard of!’ I brought 45 X-Men figures and dumped them all out on the floor,” he says. “I remember [the Pixar team] bursting out in laughter. I couldn’t choose just one. I had to bring them all. It was a part of a set. I think Pixar sort of got that. They were just like, ‘Yeah, he had to bring all of his toys.’”

Morris had to read for the role again when it came time for the first sequel (he was 13), and once more for Toy Story 3, which hits theaters today. Pixar needed to know if he could still capture Andy’s spirit and imagination. After speaking with Morris — now 25, and living in the San Francisco Bay Area where his dream is to bounce back-and-forth between theater (Berkeley Rep and A.C.T.) and voice work (Pixar and Lucasfilm) — it was clear that the 2007 graduate of UCLA’s Theater Arts program has managed to hold onto that little boy’s enthusiasm, not to mention his love of toys. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 1 2010 03:45 PM ET

The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years: Here's our full list!

by
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Glee, Lost, Mad Men, Movies, Television

1105_coverTo help celebrate Entertainment Weekly‘s 20th anniversary (one more year and we can finally drink booze!), the writers and editors have carefully curated a list of the 100 greatest characters in pop-culture over the last 20 years. Whether the fictional women, men, ogres, muppets, babies, and cartoon rockers who made our list were initially created before 1990 didn’t matter so long as they made a lasting impact in the culture after 1990. Some characters were so inseparable in our minds and hearts — like a certain highly articulate TV mother and daughter, for example — that we simply listed them together. (Hey, it’s our list, so we get to make the rules.) Rest assured, we carefully deliberated, debated, argued, and bickered over who would make the cut and where they deserved to be ranked; after you take a look at our list, please feel free to do the same in the comments. READ FULL STORY »

May 13 2010 01:54 PM ET

Disney/Pixar source says 'Newt' off development schedule

by
Tags: , , , Movies

pixar-newtLooks like Newt won’t be new(t) to theaters after all come 2012. As first reported in The Pixar Blog, it appears the film — which followed two newts forced to procreate, even though they hate each other — has indeed been canceled. (The film was already plagued with scheduling conflicts, pushed back from summer 2011 to summer 2012.) Disney/Pixar animation head John Lasseter declined to comment to EW about the reports, but a source from the studio says that with Cars 2, Monsters Inc. 2, and Pixar’s first fairy tale Brave all in the works for 2011 and 2012, “We have taken Newt off of our development schedule to allow our creative teams to focus on these upcoming projects.”

It’s a shame. I was excited to see an original film in Disney/Pixar’s line-up, considering how many sequels the studio is popping out in the next few years. (And that’s coming from a rabid fan of Monsters Inc.) Anyone else sad to hear the Newt news? —Reporting by Adam B. Vary

Mar 17 2010 01:20 PM ET

'Toy Story 3': How good will it have to be to meet your expectations?

by
Tags: ,

Pixar screened an unfinished cut of Toy Story 3 yesterday at Showest, and early impressions are incredibly positive. Our own Nicole Sperling says it’s great, and the general consensus says the same. Squee! The film opens June 18 — just three short months away! — and includes a slew of new characters, like the robot Sparks, a triceratops Trixie, and Stretch, a glittery octopus

Time to clear off desk space to make room for my new collection of Pixar tsotchkes.

I am absurdly excited for Toy Story 3 (in 3-D!), but now I’m in a pickle: I want so badly for this film to blow me away that anything short of a soul-expanding revelation is going to feel like a letdown. What about you, PopWatchers? How are you managing your expectations? Will TS3 have to go to infinity and beyond, or will you be happy no matter what?

Advertisement

TV Recaps

Powered by WordPress.com VIP
'Star Trek': I'd rather be...