New WALL-E Trailer!

You read that right, folks! Apple has posted the latest trailer for Pixar's upcoming "WALL-E" film in all sorts of formats and sizes!




I don't know why I care about that little bugger so much, but I do.

WALL-E Trailer on Apple

WALL-E Trailer!

UPDATE: Well, it was fun while it lasted. The video has been removed by Disney. Had I known, I honestly wouldn't have posted it in the first place. So if you still want to see it, I'm sure the trailer will be released officially in the near future.

Sorry about that.


I'm going to post this trailer for Pixar's "WALL-E," because I believe it to be legitimately posted on the web by Walt Disney Pictures.



However there is a small chance that it's been bootlegged or something, and if I find that to be the case, I'll be removing it, so watch it while you can!

Trust me... it's worth it.

WALL-E Superbowl Trailer

In case you don't watch the Superbowl and missed last night's "WALL-E" trailer, Disney has versions of it up in about a billion different formats.



As I was watching the trailer, all I could think was that if that little robot were to have attached that hose just an inch or two lower, this commercial would have taken on a whole new meaning.

Meet the Robinsons Interview

Animated Views has a nice interview up with Disney's "Meet the Robinsons" Director, Steve Anderson.



AV: Can you tell me about the voice of the Bowler Hat Guy that you did?

SA: It was funny how it came about. We do temporary voices for the characters very early on when we’re creating this movie on storyboards. We use ourselves, the studio, to do those temporary voices. And there are times when those voices have been around so long enough that they tend to stick to those characters and they’re defining those characters more so then than a cast that would be done later.

The interview covers everything from Steve's education, how he got on with Disney, the 2D films he played a roll in, his work on Robinson's, and even the music in the film.

Well worth the read.

Steve Anderson Interview on Animated Views

Ratatouille Wins Golden Globe!

Something is right with the world, because Pixar's "Ratatouille" was awarded the Golden Globe tonight for best Animated Picture.



While there were some other great films in the list of nominees, "Ratatouille" was nothing short of brilliant and deserves this and every other award bestowed upon it.

It even deserves some dork with a blog blubbering on about how great it is.

Congratulations to Brad Bird and everyone at Pixar!

First Shot of Bolt Characters

Once called "American Dog," now renamed to "Bolt," Disney's upcoming release issued its first character shot today.



While it is only one shot, it's pretty easy to tell that the story centers around Harry Potter's dog as it travels to Los Angeles with Pepe Le Pew's girlfriend.

The film is set for an 11/26/08 release.

New Wall-E Trailer on IGN

IGN has a brand new trailer up for Pixar's upcoming "WALL-E."



Watching the trailer I was reminded of Spongebob, only with a roach instead of a snail and a giant ship instead of a gay starfish. That and the robot from "Short Circuit" instead of a yellow sponge.

In all serioussness, I found the shots of him entertaining himself with the junk to be the most engaging, and I hope there are more of those fly-on-the-wall moments in the film where we get to see the fascinating way in which the little guy keeps himself busy.

Click the image above or the link below to see for yourself.

IGN's Exclusive WALL-E Trailer

Movie Poster Friday: WALL-E

Oh yeah... it's everyone's favorite day of the week, and to celebrate, here's a picture of that robot from "Short Circuit!"



Of course I'm kidding and this is the poster for Pixar's upcoming "WALL-E" movie.

Johnny Lasseter recently had this to say about the film to Rotten Tomatoes:

"It's a love story. It's got a lot of heart but it's really appealing. It's less dialogue with the characters but it's really fantastic."

I'm glad that the film has a lot of heart and is really appealing. I usually hate films with a lot of heart... oh... and good stories. I hate films with good stories.

Who's with me?

More from John Lasseter on Rotten Tomatoes

Ratatouilled Breaks $200 Million!

It's official... Pixar's "Ratatouille" has now grossed over $200 million domestically.



Pixar couldn't continue the upwards trend of previous movies forever, but I have to think that they're still quite pleased with "Ratatouille," which just passed "Happy Feet" to move into the 9th spot in highest grossing computer animated films, behind "Cars."

It's sort of like how I couldn't continue to date supermodels the way I did. I'm dating a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader now, and that's still pretty good.

My wife is going to kill me.

Just in case you're wondering, "Ratatouille" has also raked in an additional $172 million in Foreign theaters. Unless you happen to live in one of those countries, in which case the domestic box office is actually the foreign box office to you and your box office is the domestic one.

Ratatouille info at Box Office Mojo

Ratatouille Breaks Even!

I think it's safe to say that Ratatouille is a hit.



Over the weekend the film moved into the 10th spot on the list of highest grossing animated films (domestically). It now sits at $196 million, in terms of domestic box office haul, and is about $1.5 million away from taking the 9th spot from "Happy Feet," which it will probably manage to do in a weekend or two.

The film has also grossed $119 million in international ticket sales.

I'm sure glad to see the film break even like that. $315 million was a ridiculous budget for a CG film, and so it's good to know that whatever it makes from here on out is pure profit. I hope Pixar learns from this bullet they dodged, as this financially distarous film could have really sunk the company.

It's fun to pretend.

Box Office Mojo's Ratatouille Box Office Info

Ratatouille DVD Info... and more!

Via DavisDVD, comes some great news! First the 3D stuff...



Above is the cover for the upcoming Ratatouille DVD release, which DavisDVD has some info on, that can also be found at Ultimate Disney, including word that the film will include a new short titled, "Your Friend the Rat."



DavisDVD and Ultimate Disney also both have word on the above "Pixar Shorts" DVD, which is set to release on November 6th, and will include (in chronological order): The Adventures of André & Wally B., Luxo Jr., Red's Dream, Tin Toy, Knick Knack, Geri's Game, For the Birds, Mike's New Car, Boundin', Jack-Jack Attack, One Man Band, Mater and the Ghostlight, and Lifted.

However what I'm most excited about is the non-3D release that DavisDVD also mentions, which is the up until now VHS-only, "Opus and Bill In: A Wish for Wings that Work."



I cannot wait for this to release, as I've only seen it one time on TV, and it was mostly over by the time I surfed by and noticed it. The site claims that there will be no extras, but it's also going to retail for only $15 bucks, so I can't complain too much.

More info on all 3 from DavisDVD

More on the Pixar releases from Ultimate Disney

WALL-E Teaser Poster

It's really good to see Number 5 still getting work.



I wonder if El Debarge is doing the soundtrack...

I'd totally dance with Ally Sheedy to some El Debarge right now.

Ratatouille Breaks $100 Million

Pixar's latest "Ratatouille" made an estimated $29 million at the box office this weekend, bringing it's 10 day total to $110 million.



This means that, in just two weeks, the film has already out-grossed the likes of "Surf's Up," "TMNT," and "Meet the Robinsons." Not bad for a film released just a week before the blockbuster, "Transformers" and the somewhat-surprise-hit "Live Free or Die Hard." Not only that, but the film is already close to overtaking such hits as "Knocked Up," "Ocean's Thirteen" and the latest "Fantastic Four" flick.

I'm just trying to put thing into perspective for all of the doomsayers out there who are convinced that this is the end of Pixar. Just because the film may not wind up generating the numbers that "The Incredibles" did does not mean it isn't a hit.

Numbers Courtesy of Box Office Mojo

Where Pixar Artists Come From

Forget slaving away at a fancy art school for four years, as it turns out all you have to do is make some copies and draw a smiley face or two on a coffee mug.



CGSociety has a great article on Jason Deamer, Character Art Director for Pixar.

So, when Jimmy Hayward, a skateboarding friend and Pixar animator, told him that Pixar was hiring office help, he applied. “It was right after ‘Toy Story,’” he says. “I knew about Pixar because I had seen their shorts in animation festivals, but it didn’t occur to me there would be any future for me at Pixar. I thought I’d just be moving furniture.”

And, that’s what he did. Moved furniture, fetched sandwiches, made copies, sat at the front desk and walked through hallways filled with production art for ‘Monsters, Inc.’ and ‘A Bug’s Life.’ In his spare time, he doodled.

It's a great read, and always inspiring to see someone who doesn't mind getting in on the ground floor and working their way up through a company like Pixar.

I've been drawing faces on thong underpants and leaving them around my office building, so we'll see where that takes me.

EDIT: I'm an idiot and forgot the link...

CG Society Article On Jason Deamer

Ratatouille Scampers Into Theaters!

It's Pixar. It's Brad Bird. It's a 93% overall on Rotten Tomatoes. What are you waiting for?



Can rats scamper? I would imagine everything can scamper, with the exception of maybe an elephant, but I'm pretty sure rats can scamper for sure.

Go see the film.

Can A Rat Save This Sinking Ship?

As everyone knows by now, Pixar's "Ratatouille" hits theaters this Friday.



With the exception of "Shrek the Third," which happens to be part of a very successful franchise and "Happy Feet" which performed better than anyone could have predicted, the recent crop of CG Films, for the most part have performed pretty softly at the box office.

TMNT - $54 million
Surf's Up - $50 million
Flushed Away - $64 million
Happily N'Ever After - $15 million
Meet the Robinsons - $96 million

While I would call "Robinsons" a hit, the others have not come close to performing at the levels of previous 3D releases. "Surf's Up" has only generated $50 million so far, and will probably stall out at around $65 million, despite it receiving a %77 overall on Rotten Tomatoes. Compare that to a film like "Madagascar," which sits at a %55 review-wise, and yet generated $194 million at the box office a mere two years ago.

There are other examples as well, but the point to all of this is that it's going to be interesting to see if the Pixar name will draw enough people back to CG to make it the same level of hit that previous Pixar films have been. Obviously films like "Shrek the Third" and "Happy Feet" proved that audiences aren't totally fed up with CG films, but films like "Surf's Up!" show that you can have a quality product and it's still not a safe bet to be a hit.

"Ratatouille's" overall score on Rotten Tomatoes, one day before release, is a 92% and so quality isn't a question (was it ever?). So if the film comes out and does well, then where do studios go from here? In other words, if "Ratatouille" performs well, then it will prove that talking animal pictures can still find an audience. Yet if we've already established that "Surf's Up!" scored well and yet didn't perform at the level expected, then what kept people from seeing that film?

My hope is that all of this will push studios to try new things, but my fear is that it will do the opposite and force them to reduce picture output and always look to the safe bet.

See you in the "Ratatouille" line this weekend.

Box Office Numbers Gathered from Box Office Mojo

Rotten Tomatoes

Official Pixar Site

Working Out With Emile

Another great find from Upcoming Pixar:

While I still prefer the magic trick, I think it's great to see Pixar releasing tests like this one.

Pixar Shorts

My post on a possible "Incredibles" sequel was pretty much cut and dry, so I thought I'd follow up with one to let everyone know that Pixar may possibly probably not be releasing all of their short films on DVD.



According to Upcoming Pixar:

Film Ick points out that The Disney Enquirer has discovered that Disney has recently registered the domains, PixarShorts.com and DisneyPixarShorts.com. This seems to indicate that a DVD of Pixar short films is on its way.

The article then goes on to say that this isn't the first time such a DVD has been rumoured, but my hope is that it actually happens this time. Not only have I never seen lifted, but I think it would be great to have all of the shorts together in one convenient place.

Just like my underwear drawer.

Get it?

I'll be here all week.

More info, and far fewer lame jokes, after the jump.

Upcoming Pixar's Info on Pixar's Short Film DVD

Brad Bird States Obvious

Brad Bird told ComingSoon that he may definitely possibly do an "Incredibles" sequel for sure if he decides he'll do it.



"I do if I can come up with a story that is as good or better than the first one. If I can come up with a "Toy Story 2" with "The Incredibles," then I would do it in a second. I have pieces that I think are good, but I don't have them all together."

So everyone (myself included) should get excited right now, since we're probably totally maybe probably not going to get a sequel to the best animated film of all time.

ComingSoon's Chat with Brad Bird

Meet The Robinsons DVD Info

Ultimate Disney has released a press... uh... release about "Meet the Robinsons," including bonus details and cover art.



According to the release, bonus features include:

- Deleted Scenes - Find out what scenes got cut and why with fascinating on-camera explanations by the director.
- Keep Moving Forward: Inventions that Shaped the World - Meet real life inventors and visionary thinkers (including Walt Disney, himself) who changed the world and our lives forever.
- Music Videos.
- Family Function 5000: Family Tree Game – Lewis’ new invention organizes his enormous family tree so he can keep track of his family to be. Unfortunately, like most prototypes there are some bugs that haven’t been worked out and it may self-destruct! Help him before his family is erased forever.
- Inventing the Robinsons – Follow the development of the film from William Joyce’s original creations through the animation process and production.
- Audio Commentary by Director Stephen Anderson (with a special guest appearance)

For a bunch of additional info, including more on the bonus features, hit the link below.

Meet the Robinsons DVD Press Release