New Finding Dory Trailer!

Everyone's favorite forgetful fish Dory is back this summer in an all-new animated feature. It's no surprise that Andrew Stanton's Finding Nemo is one of Pixar's most beloved hits. For many years, the studio resisted going back for a sequel and this summer, the time is just right to return to the ocean gang. With returning characters Marlin, Nemo, and Mr. Ray, Dory sets out to find her real family, her mom and dad. Along the way, she meets new characters Bailey, a white beluga whale; Destiny, a whale shark; and Hank the octopus at the Monterey Marine Life Institute. Finding Dory's latest trailer kicks off the campaign #HaveYouSeenHer leading up to the film's release on June 17, 2016.  So have you seen Dory yet?

New Trailer: Pixar's The Good Dinosaur

We waited through having no Pixar films for two years, but this year we're rewarded with two in the same year! Inside Out has already proved to be a bittersweet delight, will The Good Dinosaur finish off the year of the dinosaur with a flair?

This new full trailer shows in detail the mysterious yet awe-inspiring world that was the planet Earth millions of years ago. Of course, The Good Dinosaur would also like you to imagine a world where the dinosaurs weren't wiped out by a massive asteroid. The trailer gives us the first proper introduction to Arlo, the young Apatosaurus whose loses his way only to make a new friend who happens to be human on his way to an adventure.

The Good Dinosaur which had a major upheaval in production also recently revealed that the voice cast underwent a change. Pixar must have obviously had massive character changes as child actor Raymond Ochoa will be voicing Arlo, Jeffrey Wright voices Arlo's father Poppa, while Frances McDormand is the only cast member who remains and will voice Arlo's mother Momma. Marcus Scribner voices Arlo's brother Buck while Steve Zahn voices Thunderclap, a pterodactyl.  AJ Buckley is T-Rex called Nash, Anna Paquin voices another T-Rex Ramsey and Sam Elliott voices the third T-Rex Butch. Finally, Arlo’s new friend, Spot, is voiced by another child actor Jack Bright.

The Good Dinosaur, directed by Peter Sohn, releases this Thanksgiving November 25, 2015. What did you think of the first full trailer of the animated film? Yay or nay?

Movie Review: Inside Out (2015)

 

After a self-imposed hiatus, Pixar is back with its 15th feature film with a high-concept story that has managed to touch both adults and children. Director Peter Docter, the mastermind behind Monsters Inc. and Up, brings us another emotional tale with Inside Out.

The majority of the film is set inside the mind of an eleven-year-old Riley (voice of Kaitlyn Dias) a regular young girl who life is uprooted when her family moves from Minnesota to the big city San Francisco. A avid ice-hockey player, moving to the warmer California and being away from her friends and all she know is initially worrisome for Riley but she puts on a brave face for her parents. How do we know this? That's because we have insider access to the inner voices in her head - namely Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith), Anger (voice of Lewis Black), Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling) and Fear (voice of Bill Hader).

It turns out Riley's mind is the control room (aka headquarters) where these five differing emotions reside taking decisions that impact her daily life. They are deeply concerned for the well-being of Riley and hilariously help her out of little jams dealing with the fact her new bedroom has no furniture as the moving truck is delayed. Joy is the leader in making sure Riley is always happy and has to constantly manage the rest of the emotions especially Sadness from taking over.

One such day, when Riley is introducing herself at school, Sadness touches a core memory making it turn yellow (joyful) to blue (sadness). It causes Riley to break down in tears and the resulting madness to make the memory happy again causes Joy and Sadness to be sucked down into the long term memory archives. From there on, Riley's core memories as well her personality islands (family, friends, hockey, goofball, etc) are on in danger as Anger, Disgust and Fear are in charge at headquarters and Joy and Sadness have to figure a way back.

Their journey is what makes up the core of Inside Out and they come across Riley's former imaginary friend Bing Bong (voice of Richard Kind) and some hilarious escapades as they try to catch the train of thought back to headquarters. Joy and Sadness both have differing views on how to approach any situation and by spending more time with each other, they both get to understand each other's worth.

Pixar is the king of story in animation and Inside Out is no exception. With the tears (an unexceptionally touching moment with Bing Bong could touch the coldest of hearts) comes loads of laughs and self-awareness as well. The end credits has a particularly fun look inside the minds of several characters we've run into during the film. They've even managed to sneak a Chinatown reference in the film as Sadness and Joy make their way back home.

Kudos to Pixar on the casting of the voice talents. Each actor absolutely shines in their roles. But I've got to admit a little fondness for Sadness. Joy is easily the emotion to like instantly, how could you not? But Sadness slowly grew on me throughout the film as she came into her own personality and became more confident.

The morale of the story Pixar is trying to tell is deeply moving. While we might lose a little joy now and then as we get older, it's quite alright to embrace a little sadness. Is it okay to be sad sometimes? Yes, and that's going to be a profound lesson for youngsters to learn. This will definitely lead to some interesting conversations at the dinner table for parents and children alike. Welcome back, Pixar! We've really missed you.

Directed by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen; Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley; Editing by Kevin Nolting; Music by Michael Giacchino

Running Time: 94 minutes

Rating:

 

New Stills from Pixar Short Sanjay's Super Team

Back in April, the first concept of the short film, Sanjay's Super Team, debuting before Pixar's Thanksgiving feature, The Good Dinosaur, was released. Today, two stills from the film, both showing different animation styles reveal a little bit more about the film.

(Photo: Disney/Pixar)

Young Sanjay is front and center in both of them as he first watches presumably a show about superheroes, clutching a figurine in his hand. His father can be seen praying in the background.

(Photo: Disney/Pixar)

In the next, the Hindu gods Hanuman and Vishnu and the goddess Durga stand behind him protectively. What is Sanjay up against that has him so worried?

I've got to say this short directed by debutant Sanjay Patel looks absolutely amazing. Indian animation has covered religion and mythology quite a bit but this will be the first time the mainstream audience will be getting to see this part of Indian culture onscreen. I can't wait. Sanjay's Super Team releases before The Good Dinosaur on November 25, 2015. Don't miss it!

New Teaser Trailer: The Good Dinosaur

The new teaser for Pixar's The Good Dinosaur wants you to envision a world where dinosaurs where never wiped out by an asteroid. What would the world be like then? What indeed... sorry, I'm just lost in my imagination here. I'm a big fan of Pixar and I think I've made my love of dinosaurs quite evident on this blog. Between Jurassic World and now The Good Dinosaur, it's going to be a good year at the movies for us dinosaur fans.

Directed by debutant Peter Sohn, who's voiced several Pixar characters over the years, namely Emile from Ratatouille and helmed the short Partly Cloudy, this animated feature is finally making its way to theatres. Sohn took over from previous director Bob Peterson who was removed from the project midway causing the film to have a delayed release amidst restructuring. The Good Dinosaur will also be coming on the heels of Inside Out which received rave reviews at the Cannes film festival and both films look to restore Pixar as the number one animation studio after its self-imposed hiatus.

The trailer shows us the first look of some of the dinosaurs featured in the movie, namely our lead character Arlo who goes on an epic encounter and makes a human friend along the way. With the voice talents of Lucas Neff as Arlo, John Lithgow, Judy Greer, Neil Patrick Harris, Bill Hader (his second Pixar film after Inside Out) and Frances McDormand, The Good Dinosaur releases this Thanksgiving. As long as Pixar continues to pursue unique and original stories, we, the audience is always eager to see more. I can't wait to see The Good Dinosaur.

First Look: Pixar's Latest Short "Sanjay's Super Team"

(Photo: Disney/Pixar)

Pixar has had a long and grandstanding tradition of continuing to make short films alongside their extremely successful feature films. The latest short due to join Pixar's Hall of Fame is Sanjay's Super Team which will open in front of The Good Dinosaur in November. Directed by Pixar animator and artist Sanjay Patel, the short has been inspired by Patel's own experiences growing up as an Indian-American in California.

Sanjay's Super Team follows a little boy Sanjay growing closer to his father when he is performing a puja (a Hindu prayer ceremony) by re-imagining the ancient Gods appearing like superheroes in his daydream. Patel told the LA Times that he made the short largely because he wanted other children growing up to see themselves in Sanjay.  "If I could, I would go back to the 1980s and give my younger self this short. I want to normalize and bring a young brown boy's story to the pop culture zeitgeist."

Sanjay's Super Team, lasting around seven minutes, will first premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival which is held in France every year. 

TV Movie Review: Toy Story That Time Forgot

The newest TV special featuring those loveable toys from the Toy Story universe with Toy Story That Time Forgot is yet another win for the franchise.  The holiday event shows us why we can't get enough of these characters and why it warrants another feature film with Toy Story 4. Pixar head John Lasseter returns to directing for the film due to release June 16, 2017.  While the story for the new feature is by directors Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, the screenplay will be written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack who wrote Celeste and Jesse Forever.

Coming back to Toy Story That Time Forgot, this time around, the much neglected dinosaurs Rex (voiced by Wallace Shawn) and Trixie (voiced by Kristen Schaal) step into the limelight when they accompany Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Buzz (voiced by Tim Allen) and their pal Bonnie (voiced by Emily Hahn) to a post-Christmas play date.  While Bonnie and her friend Mason get distracted playing video games, the toys go off exploring on their own and they discover the new world of Battlesaurs who really dig being Battlesaurs. Translation: They don't know they're toys. "Incredible, isn't it?" states Buzz.

Led by the power-hungry Cleric (voiced by Steve Purcell), the Battlesaurs pit Mason's toys in an arena against each other.  These dinosaurs aren't messing around. You fight to the death.  As Woody, Buzz and Rex's lives are on the line, it's up to Trixie (questioning her own dinosaur-ness) to find Bonnie and be the heroine.

I don't know how Pixar manages to add new and interesting characters to this decades old franchise like the Angel Kitty (voiced by Emma Hudak) who is at once hilarious and adorable and Reptillus Maximus (voiced by Kevin McKidd), the new love interest for Trixie.  The story manages to serve both the old and new characters well.

For those of you who may have had enough of Toy Story, don't give this funny and sweet holiday special a miss.  For long-time Toy Story fans, there's so much these characters have yet to say and I look forward to seeing these new characters (hopefully) in Toy Story 4 too.  Especially Angel Kitty! Her words of wisdom need to go on some motivational posters.

Written and Directed by Steve Purcell; Edited by David Suther; Music by Michael Giacchino

Rating: 

New Character Posters and Videos from Pixar's Inside Out

It's time to meet the five emotions that take centre stage in next June's Inside Out, the first original outing for Pixar since 2012's Brave. Have a look at Disgust, Anger, Fear, Sadness and Joy, the little voices who reside in young Riley's head.

Meet Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kaling)

                     Meet Anger (voiced by Lewis Black)

               Meet Fear (voiced by Bill Hader)

            Meet Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith)

          And finally, meet Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler)

First Teaser Trailer for Pixar's Inside Out

It feels like it's been such a long time since we've seen a Pixar film and looking at some old friends (Dory, Woody, Remy, Merida and more) at the beginning of the first teaser trailer for Inside Out, the next offering from the famed animation studio, those old emotions are coming back again.  Did I say emotions? That's funny! Because director Pete Docter's Inside Out is all about emotions. Specifically, the emotions that reside inside 11-year-old Riley, who wrestles with Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), Fear (voice of Bill Hader), Anger (voice of Lewis Black), Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith) in her head.  The film takes us through Riley's journey as she adjusts to a new life in a new city after her father moves their family to San Francisco.  Inside Out releases on June 19, 2015.  My question: Why do we have to wait that long? I want to see this now!

TV Movie Review: Toy Story of Terror!

Toy Story of Terror!, Pixar's first television special goes forward from the feature films and shorts in the Toy Story universe. This time around, the toys are on the road with their owner Bonnie, watching scary films on the DVD player in the car when a flat tire causes them to stay overnight at the Sleep Well motel.

The gang is spooked already with Pricklepants (voiced by Timothy Dalton) ominously cluing in the toys of the impending doom that faces characters that get stranded overnight in any story.  First, Mr. Potato Head (voiced by Don Rickles) disappears and the toys have go after him. Then one by one, they too are taken by a mysterious being until Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) is the only toy left standing.

She comes across Combat Carl (voiced by Carl Weathers), who is all too aware of what lays ahead for the toys who have the misfortune to stay at the motel.  I think he's my favorite addition to the Toy Story universe, he's totally focused on his mission and loves referring to himself in the third person. And don't get me started on Combat Carl Jr. Just. Too. Adorable.

But the character who gets shine (and rightly so) is Jessie who has to overcome her greatest fear of being put away forever in a box.  It was a nice touch referring back to Jessie's storyline from Toy Story 2 and give a nice emotional moment amidst the short feature. Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and Buzz (voiced by Tim Allen) take a backseat and put faith in Jessie to save the day.

Toy Story of Terror! has some great laugh out loud moments and features some of your favorite characters from the series as they go through the movie cliches of any horror film. All G rated of course!  It seems that these toys have an awfully hard life with the threat of being separated from the owners always hanging over their head.

But I must say I enjoyed this Halloween preview immensely and plan to watch it again and again.  And I'm putting the request out there for a short only on Combat Carl and Combat Carl Jr.  I just want him to see Billy again.  Pixar, please make that happen!


Written and Directed by Angus MacLane; Editing by Axel Geddes; Music by Michael Giacchino

Rating:

New Pixar Short: Toy Story of Terror

October and Halloween is almost upon us and it's also time for a new Pixar short.  The Toy Story gang is back with a new story to tell as Woody, Buzz, Rex, Jesse and all are put to the test when Mr. Potato Head goes missing at a highway motel on a stop on their 'fun' road trip. Cue the spooky music! There's probably a hilarious end to this but check out these brand new stills from the short Toy Story of Terror! which is releasing as a television special on ABC mid-October.  

Meet Combat Carl, a new/old character voiced by Carl Weathers

Looks like the toys have stowed away (again!) for another adventure.

What have Carl and Jesse (voice of Joan Cusack) discovered?

Mr. Pricklepants (voice of Timothy Dalton) finds a captive audience.

The A-Team aka Jesse, Buzz and Woody are on the case.

More strategizing! This time in a warmer light.  

(Stills: SlashFilm)

Pixar Delays The Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory to 2015 and 2016

Since 2006, Pixar Animation Studios has been churning out film after film after film. Some have been sublimely good (see: Ratatouille, Up, Wall E) and some may have slightly missed the mark for some (see: Cars 2) but whatever the case was, it was treat to see a Pixar film on the release calendar.

Next year however, there will be no Pixar film out in theaters due to two developments this summer.  The Good Dinosaur was supposed to release on May 30, 2014 but as director Bob Peterson has stepped down from the project, the film will now release on November 25, 2015. No new director has been named yet and co-director Peter Sohn, Mark Andrews, Lee Unkrich and John Lasseter will oversee things until then.  

This has happened before in the studio’s history, most recently with 2012’s Brave when original director Brenda Chapman was replaced with Mark Andrews.  Story is king at Pixar and they will leave no stone unturned to make sure the film they want to release is up to their standards.  Toy Story 2 (1999) was scrapped in totality and it still remains (in my opinion, the best animated sequel ever).  This is not worrying at all. I’d be worried if Peterson had left and the film still released next May.

But what happens to the film that was supposed to release on November 25, 2015? That would be a big little film called Finding Dory.  The anticipated sequel of Finding Nemo might be facing a few script changes. In early August, there were stories that Blackfish director Gabriela Cowperthwaite had shown the film at Pixar and the documentary's content caused the heads at Pixar to rethink their ending that involved the fish ending a marine park similar to Sea World, which is featured in Blackfish.  This too would push production back a bit. Now the film will release on June 17, 2016.

At the D23 expo in early August, Disney unveiled the voice cast for Finding Dory with actors Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy as Dory’s parents, Ty Burrell as a whale (remember Dory can speak whale) along with returning cast Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks as Dory and Marlin.  Meanwhile, The Good Dinosaur voice cast features John Lithgow and Frances McDormand as Poppa and Momma, Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris and Judy Greer as their kids and Lucas Neff as the lead Arlo.

While it will be strange not to see a Pixar film at your theaters next year, it leaves the door wide open for other animation studios to step up their games in an open field.  As for the two films themselves, despite this delay, I'm sure they'll bounce back quickly. 

First clip of Pixar's upcoming short The Blue Umbrella

Here's a first clip from Disney Pixar's new short, The Blue Umbrella, due to debut in front of Monsters University this June. The official description says:

It is just another evening commute until the rain starts to fall, and the city comes alive to the sound of dripping rain pipes, whistling awnings and gurgling gutters. And in the midst, two umbrellas—one blue, one not—fall eternally in love.

I can hear the 'awws' in the theater already!  And it's also eerily reminiscent of the yellow umbrella scene from How I Met Your Mother.  Umbrellas and love, go figure!

Directed by Saschka Unseld, the short will make use of the studio's newest technology that gives the film a "photorealistic" look largely because of new algorithms and lots of global illumination.  The result as you can see for yourself is absolutely stunning. 

(Photo: Wall Street Journal)

Glad to see Pixar experimenting with animation technology to create bold and unique shorts that still touch our hearts.  Might we see a Pixar full length feature one day in this manner? I'm sure the geniuses over at Pixar are already hard at work at it. 

New Monsters University Character Posters!

Some great new Monsters University posters were released last week giving us a look at the crazy, carefree days of the Monsters, Inc. crew along with some new characters voiced by Dame Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion, John Krasinski, Bonnie Hunt (yay!), Beth Behrs, John Ratzenberger (of course!) and many more! Take a look.

Helen Mirren as Dean Hardscrabble of the School of Scaring.

Alfred Molina as Professor Knight. Anyone else reminded of the mother-in-law from Dinosaurs?

Meet Terry Perry (Dave Foley) and Terri Perry (Sean Hayes), Oozma Kappa (OK) fraternity brothers.

More character posters and bonus news on Pixar's new film after the jump...

Finding Nemo gets a sequel!

Big news coming out of Disney Pixar today! It's official... Finding Nemo is getting a sequel titled Finding Dory.  Initially I thought this was an April Fools' prank but seeing that's now April 3rd in my part of the world, the news is starting to sink in. 

(Photo: Dory on Facebook)

Director Andrew Stanton, who definitely needs a win after the dismal failure of John Carter, is back to what he does best: computer animation.  He said of the new film and its lead character: “One thing we couldn’t stop thinking about was why she was all alone in the ocean on the day she met Marlin. In Finding Dory, she will be reunited with her loved ones, learning a few things about the meaning of family along the way.”

This is a good move as Dory is practically everyone's favorite character and is voiced by everyone's favorite comedienne, Ellen DeGeneres who will of course be back as Dory.  "I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” DeGeneres said in a release. "I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating Toy Story 16. But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is -- it's got a lot more Dory."

Suddenly I am warming up to an idea of a sequel to my favorite Pixar film because if anyone can manage to get herself lost, it's the lovable yet forgetful Blue Tang fish.  The film will release November 2015. 

40th Annie Award Nominations!

The 40th Annual Annie Awards nominations have been announced today.  All the major studios, Pixar, Walt Disney, Sony Pictures, DreamWorks and Aardman all make an appearance.  But who will walk away with the big prize on February 2, 2013?  Let's take a look at the film categories!

Best Animated Feature
Brave – Pixar Animation Studios
Frankenweenie – The Walt Disney Studios
Hotel Transylvania – Sony Pictures Animation
ParaNorman – Focus Features
Rise of the Guardians – DreamWorks Animation
The Pirates! Band of Misfits – Aardman Animations
The Rabbi’s Cat – GKIDS
Wreck-It Ralph – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 – Warner Bros. Animation
Before Orel – Trust – Starburns Industries, Inc.
Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem – Illumination Entertainment
Disney Tron: Uprising – Beck’s Beginning – Disney TV Animation
Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury – DreamWorks Animation
Justice League: Doom – Warner Bros. Animation

Best Animated Short Subject
Brad and Gary – Illumination Entertainment
Bydlo – National Film Board of Canada
Eyes on the Stars – StoryCorps
Goodnight Mr. Foot – Sony Pictures Animation
Kali the Little Vampire – National Film Board of Canada
Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare’ – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV
Paperman – Walt Disney Animation Studios
The Simpsons – ‘Bill Plympton Couch Gag’ – Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox TV

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

Animated Effects in an Animated Production
Andrew Nawrot, Joe Gorski, Grant Laker – ‘ParaNorman’ – Focus Features
Andrew Schneider ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’ – Blue Sky Studios
Andy Hayes, Carl Hooper, David Lipton – Rise of the Guardians – DreamWorks Animation
Bill Watral, Chris Chapman, Dave Hale, Keith Klohn, Michael K. O’Brien ‘Brave’ – Pixar Animation Studios
Brett Albert – ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Jihyun Yoon – ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ – DreamWorks Animation
Joel Aron – ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ – Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.

Animated Effects in a Live Action Production
Jerome Platteaux, John Sigurdson, Ryan Hopkins, Raul Essig, Mark Chataway ‘The Avengers’ – Industrial Light & Magic
Stephen Marshall, Joseph Pepper, Dustin Wicke ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ – Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation
Sue Rowe, Simon Stanley-Clamp, Artemis Oikonomopoulou, Holger Voss, Nikki Makar, Catherine Elvidge ‘John Carter’ – Cinesite
Willi Geiger, Rick Hankins, Florent Andorra, Florian Witzel, Aron Bonar ‘Battleship’ – Industrial Light & Magic

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Dan Nguyen ‘Brave’ – Pixar Animation Studios
David Pate ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation
Jaime Landes ‘Brave’ – Pixar Animation Studios
Phillppe LeBrun ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation
Pierre Perifel ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation
Travis Hathaway ‘Brave’ – Pixar Animation Studios
Travis Knight “ParaNorman’ – Focus Features
Will Becher ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ – Aardman Animations

Character Animation in a Live Action Production
Erik de Boer, Amanda Dague, Matt Brown, Mary Lynn Machado, Aaron Grey ‘Life of Pi – Orangutan’ – Rhythm & Hues Studio
Erik de Boer, Matt Shumway, Brian Wells, Vinayak Pawar, Michael Holzl ‘Life of Pi – Tiger’ – Rhythm & Hues Studio
Jakub Pistecky, Maia Kayser, Scott Benzu, Steve King, Kiran Bhat ‘The Avengers’ – Industrial Light & Magic
Mike Beaulieu, Roger Vizard, Atushi Sato, Jackie Kochler, Derek Esparza, Richard Smith, Mac Tyrie – Columbia Pictures – THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN – Sony Pictures Animation

Character Design in an Animated Feature Production
Bill Schwab, Lorelay Bove, Cory Loftis, Minkyu Lee ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Carlos Grangel ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
Carter Goodrich ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
Craig Kellman ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ – DreamWorks Animation
Heidi Smith ‘ParaNorman’ – Focus Features
Yarrow Cheney, Eric Guillon, Colin Stimpson ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ – Illumination Entertainment

Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Genndy Tartakovsky ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
Johan Sfar, Antoine Delesvaux ‘The Rabbi’s Cat – GKIDS
Remi Bezancon, Jean-Christophe Lie ‘Zarafa’ – GKIDS
Rick Moore ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Sam Fell, Chris Butler ‘ParaNorman’ – Focus Features

Music in an Animated Feature Production
Alexandre Desplat ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation
Bruce Retief ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ – Saltzman Communications
Henry Jackman ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Joel McNeely, Brendan Milburn, Valerie Vigoda ‘Secret of the Wings’ – DisneyToon Studios
John Powell, Adam Schlesinger, Ester Dean ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’ – Blue Sky Studios
John Powell, Cinco Paul ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ – Illumination Entertainment
Mark Mothersbaugh ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
Patrick Doyle, Mark Andrews, Alex Mandel ‘Brave’ – Pixar Animation Studios

Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin, Shannon Jeffries, Lindsey Olivares, Kenard Pak ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ – DreamWorks Animation
Marcello Vignali ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
Nash Dunnigan, Arden Chen, Jon Townley, Kyle McNaughton ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’ – Blue Sky Studios
Nelson Lowry, Ross Stewart, Pete Oswald, Ean McNamara, Trevor Dalmer ‘ParaNorman’ – Focus Features
Norman Garwood, Matt Berry ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ – Aardman Animation
Patrick Hanenberger, Max Boas, Jayee Borcar, Woonyoung Jung, Perry Maple, Peter Maynez, Stan Seo, Felix Yoon ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation
Rick Heintzich ‘Frankenweenie’ – The Walt Disney Studios
Steve Pilcher ‘Brave’ – Pixar Animation Studios

Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
Emmanuela Cozzi ‘ParaNorman’ – Focus Features
Johanne Matte ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation
Leo Matsuda ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Lissa Treiman ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Rob Koo ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted’ – DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Adam Sandler as Dracula ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
Alan Tudyk as King Candy ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Atticus Shaffer as “E”Gore ‘Frankenweenie’ – The Walt Disney Studios
Catherine O’Hara as Weird Girl ‘Frankenweenie’ – The Walt Disney Studios
Imelda Staunton as Queen Victoria ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ – Aardman Animations
Jim Cummings as Budzo ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ – Saltzman Communications
Jude Law as Pitch ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation
Kelly MacDonald as Merida ‘Brave’ – Pixar Animation Studios

Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Chris Butler – ParaNorman – Focus Features
Gideon Defoe – The Pirates! Band of Misfits – Aardman Animations
Hayao Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa, Karey Kirkpatrick – From Up on Poppy Hill – GKIDS
John August – Frankenweenie – The Walt Disney Studios
Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi -
Brave – Pixar Animation Studios
Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee – Wreck-It Ralph – Walt Disney Animation Studios

Editorial in an Animated Feature Production
Catherine Apple ‘Hotel Transylvania’ – Sony Pictures Animation
Joyce Arrastia ‘Rise of the Guardians’ – DreamWorks Animation
Mark Rosenbaum ‘Secret of the Wings’ – DisneyToon Studios
Nicholas A. Smith, ACE, Robert Graham Jones, ACE, David Suther ‘Brave’ – Pixar Animation Studios
Tim Mertens ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ – Walt Disney Animation Studios

JURIED AWARDS

Winsor McCay Award – Oscar Grillo, Terry Gilliam, Mark Henn
June Foray – Howard Green
Ub Iwerks – Toon Boom Animation Pipeline

What I'm Thankful For This Year: Movies Edition

This post has become like tradition since I have been writing about what I've been thankful for on Thanksgiving the past two years so here's my humble list for this past year.

Joss Whedon: We Buffy, Firefly and even Dollhouse (sigh) fans knew the immense talent of writer-director Joss Whedon long before The Avengers became the film that practically everyone on the planet saw.  But now he's graduated to the big screen with writing, producing and directing screen credits in such varied films as The Avengers, The Cabin in the Woods and Much Ado About Nothing. We do miss him on the small screen. Hell, yeah! But then he's also producing the TV series based on the S.H.I.E.L.D agents from Avengers. Is there anything this man can't do well?

Damsels in Distress: Films with great dialogue that stay with you long after you've seen the film are so rare these days.  It's only after The Social Network that I have enjoyed the dialogues and the characters of a film so much.  I'm still waiting for to incorporate 'playboy operator move' in a British accent into everyday conversation.  I hope to do so someday.  And even though the film released last year, I'm thankful that after 13 years, we got a gem of a film like this from director Walt Stillman.

Finding Nemo re-release: This film gets me like no other Pixar film.  I love Up, Wall-E, Toy Story an all but it's Finding Nemo with which I have a deep emotional connection.  I missed out on seeing it in theaters during it's initial release and I have regretted it ever since.  But the 3D re-release gave me another opportunity and it was wonderful to experience it with a whole new generation to get to see the film for the first time ever.

Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy: Just as we said goodbye to Harry Potter last year, this year we had to say to goodbye to one of the finest trilogies in film history.  It will continue to influence superhero and franchise who all wanted to emulate the tone and success of the Batman trilogy that put a very troubled and human face to a superhero, brought about villains we're still talking about and has performances that will forever be remembered.  From one of the most brilliant directors of his generation to the cast and crew who created a universe which is held up for one of best interpretation of a comic book to film ever.

The cast of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: While everyone was talking about the crew that made up The Avengers this summer, another cast was slowly being talked about as well. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was the big surprise success of the summer season and now there's even talk of a sequel to bring back the talented cast of British actors.  The film about seniors in the twilight of their lives was touching, funny and enjoyable to watch.  With such amazing seasoned actors like Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson, how can you say no? More please!

What are you thankful for the movies you've seen this past year?

21 Films Animated Feature Films Submitted for Oscars

Alright, here we go.  It's November and I'm pretty much going to start talking non-stop about awards season namely the Oscars from now on.  Did I mention how much I love the Oscars even though it inevitably disappoints me in some way or the other every year?  The anticipation frankly leading up to it is, hands down, the most exciting part of the race. Nothing beats it.  

Okay, so submissions have started for documentary films, foreign language films and my favorite, Best Animated Feature, a category I look forward to since its addition in 2001.  

21 films have been submitted for next year's Oscars including the usual suspects from Pixar (Brave), DreamWorks (Madagascar 3, Rise of the Guardians) and Blue Sky (Ice Age Continental Drift).  I'm pleased to see two Indian animation films, Delhi Safari and Hey Krishna (Krishna aur Kans) submit themselves although I'm surprised that Arjun: The Warrior Prince doesn't have its name up there.  

Here is the list of the films competing against each other for the nomination.

• Adventures in Zambezia   
• Brave
• Delhi Safari
• Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
• Frankenweenie   
• From Up on Poppy Hill
• Hey Krishna
• Hotel Transylvania    
• Ice Age Continental Drift
• A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
• Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted 
• The Mystical Laws
• The Painting  
• ParaNorman   
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits 
    
• The Rabbi's Cat
    
• Rise of the Guardians  
• Secret of the Wings    
• Walter & Tandoori's Christmas 
    
• Wreck-It Ralph
    
• Zarafa

Glad to see some different movies in the mix as well such as Frankenweenie, ParaNorman and the delightfully named French submission, Walter & Tandoori's Christmas.  We'll see which five eventually make the cut on January 10, 2013.