New Pixar Short: Partysaurus Rex

Partysaurus Rex

It's not quite Toy Story 4 but the newest Pixar short,  Partysaurus Rex, that's due to debut in front of Finding Nemo 3D will feature on an unlikely hero.  This time, it's the anxiety-ridden dinosaur Rex who gets chosen for bath time and meets some new friends.

(Photo: Entertainment Weekly)

This latest short in the Toy Story Toons series will be directed by Mark Walsh who says in this new bath time scenario, Rex gets to reinvent himself.  What do we think of the new stills?  It's very much in keeping with the bright and happy colors we last saw in Toy Story 3 and I do believe those stickers on the bathtub are an in-house nod towards the main feature, Finding Nemo.

My Top 5 Female Pixar characters

One week to go before the release of Brave and its very own princess film apart from Disney and the first female lead.  Which doesn't mean they haven't had strong female characters in their films before.  Brave will only be the first film where the female character gets most screen time.  So, before Princess Merida's debut, let's have a look at my top female Pixar characters (this includes fishes and robots!).

5. Jessie (from Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3): After the tremendous popularity of Toy Story, it was time to involve some more characters including a new yodeling cowgirl named Jessie to the gang of Andy's room.  Jessie is awkward and insecure yet fiercely loyal.  All those qualities you need in a good toy friend and her backstory, oh my, you're definitely going to cry yourselves a river!  This cowgirl will definitely be there for you.

4. Collette (from Ratatouille): A fellow chef to Linguini at Chef Gusteau's kitchen, she at first doesn't know what to make of the novice she has to tutor but they come to mutually admire one another and eventually fall in love.  Voiced by Janeane Garfalo, Colette is a no-nonsense career woman and strong in her beliefs but she does come around to Gusteau's formula of 'Anyone can cook' even a rat.

3. Dory (from Finding Nemo): Oh, Dory, you had me at 'P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney'.  A Pacific Regal Blue Tang (voiced by a perfectly cast Ellen DeGeneres) with a short-term memory loss problem, Dory helps her new friend Marlin find his lost son, Nemo, all the way to Sydney.  Her heart-breaking speech to Marlin at towards the end of the film gets me every time.  You definitely want someone like her in your corner if you're facing vegetarian sharks, jellyfish or laid-back turtles in the land under.

2. EVE (from Wall-E): The object of Wall-E's affection, EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) is no shrinking violent.  She can very much handle herself, thank you!  EVE was inspired by the Apple school of design including iPod designer Jonathan Ives who approved of her design.  EVE, even in her robot form, very much female with curves and sleekness as she saves the day and her man.

1.  Edna (from The Incredibles):  All the female characters of Pixar have nothing on Edna who, if she had her way, darling, would rule the world if she wasn't so busy designing those super-chic superhero costumes.  Hilariously voiced by director Brad Bird himself, Edna is a joy onscreen.  Part therapist, part mother hen to the Supers she designs for, she has a vision that will make you believe.

Honorable mentions

• Sally Carrera (from Cars) - a pragmatic Porsche who sees right through Lighting McQueen and voiced by the equally pragmatic Bonnie Hunt.  I wanted more of her presence in the sequel.

• Ellie (from Up) - We don't get to hear or see much from Ellie after that devastating sequence on the Fredericksons life and marriage but little Ellie first adorably extends the hand of friendship to Carl by sharing their love adventure and exploration and saying, "You don't talk much...I like you!"  We wish we had more time with you.  

Upcoming Pixar Short: Toy Story goes Hawaiian!

We thought we were saying goodbye to Woody, Buzz and the gang of toys who once belonged to Andy.  Now that they're Bonnie's toys, did you think the fun and adventures would end?  No way!  Here are some first looks into the upcoming short which will air in front of Cars 2 this June.  Good, because we really didn't like saying goodbye anyways.  

Bonus: Here's a sneak peek at the short which focuses on Ken and Barbie wanting to go on an Hawaiian vacation and the rest of the toys make their wish come true.  Bless!

ACE Awards Presented: The Social Network is back!

Best Edited Feature, Drama: The Social Network (Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter)
Best Edited Feature Comedy/Musical: Alice in Wonderland (Chris Lebenzon)
Best Edited Animated Feature: Toy Story 3 (Ken Schretzmann and Lee Unkrich)
Best Edited Documentary : Exit Through the Gift Shop (Tom Fulford and Chris King) 

I don't know what to say!  This is looking good.  The Social Network won big at the American Cinema Editor (ACE) Eddie Awards winning the one that usually points to Best Picture.  One week to go to Oscar and all signs DO NOT point to a The King's Speech sweep.  There could be a race after all.  

Also honored at the event was Christopher Nolan who received the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year award (Yes!) and longtime editor of Steven Spielberg, Michael Kahn was presented a Career Achievement award by Spielberg.  Great stuff.  Congratulations to all the winners!

Countdown to Oscars: The Producer's Guild Awards Announced!

The Producer's Guild of America, which is one of the best indicators of who is in the race for Best Picture Oscar, has announced its annual awards.  The King's Speech scored an upset win over The Social Network for Best Picture.  That's huge.  It doesn't mean that The Social Network can't win but The King's Speech definitely has an edge now.  Toy Story 3 picked up Best Animated Feature while Waiting for Superman took the top honors for Best Documentary.  The Best Picture race just got more interesting.  Game on!

My Top 10 movies of 2010!

As the year winds down, it's time to look back and check back at the movies that made 2010 great.  It should be noted that while this is a top ten list, there are many good movies of 2010 as yet unreleased here in India and therefore I did not get to see them.  So, therefore, this is a list of the top ten movies I saw in 2010.  This is in no random order but I am kind of rating it in order of preference so here goes.  And I'm sure you can guess my all-too-predictable number one film.

1) INCEPTION: How much do I love this movie? Let me count the ways.  This movie has all the requirements that make it great in my book: tortured characters with plenty of angst, a screenplay that delivers, stunning visuals, stellar cast of actors, soundtrack that complements the film and a director whose imagination brings it all together.  And, oh yeah, let's not forget about that ending.  It's the ending that cinches it all for me.  You had me at spinning top!  My vote for best film of the year.

2) THE SOCIAL NETWORK: Another good film that is on the top of every critic's list.  How is it that movie about Facebook become so popular? How could it not? The "origin" story of how the one of the world's most popular social networking sites may not be all factual but it sure is entertaining.  Led by Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg and a young cast that includes Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, and Rooney Mara, the film contains some of the best dialogues of the year and is fascinating from start to finish.  Come Oscar night, this is going to be a contender for sure.

The rest of my list under the cut...

Annie Awards Nominations

The Annie Awards nominations are out!! No, it's not about little red-haired orphan girls.  These are the Animation Awards, the highest awards given out by the animation industry.  As usual, it's mostly between the big 2, DreamWorks and Pixar.  A couple of months ago, Pixar famously withdrew from the Annie Awards for unjust judging.  A close eye shall be kept on these proceedings for sure.

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature
Despicable Me – Illumination Entertainment
How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation
Tangled – Disney
The Illusionist – Django Films
Toy Story 3 – Disney/Pixar

Best Animated Short Subject
Coyote Falls – Warner Bros. Animation
Day & Night – Pixar
Enrique Wrecks the World – House of Chai
The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger – Plymptoons Studio
The Renter – Jason Carpenter


Rest of the nominees under the cut