New Trailer: Disney's Moana

Disney's newest magical adventure Moana introduces us to its first Polynesian heroine. This Thanksgiving, Moana (voice of newcomer Auli'i Cravalho) chances upon the legendary demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) on her way to journey across the seas and fulfil her destiny once and for all.

Already I'm reminded of the wonderfully charming and uplifting Whale Rider (2002) in which Keisha Castle-Hughes first burst onto screens. In this teaser trailer, we don't get much out of Moana, but Maui sure seems like a real go-getter. The film is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker with music composed by recent Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i. Moana releases in theatres on 23 June, 2016.

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 Photos: Disney's Zootopia

These are a little late going up but we've got new characters stills from Disney's Zootopia featuring the voice talents of Ginnifer Godwin and Jason Bateman. Directors Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and Byron Howard (Tangled) announced their cast of characters that will inhabit the world of Zootopia releasing in theatres next March.

(Photos: Disney)

Up first is Mayor Leodore Lionheart who believes anyone can be anything in Zootopia. Voiced by the formidable J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), let's already agree not to get on his bad side.

 Next up, we have Assistant Mayor Bellwether, the overburdened and overstressed assistant of Mayor Lionhart. This simple sheep is voiced by comedian and actress Jenny Slate (Obvious Child).

 
The Zootopia Police Department is led by Chief Bogo who has to uphold the law in the metropolis and as well as deal with the department's first bunny Judy Hopps. Idris Elba, who's got enough experience with these tough guy roles, voices his first animated character with Zootopia. He's also voicing a character in Disney's Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory.

Also part of the Zootopia PD is Officer Benjamin Clawhauser, the receptionist and a cheerful cheetah who enjoys doughnuts a little too much. Clawhauser is voiced by actor Nate Torrence.

 
The aforementioned first bunny on the police force is Judy Hopps who is determined to prove herself (despite her shady partner) on a missing mammal case. Judy is voiced by actress Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon A Time).

Judy's proud parents, Stu, a carrot farmer, and Bonnie Hopps, are delighted to see their daughter join the Zootopia Police Department. Stu and Bonnie are voiced by good friends Don Lake and Bonnie Hunt, who has been a Disney/Pixar favorite.

The story moves forward in Zootopia when Mrs. Otterton shows up at the police station looking for her missing husband. Academy Award-winner Octavia Spencer (The Help) voices the part of Mrs. Otterton.

When the Zootopia PD only have 48 hours to crack the case of Mr. Otterton, wily fox Nick Wilde is paired with Judy to solve it. Jason Bateman voices Nick, whose loyalties are always known.

The very untrustworthy Duke Weaselton, a smaller level crook, may sound familiar to many of you. The Disney regular (Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen) Alan Tudyk previously played the Duke of Weaselton in the monster hit, Frozen.

The fastest sloth working at the DMV? Surely you're kidding me. Nope, Flash the sloth is the speediest at the Department of Mammal Vehicles. A story artist at Disney, Raymond Persi, voices the character.

Anytime the citizens of Zootopia should need any advice, they should head to the local Zen retreat for some knowledge. Comedian and actor Tommy Chong voices the very enlightened Yak, Yax.

One of the smallest animals in Zootopia, Finnick the fennec fox, is most suspicious of everyone. Actor Tommy Lister who is 6'5" in real life voices the character.

Who are you most looking forward to seeing in the movie?

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?

Miyazaki Will Return to Animation with a 3D CG Short Film

Turns out Hayao Miyazaki is not yet done with retirement as yet and that's great news for animation fans worldwide. For the first time, Miyazaki will be making a 3D computer generated short starring a hairy caterpillar to premiere at the Ghibli Museum in Mikata, Japan. The short which is about 10 minutes will be the first new project the famed storyteller will work on since his last release The Wind Rises in 2013.  Unfortunately, we'll have to wait three long years for the short to be completed and then too, it is due to be shown only at the Ghibli Museum. Guess 2018 is a good a time as any to plan that bucket list trip to Japan.

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!

First Teaser Trailer: Kung Fu Panda 3

Last week, DreamWorks Animation unveiled new stills and characters in the first look of the upcoming Kung Fu Panda 3. As the story hinted at the end of Kung Fu Panda 2, a whole new world inhabited by pandas was yet to be explored by our lovable lead, Po (voice of Jack Black). In the first teaser trailer released today, after a requisite fighting sequence showing us the returning characters Furious Five in action (plus Po and Master Shifu), we finally see the big moment when Po comes face to face with his long-lost father Li Shan (voice of Bryan Cranston) and it's everything we've come to love and expect from this winning series.

The reason why the Kung Fu Panda series still resonates amongst viewers is that despite everything he's achieved, Po remains the adorable goofball we first laid eyes on. He's a skilled martial arts warrior but he will stop along the way to eternal glory to finish that bowl of dumplings he's just seen. With what we've just seen from the teaser, good old dad seems to be exactly like his son Po. I think it's safe to say that we can count on hijinks a plenty in Kung Fu Panda 3 releasing January 29, 2015. The film is directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni.

New Animated Trailers: The Peanuts Movie, Hotel Transylvania 2 and The Secret Life of Pets

An old classic, a sequel and an expose of the hidden of life of pets! Blue Sky Studios, Sony Animation and Illumination all have new trailers out for their upcoming animated films.

Coming out in a crowded November with The Good Dinosaur, Spectre and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, the world's most loved underdog Charlie Brown and his equally lovable dog Snoopy decide to turn around the bad luck that always seems to surround him. There's a pretty new girl who moves in on the block and if he can muster up the courage to say hi, Charlie Brown might just have a new friend. In the gang's first 3D adventure and their first big screen adventure in 35 years, Charlie Brown is going to transform himself into a winner. The Peanuts Movie, directed by Steve Martino (Horton Hears a Who!), brings up favorites we all grew up with: Schroeder, Sally, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Pigpen, Lucy  and of course Charlie Brown and Snoopy. This film gives Blue Sky Studios a great chance to show a whole new generation the iconic and endearing characters created by Charles M. Schultz.

The Drac Pack returns in Sony Animation's Hotel Transylvania 2 in the first teaser trailer for the film. New to being a grandfather, Drac (voice of Adam Sandler) wants to show his half-human, half-vampire grandson, Dennis the ways of being a vampire. If only little Dennis would learn how to fly! He better learn soon because Drac's father Vlad (voice of Mel Brooks) is coming for a visit and he's not going to like the hotel being open to humans now.  Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, Hotel Transylvania 2 releases in theaters on September 2, 2015.

Ever wondered what your pets do at home all day when you're at work? Illumination's The Secret Life of Pets will take us behind those cute eyes and show us exactly what your little furball is up to. Featuring the voice talents of Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, Eric Stonestreet, Ellie Kemper and Jenny Slate, the film is about a terrier, Max, who questions his place in his owner's life when he brings home a mongrel named Duke. Debuting next summer, The Secret Life of Pets might just unveil some mysteries your pets don't want you to know.

Which animated trailer are you most intrigued about?

First Teaser Trailer: Disney's Zootopia

Two days ago, the first look of Zootopia's lead characters, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, were introduced and today the first teaser narrated by the wily fox Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman) has been released. The teaser basically sets up the modern world that these anthropomorphic animals inhabit. The look of this teaser is wry yet funny and hits all the right notes.

Lots of characters of all shapes and sizes in the animal world traverse by. But we're really interested in Nick and Judy and their antagonistic first meet cute. Let's see how these two end up saving the day when Zootopia releases in theatres on March 4, 2016.  

New Photos: DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda 3

DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda 3, landing an early release next year, showed off some photos from the upcoming film in USA Today. In the series, Po (voice of Jack Black) believes that he is the last of his kind and his father Mr. Ping (voice of James Hong) found him as a abandoned baby.  However, the previous film revealed that Lord Shen (voice of Gary Oldman) was trying to destroy the village that Po and his family lived at. Po finally learned that his parents sacrificed themselves to save him.

Po and his father Li. (Photo: DreamWorks Animation)

But that's not all folks! The last scene of Kung Fu Panda 2 showed Po's biological father (and a whole village FULL of pandas) sensing that his son was still alive. Kung Fu Panda 3 expands on that last scene as Po finally gets a reunion with his father Li (voice of Bryan Cranston) and gets to live, for a bit, with pandas who look just like him.

Meet Mei Mei! (Photo: DreamWorks Animation)

He even meets Mei Mei (voice of Rebel Wilson) who becomes quite interested in him. But Po remembers he still has obligations alongside the Furious Five: Tigress (voice of Angelina Jolie); Monkey (voice of Jackie Chan); Mantis (voice of Seth Rogen); Viper (voice of Lucy Liu) and Crane (voice of David Cross).  The gang, with help from Master Shifu (voice of Dustin Hoffman), have to fight the new big bad, a supernatural villain named Kai.

Frolicking baby pandas in the river. (Photo: DreamWorks Animation)

But before that, Kung Fu Panda 3, directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni, promises a film filled with lots of panda babies. Nelson even went to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan, China to observe pandas in their natural habitats and saw nurseries filled with adorable baby pandas. More film time devoted to baby pandas is a-okay by me. 

The film is scheduled to release on January 29, 2016. Let's hope the release date sticks this time.

First Look: Disney's Zootopia

(Photo: Disney)

USA Today unveiled the first look of Disney Animation’s upcoming Zootopia, a buddy comedy with a twist. Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman), a fox and Judy Hopps (voice of Ginny Godwin), a rabbit team up to solve a big case. Co-directed by Byron Howard (Tangled) and Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph), Zootopia is based a modern world inhabited with animals.

First reaction… this looks wonderful, it echoes its own Robin Hood in the look and feel of the characters and I’m glad Disney is creating different and original content in animation as the rejuvenated production house has given us some amazing stories and characters in the past year. Zootopia, Disney’s 55th animated film, releases in theaters on March 4, 2016.

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. 

Movie Review: Song of the Sea

By the time the Oscars were announced, I had only seen three of the five nominated films for best animated feature. I wanted to see the remaining two, Song of the Sea and The Tale of Princess Kaguya. I’m glad that I could cross off Song of the Sea from my list.

From the Irish studio Cartoon Saloon (whose first film The Secret of the Kells was also nominated for best animated feature in 2009), the film puts forth the ancient Celtic lore of the selkie to bring a broken family together. Young Ben (voice of David Rawle) resents his little sister Saoirse as his mother was taken away from him at her birth. As her sixth birthday comes around, the little girl has yet to say her first word. Saoirse finds a shell flute belonging to her mother, along with a white coat, just her size. 

Wearing the coat, she is drawn to the seals in the sea and once in the water, transforms into the mythical selkie turns into a seal with them. Her grandmother (voice of Fionnula Flanagan) finds her washed up ashore and threatens to take the children to the city with her. Their grieving father Conor (voice of Brendan Gleeson) doesn’t know how to engage with his kids and lets her take them away. However, with Saoirse finding the flute and the coat, a buzz of awareness has awakened in the remaining fairy creatures and those trapped by the timeworn prophecy, seeking their saviour.

Ben, angry at being separated from his father, his home and his beloved dog Lug, decides to head back to their lighthouse on the island. When Saoirse tags alongside him, the siblings discover hidden memories that surface and lead to break the ancient prophecy. Saoirse learns the song of the sea. And most importantly, Ben saves his sister when it counts the most and learns a valuable lesson on how to keep a promise.

The animation is wonderful, lyrical and fluid. Each character is detailed well; the characters don’t communicate well with each other initially so it’s important that their feelings are shown in their movements. The backgrounds are lovely watercolours, incredibly soothing to the eye. I loved that the old myth of the selkie along with the songs and stories Ben’s mother tells him as a young child were woven into the narrative to show the past and present melding together to show the importance of moving on and living your life.

With Studio Ghibli and its picturesque features of wonder and awe closing shutters for now, I look forward to see what director Tomm Moore and the studio has up its sleeve. I hope you too discover Song of the Sea and see this strikingly graceful animated feature. This is a fantastic film for the whole family.

Directed by Tomm Moore; Screenplay by Will Collins; Original Story by Tomm Moore; Editing by Dranagh Bryne; Music by Bruno Coulais

Rating: 

Short Film Review: Frozen Fever

A day before the short film, Frozen Fever, accompanied Cinderella in theatres, Disney announced the inevitable news, the hugely popular 2013 film was getting a sequel. Cue the jokes of not letting it go!

While there's no release date set as yet, fans will have to make do with original film and this new short for the time being.  Speaking of Frozen Fever, it was utterly delightful. For those of you who may been wondering what Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) have been up to, they took a slight detour to Once Upon a Time and are now living happily ever after in Arendelle.

Frozen Fever brings back the whole gang from the first film. Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Sven and yes, Olaf (voice of Josh Gad) return as everyone plans a big celebration for Anna's birthday. Even Hans (Santino Fontana) makes a memorable appearance. Even the crew (the directors, producers and musical composers) is the same.

Elsa leaves no stone unturned to make the day as memorable as possible for her, but it turns out that she's got a cold and when she sneezes, adorable snowmen pop out.  This whole time, we thought the cold didn't bother her. What else has the first film been lying to us about? Will we find out why in the sequel about this?

But we won't worry about that here. Enjoy the brand new song by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, Making Today a Perfect Day, Elsa's new green dress and Olaf's antics (he doesn't know how to spell!). It's a long time until Frozen 2: We Will Never Let It Go and you'll need Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf to keep you company.

Rating: 

New stills from Disney's 'Frozen Fever'

One year, two months, eight days after Disney's Frozen first released in theaters, the 'fever' still has not abated. New stills are out today from the upcoming short Frozen Fever revisiting the beloved characters from the 2013 film.

The unusual Frozen family

Anna's not a morning person!

Elsa gets the kingdom ready for Anna's big day.

And Olaf's already started on the cake!

Looks like Elsa's got a new dress.

Fresh from their stint from ABC's Once Upon a Time, Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), Anna (voice of Kristen Bell), Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) and Sven return, along with that irascible snowman Olaf (voice of Josh Gad), to celebrate Anna's summer solstice birthday.  Olaf in summer! It's what he's always wanted.  The short also promises, according to co-directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, Elsa's magical cold and a new song from Oscar winners Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez! It's what we've always wanted. With more Frozen-inspired goodness, we're going to have a hard time letting it go. Frozen Fever will be shown before Cinderella on March 13, 2015.

New Minions Trailer: Introducing Scarlet Overkill!

Ever wondered who the minions worked for before Gru (B.G.)? The new Minions trailer gives us a first look as Kevin, Stuart and Bob hitch a ride all the way to Orlando's Villain-Con International, yes, that's a thing now apparently, where Scarlet Overkill, the world's first-ever female super-villain is introduced. Oh, and she's played by Sandra Bullock who tells the scariest bedtime stories. Minions releases in theaters July 10, 2015.

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)