Pixar developing Incredibles 3D re-release

Seeing that Pixar has no 2014 release thanks to a delay of The Good Dinosaur, it seems that they have nothing better to do than plan more 3D re-releases. We have already had re-releases of Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. Next up on the agenda is none other than the 2004 Oscar-winning feature The Incredibles. Also on the slate is a planned rendering of a less popular Pixar film, Ratatouille.
Josh Hollander, Pixar Director of 3D Production, spoke at the 3D Creative Summit in London about these upcoming projects. Regarding The Incredibles, Hollander said, "It’s been an interesting challenge to work on technology because - while the film was released 10 years ago - the technology is even older as it took four years to make." Apparently there is already a version of Ratatouille finished and they are brainstorming release strategies for it.

This is sort of surprising as Disney seemed to scrap the 3D re-releases after disappointing box office numbers for Beauty and the Beast. We were supposed to get the 3D re-release of The Little Mermaid in September, but it was canceled or indefinitely delayed. However you want to take that one.
The re-releases of Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo weren't that successful at the box office either. Not to mention many have been calling for an Incredibles sequel, not just a 3D re-release.

There is no telling how fast these will hit theaters, but if everything stays the same as it is now we won't see a Pixar film until Inside Out is released on June 19, 2015.

Pixar vows to scale back on sequels

Pixar gained the reputation as the animation studio that could do no wrong. It seemed that whatever Pixar touched did well and that they would never fail. They have won and been nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes, Annie Awards, Satellite Awards, Grammys, etc.. On top of the world, right? But then Cars 2 happened.

Ever since Cars 2 it seems that Pixar has been drowning a bit and the biggest part is their propensity toward sequels. Cars 2 is by far the least successful and worst reviewed Pixar film to date and the follow-up, Brave, did better but it wasn't nearly at par with Pixar standards. At least not for the critics. Their solution? Make the next release a prequel to Monsters, Inc.
Prior to Toy Story 3, Pixar had only released one sequel (Toy Story 2) in 10 films. In the past four Pixar films released only one has been an original story (Brave) and they have noticed a significant decline in critic reviews and viewer satisfaction. To add onto this, Pixar recently announced their next film in development is yet another sequel. This time it will be the sequel to 2003's Finding Nemo promptly titled Finding Dory which is set to hit theaters in 2015. The rumors are still flying high for a Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2, as well.
Pixar's formula has been to try and release two films each year. They haven't stuck too well with the plan seeing that Brave was the only 2012 release and Monsters University is the only 2013 release. They're trying to turn it around, along with making more original stories, but it doesn't look like the two films per year will fully come back until 2015. The only film Pixar has slated for 2014 is The Good Dinosaur. For 2015 we have Finding Dory and Inside Out along with more untitled Pixar projects scheduled all the way through June 2018.

Pixar chief (and President of Walt Disney Animation) Ed Catmull mentioned these concerns recently while speaking with Buzzfeed:

“For artistic reasons … it’s really important that we do an original film a year. Every once in a while, we get a film where we want or people want to see something continuing in that world — which is the rationale behind the sequel. They want those characters, which means we were successful with them. But if you keep doing that, then you aren’t doing original films.”

If the plan for more original films indeed sticks, I wouldn't expect another sequel or prequel until the second 2017 release or the 2018 release. At least I hope not.
To add onto this whole topic, I think Pixar's issue is also part of the fact that they went nuts with 3D re-releases. Disney did in general. We had re-releases of Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo. In addition to the Pixar re-releases we also had The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. We were supposed to have The Little Mermaid 3D this September, but Disney scrapped it after the box office failures of Monsters, Inc. 3D and Finding Nemo 3D. Add onto that the fact that just about every Disney and/or Pixar film is released in 3D regardless. Bottom line: This is a problem.

I hope Pixar can turn this around because it is extremely obvious what the problem is. The saddest part is that it is ridiculously easy to turn around.

Disney sets release dates for Pirates, Maleficent, and more

Disney made some announcements regarding upcoming release dates and which movies will be in 3D.

As far as releases go:

The Muppets 2 will be released on March 21, 2014. The film will star Ricky Gervais, Tiny Fey, and Ty Burrell.

Maleficent was originally slated for March 14, 2014 but will now be released on June 2, 2014. The film stars Angelina Jolie in the title role.

Pirates of the Caribbean 5 will be released on July 10, 2015. Jeff Nathanson has been hired to write the script for this Pirates installment. This movie joins the massive 2015 release year which will include Star Wars Episode VII, The Avengers 2, and Justice League. Two of which are fellow Disney releases.

The 3D re-release of The Little Mermaid which was slated for September 13, 2013 has been removed from Disney's release schedule.The guess as to why this happened is the fact that the 3D re-releases of Monsters, Inc and Finding Nemo were basically box office failures.


Now for the inevitable... it was also confirmed that Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy will both be released in 3D. No surprise there.

Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 to be 3D releases

Marvel has announced a couple details about the Cinematic Universe today.

First off, both Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World will be 3D releases. Other than The Avengers I don't think there has been a 3D Iron Man film yet, but Thor was released in 3D last year so that isn't surprising. None of this is surprising, actually. Just about every film Disney releases these days is in 3D. There haven't been any 3D announcements for Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Guardians of the Galaxy but I bet they will also be in the 3D format.

The other announcement, which is sort of big news, is the release for Ant-Man has been shuffled to November 6, 2015. That now puts Ant-Man after The Avengers 2 which comes out on May 1, 2015. If I remember correctly Ant-Man was previously rumored to be released right before The Avengers 2 in 2014. Personally I don't care about Ant-Man. I think it's a stupid character to begin with and that he shouldn't have his own movie.

Finding Nemo 3D - Review

I am a pretty big Disney fan in general, but I absolutely love Disney/Pixar flicks. I decided to go see Finding Nemo 3D seeing that I already saw Beauty and the Beast 3D earlier this year. I am not necessarily reviewing the movie itself because Finding Nemo is awesome and has been for years, but I wanted to touch on the Toy Story short, Partysaurus Rex, before the movie and the 3D itself.

Starting with Partysaurus Rex, I thought it was a really fun short. The basic premise of it is the rest of the toy gang in their new home is picking on Rex for being a party pooper. Their new child decides to introduce Rex into her bath time play and he meet the bath toys. They describe how the party is always on when the water is running but when the water drains the party dies. Rex is the only one with arms so he turns the water back on and carries on a party with his new bath friends.
One thing I have always loved about Toy Story is how they submerge you into the fantasy the child is enacting with the toys. That shined primarily in Toy Story 3 with the intro. In this short they put you right in her bath time fun and show you what she is enacting in her own mind. I loved it.

As far as the 3D goes for Finding Nemo I was honestly a bit disappointed with it. I thought the post-conversion wasn't that impressive and the colors were darker than they should have been. I mean, Beauty and the Beast 3D was better and that is a little sad because usually the Pixar type animation looks a lot better in 3D than traditional 2D animation. I love that I finally saw this movie in a theater because I didn't see it during its original theatrical one, but it didn't need to be in 3D. It wasn't that good on the eyes.


Looking forward to more Disney/Pixar 3D re-releases we will have Monsters Inc. in December so that will be a decision. I love Monsters Inc. but I don't think I will see the re-release. I saw it in theaters back in 2001 so I don't need to do it again. Especially when I have the feeling the 3D will be just as lousy as Finding Nemo.

Trailer for Monsters Inc, 3D re-release

Disney... can we just have new movies? Thanks.

Frankenweenie full length trailer debuts

The newest, full length trailer for the upcoming film Frankenweenie has surfaced! I have been excited about this movie for months so I can't wait.

First image of Maleficent

We have the first image of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent in the upcoming film set to be released in 2014. I don't see why they are teasing this already seeing that we still have almost 2 years until the release, but whatever. I think she looks pretty badass.

Frankenweenie trailer debuts

And it is amazing. =^D

Beauty and the Beast 3D

I went and saw the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast this morning. I didn't catch the 3D release of The Lion King a couple months ago because I went and saw the stage play, but I really wanted to see Beauty and the Beast. That has always been tied for my #1 favorite Disney animated film and I saw it in IMAX when Disney started re-releasing the animations in IMAX back in like 2002 or whenever that was.

I must admit that I liked the non-3D IMAX presentation better than this new restored 3D version. Not only did it have "Human Again" integrated in but I think the larger presentation and sound was better. 3D glasses always darken the picture which messes with the color contrast and depth, imo. However, that doesn't mean it didn't look good at all. The opening sequence looked fantastic and you could tell it was in 3D, but along with the other 3D releases I have seen after a while the effect wears off and by the end of the movie I had forgotten I was watching in 3D. Also, the rain toward the end when Gaston and the villagers attack the castle was more than distracting. The 3D rain practically fogged over the rest of the animation and made it really difficult to focus.
That was basically my main complaint; the weather distraction with the rain and snow. That and the fact that "Human Again" wasn't integrated in like it was in the previous IMAX release.

What I loved most of all was the Tangled short in front of the feature film. I also loved Tangled and I must say the new short was hilarious. I was laughing through most of it. There were a lot of little kids in the theater and they laughed through the credits of the short. By far the best. I believe the full title was Tangled Ever After. They also show a 3D teaser for the re-release of Finding Nemo 3D this fall. There is a trailer for the upcoming Pixar release, Brave.


But yeah... I would give Beauty and the Beast 3D a 3/5. It wasn't a total loss but, as always, the 3D isn't necessary.