Part of the D23 Expo experience included an exclusive look at upcoming Walt Disney Studios motion pictures. We were excited to see all of these upcoming movies, and we couldn't wait to see who would be making appearances. Sadly, but understandably, no cameras or phones were allowed inside the arena during the presentation, but we thought we would share with our readers the movies that were announced and how excited we are to see them from both of our perspectives. There were many stars on hand, lots of studio execs, and we were able to see tons of concept art, teasers, trailers, and never-before seen footage from some of them. Out of the entire weekend it was probably the one "must-see" for us, and we truly happy to be there.
The Walt Disney Studios Presentation began with Disney's (and Pixar's) upcoming Animated Features. It highlighted many of the films coming from Disney-Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disney Toon Studios. The entire "animated" portion of the show was emceed by one Mr. John Lasseter from Pixar Animation Studios. As huge (just like everyone else) fans of the Disney-Pixar films, it was truly awesome to be seeing him (in person) for the first time. With all that said, let's take a look at some of the films we were fortunate enough to preview
Planes - People have been talking about Planes for quite some time now, and it's being billed as an off-shoot of the Cars universe, but with airplanes of course. Planes stars John Cryer (who made an appearance to talk about his character) as Dusty, a cropduster who decides to take off an adventure around the globe. It's set to release Spring 2013.
Chad- 4
I'd heard about Planes before, and was interested in the concept, but seeing and hearing about it definitely made it more exciting for me. Based on what we saw during the presentation, it definitely seems like it's moving in a very positive direction, and it looks like it will be a fun little movie.
Mark- 4
Personally I think the movie looks amazing, and I think that John Cryer is a great choice to play Dusty. For some strange reason it reminded me a lot of old Disney cartoon, like "Susie the Little Blue Coupe", which is a good thing.
Overall - 8
We're pretty excited about this one and will definitely be checking it out when it arrives in theaters.
The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs - Not much was given out about this movie (it's still very early in the planning stages), except it seems to be based on what the world might have been like if the asteroid we believe wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the earth never hit the earth. Interesting concept to be sure! Planned release around Holidays 2013.
Chad - 5
Pixar? Dinosaurs? Sold! I won't get into it, but so far a very small number of the Disney-Pixar movies haven't been fives for me, so I'm going to call it a "5" before I've even seen it. I have that much confidence.
Mark - 4
They have chosen another great theme for one of their movies, dinosaurs! What kid doesn't love dinosaurs? It's a movie kids will be begging to see.
Overall - 9
We'll be there opening day.
The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind - Exploring such interesting topics as the reasons why we get songs stuck in our head, why we dream, and why we even remember, this as of yet untitled Disney-Pixar film will travel to a world still unexplored in the realm of their movies; the human mind. Planned release Spring 2014.
Chad - 4
Really not sure what this one is about (because of the little information we have at this point), but I'm definitely interested, and hey, it's Pixar! How bad could it be?
Mark - 3
The first thing I thought of when they announced this was the movie Osmosis Jones. No idea what the story will be about, but hey, it's Pixar. I'm sure it's gong to be great!
Overall - 7
Just waiting for more information to make a solid decision on how we feel about it.
Brave - Pixar’s first female-lead film stars Merida, a Scottish princess set on escaping her fate of an arranged marriage to "one of three idiot clan leaders.” With Billy Connolly and Craig Ferguson; set to release June 22, 2012.
Chad - 5
I have to admit that I haven't been following the news on Brave as much as others have so I was really anxious to find out more about it. Now that I have, everything about it seems absolutely amazing. The story, animation, concept - I can't wait to see this one now! And we got a free poster from Disney-Pixar to boot!
Mark - 5
I loved the trailer they showed, the clips they had, and the animation. The time they spent talking about the film made me want to watch it just that much more. I cannot wait to see this film!
Overall - 10
Midnight showing, anyone?
Wreck-It Ralph - The story of a 1980's 8-bit video game villain, in the present day, who's tired of playing the bad guy and begins searching through other arcade games to prove he has the goods to change his fortunes and be the hero. With the voice talents of John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman; set to release in late 2012.
Chad - 5
Totally a concept that I can get behind. As both an avid gamer and a child of the 80's, what little we saw of the movie had me in stitches. Arguably (since I've been arguing with myself about it ever since) the movie that was discussed with us that I am the most excited about at this point.
Mark - 5
Being a video game nerd I think this film is going to rock. A video game character jumping around other game worlds; what more could you ask for? Makes me think about what might happen if Mario ran into the guy from "Crazy Taxi"?
Overall - 10
Midnight showing, anyone?
Monsters University - A prequel to Monsters, Inc. that will take us back in time and show us how Mike and Sully became buddies (after being rivals) during their college years. Billy Crystal and John Goodman return as Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan; set for 2013 release.
Chad - 5
Huge fan of the original, and after seeing the amount of research that's going into this one (to make it true to college life), and seeing how excited everyone is that's on this project, it's just made me want to see it that much. And seeing Billy Crystal come out on stage to talk about it didn't hurt any either!
Mark - 5
I'm really glad that Disney-Pixar is bringing back these two characters. We'll have to wait until 2013, but I believe it will be more than worth it.
Overall - 10
Midnight showing, anyone?
Frankenweenie - Tim Burton's re-imagined stop motion version of his original live action story about a boy and his resurrected dog; set for release October 2012
Chad - 5
I readily admit that I'm a huge Tim Burton fanboy. I know that the most people either love him or hate him, but count me among the lovers. And as a huge fan of both The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, he had me before I really even knew what this one was about. Can't wait!
Mark - 5
I loved the original version of this story, but Tim Burton's animated features have never disappointed me. It gives me a reason to go ahead and plan a visit to the theaters in October 2012, a full year (and then some!) away.
Overall - 10
Midnight showing, anyone?
As avid movie-goers, we almost couldn't help but love everything that we saw. Talking to others after who felt a little let down by it all, we can't help but be happy we weren't at the Expo 2009, just so that we didn't have anything to stack this one against. For us, it was awesome to see so many actors and studio people that we hold in such esteem and listen to them talk about their product. You can tell that they love what they are doing, and that made it all worthwhile for us. Oh, and the cupcakes they gave the entire audience in celebration of Pixar's 25th Anniversary didn't hurt, either.
Well, that concludes our very early perspectives on the Animated Features we saw at this year's Expo, but not the end of our list. We'll be back sometime this afternoon with all of the live action movies that were previewed as well, and give you our early thoughts on those, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment