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Chomp! King Fergus Shares His Brave Legend

Kelly Schwarze — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:56:50 PDT

With a month remaining before Pixar's first female heroine, Merida, comes to theaters in Brave, Luxo has released a little gift to tide us over until the June 22 opening day: a new clip from the movie. In "Fergus Shares a Legend," Merida's dad, King Fergus, shares with his family - for the hundredth time - the story of his battle with a fearsome monster. We get a look at Merida's playful personality, along with the technical prowess of the Pixar team that crafted Merida's curls, which move perfectly with her every stride.

Watch Fergus, Merida, and the triplet princes recount the king's Scottish legend below.

Brave: The Video Game - Prepare Your Bows

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:51:33 PDT

Practice your Scottish accent and stretch those controller thumbs to get ready for a Summer of virtual archery once Brave: The Video Game is released in June. We're already counting down for the June 22 release of Brave, the tale of a rebellious princess with the most envious ginger curls Hollywood's ever seen who defies the royal status quo in search of a fate all her own.

Available to most consoles, the game's in third-person perspective and can be played as princess Merida or select other characters like a cuddly bear we have a suspicion is a bit more mischievous than cute in the film itself. We had chance to play a few minutes of the game recently and can't wait to pick up the bow and arrow again.

Pixar Cofounder Ed Catmull Lists His Storybook California Estate

Angela Swinderman Elias — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:38:45 PDT

Pixar cofounder and Walt Disney Animation Studios president Ed Catmull might be known for cranking out computer-animated blockbusters like Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Finding Nemo, but his whopping Kentfield, CA, estate, listed for $10.9 million, proves that he also has an excellent eye for prime real estate. According to Trulia, the six-bedroom, eight-full-bathroom, and two-half-bath estate is filled with storybook details. The South Hampton-inspired house sits atop a three-quarter-acre parcel surrounded by lush lawns and views of Mt. Tamalpais and the Southern Marin Ridgeline. Still, state-of-the-art touches throughout the house reflect Catmull's creative tech tycoon status. Take a look inside to tour the picturesque grounds, modern decor, and custom details of this Northern California gem.

4 Details to Look Forward to in Pixar's Brave

Kelly Schwarze — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:16:16 PDT

The magic of Pixar's Oscar-winning films is in their ability to take seemingly ordinary story lines about childhood toys or a garbage-collecting robot and transform them into emotional narratives about love and life. The studio's upcoming Summer film Brave is its first foray into the familiar coming-of-age tale, this one as told through the experiences of a defiant teenage girl. Pixar's first female lead, Merida, is a princess with an affinity for archery in ancient Scotland who refuses to give up her freedom by submitting to an arranged marriage and sets off to change her fate.

Though the movie isn't due for release until June 22, 2012, we caught an unfinished preview of the first 30 minutes of Brave, and there's a lot to get excited about in this Pixar period piece. Here's why the film is worth the wait:

Pixar Technical Wizardry - Brave demonstrates the studio's technical prowess at its best. Merida's gorgeous curls (seen in the above picture) are no easy feat of animation. There's a reason so few of your favorite animated characters have big, curly hair - it's very difficult to create on the computer. Over 111,000 individual curls were hand-drawn for Merida's mane, which was then digitally rendered as 1.8 million strands. Pixar then had to create a physics simulator to mathematically control how the waves move in the wind and exist within gravity.
The Art - Without verging into awkward moments of uncanny valley, Brave has moments of startling realism amid its fantasy story line. The overcast skies and moss-covered landscape of Scotland have been painstakingly studied, drawn, and shaded to create a setting worthy of this new legend. By the time filming wrapped, 111,394 storyboard drawings were created, a number that far exceeds the preproduction that went into most other Pixar films.

Keep reading how the film's great for gingers and view the official trailer after the break.

Toy Story Clothing Not Just For Jessie or Woody

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:51:54 PST

Toy Story was likely the first Pixar movie many of us saw, so naturally it has an enduring place in the hearts of the film studio's fans. For those who can't get enough of the movie, Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3, tweeted a link to a full line of Toy Story-inspired fashion, perfect for wearing your Buzz or Woody love right on your sleeve. According to another tweet by Lee, the clothing, from a Hong Kong-based designer called Bossini, will be available at select Disney stores in the US, though it will be very difficult to find. The Toy Story collection also includes clothing for men and children, as well as accessories; we're hoping for that braided scarf!

Let us know what you think of the full fashion range, and check out the line's toy-filled promo video.

Behind the Scenes on a Pixar Short Film

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:28:57 PDT

We introduced you to Pixar's Canada production facilities, now meet the studio's first animated short release, Air Mater, which is included on the Cars 2 DVD released today.

Even though a Pixar short is at most six minutes long, the production time in crafting the expert animation style that sets the studio apart from other animated films is much longer than a fan would expect. From story concept to final release, a film like Air Mater takes about one year to complete, with four to six of those months budgeted for crucial technical steps like character drafting, creating painstakingly detailed background animation, and final rendering. According to Pixar Canada's creative director Dylan Brown, each second in a film is made up of 24 single images created by hand.

Expect the studio to continue to turn out these "three bite gourmet meals" films, the quick snapshots into the lives of our favorite Toy Story and Cars characters. Check out the Air Mater trailer for the truck's first foray into the world of aviation, and think of how at 40 seconds long, this clip includes well over 900 separate images!

Offices We Love: Pixar Canada

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:13:38 PDT

Part of the fun of seeing a Pixar film is the whimsical short films included alongside the feature length film. We recently toured Pixar's Canada office, where the primary focus is crafting short stories of our favorite Toy Story and Cars characters. Located in the Gastown neighborhood of Vancouver, the building has an unassuming facade compared to the sprawling campus of the original Pixar office in Northern California. What once served as a bustling hotel until a fire nearly destroyed it, Pixar is now lovingly restoring the building into a creative working space while maintaining its original character and paying homage to the striking water and mountain views seen from the large picture windows that line the walls.

Check out the full photo tour to see where the animated magic is made north of the border.

Images courtesy of Pixar

Pixar Announces New Dinosaur and Inside-the-Human-Mind Movies at D23

Lindsay Miller — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:52:01 PDT

At yesterday's Disney expo D23, Pixar fed the fandemonium by announcing two all-new movies now in production. This year marks the animation studio's 25th anniversary, and judging by yesterday's offerings, their innovative spirit shows no signs of fading. The first film they unveiled explores what the world might have been like if dinosaurs were never wiped out by a giant asteroid, but continued to exist on Earth. Director Bob Peterson, a longtime Pixar story artist and the voice of characters like Doug from Up, is helming the movie. He said Walt Disney's animatronic dinosaurs, which he first saw at the New York World's Fair as a child, inspired the idea. Bob shared one still with the audience, but the finished product won't arrive in theaters until Holiday 2013.

The second movie will take a look inside the human mind and explore the reasons why we get songs stuck in our head, why we dream, and even why we remember. Not many details were revealed about how scientific, or fantastic, Pixar's approach to the subject matter may be, and the effort is clearly in the early stages - the movie won't be released until Spring 2014. For more details on the rest of the 2012-2014 animated Disney films previewed yesterday, just

Brave: Pixar's first female-driven film stars Boardwalk Empire's Kelly MacDonald as Merida, a princess set on escaping her fate of an arranged marriage to one of three idiot clan leaders. A group of mostly Scottish actors, including Kevin McKidd, Billy Connolly, and Craig Ferguson, rounds out the cast. Two short clips previewed for the audience showed that the studio's dedication to authenticity, including several research trips to Scotland, paid off. The scenery and attention to detail were breathtaking, and it's refreshing to see a smart, gutsy heroine finally take the lead in a Pixar project. Brave is out on June 22, 2012.
DisneyToon Studios’ Planes: Following the success of Cars, Walt Disney Animation Studios head honcho John Lasseter told the crowd, he was inspired to find a way to continue to explore the idea. The only non-Pixar animated project debuted at D23, Planes stars John Cryer as Dusty, a cropduster who decides to take off an adventure around the globe. The actor was on hand to talk about the movie, telling fans he's thrilled to be starring as Dusty: "I'm so geeked out!" Planes is due out in Spring 2013.
Wreck-It Ralph: This innovative film goes inside the world of retro, 8-bit video games to follow Wreck-It Ralph, an arcade villain who's looking for a way to prove he's not all bad. Voiced by John C. Reilly, Ralph promises to be one of Pixar's most endearing and unique characters yet, and a supporting cast including Sarah Silverman and 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer are also on board to bring the laughs. The short look at the movie that Pixar shared stayed true to the look of classic video games and had a decidedly grown-up appeal. Look for it in theaters in 2012.
Monsters University: Pixar is in the midst of creating a prequel to Monsters Incorporated that will take us back in time to show how Mike and Sully became buddies. Like many a great friendship, Pixar decided, theirs began at college. Billy Crystal made a surprise appearance to chat about the project. To make Billy and John Goodman's characters age in reverse, artists gave Mike a retainer and Sully a slimmed-down, fluffier profile. The filmmakers also shared a look at the campus, which is still being designed. The director, Dan Scanlon, joked that they toured schools from Harvard to Berkeley to find out what "real college" looks like, since most of the filmmakers went to art school.

Video: Owen Wilson Talks Cars Reunion and Eddie Izzard Shares His Thoughts on England's Monarchy

PopSugar — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:24:45 PDT

Cars 2 duo Owen Wilson and Eddie Izzard teamed up at the LA junket to chat with us about their 3D animated film, which scored the top spot at the box office this weekend. Owen shared his excitement about reuniting with director John Lasseter, and Eddie, who is new to the franchise, talked about playing an SUV and revealed his thoughts on England's monarchy. Check out the interview and catch Cars 2 in theaters now!

Video: Larry the Cable Guy and Emily Mortimer Share Cars 2 With Their Children and Talk About Their Onscreen Romance

PopSugar — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 06:03:00 PDT

Cars 2 raced into theaters this weekend, and Larry the Cable Guy once again voices the beloved character of Mater. We caught up with Larry and newcomer Emily Mortimer at the LA junket recently, where the pair chatted about what it was like seeing the film with their kids. Emily also talked about another 3D film she's working on, Martin Scorsese's Hugo Cabret. Check out the interview and catch Cars 2 in theaters now!