Tag: John Lasseter

Disney Swaps Incredibles and Toy Story Sequels

Disney has announced that it has flopped the release dates for Pixar sequels The Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4.  The release date for the Incredibles sequel will be moving up to June 15, 2018, with the Toy Story sequel being pushed back a year to June 21, 2019.

Brad Bird won his first Oscar for directing The Incredibles and is returning to the chair for its sequel. The original bowed in 2005 and scooped up more than $633M worldwide. The Toy Story franchise launched as Pixar’s inaugural feature in 1995, and Toy Story 2 was the toon studio’s first sequel, bowing in 1999. Toy Story 3 came along in 2010, winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and another for Randy Newman’s song “We Belong Together.” John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer for Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios and DisneyToon Studios, is directing TS4, having co-helmed the first two pictures.

Disney Announces ‘Frozen 2′

Elsa-Frozen

From Variety –

Disney officially announced plans to produce a sequel to “Frozen.”

The company revealed plans during the Walt Disney Company’s annual shareholders meeting on Thursday from San Francisco.

The first film’s directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck are developing the project with producer Peter Del Vecho for Walt Disney Animation Studios, which took home the Oscar for best animated feature for the film.

A release date and production details are yet to be announced.

“Frozen” generated nearly $1.3 billion at the box office and has become a merchandising juggernaut, breaking sales records on homevideo and at Disney’s stores.

Outside of a broadway show and the animated short “Frozen Fever, “Disney has kept its “Frozen” sequel plans quiet until now.

“Frozen Fever,” which reunites the toon’s characters and song writers, will unspool in front of Disney’s live action adaptation of “Cinderella,” out in theaters this weekend.

“We enjoyed making ‘Frozen Fever’ so much and being back in that world with those characters,” Lasseter said. “Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck have come up with a great idea for a sequel and you will be hearing a lot more about it and we’re taking you back to Arendelle. We are so excited about that.”

John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, made the announcement with Disney chief Bob Iger, and Josh Gad, who voices the character of Olaf, in “Frozen.”

The sequel doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering how the first film continues to be a major moneymaking force for Disney’s divisions since its release Nov. 22, 2013 — and helped reinvigorate Walt Disney Animation Studios.

BREAKING NEWS: Playtime Hits the Big Time: Toy Story 4 to Debut in 2017

Toy Story 4

Nearly two decades after Pixar Animation Studios created the world’s first computer-animated feature film with Toy Story, today it has revealed plans for Disney•Pixar’s Toy Story 4, an adventure that returns audiences to the world of the studio’s signature characters.

John Lasseter, director of the original Toy Story and Toy Story 2, will direct the film, which opens a new chapter in the lives of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the Toy Story gang. The story was dreamt up by Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter and Lee Unkrich, the storytellers who have been the driving force behind all three Toy Story films.

“We love these characters so much; they are like family to us,” said Lasseter. “We don’t want to do anything with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what’s gone before. Toy Story 3 ended Woody and Buzz’s story with Andy so perfectly that for a long time, we never even talked about doing another Toy Story movie. But when Andrew, Pete, Lee and I came up with this new idea, I just could not stop thinking about it. It was so exciting to me, I knew we had to make this movie—and I wanted to direct it myself.”

Writing team Rashida Jones and Will McCormack (Celeste and Jesse Forever) joined the project, and Pixar veteran Galyn Susman (ABC’s Toy Story OF TERROR! and Toy Story that Time Forgot) is producing.

Toy Story 4 is slated for release on June 16, 2017.

Disney Files Permits for Work at Disney’s Hollyswood Studios Soundstage 1

Soundstage 1

Disney has filed permit paperwork for what is expected to be a major project in Soundstage 1 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The soundstage which is located between Toy Story Mania and the Studio Backlot Tour, has recently been used as gift shop during Star Wars Weekends, a base for MyMagic+ testing, and most recently as the home to Wondering Oaken’s during Frozen Summer Fun.

Simply titled, ‘Project 3 – DHS Soundstage 1 Renovation,’ the permits do not give away any details, other than the expiration date of 9/30/2016, and Whiting Turner being involved in the project. The long expiration date for the permit suggests something on a large scale.

Adding further weight to a coming addition is the appearance of several key executives and Imagineers at the park today. WDI’s Tom Fitzgerald, Tom Staggs, George Kalogridis, and Meg Crofton were reportedly seen in the area of Soundstage 1.

Some recent rumors have suggested one possible use of Soundstage 1 may be for an expansion of Toy Story Mania to provide additional capacity. Personally, I’m not buying into that rumor.  This appears to be a much bigger project than simply an expansion of Toy Story Mania.  Other rumors for Soundstage 1 have also mentioned a Monsters Inc themed roller coaster attraction, expanding the Pixar Place mini-land.

The upcoming closure of the Studios Backlot Tour this weekend would appear to also be a significant step in this project, given its close proximity to Soundstage 1.

Disney has not yet commented on any expansion, or given any indication of what will replace the Studios Backlot Tour.

The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic to Air This Fall

Elsa-Frozen

If the air feels crisp this September, it’s not just the cool fall breeze. Walt Disney Animation Studios and ABC are giving viewers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the making of Frozen. The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic premieres Tuesday, September 2 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The special will also offer a glimpse toward the next chapter for Anna, Elsa, and friends, as well as an exclusive sneak peek at Big Hero 6 which hits theaters this November.

The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic offers a look at the origins and evolution of the Academy Award®-winning blockbuster—now the biggest animated feature of all time. The special tells the real story of making a modern movie based on a timeless tale that nearly overnight became a cultural touchstone for legions of fans.

Viewers will get a rare look inside Walt Disney Animation Studios and unprecedented access to the creative team that brought Frozen to life. Throughout the one-hour special, the audience will hear from Frozen stars Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, the directors, songwriters, producer, and artists, as well as Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter—the team who dreamed of making a cherished Hans Christian Andersen story into a spectacular big-screen animated musical.

Viewers will journey to the breathtaking Norwegian villages and landscapes that inspired the look of Arendelle, Frozen‘s fictional kingdom, and see images and footage from the research trips to Norway, Quebec, and points beyond that helped create the film’s unforgettable look and feel.

This special will also include some exciting announcements about the next chapter of Frozen and a never-before-seen preview of the Frozen characters, who are set to appear on the ABC hit seriesOnce Upon a Time when the show returns Sunday, September 28. Members of D23 will get a special peek at what’s to come on Once Upon a Time in the Fall 2014 issue of Disney twenty-three.

The program will culminate with an exclusive sneak peek at the action-packed comedy-adventureBig Hero 6, currently in production at Walt Disney Animation Studios—under wraps until now—as the team prepares for their next big-screen epic. Sounds like September 2 will be the perfect night to “chill out” at home.

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