Posts from — June 2009
What to Expect in Toy Story 3
Scifiwire.com got the opportunity to sit down with Angus MacLane, the Pixar animator who lent his talents to WALL-E, Toy Story 2 and is now helping to bring together Toy Story 3. In the interview, Angus discusses how the film is coming from the standpoint of a grown up Andy, his attachment to the Toy Story franchise, but would not elaborate on many other details of the next film.
Read the complete article: What to expect in Toy Story 3.
June 27, 2009 No Comments
Ultimate Buzz
Engadget.com has posted pictures, a video and additional details about the new Buzz Lightyear robot toy. Read and see Ultimate Buzz Lightyear robot to the rescue. The new Buzz is being created by Thinkway Toys. From Engadget:
Buzz responds to a few voice commands, can play a laser tag with the included remote, has a “Puppeteering Programming” mode to pose him for your own animations, and can even suffer an identity crisis when you tell him that he’s just a toy.
June 26, 2009 No Comments
Let the Wii Games Begin!
Toy Story Mania! for Nintendo Wii is expected to be released in September. The target audience will be kids ages 6 to 11 (and probably those of us who are young at heart) and is based on the Toy Story Midway Mania! theme park attraction at Disney’s California Adventure theme park.
The game will feature Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ level in which players shoot rubber suction cup-tipped darts at various targets in a western-themed setting. A “Tossed in Space” level featuring the squeeze toys aliens (the claw!) which players toss rings around. There will also be a level in which the little green army men build stacks of wooden blocks for players to knock over with rubber balls.
All in all it sounds like Wii Toy Story Mania! will be packed with Toy Story goodness. I’ve already dusted off my Wii console and will be looking for the pre-purchase order forms.
June 26, 2009 2 Comments
Disney Toy Story Toys Get Pimped
Rolling out in time for the re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D, John Lasseter helps to create the definitive Toy Story collection: A 16 inch Buzz Lightyear Robot with seven integrated motors and 100 phrases that respond to voice; RC that acts like the movie version (complete with puppy bounce), collision avoidance and audio response sensors so you can actually call RC!
Read the complete article on Wired.com.
June 22, 2009 No Comments
Buzz Lightyear Wallpaper
Spotted this amazing wallpaper of our favorite space ranger (complete with Andy inscription on the bottom of his right foot) featured over on cartoonary.com. This one is an impressive 1920×1200 but there are other resolutions available here.
June 22, 2009 No Comments
1 Year To Go!
Toy Story 3 officially kicks off in exactly 1 year from today at a theatre near you.
In the meantime, how about some summer reading: Stumbled upon this classic Disney Adventures Magazine from 1995 available on eBay. Fourteen years old and yet still a great read!
June 18, 2009 1 Comment
Michael Keaton Tapped for Ken?
Director Lee Unkrich may have let slip another new character for the upcoming Toy Story 3. In his recent Twitter tweet Lee wrote:
@leeunkrich Michael Keaton in the house.
..and the Toy Story 3 fans were instantly abuzz re-tweeting the speculation that Keaton might portray Ken (Barbie’s boe) in the upcoming film. Minutes after he posted the message, Unkrich retracted his tweet. Stay tuned, we’ll be following this closely.
June 17, 2009 3 Comments
Poll: Woody or Buzz?
I’ve always liked the sense nostalgia and simplicity that Woody portrays in Toy Story.
His ‘Bonanza’ / ‘Gun Smoke’ style swagger and his clean demeanor especially with his lady friend Bo Peep. Buzz on the other hand is more in-line with the ‘Star Wars’ childhood that I remember: His ‘Cylon’ style and his logical ‘Mr. Spock’ approach to situations and the other characters; his can-do zap-it out-of-the-sky type personality was exactly the type of toy I would have played with for hours on end as a child. Buzz in this respect is definitely my favorite Toy Story character.
Add a comment if you’d like to share the rational behind your selection!
June 17, 2009 No Comments
Pre Release Poster - Take 2
Tracked down a larger version of this Toy Story 3 Pre Release Poster that we previously posted about. ”The toys are back in town!”
June 16, 2009 2 Comments
The Accessible Director: Lee Unkrich
Twitter has been infiltrated by celebrities. Oprah has welcomed it with open, very public arms. Ashton Kutcher held a charity race against CNN to up his follower counts. And let’s not forget poor Wil Wheaton, who was one of the first of their kind to join Twitter. This surge of celebrity attention has been great to add further validity to Twitter in the eyes the more mainstream masses. Celebrities express that they love being able to cut out the middleman (executives and publicists) and have that direct conversation with the public. But Twitter has also opened doors beyond the actors to the as yet untapped production studio back rooms. Never before Twitter, has the general public been able to gain such insight into the workings and development of the major Hollywood blockbusters.
Today you can follow your favorite blockbuster film from budget- to casting room- to release- with the aid of the writers, cameramen, animators, set designers, producers and directors who are taking time out to provide us with tweets. Director Lee Unkrich is a perfect example: Lee, avid twitterer, who previously co-directed Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc and is currently working on Pixar’s Toy Story 3 has been giving adoring Toy Story fans updates on the progress of this film in production; something which would have been unreal in the past. Most recently Lee tweeted:
@leeunkrich Editing TS3 at 36,000 feet. http://twitpic.com/75bx6
@leeunkrich Finally cast the last new character in TS3.
Lee’s messages were instantly re-tweeted all over twitterland in mass! This form of broadcast is obviously a marketer’s dream and yet this is being driven, not by marketing but by an accessible director (wonders out loud if Lee should be collecting two pay checks). Bottom line: the value that Lee is providing cannot be calculated but is certainly appreciated by the adoring Pixar public. Keep on tweeting Lee!
June 15, 2009 2 Comments
