May 17, 2012

‘Cars 2′ and ‘La Luna’ Nab 8 Annie Nominations

Annie Awards

Last year, Pixar and Disney sat out the Annie Awards, which focus on the animation industry, as the studios had issues with the voting process. News arrived a few months ago, though, that the problems had been resolved to the animation studios’ liking. Following the controversy, Pixar submitted Cars 2 and La Luna for consideration [...]

Video Previews: ‘Cars 2′ Blu-ray/DVD Special Features

Cars 2 Five Disc Blu-ray Combo With 3D

Cars 2 is approaching its home release as the film is coming to Blu-ray and DVD next month. The various box sets for the film are set to come with several special features exploring the making of the animated feature. Disney/Pixar has uploaded a few videos previewing the extras, with one that goes behind the [...]

Cars 2 Coming Home To Blu-ray/DVD On November 1

Cars 2 Five Disc Blu-ray Combo With 3D

Similar to previous Pixar’s home video releases, Disney has announced that the Cars 2 Blu-ray and DVD will be hitting retail stores right before the big holiday shopping season kicks off. Included within the sets will be a brand grew short entitled Air Mater, which we described back in February as a film that would [...]

Preview: Toy Story, Cars 2 Exclusives At D23

D23 Woody Marionette

The D23 Expo is shaping up to be quite the beast, as Disney just announced earlier today that Pixar will have a huge presence at the show. We had already heard that there would be some cool exclusive collectibles available. Now, we have some more details and images on the Toy Story and Cars 2 [...]

Cars 2 Blu-ray Sets Available For Pre-order

Cars Director's Edition

It feels like Cars 2 just came out in theaters a few weeks ago. Oh, yeah – it did. That hasn’t stopped various online retailers from listing upcoming Blu-ray sets for the film. Amazon recently listed the standard three-disc set, along with a bigger five-disc set. It is interesting to note that while Blu-ray/DVD sets [...]

First: New Video Details Pixar’s Collaboration On Cars 2 Video Game

Cars 2 Video Game - Screen 4

I am excited to bring you a new behind-the-scenes video on “Cars 2: The Video Game,” which we are exclusively debuting alongside our fellow Pixar blogs. The video details just how involved Pixar was with the development of the game. I have written extensively about the strong partnership between Pixar and Avalanche, the developer of [...]

Video: A Day In The Life of John Lasseter

John Lasseter

What does it take for an individual to oversee Pixar, Disney Animation, Disney theme parks, and direct Cars 2? Given that many of us would have a hard time managing just one of these tasks, the incredibly busy John Lasseter needs a regimented schedule in his life to accomplish all of the above. Walt Disney [...]

PixArt: Cars 2 Countdown Winner

Question Mark

The checkered flag has come down on our countdown to Cars 2. What a ride it’s been. We are so grateful for all the amazing artists who contributed a piece to our exhibition. Once again, it’s a testament to Pixar that so many of you were inspired and revved-up to create original art. We appreciate [...]

Discuss: Cars 2 Easter Eggs

Note: This is the Pizza Planet Truck from the first Cars film

With the arrival of every new Pixar feature film, also comes an easter egg hunt by audiences around the world. The studio is better than anyone else out there at inserting references to its other films, sometimes in subtle ways and other times in a fairly obvious manner. On my first viewing of the film, [...]

Cars 2 Speeds Onto The App Store

Cars 2 Mobile Game

Last week, Disney Mobile released a few new Cars 2 apps for the App Store, just in time for the release of the film. Looks like the apps are pretty popular already, as the paid version has toppled popular games such as Angry Birds and Tiny Wings which usually occupy the number one slot. The [...]

PixArt: Cars 2 Now Playing

Art by Misa Tsutsui

Now that Cars 2 has officially been released in North American theaters, we have no more days remaining on our countdown. However, we still have FOUR Cars-inspired pieces to share today from illustrators Pakoto, Lucas Tavares, Dougmian, and Misa Tsutsui. Check them out here!

Cars 2 Grosses Estimated $68 Million On Opening Weekend (Updated)

©Disney/Pixar.  All Rights Reserved.

UPDATE 2 (6/26/11): Box Office Mojo has released the latest numbers. UPDATE 1 (6/25/11): Adjusted the numbers based on new reports. Box Office Mojo is reporting that Cars 2 grossed an estimated $25.7 million on opening day, and is taking in an estimated $68 million for the entire weekend. This puts it in the range of previous [...]

Exclusive: Cars 2 Supervising Animators Shawn Krause and Dave Mullins Talk Pixar Animation (Part 1)

(L-R) Shawn Krause, Dave Mullins

A few months ago, not only did I have the chance to talk to Cars 2 composer Michael Giacchino and story supervisor Nate Stanton – I was lucky to also be able to talk to the supervisors of the animation process on the film. Shawn Krause and Dave Mullins served as supervising animators for years [...]

PixArt: Cars 2 Countdown – 0…

Art by Michael Mistza (AKA The Modelmaker)

Midnight showings of Cars 2 have begun in North America, which means our countdown to the film ends today. To celebrate, we have a few more original pieces of Cars-inspired artwork. We bring you the work of artists Jez Tuya, Lizkay, and Michael Miszta!

Game Review: Cars 2 Video Game

Cars 2: The Video Game

Hearing that there would be a Cars 2 video game, it was not difficult to imagine where developer Avalanche Software would take it. They could have simply churned out a little racing game and walked away with some easy money in their pockets. However, sitting down and playing thoroughly through it, it is apparent that [...]

PixArt: Cars 2 Countdown – 1…

Art by Heri Kurniawan

It’s almost here. Cars 2 arrives in theaters tomorrow, which means our countdown to the film is almost at an end. Today, we have three more Cars-inspired pieces from artists Sonic, SAW Creative, and Heri Kurniawan!

PixArt: Cars 2 Countdown – 2…

Art by Dave Mott

The wait is almost over, as Cars 2 hits theaters this Friday. Our countdown to the film is heading towards a big finish! We have three more pieces of art that were created by great illustrators Dave Mott, Fabricio Gallardo, and Chris Dicker. Check out their car creations here!

A Ton of New Cars 2 Hi-Res Images Released

©Disney/Pixar.  All Rights Reserved.

Cars 2 is rolling out in theaters this week, which means that after a long wait, you will finally have seen the entire film! Disney/Pixar has a great primer for you, as it has released a ton of images from the film. Normally when new images appear, we get a few at a time. However, [...]

Exclusive: Story Supervisor Nate Stanton Talks Cars 2

Photographer: Deborah Coleman. ©Disney/Pixar.  All Rights Reserved.

A few months back, I had the chance to sit down for an exclusive interview with Cars 2 Story Supervisor Nate Stanton. We spoke about exactly what a story supervisor does, the difficulty of the job, transitioning the Cars sequel into the spy genre, the response to criticism for the original film, and the inspirations [...]

Disney.com Features 5-Minute Cars 2 Clip, Games, And More

©Disney/Pixar.  All Rights Reserved.

Disney.com premiered the longest clip from Cars 2 yet, coming in a little under five minutes. The new footage provides some hints to the plot of the film, but leaves it mysterious enough that it is not really spoiler-ific. Lightning McQueen, Francesco Bernoulli and the rest of the racers in the first race of the World [...]