May 18, 2013

Photos From ‘Brave’ World Premiere At The Dolby Theatre

General view of green carpet

The world premiere of Brave, Pixar’s latest feature-length film, was held last night in Hollywood, California. Members of the Pixar production staff turned out to celebrate the imminent release of the film. The premiere was held at the Dolby Theatre, which had its grand re-opening, after the sound company took over the naming rights from Kodak. The Kodak Theatre name may sound familiar, as it has been the home for the Academy Awards. Take a look at photos from the animated film’s world premiere after the break! [Read more...]

Pixar Rewrote Its Animation System For First Time In 25 Years For ‘Brave’

©Disney/Pixar.  All Rights Reserved.

Since the debut of the teaser trailer for Brave last summer, many have been mesmerized by the film’s stunning attention to detail and fluidity of the character’s movements. If you were struck by the beautiful look of the film and wondered how the characters moved so realistically, there is a reason for that – Pixar rewrote its animation system for the first time in 25 years to portray Merida and her epic quest. Find more details after the jump! [Read more...]

‘Brave’ To Focus On Mother-Daughter Relationship, Will Overlook Romance

Brave - Merida & Queen Elinor

Pixar has taken a lot of heat over the past decade for its lack of female protagonists. Then, when Brave was announced, the news of a lead female character brought yelps of joy, but also a bit of uneasiness since the lead would be a princess. The last thing the public wanted to see was Pixar do a clichéd character, though, there was hope for a unique take on a princess story given the studio’s reputation for creative and imaginative stories. In the last issue of TIME Magazine, there is an in-depth article that brings confirmation to that hope – Brave is set to subvert the princess story by ignoring romance and focusing on the mother-daughter relationship. [Read more...]

Ed Catmull’s ‘Computer Animated Hand’ Added To National Film Registry

Computer Animated Hand

Computer animation came into fruition in the 1990s, notably with the release of Toy Story by Pixar, though that is a bit deceiving to the medium’s birth. Pixar may have been the first to make the world of computer animation enjoyable and profitable, but the process of animating through a computer had been in development for decades before that. One of those gentleman at the forefront of computer animation was Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull, who created A Computer Animated Hand, one of the first fully-rendered forms of computer animation. The New York Times (via Cinema Blend) announced that the short is now being added to the National Film Registry, to be preserved for future generations. [Read more...]

Interview: Enrico Casarosa Discusses ‘La Luna’

LA LUNA

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to sit down with La Luna director Enrico Casarosa and talk to him about his work on the short that has been generating a good deal of buzz. Topics of discussion include the short’s journey from inception of the idea to getting it made, how Monsters, Inc. and Up director Pete Docter suggested they screen it at film festivals, that the short will be eligible for eligible for accolades this awards season, and the bold visual and sound choices made to give the film a unique voice. We also briefly hit upon a certain Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs that Casarosa will be working on next. For the first time, I am also including the audio of the interview, so if you would rather listen to our discussion, you have that option. Continue on for my in-depth interview with the director of one of Pixar’s newest (and most magnificent) shorts. [Read more...]

Pixar Brought In To Help Tron: Legacy

Tron: Legacy comes out on Dec. 17, 2010

Tron: Legacy comes out on Dec. 17, 2010 (Copyright Disney)

EW is reporting that after the primary shooting was completed for the upcoming Tron: Legacy, Disney decided to show an early cut of the film to John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, who were instrumental in the emergence of Pixar. Then, Toy Story 3 screenwriter Michael Arndt and Pixar director Brad Bird were brought in to help write the re-shoots that were set to occur for the film. [Read more...]