In an interview with MovieWeb posted earlier today, Toy Story 3 director, Lee Unkrich, talks about the overwhelming success of his film:
It was very, very cool to see this little movie we made in Emeryville, California be embraced by so many different cultures around the world.
The interview then shifted to Pixar’s upcoming films. I have listed the highlights of the interview:
- When asked whether Pixar will explore a fourth part to the Toy Storyfranchise, Unkrich responded with, “We will definitely see these characters return. But we are in no way thinking about doing another movie.”
- The characters will appear in Toy Story shorts, with the first one making an appearance in theaters with Cars 2 in 2011
- Part of the inspiration for the shorts will be “gags and moments” that did not make it into the feature films
- Brave (coming in 2012) will be Pixar’s first film directed by a female (Brenda Chapman, who co-directed Prince of Egypt).
- Based in Scotland, the story revolves around a Princess, but will make for a “very gritty adventure” rather than a simple princess film
- Since story details about Monsters, Inc. 2 (also coming in 2012) have not been released yet, Unkrich could not talk about it. However he did state that those who love the first one would “certainly enjoy this film”
- The most interesting teaser issued by Unkrich:
We have other films in the pipeline that we haven’t announced. There are some really fantastic, original ideas. That is about all I can say.
Toy Story Shorts
Toy Story 3 ended so well and on such a perfect note that I have to agree with the decision to stop at ‘3’. While it would be great to see more stories with these characters we grew up with over the years, I am perfectly happy to see the films go out on a high note. Using the toys in short films is a nice alternative. Even though there may not be any more feature films, we still get to spend time with the lovable characters. I have to imagine that there are a plethora of abandoned ideas that they had to leave out of the Toy Story films due to story and length restrictions, so these shorts should be fun.
Brave
It will be interesting to see Pixar explore a princess film from a unique perspective. Of course, Disney has been famous for their use of princesses such as Jasmine in Aladdin. The word from the interview that sticks out to me is “gritty”. With a gritty princess film, Pixar has the ability turn the genre on its head, like they did with their superhero film, The Incredibles. Expect complex characters.
Original Pixar Films
It is great news to hear that Pixar is chugging away at developing original stories. The studio has an extremely rigorous process for producing their films, and if they do not feel something is up to their standards, it will not make the cut (most recently seen with newt). Those sad to see the original newt taking to the sidelines will be glad to hear there are other original Pixar films on the way to take its place.
Don’t you just love teasers?! What kind of film would you like Pixar to tackle next? Share your thoughts below!
Click here for MovieWeb’s full interview with Lee Unkrich.
