CinemaCon has been going on today in Las Vegas, and the biggest film studios around have a presence there - included, obviously, is Disney and their many exciting subsidiaries. Here's some of the cool news stories to come out of the event:
It's only mildly intriguing, because we'd already heard strong speculation from several sources, but Disney and Pixar have confirmed that Pete Docter's inside-the-mind film is called Inside Out and scheduled for a US release date of 19th June, 2015 (which they released at CinemaCon last year) - the UK release date is currently 7th August, 2015. Now, is this the upcoming Pixar film that Michael Giacchino's scoring?
Omg they just screened a few seconds of footage from @peetsown’s The Good Dinosaur and Malificant. Both looked great. #cinemacon
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) April 17, 2013
In other Pixar news, the studio apparently screened a very brief clip from next year's The Good Dinosaur - directed by Up co-director Bob Peterson, co-directed by Partly Cloudy director Peter Sohn, and scored by Thomas Newman - which drew some rather enthusiastic praise from /Film's Peter Scritetta. Closer on the horizon though, an unfinished cut of their summer release, Monsters University, is being screened right now!
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| Note, not an official poster. |
Although many - including me - have been saying that it seems very unlikely that Disney's first Star Wars film would be ready for a 2015 release, the Mouse House seem adamant that it will be, saying that a new Star Wars will be released every summer, starting with the J.J. Abrams-directed Episode VII in two years' time. They added that the releases will alternate between sequel trilogy films and standalone pictures (presumably including the Yoda and Han Solo films we heard rumours of).
So, lots of cool stuff from Disney-distributed films, but what of Disney's own legacy? Well, there hasn't been a peep from Frozen as of yet. It's getting beyond ridiculous now, the film is due out this winter and we've heard very, very little about it - and seen even less.
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| Tom Hanks in character as Walt Disney for Saving Mr. Banks. |
Footage was shown from Angelina Jolie-starring Maleficent though, and from Gore Verbisnki/Jerry Bruckheimer's The Lone Ranger, alongside a few seconds of Saving Mr. Banks (which features Tom Hanks as the first on-screen portrayal of Walt Disney) and a logo for Brad Bird's Tomorrowland.
UPDATE - 17/04/2013, 21:59 (GMT): Following the full screening of Monsters University (not the final cut of the film, but a full version nonetheless), there is a lot of Pixar love being bandied about: "smart, funny," and full of "surprising turns" are just some of the praise the film's receiving. Check out some prominent bloggers' tweets about the film below:
Monsters University (by @mrdanscanlon) is a fun broad college comedy set in a cleverly designed world, surprising turns & gutsy message
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) April 17, 2013
Disney just screened MONSTERS UNIVERSITY in its entirety! It's smart, funny and makes me want to rewatch MONSTERS INC immediately.
— silaslesnick (@silaslesnick) April 17, 2013
#MonstersUniversity my favorite full screening of #CinemaCon. Reminded me why the world/characters are so special. (Not that I ever forgot.)
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) April 17, 2013
Just screened all of Monsters University at CinemaCon! Funny, clever and beautifully animated: what I expect from Pixar.
— Eric Eisenberg (@eeisenberg) April 17, 2013
The final trailer for The Lone Ranger also debuted at the convention, and is now online. There's a lot of scepticism surrounding this one, but I personally think it has a lot of potential. The Pirates of the Caribbean similarities are evident - along with a bit of Zorro in there too - and it's certainly darker and more visually striking than Disney's usual live-action fare. Check out the trailer, via Yahoo! Movie Trailers, above.
Finally (for now anyway), Pixar also rolled out the official Facebook page for Inside Out - check it out here.
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We'll update this post with images and more stories as and when any more exciting Disney revelations emerge - keep your eyes peeled for Marvel details and, hopefully, some Frozen stuff in the next couple of hours. Until then: what do you think of what has been revealed, and what do you wish had been revealed as well?