After spending six hours in long lines, I attended the “Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films” conferences and it was absolutely worth the wait! The creative chief of Disney’s animated projects John Lasseter hosted along with numerous celebrity appearances including Frozen‘s Kristen Bell, Wreck-it-Ralph‘s Sarah Silverman, Samuel L. Jackson from The Incredibles, and many more. Read below for highlights on Disney and Pixar’s full upcoming slate of sequels and original animated films.
Space:
Lasseter introduced Teaser trailer called “Speed Test” for an upcoming DisneyToons movie tentatively titled Space or rather This Space To Be Filled With a Title When We Think of One involving two fighter jets and a Blackbird. This new animated world will share something with the Cars universe — their large and expressive windshield wiper eyes. According to Lasseter, the new movie “celebrates the next horizons of aviation.” This title will be hitting theaters April 12, 2019.
Frozen 2:
Kristen Bell, who plays Anna in Frozen, introduced a clip of the upcoming Olaf’s Frozen Adventure short, which will soon be playing ahead of Disney’s Coco release. Josh Gad made surprise appearance at the panel, and sang live with the scene — a new song from the upcoming Frozen short. Lasseter also introduced home video of Frozen 2 directors and producer exploring different areas of Norway and Iceland as part of research for the film. Frozen 2 will hit theaters November 27, 2019.
Wreck-it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet:
Lasster and company debuted the first trailer followed by an amazing rough clip that involves the combination of Star Wars characters and all of the iconic Disney princesses together in the same scene (courtesy of the rule and wall breaking internet). This clip felt reminiscent of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Most of the original Disney princess voice actresses, who reprise their roles for this hilarious soon-to-be-iconic scene, all appeared on stage along with Sarah Silverman, who also reprises her role as Vanellope von Schweetz from the first Wreck-It Ralph movie. Also announced was that Taraji P. Henson (Empire) will be voicing a role in the film’s sequel, a digital trendsetter named Yesss.
Incredibles 2:
After showing a funny viral marketing video involving Edna Mode (Brad Bird) from the first Incredibles, writer/director Bird appeared on stage to discuss the sequel and introduced an entertaining scene where the infant character Jack-Jack uses his powers against a raccoon. Bird and Lasseter informed audiences that the sequel will pick up right where the first film left off. “It starts with the Underminer and a big old set piece. You know that at the end of the first movie when he comes up and you see the family dressed as superheroes, well that’s where [we] start this movie.” See a clip of The Incredibles final scene, which will put you in-the-know for when Incredibles 2 hits theaters in 2018.
Toy Story 4:
Big news! John Lasseter revealed that he has stepped down from the fourth installment of the Toy Story series. The director stepping in is Josh Cooley, who started as a Pixar intern. Cooley discussed the upcoming movie and introduced an exclusive behind-the-scenes video involving Jeff Pidgeon, the voice of the green aliens from the last three films. For research, Cooley has been on an RV trip, suggesting the possibility of a road trip plot for the fourth film. Toy Story 4 will hit theaters in 2019.
“Suburban Fantasy Movie”:
Lasseter introduced a new Pixar film tentatively titled Suburban Fantasy Movie. This movie is a personal project for director Dan Scanlon, who lost his father when he was young. The film is about two elf brothers who go into a magical world to spend one more day with their late father. Also in this world are sprites, trolls, and unicorns. More on this film will be revealed at next year’s D23.
Coco:
The crew of Coco discussed the upcoming Pixar movie and previewed scenes from it. In a clip, the film’s protagonist Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) steals his great-great-grandfather’s — and world renowned musician Ernesto De La Cruz — guitar. As punishment, Miguel is transported to the land of the dead where he must get his cursed family’s blessing to be a musician by sunrise or else remain in the land of the dead forever. In this land, he meets a skeleton character played by Gael Garcia Bernal. The conference ended with an amazing performance from Anthony Gonzalez and Benjamin Bratt, who plays Ernesto De La Cruz, of the film’s song “Remember Me”.
Coco hits theaters on November 22, 2017 and will be the jumping off point from which the rest of the Disney Pixar slate follows. Check out the trailer below.
Leave a Comment