Pixar WATCH: 2011

Monday, January 17, 2011

Toy Story 3 wins Golden Globe

No surpise here, as Toy Story 3 wins the golden globe for best animated feature film. Lee Unkrich gave a wonderful speech as he accepted the award. You can see his speech here: http://www.nbc.com/golden-globes/video/best-animated-film-toy-story-3/1270139/

More Cars 2 Character Images

Cars 2, Previewed at Detroit Auto Show

(CREDIT TO THE NEW YORK TIMES)

After Detroit auto show press previews conclude, the AutoWeek Design Forum commands the spotlight.

Thursday’s edition of the event — held at the former General Motors design center, now the College for Creative Studies A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education — included presentations by Frank Stephenson, design chief of McLaren Automotive and also a veteran of Mini and Fiat, and Achim Badstuebner, head of exterior design for Audi. Mr. Badstuebner collected an EyesOn Design award for his A6 on Tuesday.

But the designers who might have received the most attention from the audience of 400 were Jay Schuster and Brad Lewis of Pixar Animation Studios, who shared the stage in a keynote address that provided hints of their coming film, “Cars 2,” which opens on June 24.

Mr. Schuster is the film’s art director and Mr. Lewis its co-director.

One major new character, Finn McMissile, bears a strong resemblance to James Bond’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5. Firing projectiles from hidden launchers, Finn is given voice by Michael Caine and is accompanied by Holley Shiftwell, a Bond babe with body clearly inspired by Jaguar. (Take that, Austin Powers!)

“Cars 2″ goes global for its backdrops, setting its racing-based plotline in cities like Tokyo and London, where landmarks get reinterpreted in car-part style — much like the Western landmarks of the first “Cars” film. There is even a dramatic nighttime race inspired by the Singapore Grand Prix, Mr. Schuster said.

Other star cars from the first film will be treated to model changes, the Pixar duo reported. The hero, Lightning McQueen, again voiced by Owen Wilson, is rendered sportier with a new flame-style paint job drawn for the studio by the independent designer Chip Foose — who made the drawing for the film’s producers in about three minutes. Like many other sports cars trying to sustain their market appeal, Lightning gets a new set of wheels, ground effects and a spoiler package.

The most exciting news may be that the film will offer new “villains” based on the AMC Pacer and Gremlin.