Cars 2

[Randall]

And, as I think Ben has said elsewhere, at the end of the day, studios NEED to have films that they know are going to make money. With the very risky "Brave" coming out next summer (look at the teaser trailer. It doesn't have one joke!), it made sense for Disney to have something dependable like "Cars 2" as a "cushion" in case that film ends up bombing.

Yep, absolutley, and there's NOTHING wrong with that. Besides, kids love it, so there ya go. Not every film has to be for Gen X or Y animation lovers.

[Ben]

I don't think I've ever "wanted a movie to fail"!

And as much as they are different, Pixar IS Disney. Pixar grew from Disney, it became beautiful in its own merit, and it has returned to the fold. I actually believe that if Lasseter had made Brave Little Toaster or Where The Wild Things are at Disney in the early 80s, the films we'd be seeing from Disney now would be the exact same kind of things that they're releasing under the Pixar banner.

But - especially with the merge - Disney is Pixar and Pixar is Disney, from not only the obvious company ownership but down to the personnel, all trained or influenced by the Disney greats. Dumbo suggested Up, for instance, to Pete Docter, and there's a wonderfully real feeling of 1940s Disney in Up as a result.

And even Disney needed a fun, knockabout "easy" movie once in a while. Dumbo, Alice In Wonderand, One Hundred And One Dalmatians, Robin Hood and Aladdin were all considered light fare that would be easier to produce, cheaper and make more money than what had come before. Usually those films come after grueling productions, and even The Emperor's New Groove was an attempt to shift a dark situation around and come out of a dramatic picture with a sense of fun.

So Cars 2 is Disney/Pixar's "phew, we needed that" relaxing period between the enormous dramatic and emotional natures of Up and TS3, and before Brave comes along. It's the breath of fresh air that just says, "here's some fun after the heavy stuff and before we go back there with Brave and John Carter".

I haven't seen it yet, but from what I hear I'm probably going to enjoy it more than the first one, for what it inevitably is.


BTW, anyone else think that the French car mentioned without the eyes in the windshield could be a character from another Pixar movie instead? Just a hunch...

[EricJ]

And just on a side note, from the front:

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that actor Tom Hanks, talking to the BBC in promoting his new movie, thinks Pixar is secretly working on a Toy Story 4. While not a total surprise given the critical and commercial success of the previous Toy Story films, in particular last summer's Oscar-winning threequel, it was thought the trilogy was complete. This is the first anyone has spoken about a potential fourth film, with Hanks responding, "I think there will be, yeah"

...Oh, good lord:
We've been trying to shut this one up on another board, and now it springs up like crabgrass over here--
"I think there will be, yeah"?? The actual uncut quote, for the record, was:

When asked if there would be a Toy Story 4, Hanks responded:
“I think there will be yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think they’re working on it now. There you go.”

He did everything but say "Yeahh, that's the ticket" in a John Lovitz voice!

Now, I know Ben will immediately take the abstract view and chime in with "Well, y'know, with the money and everything, they need to experiment, etc. etc."
But why (as Daffy Duck says) in the name of all that's reasonable, are we taking this with the remotest degree of credibility? The Hollywood Reporter, yes, but why NORMAL people?
(Actually, I know why you do, I just want to see if you've been following along closely enough to guess it ahead of me.)

[Dacey]

...

I seriously have no idea what to make of the above post. Seriously. It's like Eric's just trying to bait people here.

[Dusterian]

These are both stupid reasons sorry.

That is just your opinion, but then may I ask, what are the "non-stupid" reasons?

Dacy, you and Ben might be right that the money-making merchandise might be a factor but I would think it's only a factor in why Disney would try to make the film. I always thought Pixar was above that (and actually the real true older Disney, run by Walt Disney, would also have been above that, but the current heads at Disney aren't), and like I said, Lasster loves cars so much himself. Though I thought Toy Story 3 would have been a good enough cushion for Brave...because it was that big, you know? And still fairly recent. I mean...Pixar doesn't need the money, why would it suddenly make a cash-in now?

Ben...okay, your comments about Disney being Pixar...well, first I have to tell you that truthfully those comments hurt me. Yes. Make fun of me all any of you want, but it hurts me, because Disney has always been, and should always be, it's own thing, and nothing else can be it.

Your comments may be your opinion, but I strongly disagree with it. But I don't know if I can quite call it opinion since, in reality, as long as Disney is called a seperate name and Pixar is called a seperate name, they still are officially seperate, and not the same thing.

But even if, after a terrible, "sacriligious" move, such as renaming Disney to be Pixar, or vise versa, I would still always know that they still weren't really the same thing.

Actually, Glen Keane himself said once that to him, the two were very seperate, that Disney was like "Once upon a time..." in feel, and Pixar was "What would happen if..." in feel. Two very seperate things.

[EricJ]

...
I seriously have no idea what to make of the above post.

(It was a news item on the front page that's been multiplying on other very gullible entertainment-headline sites--
All of which seem to be taking the rather improvised remark as an unquestionable news scoop, and NOT simply as Hanks trying to fend off annoying reporters while on the red-carpet to his own Oscar-bait movie opening.

I seem to be alone in that my reaction to the Reporter article was just an understandable "You have GOT to be freaking kidding. "
Gullibility is one thing, but we're letting ourselves become suckers just out of our fear that New Pixar Sequels lurk under our beds and around every corner, waiting to get us...)

[estefan]

I honestly have no idea why that ridiculous Toy Story 4 story is on the front page. If there was, Pixar would be the first to announce it. They're incredibly secretive about their projects and if they told Hanks he was making one, they would make him sign a non-disclosure agreement.

But, I very much doubt it's happening. Watch Lee Unkrich or John Lasseter or Darla Anderson announce very soon that it's not happening at all.

[Dacey]

Well, we are an animation site, and whether it ends up actually happening or not, the fact that Hanks--the star of the movies, really--is the one who said it does give the story at least some credit.

Besides, virtually every movie site on the internet is reporting this, so I think it makes more than enough sense for a site called Animated Views to be doing the same.

[EricJ]

Well, we are an animation site, and whether it ends up actually happening or not, the fact that Hanks--the star of the movies, really--is the one who said it does give the story at least some credit.

No, it suggests that some quick reporter buttonholed him on the red-carpet to his "Larry Crowne" premiere this week, and he wasn't in the mood for discussing Why No More Woody for the 105th time right now, thanks--
So, uh, yeah. He gave the reporter an answer that would get rid of him. There ya go.

Besides, virtually every movie site on the internet is reporting this, so I think it makes more than enough sense for a site called Animated Views to be doing the same.

(Uh, a lot of people reading and repeating the one same article without fact-checking it isn't called "credibility". There are words for it, but not "credibility".

[Bill1978]

I think I might die the day EricJ posts something positive and absence of any cynicism or attitude that only he knows the real reason for anything. And that we all must agree with him.

If Toy Story 4 did ever see the light of day, I think I could only deal with it, if it was some sort of prequel or midquel. Number 3 bought the series to the perfect end and I just can't see where the series could go. Unless Woody and Buzz become spies.....

[estefan]

The thing is Eric's not wrong in his assumptions regarding Toy Story 4. Unless Hanks is a producer on the project (which he most certainly isn't), I take it with a grain of salt until Pixar actually does announce it. It's like how Keanu Reeves has been saying for years there will be another Bill & Ted and we're still nowhere close to seeing it get made. Or Joe Dante says that Gremlins 3 has a good possibility. Again, I doubt Spielberg is even considering it at the moment.

With a lot of projects, until they actually start filming the thing (and with people like Spielberg, Tarantino and Ridley Scott, this is especially true), I tend to take a good amount of news about upcoming films with a grain of salt. And in the case of Pixar, I won't believe it, until it shows up on an official Disney press release.

[Ben]

Okay...here's how it works...

* Disney sees the money and kudos TS3 makes.

* They want more.

* Pixar wants to keep making "experimental" pictures like Brave and John Carter.

* They know they have to make bottom line pleasing releases like TS3 and Cars 2.

* Where Pixar succeeds is that they make those films with artistic merit.

* Before any prep work is done, they'll contact the big players, like Hanks, and ask if they would be amenable to another one. This is a) because they know the success of the series is largely to do with their character's popularity and vocal performance, and b) that if they agree that TS3 brought things to a close perfectly and did not want to commit that the project would be dead in the water and would not be worth spending money on developing.

* This is before - and very separate to - ANY contract negotiations.

* Pixar would then go off and develop ideas. If one of these ideas sticks, then a movie could be announced at this stage.

* Hanks and co would be offered their deals, based on what the film would be about.

* If they like that, and think it worthy of their talents, they'll sign. If not, then the project is canned, or redeveloped to keep them on board.

* On approval from everyone, contract negotiations begin, and the film is announced officially and begins production.


As we all know, Pixar has TONS of projects that haven't been announced yet. You can bet they're working on the very initial ideas for films that are years and years away from coming to screens. And you can bet that with the money and kudos TS3 earned, they'll be looking at a fourth film and spin-offs (like the Hawaiian short already completed).

As one of the first people that would be in on the "secret" that a fourth film might be being looked at, Hanks would be up there right from the start. And given that Hanks likes to experiment too with his roles, he'll be interested because all marquee actors like to keep their box-office stock up, and another Toy Story would do that, allowing Hanks to make another Larry Crowne, or whatever he might like to do.

All Hanks has done at this point is let slip ahead of an announcement - or maybe not, because an early word of mouth like this might also be to gauge audience support as in do we cheer another one or groan at it, so it's also possible this is a Pixar-approved "improvised" comment. Whatever the reactions and the response to how "true" this may be, it's not non-news. Tom Hanks has said Pixar are working on a TS4. That's 100% true, guaranteed.

Whether the movie gets made is another thing, but you can bet they're working on ideas based on Hanks saying he'd be interested if they came up with something good.

Thankfully, we're not all as naive as Eric!

(And, BTW, Gremlins 3 is on Amblin's "active" list, so Spielberg, or at least his executives, are certainly considering it, as with a renewed interest in a Jurassic Park 4. Reeves has been pushing B&T3 for years, yes, but the recent signs are that it's coming together this time, with Alex Winter also on board.)

[EricJ]

Okay...here's how it works...

* Disney sees the money and kudos TS3 makes.

* They want more.

...Disney does, Pixar doesn't.
Pixar's half of the divisions want more commercial character marketing, which is why they make little short-form Hawaiian and Cars shorts to go in front of their new movies that they can "experiment" with. It's a lot easier than treading out familiar material for 90-minute features, and if they show a seven-minute Cars short in front of "Brave", that's two studio jobs done, and one pays the bills for the other.
Do they want to make TS4?--They didn't even want to make TS3....Somebody ELSE came up with the "daycare" idea for them, and they could put the blackmail days behind them.

As far as Hanks' "exclusive" announcement, there is a principle of logic that suggests the easier explanation has a greater likelihood of being true.
On one side, we have the theory that Hanks had been secretly contacted in early pre-production talks, and had been approved, after some consultation with the studio, to let slip some viral publicity at a key early strategic point...
--AND ON THE OTHER SIDE--
we have the possibility that he just does what any other danged actor in the world does when he's cornered about a movie he has no clue yet about.
He can't say "Nope, not a chance" (would embarrass the studio if he guessed wrong), and he can't say "Forget it, I'm out" (unprofessional, and would create bad feelings with the studio)...So instead, he takes the diplomatic Actor-Goodwill route, and tells the interviewer what he wants to hear. Not necessarily 100% true, but he can't prove it isn't, because he doesn't know either--But sure, it's fun to think about. There ya go.
In other words, he does the same thing Johnny Depp does every single time he gets asked about a Pirates 5 eight or ten times a day, or Gov. Schwarzenegger every time he gets asked whether he'll make another Terminator.

(I mean: "He said so, so we know it's 100% true?"
Ben--There's "naive", and then there's...just...plain...freakin'...SCARY. )

[Bill1978]

Pretty sure Ben is right about it being 100% true that Tom Hanks said 'Pixar is working on a TS4'. Therefore that is newsworthy. At no point did Ben say it is 100% true we are going to see TS4 be made. Somehow I don't think you read Ben's steps to a movie production correctly EricJ, you just automatically jumped to 'I know better than everybody' mode and ranted about Ben saying TS4 is happening - which he didn't.

This site just reported on an event that happened, and has been reported by many other sites. As an site about animation I think the team did the right thing in reporting it. There have been plenty of other reports that this site has reported that have ended up not coming into fruitition, but they haven't been blasted. I'm really not sure why you think you can change what this site has reported, they haven't put any words into Hanks' mouth like you seem to be implying. Hanks said it FULLSTOP!

For all we know it could have been a marketing ploy to divert attention from the poor critical response to Cars 2 and remind people there is a Toy Story short in front of the movie. Go see Cars 2, and see the Toy Story short ,that will soften the blow of disappointment. There's lots of assumptions that can be made. Maybe Tom Hanks is slowly going mad and thought the interviewer asked him some question about a future Toy Story short, anything is possible based upon his response. But attacking people for reporting on an event that happened is just silly in my books. And what is TS4 is made? Won't you look like a fool?

[droosan]

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