John Carter Of Mars - First Trailer

Walt Disney Studios have just released the first teaser trailer for "John Carter of Mars", due for release 2012. 

John Carter of Mars is inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet Mars, and becomes embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions and discovers that the survival of the planet and its people rests in his hands.


Visit the official website at http://www.disney.co.uk/john-carter


John Carter is a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

I featured the teaser poster and concept art images a short while back but it's great to actually see what the film is going to look like although I am a little worried....

This is Pixar director Andrew Stanton's first foray into live action film making and although both Wall-E and Finding Nemo were brilliant films they were both Stanton stories but John Carter isn't. It's an Edgar Rice Burroughs story and one I never thought could be brought to the big screen.

Andrew Stanton in John Carter Production Meeting 

copyright Disney

Andrew Stanton is a very strong story man having been involved in story for all 3 Toy Story films along with A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and Wall-E but I am not sure from this trailer if it will match up to his animated work.

To me it looks like a cross between Prince of Persia and Conan The Barbarian and seems to offer nothing new, which is something Andrew Stanton normally delivers in spades. Lets hope I am wrong and to be fair this is just the teaser trailer and there is still a lot of post production to be done before it's release this time next year.

Eamon Butler, former Disney Animator, now Head of Animation 

@ Double Negative discussing some of the props from the film

Disney Revives Philip K Dick's "King of the Elves"

Disney have announced plans to revive a Philip K Dick short story titled "King of the Elves". They had previously shelved the animated feature way back in late 2009 but have today announced  "Horrible Bosses" writer Michael Markowitz will now be penning the script.

The story tells of a band of elves and one dwarf that live in the Mississippi Delta who name a human as their king after saving them from a troll.

"Bolt" Director Chris Williams will act as Producer for the project which has been revived, after many changes to both writers and directors over the past 2 years, thanks to John Lasseter. Disney have also confirmed that "King of the Elves" will be a computer animated feature and not hand drawn and is slated for release at the end of 2013. 

I look forward to Disney's take on a Dick short story. I am a huge fan of his work and I applaud Disney for taking what some may view as a bit of a gamble.

It's all MARVEL-lous

As anyone reading this site may already know, Marvel (now owned by Disney) are planning something bigger that any other production company has ever planned before. Many characters from the Marvel Universe are coming together from previous films to unite in 'The Avengers', written and directed by Joss Whedon (Buffy). This is known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will resemble a lot from the comics but with some notable omissions.

So lets take it one step at a time, break it down, take a look at some the links and see where we are, shall we ?

WARNING - MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS

The film will feature the following in pivotal roles:

Iron Man - Robert Downney Jnr. plays Tony Stark/Iron Man. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) makes an appearance after the end credits and lays down the foundations of what's to come.

The Incredible Hulk - the second Hulk film sees Ed Norton playing Bruce Banner/The Hulk. At the end of the film Tony Stark (Robert Downney Jnr.) approaches General Ross in a bar regarding S.H.I.E.L.D / Avengers initiative and a possible partnership together. Also worth pointing out that in an alternate opening found on the DVD/Blu Ray Captain America can be seen frozen in ice.

Iron Man 2 - Captain America's prototype shield makes a prominent appearance and is crucial in helping Tony Stark. Nick Fury is featured heavily discussing S.H.I.E.L.D with Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) ends up working for Stark Industries so her character is flawlessly introduced. At the end of the film Nick Fury is seen with Tony Stark in a safe-house. There are multiple monitors featuring, amongst other things, a news report from the college campus featured in the Incredible Hulk (which suggests Iron Man 2 takes place slightly before The Incredible Hulk) and another monitor shows a crater which links very nicely into Thor.

After the credits there is a great scene in which Agent Coulson find's Thor's hammer in a huge crater.

Thor - Chris Hemsworth plays Thor and the basic premise is that Thor is banished to earth with his mighty Hammer. This is found by SHIELD (agent Coulson) and Thor tries to retrieve it. At the time of writing this Thor has yet to be released in the UK but as soon as I have the pleasure of seeing it I will post a full review including easter eggs and clues.

Captain America - Still yet to be released, this is set n 1942 during the second world war Steve Rogers(Chris Evans) is classed as physically unfit to enlist so volunteers for a secret military operation called Project Rebirth. He is transformed into Super Hero Captain America and takes on Hitler's head of advanced weaponry Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). Tony Stark's father Howard is a major character in this film. Joss Whedon has also confirmed that Captain America will arrive in the 21st Century in this episode and not in the Avengers.

So thats what we have so far and it's all looking great isn't it ? All of the actors from the previous films will be getting repeat fees (Samuel L Jackson has signed a 9 picture deal to play Nick Fury) with the exception of Ed Norton playing the Hulk. Rumour has it that Marvel didn't feel he was a team player (which is just a polite way of saying he's a nightmare to work with I suppose) so his role will now be played by Mark Ruffalo. A great choice I think. Mark is a very natural performer in my opinion and will add a lot to the role.I also understand that he will be doing his own motion capture and facial capture so this could be the best looking Hulk yet. The Avengers is set for release in 2012 and I cannot wait !

New Winnie the Pooh Clip on Youtube

Walt Disney Animation studios have recently posted a clip from the forthcoming Winnie The Pooh feature which opens April 15th 2011 in the UK whilst the US will have to wait until July (unusual for the UK to get a WD film first ??)

I think this is a brave move for Disney and I really hope it pays off. In a world of 3D CGI animation, going back to hand drawn for a second time after The Princess and the Frog is a gamble because although 'Princess' was a great film it suffered from being released at the same time as Avatar and we all know how well that did. Also Winnie the Pooh is nothing new and the techniques used are the same as the ones used on other Winnie the Pooh shorts but is this a bad thing ? Answer....No ! 

If is isn't broken, don't fix it. This promises to be classic Disney and I can't wait for it. I am most excited though about Bud Luckey voicing Eeyore. Bud Luckey is a legend in the world of animation. Working for Pixar for many years he was one of the main artists behind the creation of Toy Story's Woody and he also created and directed one of Pixar's best short films ever in the form of Boundin'.

Take a look at both the clip and the trailer (which features music from Keane to great effect) and I don't mind telling you I had a small tear forming in my eye at the end of it. Quite beautiful !