Disney/Pixar News! There's Tons of It!

First, Pixar. The most exciting news is that the plot for the new film directed by Lee Unkrich (also what I call my rich uncle, hiyo!) of Toy Story 3 fame will center around Mexico's Dia de los Muertos. I'm guessing that most of the characters will be skeletons voiced by white American actors, but a girl can dream of the day that films about non-white cultures star/are written/directed people of non-white cultures in them, right ("Brave" counts a little tiny bit for having Scottish actors, but Scotland is still a super white culture)? Until that day comes, I hope that at least some of the actors will be Mexican and that they hire some badass new Mexican animators and storyboard artists (who are essentially writers) to help with this film. I don't think that's unreasonable! Of course I should also say that I'm super happy that Pixar is making a film about such a colorful, fun holiday about death so unlike anything American. Dia de los Muertos is so different than Halloween, and so much cooler and more mature in so many ways. It's a great subject for an animated film, and I'm really happy they're doing it! I wish them the best of luck.

In other Pixar news, the "Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs" is now called the super-boring "The Good Dinosaur." This really says nothing about the quality of the film, though, since most Pixar movies have super boring names. More importantly, it will be about a world in which dinosaurs never went extinct. Presumably, hilarity and heartwarming will ensue.

"The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind" will be released on June 19, 2015. No new information besides that, but a release date is always a vote of confidence, and I'm extra excited about this one so that's good.

I should also note that besides "Monsters Universtiy" these upcoming films are all originals (unless they're book adaptations, but at the very least they're not sequels) which is both great news and a relief - a nice affirmation that the studio is still on track.

Now, Disney. The most exciting news is that Henry Selick ("Coraline") will be directing an adaptation of Neil Gaimans' "The Graveyard Book". The cover looks super creepy, so this could be really fun, or I could be covering my eyes the whole time. Either way, I'll probably be happy.

Disney also released some artwork from their new short, "Paperman" which will blend traditional 2D and 3D animation. It's pretty neat.

On the business side, Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross has stepped down from his position, stating that he no longer feels like he's a good fit professionally for the job anymore. It's unclear whether his move was entirely voluntary, especially after the high-profile failure of "John Carter" which, though not greenlit by Ross, was certainly guided and marketed by him. The buck had to stop somewhere on that one. Because Ross was brought in to focus Disney on more large tentpoles like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "John Carter" was such a flop, it'll be interesting to see if the new hire will return to focusing on Disney's strengths in animation and smaller-scale, heartfelt live-action films. With the addition of Henry Selick and this New Gaiman book, that could very well be the case!

[via /Film, /Film, /Film]