John Lasseter Videos

Disney Prep & Landing series page at Hulu.comThe cast and producers discuss the creation of Prep and Landing!Author: hulu Tags: dave foley ABC sarah chalk Specials john lasseter santa derek richardson christmas elves Posted: 04 December 2009 Rating: 0.0 Votes: 0

Still in shock that it's less than a month until Christmas, the Dixons settle down to a diverse View From The Couch buffet. Couch Entertainment News serves up some appetizing tidbits on Spidey 4 (again!); the Sherlock Holmes franchise; the end of the line for the Harry Potter gang; Predators and Avengers casting; and theatrical releases to put on your Christmas viewing list. The whole Dixon clan serves up the main course with their review of the BKN Kids release Magical Christmas Collection. And saving the sumptuous dessert for last, Michelle takes the front seat for a Disney Vault look at Pixar's Cars. Email your questions, comments, and suggestions to Kent and Michelle or visit them at viewfromthecouch.com.

The cast and producers discuss the creation of Prep and Landing!

As a cinephile and animation fan long before I became a professional critic, I have a couple of very specific memories associated with Toy Story and Toy Story 2: With the first film, I remember being unimpressed with its ad campaign and even its technological novelty - that is, until I actually saw the thing, and totally loved it. And with the second, I recall sitting in a theatre the opening weekend of its release, sobbing my eyes out to "Jessie's Song" as hundreds of pre-teens and their parents impatiently awaited the next set piece. Unfortunately, I think few people who are already fans of the franchise will find much new or different to remember now that they're in 3D. Meanwhile, newcomers to the most important computer-animated series in movie history will also probably not find anything more profound than the stories themselves, since they were already multi-dimensional long before anyone made their experience technical in addition to already being an emotional one. Filed under: Animation, Disney, Theatrical ReviewsContinue reading Review: Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D Permalink | Email this | Comments

If you have ever wandered into the children's section of a bookstore, you've undoubtedly seen the work of William Joyce. If you have small ones, you may have even read them. Joyce is a wonderful author, one of the rare picture book authors who write as well as they draw. Few of Joyce's books have made it to the big screen (a truly curious thing), but one of his more recent efforts will be coming to theaters near you, as Variety reports that The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs has been re-optioned by Fox. At the moment, though, the story behind the option is causing more of a stir than Joyce's work. Pixar and Fox were both fighting over The Leaf Men, which was originally set up at Fox with Chris Wedge directing, and a script by Joyce and James V. Hart. Allegedly, Wedge was then given permission to shop the project to other studios, and Pixar immediately said "Bring it here! We'll make it!" (Wedge and Joyce both have good history with Pixar. Wedge is friends with John Lasseter, and Joyce helped design characters for Toy Story and A Bug's Life.) But when all involved moved to close the deal, Fox said "No way. We're keeping it." Now it's all back at Fox, but at least there's no hard feelings towards Wedge. Now we just have to hope that Fox Animation makes a good movie, because The Leaf Men is a lush and enchanting book starring a group of doodle bugs who reside in an elderly woman's garden. She falls ill, and the garden falls into disrepair fermented by an evil spider queen. The doodle bugs call on the legendary Leaf Men (characters who Joyce's daughter described as "so handsome!") to help save them. A bit like A Bug's Life, but more along the lines of Robin Hood than The Seven Samurai. It'll be beautiful if handled right. Now, if Pixar would just make Dinosaur Bob .... Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Disney, Celebrities and Controversy, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand Permalink | Email this | Comments

Every film fan loves tales of movies that almost were, and Hollywood history is certainly littered with them. Most of the time it's a good thing they didn't take off, but occasionally the result would have been something very special. I think that Disney's version of Where the Wild Things Are might have been one such example. Few people know that in 1983, they were working on their own adaptation with John Lasseter, and trying out that newfangled thing known as CGI. The project fell apart because of budget, and Lasster was fired from Walt Disney Studios as a result of it. A rare clip of the surviving animation has surfaced online at Buzzfeed. I've embedded it below the jump, and while there's not much to it, it's a lovely piece of animation. Max's style is really classic Disney, and we don't get to see how they would have tackled the monsters ... but I really wish this had come to be. An animated and a live action Wild Things in the same universe? That's one I could live in. Fast forward 26 years, and Where the Wild Things Are is finally making it to the big screen, though not without a similar tale of close calls and filmmaking drama. Isn't it odd that no one ever took up the chance between 1983 and now (and maybe there's rights issues I'm unaware of )? And clearly, there's something in those lush illustrations and simple storyline that have encouraged several filmmakers to become a wild thing, and push the boundaries of filmmaking and creativity. Filed under: Animation, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Disney, Warner Brothers, Celebrities and Controversy, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading Rare Glimpse of Disney's Failed 'Wild Things' Adaptation! Permalink | Email this | Comments