Why We Can't Wait to See It: Pixar has a knack for offering films that appeal to both kids and adults. They also know how to give us irresistible animated heroes, and Wall E is no exception. This little bugger is insanely cute and has all the little quirks that make for a lovable robot and iconic hero.

Why It Might Do Well: It's Pixar. I know people who buy the movies just because they're from Pixar, even if they haven't seen them yet. The company is known for its lovable animation, and loyal fans will flock to the film, along with anyone who isn't interested in seeing Angelina Jolie's Wanted.

Why It Might Not Do Well: Rumor has it that just like the trailers, the film has very little dialogue. The question becomes whether mainstream moviegoers, kids and adults alike, will patronize and enjoy a film without a lot of words. Are cute bleeps and noises a suitable replacement for dialogue?

Fun Fact: The teaser trailer contains a clip of Michael Kamen's excellent score for Brazil. He was supposed to score The Incredibles, but passed away in 2003 before he could take on the job.

Trivia:


Answer Key

After a weekend of reading and writing things New York ComicCon, I can't help but think "Hooray! Pixar!" with this. If you're craving some Wall-E, Disney has you covered this week with a little clip entitled "Wall-E vs the Magnet." No plot spoilers, no extra details, it's just Wall-E in all his adorableness. Watch the clip here.

I wish I could understand how Pixar managed to make a character so instantly endearing. The movie could completely let me down, but I will still be all melty and sniffly at the sight of his limpid eyes. He just strikes such pity -- and in this new clip, it is because he seems so high strung. Life seems very dramatic for this robot -- and he's definitely the brother of R2-D2. Listen to his beeps! (They share the same father, Ben Burtt, or at least in the sound effect sense.)

Incidentally, I didn't realize what a voice cast this had. I knew Fred Willard was in it, but Sigourney Weaver? Wouldnit be cool if this movie was full of sci-fi nods? It probably isn't but seeing Ripley pop up in anything outer space related is always cool.

Wall·E opens June 27th, 2008.

The short films Pixar produces to precede its theatrical features are among life's singular joys, and word of a new one is almost as exciting as this recent mega-announcement. The Pixar Blog tells us what to expect when we finally sit down to watch Wall-E this summer. Presto is a five-minute short about Alec, a magician's rabbit who becomes increasingly disgruntled as a hat trick involving him makes his master famous. When the magician goes out to dinner one night, he leaves Alec locked in a cage, gazing longingly at a carrot just out of reach. Doug Sweetland, an animator on most of Pixar's big productions, directs and does all the voices. Above is a somewhat low-res still from the film.

You can take a peek at most of the Pixar shorts here, and the full versions are available on iTunes for two bucks a pop. You can't really go wrong with any of them but the best, for my money, is For the Birds, which is so outrageously fantastic that I'm convinced it contains the meaning of life. (The fact that it is forever associated with Monsters, Inc., my favorite Pixar feature, doesn't hurt.)

Wall-E -- and Presto -- hit theaters on June 27th.

[via Slashfilm]

This news the other day about Pixar making a sequel to the milquetoast Cars really bothers me. I mean, Cars? Seriously? Yawwwwwwwn. Of all the films they've made over there, that's the last one I want to see a sequel to. And now, we also have the official word that Toy Story 3 is coming. While Toy Story 2 was one of the best sequels ever, I'm not sure they can (or should) try to sustain that momentum for a third round. I understand the impulse to build on existing branding, and the desire to market the hell out of a bunch of new toys, but with all those creative minds over at Pixar, surely they can do more than that.

If they must do sequels, I'm infinitely more interested in seeing Incredibles 2 than Cars 2. The Incredibles was a nearly perfect animated film -- visually stunning, great characters with interesting arcs, fantastic voice acting, and a good storyline, to boot. I've heard rumors that Brad Bird doesn't want an Incredibles sequel, but surely he of all people could come up with a fab storyline that wouldn't dilute the franchise.

Pixar did announce some new original stuff coming up; besides Wall-E, which I'm hyped about, we have Up coming in May 2009, and Newt in Summer 2011. Beyond that, though, it's pretty much Sequels-'R-Us around PixarLand, with Cars 2, Toy Story 3, and 3-D releases of Toy Story 1 and 2. What do you think about Pixar and sequels -- especially of Cars? Does anyone really care about seeing more of the adventures of Doc Hollywood Lightning McQueen? Or would you rather see Pixar following up on the Incredibles, or just creating more original stories? Sound off and let 'em know what you think.

This just in: Today in New York City, our Moviefone colleague Kevin Polowy attended the Disney/Pixar Animation Presentation hosted by Dick Cook and John Lasseter. Apparently, a whole handful of new, upcoming titles were announced -- some of which we've known about and some brand new. Additionally, they screened 30 minutes of WALL-E footage and announced that Sigourney Weaver would do a voice in the film. Kevin reported back, saying the footage "looked really strong, and turned this skeptic into a believer." (I don't know how Kevin was worried about this one; it's just too damn adorable.) Aside from WALL-E, here are highlights of what else was announced:

• Up will follow WALL-E for Pixar, featuring the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger and Jordan Nagai.
  
• Tinkerbell will go direct-to-DVD, followed by three sequels. So four Tinkerbell films all together.
  
• Rapunzel is back! Not only that, but the classic story will be done in full CGI.
• King of the Elves is another film coming from Disney animation in 2012, and it's based on a Phillip K. Dick story.
  
• Toy Story and Toy Story 2 to be released in 3-D in 2009 and 2010.
• Toy Story 3 hits theaters on June 18, 2010
• Newt will be Pixar's film in 2011, and it comes with this description: "What happens when the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, and they can't stand each other?
• Cars 2 coming in 2012!

UPDATE: Full press release after the jump, including more titles from Disney animation ...

Every time I watch a Wall·E trailer, I weep. I don't know what it is. He's just so cute, and innocent, so very E.T. that my heart just breaks when I hear his "WallEEEE" voice.

And now there is a new one out. For the first few minutes, I thought the newswire was mistaken, but this is the Wall·E Trailer to end all trailers. The last one (which Empire now says is the international version) ended with him meeting EVE and taking that first leap into outer space.

Now, you'll see what lies beyond. And there's robots galore! Watch it here, in glorious Quicktime. I cannot wait. I know I said The Dark Knight will be the movie of the summer -- and I'm pretty psyched for it. But Wall·E is like every 80's movie I ever loved wrapped into one -- and expanded. I think it's going to be my favorite film of 2008.

Wall·E is released June 27, 2008. I predict I'll have the toy sitting on my desk by the 28th.

Well folks, we were supposed to debut this poster to you on Monday morning, but someone has leaked it online and so here it is now. Above you will find the final poster for Pixar's WALL-E (click on the image for a larger version) -- ya know, the one about the adorable little robot who roams around Earth searching for his meaning in life. The film will arrive in theaters on June 27, and I imagine we should just go ahead and give it the Oscar for best animated film now -- that would cut out a good 6 or 7 minutes from next year's telecast. Anyway, we're curious to see how this one does; whether the lack of substantial dialogue (which is certainly present in the trailers) will be enough for audiences to grasp onto. Personally, the film looks absolutely beautiful, and I'm really looking forward to it. You?

Disney/Pixar has sent us a new image from this summer's WALL-E (click on the photo for a larger version), due out in theaters on June 27. WALL-E is the latest film from those wizards over at Pixar, and it follows a lonely robot in the year 2700 who spends his days doing what he was made for (cleaning up trash, etc). However, he will soon discover what he was meant for. Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) directs the flick, which, honestly, looks like the cutest friggin' thing ever. Each and every time I see a photo or a trailer for WALL-E, I have an urge to reach out and hug the thing. I can't believe we're only two months away from summer already -- is it just me, or is time flying?

Thoughts on WALL-E? Do you think it will be better than Ratatouille?

Gosh darnit, if this doesn't look like the cutest friggin' Pixar flick. Empire managed to get their hands on a brand new trailer for Pixar's upcoming WALL-E and after watching it I immediately wanted to hug something (or someone). Since it's Empire, I'm not sure whether this is a domestic or international trailer, but does it really matter -- it's like the trailer version of the sweetest stuffed animal you ever saw; the kind you simply must buy for your kid, your friend's kid, or, heck, any random kid. Damn it Pixar! I know this film will make me cry.

The trailer itself has this great little narration which explains the story, and gives it this strange The Gods Must Be Crazy vibe. This should be a very interesting film for Pixar as it doesn't look to have a lot of dialogue at all. How will audiences react to that? How will audiences react to a story that's told more through visuals than talky talky? Crazy, I know! Those wild bastards at Pixar! Anyway, WALL-E follows a lonely robot from the future who spends his days going through trash; finding things to amuse himself. That is until something arrives, and WALL-E will soon discover what he was meant for. Click on the image above to watch the trailer; WALL-E arrives in theaters on June 27.

We've put up the Superbowl trailer poll, however it dawned on me that some of you may have missed some or all of the trailers last night. So, in an effort to please our loyal readers, in this post you'll find a few of the trailers from last night -- with the exception of Wanted and Prince Caspian, since we posted those two the other day (and you can check them out over here). Above, you'll find the spiffy Iron Man commercial -- a film that finds Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. I dug this one a lot, and I'm sure most of you did too. One trailer I forgot to mention in my last post was The Incredible Hulk. Now that's a movie we should've gotten a trailer for. The fact that we're in February now, and only two pictures from the film have arrived online is pretty pathetic. I'm not sure what the marketing plan is with Hulk, but the folks behind it need to get into gear and give us a friggin' poster, a teaser, more photos -- something, anything. Like, yesterday.

Below you'll find the trailer for Pixar's Wall-E, which played more like a cute short film ... and it was, well, cute. The addition of the Toy Story characters gave the film some good street cred, and even though Wall-E feels like Short Circuit meets E.T., I'm sure the folks at Pixar will once again find a way into our hearts come later this summer. Check out the Leatherheads Superbowl trailer after the jump ...

I have an embarrassing confession to make: I have never watched a Pixar movie from start to finish. The closest I ever came was 1999's A Bug's Life, but I've been told often enough that Life was hardly the best of the bunch. Maybe I'll have better luck with their latest (following WALL-E), Up! The first image released seems to be concept art that is reportedly on display at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Luckily, some intrepid tourist snapped some pics and we can get our first look up above; you can also sneak a larger version of the photo here.

The film will mark Pixar's 10th animated feature film, and the story has been compared to a re-telling of Don Quixote. It centers on a man in his late 70's who joins up with a befuddled park ranger for some sort of adventure. The official description from Pixar describes our hero as the kind of guy who 'travels the globe, fights beasts and villains, and eats dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon' -- aww, I'm sold on the cuteness already. But then again, I guess I'm not the best judge when it comes to Pixar.

Pete Docter is already set to direct the "coming-of-old-age story", but so far there is no word on a cast. Docter is a long-time Pixar collaborator; he helped write the scripts for both Toy Story films, as well as directing Monsters, Inc. in 2001. But I wouldn't worry, judging by some of the big names that previous Pixar flicks have been able to get, I don't think Docter will have much trouble getting some solid voice talent. Up! is scheduled for release on June 12th, 2009.

[via Coming Soon]

Best Animated Feature Film

Nominees:

Bee Movie

Ratatouille

The Simpsons Movie

Predicted Winner: Ratatouille

Cinematical writers predict a winning awards season for this Pixar film, written and directed by Brad Bird, about a rat in the world of Parisian haute cuisine.

Now it's your turn to vote ...

My post-Christmas stomach is in very bad shape ...

Some new artwork from this summer's The Incredible Hulk has arrived online, and while it's still only artwork (in fact, all we've seen so far of this film has been artwork), it's definitely a piece that should whet your appetite for destruction. Arriving in theaters on June 13, this version of the Hulk stars Edward Norton as the emotionally-conflicted Bruce Banner, who's on the run hiding from authorities, as well as his own demons. Tim Roth will play Hulk's nemesis Emil Blonsky, while Liv Tyler (Betty Ross), William Hurt (Gen. Ross) and Tim Blake Nelson (Samuel Sterns) also star. Check out the new artwork to the right, via Coming Soon.

That TV movie/series launch/contemporary re-boot of Knight Rider now has a very very brief 15-second teaser trailer online for all of you to geek out over. While there's not much except the uncovering of the new, updated car, we do get to hear a brief snippet of that classic Knight Rider music, followed by some other, flashy TV music. Ah, and Will Arnett as the voice of KITT -- does it seriously get any better than that? From the official Knight Rider press release: "The movie stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case," "All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS," "The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close to Home"). In addition, David Hasselhoff (NBC's "America's Got Talent") - who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series - returns as the same character in a special guest-star appearance. Will Arnett (NBC's "30 Rock," "Blades of Glory") will provide the voice of KITT." Don't you love how Hasselhoff's credit is from America's Got Talent, as if no one would remember the dude's awesome turn in TV's Baywatch. (Check out the teaser after the jump.)

Finally, we haven't heard much about the Pixar film arriving in between Wall-E (2008) and Toy Story 3 (2010), titled Up. Now, Upcoming Pixar has picked up a note from the film's official wikipedia entry which stated that Up may in fact be a "re-telling, somewhat, of the classic Don Quixote fable." Here's what we have so far by way of a synopsis for Up; let the speculation begin: "Pete Docter and co-director Bob Peterson are preparing this "coming-of-old-age story" about a seventysomething guy who lives in a house that "looks like your grand-parents' house smelled." He befriends a clueless young Wilderness Ranger and gets into lots of alter kocker altercations. Says Pixar: "Our hero travels the globe, fights beasts and villains and eats dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon." (via CinemaBlend)

I am almost totally caught up on the films of 2007. The only major awards contender I haven't seen yet is Pixar's Ratatouille. Damn you Netflix and your "Very Long Wait" status! I've heard great things though, and now I've got an added reason to check out the DVD. Over at JimHillmedia, a Disney-focused news site, a reader wrote in: "Can you please help me win a bet at work? A co-worker of mine says that WALL-E makes a brief cameo appearance in Ratatouille. More importantly, this guy has bet me $100 that I'll never ever be able to find that robot in this movie." (WALL-E is the title character of Pixar's next film -- WALL-E.) The post answers that question and adds a really neat compilation of lots of the "cameos," in-jokes, and easter eggs in Pixar shorts and features.

It seems there are all kinds of callbacks and interconnections in the Pixar universe, and you fans of the films should definitely check out the site. It will help you watch the movies with fresh eyes. Some of the crossovers are very fast and will require a pause button. For example, the birds from the Pixar short "For the Birds" appear in Cars...for a tenth of a second. Others are much easier to spot. Look carefully at those toys in Monsters, Inc. and you'll see some old friends. A boy at the dentist in Finding Nemo is reading an Incredibles comic. And did you know that a "Pizza Planet" truck drives through each and every Pixar feature? Oh, and by the way, it sounds like that guy who wrote in to the site was duped. if you want to find WALL-E, he's not in Ratatouille, just the disc's special features. Rats!