by Matt Raub, Feb 7 2012 // 9:00 AM
There are very few things Pixar could do that would get me more excited to see one of their films. Between the overall popularity of Toy Story, Up, The Incredibles and tons more, there is very little the animation studio can do that would be considered a bad move (Owen Wilson vehicles not included).
With that said, it’s hard to believe they’ve found a way to speak to their audience even more with their upcoming video game parody film, Wreck-It Ralph, but it looks like they just might. Here’s the official synopsis of the film. Consider it Donkey Kong from the gorilla’s perspective.
Wreck-It Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix (voice of 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer). Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes… so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan—win a medal—but soon wrecks everything, and accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade.
Ralph’s only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman), a young troublemaking “glitch” from a candy-coated cart racing game who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it’s “Game Over” for the entire arcade?
As if the concept of several video and board games being parodied in a Pixar film isn’t enough to guarantee your $10, the studio has recently released some images that will give us an idea of how this video game-based world will look. Take a look after the jump, and catch Wreck-It Ralph in theaters this November.
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Posted in: 3-D · Action · Animation · Comedy · Disney · Fantasy · Movies · News · Pixar · Video Games
Tagged: Disney, Jack McBrayer, John C. Reilly, Pixar, Rich Moore, Sarah Silverman, The Incredibles, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Wreck-It Ralph
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, Jan 16 2012 // 7:30 AM
The first holiday weekend of the year has come and the big winner was the tender stare of an underwear model. The new Mark Wahlberg actioner, Contraband, came in at number one this weekend with an estimated Twenty-Four million. The impressive total marks one of the highest openings ever for a Mark Wahlberg starring film, and ranks comparably with other January films of this genre.
Coming in at number two was the 3D re-release of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast. The 3D version raked in eighteen and a half million, which is less than the recent re-release of The Lion King in 3D. Even though the dollars weren’t as good, the sum is still nice considering how long this has been sitting on the shelf. Disney is staying in the 3D reissue business with releases scheduled twice a year for the next few years.
In a number three is the recent box office champ Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which continues to hold remarkably well. It brought in just over eleven million dollars and became the second highest grossing film in the Impossible franchise. This is a big win all around and looks to be a strong start Jeremy Renner’s assault on big budget franchise films.
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Posted in: Action · Animation · Box Office · Business · Movies · News · Prequels and Sequels
Tagged: 3D, Beauty and the Beast, Box Office, Contraband, Disney, Haywire, Joyful Noise, Mission: Impossible 4, Movies, re-release, Red Tails, Sequel, The Devil Inside, Underworld: Awakening
by Cortney Zamm, Jan 6 2012 // 11:15 AM
The rumor mill has been spinning on a sequel to Disney’s Epic Mickey since not long after the first game’s release, and now it’s looking less like speculation and more like confirmation.
After some marketing materials back in August spilled the beans on a potential sequel, a Disney newsletter was spotted detailing the new title and dating it at a December 2012 release.
Players will have the choice in Epic Mickey 2 to play as Mickey, or cooperatively in two-player mode with Mickey and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit “with the power to fly like a helicopter and use electricity to fight or friend enemies and solve challenges”.
Even more exciting is the news that Epic Mickey 2 will be released for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii. A bit strange that the Wii-U isn’t a listed title, but since we don’t have a release date for the console quite yet it’s not surprising.
I’m very excited at the prospect of Epic Mickey 2 on multiple consoles. While Epic Mickey wasn’t a bad game by any means, it suffered from a terrible camera glitch as well as the Wii’s poor graphics. But such a strong concept with one of the most iconic characters in all of cartoon history combined with the capabilities of these other consoles AND multiplayer? Sounds very epic indeed.
The full text from Disney’s newsletter is available after the jump.
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Posted in: Disney · Games · Geek · News · Nintendo · Playstation 3 · Prequels and Sequels · Rumor · Video Games · Wii · Xbox 360
Tagged: Disney, Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2, Mickey, Multiplayer, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
by Chris Ullrich, Dec 1 2011 // 7:30 AM
We’ve had some tidbits from this film already including some stills and a poster and the first trailer. Now, Disney has released a new trailer for John Carter, the science-fiction epic based on the series of books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
In case you’ve forgotten (or never knew in the first place) here’s a synopsis of the film:
“John Carter tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (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 (Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom (Mars) and its people rests in his hands.”
Well, does the trailer live up to the hype and your expectations? Check it out after the jump. Disney’s John Carter arrives in theaters on March 9.
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Posted in: Disney · Movies · News · Trailers
Tagged: Action, Andrew Stanton, Disney, Drama, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Trailers, Willem Dafoe
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, Nov 29 2011 // 1:30 PM

Over the next five months, two of the best American animation directors are making the leap to live-action adventure films. Brad Bird has the much anticipated Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol coming this Christmas and Andrew Stanton brings John Carter to life next March. Both directors have previously been making movies with PIXAR, creating such classics as The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo and Wall-E.
In anticipation of a soon to be released full trailer for next spring’s epic, Disney has released a new poster and a set of stills for John Carter. The pictures showcase some of the more interesting elements of the upcoming movie, including the four-armed Tars Tarkas, played by Willem Defoe, and the adorable Woola who might just steal this movie. The other stills give us clear glimpses of some of the production design of the movie, and hints to its scope.
The poster, on the other hand, is a really classy minimalist design that really sells the Martian setting. This is a striking design that should look sharp in movie theater hallways this holiday season.
Check out all the stills and the full poster after the jump.
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Posted in: Action · Disney · Movies · News · Photos · Pixar · Posters · Sci-Fi
Tagged: Andrew Stanton, Disney, John Carter, Mars, Movies, News, Photos, Posters, Taylor Kitsch
by Matt Raub, Nov 28 2011 // 7:30 AM
It turns out even decades of laughter through the form of hundreds of felt puppets can’t beat the Kristen Stewart pregnancy movie. After having one of the most intense marketing campaigns that Disney has ever executed for The Muppets, Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 still managed to beat the film in the box office by over $10 million during the holiday weekend.
The vampy melodrama got the #1 spot for the second weekend in a row with $42 million this weekend, while Muppets (which made $42 in total since it opened on Wednesday) was only able to pull in an estimated $29 million. It looks like vampires really are more popular than singing frogs and pigs. Shame.
Also hitting theaters this weekend, Sony’s Arthur Christmas fell flat with an estimated $12.7 opening weekend. Speaking of falling flat, Scorsese’s Hugo had an even weaker opening, as it came in 5th place with just over $11 million.
These films could very well do better as we draw closer to the holidays, but don’t expect to see much in the form of sequels for these family classics. Those films may not have performed as well as they could have, but what did was the Weinstein’s My Week with Marilyn which pulled off just over $2 million for its first weekend.
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Posted in: Box Office · Comedy · Disney · Holiday · Movies · News · Summit Entertainment · Twilight
Tagged: Arthur Christmas, Box Office, Breaking Dawn, Disney, Hugo, Martin Scorsese, My Week with Marilyn, The Muppets, Twilight, Weinstein Company
by Matt Raub, Nov 23 2011 // 7:30 AM
It takes a pretty big milestone for the Henson Company to decide to introduce a new a new Muppet. They introduced Pepe the King Prawn back in 1996 with the launch of the Muppets Tonight TV series, and that may just be the last time we’ve seen a new Muppet join the gang. Until now.
With Jason Segal’s new Muppets script comes a brand new Muppet named Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, who wishes nothing more than to visit Muppet Studios with his big brother, played by Segal. Consider this character a bit of a surrogate for Segal’s love of Henson’s work and the craze which was and still is The Muppets.
We’ve got a brand new clip for you, in which Walter and his brother Segal sing about their beloved hometown and why they wouldn’t need anything outside of it.
Take a look at the clip after the jump, and be sure to check out our other two clips that we brought you this week, and race out to the theaters as The Muppets hits theaters today.
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Posted in: Action · Comedy · Movies · News · Video
Tagged: Disney, Henson Company, Jason Segal, Jim Henson, Muppets, The Muppets, Walter
by Matt Raub, Nov 22 2011 // 8:30 AM
Some of our favorite heroes from yesteryear have their opposites. Whether it’s Captain Planet and Captain Pollution, He-Man and Faker or even Superman and Bizarro, our favorites always had an antithesis to their heroicism.
That’s exactly what we’re going to get this Thursday when The Muppets hits theaters. While our favorite gang of singing frogs, bears, pigs, and the such are forced out of the entertainment industry, it’s time for a new gang to take form. That gang? They’re called “The Moopets.”
Consisting of Miss Poogy, Foozie the Bear, Roowlf, and a Janice and Kermit look-alike, the team wanted to pick up the slack where that other musical act left off in the 90s.
We’ve got a brand new clip for you today in which Miss Piggy and her Muppets take on Miss Poogy and her Moopets. As you can imagine, sparks fly.
Check out the clip after the jump, and make it back here every day for more Muppets clips leading up to the film’s release on Thursday.
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Posted in: Comedy · Disney · Movies · News · Video
Tagged: Amy Adams, Disney, Foozie the Bear, Jason Segal, Miss Poogy, Moopets, Muppets, Roowlf, The Muppets
by Matt Raub, Nov 21 2011 // 1:30 PM
Billions of grown up kids will get to relive on of their childhood favorites this week as Jason Segel brings The Muppets back to the silver screen for the first time in over a decade. We can’t tell you how excited we are around the office for this flick to arrive, so we’re getting you all more prepared with clips all this week.
Today’s clip has a special treat: a retro-style cleaning montage in the tune of Jefferson Starship’s “We Built This City”. As you can see, this one will be full of meta, classic movie spoofs, and tons of celebrity cameos.
The film stars Jason Segel and Amy Adams, along with Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, and just about every Muppet that you can name (and then some!). Take a look at our exclusive clip after the jump, and make it back here every day this week as we lead up to the film’s release with a new clip daily!
The Muppets is set to hit theaters on Thursday, November 23rd.
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Posted in: Action · Comedy · Disney · Kids · Movies · News · Video
Tagged: Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Disney, Fozzie Bear, Jason Segel, Jefferson Starship, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Muppet movie, Muppets, Rashida Jones
by Matt Raub, Nov 19 2011 // 9:00 AM
Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.
• While things aren’t going so well for the Uncharted or Assassin’s Creed film adaptations, that hasn’t stopped a studio from moving forward on a film based on the classic monster game Rampage.
• The heads of action fans everywhere may just explode when they see the very first poster for The Expendables 2 featuring Norris, Van Damme, and the whole cast.
• Take a jump in a depressing time machine as you see young Tim Burton acting as normal as ever in this footage from Disney Studios circa 1980.
• It looks like the internet is seeping into mainstream media again, as The Annoying Orange was just announced to have a show coming up on Cartoon Network.
• Exactly how many times did The Force get brought up in all 6 Star Wars films? We have no idea, but here they all are.
• You may know the prime Muppets, but here is a list of the best known Muppets from around the world that you may have never heard of. Like Oscar the Grouch’s Israeli cousin.
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Posted in: Announcements · Cartoon Network · Celebrities · Disney · Movies · News · Posters · Trailers
Tagged: Chuck Norris, Disney, Expendables 2, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Muppets, Rampage, Star Wars, The Annoying Orange, The Force, Tim Burton
by The Flickcast, Oct 21 2011 // 2:00 PM
Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.
• It looks like Bryan Singer’s upcoming Battlestar Galactica movie is becoming more of a reality as Universal is seconds away from inking a deal with a writer.
• In more “things that need to be made” news, Sony has green lit an Assassin’s Creed film. Let’s hope 90% of it is just building-jumping
• Speaking of games-soon-to-be-movies, here is 6 minutes of Harrison Ford playing Uncharted 3. Why? Because why not.
• For a simple $50, you too can own an exclusive Chewbacca statue made purely of chewing tobacco (Chewbacco?). The only question left is: why would you?
• What happens when the Sin City trailer is set to a cast of characters from the Disney universe? Pure amazement.
• Love The Walking Dead? Then you’ll love The Walken Dead about a billion times more. Trust us.
• Speaking of things we love, what would happen if Joss Whedon’s The Avengers trailer only had a budget of $16? This is the product of that question.
• Nerdy, cuddly things are kind of the best. At least, that’s how we’re able to justify a plush version of Portal’s turret gun.
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Posted in: Comedy · News · On The Radar · Sci-Fi · Video · Web
Tagged: Assassin's Creed, Battlestar Galactica, Bryan Singer, Chewbacca, Disney, Portal, Sin City, Sony Pictures, Super Cut, The Avengers, The Walking Dead
by Matt Raub, Oct 5 2011 // 8:30 AM
If there is one company out there that knows how to capitalize on a good thing, it’s definitely Disney. Now that Lion King 3D has made just under $80 million, and the film itself has made nearly $500 million combining it with the original release from 1994, the studio is ready for lightning to strike twice.
It looks like the films Disney is now looking to bring back range from both their 2D cell animated days to the days of Pixar. The plan is to release one older film and one more recent film a year, bringing us to the end of 2013.
Next to hit theaters is a 3D release of Beauty and the Beast on January 31 of next year, to be followed by Finding Nemo on September 14th, 2012. Then for 2013, you’re looking at Monsters, Inc. on January 18th, and The Little Mermaid on September 13th.
This is surely going to be a cash cow for both Disney and Pixar, and may just be enough to keep them from making big releases like Up or sequels like Toy Story 3 for years, which has been pretty costly in the past.
All we know is that this will give us another chance to enjoy these films with a fresh audience and may even introduce a new generation to these classic films.
Posted in: 3-D · Animation · Announcements · Disney · Movies · News
Tagged: 3D, Beauty and the Beast, Disney, Finding Nemo, Inc, Lion King, Lion King 3D, Little Mermaid, Monsters