John Lasseter on TOY STORY 4, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, FINDING DORY, and More
While at the Cannes Film Festival, Disney CCO John Lasseter showed off some some clips from upcoming Pixar and Disney films, and talked a little bit about each one. The films he talks about include Toy Story 4, The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, and Zootopia. The following information comes from Variety.
Toy Story 4:
There still is not a lot of information on Toy Story 4, and no clips were shown, but Lasseter did offer this update:
“I am very excited to be directing again. We’re in the early stages of the film, but it’s shaping up nicely. It’s funny. The story is not as much a continuation of the past films, but a brand new chapter in the ‘Toy Story’ world.”
It will be interesting to see where Pixar actually ends up taking these characters in this new chapter of the toys' lives. From previously reports, it has been described as romantic comedy-type film, and it won't continue the story of the original trilogy of films.
Toy Story 4 will be released on June 16th, 2017.
The Good Dinosaur:
When talking about The Good Dinosaur, Lasseter says, “We’re putting our own unique Pixar spin on the dinosaur world.”
The clips were described as being a cross between Tarzan and Lilo & Stitch. The story centers on a character named Arlo, "a lively Apatosaurus with a big heart. After a traumatic event unsettles Arlo’s family, he sets out on a remarkable journey, gaining an unlikely companion along the way – a human boy." Arlo loses his father in a tragic accident, "falls into a river, gets knocked out by a rock and finds himself in a land far away...he makes the trek back home to the Clawed-Tooth Mountains." It's there that he meets the human cave-boy Spot. Lasseter says:
“This is a boy and a dog story, but the roles are reversed. Arlo, the dinosaur, is the boy in the story and Spot is the dog”
Lasseter also talked about the visuals of the film that are described as being "more real than any scene from a Pixar production."
“It’s unlike anything we’ve had before. The level of believability we’re striving for in this film is going to be breathtaking.”
The Good Dinosaur will be released in theaters on November 25th, 2015.
Finding Dory:
It has been 12 years since Finding Nemo was released in theaters, but Finding Dory is a sequel that only takes place six months after the events of the first movie.
In the story, Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) and Nemo team up on an adventure to find her family. Dory’s parents will be played by Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy. The report goes on to offer up the following information on the setting of the story:
Among the adventures in store this time: a dip through the Pacific Ocean where shipping containers have fallen off boats; a frightening encounter with a giant squid; wading past a kelp forest on California’s northern coastline; and new friends in the form of an octopus and a whale-shark named Destiny.
Lasseter adds that Destiny “thinks she’s a whale, but she’s actually a shark.” The movie is scheduled for release on June 17th, 2016.
Zootopia:
As for Zootopia, Lasseter describes it as being “classically Disney.” As we've previously learned, the movie was inspired by talking animals who act like humans, and was inspired by film such as Disney's Robin Hood. Here are some additional details about the film:
In the city of Zootopia, humans don’t exist, and animals are divided into classes, where they face prejudice based on preconceived notions about their species. The plot focuses on bunny cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) — sidelined into a boring career of writing parking tickets because she’s the first rabbit in the police force — who teams with a fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to crack a missing mammal case.
There was also a clip screened at the event that focuses on Judy as she is being "stalled by an exchange with a sloth who works at the DMV." Apparently it earned big laughs from the audience.
Zootopia hits theaters on March 4th, 2016.