Video Game Trailer

Director Lee Unkrich announced yesterday that all of the work on Toy Story 3 is officially 100% complete! Now it's time to just count down the days until the premiere!

Sunday the trailer for the Toy Story 3 video game was unveiled on Youtube. Read my first impressions of the game here. The trailer does make me a little more optimistic than I was in that post. Just a little though. Here's the trailer so you can judge for yourself:

I have to say it does look pretty fun. The graphics are pretty impressive, of course they aren't quite as good as the movie but they do a pretty good job of staying close to the look of the films. The colors are bright, Buzz looks like Buzz and Woody looks like Woody. It sounds like the films voice actors are going to provide the voices in the game, which is great. Nothing distracts more from the experience from one particularly wrong sounding voice actor. The trailer puts a big emphasis on the new "toy box mode," the emphasis on building worries me a little bit. i have never much liked games that force you to build and customize elaborate things in order to progress (with The Sims being a huge exception, I love those games). It is good that you get to choose between the "toy box mode" and regular story mode. I just hope that the inclusion of two separate modes doesn't hamper the quality of both.

Twitch

Today's new character for in-depth observation is the insect warrior action figure Twitch. Twitch was first exclusively revealed on the website /film. There is no word on who is voicing him, but I have the hunch that Twitch is going to be a silent character like many of the toys from Sid's room in the first film. He actually reminds me of a toy from Sid's room. It would be an interesting piece of fan service to see some allusions to the the first film in Toy Story 3. As for Twitch's role in the film, I see him as being an innocent victim. My guess is that he is one of the toys who are oppressed by Lots-o and Ken.

Time for more Facebook Feedback

Once again it's time to take a look a what people have to say about this character on Pixar's official Facebook page. The last names have been removed as usual to protect the posters privacy.

Michael

C'mon Pixar and Disney, you can do better than this. Please don't ruin Toy Story.

People seem pretty confident that this film is going to ruin the Toy Story franchise. Pixar is all about making quality films (I wouldn't say the same about Disney itself). They are going to do all that is in their power to make Toy Story 3 the best film it can possibly be. Besides that Twitch is a realistic character because he is reminiscent of a cheap action figure that you would get at a dollar story. These are the kinds of toys that are in daycares. This character and many of the new characters are brilliant observations of what kinds of toys little kids play with. Also he's a bug and bugs are neat-o.

Very Sneaky Viral Marketing

The online community of Toy Story fans you was abuzz this weekend about a video that showed up on Youtube. A Youtuber by the name of MrCrazycommercials uploaded what was apparently the original "Los-o'-Huggin' Bear commercial that aired in 1983. MrCrazycommercials claimed that he personally owned one of these toys in his youth. Before I go any further, please watch the video in question:

Pretty convincing. The video distortion and slightly poor sound quality really make it look like something that could have been taken from an old VHS tape. I was knew that that Lots-o was a toy that was created just to be a Toy Story 3 character, but for a brief moment this commercial had me doubting myself. The dead giveaway that this video is simply very clever viral marketing by pixar comes in the very last second when the voice say mentions the company "Huggin' Toys." A quick google search and a little bit of common sense will tell you that there is no suck toy company. Just to make absolutely sure though, I looked into MrCrazycommercials' profile. He has uploaded a lot of videos for toys that apparently inspired some of the new Toy Story 3 characters, like the Glow Worm toy I mentioned in a previous post focusing on the Bookworm character. If that wasn't enough evidence I also noticed that a user who commented on the video swearing it was real had uploaded a large amount of disney related videos. Finally my suspicions are further confirmed on The Pixar Blog.

As soon as most people figured out that it was all a ruse, and as soon as Toy Story 3 director, Lee Unkrich, embarked on a promotional trip to Japan, a Japanese commercial for Lots-o appeared on Youtube.

These videos are a brilliant use of viral marketing on Pixar's part. They are doing a great job at stirring up interest in the film and they make the character seem even more real. I said I love when Pixar uses real-life toys in their films and this is a fantastic way to invent their own toy but make it seem like it was a real vintage toy. They are selling their film and their toys while adding a little extra layer of realism to the character. Bravo Pixar!

Stretch

Today's character for examination is Stretch. Stretch is a rubbery, stretchy octopus with suction cups on its tentacles. Stretch is going to be voiced by none other than Whoopi Goldberg. Whoopi has always been an interesting actor and I'm sure she'll being a lot of fun to the character. From the most recent trailer it appears that Stretch is going to be a part of the whole mysterious conspiracy against Andy's toys that we know Lots-o and Ken are going to be involved in. I am guessing that Stretch is going to mostly act in a "faceless henchman" type of role. I'm also really digging the nice detail of the little sparkles that cover her.

How about those Lots-0 commercials? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of them.

In-Depth Look at the First Trailer

In a past post I discussed the most recently released full-length trailer for Toy Story 3. For today's post I'm going to take a look at the other full-length trailer that was released before that. This trailer has a significant amount of different footage.

Trailer #1

This trailer starts with a new song by Randy Newman and a montage of young Andy that manages to pull at the old heart strings a little bit. I like that the trailer starts this way, it seems to invoke a some nostalgia for the people who saw the first movies when they were little. It is a little serendipitous that the people who were kids when the original Toy Story came out are now college-age like Andy; and the beginning of this trailer seems to subtly acknowledge that.

Then it goes into some footage of them at the daycare that we saw in the other trailer. The standout portion of this trailer though, is definitely when we see Hamm accidentally set Buzz set to his Spanish version. There's not a lot of this in any of the other promotional material for the film, which leads me to believe that it's not going to be a huge part of the story. I kind of hope it's not. It is a really clever idea, and it brings the audience back to the fact that the characters are all toys, which is fun, but I would rather see Buzz being his regular self for most of the movie. The Spanish Buzz looks interesting, I just hope he doesn't overstay his welcome. The Spanish Buzz seems reminiscent of the new Buzz that still thinks he's a space ranger from Toy Story 2. The people at Pixar seem to think that without some kind of twist, Buzz's character is too bland, which may be a bit misguided.

Sparks

Sparks was first officially revealed on the website LatinoReview.com. The official description calls sparks "retro-inspired," which would mean that he is actually modern toy, but he certainly reminds me of a classic tin-toy robot that I actually have at my house. In case you think that a spark emitting robot toy is just some clever idea thought up by the people at Pixar, here is a picture of a robot exactly like the one I have:

Picture from tintoyarcade.com

You can see where the "inspiration" comes from can't you? From looking at the picture of Sparks he appears to be made out of plastic, which makes sense since he is a modern toy that is "retro inspired", but why make him that way? Why didn't Pixar choose to make Sparks an actual retro tin robot toy? That would have been so much cooler. It would be completely plausible that an old toy like that would be laying around a daycare, perhaps neglected because of its age. Maybe there is something I don't get, some reason why it wouldn't have worked that way. I suppose I shall see.

What do you think of the trailer? What do you think of Sparks? What do you think of the fact that I actually have one of those old tin toys at my house? Leave a comment.

Toy Story 3: The Video Game

As of yesterday there are 60 days left until the release of Toy Story 3. We're getting down to the wire. The next few weeks are going to be interesting; as the release date gets closer we are going to begin to see even more excitement and even more news about the film. I could really sense that the release was getting closer when I opened a Game Informer magazine this weekend and found a 6 page feature story about the Toy Story 3 video game.

Toy Story 3: The Video Game

I was pretty surprised that Game Informer would take up 6 pages of its magazine to talk about a game based on an animated movie, but apparently there is a lot of buzz (no pun intended) about this game. The game developer that usually makes games based on the Pixar films, THQ, has been replaced by a different studio called Avalanche Software. Avalanche has made games for other Disney movies before, including Chicken Little and Bolt; but these games did not get fantastic reviews. Avalanche claims to be taking a new approach to the game, instead of focusing on following the story of the film, the game will allow you to play as the towns as Andy would imagine them. For instance; when playing as Buzz you'll be on an alien planet and when playing as Woody you'll be in the wild west. The game will also include a more traditional mode that allows you to play through the movies story.

The idea sounds intriguing, but it is hard for me to get too excited about a game based on a movie. I always trust that Pixar will produce a phenomenal film, but I'm not so trusting when it comes to games based on those films. Also Avalanches record of producing sub-par licensed games doesn't make me feel any better about it. I do respect that the studio is willing to try something with this game though, and I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt until I've seen a few reviews.

Mr. Pricklepants

Today's new character is Mr. Pricklepants, a stuffed hedgehog that was imported from Germany. Mr. Pricklepants will be voiced by Timothy Dalton, who is perhaps best known for playing James Bond in two 007 films but has also been in several Shakespearean films and plays. I think the decision to have a former Bond actor portray a stuffed hedgehog is hilarious. I am actually excited to hear a tough guy voice come out of this stuffed animal, especially if that voice has a heavy german accent. I am going to guess that Mr. Pricklepants will be another minor character. The fact that he is an imported toy could play some interesting role. I mostly suspect that he will be used as a comic relief character though, i don't really see him having an substantial part in the film's plot.

Let me know what you think of the video game or Mr. Pricklepants by leaving some comments.

Day & Night and Dolly

As I'm sure you know, Pixar films are always followed by a new short film. Pixar always uses these short films to test new animations techniques and as a spring board for up-and-coming directors. I thought it would be a good idea to make a post highlighting the short film that is scheduled to show before Toy Story 3.

Day & Night

The film is going to be called "Day & Night". It will be directed by Teddy Newton, who worked on the short film "Jack Jack Attack" for The Incredibles DVD. The film is going to be predominately 2D traditional, animation. Pixar has done 2D animation before, with the Ratatouille short "My Friend the Rat," but it is mostly unusual for them. The short is supposed to feature some computer animation, but my guess is that it will mostly be in the form of subtle enhancements. I am pretty excited to see a good traditionally animated short film by Pixar. It has been a really long time since I gave seen some decent 2D animation, and I have no doubts that "Day & Night" will deliver.

I have always loved that Pixar puts short films like this in front of their films. It really gives me the sense that your back in the day when they showed a Bugs Bunny or Popeye cartoon before the main feature and going to the movies was a big event.

Dolly

Today's new character for my in-depth look is Dolly. Dolly is a fabric doll, her clothes are interchangeable and are intended to be customized, so girls can draw on her or sew things to her and make her their own. Dolly was first revealed to the internet on the blog HEYUGUYS. She is going to be voiced by Bonnie Hunt. After looking closely at the picture I decided that Bonnie Hunt seems like a good fit for this character. I recently saw an interview with John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer at Pixar) in which he mentions how much he respects Bonnie Hunt's improvisational skills. Could this mean were going to see a lot of Bonnie Hunt ad-libs coming from Dolly? I am not personally very familiar with the works of Bonnie Hunt but I think it's always a good thing when actors are allowed to run free with the character. Ad-libs are usually some of the most memorable lines in a film.

Facebook Feedback

In today's installment of The Toy Story Buzz's newest feature I am going to take a look at a comment posted about Dolly's picture on Pixar's Facebook page.

Angelica

I just hope that she is not on the dark side with Ken and the others....

I think this is a really good thing to be thinking about. It seems like it would be first instinct to think that all the toys in the daycare are part of the same mysterious conspiracy that Lotso and Ken are in on. At first I assumed they would be; but I thought about it and maybe some of the other toys want to escape just like Andy's toys do. Maybe they're all just victims of Lotso and Ken.

What do you think? What do you think about "Day & Night"? Leave a comment.

New Clip: Meet Ken

If your not following Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich on Twitter than you didn't catch this tweet he posted a few hours ago:

"Randy Newman's score for Toy Story 3 is complete. And it's fantastic."

Unkrich has been tweeting about recording the score with Randy Newman since Saturday. He has also been tweeting a lot about the new Lego line of Toy Story related toys; most of which look pretty cool.

In other news; Pixar released a new official Toy Story 3 clip this Friday. The new clip is an extended version of a sequence from the trailer that i featured in last entry. It gives us a nice little sneak peak into the interworking of the daycare. It's just enough to leave us wanting more. Without further ado...

New Clip: Meet Ken

Woody doesn't seem to trust Lotso much does he? Did you see the looks he was giving him? This clip seems to make it pretty clear that Lotso and Ken will have some kind underhanded motives. Lotso seems to have a similar personality to Stinky Pete the Prospector from Toy Story 2, mostly because of the way he implies that Andy was an abusive owner. What could Lotso and Ken's motives be? What do they have to gain by keeping Andy's toys at the daycare?

One thing I liked about this clip was the use of the song "Dream Weaver" when Barbie and Ken make first contact. I don't recall Pixar ever using contemporary music like that in the two previous films, but I could have missed something*. Randy Newman always does a fantastic job scoring these films, but these contemporary songs are great at adding a little extra familiarity.

Chunk

The next new character in line for my in-depth look is Chunk. Chunk was first officially revealed on Pixar Planet. Chunk is a rock monster action figure. His official description mentions that there is a "hidden spike' on chunks shoulder that makes his facial expression change. He looks pretty friendly and lovable in this promotional picture, but does this facial expression represent his true persona?

New Section: Facebook Feedback

In an attempt to spice things up a little bit, and to give you somebody's opinion other than my own, I thought I would try to do things a little bit different for today's post. I decided that I would find my favorite comment from Pixar's Facebook page and provide my own response to it. I deleted the persons last name to protect their privacy.

Zinnia: I

hope this movie is not a mess.My son really loves Toy Story and it may have too many main characters.

This actually seems to be a common concern among Pixar's Facebook fans.I wouldn't worry too much, Pixar really knows what they are doing when it comes to making films. They have never made a bad one so far. I can see how the idea of sequel might make someone weary, but Pixar did a fantastic job with Toy Story 2 and I see no reason not to assume they won't do the same with the third installment. They wouldn't add too many characters just for the sake of adding characters. Besides that I think that most of these new characters are mostly going to have very small roles. I doubt they are all going to be able to be considered "main characters".

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the new clip or Chunk

* UPDATE: It turns our I did miss something. There is a ton of contemporary music in Cars. It had been so long since I've seen that film I forgot about it. But it is used phenomenally there.

An In-Depth Look at Trailer #2 and Bookworm

There isn't a whole lot of news to report this week, which gives me a perfect opportunity to take an in-depth look at the final official trailer for Toy Story 3. Two other official trailers have been released by Pixar, one of which is a teaser. I plan to take an in-depth look at each of these trailers in the future.

Trailer #3- In Depth Look

The third, and most likely last, trailer released to promote the film was first officially revealed on Pixar's Youtube and Facebook pages February 11th. It is the longest of the trailers that have been released. It is also jam packed with hints of information about the film, including tons of glimpses at many of the new characters. Keep your eyes open for all of the new characters as you watch and see if you can catch whose voicing them.

So first of all, in the trailer we see that Andy is going to college and his toys somehow end up in a daycare called "Sunnyside" where they are mistreated by the children. The toys at Sunnyside also seem pretty shady. Thats the main point of interest in this trailer for me, the way the toys at Sunnyside act, most notably in the segment where they are playing what looks like some kind of a roulette game with a See-n-Say (careful listeners will also notice in this scene that Whoopi Goldberg is he voice of Stretch the octopus). In this scene the toys seem to be scheming. Pixar is great at having characters that are never quite what they seem. Thats why I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that Losto (the purple stuffed bear that welcomes the toys to Sunnyside) will be the main antagonist. Also, toward the middle of the trailer we see Lotso talking to the other toys in a menacing manner, hinting that he may be involved in some kind of conspiracy against the toys. Another interesting character in the trailer is Ken (voiced by Michael Keaton). Ken seems like another underhanded character with something to hide.

One thing that I didn't notice until I watched the trailer again to write this blog entry is that the child putting Mr. Potato Head into the sandbox is in fact Big Baby, the character that I featured in my last entry. The first time I saw the trailer I assumed it was a child at the daycare who was abusing Potato Head. Considering that Big Baby is supposed to be a large part of the plot it would probably be most people's instinct to assume that he'll be an antagonistic character like Ken or Losto, but I'm skeptical. Big Baby seems to me like a character that would change sides towards the end of the film. But Pixar is so great at making their films unpredictable that it is very hard to make an accurate guess.

The trailer definitely achieves it goal, to stir up excitement about the film. We get to see all our favorite characters from the previous films, we get a hint of the plot, and we are left asking questions.

Bookworm

Bookworm was revealed April 6 on Pixar Talk. He is similar to a toy I had when I was little called Gloworm. Gloworm was another toy with a light, but it wasn't actually a worm at all. Instead it was a weird looking insect type thing with a human looking face that lit up. Bookworm is much less creepy than my Gloworm was, which is a good thing. The way he carries the flashlight under his arm, along with his vest and bow-tie, make me think of a movie theater usher. Perhaps his character will reflect that somehow? Only time will tell.

Leave a comment to let me know what you think of the trailer or Bookworm.

"Toy Story 3" Said to be a Tear Jerker

Bloggers Visit Pixar

This past weekend a few popular Pixar bloggers were invited to tour the Pixar studios. The creators of the blogs Pixar Talk, The Pixar Blog and Upcoming Pixar toured the studio Friday and Saturday. The first day of the tour was concluded with a screening of a mostly complete version of Toy Story 3. Of course each blogger wrote a vague review of the film, being very careful not to spoil anything for the fans, or to breach the contract they most likely signed before the screening. The consensus seems to be that the film was brilliant, which shouldn't surprise anyone. Please visit each of the blogs to read all about their visits to Pixar.

One thing that stands out to me about every review of Toy Story 3 that I have read is that they all make a point to mention how emotional the ending is. Some reviewers even suggest that we bring tissues with us when we go to see it. I think this is fantastic news. A nice emotional ending is a perfect way to say goodbye to the Toy Story franchise. Pixar has always been great at adding that perfect emotional touch to their films, it has always been a big part of what makes films like Finding Nemo and Up so perfect for people of all ages. The trailer for Toy Story 3 hints at many possible chances for emotional moments. I'm going to throw a guess out there and say that the climax of the film will involve Andy being reunited with his toys only to have to leave them behind to attend college. Whatever happens though, I have no doubt that it will be worthwhile.

New Characters

Today Pixar revealed the two final new characters. Stop by Pixar Talk and Upcoming Pixar to see the exclusive premieres of Bookworm and Big Baby respectively. The now complete cast picture can also be found on either of those blogs. This brings me to todays in-depth new character overview...

Big Baby

Now here is an interesting character. Big Baby's description on Upcoming Pixar says that he is a life-sized fabric doll. From the prospective of a bunch of toys, this makes him giant. If you look closely at the picture you'll see that he is covered in what looks like pen or marker doodles. What fantatsic attention to detail on Pixar's part, girls totally do that with their dolls. Pixar's description of Big Baby also mentions that these drawings are intended to emulate tattoos. This brings a whole new level to the character. He'll probably be an excessively tough character, which will be funny considering he's a baby.

All the bloggers who saw the film this weekend say that Big Baby is going to play a surprisingly important role in the films plot. What could this important role possibly be? Perhaps it will have something to do with the emotional ending?

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think of Big Baby and anything else Toy Story 3 related.