Up, up and Away

News from Pixar:

Next summer, Pixar will release their next feature film; Up.  

Plot details are this:  "78 year old Carl is a widower who sets off to head down to South America to live out his dream to explore Paradise Falls in Venezuela.  Most of the movie takes place in the mountains of Venezuela, where Carl eventually lands after his house sails south...along the way, Carl meets numerous other characters and creatures.  One of them is 9 year old Russell.  Russell's collected all the merit badges for the Wilderness Club but one--assisting the elderly.  So Russell stows away in Carl's house and floats with him down to Venezuela."

Check youtube for the teaser trailer.  

I usually see Pixar movies, and this seems like it will not be an exception.  The idea could turn out to be clever.  Hopefully, Pixar will begin to add some gags into their movies.  So many of their movies are ripe for more humor and yet, they continue to stay away from it.  We'll have to see how they approach this one.

Marvin the Martian Movie?

Apparently WB is making a feature film based on Marvin the Martian.  The idea is to make this a mix of live action and CGI.  And as for the story?  How does this sound;  Marvin is coming to Earth to destroy Christmas, but being prevented from doing so when he's trapped in a gift box.  

I'm all for a Looney Tunes character movie, even one starring Marvin the Martian.  I'm not even against having it made like the Looney Tunes Back in Action mix of animation and live action--but with a plot like this?  It's a hard one to swallow.  However, it still in the planning stages--and who knows, it may end up changing, and working out.

The Princess and the Frog

Walt Disney is returning to hand drawn animation next year!  This is it:

 The trailer can be seen here:  

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/princessandthefrog/

Press release:  "A musical set in the greatest city of them all, New Orleans, "The Princess and the Frog" marks Disney's return to the timeless art form of traditional animation.  The film teams Ron Clements and John Musker ("The Little Mermaid, "Aladdin", and "Hercules") with Randy Newman ("Toy Story", "A Bug's Life") to tell the most beautiful love story ever told...with frogs, voodoo, and a singing alligator."

I think this is great.  And just from the 30 second trailer, I'm optimistic that this will be good.  I'm really looking forward to this movie.  It opens Christmas 2009.

Another New Painting

Gouache on Paper 4"x9"

Alice

Gouache on Paper 7"x9"

In Bloom

Gouache on Paper 4"x9"

Summer Waves

Gouache on Paper 4"x9"