Studios Arena Presentation at the D23 Expo 2011
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Following the clip, Lasseter again
took the stage, saying, "Now you can see why I'm so excited about Brave." He
went on, "Two of my favorite characters we have ever created at Pixar are Sully
and Mike Wasowski." Noting the crowd reaction, he said, "You might have heard we
are working on a sequel to Monsters Inc." He added that Pixar only made sequels
when a great story presented itself. For Monsters Inc. this was suggested by a
simple question: "How did they become friends?" The answer will be found in a
prequel, Monsters University. The original cast will be returning, under the
direction of Dan Scanlon.
It seems that Mike and Sully weren't always buddies. In fact, in elementary
school they were rivals. Each believed that they were destined to become scarers.
It is at Monsters University that this rivalry comes to a head. Lasseter
promised that the film would present familiar characters from the first film, as
well as all new ones.
Director Dan Scanlon appeared to talk about Monsters University in more detail,
despite the fact that the release is two years away. The first order of business
was to share images of the younger, "college versions" of Mike and Sully. He
also discussed a tour the filmmakers made of several real colleges, in order to
soak up atmosphere. He joked that this was very helpful, as most of the crew had
gone to art school, and had no idea what real college was like.
Following this first hand research, the next task was to "monsterize" a campus,
along with the faculty and students. Among the campus cliques are monster
versions of jocks, nerds, cheerleaders and Goths.
After a brief tour of some of Monsters University, director Scanlon detailed the
voice cast, headed up by John Goodman and Billy Crystal. Joining them are Dave
Foley, Joel Murray, Julia Sweeney, Peter Sohn, and Steve Buscemi, returning as
Randall Boggs. Scanlon apologized that none of the cast was available that day,
but was pleased to present a video made especially for D23. In a moment, John
Goodman and Billy Crystal filled the screen. After some good-natured banter,
Crystal chided Goodman for not making a bigger effort to please the fans, and
headed off screen-and on to the stage of D23. After acknowledging the cheers of
the crowd, Crystal and director Scanlon said their goodbyes.
John Lasseter surveyed the crowd, and said, "Everything we've talked about,
you've already heard about." As the crowd murmured, he announced that he was
about to reveal Pixar's next two films for the first time. To describe the
first, he introduced producer John Waller, and director Bob Peterson. Peterson,
he explained, was already well known to Pixar's audience, as he had not only
written some favorite films, but also had provided some memorable voices in them
as well, including Mr. Ray (Finding Nemo), Roz (Monsters Inc.), and Doug the Dog
(Up).
As the pair bounded onto stage, producer Waller boomed, "What a thrill to be
here at D23." Peterson immediately launched into Mr. Ray's song, refitted with
slightly different lyrics: "Ohhhhhhh D23! D23!..."
Waller explained that making films at Pixar involved a great deal of paperwork.
Peterson intoned (as Roz), "Did someone mention paperwork?"
Waller then went on, "We've been working like dogs." At this, Peterson looked
out at the crowd and grinned, "You had to know this one was coming." Then is his
best Doug the Dog voice he said, "I have just met you and I love you!" The crowd
went wild, as Peterson happily threw in, "SQUIRREL!"
As the hubbub subsided, Waller gravely asked, "Are you done?" Peterson replied,
"Yeah. I'm out of voices."
With that out of the way, the pair momentously revealed the name of their
upcoming project: The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs. The story is
inspired by Peterson's childhood visit to the Sinclair dinosaurs at the New York
World's Fair. What would happen, the filmmakers asked, if the asteroid that
caused the extinction of the dinosaurs had missed the Earth, and dinosaurs
survived into modern times. After showing a single image of a human and a
dinosaur, Lasseter urged everyone to look for the film at multiplexes during the
holidays in 2013.
To make the final announcement Lasseter brought out producer Jonas Rivera of Up,
and director Pete Docter of Monsters Inc. and Up. Docter looked out at the crowd
and deadpanned that he did voices, too. He launched into his repertoire: "G'night,
kiddo," as the offstage voice of the Father from Monsters Inc. "Here's your
badge" as the Troop Leader from Up, and "Oof!" as the Third Guard in The
Incredibles.
Riveras contributed, "Here's the big finale. Two huge Disney nerds talking." He
and Docter then described the next film as a look at another new world, one that
everyone knows, but no one has visited. They proudly announced the Summer, 2014
release: The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind.
Rich Ross returned to the stage, and urged the entire Pixar gang to join him. He
asked all to join in the applause for the studio's 12 films, 20 shorts, and 25
years. As the crowd rose to a standing ovation, he asked, how could we
celebrate? The curtains parted and Woody and Buzz wheeled out a giant birthday
cake. As the group on stage eyed the yellow, red and blue confection, John
Lasseter turned to the crowd and proclaimed, "Cupcakes for everyone!" On cue,
confetti burst into the air as servers with trays filled the arena. The crowd
settled in to enjoy their cupcakes as a filmed montage of Pixar's memorable
moments filled the screen.