Animated movies to go 3-D, Disney says
The Pixar animation studio plans to release all future movies in 3-D format beginning in May 2009, the Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday.
Most animated films from Walt Disney Animation will also have 3-D versions, chief creative officer John Lasseter said at a presentation in New York.
"I love 3-D. I made a 3-D computer-animated short in 1989 called Nickname, and in fact my wedding pictures with my beautiful wife Nancy were made in 3-D," he said.
DreamWorks Animation announced last summer it would make all its computer-animated titles 3-D.
Disney is following suit, with plans for both conventional and 3-D releases for 10 upcoming movies.
There could be up to 2,000 3-D cinemas across the U.S. by 2009.
Pixar's upcoming releases include:
- Toy Story 3, with Andy now college age and ready to leave home, in June 2010.
- A re-release of the original Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3-D.
- Newt, a love story involving the last two remaining blue-footed newts, in summer 2011.
- The Bear and the Bow at Christmas 2011.
- Cars 2 in summer 2012.
Before going 3-D, Pixar will release Wall-E, the story of a lonely robot cleaning up an Earth abandoned by humans, who falls in love with a visiting robot.
Walt Disney Animation Studios, a separate arm of the studio, will continue in traditional hand-drawn format with The Princess and the Frog this summer.
Disney plans both 3-D and traditional releases for the upcoming films:
- Bolt, with John Travolta as the voice of a dog who believes he has super powers.
- Rapunzel, set for release at Christmas 2010.
- King of the Elves, set for release at Christmas 2012.