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[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Recent Disney Animation "announcement" to "release date" movie timeline, a scorecard of sorts... Similar to the one I just did for DreamWorks... I'll begin with RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, which came out in 2021. I started at 2021 for DreamWorks as well... (That post here.)

WDAS had done things a little differently from DreamWorks, in that they'll often announce or let it slip that a director is attached to something. An untitled project, which they reveal the title of until they feel it's ready. For example, MOANA was talked about as far back as 2012 as an untitled Ron Clements and John Musker film. The title and premise was officially revealed in fall 2014, and the movie came out in Thanksgiving 2016.

DreamWorks by contrast will usually announce what the movie is upfront, not as "Untitled [Insert Director Here] Film".

So with that...

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON: Announced October 2018 as an untitled film from directors Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins. Released March 2021. A little over two years before release. Rumblings of Briggs and Wellins directing a film together at WDAS had gotten out earlier than that (around 2015), but little else. The title was revealed August 2019. Wellins was later removed from the film, and Briggs demoted to "co-director". Worth noting that RAYA was originally slated for Thanksgiving 2020, but got pushed to March 2021 due to COVID-19.

ENCANTO: Announced in November 2016 as an untitled musical from ZOOTOPIA director Byron Howard with music from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Released November 2021. Five years before release. The title and various other information was officially revealed as ENCANTO in December 2020.

STRANGE WORLD: Announced in December 2021. Released November 2022. Less than a year before release. Scooper sites beat Disney to this one by about a few months, but erroneously referred to the movie as SEARCHER CLADE. The Venture airship appeared as an Easter Egg in ENCANTO's end credits a month earlier before announcement.

WISH: Announced as a film being written by Jennifer Lee in January 2022. Released November 2023. Almost two years before release. The title WISH and other details were officially revealed in September 2022.

MOANA 2: Announced as a MOANA series for Disney+ in December 2020. Releasing November 2024. Nearly four years before release. Disney officially revealed that the MOANA series got retooled as a movie in February 2024.

ZOOTOPIA 2: Announced in February 2023. Releasing November 2025. Over two and a half years before release. There were rumblings of a ZOOTOPIA sequel well before the initial announcement.

FROZEN III: Announced in February 2023. Releasing some time in 2026. As of now, roughly three years before release. WDAS has a Thanksgiving 2026 slot locked for a feature film of theirs, it presumably will go to FROZEN III.

UNTITLED SUZI YOONESSI FILM: Announced in November 2019. Status unknown.

UNTITLED JOSIE TRINIDAD FILM: Announced in November 2019. Status unknown. There are some uncorroborated rumors that Trinidad is directing on ZOOTOPIA 2. If true, it doesn't apply here. This announcement from late 2019 concerned an original story of hers.

UNTITLED MARC SMITH FILM: Announced in November 2019. Status unknown.

FROZEN IV: Announced in November 2023. Status unknown.

UNTITLED CARLOS LOPEZ ESTRADA FILM: Announced in November 2019. Cancelled after Lopez Estrada left Disney in April 2022. Was rumored to be titled FOSTER.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Recent DreamWorks "announcement" to "release date" movie timeline, a scorecard of sorts...

I'll start with SPIRIT UNTAMED.

SPIRIT UNTAMED: Announced October 2019, released June 2021. Over a year and a half before release.

THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS: Announced May 2017, two months after the release of the first movie. Released July 2021. Four years before release. The date was always some time in 2017, it was only mildly affected by COVID-19 and other minor adjustments to their schedule.

THE BAD GUYS: Announced March 2018. Released April 2022. Four years before release. Originally scheduled for a fall 2021 debut, until schedule adjustments and COVID-19. BAD GUYS once bumped out a movie on the schedule called SPOOKY JACK, which got cancelled completely.

PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH: Announced/mentioned in November 2012. Released December 2022. Ten years before release. However, the PUSS IN BOOTS sequel announced in 2012 - titled NINE LIVES & 40 THIEVES - would be put into limbo in early 2015. The project was rebooted with an all-new story after Comcast's acquisition of DreamWorks, and this development was announced in November 2018, the film itself being announced shortly thereafter.

RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN: Announced in March 2023. Released June 2023. Three **months** before release. The only places you heard of this movie's existence was through scooper sites two years prior. The film had been in some form of development since 2016.

KUNG FU PANDA 4: Announced in August 2022. Released March 2024. More than a year and a half before release. DreamWorks founder/former CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg had announced in 2010 that KUNG FU PANDA was aiming to be a six-film series, but those plans had seemingly changed since the release of the 2nd movie in 2011.

THE WILD ROBOT: Announced in September 2023. Releasing September 2024. About a year before release. One can assume the project began development after the release of director Chris Sanders' THE CALL OF THE WILD in early 2020.

DOG MAN: Announced in December 2020. Releasing January 2025. A little over four years before release.

THE BAD GUYS 2: Announced in March 2024. Releasing August 2025. Over a year and a half before release.

GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE: Announced in April 2024. Releasing September 2025. Over a year and a half before release.

SHREK 5: Announced July 2016. Rumored to be in production. It's worth noting that a fifth SHREK was talked about as far back as 2004, and then again in 2014.

MICE AND MYSTICS: Announced October 2018. Status unknown.

RONAN BOYLE: Announced September 2020. Status unknown.

THE BOSS BABY 3: Announced June 2021. Status unknown.

UNTITLED UNANIMOUS MEDIA FILM: Announced September 2021. Status unknown. Unanimous Media is a production company.

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So what this says is that DreamWorks works rather irregularly these days, when it comes to announcing movies. Sometimes a project is announced, and doesn't make it. Par for the course with a lot of studios, right? But DreamWorks will announce a movie hitherto unheard of, not too far from release date... So when a date is locked on the slate, one can't assume it's for a project they already announced.

For example, I kept thinking RONAN BOYLE would be released some time over the past couple of years, but instead it's been projects that were announced way after it was.

Fun stuff.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

One of my favorite musical groups, The Beach Boys, have the following in their album discography:

An early example of a concept album:

A sequel to a various artists compilation:

An entire Christmas album:

Possibly the world's first unplugged album:

A literal masterpiece that single-handedly transformed pop music:

An even more experimental masterpiece that blew open the doors to what was possible in pop music that... WASN'T FINISHED nor released when it needed to be:

An incredibly strange, equally experimental, divisive record released in said cancelled masterpiece's place:

A live album thrown together by their record label's parent company, apparently, without their permission:

Frankensteined albums made up of different sets of sessions spanning at least 2 years:

An unhinged, polarizing, primal, proto-synthpop classic:

... and... SUMMER IN PARADISE. A legendary stinker. No example here, because 10-link limit, plus your ears are spared.

What a discography! And that's not even getting into the singles and unreleased stuff-

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

It just randomly came to mind, because that's what my brain does.

I've been thinking about the twitter outrage towards INSIDE OUT 2 director Kelsey Mann stating that he and the filmmakers dropped the characters Guilt and Shame from the movie. Mann stated he felt what they were trying to do with that version of the story wasn't "fun", it was "too heavy", and it made it a kind of movie that you wouldn't want to watch again.

“I don’t want to make that movie. I want to make a movie that’s really meaningful and when you’re asked, ‘Do you want to see that movie again?’ You say, ‘Yes!’ Because those are my favorite movies. And those are the kinds of movies I want to make. And I did not want to return to that movie with that character. It’s not that funny.”

... While being as vague as possible, because this is an interview for a movie that isn't even completed nor out yet. I'm excited for the movie and I'm sure there's WAY more to Mann's comments than meets the eye, ditto the actual movie itself. Because I'm not gonna jump the gun and assume he or everyone at Pixar are a bunch of chickens trying to undermine their own strengths.

I sometimes like to imagine Twitter being a thing years and years ago...

Animated movies lose stuff all the time when being developed. Stuff that you see in the special features sections of DVDs, in the "Art Of" books, hear about in interviews, etc.... Stuff that sounds cool or stuff that you think "They should've kept that!"

Let's try one, huh?

Social media... Mid-1965. At the news of Walt Disney throwing out veteran story man Bill Peet's moodier, darker version of THE JUNGLE BOOK, the studio now moving forward with a more lighthearted, jazzy musical road trip-like approach...

"Betrayal! What has Disney come to! Have you seen THE SWORD IN THE STONE? Remember how they laid off all those animators and the whole Ink & Paint Department after SLEEPING BEAUTY flopped! They've all gone soft, I tell ya! This is going to be a DISASTER!"

THE JUNGLE BOOK was one of the highest-grossing films of 1967, a massive hit abroad, and recognized as one of the iconic Disney animated films. Would I love to travel to an alternate universe where Walt okayed Bill Peet's original take on the material? Absolutely, that movie sounded really, really cool! But I love the finished film so much, it's the reason I love animation and it's the reason why I even do what I do.

That's just one example... Could you imagine the collective moaning over the versions of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, and THE LION KING that got thrown out? BEAUTY AND THE BEAST originally was supposed to be more like the 1946 adaptation directed by Jean Cocteau, ALADDIN was going to be more in the vein of a '30s Cab Calloway sort-of musical, and THE LION KING was aiming to be a straight-up animated National Geographic documentary with a lot of silence and lyrical storytelling. Jeffrey Katzenberg and other then-Disney execs razored into those versions and trashed them...

I'm sure there were a select few who noticed back then, but I digress.

Or how about a sequel, for that matter? THE RESCUERS sequel was originally supposed to be like a James Bond movie, complete with a Bond-esque mouse who accompanies Bernard and Miss Bianca on a mission involving the Soviet Union! But a little movie called CROCODILE DUNDEE happened, and there was a brief sort-of Aussie rage going on in America... So, those executives told the filmmakers to chuck the Bond-style RESCUERS 2, and have it be set in the land down under... Thus it became THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER.

I love that film, and it's a fan favorite of many... But that Bond-style movie also sounded really, really cool! Social media in 1988 or whatever would've been like "What??? They threw out that awesome-sounding movie so they can chase CROCODILE DUNDEE??? That movie will be irrelevant in a few years!"

But it happened...

The epic KINGDOM OF THE SUN becoming the goofy THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE, oh yeah that wouldn't be greeted too kindly. I'll throw in a Pixar example, too: Social media would've probably salivated over the "Black Friday" version of TOY STORY.

I thought I'd just make the comparison, lol.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

I love to laugh.

DreamWorks revealed what their 9/26/2025 movie is...

It's a movie based on the show GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE, which is - of course - a DreamWorks TV Animation production. So basically, SPIRIT UNTAMED Redux...

I was predicting the seemingly long-gestating RONAN BOYLE from director Fergal Reilly, based on the fantasy book series by Thomas Lennon, was after THE WILD ROBOT as the next DreamWorks not-sequel movie. Then again, this fella predicted it would be this autumn's DreamWorks movie as well. It was announced some time ago, had a director and writer locked... Where is this movie? Has it been cancelled? WILD ROBOT and this project have been announced well after it and are coming out, RONAN BOYLE hasn't been talked about since its initial announcement back in... September of 2020...

So yeah... DreamWorks Animation occasionally doing the TV show-to-movie thing. And releasing them as mainline "DreamWorks Animation" movies, and not under a different banner.

This isn't really a thing the other houses do or have done.

Yeeeeears back, Disney formed Disney Movie Toons Studios to make feature films based on Walt Disney Television Animation's then-hit shows. The first of which was DUCKTALES: THE MOVIE - TREASURE OF THE LOST LAMP, released in summer 1990... To less than stellar box office results, but it probably lived a great second life on home video. That film was largely produced at a French unit that Disney used to have. This was followed by A GOOFY MOVIE in 1995, based on the show GOOF TROOP. That too was largely animated at the French studio, as well as their Australian unit with contributions from the mainline Burbank building. It never counted as part of the Disney Animation "canon", however. And following former chairman (and future DreamWorks founder) Jeffrey Katzenberg's departure in fall 1994, A GOOFY MOVIE was kind of just brushed off. While it did okay at the box office, it was no blockbuster, and would later become a cult smash. Movie Toons eventually became Disneytoon Studios, and their future was making direct-to-video sequels to classic Disney animated films with an occasional outlier, such as the THREE MUSKETEERS movie with Mickey and the gang.

Whereas DreamWorks? Both this movie and 2021's SPIRIT UNTAMED - whose TV series was based on a DreamWorks Animation film anyways - were under the mainline DreamWorks Animation banner, and are theatrical pictures.

I'm sure this news is going over well with certain folks, lol. Weird-ass adults who think every DreamWorks movie absolutely *has* to be the sword-wielding cat adventure...

I just find it fascinating myself, because this isn't usually a thing American animation powerhouses do. Disney made it very clear what was part of the major animated movies "canon" and what wasn't, as if an animated movie continuation of an animated TV series was somehow less than? (Fittingly, A GOOFY MOVIE is held up in high esteem by some, even above many of the mainline WDAS-made movies. It was given a rather mixed reception upon its original release.)

But also, Pixar, Illumination, etc. don't really have TV animation divisions per se. Sometimes a film spawns a series that's made elsewhere, such as HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, but that's about it. Sony Animation did do that AGENT KING show and YOUNG LOVE recently, so they do some TV animation stuff alongside the heavies - it's all under "Sony Pictures Animation" anyhow. With Disney, their TV animation division is separate, ditto DreamWorks.

No Disney TV Animation show since the 2000s got the theatrical movie treatment, the last one in question was TEACHER'S PET in 2004. Those were straight up Disney Television Animation productions, not Disneytoon. DreamWorks is a lot more fluid, as we recently saw what was essentially a pilot film for a MEGAMIND TV series debut exclusively on streaming, while SPIRIT UNTAMED and GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE got full-on DreamWorks movie treatment. It's a little weird, yeah, but it's how they've been rolling.

I'd imagine, like SPIRIT UNTAMED, this will be animated elsewhere. Not Sony Imageworks, probably a Mikros or a Jellyfish-type studio. It's a preschool show, so I'd imagine DreamWorks isn't going to want to sink too too much into this.

Anyways, the mystery's over. I'm still wondering what's going on with RONAN BOYLE. 2025 now houses, for DreamWorks, a non-sequel (DOG MAN), a sequel (THE BAD GUYS 2), and a TV series adaptation (GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE)... Doesn't affect me either way, I'm not the audience for GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE lol.

2026 is all but confirmed to be the year of SHREK 5, now it's the original in question that I'm curious about.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

BLINK.

DreamWorks and Universal move. THE WILD ROBOT now opens September 27, 2024...

That's still only a week later, but at least it gives itself and TRANSFORMERS ONE some space... I do think WILD ROBOT could move a little further back, or even a few weeks forward... But we shall see how it all plays out.

This is pretty much what the plan *was* up until TRANSFORMERS ONE's trailer came out... TRANSFORMERS ONE was slated for September 13th, with THE WILD ROBOT following the week after... But then TRANSFORMERS ONE's trailer came out and said it was now aiming for the 20th, now WILD ROBOT moves back... What is it with these two movies and these strategies?

Anyways, re: the new move... I guess Universal doesn't think the new Chris Sanders movie based on the book series whose trailer got a glowing reception can stand its ground against this new take on the Autobots. I get it. Transformers is really a household name, has been for 40 years. The WILD ROBOT book by Peter Brown was published 8 years ago.

While TRANSFORMERS ONE is an all-new cinematic take on the material, its name power could still mean a pretty solid opening weekend. I had figured it opened MUTANT MAYHEM style, somewhere in the 20s.

MUTANT MAYHEM came off of two live-action Ninja Turtles movies made in the mid-2010s produced by Michael Bay, the first of which made over $60m on its opening weekend. It was similar to SPIDER-VERSE, which too came out after a long string of live-action Spider-Man movies. That movie only opened with $35m back in December 2018, I think a lot of audiences saw those trailers and said "Why is there a cartoon Spider-Man now?" Of course, the movie being really really good and innovative worked wonders, and the movie had fantastic holiday legs. Likewise, MUTANT MAYHEM opened with $28m last year, and legged it up as well, after it was realized that the movie was also really good!

So with that, I see TRANSFORMERS ONE performing similarly to MUTANT MAYHEM and INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE on its opening weekend. If audiences really dig this new take on the characters, then it should have great legs regardless of THE WILD ROBOT opening a week later.

As for THE WILD ROBOT's opening weekend... Based on the strength of that teaser alone, I see an opening that's either on par with THE BAD GUYS ($23m) or even higher. Maybe I'm really lowballing both of these movies, but we shall see. COVID, streaming, and the way this economy is really changed the game for animated movies at the box office.

May both do well.

Another game of chicken commences...

Paramount's all-animated TRANSFORMERS movie TRANSFORMERS ONE, now that its trailer is out, is set to open a week later than planned... September 20th... The same day as DreamWorks' THE WILD ROBOT...

Will someone blink? Or will both distributors commit to this and make for a Bluth-Disney style bot battle? Like LAND BEFORE TIME and OLIVER & CO., ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN and THE LITTLE MERMAID?

That remains to be seen. If one moves, I suspect it'll be THE WILD ROBOT. Probably ahead a few paces to early September to get some ground, or maybe to October where it'll largely have the month to itself. Either way, one's based on a book series, the other a biiiig franchise that has already seen multiple movies and TV shows over the course of five decades.

Elsewhere in Paramount's animation schedule, the new AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER animated feature vacated October 2025 and went to January 20, 2026. Perhaps it was to leave 2025 with two Paramount animated movies, SMURFS and SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS. AANG now shares 2026 with a third PAW PATROL movie and a MUTANT MAYHEM sequel, and possibly the second animated A:TLA movie. I'd imagine there's some more movement on their slate thereafter.

As for the trailer itself? The movie looks fun! Definitely a lot looser-looking than the live-action movies' hyper-detailed CGI counterparts. Heck, the faces kind of remind me of Carl the robot from MEET THE ROBINSONS... but I like how Cybertron is realized here, and the sorta workplace comedy dynamic with the Autobots. They're younger, much like the turtles are in MUTANT MAYHEM, so there seems to be that kind of energy in the script. Before they became who they are, and how different they are as younger robots. I'm curious to see how the film, or the trilogy that it's supposed to start should it do well, evolves these young Transformers and how Optimus and Megatron have their falling out. I wonder if it's going to be a thing in this film, or something in one of the sequels.

Either way, this seems like it'll be a cool ride.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

I just realized something... Is DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE the first R-rated Disney film to be released as... A Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures movie?

And NOT as a... 20th Century Studios, Searchlight, Touchstone, or Hollywood release?

Marvel Studios movies never open with a Disney Pictures logo, nor does such a logo appear in trailers/promo materials for those movies. The only mention of Disney as the movie's distributor, ever, is in the credits. Particularly the title card saying "Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures". You know, when the movies aren't making references to Disney movies/theme parks. (i.e. "I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!")

THE AVENGERS and IRON MAN 3 were the first Disney-distributed Marvel movies, both of which opened with Paramount and Marvel Studios logos per a contractual agreement. Paramount had been distributing the MCU movies - sans 2008's THE INCREDIBLE HULK - up until the switchover. Disney bought Marvel in 2009, and distribution was out of Paramount's hands shortly thereafter, but for whatever reason, they retained their logo on those two films specifically. I guess this was because AVENGERS and IRON MAN 3 were already in development before the Disney buyout, IRON MAN 2 was already being filmed with a third one expected. THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER had yet to be released. They both debuted in mid-2011, and sequels weren't announced until after they came out. A second THOR and a second CAPTAIN AMERICA movie were Disney greenlights. Starting with THOR's sequel - THOR: THE DARK WORLD - in fall 2013, the movies would open with the Marvel Studios logo only.

That'll likely be the case with DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, though I wouldn't put it past the movie to - in an irreverent sense - have a Disney castle logo at the beginning. Deadpool narrating "Yeah, this is Disney and it's rated R! Buckle up, kids!" They already made similar jokes in that recently-released trailer.

It's really weird to think that Disney can't do R-rated "Disney" movies.

Other studios/companies don't have that problem. Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, etc. It's all part of the collection for them. With Universal, the Minions can co-exist with Michael Myers. In Paramount-land, Dora the Explorer can share the space with Ghostface. For Disney, it was always through alternate names like Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures, or through whole-ass studios like 20th Century Studios, Searchlight, and Miramax.

Nowadays, Hulu is essentially merged with Disney+, and Disney+ houses plenty of R-rated things. That is, of course, if you are using an adult profile. But even in the theme parks, like for example - The Great Movie Ride, that had a whole section devoted to ALIEN. And that was before Disney bought 20th Century Studios and the ALIEN franchise. And Disney films have referenced R-rated things, before. It's kinda weird, really... Disney... A person's SURNAME, associated with strictly family-friendly stuff.

After Disney created the Touchstone Pictures banner in 1984, it seemed unlikely that they would ever do a PG-13 movie. They stuck with G and PG, and some of those PG movies had a special Walt Disney Pictures logo at the start of them, too. A black background with blue serif text... No castle. But then lo and behold, in 2003, they released PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL... Since then, not counting Marvel and Star Wars movies, they've released 14 more - many of which being PIRATES sequels or theme park adaptations - in addition to a filmed HAMILTON performance on Disney+.

So... It kinda begs the question... Could Disney possibly just go all-in for the first time... and release an R-rated movie?

The MPAA rating system was created in 1968. Disney in 1968 were already concerned with being family-friendly. Proudly so. That shift began to take place back when Disneyland was opening in the mid-1950s, when Walt Disney was transforming the enterprise's image. What was once the trailblazing, sometimes edgy studio was now a family entertainment company. A show on TV every Sunday, a theme park for kids of all ages, and movies that played to mothers. (To Walt's estimation: Mothers took their families to movies, and also told their friends, and their friends told their friends-) It was to the point where Walt himself was frustrated. When he had seen TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, he stated he wished he could've overseen a movie like that...

So, Disney stayed in the family-friendly corner after Walt's passing in 1966 and after the creation of the rating system two years later. The 1970s was a period of auteur-driven films, challenging pictures that upended the status quo, brought heavy topics and themes to the table, shocked audiences even... Disney was mostly making movies like THE BAREFOOT EXECUTIVE and GUS. All G-rated affairs, and following tried and true formulas. Interestingly, when preparing the 1950 classic TREASURE ISLAND for re-release in 1975, Disney weren't too pleased when the picture received a PG rating for its violence... So, they recut it to get a G rating. That's how it ran in 1975 in theaters, and interestingly that was the only version that was available on video until 1992.

It took Disney over a decade to make a PG movie of their own (THE BLACK HOLE in 1979, not counting their distribution of the independent movie TAKE DOWN earlier that year), back when the rating actually meant what it meant. After being launched in 1984, Touchstone was largely meant for PG-13 and R-rated affairs, with the occasional PG movie here and there. For every SPLASH and DICK TRACY, there was a BLACK CAULDRON or HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS. So it was kinda on-and-off there, it depended on the content and tone of the movies, I suppose.

Then it took Disney 19 years to make a PG-13 "Disney movie"...

I guess for an R-rated "Disney movie" to work... Tweak the Disney logo so that it doesn't appear all family-friendly in that distinctive font? Don't have the logo appear anywhere on promo materials? Come up with a Touchstone-esque name for Disney movies that get the R-rating? What the hell would you call that anyways, haha. Can it even be feasibly done without unsuspecting parents taking their kids to see it?

If it ever happens, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Animation-twitter, animation video essay youtube, etc. would probably be better off if they assumed every upcoming animated movie was going to be CRAP.

The director of INSIDE OUT 2, Kelsey Mann, has talked a bit about the picture recently. After all, it's out in less than two months... And immediately, so much of what he's saying is either being misread or quoted out of context. Something something Anxiety is going to be "the villain", something something they cut characters Shame and Guilt out of the movie because they felt it was too heavy, something something-

And we've got other people freaking out that Pixar showed 35 minutes of it at CinemaCon... LIKE... What's THE issue? Pixar has done that before! CinemaCon attendees were treated to half-hour chunks of Pixar movies in the past, like MONSTERS UNIVERSITY. When TOY STORY 3 was coming out, Pixar prepared a cut of the movie that ended just as the toys were escaping Sunnyside Daycare... to show to college campuses across the country a month before release.

Y'all need to calm down.

This movie isn't even out. We don't know how it'll tell its story exactly. Maybe there's more here than it seems? Maybe Anxiety will be an antagonist in the sense that she's doing what she feels is right, or is straight-up malevolent. I doubt it's the latter, that would be kind of... Not nuanced? For a sequel to INSIDE OUT? Having Anxiety just be an evil scheming bad guy just doesn't seem like it'll happen, nor is it a good idea. I think director Kelsey Mann meant that by her kicking the other emotions out of the main control room, she'll be the "big bad" of the movie. Why she kicks those emotions out could be related to how anxiety tends to work within the human brain. Taking control of your brain, thinking that it's steering you to make the right decision, making you cautious of dangers more so than "Fear" does. Pixar movies have had antagonists in the past that aren't necessarily evil, they just think what they're doing is right.

I also doubt that Pixar would let out a movie that flat-out stigmatizes people who suffer from anxiety disorders, such as myself. Maybe the Shame and Guilt characters were cut from the movie because director Mann, writer Meg LeFauve, and several others just didn't like the direction the story was going with them in it. Maybe it was too depressing for THEM, not because of any concerns for kids in the audience. People tend to associate Pixar with "tearjerking storylines", maybe it's possible that this went WAY TOO FAR at one point? I don't know, neither do you. Pixar's team isn't Disney Animation's leadership. Pete Docter is less controlling than John Lasseter based on everything I see and hear, but there are probably still some ground rules and some do's-and-don'ts. But I think it was ultimately down to the director not enjoying making the film back when it had these characters in it. As a writer/creator myself, I sometimes pull back when I feel something I'm making is causing ME lose the drive to make the thing in the first place. Maybe it hit too close to home for Mann, LeFauve, someone- Just a few variables, ya know? Not just "Pixar is too afraid to be sad", "Disney's telling them what to do", etc. etc.

Maybe animated movies shouldn't have this kind of pre-release thing... How about, just... Movie title, release date, BOOM. Nothing else. No interviews with the filmmakers and cast, no nothing... Wanna know more? You have to see it when it comes out! Put that in big letters in the teaser trailer!

But if they did that, twitter and the YouTube Animation Opinion Industrial Complex would sound the alarm: "They're not saying anything... IS THIS MOVIE IN TROUBLE???"

(sarcasm for those last two sets of sentences)

You can't win. And watch... It'll come out, and it'll be disliked for some weird reason. Probably because it isn't... PUSS IN BOOTS 2 or whatever. While the rest of the world goes, "Yeah, that's was pretty solid." And said population streams it on Disney+ a gazillion times. I'm not part of this "animation fandom" thing, quite frankly I don't even know what half of these people want most of the time. It seems like every movie is an oncoming stinker to them, and it ends up being a stinker. Sometimes the worst thing ever made, a work of evil. You know I still see people raging over that completely harmless CHIP N' DALE RESCUE RANGERS movie from two years back? The fuck is that all about?

I get that INSIDE OUT is a sequel to a beloved Pixar movie, I get that the original movie means a lot to so many people. I love it myself. At the same time, I'm not gonna be weird about a sequel I never even wanted until the day they announced it. Okay, if it isn't very good, I'll just go on with my life. But we're not even there yet... It's not out... This is the only INSIDE OUT sequel. Now if we were coming up on an INSIDE OUT 3, and INSIDE OUT 2 managed to somehow upset everybody? Then I'd somewhat understand...

Others will dole out their dislike of recent Pixar movies as their reason, but you know me... I feel each Pixar movie - for the most part - is a statement of its filmmaking team. Not a Mr. Pixar person coming up with each and every movie. (That was Lasseter in a sense, lol.) If "animation is cinema", then you oughta look at these movies as director-driven. I feel the other way around reduces the films to a brand, and not the people who actually make them. INSIDE OUT is first and foremost a Pete Docter-directed film... Made at Pixar. Not a "Pixar film". Pixar isn't a person nor is it a collective, it's a place. It should be judged on how functions as a movie and as a sequel to INSIDE OUT, not up against other movies made at the studio by other people. Like I'm not here for THE INCREDIBLES or UP, I'm here for an INSIDE OUT sequel. I know, that's a very radical opinion to have. Silly me!

I just don't get it... I'm just gonna do it the old-fashioned way... I'm going to see the movie, and hope that I like it or get something out of it.

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Another game of chicken commences...

Paramount's all-animated TRANSFORMERS movie TRANSFORMERS ONE, now that its trailer is out, is set to open a week later than planned... September 20th... The same day as DreamWorks' THE WILD ROBOT...

Will someone blink? Or will both distributors commit to this and make for a Bluth-Disney style bot battle? Like LAND BEFORE TIME and OLIVER & CO., ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN and THE LITTLE MERMAID?

That remains to be seen. If one moves, I suspect it'll be THE WILD ROBOT. Probably ahead a few paces to early September to get some ground, or maybe to October where it'll largely have the month to itself. Either way, one's based on a book series, the other a biiiig franchise that has already seen multiple movies and TV shows over the course of five decades.

Elsewhere in Paramount's animation schedule, the new AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER animated feature vacated October 2025 and went to January 20, 2026. Perhaps it was to leave 2025 with two Paramount animated movies, SMURFS and SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS. AANG now shares 2026 with a third PAW PATROL movie and a MUTANT MAYHEM sequel, and possibly the second animated A:TLA movie. I'd imagine there's some more movement on their slate thereafter.

As for the trailer itself? The movie looks fun! Definitely a lot looser-looking than the live-action movies' hyper-detailed CGI counterparts. Heck, the faces kind of remind me of Carl the robot from MEET THE ROBINSONS... but I like how Cybertron is realized here, and the sorta workplace comedy dynamic with the Autobots. They're younger, much like the turtles are in MUTANT MAYHEM, so there seems to be that kind of energy in the script. Before they became who they are, and how different they are as younger robots. I'm curious to see how the film, or the trilogy that it's supposed to start should it do well, evolves these young Transformers and how Optimus and Megatron have their falling out. I wonder if it's going to be a thing in this film, or something in one of the sequels.

Either way, this seems like it'll be a cool ride.

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Toon talk: In addition to having other movies lined up for release after the 2026 CAT IN THE HAT movie, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation is going through with a musical movie based on... MEERKAT MANOR. A docu-series from a long while ago... I think this shows where Zaslav's Warner animation priorities lie: Nerfing two Looney Tunes movies and multiple other stuff, but... Hey, gotta plug that Discovery stuff, huh? Anyways, it could be a fun movie and all. I mean we do have the first chunk of THE LION KING 1 1/2, but I suppose there's room for another animated meerkat musical? I dunno, it's a choice alright. And even then, it's really not guaranteed to go forward. Let alone be released after completion.

In very cool news, Martin Scorsese and Seth MacFarlane is working on an animation restoration project, preserving work for animation's Golden Age from the 1920s up through the 1940s. The films are largely Fleischer joints, in addition to two George Pal Puppetoons... And amusingly, the Terrytoons THREE BEARS cartoon from 1939... Ya know... THAT ONE:

Again, really cool of MacFarlane and Scorsese to do this. Taking the time to preserve animated treasures from one of its finest eras...

And we got to see concept art of a 2D animated character who will be appearing in INSIDE OUT 2, a sorta BLUE'S CLUES parody preschool character:

Astoundingly, the net's already big on this "Bloofy". There's already fan-art. Much in the same way Anxiety exploded upon the release of the film's teaser. I think Pixar's really, really got something here. I'm gonna be very curious to see how this does at the box office. Does it merely repeat INSIDE OUT's massive success? Or go even higher than that?

But yeah, you have this character being 2D, a FINAL FANTASY-esque PS2 graphics character... Some mixed media stuff, much like "Abstract Thought" in the first INSIDE OUT. It seems like director Kelsey Mann had this really wild idea for a sequel to a beloved Pixar movie, and the director of said beloved Pixar movie (and also head of Pixar) said yes to it. And that's what I'd love to see out of INSIDE OUT 2, a sequel that makes big swings instead of being the first film's greatest hits. That's how I felt about sequels like FINDING DORY, which I otherwise still quite liked.

Then you have Keanu Reeves voicing Shadow The Hedgehog in SONIC 3... Yep, it just writes itself, doesn't it? Gonna be a biggie this Christmas.

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SHREK 2, approaching its 20th anniversary, took in around $1.3 million this past weekend... In its first theatrical run since its original release.

I have a movie theater job, and I worked this past Friday. Spring break for many schools was this past week, and this week too. Those screenings on Friday at my cinema were often packed, and a lot of them were packed with kids. As in, kids who were born well after this movie originally hit theaters. And *after* SHREK FOREVER AFTER was released, at that.

Yeah, there's some multi-generational appeal there with SHREK and SHREK 2.

Some animation fans jeered at the SHREK movies back in the day, feeling that their early 2000s attitude and pop culture references-aplenty scripts would date them, ditto their art direction and design... But no, nostalgia is very strong, especially when it's passed down. These movies appeal to little kids today. The second PUSS IN BOOTS movie being more recent also helps.

It goes to show that at the end of the day, the characters and what the movie does with them can make something a long-lasting flavor.

And I'm saying this, as someone who is not the biggest fan of those movies myself. As a kid, I did *love* SHREK and SHREK 2. I was the perfect age for them, you could argue - I was 8 1/2 when SHREK came out, 11 1/2 when SHREK 2 hit. I could probably quote whole sections of them verbatim. I know it's sacrilege to say these things, but to me, the SHREK movies are basically the animated equivalent of late '90s/early '00s live-action comedies that were usually made for adults, but in PG-rated form. Set in a fractured fairy tale world with ogres and talking donkeys and dragons and such. If not for those fantastical elements, these movies could've been some '00s live-action comedies with hot stars. They just have that vibe to them, right down to their contemporary soundtracks.

I don't see the first two SHREK movies as the high-water marks of the animation medium that they were sometimes made out to be by critics who didn't see animation as anything other than babysitter fluff. In addition to feeling that MONSTERS, INC. deserved the inaugural Best Animated Feature Oscar over this film, I also never bought that the first two SHREKs were these "revolutionary" "adult" alternatives to whatever Disney had out at the time. There's a roughly 2-second scene in Ralph Bakshi's X-rated FRITZ THE CAT - from 1972 - that's a way better satire of Disney than this movie is said to be, haha. I know at least one person who doesn't really like animation, but they will admit that they liked SHREK. That tells me a lot... SHREK was an animated movie that managed to appeal to just about everybody, including folks who would otherwise not bother with cartoons. It just has that zazz to it... Their core appeal, well specifically, SHREK 1 & 2, is undeniable. How many other relatively chill, less formal comedies like this did you see in mainstream feature animation at the time? It's not zany like, say, Disney's similarly irreverent buddy comedy THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE from five months earlier, nor is it like Pixar's clever, tightly-plotted movies.

The first SHREK movie hit a sweet spot with a lot of American audiences at the right time. Adult audiences who were burnt out on Disney's Renaissance formula being repeated for each movie after THE LION KING, and especially all the movies made at other studios following their lead. Like ANASTASIA and QUEST FOR CAMELOT. Even DreamWorks' own THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, for that matter. These big, grandiose musical pictures... Certain young film fans nowadays will say "those movies went SO HARD", but back in the late '90s/early '00s, the attitude towards them was "Okay, enough of that already." They were often called things like "politically correct", that era's version of "woke". Audiences wanted an animated film that they could just laugh and have a fun time with, without the moral messaged in a specific way.

Adults had also avoided the slew of edgy action-adventure animated movies aimed at a demographic that would never be there, films like DreamWorks' THE ROAD TO EL DORADO, along with Disney's ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE and Fox's TITAN A.E.

So you have this particular landscape of animated features, circa early 2001... Big grandiose family-friendly musicals that have become rather traditional, and these action-adventures for preteen boys that few were interested in seeing in theaters. Few exceptions are in-between, like THE IRON GIANT, but those were ignored because of other circumstances. IRON GIANT by all means should've been a small respectable success back in 1999 at the very least, if not a sleeper hit/blockbuster, but distributor Warner Bros. didn't believe in it. That's the animated movie landscape of early 2001... and then this chill comedy with dick jokes and a gross-out factor to it comes along... Right place, right time, planets aligned... One person put it this way: SHREK was an animated movie that "you could have a beer with."

And to think that SHREK was at one point shaping up to be a cursed, troubled production. Something that animators were punished with. An impending bomberoo, a film that was stopped and restarted, that lurched through a tumultuous 5-year journey...

Then the sequel went on to break records in the spring/summer of 2004, a high that the later films in the franchise couldn't rekindle.

SHREK THE THIRD certainly made a lot of money back in 2007, it was the highest-grossing animated movie of that calendar year, beating out the likes of THE SIMPSONS MOVIE and RATATOUILLE... but I don't remember it landing the way SHREK 2 did. I remember seeing it opening weekend with my dad, my good friend, and his family... and... largely forgetting about it afterwards! I was in high school at the time, and had mentioned one day that a fourth one was coming. This was around late 2007, by the time SHREK 3 was out of theaters and close to DVD release. (And HD-DVD as well, remember that?) One of my classmates responded, "Ugh, they're making another one?" A new SHREK movie wasn't as novel and fresh by then, and when SHREK FOREVER AFTER came out in the spring of 2010, I remember everyone being hyped about TOY STORY 3 - opening less than a month later... Not a word on the fourth green ogre movie. SHREK 4 still made plenty of dough though, it was bigger worldwide than here. Then DreamWorks pumped the breaks on the green ogre, as FOREVER AFTER was billed as "The Final Chapter".

It's interesting to note that DreamWorks' original plan was to make five SHREK movies, and PUSS IN BOOTS would be a direct-to-video movie with the subtitle THE STORY OF AN OGRE KILLER. The fifth SHREK movie would've been a prequel, interestingly enough. But over time, as PUSS IN BOOTS graduated to theatrical feature film and was given to SHREK 3 director Chris Miller, the plans slightly changed...

PUSS IN BOOTS had a rather blah opening in fall 2011, no doubt fueled by franchise fatigue and arriving just a little over a year after SHREK 4... but the cat legged it up something fierce. Because it was pretty good, and for some, a return to form after two lackluster SHREK sequels. It was right for the time, too. An old-school swashbuckling adventure for the family, featuring a fan favorite character from the SHREK sequels. I'm not sure a Donkey or Gingy spin-off would've landed the same way, lol. I remember the early 2010s being a time of more sincere animated movies, a country mile from the ironic early 2000s attitude of the first SHREK movie and all of its imitators. PUSS IN BOOTS Uno was more in line with those kinds of movies, and some of the classic-style adventure movies that DreamWorks had out at the time, like HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and the first two KUNG FU PANDA films. Their then-recent comedies, like MONSTERS VS. ALIENS and THE CROODS, leaned in a more cartoony and wacky direction. The early 2010s, to reiterate, were way different from the early 2000s in terms of animated movie output. What goes on in the world moves the needle as much as the pop culture does, indeed.

So then, some 11 years and at least one period in limbo later, PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH comes out. An exciting reinvention of the whole franchise, and arriving after a decade-long void where SHREK became something of a meme. Add in nostalgia, word-of-mouth, THE LAST WISH was a gradual trip back into the world of SHREK for many audiences. A big hit in the end, and a beloved movie. It's certainly my favorite movie in this series, for sure. I still find it neat how they didn't just do the safe thing and simply make a SHREK 5 after Comcast acquired them, no. They stuck to that long-gestating PUSS IN BOOTS sequel and saw it through first, as a sort-of lead in to new SHREK movies... And still did something amazing with it, when it could've just been another typical-style SHREK universe movie. It could've also been the movie that it was initially planned to be.

I have no doubt that SHREK PLEADS THE FIFTH, when it hits in a few years, probably makes a good run at highest-grossing animated movie of all-time. SHREK 2 was just that for six years. $919m back in 2004 - without 3D, IMAX, and other such premium formats - was **massive**. TOY STORY 3 took the crown thereafter, and held onto that for three years. SHREK 5's target to beat is the 2019 CG remake of THE LION KING, $1.6 billion. If you don't count that, FROZEN II with $1.4 billion.

I wonder if this re-release of SHREK 2 sparks Universal and DreamWorks to re-release other older films of theirs. Maybe even one that didn't do so hot back in the day? This year also happens to be SHARK TALE's 20th, and MONSTERS VS. ALIENS' 15th. 2014 saw the release of three movies: MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2, and PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR. 2019 saw the arrival of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD and ABOMINABLE.

Who knows...

I think they should re-release animated movies more often, no matter the studio. The SHREK 2 re-release opened wider than the three recent Pixar first-time ever theatrical runs of movies that went straight to Disney+, and people turned out for it. It also helps that the movie is that old, whereas those three Pixars aren't that old. SOUL, the oldest of that trio, came out Christmas 2020. Not even four years ago.

Now, if Disney re-released a Pixar film wide like - say - THE INCREDIBLES this year, I'd imagine it'd get *some* traction like this SHREK 2 re-release did. Or if Disney did the same to an animated feature like LILO & STITCH. Remember those 3D re-releases of various Disney Animation and Pixar films? THE LION KING did quite well in 2011, while everything else barely made half of that... But still quite a bit nonetheless. $40m+ for, say, FINDING NEMO in 2012 is something a new animated feature would fight for today.

Every year, my cinema does the Studio Ghibli fest. Most of the beloved movies... Ya know, little tiny unheard-of movies like SPIRITED AWAY and PRINCESS MONONOKE? Always sold out to the front row.

The original KUNG FU PANDA ran for a few weeks earlier this year in the lead-up to KUNG FU PANDA 4, and a few people showed up for those screenings.

Yeah... More re-release of animated movies, please. Plus, they're great to experience on the big screen again.

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CinemaCon takeaways...

Disney largely focused on this year, and not much beyond other than some Marvel stuff. A new song from MOANA 2 was previewed along with some footage, some of which that will presumably be - more or less - the first teaser for the movie. Whenever that drops, but the sequel seems to coming along nicely despite some concerns I've had over the production being a possible crunch job. INSIDE OUT 2's first 35min were previewed to high praise, though we do gotta remember that CinemaCon is first and foremost for exhibitors and those in the movie theater business. A chunk of a sequel to an $850m+ grossing movie is obviously going to go over pretty well, but I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy INSIDE OUT 2. The detail that really got me was the use of different animation styles - similar to the first film's "Abstract Thought" scene - to portray personifications of some of Riley's lost memories. 2D for what is reported to a BLUE'S CLUES-looking preschool show dog character, and a PS2-esque FINAL FANTASY-style character. I love it, the artists just going all out for the sequel and trying all kinds of wacky ideas. That interests me every bit as much as the new emotions and their respective roles in the story do. Disney didn't show anything beyond the December release of MUFASA in terms of animated movies, not a word on any changes to their 2025 slate. Again, being CinemaCon, they were more focused on what they had to offer this year to exhibitors.

Paramount made a big splash, apparently what they showed of TRANSFORMERS ONE was a standout (teaser WHEN?), while THE SMURF MOVIE saw a re-titling that's equally as generic... Just, SMURFS. The two Sony hybrid movies were THE SMURFS, while their all-animated movie was called SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE... Just a simple SMURFS... That's it. I'm still curious as to how the studio contracted to make this one for Paramount will make a neat style that is unique to the one Sony did for LOST VILLAGE. Will it be even more stylized and 2D-like? Or less so? The first of the new 2D AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER movies is called AANG: THE LOST AIRBENDER, and cast members have been revealed, including Dave Bautista as a villain. Some stuff from the new SPONGEBOB movie, subtitled SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS, got out as well. Paramount's theatrical animation is all just big IPs. We know how their heads feel about more original stuff. (Or stuff based on things never before adapted to film, before you come after me.) Otherwise, Paramount's presentation was largely for live-action fare: The ever long-gestating fourth Kelvin STAR TREK movie, an R-rated TMNT movie, Trey Parker and Matt Stone's new movie, Edgar Wright's go at Stephen King's THE RUNNING MAN, a TRANSFORMERS/G.I. JOE movie, and then some.

Universal showed some of DESPICABLE ME 4 and THE WILD ROBOT, but were absolutely mum about anything beyond that. Only a few 2025 live-action projects, like the FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S movie sequel, got dropped. Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri emphasized that original movies remain in that studio's future, despite getting no word on anything coming out in 2025 - between this summer's release of DESPICABLE ME 4 and spring 2026's SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE sequel.

Warner Bros.' presentation was unsurprisingly animation-free, outside of a WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM logo. Their next animated film, and the first under the "Warner Bros. Pictures Animation" moniker - THE CAT IN THE HAT, isn't here until early 2026 at the moment. Ya know, there's a certain hybrid movie that could've made a splash during their presentation that they decided to toss- Yeah, you know what? I won't go there.

While I didn't expect much, given the nature of CinemaCon, we still learned a lot of cool stuff I feel. As for Disney, we'll get juicier things - I reckon - come late summer with D23. Other stuff could debut at Comic-Con or elsewhere.

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So yeah... That totally unnecessary Nelson Peltz proxy fight saga of current-day Disney is finally over.

Thank goodness. Peltz seemed like he was acting on behalf of former Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter, another guy who is bad news bears to say the least. Peltz just looked like another old man who plays to the crowd that loves to call everything "woke". While it doesn't take rocket science to figure out that The Walt Disney Company is having some trouble across various divisions, their solution wasn't even a solution. Nothing remotely near that.

Interestingly, Disney finally released their first *new* theatrical movie this year, a $30m prequel to THE OMEN that got solid reviews but struggled on opening weekend for whatever reason. It's looking to perform more like last year's new EXORCIST movie than 2018 HALLOWEEN (both films directed by David Gordon Green), I guess not all horror legacy sequels (lega-sequels) are destined to make coin. No matter, $30m isn't steep, it should make it back eventually if not in theaters. It's a 20th Century Studios movie, so it's no big deal really.

Weirdly, POOR THINGS is one of their few box office successes released over the past 12 or so months, outside of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 and - by a hair - ELEMENTAL. 20th kinda came to the rescue there, too: A HAUNTING IN VENICE doubled its budget, THE BOOGEYMAN did pretty good.

All I know is, Disney's probably never going to relive 2019 again... And I feel like they keep trying to make that year happen again... But it won't, because that was a case of the planets freakin' aligning...

I extend that to the 2010s in general, honestly, but I'll focus on 2019...

That year saw the billion-dollar releases of - in order: CAPTAIN MARVEL, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, ALADDIN, TOY STORY 4, THE LION KING, FROZEN II, and THE RISE OF SKYWALKER... They got a moderate success out of the MALEFICENT sequel that year, too, while the live-action DUMBO didn't recoup its - ironically - massive budget. (The original 1941 DUMBO was a low-budget picture belted out during the war.) Some 20th titles came out that year, too, most of them not doing great, like the X-Men movie DARK PHOENIX and Blue Sky's penultimate SPIES IN DISGUISE (I call it penultimate because I consider NIMONA a partial Blue Sky movie, their swan song).

Even then, that was a year to die for. But that's the rub... ENDGAME was the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's whole Infinity Saga. 11 years in the making, it's astounding it was able to have juice for that long! Yes, yes, I know, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME was the *actual* end of Phase 3... That functions more like an epilogue, while ENDGAME was the big finale event everyone waited for... and of course, CAPTAIN MARVEL benefited greatly from being the movie that preceded ENDGAME. By less than two months... TOY STORY 4 was locked to be big, because TOY STORY 3 made a billion nine years earlier. ALADDIN and THE LION KING were remakes of some of Disney's biggest animated movies, and FROZEN II was a sequel to another one of Disney's biggest animated movies. RISE OF SKYWALKER ended the entire Skywalker Saga... And ending the main story of one of the biggest franchises- You get the idea!

Suffice to say, Disney's not going to have that year again. They'd have to acquire like another 2-3 franchises, and release their finales all during the same year in addition to two other favorites. The MCU isn't the must-see event with each and every film anymore post-ENDGAME, Star Wars' future is probably in serialized shows still, the remake well has run dry and all the biggest Disney animated movies were pretty much covered (SNOW WHITE - from the one that started everything - is on its way, but I see that performing more similarly to DUMBO and not LITTLE MERMAID), and... Well, animated movies that aren't sequels are more of a gamble nowadays.

But it seems like in 2025 and 2026, Disney's looking to keep trying this usual platter of movies that would've been a killer line-up in 2017. Not today. That's how I felt about their offering last year, too.

It's a lot of reliance on the brands. New Star Wars sounds like box office gold, right? Well, two new Star Wars movies in 2026 after all those movies Disney did from 2015-2019 in addition to what seems like a ton of Disney+ shows... And Grogu was super-popular back when he first appeared in THE MANDALORIAN back in 2019... Yeah, like, who knows how those will do... In addition to all the Marvel movies planned, not all of them are gonna get everyone packing the auditoriums - as we saw with QUANTUMANIA and THE MARVELS. (And on the Warner Bros./DC end, SHAZAM! 2 and BLUE BEETLE, even AQUAMAN 2 didn't make half of what the first one made, THE FLASH fell sharply after its opening.)

And then you have the animated sequels, which seem like safe bets. Disney only missed with Pixar's LIGHTYEAR, which was a spin-off that went a totally different direction that seemed to have alienated the audiences that made all the TOY STORY movies the big hits that they were. TOY STORY 5 likely does way better than that, but I expect it to be a box office come down from the last two. It would have to have a real banger story, I feel, to get people to keep coming. I think MOANA 2, ZOOTOPIA 2, and FROZEN III - all from Disney Animation - are locked to at least open big. If they're very unsatisfactory movies to the public - like STRANGE WORLD and WISH were, then they have weak legs... And smackdab between this sequel-frenzy is one original Pixar movie: Space adventure ELIO.... Which got delayed, supposedly because it was a big mess and it needed another year and a half to be reconfigured. Not that that really means anything, but it's sure to balloon its probably already-big budget. ELEMENTAL had to climb and climb to somewhat eke out a profit, ELIO might have even more trouble as an original movie. It's also not known what Pixar's other 2026 movie is opposite TOY STORY 5, though I suspect it is another original, which will make it stick out as well. WDAS' original movies seem missing in action at the moment.

20th Century Studios and Searchlight continue to have the interesting stuff, which I think will last longer than more Marvel and Star Wars movies. Both studios really did become a replacement for Disney's former adult movie label Touchstone, didn't they? And they too have their franchise biggies, more for Disney, with the likes of PLANET OF THE APES and ALIEN... Whose new installments come out this year and are sure to do okay. Plus, more AVATAR... And yet those franchise don't feel - to me - as overdone as Star Wars and the MCU. It's been 7 years since the last APES and ALIEN movies, weirdly enough (WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES and ALIEN: COVENANT), and AVATAR took a long break before returning with a cluster sequels all reasonably spaced out from one another. PREDATOR/PREY looks to keep going. I also wonder if future KINGSMAN movies are still in play.

Again, it's the little stuff that matters, because wells always run dry... And I think that's Disney's problem at the moment, ditto them playing things way too safe in other areas... I've said that before, but they - specifically on the "Walt Disney Pictures" end - need to just let loose and let a filmmaker just make something dynamic and cool and new. Something that takes the audience completely by surprise, not just another "Disney movie". Something like PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN or WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT. And make more smaller movies, too, and not relegate them to streaming. Little movies like THE PRINCESS DIARIES, HOLES, etc. We're in that scene in RATATOUILLE again where the patrons of Gusteau's ask if there's anything *new* on the menu...

The time is now, Disney. With a new head of your live-action division, let's see what you've got. We're past calendar years locked and loaded with 8 tentpole movies...

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Every once in a while, these rough pencil tests animated by Milt Kahl - one of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men" and to my estimation one of the greatest animators - pop up on the internet...

It is a deleted scene from THE RESCUERS, the Disney studio's 1977 animated feature.

I can only imagine where this scene would factor in, though?

I don't think it's a scene cut from the story they chose to go through with for the finished movie. The only daytime scene in New York City in THE RESCUERS is the beginning of the movie, when the Rescue Aid Society all get together within the United Nations building to find out where the next person in need is. After that scene, it's nighttime. Not too long after, they are out of New York...

My best guess is that this pencil test was done by Milt for a much earlier version of THE RESCUERS, when it was in development circa 1973-74. At one point, THE RESCUERS was going to involve a polar bear in a zoo voiced by Louis Prima, who had previously voiced the standout King Louie in 1967's THE JUNGLE BOOK. No shock, this character's name was also Louie. Director Wolfgang Reitherman liked to bring back actors that voiced in the animated films he directed at Disney. At another point, once the setting of the bulk of the movie was moved to the South, Phil Harris - Baloo, Thomas O'Malley and Prince John - was set to voice a bullfrog who lead the swamp critters.

I'd imagine the people above, including that vendor who looks like Kahl's Edgar from THE ARISTOCATS, are patrons at a zoo watching the wildlife in their exhibits. Note the bench and the fence. If not, then maybe in that version of the story, a baseball field was involved?

The zoo is kept in the finished film, but only for a short scene of Bernard and Bianca searching the rainy New York streets for any clues they can find. A lion's roar is heard, and that's it. The polar bear version of THE RESCUERS also featured a lion who was to be voiced by comedian Redd Foxx.

But it's fascinating that a piece of test animation exists that features these characters, ostensibly for a version of THE RESCUERS that didn't make it past early development.

Or I could be completely wrong in my theory, and that it is a cut scene from a version of the movie that's much, *much* closer to the released picture. If so, I can only imagine where it would've fit. Probably in act one.

What do you think?

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Well guys, I finally manage to complete a fanfic after a whole year of not doing one.

I do recommend reading the beginning notes since it explains a little bit about this one.

Long story short, this fic was a last minute decision I made when I realized I wasn't going to be able to complete the main one on time.

Consider this a teaser/addendum piece if you will.

Also if there are any Brook Ripple fans out there, I highly recommend you leave a kudos and a comment.

Hope you enjoy cause there's still more to come.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Big slate drop from the Diz, ahead of their CinemaCon presentation next week... Some changes, some new additions, some slot-fillings...

Some of these dates are to the shock of no one:

10/18/2024: A REAL PAIN

12/06/2024: NIGHTBITCH

04/11/2025: THE AMATEUR

10/10/2025: TRON: ARES

05/22/2026: THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU

06/19/2026: TOY STORY 5

07/10/2026: MOANA (Remake)

A REAL PAIN recently ran at Sundance, now it's a Searchlight movie, it's a comedy drama starring Jesse Eisenberg. Good get for them.

NIGHTBITCH is a new Searchlight addition to the schedule that sounds quite cool, a horror comedy that will go into limited release, maybe for a potential Oscar run? Amy Adams as someone who is convinced they're turning into a dog at night? I'd see that.

Thriller THE AMATEUR vacated this coming November for next spring. TRON-in-name-only debuts fall 2025, instead of a Christmas slot like TRON: LEGACY did. AVATAR 3 currently has that locked up. It also didn't opt for the summer, but I'd imagine the VFX need plenty of time. TRON: LEGACY also took a good amount of time to come together, and we want The Grid looking as good as it can.

TOY STORY 5 was obviously going to be Pixar's summer 2026 release after Bob Iger said it was aiming for 2026... It sure as heck wasn't going to be the studio's spring 2026 title. Also, who's directing? No word on that? And yet, no word on what the 3/6/2026 Pixar movie is. Still scheduled on the same day as Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's THE CAT IN THE HAT movie, which took the date after Disney had already claimed it for a Pixar film. The game of chicken there still hasn't ended.

MOANA remake also unsurprisingly swam back a year, as it was nowhere near production and you've got the actual MOANA sequel coming out in November. Would've been too close of a release. (And even then, a remake of the original coming out a year and a half after the sequel is still overkill to me, but whatever.)

Everything else for 2025 remains in place: The four Marvel movies (doubt they're gonna put FOUR out this year), ELIO, SNOW WHITE, ZOOTOPIA 2, AVATAR 3, etc. Nothing has filled other slots Disney claimed for that year:

03/07/2025

05/23/2025

Chances are, those just go to 20th Century/Searchlight titles. Memorial Day is a pretty prime slot though, so I reckon that goes to something good-sized that's been in the works for quite some time. MALEFICENT 3, maybe? That recently announced sequel to FREAKY FRIDAY? Or that D+ LILO & STITCH remake gets upped to theatrical? Could be anything.

Either more stuff gets shifted after CinemaCon, or things stay the same for a while. It's worth noting that this sizable slate update comes after Disney Pictures got its new president, David Greenbaum. Nothing greenlit under him just yet is on here, as these things take time, but we're definitely seeing the last of his predecessor's efforts finally coming out.

I'm over here still wondering what's up with Suzi Yoonessi's original fantasy film that she was directing for Disney Animation, and if we'll get that somewhere between the triple-decker sequel offerings of MOANA 2, ZOOTOPIA 2, and FROZEN III. Iger had previously said that FROZEN III was aiming for 2026, but Disney curiously didn't slot it in the Thanksgiving 2026 frame that was previously locked for a WDAS movie... Maybe FROZEN III has to wait a little bit? Or Suzi's film somehow comes out between early 2025 and mid 2026, with FROZEN III following in the fall? I don't know. Does that film even still exist?

Plot thickens, as always...

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

THE BAD GUYS 2. Confirmed for August 1, 2025. No surprise, if you've been listening through the trenches over the past cluster of months... A little over 3 years after the release of the first one, bringing back the cast and director Pierre Perifel. JP Sans - head of animation on the first film - is also co-director. The film will follow the titular Bad Guys teaming with an all-female group to pull off one last "bad" mission, despite their newfound lives as Good Guys. Sure to be a lot of fun, and it makes sense... THE BAD GUYS book series by Aaron Blabey is up to book #20, so I'm sure we'll be seeing these fellas quite often from here on out. I love the first BAD GUYS, so I'm totally game.

So now that leaves one more slot, the September 26, 2025 release... I've said it before, but I think that goes to a non-sequel movie. There is already this movie and DOG MAN coming out in 2025 from DreamWorks, that last one... I keep guessing it's going to be RONAN BOYLE, which had a director (Fergal Reilly) attached for a long while and seemed to be going full-steam ahead at one point? At one time I suspected it would be this autumn's release, until it was shockingly revealed that Chris Sanders was back at DreamWorks quietly at work on an all-new film. That of course is THE WILD ROBOT.

So yeah, as I predicted before, RONAN BOYLE for fall 2025, SHREK 5 for sometime in 2026. If it's not RONAN BOYLE, then it's a hitherto unannounced DreamWorks movie that isn't a sequel. Unless they do two sequels, but we'll see about that. I know that the game plan has been, since 2022, a sequel and a non-sequel every calendar year. DOG MAN fills the latter, BAD GUYS 2 the former, fall 2025 is not a Netflix movie like ORION AND THE DARK is, so... We shall see...