CANNES WATCH: Lasseter shows Pixar, Disney animation slate
May 20, 2015, 10:13 AM
Actress Amy Poehler, left, laughs as chief creative officer at Pixar John Lasseter gestures for photographers upon arrival for the screening of the film Inside Out at the 68th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
(AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
CANNES, France (AP) — After the enthusiastically received premiere of the growing-up tale “Inside Out,” John Lasseter presented a preview of Pixar and Disney Animation’s upcoming slate.
The Pixar and Disney Animation chief creative officer presented footage to a Cannes Film Festival audience of Pixar’s delayed movie “The Good Dinosaur,” which he called the studio’s biggest “What if?” — as in “What if the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs actually missed Earth?”
Lasseter said the film about a boy and a dog reversed their usual roles, portraying a talking dinosaur and a wild, grunting boy, and touted the level of detail in the film’s animation. It’s due out Nov. 25.
He also previewed the “Finding Nemo” sequel: “Finding Dory,” which is slated for summer 2016. Lasseter said in the 12 years since the original children’s blockbuster, animation technology has greatly increased, especially its depiction of water.
Lasseter had no drawings of footage to show of the film he’s directing, “Toy Story 4,” but said it’s “not as much a continuation of past films but a brand new chapter in the Toy Story world.”
On the Disney Animation side, he promoted “Zootopia,” which is about a world without humans populated by very human-like animals. Sloths, for instance, work at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Along with that film, planned for March 2016, Lasseter also previewed “Moana,” a Polynesian princess musical.
“Moana” appeared to bear out Lasseter’s recent proclamation at Cannes that Pixar and Disney are interested in having more female and ethnic protagonists.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle, http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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