PocketGamer.co.uk boasts the first shots of the upcoming mobile edition of the WALL•E video game.
As reported in yesterday’s WSJ article, Disney has severed ties with long-time partner THQ, Inc., and plan to develop the video-game tie in for Toy Story 3 (due for release in 2010) in house. Disney have plans to spend $180 million this year on video-game development and increasing that amount to $350 million within 5 years.
The winners of the 35th Annual Annie Awards have been announced and Ratatouille nearly swept up all the awards it was nominated for reports Variety.
In a near-sweep, Pixar’s popular "anyone can cook" parable shut out every bigscreen contender except Sony Pictures Animation’s "Surf’s Up," which scored two individual achievement awards ,while Oscar nominee "Persepolis" went home empty-handed.
says the article. The full list of wins for Ratatouille include:
THQ also won the award for "Animated Video Game" for Ratatouille and Pixar also won the award for "Animated Short Subject" for Your Friend The Rat.
Congratulations to everyone at Pixar for these well-deserved wins. Fingers crossed for the Oscars. Thanks Guido.
Upcoming Pixar has received 2 screenshots from the upcoming release of Disney/Pixar’s WALL•E, published by THQ and created by Heavy Iron Studios. Thanks Guido!
THQ via IGN gives a bit more information on what we can expect in the WALL•E video game due out on June this year. As we know, WALL•E follows of the tale of a robot of the same name that is not turned off for 700 years on Earth, and he cleans every day. Until one day, another ship comes along with a new robot, EVE and together they travel on a "fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future."
According to the info THQ has released about the game so far, players will control both robots and "relive some of the movie’s most thrilling moments" in addition to exploring some new storylines not featured in the movie. The title is described as an action/adventure game and will apparently include some multiplayer elements as well.
says the article. Sounds exciting. Thanks Guido.
THQ via BusinessWire have officially announced the WALL•E Video Game for all major platforms which include the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
WALL/E is expected to release this summer and will mark THQ’s next installment in the company’s well-established and successful association with Disney/Pixar. Development for WALL/E will be led by THQ’s internal Heavy Iron Studios.
says the press release.
GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that THQ are not creating the video game for Toy Story 3, due out in 2010, because it doesn’t have the rights to do so. Currently, THQ only have a deal for 4 video games after the merger, starting with Ratatouille. The deal also includes WALL•E, Up and the unannounced 2011 project.
Farrell noted that THQ never had any rights to Toy Story 3, so it was no surprise to them that Disney has decided to develop the videogames internally. The film itself is currently scheduled for a 2010 release.
Because THQ’s current licensing agreement gives them the rights to develop videogame sequels, it won’t actually expire until 2014.
says the article.
Read the full deal here.
Nominations for the 35th Annual Annie Awards have been announced, with Ratatouille leading the awards for animation with 13 nominations including Best Animated Feature. In the category it is up against:
Bee Movie – DreamWorks Animation
Persepolis – Sony Pictures Classics
Surf’s Up – Sony Pictures Animation
The Simpsons Movie – Twentieth Century Fox
Other categories Ratatouille has been nominated in are:
2 x Animated Effects
Character Animation in a Feature Production
Character Animation in a Television Production
Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Music in an Animated Feature Production
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
3 x Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
Writing in an Animated Feature Production
Other award nominations for Pixar and Pixar related productions include:
Best Animated Short Subject (Your Friend the Rat)
Best Animated Video Game (THQ Inc.)
The full list is here. And if my memory serves me correctly, no winner of the Best Animated Feature at the Annie’s has gone on to not win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (bar of course, the Academy’s blunder when they gave that penguin film the award instead of Cars. Surely there is no doubt in their minds this year. I guess this article is also a good segue into this New York Times article on the issue of Disney putting Ratatouille up for Best Picture this year also.
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