It seems like forever that these rumors have been floating around. I’m talking about Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross’ announcements regarding Pixar’s 2012 projects, Brave and Monsters, Inc. 2!
Yes, The Bear and the Bow’s name has been officially changed to Pixar’s internal title, Brave! You may remember speculation surrounding the name since Pete Docter used it back in May of 2009. Later, web URLs seemed to back these claims up.
Brenda Chapman’s film about a Scottish princess turned archer finally has a set release date, June 15th, 2012. That’s half a year after the previosuly announced Winter 2011 release, but I’m sure it’s all for the best. That leaves Cars 2 alone next year in what was to be Pixar’s first year with two releases.
Both titles are appealing to me, so if marketing thinks Brave is the way to go, I’m backing them up. Disney actually just got a new lead in that department. MT Carney was appointed as CMO yesterday and will also have to focus on Pixar’s faster approaching releases including Toy Story 3.
Speaking of franchises, Monsters, Inc. 2 is in fact in the works and it’s coming much sooner than you think! Pixar’s fourth sequel is scheduled for November 16th, 2012. That’s a full 11 years after the November 2nd, 2001 release of the original.
I’m ecstatic about this decision because I know Pixar has a strong story or they wouldn’t go through with something like this. The Monsters, Inc. DVD is what got me into the Pixar spirit and continuing the adventures of Mike and Sulley is like a dream come true for me.
It doesn’t look like Pete Docter is directing though, he’s talked about an original project that he’s currently developing. Fan speculation is surrounding Bob Peterson, who had a huge part in the original film’s story and later worked with Docter as Up’s co-director. No plot details have been revealed.
The announcement of Monsters, Inc. 2 seems to confirm that Newt has been shelved indefinitely. Look out for my write up on that soon, I have quite a theory to share and it’s really not what you think.
What are your thoughts on these announcements? Are you a fan of the title Brave? Are you excited for Monsters, Inc. 2? Why or why not?
(via Variety)
I posted this in the discussion section of another movie news website, but it bears repeating here:
Hmm… I hope Pixar knows what they’re doing with this. It’s Pixar, and I’m confident that whatever they decide to do it will be good, however, Monsters, Inc. was such a brilliant and complete work that I feel adding anything to it would only damage its integrity.
The story was brilliant from the beginning, and it ended beautifully, tying up every loose end. Trying to untie that story and add more plot threads seems like a mistake. I’m willing to be proven wrong, but if I do turn out to be right I hope Pixar has enough creative integrity to pull the plug on this sequel.
IllusionOfLife- I respect your opinion, but listen to the MI commentary around that iconic scene. It seems like Pixar always meant for it to be an open ending. Of course, it tied the film together, which is what makes it stand alone, but it leaves a ltitle door open and Pixar seems ready to “exploit” that.
Like you said, we’ll see how it goes very soon. 🙂
This is very exciting news! Monsters Inc. is my favorite Pixar film, and I really feel it concluded bets beautifully. I aslo think that it was indeed an pen conclusion, and I trust the sequel has an equally wonderful story. I am excited!
Anyway, I actualy liked The Bear and the Bow quite a lot as a title. It inspired me, actually, in several ways. Brave doesn’t really do anything for me… yet! I’m sure once the film is released I will love the new title.
martini833, I listened to the Blu-ray commentary recently and I didn’t get that from them. Maybe I need to go back and listen again, but if I recall they said that they played around with the idea of going further with that scene but even that damaged the emotional integrity of the ending. Ending it where they did was the perfect decision and, to me, adding any more to that seems like a mistake.
I desperately hope I’m wrong, but I fear that Disney’s new ‘franchise only’ mentality has invaded Pixar and I can’t see that as being a good thing. 🙁
“I desperately hope I’m wrong,”
Me too. 😛 But on a serious note, MI2 is a big step and we’ll just have to see.
I’m a big fan on Monsters Inc 2 but I hope this is noot going to happen to other films.
See This year its Toy Story 3 which i’m happy about.Cars 2, not bad but when MI2 was confurmed….I was like WHAT THE!?!?!?
I am happy that theres going to be a MI2 but i hope not in the future like who knows in the year 2030 we might have Toy Story 15 Where Andy is like 60 or something plus why did you have to drop Newt. I MEAN CMON, YOU DON’T WANT MORE AND MORE AND MORE MOVIES WITH THE SAME ANAMATIONS AND VOICES WE WANT TO MIX IT UP A BIT LIKE NEWT I WAS LOOKING FOWARD TO IT IT SOUNDED LIKE A GOOD MOVIE I JUST HOPE YOU DIDEN’T DROP IT PLUS “BRAVE?!?!?!” THAT IS WORSE THAN “TANGLED”. To me this is a step back for me Pixar I just hope Newt is on one of your next projects
P.S I need help Making a Pixar Planet form account. When i do the number code it just thhinks that im doing it wrong.Any help thx! 🙂 Rielly
This is huge! Great report Martin! We can always count on you to give us the latest news.
These news makes me super excited about Brave, I like the new name and I’m looking forward to see what Pixar can do with this. I’m picturing a really artistic movie with beautiful surroundings.
Like it’s been said before it also worries me that Disney is getting to much involved in Pixar works now and takes over. Seriously Disney, back off!!! Pixar knows what they’re doing they haven’t failed you before why would they know? Which leads me to the descision to put newt on the shelf. I mean, why?! It was the one film I was so super excited about I was looking so forward to it… I really hope they will bring it back soon.
MI2 sounds like a good movie to do a sequel to (when will we get The Incredibles 2?). I mean sure the ending was so beautiful and well made you’re not sure if you want it not to be the end. But I trust that Pixar will make this a super film. They always do.
Not sure if I trust Disney though.
Sorry about the long message.
Thanks 🙂
I’m pretty sure that Newt was shelved because it was gonna suck.
It seems to me that Pixar is moving into a 2 a year territory. So if they do sequels every once in a while, it doesn’t mean we won’t have just as many original films as we’ve been getting. Heck, you don’t know what 2013 will bring, that could be two originals movies (or the Incredibles 2, I hope I hope)
And as for directions they could go with Monsters Inc, I hope they don’t age Boo more than a year or two, that’d ruin everything if she was an obnoxious pre-teen, but if she were a totally kick butt and still sweet older girl, that’d be great, but I still want her to be a kid.
I hope Randall gets redemption. He’s the character they can do the most with. And please bring back Roz! I love her.
I have to honestly say that I was against the title change to “Brave” from the beginning. I just think “The Bear and the Bow” was more of an interesting title, although some people might contest that.
@ Most Recent Anonymous:
I’m fairly certain that Randall is dead.
MI 2 I’m okay with, Brave I’m okay with, Cars 2 I’m not sure I’m okay with. I feel that Pixar, with the Cars franchise, has exploited it more than anything else, and kind of killed it for me. There’s been too much. I liked the original movie, but we have Cars Toons and I think the original movie was good as a stand alone. But I trust Pixar. They know what they’re doing, and it should be good.
What’s up with one word titles? Cars, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, Brave…
Although I am excited, at the same time I am worried. It sounds like Pixar is turning into Dreamworks, especially with the 2 movies a year thing. If Disney is involved with this, why I oughtta!
I loved Monsters Inc and do feel it’s a complete movie that doesn’t need a sequel. However, until Pixar proves me wrong, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and expect that the sequel will be worthy of the original, of Pixar’s reputation, and of my $ when I see it in the theater and buy the DVD.
I’m going to be a voice of dissent here, and say that this absolutely terrible news. Pixar is dying and will soon be dead. Oh, don’t get me wrong, they’ll still release movies with the Pixar name on them (there’s money to made, don’tcha know?), but the Pixar that innovated, that marched to their own drummer, and was concerned with creativity above all else is going to go. This is exactly what we saw happening with Disney in the mid-to-late 90’s.
Disney decided they wanted a movie every single year. Then they opened more studios to halp produce them. Then the sequelitis started. It’s unfortunate because Pixar had a really good run. Sure, Cars was terrible, and Up was singularly unimpressive, but all their other movies have been nothing short of brilliant. Gamechangers that changed the way we thought about movies and animation. Not just in terms of computers vs drawn, but in terms of the way we felt about the characters and stories that could be told in animation.
No we’re going to have sit through Toy Story 6 because “we’re really excited about this new Toy Story cause we’ve got a really good story idea. For reelz guys, for reelz.” Count me out. I’ll see TS3 on the off chance that it’ll be good (and because a friend of mine worked on it), but I can’t sday I’m excited about it (especially since they’ve recycled at least two or three iconic jokes from the first two movies in the trailers alone. Hey at least they’re being green, I suppose)
-Michael
All I hope is that they don’t hit 3 or 4 movies a year because that’s Dreamworks territory and I think everyone knows Pixar is 6,000 times better than Dreamworks. P.S. I really hope this doesn’t become a regular thing, sequels I mean, because that’s also Dreamworks territory. Also, The Incredibles 2 would definitely have to be an end to the sequels, if they make it.
Anonymous Michael- Can you see into the future? Let me in on your secret. Personally, I don’t have those powers or a time machine, but I have seen Toy Story 3 and it’s an amazing film that does have a solid story on par with the last two in the series. It also wraps up the series well, which is one of the reasons it’s being made. I respect your dissent, but you’re quick to judge and I don’t think your friend who worked on the film would appreciate your harsh comments. All I have to say is: I trust Pixar and having seen their last 11 films (loving each one for their unique charm) I have no reason not to.
I always trust Pixar. In the end these decisions are gonna be good ones, and I’m looking forward to them all. 😉
—Leirin
To the anonymous concerned with the age of Boo, I just wanted to say that I wouldn’t be surprised if Boo isn’t in the sequel.
That might be a stupid idea, but I feel like Mike and Sully have a whole ‘nother adventure in store.
Hey Micheal, mind if I borrow your DeLorean next week? >_>
Anywaaaaay, I’m gonna take a wait-and-see approach to this whole thing, though I’m not pleased with 2 films squished into 1 year.
Oh, and will you guys please fix the signing in issue for comments here please?
– Chao
We’re working on all of that Chao. Really appreciate your concern. It’s a long story, kind of crazy how little control I have over the site’s current design. We’ll have some cool stuff later on, so look forward to it. Sign in problems should be fixed by then. 🙂 You can always clear your cookies and attempt to log in, for now.
Okay, awesome. Sorry for sounding rude. ^^;
I don’t think you sounded rude. 😉
@Michael: “Sure, Cars was terrible, and Up was singularly unimpressive, but all their other movies have been nothing short of brilliant.”
I respect whatever opinions you may have, but it would be much appreciated if you refrain from stating them as though they were facts. With that said, I do think that “Cars”, in my humble opinion, is an absolute masterpiece that deserves much more recognition than it’s getting (despite being, in my opinion, the “worst” Pixar film).
Regarding the announcement, I do admit that I am quite concerned that Disney is getting too involved with Pixar’s projects, especially with all these sequels coming out one year after another. However, like Martin said, none of us can peer into the future, so we have to wait until the movies actually get released before we make our final judgment. For now, we can only hope for the best and place our trust on Pixar. After all, Pixar hasn’t let most of us down yet (or at least, hasn’t let ME down yet)
Despite the title change, “Brave”’‘s premise sounds interesting (although I do prefer “The Bear and the Bow” as a title – but maybe that’s just because I’ve become used to referring to it by that name). If Brave and Monsters Inc. 2 both end up being nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, it should be a fairly interesting race, considering that it’ll be the first time Pixar will be competing against itself (and, inevitably, the first time Pixar fans will be competing against each other, awards-wise 😉 )
-CountSolo
I am starting to wear my patience out to those that keep on whining about Pixar making sequels. What’s up with that? Maybe you guys think that Pixar are just looking into furthering their bank account or maybe you think Pixar is turning to be like the other studios that sequelize their movies to the umphteenth time. So far, Pixar has never let me down and it has been in me to be excited for a Pixar film every year. They’ve never failed, and in my opinion, even Cars delivered. They call their characters their babies, so what’s the fuss in seeing these babies grow? THIS IS PIXAR, guys. They earned the chance to do this and I know for a fact that there hasn’t been any reason why we should ever doubt them. Every company wants to grow and be profitable but Pixar always said that it is never their drive in making their movies, and they have proven that 11 times already. What would it take for people to be convinced? Somehow it feels like a lot are just waiting to say that they are right and anticipating a failure on Pixar’s part. It’s just so tiresome.
I do not work for Pixar and I can not see into the future but if we have thought that Pixar making sequels could be a bad thing, then I am sure that they have already thought about that too. I can tell that they are concerned about the things they do and they will do anything to deviate from what they think would make it wrong. So you probably thought Monsters, Inc. is “unsequelable” or Cars 2 is not needed, but I am certain that they made these movies not thinking about whether there’d be sequels or not. They made these movies so we can enjoy them everytime we watch them. Deciding whether having a sequel or not only comes when they agreed to have found an interesting new adventure to be told. And why are we fretting so much when we have only heard about the projects they said they are working on? Pete Docter is working on an original, and he wouldn’t say a thing about it. We don’t know but there maybe others they are being tight-lipped about too.
OMG! I loved the first Monsters, Inc. and can’t wait for 2. Brave doesn’t sound bad at all. Please unveil the logos soon. Also, put Newt into your 2013 schedule. Don’t cancel it!
I admit, I may have been a bit harsh in my wording of my previous post. However, I believe that my concern is completely justified.
I’m simply looking at the historical data of what has happened at past animation companies and where they went wrong. I’m seeing a lot of similar problems beginning to emerge at Pixar.
For example, the increased production schedule. When Disney began doing this, the quality of their features dropped. Few of them were ever terrible, but then again, they never did reach the heights of Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, or the other films of Disney’s second golden age. They opened a new studio. And they started producing sequels (granted they were done by a completely different studio, but they were still sequels).
A lot of people trust Pixar, and to a large extent so do I. But I also recognize that they are human beings and they are perfectly capable of making mistakes. Even John Lasseter has said that they won’t always produce consistent hits. Walt Disney certainly couldn’t. And he didn’t always make an excellent animated feature. Some are surprisingly mediocre.
I’ve been animation fan a long time. So much os that I’m currently attempting to make it my profession. I’m not a Pixar hater, nor of any animation studio. I want to see animation studios do well. At the same time, I can’t ignore the facts, and see the pattern. I’m sorry if I’ve offended anyone, but I believe I have the right to my opinion, and the article did solicit them.
-Michael
Michael,
I think you worded your concerns 100% better in your last reply. I completely respect how you feel although I completely disagree.
Like I’ve said, we’ll just have to wait and see.
And as for the “this is how history goes” comment, Pixar defied history with 10 hits in a row (which is unheard of), maybe they can keep it up…
This is really mean that Newt is gone forever or just in development heck like the 2012 Halo movie? I thought it would be good to have another original Pixar movie over another sequal (but don’t get me wrong, I love Monsters Inc.). But MI2 will be as good as an original just because it’s Pixar.
on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_(2012_film) it shows a new logo. Does anyone know if it is official?
yo- It looks like it was made by compositing letters from the original “The Bear and the Bow” logo. I checked Disney’s PR site, and so far, nothing has been made available for “Brave.” I wouldn’t be surprised if the official logo was similar to that one.
That’s what I was thinking; they probably morphed a letter or two to make the “V”.
@ Anonymous Michael, Up was unimpressive to you? Are you kidding?
Whats with pixar doing sequals?