The animated movie opens Nov. 25, 2009, and stars George Clooney as the title character, a fox who’s dealing with three wealthy farmers who are none too happy about Mr. Fox feeding his family on their poultry.

The voice cast also includes Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman. Watch the trailer here.

Image: INF

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They look great in the interview, and seem to be doing well. Ella talked about wanting to be an actress, how she plans on handling fame, and she also diplomatically said she looked like a mix of both John and Kelly.

It will be really fun to see all of them on screen together in the same movie.

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Q: “Up” became the first animated film to open the Cannes Film Festival. Do you believe animated features are becoming accepted as a more serious artistic platform?

Pete Docter: We were very honored to be the first animated film to open the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Walking around there, I kept picturing Hitchcock, Coppola, Truffaut; these big time directors … and US?!?! It seemed like some sort of mistake! But we do look at our work as filmmaking, just like any other film. And it’s nice to see the world looking at it that way as well.

Q: How did Michael Giacchino (composer) come to the project? How was working with him?

Pete Docter: Michael had worked with Brad on "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille" and of course did a great job on those. He’s a true collaborator. We started out talking through the film conceptually, discussing the things we were looking for — like paying homage to the films of the 40’s and 50’s, the Disney films and Frank Capra and films like that. We wanted to evoke that kind of a feel.  And then we went through sequences shot by shot sometimes and talked about the construction of the scenes and what I was hoping to achieve musically. Not necessarily like arrangements or anything like that, but more like, "Okay, it should start really low here, sneak in, and then build to this point … and then jump out at us!"  We’d talk more emotionally like that and then I’d leave it to Michael to write the music. He would play us these demos and we’d listen via teleconference, and anytime we’d have thoughts or suggestions, he would do changes, sometimes right on the spot. He was very open to whatever the film needed. He’s a filmmaker. Really thinks about the storytelling and how music communicates to people. He’s got range that a lot of film composers either don’t have or don’t utilize.  His "Ratatouille" score doesn’t sound like the "Up" score, which doesn’t sound like "The Incredibles" or "Star Trek." Amazing.

More after the jump…

Q: Can you explain the process of how Carl’s montage at the beginning evolved?

Pete Docter: That was probably the scene I’m most proud of in the film. It came into play early as we developed the story of this guy floating away in his house, and we asked ourselves, "Why is he doing that?" We figured there was some sort of loss or unfulfilled dream that he was trying to make right, and so we came up with the back-story of Carl and his wife.  We initially constructed it as a compressed series of small short scenes, with dialogue and sound effects. Little snippets of life.  Bob [Peterson] wrote it. When Ronnie del Carmen started to storyboard it, we felt like it would be nice to reduce it, simplify it, and take the dialogue out. My parents shot a lot of Super 8 movies of our family growing up. Watching them now, there’s something really emotional about not having any sound. That allows, I think, the audience to participate more actively and kind of imagine, "What are they talking about there?"  Or "what happened right before this moment? " And that feeling was all part of what went into that scene… these really little beautiful real-life moments showing the highs and lows of life. Carl’s true adventure — their relationship together.

Q: There must have been a ton of research that went into the look of the mountain tops; were any similar tests conducted into using helium balloons to lift an entire house?

Pete Docter: The first thing our technical team did when they started working on the balloons was to figure out how many balloons it would take to lift a house in real life. Here’s his math: * Carl’s house is 1600 sq ft * Somewhere I found some figures saying that the average 1600sqft house weights about 345,000 lbs, of which 160,000lbs is from the foundation, and about 30,000lbs is from the garage. * Since Carl lifts off and leaves the foundation behind, that leaves about 155,000lbs ( == 77.5 US tons == 70,306 kg) that the Canopy needs to lift. Accelerating toward the ground at 9.8 m/s^2, that’s 688,998 N of force from gravity that the Canopy has to overcome. * With the density of Helium at .1786 kg/m^3 and representing a balloon as a sphere with a radius of 2.78ft (85 cm, ~5.56 ft diameter — we’re talking weather balloons here…) — each balloon can generate 4.5N of buoyant force… * So to generate at least 688,998N of force to overcome gravity, you’d need: 153,053 helium-filled, 5.56ft diameter balloons. * If you’re trying this with big party balloons, say 1 ft diameter, then you’d need a whole lot more: 26,550,146….26.5 million balloons. * None of this takes into account the weight of the balloons themselves or the strings to tie them to the house.

Q: You’ve said in the past that you identify strongly with Buzz Lightyear, are there any other characters you identify with?

Pete Docter: Well, I Identify strongly with Carl. I often grouse about how things are changing, and "why did they take that item off the menu?!?" I’m going to make a good old man. Weirdly, Kevin the bird is another character I really like. Not that I feel a kinship, but she was a fun character to play around with, because she’s so unpredictable.

Q: I saw the video of the trip to gain artistic inspiration for UP … what are some examples of other inspirations for animated elements in your work that came from more mundane/conventional sources?

Pete Docter: Doing research is one of the best parts of working on these films. One day we brought in an ostrich. It was cool to see an ostrich running around on the front lawn here. And of course the film was a great excuse to bring in our dogs. We also went to a few Old Folks homes. We formed a band — we played Tin Pan Alley type tunes and went in to a local retirement home to play for them. As we were up there, all of us were secretly taking mental notes and doing sketches behind our ukuleles. It was great — we got good research, and they said we were the best act to play there in months!

Q: Was the choice of presenting the film in 3D a conscious decision from the beginning? How does it affect the production process?

Pete Docter: We start the process for "Up" in 2D, with the focus just on the story and the characters. It was about three years in that John Lasseter came to us and said, "Hey, there are some really cool new developments that have happened with 3D," and of course Pixar had a long history of interest in 3D, John being one of the prime cheerleaders.  He shot pictures of his own wedding in 3D, as well as "Knick-Knack," which is in 3D as well. So we did a ton of research, watching other 3D films, and made a list of things we liked and things we didn’t. I wanted to use 3D in a more subtle way than the usual, "WOAH! THERE’S A BIG BANANA CREAM PIE COMING OUT TOWARDS THE AUDIENCE!" thing you often see in 3D. We used 3D as another tool to communicate the emotion of the scene, like you would use color, lighting, or cinematography. In the end, we didn’t let it affect the way we approached the story at all. I didn’t want to compromise the 2D version — which is the way it will be seen most often (considering DVD and Blu-ray).

Q: As far as the animation style of “Up” goes, instead of going for “as close to realism as possible” kind of visuals, it has an almost caricature style, especially with the facial features highlighting big points, rather than looking like a human head. What influenced the style of “Up,” and why did you decide to go this route?

Pete Docter: The story called for Carl to float his house into the air buoyed by balloons. For that to be believable, we felt it would be necessary to caricature the world – and, therefore, the characters, as well. I think if we made it look photo-real, you wouldn’t believe it as readily. Besides, if you want something to look real, go get a camera and step outside. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper. We work in animation! We can do things that can’t be done in any other medium! So the idea of simplifying and caricature is always exciting to me.

Q: Do you remember the first time you drew something and thought, "Wow, this is something I want to do for a living." Do you remember what you drew?

Pete Docter: You know how there’s always those kids in your elementary class that are really good at drawing? They sit there and "wow" everyone by drawing horses and tanks and battles and stuff? That was NOT me. I was lousy at drawing. But as soon as I figured out I could make something look like it was moving — and thinking — I was hooked. My parents are musicians, as are my sisters, so I was dragged to a lot of concerts growing up. I would always steal everyone’s programs and draw all over them, thinking up jokes like, "What would happen if all the strings on his violin broke?" or "What if someone fell in the tuba?" Comic gold, I’m telling you!

Q: How did Tom McCarthy get involved in the writing of “Up”?

Pete Docter: We had referenced Tom’s film "The Station Agent" as we worked out the structure of “Up.” It’s very similar — a guy who isn’t really living, he’s just walking through life, trying to stay removed and alone. Then he reluctantly gets drawn into this surrogate family. It’s a great film, really well written and directed. We got Tom to come here to Pixar to screen it and talk about it, so we’d meet him. Bob and I were working together at the time, but then Bob was drafted on to “Ratatouille” for a while and I was left all alone. I cried a lot and talked to myself at first. I needed someone to spark off creatively, and so I asked Tom if he could recommend any writers he knew that might want to work on the film. He fell for it and said, "How about me?" Ha ha! Sucker. He was on for three months, and it was in his draft that we added the character of Russell, which of course we kept once Bob came back on.

Q: What are the challenges involved with writing for animated movies that one might not face with live action, and how do you overcome those challenges?

Pete Docter: We approach our writing exactly as one would approach a live-action screenplay; the focus is on character and keeping the audience engaged. Our whole process is remarkably similar to live-action; we have cinematographers, lighters, costume designers, etc. We use different tools to get there, but the creative process is the same.

Images: ©Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

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Movie: Astro Boy * Official Site * Film Gecko links * Trailer	In Theaters: Oct. 23, 2009
Runtime: 94 minutes	Directed by: David Bowers
MPAA Rating: PG for some action and peril, and brief mild language	Gecko Rating:

“Astro Boy” is one of those movies that’s cute, but that you’ll probably forget about a day or two after you see it. It’s also a little violent and sad for a kids’ movie. Not as sad as “Up” or “Marley and Me,” but still sad in its own way.

The concept began as a Japanese manga series and TV show first broadcast in Japan from 1963 to 1966, and follows the adventures of the title character, Astro Boy (voiced by Freddie Highmore). He starts out as a real boy named Toby who lives in the thriving metropolis of the floating Metro City with his scientist dad, Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage).

But when Toby tags along during a presentation to the war-mongering President Stone (Donald Sutherland), he ends up getting killed in a freak lab accident involving a giant robot (kind of intense for little kids right off the bat).

More after the jump…

So Toby’s genius scientist-dad decides to re-create his son in the form of a robot who looks and sounds just like his son, and even has his son’s memories. Except when all is said and done, Tenma decides that he doesn’t want a robot for a son.

So he rejects Toby, who then runs away and falls in with a group of misfit orphans on the over-polluted Earth, including black-and-purple-haired Cora (Kristen Bell) and Zane (Moises Arias), who live with Ham Egg (Nathan Lane), their seemingly kind adoptive father who runs a Coliseum-like show where robots battle to the death.

But in order to make the war robot he wants, the President needs the blue energy inside Astro Boy, so the military goes on the hunt for him. Meanwhile, Toby is hiding his true identity from the orphans, because he knows they’ll reject him if they knew the truth. 

I get what they’re trying to do here. The original “Astro Boy” tackled some heavy issues like war, pollution, death, and parental rejection. But it doesn’t really work as a cute kids’ movie, which based on the trailers, is what this movie purported to be. 

It’s CG-animated, which you’d think would be targeted towards kids ages six to nine, but it’s too dark, violent and sad for those ages. And yet my older kids weren’t the least bit interested in seeing it because it’s “a kids’ movie.”

The storyline and characters are also fairly predictable – outcast kid who realizes his true powers and becomes a hero, geeky but kind-hearted orphans, power-hungry President, cute robot sidekick (Astro Boy adopts a little trashcan-dog), giant but helpful robot … I’m not really sure what ages this movie is appropriate for. Maybe older kids familiar with the original Manga series. But then, they’ll probably just go back to the original manga series, rather than see this movie.

As for the violence, the story includes plenty of weapons-based explosions and disasters, the killing of Toby, and several robots destroyed throughout the movie, including those in the battle-to-the-death scenes in the Coliseum.

For all of these reasons, I can’t really recommend “Astro Boy” for kids. I will say this, though: I really liked the CG animation, which does a good job of picking up all the little emotions and details of the characters. And things end well, so at least it’s not like the horrible “Marley and Me” ending, with everyone in the theater sobbing their hearts out. 

Image: TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Movie: Where the Wild Things Are * Official Site	In Theaters: Oct. 16, 2009
Runtime: 94 minutes	Directed by: Spike Jonze
MPAA Rating: PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language	Gecko Rating:

I may be one of the few people who hasn’t read the book by Maurice Sendak on which this movie is based. Or if I did, it was so long ago, I don’t remember it. At any rate, I liked the movie, not so much for the storyline, but for the incredible cinematography and CG animation of the wild things. They’re so expressive, and your eyes are just affixed to the screen every time they’re on. As for the storyline …

It follows a boy named Max (Max Records) who’s having some issues in life. He has a big imagination, but seems to have no friends. When his older sister Claire’s friends cave in Max’s snowfort, he bursts into tears, but they only drive away, and Claire (Pepita Emmerichs) does nothing to help Max feel better.

More after the jump…

Meanwhile, Max’s divorced mom (Catherine Keener) is seeing a guy (Mark Ruffalo), but Max is in no way onboard with this idea. Before dinner one night, he acts up, stands on top of the counter, and yells at his mom. I was thinking at the time that she needs to get a better handle on this kid. But she seems to have no control over him at all, and he runs off into the night, embarks on a journey across the sea, and lands on a distant island inhabited by all these “wild things,” where he’s crowned “King.”

Whether all of this takes place in Max’s mind, or whether it really happens, it’s not clear in the movie. I mean, it’s a fantasy movie, so anything could happen, but I got the feeling that he must have fallen asleep somewhere after he ran away, and the creatures represented what was going on in his mind.

At any rate, the wild things are these fantastical creatures, rather large with large heads and, in some instances, large bodies, too. They have their own hierarchical system: Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) is sort of the leader. (All I could think whenever I heard his voice was, “There’s Tony Soprano.”) Then there’s Judith (Catherine O’Hara), Ira (Forest Whitaker), Alexander (Paul Dano), KW (Lauren Ambrose), Douglas (Chris Cooper), and The Bull (Michael Berry, Jr.). There’s some politics going on in the group, and they don’t all behave well.

So, my feeling is that Max created these creatures in his head, based on toys and things in his room, in order to deal with all the stuff in his life.

The story sort of meanders a bit; the creatures have little fall-outs and make-ups, and, like Max, Carol ends up being an emotional mess (really, both of these characters would probably benefit from a good therapist). As mentioned, for me the best part of this movie is the beautiful CG animation of the wild things. Their big faces are so expressive, and the lighting and settings – it was filmed in Australia — are simply gorgeous.

As for what ages this movie is appropriate for, there are a few scenes that might be scary for young kids: when Max gets out of control at his home, he trashes his sister’s room and yells at his mom, who angrily tries to grab him, but he gets out the door and runs down a dark street.

When Carol gets out of control in the fantasy world (again, “there’s Tony Soprano getting up in that creature’s face” – hopefully, young kids haven’t seen “The Sopranos”!), he smashes things, burns things, and the whole group participates in an intense dirt-clod “war,” in which some characters are injured. There’s also a more playful scene where trees are uprooted and characters are launched to and fro. And on his way to the island, Max travels through a storm and falls into the water before making his way to shore.

There’s occasional mild language, including “damn,” “hell,” “God,” and insults like “stupid.” Max’s mom has a guy over for dinner (complete waste of Mark Ruffalo’s 20 seconds of screen time), and the two kiss and drink wine in the living room while Max looks on from outside the room.

Overall, even with the gorgeous landscape, “Where the Wild Things Are” is a bit dark and violent for very young kids. For all of these reasons, I think the movie is appropriate for ages eight and older.

Check out the trailer…

Images: TM and (c) 2009 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc

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The studio is pairing up with Electronic Arts to turn “Spore” into an animated feature film, with “Ice Age” director Chris Wedge attached to helm. Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, who also penned the upcoming “The Princess and the Frog” and “The Return of King Doug” are writing the screenplay.

Released in September 2008, “Spore” the video game lets players create their own creatures and interact with other creatures in a Spore universe. "I’m always looking for unique worlds to go to in animation," Wedge told Variety. "From every perspective — visually, thematically and comedically — the world of ‘Spore’ provides the potential to put something truly original on the screen."

Maybe so, but since most people probably aren’t familiar with the game, I wonder if it has enough of a built-in audience who will flock to theaters. A lot of it will depend on who they get to voice the characters; hopefully, we’ll see some new voices rather than the standard Ben Stiller, Wanda Sykes, Kiefer Sutherland fare.

Image: Amazon.com

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Movie: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: Sept. 18, 2009
Runtime: 90 minutes	Directed by: Phil Lord
MPAA Rating: PG for brief mild language	Gecko Rating:

Based on the popular children’s book by Ron and Judy Barrett, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” is a cute movie, but rather forgettable in the big scheme of things.  The graphics and animation are interesting, not to mention the idea of being able to order up whatever food you want and have giant amounts of it fall from the sky. So there’s that. But truth be told, it was more boring than I thought it would be.

Despite the impressive voice cast, there’s really only a couple of voices you’ll probably recognize. Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead singer of Devo, is the composer, but I never would have known that unless I looked at the credits. The music seemed somewhat canned.

The story follows a kid named Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader), who’s always been sort of a misfit. He’s a nerd who’d rather spend time in his makeshift lab inventing things than develop relationships with people. The kids at school make fun of him, and his bushy-browed dad (James Caan) would rather he work in his bait shop than on all his goofy inventions. Flint’s mom is more encouraging, but she passes away when he’s a kid, so he’s left to his own devices, so to speak.

Meanwhile, the town of Chew and Swallow is surviving on a steady diet of sardines, so Flint spends his time working on a device that will create food out of water. It isn’t going well, and Flint suffers through many embarrassing defeats. But the town makes news when his invention actually begins working, and an ambitious young weather girl named Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) is there to document it. If you saw “The House Bunny,” you’ll recognize her voice. She has just the right voice for a cartoon character – fun and enthusiastic.

Turns out that Sam is a nerd just like Flint, only she doesn’t want anyone to know it, so she hides her true self in order to make it as a weather girl. But she’s fearless and ready to help her new friend when his invention goes horribly wrong. It’s an adventure that takes them into space!

Other voices include Andy Samberg as Baby Brent, a bullying kid who has a change of heart; Bruce Campbell as Mayor Shelbourne; Mr. T. as Earl Devereaux, an over-enthusiastic cop; as well as Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, and Lauren Graham.

The best part of this movie is the creative ways food can be, well, created. Cheeseburgers fall from the sky, kids have snowball fights with ice cream, and Gummi Bears frolic like so many cute creatures. One of the best scenes is when Flint creates a giant Jello mold for Sam, who loves Jello, and the two make a giant bounce-house out of it.

But things quickly get out of control, as the machine starts making bigger and bigger food, until one pancake covers the entire school (the kids don’t mind). So action has to be taken, and a crew heads for space, where they encounter jagged peanut brittle (Sam’s allergic) and zombie-like chickens out to get them.

I would say to read the book instead, as it offers more bang for your food buck, but this movie is ok-fun, especially for kids in the 5- to 9-year-old age range. It’s offered in both 3D and conventional formats. I saw the conventional, although I would imagine this might be one of the rare movies that is actually better for being in 3D.

Note to Parents: Most of the PG rating comes from language such as “jerk,” “knuckle scrapers,” and “stupid,” as well as “hell hole.” There’s some flirting, and a kiss plays into the storyline throughout the movie. Violence includes a “perfect food storm” which threatens to wipe out Chew and Swallow, as well as other cities. Some peril involving a trip into the clouds to stop the storm, including Flint being lowered into a cavern by a string of licorice, as Sam tries to avoid being stuck by brittle (but fails, sending her into anaphylactic shock until she receives a shot). Flint creates “rat-birds,” which are creepy but don’t hurt anyone.

Image: Sony Pictures Animation

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The big screen version of Ron and Judi Barrett’s classic children’s book features the voices of Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, James Caan, Tracy Morgan, and Mr. T. Looks like good fun! Check out the trailer here, and watch the stars on the red carpet. 

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In the movie, Mr. Fox earns the hatred of three wealthy farmers when he steals their poultry to feed his family. The farmers decide to lay in wait for him at the opening of his foxhole, which only makes him more sly – you know, like a fox.

The voice cast also includes Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman. Watch the trailer here, and check out this new poster. Mr. Fox even dresses like George Clooney. Sort of.

The movie hits theaters Nov. 25, 2009.

Image: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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Based on the classic children’s book by Maurice Sendak, it follows the fantastical adventures of Max, a disobedient boy who’s sent to bed without his supper and retaliates by creating a fantasy world inhabited by wild beasts who crown Max (Max Records) as their leader.

The movie is directed by Spike Jonze and also stars Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, and Forest Whitaker. 

Image: TM and (c) 2009 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc

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