Blue Sky's Bull: First Image from 'Ferdinand' and Some Cast Details

Blue Sky's next feature is not out until till Christmas time, but some information on the somewhat-cryptic picture has finally surfaced...

Ferdinand, as expected, is based on the classic 1936 children's book The Story of Ferdinand. Walt Disney adapted it into an animated short in 1938, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short of that year. The book itself, back in the day, was actually pretty controversial despite being a simple little story about a peaceful bull refusing to be a part of bullfights. Was it pacifist? Fascist? It made a real impact, that's for sure.

How they can successfully stretch that to 90 minutes is beyond me, but we shall see... Now we know what the titular character will look like in Blue Sky CG form, thanks to an image posted by brand agency Merchantwise...

Nothing too amazing, the image looks like most DVD/Blu-ray covers for animated films these days, you know which ones I'm talking about? The ones that just have a close-up of a character against a plain, colored background. Anyways, the design's appealing and I'm not sure I like the new logo for the film, but a logo is a logo. The full package matters most.

The site also reveals that Adam Devine will be voicing Ferdinand, and Kate McKinnon will play Lupe, a friend and "trusted advisor". Gabriel Iglesias was announced as part of the cast back in November, as a character named Cuatro. I wonder if they'll set the story in 1936 Spain, or modern day Spain.

Anyways, I'm curious to see how Blue Sky pulls this one off. What say you?

Sonypalooza: Numerous Sony Animation Announcements Made

Out of nowhere, Sony Pictures Animation gave us plenty of updates on their big slate yesterdary...

Why? Apparently, it was Sony Animation Day, even though the studio was founded in May 2002. You're almost 15, guys, hold 'yer horses!

Before anyone asks... Yeah, I'll say one thing about The Emoji Movie's casting. Patrick Stewart as the poop emoji... Now we've seen it all. You can't make this shit up. (Yes, shamelessly intended) Oh, and the character Maya Rudolph is voicing is kind of unsettling-looking.

In fact, the whole design of this movie is just... It's some of the most questionable I've seen for a big-time CG animated movie.

Anyways, despite how I feel about any animation studio wasting resources on something like this, I'll still say a few other things. The full cast - outside of Stewart and Rudolph - consists of TJ Miller, Jennifer Coolidge, James Corden, Ilana Glazer, Rob Riggle, and Steven Wright. It's kind of a solid cast, I suppose, but it's still baffling to me that Stewart is on board on this flick, let alone voicing "Poop Daddy". Yes, I'm still processing the fact that the character is named that.

Perhaps the only cool thing about this movie is that it'll have a Hotel Transylvania short attached to it. Titled Puppy, it's one of the only Sony Animation theatrical shorts to be based one of their movies.

Hotel Transylvania 3 is keeping the September 21, 2018 release date (regardless of S.C.O.O.B. having that date, the Drac Pack got it first), and the plot synopsis sounds a bit interesting. Dracula and the gang will go on a cruise, Dracula falls for the captain, who turns out to be the daughter of Van Helsing. Now that is kind of a cool plot, despite what I think of the Hotel Transylvania series. I have a little faith in this particular entry because it seems like the Adam Sandler camp has been dialed back a smidge, and that Austin Powers scribe Michael McCullers will be handling the script instead.

Opening after The Emoji Movie is The Star, a new take on the Nativity story. Sony Animation's co-production with Walden Media will actually be outsourced to Cinesite Animation, who are up and coming and actually quite promising. Anyways, Sony Animation is usually conservative with budgets, but this move is rather smart. An animated faith-based movie is not a guaranteed $150 million-grossing no-holds-barred blockbuster, so it's good to see them being careful here.

We now have a look at two of the main characters...

Who is starring in The Star? Zachary Levi, Gina Rodriguez, Steve Yeun, Kristen Chenowth, Keegan-Michael Key, Anthony Anderson, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Tracy Morgan, and Christopher Plummer. The latter two are voicing Felix and King Herod, respectively.

The most exciting of the 2017-2018 Sony Animation bunch is the still untitled animated Spider-Man movie...

It has been confirmed that the film will be about Miles Morales, not Peter Parker.

Joining director Bob Perischetti is Peter Ramsey, the director of DreamWorks' good but ill-fated Rise of the Guardians. It's great to see him at the helm of a new picture, and it's also great to see another big-scale animated feature being handled by a person of color. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, as reported several times before, penned the script. It's sure to be great, and probably a unique and irreverent spin on superhero movies. The big superhero franchises are in need of a good send-up. (Whether Megamind was just that or not, that's all up to you.) No cast announcements were made, but the film is still set for December 21, 2018.

There was no word on the live-action/photoreal CG pictures Goosebumps 2 and Peter Rabbit. Both are set to open in the first quarter of 2018, and are likely to bear the Sony Pictures Animation logo. Also, no word on the untitled 2019/2020 pictures, not a peep on Vivo. Those projects are still a little ways off, but since it's been two-oh-one-seven for half a month, I'd expect some animation studios to talk 2019/2020 films... If not 2021 films.

Anyways, that's Sony Animation's line-up for this year and all of next year. Some of it's exciting, some of it I couldn't care less for, other parts make me curious. What say you?

Revving Up: New 'Cars 3' Cast and Character Details Revealed

Since it's getting a new trailer on the 9th, Pixar released some stuff from their next...

A new look at Cars 3 has been posted by Entertainment Weekly, indicating that the marketing for this film will definitely follow the route the ad campaign for the first Cars followed. Cars 2's marketing aligned with its far-removed-from-car-culture plot, but since Cars 3 is returning to what made the first film special, it makes sense that the promos will cater to gearheads.

We now have close-ups and more information on the two new characters: Main rival Jackson Storm and trainer Cruz Ramirez.


Jackson Storm will be voiced by Armie Hammer, which is definitely an unexpected choice but one I'm oddly very satisfied with. Not only will he be arrogant like McQueen was in the first film, he will also have this idea that racecars like McQueen are old-timers, and that they should be outmoded. Unlike Chick Hicks, who was really a frustrated vet longing to finally beat a legendary all-time champion in a race, this guy seems like he's got a real plan or two.

Cruz Ramirez is around the same age, but unlike Jackson, she respects the more seasoned types. It was previously reported that Cruz will be Lightning's trainer of sorts, and it's been revealed that she is also a long-time fan of McQueen.


Voiced by Cristela Alonzo, I'm a bit surprised by her design. I thought the supercar in the concept art from last year was going to be her...

... but I guess they decided on a new design. Either that, or the concept artwork is from a few years ago. I mean, I doubt that's Jackson in the artwork, why would Lightning be racing with him on the beach? That all being said, I prefer the new design. Looks luxurious yet powerful.

Anyways, it's great to see them giving the series a new and prominent female lead, and a Hispanic one at that. In addition to these new reveals, we have also gotten a better look at the current Lighting McQueen... You know, in pristine condition.


Less stickers... Interesting move to say the least.

Director Brian Fee, first-timer at Pixar said "Where the franchise goes from here, I have no idea what may be down the road, but I can tell you that for Lightning McQueen, as a character, I think by the end of the movie it’s safe to say that this is only the beginning for him."

Not surprising, as we live in a world where Toy Story 4 exists. I didn't think Cars 3 would be an ending to McQueen's story or anything, because he's very much a side character in Cars 2. Not like they have a master story to cap off, plus Cars is the very Pixar film that spawns billions and billions of dollars of merchandise. I think that they aren't ending it there.

Anyways, if you're new here, I've been anticipating Cars 3 since the day someone said something about the story. I love the first film, and this threequel looks to be more like it than the messy second film. I'm in.

What say you?