Pixar announces Día de los Muertos movie, and more

With the release of "Brave" still two months away, Disney Pixar this week offered up a few choice details about its longer-term plans.

The freshest -- and freakiest -- news is the addition of an untitled movie based on Día de los Muertos, Mexico's colorful holiday honoring the dead. The movie will be directed by Lee Unkrich and produced by Darla K. Anderson, who also brought us the brilliant "Toy Story 3."

There's no release date yet, but you could pencil it in for 2016, the next open summer on the schedule.

Pixar's creative guru John Lasseter shared the plans at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week, and we gathered the details from Entertainment Weekly, Deadline Hollywood and the Los Angeles Times.

Here's what to expect from Pixar between now and Día de los Muertos:

June 2013: The previously announced "Monsters University," a prequel that will tell the story of Mike and Sully's school days as the University of Fear.

Memorial Day 2014: "The Good Dinosaur" explores a world in which dinosaurs never went extinct. It will be directed by Bob Peterson, co-director of "Up" and screenwriter for "Finding Nemo." This fits perfectly in the Pixar pantheon childish things with deep inner lives -- like toys, fish and cars.

June 2015: Pete Docter, director of "Up" and "Monsters Inc." turns his attention inward in "Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind." Here's how Disney-Pixar described the project: "The inventive new film will take you to a place that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen: the world inside the human mind.” If there's anyone we'd trust to make this movie, it's the guy who made "Up" -- another movie that was hard to imagine becoming a popular hit (not to mention a deeply moving film).

Disney also released a new trailer for "Brave" this week. Check it out below. The movie will hit theaters June 22.

What do you think of Pixar's lineup? Hit the comments.

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Buzz Lightyear is now part of the Smithsonian

To the Smithsonian -- and beyond!

Buzz Lightyear of "Toy Story" fame is now part of the National Air and Space Museum's popular culture collection.

Photo by NASA

The 12-inch action figure was launched into space on May 31, 2008, aboard the space shuttle Discovery (STS-124) on a trip to the International Space Station and returned 15 months later on Discovery (STS-128), making it the longest serving toy in space.

The Space Ranger was part of a Disney-NASA partnership focused on creating "interactive games, educational worksheets and special messages encouraging students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," according to a news release from the Smithsonian. (Though, some may surmise Buzz had a top secret mission to fight the Evil Emperor Zurg.)

The figure was also used by the astronauts, according to the release, "occasionally, to have a little fun on the side." Yeah, imagine the astronauts making Buzz fly in zero gravity.

“It is truly one of the biggest thrills of my career to have one of Pixar’s most beloved characters, Buzz Lightyear, travel in space and now travel in time as part of the Smithsonian collection where he will inspire future generations of explorers, engineers and scientists to infinity and beyond,” John Lasseter, chief creative officer at Pixar Animation Studios, said in a release.

The action figure will go on display in the museum’s “Moving Beyond Earth” gallery this summer.

Now we just need a place for Woody.

The National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. It is open daily from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.

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Edinburgh to host European premiere of "Brave"

Edinburgh will host the European premiere of Disney Pixar's "Brave" on June 30.

The Scots will see the movie eight days after it opens in the U.S. and nearly there weeks before the rest of the UK, according to DailyRecord.co.uk.

The movie will close the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

The movie, is about young Scottish princess Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) who confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts. The movie also features the voices of of famous Scots Billy Connolly, Robbie Coltrane and Craig Ferguson.

VisitScotland have already teamed up with Disney to promote Scotland as a destination.

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Smile of The Day: Toy Story soldiers on night maneuvers

There are always great photography opportunities around Disney World at night. Sometimes, all you need to do is look up. Here at Hollywood Studios are the toy soldiers from "Toy Story" on top of a building in the Pixar section of the park.

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Disney's Pixar shut out of Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature

For the first time since the Academy Awards have been handing out Oscars for Best Animated Feature Disney's Pixar has been shut out of the contest.

The nominations, announced this morning, include: "A Cat in Paris," "Chico &Rita," "Kung Fu Panda 2", "Puss in Boots" and "Rango."

Since 2001, when the Academy started handing out the best animated feature awards, all Disney/Pixar movies have at least been nominated with six of the eight winning. However, last year's release of "Cars 2" is the first not to be nominated. While the original "Cars" was nominated in 2006, it lost to "Happy Feet."

Here is the list of Pixar movie nominations over the years. All of them won Best Animated Feature unless noted:

2001 - "Monster's Inc.", which lost to "Shrek".
2002 - No Pixar movie released
2003 - "Finding Nemo"
2004 - "The Incredibles"
2005 - No Pixar movie released
2006 - "Cars", lost to "Happy Feet"
2007 - "Ratatouille"
2008 - "WALL-E"
2009 - "Up"
2010 - "Toy Story 3"

Three movies were released prior to the category being created: "Toy Story" in 1995, "A Bug's Life" in 1999 and "Toy Story 2" in 1999.

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Disney Pixar movie Brave is anticipated to boost tourism in Scotland

VisitScotland Chairman Mike Cantaly tells the BBC Scotland that next year's summer release of Pixar's "Brave" could bring a big boost in tourism to Scotland during tough economic times, according to stv.tv website.

"This is Disney. At the box office it's reckoned to be several folds bigger than Bravehart, a movie people still talk about today," he said.

The movie, scheduled for release June 22, portrays a rugged mystical Scotland "like it's never been seen before across the world" Cantaly said.

Here is the movie's description, according to the movie's website: "Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts.

"Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late."

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