Thursday, December 14, 2006

When Will Pixar Go Real D?

Hollywood Reporter are, er, Hollywood reporting that 200 more Real D equipped screens will be in place across the US by March, in time for Meet The Robinsons. Real D is an extremely impressive 3D system, employed in the last twelve months to bring both Chicken Little and Nightmare Before Christmas to extra-dimensional life. Disney have been solidly behind Real D, even calling it Disney 3D for the releases of their films - but the qurstion remains, when will Pixar movies start hitting the big screen with their third dimension intact?

Not as soon as I hoped, apparently. Ratatouille is set only for a 2D release, as is the 2008 Pixar film, W.A.L.L - E, Andrew Stanton's sci-fi follow up to Finding Nemo. Apparently, the first film that might be given a 3D theatrical run is the 2009 movie, which I hear is to be directed by Monsters Inc.'s Pete Docter and is, so far, being kept very secret indeed. And even that one might remain 2D if Lasseter and Docter aren't impressed by the 3D tests that they haven't even started yet.

So, to cut a long answer short: not yet. And not for some time.

[EDIT: And now I'm being told (by those anonymous guttersnipes that tell me things) that Toy Story 3 is a serious candidate for the Real D process. Toy Story 3D, anyone? No matter how many dimensions, they also suggest that there will be two Pixar films in 2009 - Pete Doctor's one, mentioned above, and John Lasseter's Toy Story 3, with the sequel first out of the gate, and making it Pixar's tenth feature length release. We'll see]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

REAL D just announced another 500 systems. There will now be 500 screens for Meet The Robinsons. They should hit 1000 screens by the end of next year -- this should help Pixar move faster..