Turning Red is a big deal. It’s the first time a full-length Pixar film has featured an Asian protagonist and primarily centers on Asian characters. It’s also the first Pixar film to be fully directed solo by a woman, and the first by a woman of color, with the brilliant Domee Shi, who brought us the now-classic Oscar-winning Bao. And that’s not even the half of it!
Continue reading “‘Turning Red’ Features Pixar’s First Asian-Led Film”
With the release of Pixar’s Luca, now streaming on Disney+, we thought everyone out there may be craving a bit of pasta! So, thanks to the good folks at Pixar, who sent us a lovely care package with all the fixings of a wonderful pesto dinner, we decided to try out our first ever NOC Cooking School to attempt to cook some authentic Pixar pasta!
Continue reading “NOC Cooking School: Pixar Pasta with Mike”
One of the most wonderful things about working with The Nerds of Color is that I find myself constantly in the most fortunate position of getting to meet some of the best, most talented individuals working today. And when you think about talent in Hollywood, few brands come to mind greater than Pixar Animation Studios. In celebration of the release of its newest masterpiece, Luca, which hits Disney+ today, I was fortunate enough to meet with the director and producer of the film, Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren, as well as legendary comedian, Jim Gaffigan (who voices Lorenzo in the film), and two of the most talented young actors working in the industry today: Jack Dylan Grazer, who plays Alberto, and Jacob Tremblay, who plays the titular character, Luca Paguro.
Continue reading “Jumping In With the Cast and Creators of Pixar’s ‘Luca’”
I’ve done several Pixar reviews for this site already, dating back to Toy Story 4 through to Soul. And every single one I cover tends to start with the usual: something something unique, something something they set the standard, etc. By now you know the drill. They’re still considered the best in the business. And while several other animation studios are worthy of the mantle (particularly Laika, Walt Disney Feature Animation, and Sony Pictures Animation are coming for it), at this juncture, Pixar’s only greatest competition is Pixar.
Continue reading “NOC Review: Pixar’s ‘Luca’ is Molto Bello”
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania stars Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Brian Hull, Asher Blinkoff, Brad Abrell, Fran Drescher, Jim Gaffigan, and Molly Shannon. Franchise creator Genndy Tartakovsky also returns as screenwriter and executive producer. The new movie will serve as the final chapter of the popular franchise and will hit theaters on July 23.
Continue reading “Check Out the New Poster for ‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’”
Netflix has released the official trailer for Trollhunters: Rise Of The Titans! The film will serve as the conclusion of the Arcadia saga. The talented cast includes Emile Hirsch, Lexi Medrano, Charlie Saxton, Kelsey Grammer, Alfred Molina, Steven Yeun, Nick Frost, Colin O’Donoghue, Diego Luna, Tatiana Maslany, Cole Sand, Nick Offerman, Fred Tatasciore, Brian Blessed, Kay Bess, Piotr Michael, James Hong, Tom Kenny, Angel Lin, Amy Landecker, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Wood, Laraine Newman, Grey Griffin, and Cheryl Hines.
Continue reading “Netflix Just Dropped the Full Trailer for ‘Trollhunters: Rise Of The Titans’”
Back to the Outback is directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps. It stars Isla Fisher, Miranda Tapsell, Guy Pearce, Angus Imrie, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Diesel Cash La Torraca, Rachel House, Keith Urban, Celeste Barber, Wayne Knight, Lachlan Ross Power, and Jacki Weaver. The new Netflix movie aims to prove that just because something’s different, doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful.
Continue reading “Here’s a Look at Netflix’s ‘Back to the Outback’”
The countdown is on! In approximately one week, Luca, Pixar’s latest masterpiece, will be hitting Disney+ on June 18. The film, helmed by first-time feature director, Enrico Casarosa, the film tells the coming of age tale of two sea monsters who spend an unforgettable summer in the one place they’re not supposed to be; the monster-hunting Italian village of Portorosso. To celebrate the release of the next one-of-a-kind masterpiece from the studio, cast members Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Maya Rudolph, and Jim Gaffigan — along with Casarosa and producer Andrea Warren — virtually gathered before members of the press to talk about the film, and take questions about what it took to bring it all together.
Continue reading “Endless ‘Pasta’bilities at the ‘Luca’ Press Conference”
We’re counting down to the summer release of Pixar’s latest sure-to-be masterpiece, Luca! And to help celebrate the release of the film, Disney and Pixar have released these adorable new posters featuring Luca, Alberto, and Giulia!
Continue reading “Sun’s Out, Fun’s Out with These Adorable New ‘Luca’ Character Posters”
Are you ready for your next Netflix adventure? The heroes from Trollhunters, 3Below, and Wizards are teaming up to face a mysterious enemy in Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans. The film will premiere on July 21.
Continue reading “Get All the Details on Netflix’s ‘Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans’”
Over the past few weeks, we’ve had the opportunity to give our readers a sneak peak at Pixar’s latest film, Luca, and the hard work the geniuses at Pixar have put into crafting this bright and sunny coming-of-age story. You can check out those full articles here and here. In addition to getting a fantastic behind the scenes look at the film, we were also treated to a press-wide virtual Q&A with director Enrico Casarosa and producer Andrea Warren. Here’s what they had to say to various questions from the press about the latest Pixar classic-in-the-making:
Continue reading “Summertime Splash: A Q&A with the Filmmakers of Pixar’s ‘Luca’”
Earlier this year, The Nerds of Color was invited to see an extended preview and behind the scenes look at Pixar’s latest film, Luca. The film tells the tale of a young sea monster named Luca, who ventures out to an Italian seaside town with his best friend, Alberto, to experience life, danger, food, and fun during the best summer ever.
Continue reading “Diving Further into the Depths of Pixar’s ‘Luca’”
Yesterday during the National Streaming Day event, Disney dropped a sweet little featurette for their big Disney+ Summer Release, Pixar’s Luca.
As we’ve learned from our recent press conference, Luca is ultimately a story about friendship, and finding a best friend who will challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone. So it seems very appropriate for them to focus this featurette on friendship. Take a look here:
Continue reading “New Friendly Featurette for Pixar’s ‘Luca’”
They may have won the Oscar this year, but Pixar has not lost its “Soul.” That’s right! As we reported recently, this Friday, Pixar is debuting its latest short, 22 Vs. Earth on Disney+. The film is a prequel to last year’s Oscar winner for Best Animated Film, and recipient of the highly coveted “Mike Manalo’s Favorite Movie of the Year Award,” Soul. It reunites us with the hilarious Tina Fey as 22, as well as the unborn souls and the Jerrys, prior to 22 meeting Joe Gardner. And to commemorate the return to The Great Before, The Nerds of Color was given the opportunity to participate in a short press event with other members of the press, to speak to the short film’s director, Kevin Nolting.
Continue reading “A “Short” Conversation with ’22 Vs. Earth’ Director Kevin Nolting and a Mini-Review”
It’s a Luca-palooza here at The Nerds of Color, as we also provided an in-depth look at the making of the film this morning. But in addition to that, Disney and Pixar have also released the trailer and poster for the film this morning, which you can view here:
Continue reading “New Trailer and Poster for Pixar’s ‘Luca’ Brings the Summer Fun to You”
Okay, I’m getting a bit pretentious with the faux Italian title (translated it means “A Beautiful Preview of Pixar’s Luca“). But English words just don’t do the beauty of Pixar’s animation proper justice; particularly for their upcoming film Luca, set to debut on Disney+ this summer! Luca tells an adorable story about two close friends from Italy who set out on an adventure to make a life of their own in a superstitious seaside town along the Italian Riviera. The twist? They’re both actually sea monsters from underneath the coastal shore.
Continue reading “Una Bellisima Anteprima di ‘Luca’ della Pixar”
Pixar’s Soul was probably my favorite film of 2020. Gorgeous as it was deep, it really served as a reminder of why Pixar is still the best in the Animation game at this point in time. And while I think it is the embodiment of the perfect one-and-done film (please don’t ever make a feature-length sequel to this perfect movie!) it’s nice to dip our toe into this world and revisit the characters from time to time in a limited capacity. And thankfully, Pixar is planning to do just that, with the upcoming release of their new short film, 22 Vs. Earth!
Continue reading “The World of Pixar’s ‘Soul’ Continues with New Short Film: ’22 Vs. Earth’”
Big day for trailers and announcements! Not to be outdone, Netflix has dropped a new one for the latest season of their mind-blowing animated sci-fi anthology series, Love, Death, and Robots. Originally developed by Deadpool director Tim Miller, this season sees Miller joined by none other than Jennifer Yuh Nelson as Supervising Director. Nelson is best known as an animation veteran, who previously helmed the terrific Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3. Per Netflix, together they sought talented and diverse animation directors from around the world, for a blend of styles and stories ranging from violent comedy to existential philosophy.
Continue reading “New Trailer for Netflix’s ‘Love, Death, and Robots Vol. 2’”
DreamWorks Trollstopia is the next chapter in the hair-raising adventures of the Trolls. Now that Poppy knows there are other musical Trolls scattered throughout the forest, she bottles up her endless positivity and invites delegates from every Troll tribe in the forest to live together in harmony in a grand experiment she calls TrollsTopia.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: ‘Blackish’ Star Ron Funches Talks Season Two of Peacock’s Newest Animation ‘Trollstopia’”
Representation is not just about putting a diverse array of faces on a product and calling it a day, but it is also about ensuring that this diversity actually empowers and puts authority into who it is telling the stories of.
Continue reading “Pixar’s ‘Float’ is Not Just About Representation, But an Authentic Experience”
One of the the greatest cultural tragedies of the digital era is that De La Soul’s early music isn’t streaming. An early victim of the sample-clearance wars (over 70 on their masterful debut, 3 Feet High and Rising), De La’s cultural impact — and promise — has never been allowed to be fully realized. Not only has the streaming era proved to stifle De La’s early output, their contracts only covered physical media releases as no one anticipated that streaming would become the primary way we’d all experience media.
With new modes of delivery, new contracts have to be made for those previous albums. And De La has tried to do this in good faith, but Tommy Boy Records, the label De La was originally signed to, has refused to give them a mutually equitable deal. Tommy Boy would take the lion’s share of the profits, even though all of De La’s albums have recouped (made back initial production/investment costs).
Continue reading “Teen Titans Soul: De La Go!”
Netflix’s newest animated series, Archibald’s Next Big Thing Is Here, premieres February 18 and I had the opportunity to sit down with Hamilton star and quadruple Hollywood threat, Jordan Fisher (Dancing with the Stars), to talk his experience working on the show as well as his many other goings on.
Continue reading “‘Hamilton’ Star Jordan Fisher Talks Netflix Series ‘Archibald’s Next Big Thing Is Here’ and More”
Black adult women aren’t often depicted in animation. Most of the Black female characters are kids or teens or little-seen moms. Some notable central characters include: Storm. Trudy Proud and Big Mama. Donna Tubbs. Uhm, the Muses? There aren’t very many. It’s the Mrs. Frozone problem, off-screen and never developed. (Pixar could stand to improve upon that problem in particular.)
Continue reading “No More Mrs. Frozone: Black Women Characters in Pixar’s ‘Soul’”