Upcoming WDAS and Pixar release dates

[PatrickvD]

So Disney appears to be streamlining its pipeline. These release dates were set:

Untitled Disney Animation - 3/4/16
Untitled Pixar Animation - 6/17/16
Untitled Disney Animation - 11/23/16
Untitled Pixar Animation - 6/16/17
Untitled Pixar Animation - 11/22/17
Untitled Disney Animation - 3/9/18
Untitled Pixar Animation - 6/15/18
Untitled Disney Animation - 11/21/18

I couldn't find the appropriate thread, so mods, please merge if possible

So, thoughts? This is waaaay into the future. And does this include DisneyToon's Planes films? So many possibilities.

Edit: source:

Exhibitor Relations ‏@ERCboxoffice 2u
The Mouse House dropped some big cheese--UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION films are set for 3/4/16, 11/23/16, 3/9/18, 11/21/18.

Exhibitor Relations ‏@ERCboxoffice 2u
Animation domination! UNTITLED PIXAR FILMS are now set for 6/17/16, 6/16/17, 11/22/17, 6/15/18.

[disneyprincess11]

So, after BH6, things will come out every 2 years? Not sure if I like that But, who am I to control that?

2016 must be a) Musker/Clements' movie and b) The TANGLED director's movie. And some of them will obivously be fairytales. The Name Game?

[Mickeyfan1990]

Forgive me for being annoying, but I'm hopin' for The Stooge!

[RyGuy]

So, after BH6, things will come out every 2 years? Not sure if I like that But, who am I to control that?

2016 must be a) Musker/Clements' movie and b) The TANGLED director's movie. And some of them will obivously be fairytales. The Name Game?

I think it's actually 2 a year for WDAS (except for 2017 where we don't get any). This could be a really good thing if they can keep up with quality/originality.

[disneyprincess11]

Forgive me for being annoying, but I'm hopin' for The Stooge!

Oh! And Wreck-It Ralph 2!

I think it's actually 2 a year for WDAS (except for 2017 where we don't get any). This could be a really good thing if they can keep up with quality/originality.

Yeah, that makes sense. To make up for 2 years lost. By the way: Why as late as 2018?

[DisneyJedi]

Uhh... As neat as it is that some of those films are being released a few days before/after my birthday, don't you think it's a bad idea on Disney's part to release two films in the same year? That is, on Disney animation's part?

We shouldn't be strangers to this long interval between films, by the way. Remember the four year interval between Lady & The Tramp and Sleeping Beauty?

By the way, I'm hoping for the Wreck-It Ralph sequel too.

[RyGuy]

Uhh... As neat as it is that some of those films are being released a few days before/after my birthday, don't you think it's a bad idea on Disney's part to release two films in the same year? That is, on Disney animation's part?

We shouldn't be strangers to this long interval between films, by the way. Remember the four year interval between Lady & The Tramp and Sleeping Beauty?

By the way, I'm hoping for the Wreck-It Ralph sequel too.

I think they're trying to compete with DreamWorks . . . Whether or not it's a bad idea remains to be seen. With advances in technology (from Xerox to digital paint to CAPS and now CGI) it's probable that the animated film making process is faster now than it was in the 1950s where everything had to done by hand.

The nostalgia part of me might be inclined to dislike the idea, but stepping back from being a fan for a second and thinking about these as motion pictures, whether or not two films a year is a good idea or a travesty depends on whether or not the films are actually good. I mean, I'm doubting people would complain if they were releasing two Marvel films in the same year that things were "rushed."

As for whether it's terrible to move away from the traditional way of doing things, I guess that depends on your perspective. I mean, we aren't writing these posts out by hand and distributing them to each other via carrier pigeon

[JTurner]

Well just as long as any of their films uses the same technique as PAPERMAN, I'll be fine with it.

[Disneykid]

I have to admit I'm a little worried at two animated features from Disney in 2016 and 2018 partially because of quality control and partially because of market saturation. Disney was releasing too many films a year in the early 2000s (3 films in 2000 if you include Dinosaur, 2 films in 2002, and the 2003/2004 films were released mere months apart), and while it's debatable how that affected the final products, it definitely made general audiences weary of the Disney name. This is why Lasseter slowed things down when he joined WDAS: there were too many projects being cooked at once without a chance to simmer. I think between the two concerns (quality and marketability), I'm more concerned with the latter since quality shouldn't be too affected; the March films are each coming 16 months after the previous WDAS film. But in terms of making these films become special events once more to the movie-going public, it may not be wise having their November films a mere 8 months after the previous ones. The only way I can see this working is if the March titles are smaller, more modestly budgeted affairs like Winnie the Pooh (which should've gotten a March release here in the States like in Europe, not July) while the November titles are the bigger, more ambitious films Disney will want to push holiday merchandising for ala Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph.

I don't know how I feel about Pixar also doing two a year as we have no frame of comparison with them like we do Disney. I, personally, thought the arrangement that's been going on since 2008 has been perfect: one Pixar movie in the summer and one Disney movie in the fall/winter. Like others have said, though, Dreamworks is probably causing Disney and Pixar to step up their game. Let's see where this leads.

[DisneyEra]

Looks like I was right about WDAS skipping 2015. They have 2 feature films coming out in 2016. March 4, 2016, what is WDAS going to release against Dreamworks "Mumbai Musical" which drops on March, 18? And in November Dreamworks releases "Trolls" on November 4. What will WDAS release on November 23? These future release dates are a clear response that WDAS is going all-out against Dreamworks Animation. But what are they going to release? You don't want to get into a Boxoffice war with Dreamworks Animation unless you got a clear plan. Then again WDAS will have ALL of 2015 to strategize. I would pefer WDAS to have ALL original films upcoming & not sequeals & franchise films. But then again, If they want to compete with Dreamworks & Pixar, that may be the path they'll have to take.

[estefan]

I don't see the problem with releasing two films in one year. You could argue of quantity over quality, but do you know what two animated classics were released the same year? Pinocchio and Fantasia.

Plus, there's likely to be a different set of directors on each film with their own team, so aside from John Lasseter executive producing and maybe a couple of shared animators and storyboard artists, it's not like the two productions will intersect and impact the other one.

If it's box office you're worried about, considering a good amount of the audience thought Wreck-It Ralph was a Pixar feature, I don't think they're likely to care as much as us animation aficionados about Disney realising more than one animated feature a year. Just recently, I've seen a couple of film reviews refer to Epic as a DreamWorks Animation. If professional critics aren't going to do a lot of research of which studio did what, I doubt the average audience member will. You STILL have people who think Anastasia was made by Disney. Plus, 90% of the major animated features that come out are hits, anyway.

[DisneyAnimation88]

Presumably John Musker and Ron Clements film is one of those vying for one of those release dates with Byron Howard's untitled animal comedy as a possibility for another. Lee Unkrich's Dia de los Muertos film is one of Pixar's scheduled offerings for 2016 while Teddy Newton and Mark Andrews are known to also have projects in development at Pixar. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of the films on Pixar's schedule is a sequel.

I don't have any issues with the studios looking to release two films in a year and I'm looking forward to seeing what both Disney and Pixar have planned; hopefully we see some originality and diversity in this slate of releases.

[Sotiris]

I highly doubt that WDAS has enough films in such an advanced stage to pull off releasing two films in a single year. They've only very recently started picking up the pace with their in-development projects. That's why I think two of those films will be by DisneyToon Studios. Supporting this theory is that they've announced the release dates under the blanket term "Disney Animation" instead of "Walt Disney Animation Studios". Also in the survey form given to audiences who attended Planes screenings, one of the questions was "Would you want to see a Planes sequel?” which probably means that Disney is planning to give theatrical releases to the sequels as well. It has already been confirmed that Planes will be a trilogy.

Needless to say, I'm very frustrated and disappointed that WDAS won't be releasing any films in 2015 and 2017 just so they can accommodate two Pixar films those years. I'm afraid that this could become a regular thing i.e. WDAS releasing a film every other year.

Here's what I think the release schedule will be.


Phineas and Ferb: The Movie - 2014
The Good Dinosaur - May 30, 2014
Big Hero 6 - November 07, 2014

Inside Out - June 19, 2015
Finding Dory - November 25, 2015

Planes 2: Fire & Rescue - March 04, 2016
Untitled Dia de los Muertos Film - June 17, 2016
Byron Howard's Untitled Film - November 23, 2016

Teddy Newton's Untitled Film - June 16, 2017
Toy Story 4 - November 22, 2017

Planes 3 - March 09, 2018
Mark Andrews' Untitled Film - June 15, 2018
Musker & Clements' Untitled Film - November 21, 2018

[DisneyEra]

I don't see the problem with releasing two films in one year. You could argue of quantity over quality, but do you know what two animated classics were released the same year? Pinocchio and Fantasia.

Plus, there's likely to be a different set of directors on each film with their own team, so aside from John Lasseter executive producing and maybe a couple of shared animators and storyboard artists, it's not like the two productions will intersect and impact the other one.

If it's box office you're worried about, considering a good amount of the audience thought Wreck-It Ralph was a Pixar feature, I don't think they're likely to care as much as us animation aficionados about Disney realising more than one animated feature a year. Just recently, I've seen a couple of film reviews refer to Epic as a DreamWorks Animation. If professional critics aren't going to do a lot of research of which studio did what, I doubt the average audience member will. You STILL have people who think Anastasia was made by Disney. Plus, 90% of the major animated features that come out are hits, anyway.

Still, it would be nice to see if WDAS 2016 films can out-gross Dreamworks "Mumbai Musical & Trolls".
While WIR's $471mil was inpressive, The Croods has made $562mil & counting! Thats nearly $100mil more at the BO! Was Croods really that much better. And isn't this why 2D animation is dead? That's the excuse Disney gave us for "Princess & the Frog". I'm sure each studio is aware of this. Here is what Fox chairman Jim Gianopulos said at CinemaCon, "The two most successful animated franchises of all-time, "Ice Age" and "Shrek," now reside under the same roof".

I would like to hear WDAS/Pixar's response to that.

[DisneyAnimation88]

Phineas and Ferb: The Movie - 2014
The Good Dinosaur - May 30, 2014
Big Hero 6 - November 07, 2014

Inside Out - June 19, 2015
Finding Dory - November 25, 2015

Planes 2: Fire & Rescue - March 04, 2016
Untitled Dia de los Muertos Film - June 17, 2016
Byron Howard's Untitled Film - November 23, 2016

Teddy Newton's Untitled Film - June 16, 2017
Toy Story 4 - November 22, 2017

Planes 3 - March 09, 2018
Mark Andrews' Untitled Film - June 15, 2018
Musker & Clements' Untitled Film - November 21, 2018

If that's how it ends up then I can happily ignore any Planes or Phineas & Ferb films, my interest from a Disney standpoint is in WDAS output. I like the Pixar slate, there's plenty of original stories there to look forward to if Newton and Andrews are working on original concepts.

[Sotiris]

I like the Pixar slate, there's plenty of original stories there to look forward to if Newton and Andrews are working on original concepts.

It's been confirmed that Andrews is working on an original film. As for Newton, we can only assume so.

[DisneyAnimation88]

It's been confirmed that Andrews is working on an original film. As for Newton, we can only assume so.

Was Teddy Newton working on a film set in Italy or have I imagined that? It's been a while since I've been on the forum so I'm a bit out of the loop as far as WDAS and Pixar news goes.

[disneyboy20022]

Any chance on any of these being a long awaited sequel to The Incredibles?

[Sotiris]

Was Teddy Newton working on a film set in Italy or have I imagined that?

Pixar does have an upcoming film set in Florence but we don't know if that's the Teddy Newton film or a different project altogether.

[estefan]

Still, it would be nice to see if WDAS 2016 films can out-gross Dreamworks "Mumbai Musical & Trolls".
While WIR's $471mil was inpressive, The Croods has made $562mil & counting! Thats nearly $100mil more at the BO! Was Croods really that much better. And isn't this why 2D animation is dead? That's the excuse Disney gave us for "Princess & the Frog". I'm sure each studio is aware of this. Here is what Fox chairman Jim Gianopulos said at CinemaCon, "The two most successful animated franchises of all-time, "Ice Age" and "Shrek," now reside under the same roof".

I would like to hear WDAS/Pixar's response to that.

Well, Wreck-It Ralph did out-gross Rise of the Guardians.

I think a large part of what helped The Croods was that it had no other family competition to compete with, not to mention 20th Century Fox seems to really know how to market their films overseas. Just recently, Life of Pi, A Good Day to Die Hard, Ice Age: Continental Drift and The Croods made so much of their money from international markets that Fox probably sees the US gross as merely nice little bonuses, which would have been unheard of even five years ago. They recently announced a Die Hard 6, even though the last film did horribly in North America.

I think Disney just really needs to step up their game in terms of their international marketing strategy. That's where so much of the money from big blockbusters are coming from these days. They seem to know how to do this with the Marvel productions to the point where Iron Man 3 actually filmed scenes exclusively for the Chinese audience.

On the other hand, I have this feeling that Turbo isn't going to take off at the box-office. Unlike The Croods, which had zero competition, Turbo has to deal with Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, The Smurfs 2 and Planes. When so many family pictures are released so close together, one or two are bound to fall by the wayside and I'm afraid Turbo will be that one later in the summer.