toy story

Amateur filmmakers remake 'Toy Story' as live-action movie

The original "Toy Story" took years and $30 million to produce, but a pair of enterprising filmmakers have created a live-action tribute to the Pixar classic with a few toys picked up at the local toy store.

Filmmakers Jonason Pauley and Jesse Perrotta began working on their remake of the 1995 animated children's movie in 2010 and posted the fruit of two and a half years of work yesterday on YouTube. In less than 24 hours, the 80-minute-long movie, titled simply "Live Action Toy Story," has become an Internet sensation, attracting more than a quarter … Read more

Action figures immortalized in artsy lamps

Take a look at this eccentric array of action figure lamps by U.K. firm Evil Robot Designs. They feature painted pint-size superstars from geeky films, video games, and comic books.

Each of the six lamps in the collection has an ear-catching name like Alien Nation and Forbidden Planet. It would take paragraphs to list all the characters integrated into the 2-foot fixtures, but some notables (not mentioned in the photo captions) include Mysterio; Green Goblin; evil xenomorphs from the "Alien" movie series; He-Man; Bunnygirl "Suzumiya Haruhi"; and many more. … Read more

New book highlights Pixar's fantastic art

If you're a fan of Pixar's many wonderful movies--and who isn't?--you've no doubt spent years caught up in the studio's terrific storytelling. But you've probably also been glued to your seat again and again by Pixar's terrific artistry.

Now, you can dig deep into the history of that work. With the new book "The Art of Pixar," Amid Amidi takes us inside the creative process behind Pixar's long list of hit films--"Toy Story," "Finding Nemo," "Monster's Inc.," "Ratatouille," "… Read more

'Toy Story' aliens invade fashion runway

Buzz Lightyear is flying into high fashion, and he's taking Woody, the Aliens, and the rest of the Pixar-inspired crew with him, thanks to a new "Toy Story" fashion line from Bossini of Hong Kong.

A set of photos on Bossini's Facebook page show off the new line, which includes dresses, men's shirts, kids' costumes, and accessories.

Obviously, clothes that tap into the "Toy Story" motif are nothing new, as Disney and Pixar merchandise their movies faster than Kim Kardashian seeks out divorce lawyers. But from what I can make of Bossini's captions, it's laying out prices as high as $1,000 per three-eyed-alien tunic. … Read more

With Pixar, Steve Jobs changed the film industry forever

There's never been a movie studio with an unbroken streak of hit movies like Pixar. From the original "Toy Story" to "Finding Nemo" to "Cars," "Ratatouille," and "Toy Story 3," the animation wizards at Pixar have won over the industry, forcing Hollywood to change how it makes films, and it's made billions in the process.

And it never would have happened without Steve Jobs.

Pixar began as a division of George Lucas' LucasFilm, working on the development of imaging technology and its own imaging computer. But inside, some … Read more

Disney plans 3D party in theaters and on Blu-ray

Disney is doubling down on 3D with a mix of big-screen 3D rereleases and a big "Toy Story" rollout on Blu-ray 3D.

While analysts across the board are wondering if the general public wants movies in 3D at home or at the multiplex, a chorus of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" resounded from Burbank as Disney dominated the box office the last couple of weeks with the 3D theater release of "The Lion King."

So, forever an entity eager to make hay while the cartoon sun shines, Disney has announced more 3D rereleases of animated classics. The limited theatrical engagements will include "Beauty and the Beast" on January 13, 2012; Pixar's "Finding Nemo" on September 14, 2012; Pixar's "Monsters, Inc." on January 18, 2013; and "The Little Mermaid" on September 13, 2013.

On the home front, the "Toy Story" trilogy will hit on Blu-ray 3D on November 1. … Read more

'Toy Story 3' desktop theme

Toy Story 3 Windows 7 Theme is a free theme pack with high-resolution images from the movie "Toy Story 3" as well as sounds. However, we were unable to hear the sounds on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 installations.

Like other free themes from Windows7Theme.net, Toy Story 3 Windows 7 Theme installs automatically when you decompress its download. We minimized our browser window and were pleased to see Woody's smiling face. The 10 still images from the movie are indeed very high-quality HD images in wide-screen format (1,920x1,200-pixel resolution). We opened the Windows … Read more

The 404 743: Where it's complicated with Caroline McCarthy (podcast)

Caroline McCarthy from CNET's The Social blog joins us on today's podcast to discuss this morning's Oscar nominations and eight nods for "The Social Network" including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay Adaptation, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Score.

The film undoubtedly deserves the recognition, but it seems they left off Andrew Garfield for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Eduardo Saverin, Facebook's co-founder and a 5 percent shareholder of the $2.5 billion company.

Despite this oversight, Garfield will likely have another chance with his upcoming role as the famous Webslinger in the upcoming reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. The rest of the cast includes Rhys Ifans as the Lizard, Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, and Chris Zylka as Flash Thompson.

But there's no chance the movie will be quite as awful as "Turn off the Dark," Broadway's version of the Spider-Man genesis wrought with disaster even in the face of its new finale.

Wilson checked out an early preview of the show and has an equally negative review to share that makes this Onion headline sound right on the mark: "Nuclear Bomb Detonates During Rehearsal For 'Spider-Man' Musical." We blame Bono.

As usual, the Razzie nominations were announced today in conjunction with the Oscars, and it's no surprise that the "Twilight Saga: Eclipse" swept the Golden Raspberries for Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Robert Pattinson), Worst Screenplay, and...actually, the movie appears in all the categories except for Worst Supporting Actress and Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3D, where they were ineligible to be nominated.

Episode 743 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

The art behind Pixar's long run of hits

OAKLAND, Calif.--"Computers don't create computer animation any more than a pencil creates pencil animation. What creates computer animation are artists."

Those words would ring true no matter who said them, but in this case, the source has just about the highest possible credibility on the issue at hand: John Lasseter, the chief creative officer for both Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, and the director of four of Pixar's most loved films.

Lasseter's words hang high on a wall in the Oakland Museum of California here, where the exhibit "Pixar: 25 Years of Animation&… Read more

iPad e-books for children: Five more amazing titles

A few months back I told you about five amazing iPad e-books for kids, noting that Apple's tablet is arguably the single best platform for reading (and, thanks to various interactive features, experiencing) children's books.

App developers and book publishers seem to agree, as the App Store is now home to dozens, if not hundreds, of kid-friendly e-books.

Here's a look at five more (seven if you count the Seuss stuff) that are sure to please wee readers and parents alike.

1. Aesop's Wheel of Fables  No children's book collection is complete without Aesop's Fables. This app serves up 20 tales, all of them showcased in a spinning wheel that adds a bit of tactile fun to the story-selection process. It also has spot-the-difference games that get unlocked as you read, and an option for parents to record their own voices for kids to listen to in place of the prerecorded voice. The app's on sale for $6.99 until August 5, when it goes up to $8.99.

2. More Dr. Seuss  Oceanhouse Media continues to crank out terrific Seuss classics, all of them optimized and enhanced for the iPad. The latest releases include "Green Eggs and Ham" ($3.99), "Gertrude McFuzz" ($1.99), and--yay!--"Yertle the Turtle" ($3.99). If only my kids weren't on the verge of outgrowing these! Hmm, maybe I should have one more...

3. "The Little Mermaid"  Not the Disney version, but the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale, here brought to life with animated, interactive elements reminiscent of the now-classic "Alice for iPad." Beautifully illustrated and thoroughly engaging, the $8.99 app also includes "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Happy Family."… Read more