Much like last year, the Disney panel wasn’t even remotely as entertaining as some of the others, but that’s mostly because they tend to look more at the technical side of the production process. Big names draw big crowds, and though the panel itself delivered plenty of first-look footage, it didn’t exactly do much in terms of wowing the crowd.
“Bolt” (guests: directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard)
When I first saw the poster for “Bolt,” I promptly rolled my eyes and thought, “John Travolta is voicing a dog in a Disney movie? Yep, this is going to be shit,” but after seeing about 20 minutes of footage from the film, I’m happy to say that it actually looks much, much better. Now, it isn’t quite Pixar-standard, or even Dreamworks-standard for that matter, but it does look like an entertaining kid’s movie with a nice blend of action and comedy. Most of that comedy comes from the basic concept of the film (about a canine TV star who believes he has superpowers just like the character he plays), but it also comes from the fine cast of voice talent they’ve wrangled up, including Susie Essman, Malcolm McDowell, James Lipton, Diedrich Bader and Nick Swardson.
“Up” (guest: director Peter Doctor)
The second part of Disney’s presentation was dedicated to Pixar’s new film, “Up,” a “coming of old age” story about a curmudgeonly widow who transforms his home into a makeshift air balloon and travels the world. If that description scares you a little bit, well, you’re not alone. Pixar movies are notorious for sounding so simplistic that they couldn’t possibly work as full length features, but as both “Ratatouille” and “Wall*E” have proven, it’s just not worth doubting these guys any more. Does “Up” scare me? You bet, but director Pete Doctor’s latest will probably be just as good as the others. Aside from the two clips shown, the only other nuggets revealed were the cast (which includes Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer and, of course, John Ratzenberger) and the fact that the movie will be jam-packed with plenty of Pixar Easter eggs.
