Friday, February 18, 2011

The ‘Toy Story’ Gang to Ride Again!

LOS ANGELES— Toy Story fans, rejoice. Pixar will release two new short films starring Woody and pals by year’s end. The first short, Hawaiian Vacation, will run with Cars 2, which will arrive in theaters on June 24th. Pixar unveiled Hawaiian Vacation at a gathering of about 300 Disney investors and analysts in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday. (Barbie and Ken try to stow away with Bonnie for a Hawaiian trip but get left home, to their enormous disappointment; Woody, Buzz and the other toys try to console the pair by improvising an island vibe but . . . it doesn’t go well.) The second short — a title was not announced — will run with The Muppets, a Disney feature film set for a Thanksgiving release.

In related Pixar news, Disney announced a direct-to-DVD spin-off of Cars, with airplanes as the main characters. Planes, undoubtedly accompanied by related merchandise, will arrive in spring 2013. The movie will focus on Dusty, a small-town dreamer who longs to enter an around-the-world air race despite his fear of heights.

Phineas and Ferb, the Disney Channel cartoon, is also headed to the big screen; Disney said it was in the early stages of developing a Phineas and Ferb feature that will be a hybrid of live action and animation.

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