Disney·Pixar fans, brace yourselves. Apple just released a fantastic pack of Coco iOS exclusive animated stickers in the app store! With Coco hitting US theaters in exactly ONE WEEK from today, this was the perfect time for something like this to hit. The anticipation is real and this only adds to the hype! A big thanks to Danny & Esther Arriaga for letting me know that these became available.
If you've never downloaded "sticker packs" before, they're absolutely
adorable and I can't recommend them enough. They're colorful, perfectly stylized and have fun little motions/moving text...just an all around fun way to add some
excitement and Disney magic to everyday chats! I believe there's always a
place for a Disney·Pixar quote/reference, no matter what kind
conversation you're having. :) These will be heavily used, I'm sure, in addition to my Toy Story, Cars 3, Finding Dory, Monsters Inc. and Inside Out ones.
As shown in the screen shots above, all you have to do is drag and drop
any sticker into any iMessage conversation and let the fun ensue. You
can even resize and rotate them (using two fingers in the classic touch
screen manner), stack them and place them on photos/messages within the thread. This pack includes 24 stickers (characters include Miguel, Dante, Ernesto de la Cruz, Mama Coco, Hector and Abuelita—plus some other designs) and costs $1.99.
Take a look at all the stickers below and download yours today to see them in action!
Note: Danny Arriaga is a character/sets designer for Pixar (for Coco, he was the Character Art Director). Find out more about him and view his stunning work on his blog HERE and be sure to follow in on social media (Twitter & Instagram). He's one of the nicest guys of all time, so feel free to reach out and say hello!
As a collector of the Pixar Big Golden Books, this Cars 3 edition was a must have for me! This is something I picked up clear back in May (release date was May 2nd to be exact), so this post is a long time coming. There are so many items to get to and so little time!
This adaption of the film is well written by Bill Scollon (who actually wrote many of the Golden Books that I own) and illustrated by "the Disney Storybook Art Team" (I do wish they gave some names since the illustrators deserve the credit). Nonetheless, the art style is fantastic... bright and universally
appealing (basically what we're use to seeing in these Big Golden
Books). Very tasteful.
The book is 40 pages in length and retails for $9.99.
Compared to the other Cars 3 books I have, this is the most complete retelling of the film's story. Though it's still simplified and
many parts have been cut out, this book covers significantly more than,
say, the Little Golden Book. You will notice, however, that some side
characters don't even make an appearance, such as really any of the Radiator Springs townsfolk (other than Sally and Mater).
Lets take a peek inside so you can have a feel for what to expect! I guess I'll also put up a mild Spoiler warning for those who (for some reason ;) haven't seen the film yet.
If you and your family loved Cars 3, then you will love reading this fun, colorful adaptation together. Pick it up wherever Cars 3 books are sold—like Barnes & Noble or on Amazon using the direct link below.
Cars fans—Start your engines! Cars 3 hit Blu-Ray and DVD this past Tuesday (November 7th) and I'm here to give you an in-depth look into all the terrific bonus content as well as my overall thoughts on this release. As a big fan of Cars 3, and the Cars franchise in general, I'm thrilled to finally own this as part of my collection! The trilogy is complete.
I know the digital release has been available to own since October 24th, but since
I'm a Blu-Ray collector (yup, I still prefer discs—call me old school), I was fine with holding off and waiting the
extra three weeks to get my physical copy. Today I'm diving into the
standard DVD+ Blu-Ray+Digital HD Combo Pack, which I pre-ordered at the Disney Store
(and got a free lithograph set). I know there are other releases out
there as well, such as the 4K release, the Target
edition with included storybook and the Best Buy SteelBook edition (see my announcement post on them HERE), but all the special features are the same across all versions
this time around. Thank goodness, boy does that make things easier.
Note: This is just my review of the Blu-Ray special features and
not the film itself. Though I never ended up getting around to my full review of Cars 3, just know that I absolutely love it. It's another fantastic Pixar success in my book and a more than worthy followup to the original. I was so happy to see the franchise go back to the "routes" (and feel) of the first film and tie everything together so perfectly.
Alrighty, let's just get right into everything! Well actually, before
even getting into all the great bonus content, I just have to make mention of the
gorgeous menus. Pixar really has their Blu-Ray menu style down now;
keeping it very simple and utilizing their stunning scenery as a
backdrop.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL (A CLOSER LOOK) DISC 1 "FEATURE"-
Audio Commentary (running time 1:42:21 *length of film*)- Brian Fee (Director), Kevin Reher (Producer), Andrea Warren (Co-Producer) and Jay Ward (Creative Director) have an in depth discussion about the film! I haven't had time
to listen to the entire commentary quite yet, but what I've heard is as
interesting as ever. Audio commentaries are my favorite part of any
Pixar home video release, so I was anticipating this one a ton.
Lou Theatrical Short Film (6:44)- Directed by Dave Mullins, this Pixar short instantly climbed the ranks to become one of my all time favorite short films from the studio. It's just so clever, colorful and endearing (with some great music to boot—see my soundtrack review HERE). A real charmer! Be sure to check it out if you haven't already.
Miss Fritter's Racing Skool NEW Blu-Ray exclusive "Mini-Movie" (2:45)- While this brief little short isn't looking to be any kind of masterpiece, it's a funny concept. In it you'll see Lightning and Cruz catching an infomercial style video featuring fan favorite Miss Fritter advertising her "Racing Skool." I liked the "sappy" testimonials of some of the other demolition cars, not to mention seeing the "microphone" in some shots always reminds me of the old Pixar bloopers! It gave me a chuckle, despite being similar so some of the other "interview" type segments I've seen from Pixar. To my surprise, this short was helmed by LAVA director, James Ford Murphy.
Ready for the Race (5:41)- Disney Channel star Olivia Rodrigo chats with
NASCAR (real life "Next-Gen") Racer William Byron at the Hendrick Motorsports campus. Byron gives insight into what being a NASCAR driver is like and discusses how he got involved with the sport. The Disney channel hosts are always a little hokey, but I enjoyed seeing the real world inspirations behind much of what was included in Cars 3 (including testing out an actual racing simulator). It's really amazing stuff!
Cruz Ramirez: The Yellow Car That Could (7:46)- I liked this little mini documentary a lot. Here the Cars 3 filmmakers discuss the collaborative effort that went into making Cruz Ramirez the flawed, yet lovable, strong and relatable character we see in the final film. It made me appreciate the character that much more!
DISC 2 "BONUS"-
Generations: The Story of “Cars 3” (11:17)- This is one of the longest featurettes on the Blu-Ray, though I still wish it was much longer. In this one, the Cars 3 team discuss the challenges of crafting the film's story (while also revealing some details on earlier iterations), the difficulties of sequels, resurrecting the Cars 1 feel and what it took to create a satisfying ending for McQueen's three film arc. One thing I especially appreciated here was seeing director Brian Fee and hearing him talk about the film. I feel like he stays under the radar a bit and out of social media, so it was cool to hear from him a bit.
Let’s. Get. Crazy. (7:41)- This featurette was very entertaining. I loved learning about/seeing what a real life Crazy 8 demolition derby is like (something I knew little to nothing about) and what it took to translate that into an animated film! This has to be one of my favorite sequences in the movie as well as one of, if not THE most complex to create. Oh and did I mention that this segment is hosted by Miss Fritter herself, Lea DeLaria?
Cars to Die(cast) For (5:20)- Now even though this is one is short and sweet, it's no doubt one of my favorites on the Blu-Ray. As a massive, long time collector of Mattel Cars diecasts, this featurette was so much fun to watch (in fact, I've already watched this a few times). In it the filmmakers and consumer product managers discuss the sheer amount of diecasts out there (with Cars 3 in the mix, they've hit over 1,000 unique releases since 2006), how Pixar employee's names are "car-ified" and more.
Legendary (11:21)- This documentary is the longest of the bunch and gives you a historical look at racing legends
Wendell Scott and Louise Smith (featuring archival footage and historian interviews), as well as how they influenced the film's story. I really love the "legends" aspectof Cars 3 (it brings back that charming old town, nostalgic feel of the first film—yet in a different way) and this featurette gave me even more appreciation for that and NASCAR in general. This one is a slower pace (for me it dragged a little, since I'm more interested in the actual filmmaking), but I still enjoyed it for what it was.
World’s Fastest Billboard (5:29)- This is the kind of stuff I love. Here the Cars 3 creative team discuss some of the clever background graphics, stickers, products, sponsors, advertisements, billboards, signs and more featuring clever "car-rified" puns, inside jokes and references to other Pixar films. Most of what they bring up, you would never catch unless you knew it was there, which makes this an extremely fun and insightful watch! Fans of Easter eggs and hidden references will love this.
Fly Throughs- Take a swooping, airborne look at three virtual sets seen in the film including Thomasville, Florida International Speedway and Rust-Eze Racing Center! These are about a minute long and really let you soak in some of the incredible scenery created by the film's animators. It's completely mind blowing how realistic some of the shots look.
My First Car- A collection of little storyboard/animatic style illustrated first-car stories
as narrated by members of the Cars 3 cast and crew. There's “A Green Car on
the Red Carpet" with Kerry Washington (1:51) “Old Blue" with Craig Foster (1:20) and “Still in the
Family” with Valeria Barra (2:14). You've seen things similar to these on previous Pixar home video releases; they're cute, short and sweet stories, but I can take them or leave them.
5 Deleted/Alternate Scenes- Each deleted scene is set up with an
introduction as to why it was removed from the film. The scenes (presented in storyboard form)
include “The Boogie Woogie” (5:02), “The Jars of Dirt” (4:21), “Lugnuts” (2:48) “The Bolt” (4:15)
and “More Than New Paint" (8:50). I'm not going to go into detail on each one, but I'll say they're definitely worth watching. It's always interesting to see previous renditions of a film's story/characters and which ideas were repurposed into the final cut. For those of you who've watched it, what do you guys think of "More Than New Paint", which is ultimately an alternate ending? Which outcome to you prefer?
And finally, as usual, there is a collection of trailers and animation/promotional character toolkits. They speak for themselves.
Phew! I think that just about covers everything. I feel like I always want a bit more out of my Pixar bonus content and this release is no different. While there is a lot to appreciate here, I do miss the days of more in-depth special features and longer documentaries. I feel like there's so much more they could dig into (including earlier versions of the story—Like when it was suppose to set on Route 99). Overall though, I can't be greedy here and I did have fun with what
was included. Plus I still have the second half a commentary to watch/listen to tonight! I better get to it...
FILM- 4.5 out of 5 stars BONUS CONTENT (excluding commentary)- 3.5 out of 5 stars IMAGE/SOUND QUALITY- 5 out of 5 stars
What are some of your thoughts? Be sure to share in the comments below!
Today marks just two weeks away from the US theatrical release of Pixar's upcoming film, Coco! To celebrate, I'm taking a look at these two adorable Funko Dorbz vinyl figures that I picked up at Toys R Us not too long ago.
Here we have Hector and Miguel—two of the film's main characters who I'm sure we'll all fall in love with! Don't they look especially cute in Dorbz form? Really well done stylized designs here as usual. Funko, you never disappoint!
Each figure, per the norm with Dorbz, stands at about 3" tall and retails for $7.99.
Take a closer look at these guys out of their boxes below:
Hector
Hector, #363, is a limited edition (LE) of only 5000 pieces made. Now as far as Miguel, there are two versions out there. There's the standard version (which is also LE 5000), and a Toys R Us exclusive glow in the dark version. Both versions of Miguel are numbered #362.
I opted to pick up only the Toys R Us exclusive version (which looks exactly the same as the standard)— the only difference is that this one has a glow in the dark face! Though this Miguel isn't labeled "limited", I feel like it's just as (if not more) hard to find given that it's an exclusive to only Toys R Us stores. I couldn't justify getting both (since they're virtually identical), so I went with the one with the cool feature...and I'm glad I did!
See all three Dorbz in the wild at Toys R Us in my photo below.
Miguel (Toys R Us Exclusive Glow in the Dark Version)
Look at how bright and vibrant his glow feature is. Just hold his face up to a bright light for about 30 seconds to get these results!
Between Hot Topic and Toys R Us stores, you should be able to find these! I can't recommend them enough for fans of the film. They just look too dang cool and super cute! Hurry in before they're gone.
What are your thoughts? Have you picked any of these Coco Dorbz up? Which one is your fave? Let me know what you think in the comment section below.
Eat fresh! These Disney·Pixar Coco backpack clips (or "danglers") are available at Subway restaurants right now for a limited time. They're either available free with the purchase of a kids meal OR you can buy any of them without a meal for $1 each. I picked up all six characters last night for six bucks and some change. Not bad! I don't ever go for fast food toys, but these little guys looked fun and practical—things I could actually attach to my Pixar backpack for some added flare!
I had been made aware of this release last week (check out their TV ad HERE) and couldn't help myself from stopping into one of my local Subways as I drove past one yesterday (the Coco hype is so real for me guys). They're cheap and fun, so I figured why not! Each plastic character is about 4"-5.5" in size and features moving parts (through one or more pivot points). For example, Miguel's legs and guitar will dangle back and forth when moved side to side. For Pepita, it's her wings...and so on.
Here they all are below: We have Pepita, Miguel, Alebrije Dante, Regular Dante, Hector and Ernesto de la Cruz. The character art on all of these clips is super cute!
As an added bonus, they come in this really neat collectible bag inspired by the film! What an awesome touch.
My Subway didn't have any of the store displays out on the floor, but thanks to Twitter user TheDisneyDan, I'm able to document them here (Thanks dude)! Here's what I'm assuming most Subways have out right now promoting the toys:
Check out my YouTube unboxing below to see them in motion. And be sure to like the video and subscribe to my channel for more content like this!
What do you think of these backpack clips? Have you picked any of them up?
Hola a todos! Today I'm taking a detailed look at one of my favorite new toy lines based on the world of Disney·Pixar's upcoming film, Coco! This is a series of stylized, buildable mini figures called "Skullectables" by Mattel—available in a variety of 3-Packs and "blind bags." Consider this your definitive guide to SERIES 1!
To start things off, I'm going to take a look at the three multi-packs (or, I consider them "starter packs") that are currently available only at Toys R Us. Each of these 3-Packs has two characters that can also be found within the 12 blind bags and one character exclusive to the set. Make sense? So with that said, if you're trying to collect them all, it's best to begin with the 3-Packs (to get those exclusives) and then fill in the gaps with the blind bags.
For example, the first 3-Pack below includes Dante as an Alebrije, Hector and Glow in the Dark Skeleton Miguel. Now, to reiterate, the Alebrije Dante and Hector can also be purchased individually in blind bags. The Glow in the Dark Miguel, however, is an exclusive and can only be purchased within this set.
Look at how cool these guys are! I really love the look of them. Mattel did a fantastic job stylizing each character.
Starter Pack #1
Alebrije Dante
Hector
Skeleton Miguel Rivera (EXCLUSIVE—Glow in the Dark)
Starter Pack #2
Skeleton Ernesto de la Cruz (EXCLUSIVE—Orange Outfit)
Mama Imelda
Pepita
Starter Pack #3
Living Ernesto de la Cruz (EXCLUSIVE—Black & White TV Version)
Dante
Miguel Rivera (Standard)
Now onto the blind bags for the remaining six characters not found within the starter packs. Oh and at the beginning of my review, I mentioned that these figures are "buildable"... what I mean is that they actually come disassembled in the blind bags! You need to attach the head, torso and legs together upon opening. This I'm sure will make for some fun imaginative play time as kids swap around the different pieces and make their own wacky characters!
Note: The figures in the 3-Packs can also be disassembled. They're the same figures as the blind bags, only they come put together for the packaging presentation.
Blind Bags
Emcee
Skeleton Ernesto de la Cruz (Gray Outfit)
Chicharron
Skeleton Miguel Rivera
Abuelita
Living Ernesto de la Cruz (Blue "Remember Me" Performance Outfit)
All in all, between the blind bags and the starter packs, there are a total of 15 character to collect in this first series. Well, there is technically one more multi-pack (a 5-Pack called "Land of the Dead") with an exclusive larger Pepita Skullectable figure—which I've included an image of down below. I didn't actually pick this one up however, since I already have the other four characters in the set and didn't want to pay for all those doubles. I did want to make you aware of it though!
There is also a Skullectables "Hacienda Playset/Carry Case" with an exclusive translucent gold/orange Miguel figure which I will be doing separate post on soon.
Each Skullectables figure is about 2"-2.5"in size. The 3-Packs retail for $8.99 each and the individual blind bags retail for $3.49. And hopefully, since the blind bags do say Series 1, we do end up getting a Series 2! There are so many fun and colorful characters in the film and I would LOVE to see more of these made.
And here's what a lot of you blind bag collectors have been waiting for—YES there are codes on the back of each Skullectables bag to help you snag the character(s) you want! Each character has a corresponding letter on the back right corner of the blind bags:
A: Skeleton Miguel Rivera
B: Miguel Rivera (Standard)
C: Dante
D: Hector
E: Skeleton Ernesto de la Cruz (Gray Outfit)
F: Imelda
G: Alebrije Dante
H: Pepita
I: Chicharron
J: Living Ernesto de la Cruz (Blue "Remember Me" Performance Outfit)
K: Abuelita
L: Emcee
Last but not least, check out my video unboxing/ blind bag opening below of all the Skullectables you see here! Please enjoy and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more content like this.
