Disney·Pixar The Animator's Sketchbook Review

Are you a Pixar Studios mega fan? An aspiring artist? A future Pixar animator? Maybe all of the above? Then this is for you. Released October 15th 2015 by Chronicle Books publishing (the ones behind the brilliant "Art of" books), here we have The Disney·Pixar Animator's Sketchbook! Though I'm not an artist by any means (I mean gosh, my drawings still look third grade level), I do have a passion for strong storytelling and filmmaking. This is an amazing journal style book for jotting down any creative ideas—whether you're going into the animation field or not.

As a Pixar fan myself, I had been eyeing this for a while until I had eventually forgotten its existence. However recently (for Christmas), thanks to my thoughtful friend and fellow co-castmember Gabby, I now have this awesome book in my collection. A huge thanks to her!

This book has so much going for it. It's inspiring, practical and a lot of fun. Inside you'll find five tabbed sections based on crucial early pre-production stages: Concept, story, color script, characters and worlds. Along with with brief introductions to each stage of development, there are also a plethora of inspiring quotes from Pixar filmmakers and great examples of some of the work Pixar artists have done throughout the years in these areas. Other than that, it's pretty much blank (with templates) for YOU to fill with your own original content!

Story...

Below is an example of some of the blank storyboard pages you'll find in the "story" section of the book.

Color scripts...

Characters...

Worlds...

For me, this is just a really cool book to have as part of my ever expanding collection of Pixar merch; but what's interesting is that this book is actually helping prepare the next generation of animators, filmmakers and storytellers. There are young Pixar fans out there right now writing down/drawing their ideas in this journal who will someday work at the famed studio in some capacity.

Find this on Amazon using the link below or at Barnes & Noble (online link HERE). Original retail was $18.95, but it has since gone on sale.

Here's to the very talented future of Pixar!

Pixar Collection: Disney Figural Kingrings (Series 8)

Over the past couple years, "Figural Keyrings" (from company Monogram International) have gained a tremendous amount of popularity— particularly their Disney series. With that said, Series 8 of their Disney Figural Keyrings collection has just been released; and it's entirely Pixar themed! Pixar characters have shown up in previous series before, but this one is made up of them 100%.

The catch? These adorable keyrings come in "blind bags" (like everything these days, right? ;), so you don't actually know who you'll get until you open that foil bag. They stand at about 2.5" tall, are made of (what they call) 3D foam (which feels like a eraser type material) and retail for $6.90 each.

I popped into my local Hot Topic a few days ago to see if I could find them and, well, there they were— almost a full case of them! I tested my luck and picked five characters, having no idea if I got any doubles or not. I could not wait to get out of the store to tear them open! It's always a nerve wracking (but fun nonetheless) thing to get blind toys.

This series has 11 awesome characters from a variety of Pixar films: Wall·E, Eve, Hamm, Rainbow Unicorn, Wheezy, Mr. Incredible, Mrs. Incredible, Syndrome, Green Army Man, Dug (Mystery Exclusive A, as seen on the back of the bag below) and Edna Mode (Mystery Exclusive B). I seriously love the looks of all of them, so I didn't care too much who I got as long as I didn't get any repeats.

I'm excited to report that I got some really good ones (Wall·E and Wheezy were hopes for me, so yay!) and no doubles. Here's who I got...

 

Rainbow Unicorn (Inside Out)

Syndrome (The Incredibles)

Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles)

Wheezy (Toy Story 2)

Wall·E

You can find Disney Figural Keyrings in stores/online at Hot Topic (currently 20% off), Target, Toys R Us, Amazon, etc. This is a fun line of figures that have great stylized looks about them and vibrant colors; however I've found they're not the longest lasting (my Zurg broke after a few months of being on my keychain). I can still highly recommended these though to Disney·Pixar fans who want to deck out their keychains, backpacks or luggage with their favorite characters!

I'm debating if I should get any more or leave it for now. What do you think? Be sure to let me know your favorite characters in this series in the comments below. Did you pick any up? Who did you get? Shout it out!

UPDATE 1/12/17- 
Remember above when I said I was debating whether or not I should continue on with these? Well, like usual, I couldn't help myself. I went back to Hot Topic to test my luck once again and picked up four more blind bags. I couldn't believe it when I opened the bags to find four characters I hadn't already got! How on earth I was able to choose nine in a row without any doubles is beyond me.

Not only did I find four more, but within those four were the two I was hoping for the most this round: Mystery Exclusive A (Dug) and Mystery Exclusive B (Edna Mode)! I was thrilled to get Eve and Hamm as well.

And here they are—

Dug (Up)

Edna Mode (The Incredibles)

Eve (Wall·E)

Hamm (Toy Story)

At this point, I only need two more; so you can be rest assured that I'm going to just go ahead and finish up this series at this point. Look for an update right here soon enough!

UPDATE 1/18/17- 
Once again, I visited my local Hot Topic a few days ago in hopes of getting the last two I needed. As seen below, I prevailed! 11 out of 11 with no duplicates. Series 8 is now complete for me.

Check 'em, out...

Green Army Man (Toy Story)

Mrs. Incredible (The Incredibles)

Up: Dug with Cone of Shame Funko "POP!" (SDCC 2016 Toy Tokyo Exclusive)

"I do not like the cone of shame..."

Released last July exclusively at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con (Toy Tokyo booth), here we have the limited edition Disney·Pixar Up inspired Dug with "cone of shame" Funko POP vinyl figure! This is following the wide release version of Dug which hit around June of last year. While the original Dug was #201, this variation gets its own number of 202 in the Disney Funko "POP!" collection.

I did not attend SDCC last year, but I was lucky enough to have received this as a gift for this past Christmas (thanks to my wife's grandmother). I had been looking to get this since the time of release, so I was thrilled to finally add this to my ever expanding collection of Pixar Funkos!

Original retail price at the convention was $15. This figure seems to have used the same lower body sculpt as the original wide release, but this Dug's sad expression head/cone is an entirely new sculpt. He stands at a little over 3" high and, as usual, Funko did a fantastic job nailing the expression and overall details. So cute.

At this point, eBay is really the main route to go if you're looking to add this to your collection. I'd say $40-$60 is the average selling price there currently (direct link to current listings HERE).

For all you Funko collectors/Pixar Up fans out there, I highly recommend picking this up if you have the chance. It's one collectible not to be missed! 

Cars: J. Low Lee (Super Chase)

Here's one of the final cars I needed from 2016 and the third and final Super Chase from this past year— J. Low Lee! This is a traditional Mattel 1:55 scale diecast character as seen in the original Cars, but because this one's classified as a "Super Chase", it makes it that much more difficult to find in stores (no more than 4,000 units have been distributed). If you've found one in stores, then lucky you!

As shown in the screen shot above, you can spot J. Low Lee at the Los Angeles International Speedway near the start of the final race sequence. He's a dedicated fan of the Piston Cup racing series and has pledged his loyalty specifically to Strip 'The King' Weathers. As stated on the back of the package, "J. Low has been to every race that #43 has ever entered, proudly wearing his lucky Piston Cup hat."

If you haven't had any luck with finding this Super Chase release in stores, be sure to check out this direct link to current eBay listings or Amazon using the link below. The prices are really reasonable with this one, at least compared to past Super Chase characters.

Best of luck on the hunt to all my fellow Cars collectors! 

Toy Story: MagicBandits (Mickey Mouse Shaped)

The MagicBandit collection continues at Walt Disney World with this brand new set of four, this time featuring Mickey Mouse shaped "Bandits" inspired by the designs of Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Pizza Planet Alien and Jessie! This is the second set of Toy Story themed MagicBandits, following THIS 3-Pack released in 2015.

If you've never heard of "MagicBandits", here's the scoop. They're basically just little vinyl charms that snap into the extra holes of your magic band (check out the back of the package below) to add additional pops of color and personality. Many different Disney characters and icons are available! I love showing off my love for Pixar while in the parks.

The first Pixar Bandits I ever saw in the parks were the Monsters Inc. ones back in 2014, which sold me on the idea of collecting these things. I thought it would be fun to add some of my love for Pixar to my magic band and my overall "ensemble". After finding those, I was hooked and looked for more Pixar related Bandits. I then found a fun Cars 3-pack and then found out there was a rare/sold out Incredibles 4-pack (which I got online once I got home from that trip). In 2015, the aforementioned Toy Story themed 3-pack was released as well as a Finding Nemo 3-pack. The Up 3-pack was the latest I got before this one. At this point, I'll be able to wear a different Pixar movie on each day of our next Disney World trip! 

You may be wondering if these stay on well. Yes, for the most part. Once you pop them on, they're pretty secure. They can snag on things, however, and pop off (I had that happen once or twice, for example getting off of Rockin' Roller Coaster). For adults or older kids, you won't have to worry about them falling off too much. Getting these for young kids though may be a different story, since they could easily rip them off and toss them aside. I definitely wouldn't get them for kids under six or seven, but it totally depends on the kid of course. Just in case you do plan on getting these Bandits for very young kids, be aware that they may easily be snagged on something or pulled off and lost.

You can currently find this set at many Disney World gift shops (including the one at the Orlando airport) or on the Shop Disney Parks app for $8.99. Currently, the Disney Store's site has them in stock as well! For all you Toy Story fans out there, you might want to pick this set up as you gear up for your next WDW vacation ;)

Follow me on Instagram @danthepixarfan!

"Finding Dory" Postcard (Artwork by Joey Chou)

Disney freelance illustrator Joey Chou has been hard at work creating some masterful Pixar inspired art over the last year or so. Following two pieces he did for The Good Dinosaur (seen HERE and HERE) and Up (seen HERE), as well as illustrations for a Finding Dory book this past summer (seen HERE), a new piece from the talented artist has arrived. Here we have his latest— a Finding Dory inspired print called, well, "Finding Dory"! This is an incredibly beautiful image featuring the film's main cast: Jenny, Charlie, Bailey, Destiny, Hank, Nemo, Marlin and Dory herself.

I've enjoyed collecting the postcard sized versions of his prints (affordable at only $4.95 and convenient when it comes to limited space), but they're also available as deluxe sized matted paper prints ($39.99) and on wrapped canvas ($195.00).

This was released at the Wonderground Gallery (Disney Springs, FL & Downtown Disney, CA) back on November 5th, so I'm not sure if it's still in stock there at those locations. At any rate, you can still find this postcard (as well as the print or canvas versions) on the Shop Disney Parks app (which is what I did last week) or by calling the Disney merchandise guest services number at (877) 560-6477. You can also pick it up on eBay HERE.

I'm continuously impressed with Joey's work. His style is absolutely superb! I can't wait to see what Pixar themed creation he comes up with next (maybe we'll get a Joey Chou Cars 3 piece?). Find out more about Joey Chou and his art on his Tumblr, blog, Instagram and Facebook page. 

Toy Story Toons Partysaurus Rex 3D Ornament (Disney Parks)

 "My friends call me...PartySAURUS Rex!" 

Released late last summer exclusively at Disney Parks, here we have the ever so awesome Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex inspired 3D Christmas tree ornament! Rex here is made of a fragile resin material with toon accurate details (such as the peace sign necklace and viking helmet) as well as a purple satin ribbon for hanging. He's always ready to party it up no matter what time of year!

I'm not much of a collector of Pixar tree ornaments, but this one was a must have since any Partysaurus Rex merch is hard to come by. For me, I didn't even get him to hang on a tree and there's no way I'm limiting this one to display only at Christmas time. He just makes a great collector's piece overall and will look great on display with my Toy Story collection year round.

Let's take a detailed look!

My only real gripe is that the paint job (especially around the eyes and teeth, at least on mine) is just a tad sloppy. I'm sure some paint applications are better than others though, but since I ordered this online, I wasn't able to pick one out myself. Other than that, it's a very cool ornament.

You can find this in Walt Disney World throughout the parks (I'm sure it's available somewhere in Disneyland as well). If you're interested in picking this up, check out the Shop Disney Parks app for exactly which stores it's available at (if you're there at/going to the parks) or have it shipped right to your home from the app (which is what I did). Another option is to call the Disney merchandise guest services number at (877) 560-6477. Retail price is $19.99.

Peace out fishes!

Follow me on Instagram @Dan the Pixar Fan 

Cars: Rusty Cornfuel (Tow Cap)

Released this past summer from Mattel, here we have their latest Cars 1:55 scale release of Rusty Cornfuel (or better known by his sponsor, Tow Cap)! If you're an avid Cars collector, you might notice that this is not considered a numbered mainline 2016 release. This was released in a separate "movie moments" sub-line that saw very, very limited distribution (found only at really random grocery stores, like Kroger for example, across the US). Several Piston Cup racers were featured in this "movie moments" series, including Lightning McQueen and Sidewall Shine (among others). Each one comes with a neat pit stop barrier accessory according to their sponsor (this one says "Tow Cap Hitch Protector").

The last time Rusty here was released was clear back in 2008, 2009 and 2010 in a 2-Pack with Gasprin as well as a 2009 single pack Kmart exclusive release with rubber tires. Interestingly enough, this is the first single release of this character with standard plastic, non-rubber tires.

As shown in the screenshot above, Rusty is briefly seen speeding by the camera in the film's opening Motor Speedway of the South (Dinoco 400) race. He is one of the 36 race cars competing for the Piston Cup. He's only on screen for a couple moments, so don't blink or you'll miss him.

I've been waiting a long time for this one to hit shelves again (since I missed getting him originally), so I'm happy he's back— even if I did have to resort to eBay this time around. I'm that much closer to finally having all the Piston Cup racers.

The only nitpick I have here is that his color is a bit off from what it looks like in the film (this one is far too blue); regardless this is another fantastic diecast from Mattel.

If you're still looking to add Tow Cap to your Cars collection, be on the lookout at any major grocery store chain near you. If you're not having any luck, you can always check out eBay or visit Amazon using the direct link below.

Cars 2: Flag Finish Lightning McQueen

Hello everyone and happy new year!! For those who follow me on here regularly, thank you so much for hanging tight. The last three weeks have been insanely busy and it only made sense for me to go on break here until the whirlwind of the holidays calmed down. This was by far the longest break I've had to take in the 3 1/2 years of writing on here and I've missed it tons! I'll be back to my daily posts now for the foreseeable future and look forward to sharing with you many more fantastic Pixar items. Thank you again for your continued support as I move into my fourth year of blogging!

Released this past summer from Mattel, here we have the Disney·Pixar Cars Flag Finish Lightning McQueen interactive toy! This has been a popular toy this holiday season for young Cars fans—and for good reason. It's actually a lot of fun! What makes this McQueen unique is that it's not just a standard remote controlled car; rather its motions are determined by waving the included Piston Cup flag when McQueen is set to one of his three modes: Drag & Drift, Race Laps and Victory Dance. Not to mention his 80+ sounds and phrases!

Let's take a closer look at how each of his modes work as well as some of his many phrases. When McQueen is idle waiting for you to wave the flag, you'll hear some of the following:

• Oh yah! Race Time!
• Ok buddy. wave that flag to get racing! 
• Grab your flag, we gotta race! 
• Where are you?
• Lookin' for the flag!  
• You ready to race?

When set to Drag & Drift mode, McQueen will race forward continuously when the flag is waved and held downward. Raise the flag back up to make Lightning drift to a halt.

You'll hear a variety of phrases and race car sound effects in this mode including:

• Time for a drag race! Drop the flag!
• Ready to roll!
• Start your engines! 
• Oh yah, Lightning's ready!
• Go, go, go!
• 3, 2, 1, GO! 
• Ha, ha, ha! 
• Ka-chow! 
• Whoo! 
• Try to catch me! 
• Eat my dust! 
• Straight line speed! 
• Whoaaaa, gettin' crazy! 
• Faster, faster! 
• Way to go buddy! 
• Alright, push it to the finish! 
• Woooo-hooo! 
• Whoa, whoa, easy into the corners! 
• Yes! 
• Right on!  
• Faster than fast, quicker than quick! 
• Awesome! 
• That's what I'm talking about!

Switching over to the Race Laps mode, McQueen will race in circles when you wave the flag left and right. Again, when you stop, he stops. Lightning says these phrases (in addition to some of them I noted above) in this mode:

• The Piston cup! Shake that flag!
• Nice Teamwork! 
• And that's how it's done!
• Here we go, final lap!
• Wanna go again?

In Victory Dance mode, Lightning does just that— he "dances"! Wave the flag up and down continuously to see his sweet moves. Stop waving the flag to make Lightning stop. Kids will no doubt love the cool beats! Here's what he says-

• Victory dance! Shake that flag!
• Whoa- checker me out!
• Go, buddy- Go buddy! 
• Check out your moves! 
• Shake, shake, shake!  
• Yah! 
• Watch me now! 
• *Various Music Tracks*

McQueen's design is based off of his Cars 2 look. He's a really decent size, measuring 9.5" long and about 4" high (Race Flag transmitter measures about 11.5" tall). Six AA batteries are required for Lightning himself and two AAA batteries are required for the flag (batteries not included). Retail price is $44.99, though some retailers offer it for less.

All in all, this is a pretty awesome toy that works just as specified. It feels well made and has plenty of cool movie accurate details. I can easily recommend this for any fan of Cars ages 3+! You can pick this up at most major retailers such as Walmart, Toys R Us, Target, Amazon, or even Mattel's official online shop (among others). If you're looking to see this in action before you buy, check out YouTube for a selection of videos (unfortunately I haven't had any time to make one myself).  

Last but most definitely not least, A HUGE thanks to Mattel for sending this my way to review! Very much appreciated.