Wreck-It Ralph 2 Includes All the Disney Princesses
The Disney Animation panel at Friday's D23 Expo included an exclusive sneak peek at a mixture of rough and more polished animation from Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, the high point of which was an extended sequence showing Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman, who was on hand to help present the footage) encountering ALL the Disney animated princesses, from Snow White to Moana.
In the film, Ralph and Vanellope escape the arcade and enter the Internet so she can find a fix for her Sugar Rush game. During their journey, they encounter Yesss, an algorithm of a trending site called Buzzaholic voiced by Empire and Hidden Figures' Taraji P. Henson. She takes them to OhMyDisney.com, where nearly every Disney-owned intellectual property is represented, from Disney and Pixar Animation (we see a Buzz Lightyear toy in a Toy Story 4 product box) to Marvel (hey, look, it's Stan Lee!) and Lucasfilm.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Animated Series Cast Revealed
As part of the D23 Expo, Disney and Marvel have revealed more details on Marvel's Spider-Man, the new animated series coming to Disney XD, as well as the third season of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy animated show.
Spider-Man will debut on Saturday, August 19 on XD with an hour-long premiere at 7 a.m. ET, as well as on the Disney XD app at 12:01 a.m. ET. The show's voice cast was announced during D23 Expo as well, including Robbie Daymond as Spider-Man, Max Mittleman as Harry Osborn, Nadji Jeter as Miles Morales), Melanie Minichino as Anya Corazon, Fred Tatasciore as Max Modell, Laura Bailey as Gwen Stacy, Nancy Linari as Aunt May, Patton Oswalt as Uncle Ben, Scott Menville as Doc Ock, John DiMaggio as The Jackal, Alastair Duncan as Vulture. Marvel's CCO Joe Quesada, who is also on board as an executive producer will voice Joe the coffee shop owner.
NVC: Mario Goes VR and We Stay Fresh
Nintendo Voice Chat Episode 364 is here! This week, IGN's Nintendo crew talks about WWE returning to Nintendo consoles, the New 2DS XL, Mario Kart's first foray into VR gaming, and the fun we had playing Splatoon 2's single-player campaign.
Join Brian Altano, Zach Ryan, Brendan Graeber, and Peer Schneider to find out what games they're playing on Nintendo Switch and 3DS this week, including Death Squared, De Mambo, Ever Oasis, and of course Splatoon 2, Splatoon 2, Splatoon 2.
As always, you can watch NVC here on IGN and on our YouTube channel or listen to it on your commute in audio format. If you dig the show, say something nice!
Neill Blomkamp Talks His New Sci-Fi Horror Short Zygote
Director Neill Blomkamp has earned a following for his intriguing and socially conscious sci-fi films District 9, Elysium and Chappie. And now, Blomkamp is taking on the traditional content distribution model by forming his own production house, Oats Studios, and releasing short films online for free in the hopes of eventually raising the funding for more shorts and feature films. The first Oats Studios short was an alien invasion aftermath tale called “Rakka” and the second was “Firebase,” which introduced viewers to a wild alternate-history take on the Vietnam War. Earlier this week, Oats Studios released its third short, “Zygote,” a sci-fi horror thriller starring Dakota Fanning and Jose Pablo Cantillo.
Pixar Announces New Untitled Film
Pixar has announced a new, currently untitled film, set to be directed by Monsters University's Dan Scanlon, at the D23 Expo.
Announced during the Walt Disney Animation Studios panel, the film will be set in a suburban fantasy world, and concept art shown at the panel included a dragon, and a town with a water tower.
Scanlon will team up with producer Kori Rae for the project. On stage, the film was described as "based on a very personal story" told in a modern world featuring magic.
"I have always wondered who my father was and how I'm like him," Scanlon said on stage while describing the film, telling the story of how his father died when he was only a year old. The film will similarly tell the story of two men whose father died who head out into a mundane fantasy world to find a way to have one last magical day with him.
Main Incredibles Cast Return for Sequel with One Exception
Director Brad Bird revealed at D23 Expo that, with the exception of Dash's Spencer Fox, the main cast from the Incredibles will return for Incredibles 2.
The cast is as follows:
- Bob (Mr. Incredible): Craig T. Nelson
- Helen (Mrs. Incredible): Holly Hunter
- Violet: Sarah Vowell
- Dash: Huck Milner
- Lucius (Frozone): Samuel L. Jackson
- Edna Mode: Brad Bird
Bird explained at the D23 Expo animation panel that they needed to recast Dash in order to make sure his character still sounded like a 10-year-old boy. The Incredibles 2 takes place a minute after the end of the original, so Bird wanted to avoid Dash suddenly having a much deeper voice.
Toy Story 4 Gets a New Director
Toy Story 4 will be directed by Josh Cooley, with John Lasseter stepping stepping down from the role. Disney and Pixar announced this on stage at the D23 Expo during its animation panel.
Cooley started worked at Pixar as an intern on the original Cars movie, while most recently working as the head of story and writer of Inside Out. John Lasseter, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios' Chief Creative Officer, is still remaining on the film as an executive producer, explaining, “...I'm going to be working really closely with Josh and his team, mentoring him and teaching him everything I know”
CHECK OUT OUR INTERVIEW WITH JOHN LASSETER FROM THE D23 EXPO ABOVE.
When Digital Apes Become Real
War for the Planet of the Apes hit theaters this week, and the third film in the modern take on the iconic series has proven that blockbuster entertainment can sit comfortably with thoughtful and emotional storytelling. Directed by Matt Reeves, who’s back again after the previous film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War of course stars Andy Serkis in a tour de force performance capture turn as Caesar, leader of the apes and reluctant enemy of mankind.
I recently sat down with Reeves and his effects maestros Joe Letteri and Dan Lemmon of Weta Digital to discuss the revelatory visuals in the film. Read on for our full discussion about taking digital characters into the realm of reality, the one human character in the film who also needed to be done digitally, why it’s important for apes to use horse riding stirrups, and more!
Her Story Creator Announces New Game Telling Lies
Her Story creator Sam Barlow is teaming up with Annapurna Pictures' game division, Annapurna Interactive, for his newest project Telling Lies.
The game will have a similar format to Her Story, which followed an interactive-movie format that tasked players with piecing together a disjointed narrative, revealed via live-action clips, to solve a mystery.
However with the help from Annapurna Interactive, which will handle the game's live-action video component, Telling Lies promises to be more ambitious and contain higher production values. Barlow is hoping to involve Hollywood talent, according to Variety.
Never See a Loading Screen Again With These Fast SSDs
When it comes to storing all the stuff on your gaming PC, you have two options: cheap, slow, and spacious hard drives (HDD) or more expensive yet much faster (and lower capacity) solid-state drives (SSDs). A good SSD makes everything you do on your PC feel snappy between programs starting instantly and copy in seconds. Most importantly, your games will load faster, allowing them to run smoother with fewer hitches and hiccups.
Shopping for the best SSD can be a bit intimidating with so many drives operating at different speeds, at all sorts of capacities, and a variety of form factors. Don’t fret though, I’ve done the research for you and created this handy list of the best solid-state drives on the market. From budget options to speed up your laptop to the highest performance NVMe drives that will turbocharge your gaming PC, here are the best SSDs you can buy.