Over the past year, we’ve interviewed director Mark Andrews and producer Katherine Sarafian for Brave a number of times.  Each time they’ve been great to us and last night on the red carpet at the VES Awards (visual effects) was no different.  During our brief chat we talked about what the past few months have been like, being nominated, what’s been the biggest surprise to them throughout the whole development, production, and promotion process, future projects, and I try to find out if Pixar could make a Star Wars movie.  Hit the jump for what they had to say.

A staple of every awards season is the multitude of roundtable interviews and discussions that pop up featuring said season’s top contenders.  We’ve already shared an hourlong interview with some of the Best Director contenders like Quentin Tarantino, Ang Lee, and Tom Hooper, but today a roundtable of a different sort popped online.  The LA Times put together their first ever animation roundtable as they gathered the following directors for a 60-minute discussion: Mark Andrews (Brave), Peter Ramsey (Rise of the Guardians), Chris Butler (ParaNorman), Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph), and Genndy Tartakovsky (Hotel Transylvania).

The resulting video is an absolutely fascinating and candid discussion between the filmmakers about the evolution of animated films, a possible renaissance of 2D animation and who’s to blame for 3D animation dominating the marketplace, breaking down social barriers and the stigma of animated movies being exclusively for kids, and more.  It’s a wonderful discussion and is well worth your time.  Hit the jump to watch.

Last week, I was invited to the U.K. for the Blu-ray/DVD release of Brave.   While I was in London, I sat down with director Mark Andrews and producer Katherine Sarafian.  During our conversation, we talked about creating a princess in the modern age, how the story changed over the course of its development, dealing with Merida’s hair, perfecting the look of Mordu, why a bear, and more

Hit the jump to check out the interview, click here for my interview with story supervisor Brian Larsen, and click here for my photos from Scotland.  Brave is now available on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD.

Earlier this week I literally dreamed about The Dark Knight Rises. Not that I was in the movie. Not that I was Batman. Just that I was in the theater watching it for the first time. And I woke up with a sense of joy that followed me around for hours. Even now I can’t decide exactly what this says about me or whether it’s a good or bad thing that I’m so excited for a single moviegoing experience. Part of me is a little disappointed in my subconscious for dreaming on such a micro level. Another part is encouraged that it finds such joy in the “little things”. Regardless, those precious two hours and forty-five minutes or so on midnight of July 20th can’t get here soon enough.

All personal issues aside, this week’s iteration of the Top 5 includes the new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master, Brave interviews with John Lasseter, director Mark Andrews and more, Brendan’s latest Cinemath feature, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World interviews with Steve Carell, Keira Knightley and more, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter interviews with Tim Burton and co. The search for a brief recap and link to each concludes after the jump.

With Pixar’s Brave opening this weekend, Disney recently held a press junket in Scotland where I got to interview some of the cast and filmmakers.  The film centers on Princess Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald), a young girl who accidentally sets loose an evil curse when she wishes for the freedom to escape her restrictive life.  But the big news about Brave is that it’s Pixar’s first film with a female protagonist and their first fairy tale.  I would imagine it won’t be their last.  Brave also features the voices of Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Walters.  For more on Brave, here’s all our previous coverage and four clips.

During my interview with director Mark Andrews and producer Katherine Sarafian we talked about the technical challenges of making Brave and future Pixar movies, how the film changed over the long development process, and what previous Pixar movie they would both like to see a sequel to (The Incredibles).  Hit the jump to watch.

Oh Brave, I’m so excited to see you.  In the void between Game of Thrones seasons, on the heels of the evocative yet unsatisfying Snow White and the Huntsman—I can’t wait to see what Pixar can do with the epic fantasy.  So I am proud to share images of what looks to be one of the more fantastical elements of the movie, the wisps.  Director Mark Andrews explains the spectral creatures:

“They were said to lead you to treasure or doom—to change your fate—but they’re an actual phenomenon of swamp and bog gas seeping up through the earth and interacting with the natural resources to create the blue flames. People would follow these lights thinking they were little fairies, and basically drown or get sucked down into the bogs.”

Our look at the wisps is just a glimpse (which given their nature may be all we get), but the design is lovely.  We also have a very clear look at the Witch (voiced by Julie Walters) along with detailed character descriptions, all after the jump.  Brave opens on June 22.

Cars 2 was the inevitable letdown from Pixar after 11 good-to-amazing movies in a row.  But we’ve spent the last few months watching these guys demonstrate the ability to tell great stories in any form (Brad Bird‘s Mission: Impossible 4, Andrew Stanton‘s John Carter).  All the promotional material suggests this is Pixar on the grandest scale yet.  And the animation studio cast a predictably reliable group of Brits as the main voices: Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters.

Honestly, I should probably manage my expectations better.  Because in my current state, if Brave isn’t a return to form, I’ll be crushed.  But I see the detail in these character wallpapers that Disney has released, and I cherish them.  Check out the wallpapers for yourself after the jump.  Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, Brave opens in 3D on June 22.

A new trailer for Pixar’s Brave has gone online.  Rather than show off a bunch of scenes from the movie or even give an overview of the plot.  The movie follows Merida, young princess (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) in the Scottish Highlands who defies an age-old custom, inadvertently unleashing chaos and fury in the kingdom.  This trailer doesn’t explain any of that and instead ops to show one scene.  The scene has three less-than-desirable men trying to win an archery contest for Merida’s hand in marriage.  Merida, none-too-happy with the situation, eventually has to show everyone what an utter bad-ass she is.  I still want to see more of the film’s scope, but the new trailer does a good job showing the movie’s comic and dramatic sides.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to see the poster that was released yesterday. The film also features the voices of Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Walters. Brave opens in 3D on June 22nd.

“Barsoom” reads a sign on the outskirts of the movie set we’re about to visit.  “Barsoom” is what Martians call their planet in Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ A Princess of Mars.  A group of my fellow online movie journalists and I are headed to the set of Andrew Stanton‘s adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel, John Carter.  Mars may technically be in Big Water, Utah, but today we’ll be walking the ruins of an ancient Martian city, meeting a princess who bleeds blue, and a nine-foot-tall nomad tribe of warriors.  Hit the jump to take a trip to the red planet and find out about my visit to the set of John Carter.

A new trailer for Pixar’s upcoming film Brave has been released. The pic is the studio’s first fairy tale and revolves around a young princess (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) in the Scottish Highlands who defies an age-old custom, inadvertently unleashing chaos and fury in the kingdom.  The tone of the trailer is a bit scattershot.  On the one hand, there are grand statements about changing your fate and wanting freedom.  On the other hand, there’s a guy in a kilt mooning his fellow Scot.  Tone aside, the visuals look fantastic. Overall, the trailer is alright, but I think Brave still has the potential to be a great movie.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also features the voices of Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Walters.  Brave opens in 3D on June 22, 2012.

Pixar has released a new image from their upcoming film, Brave.  The movie revolves around a young and rebellious princess (voiced my Kelly Macdonald) who defies a sacred custom of the land, inadvertently brings turmoil to the kingdom, and then makes an ill-fated wish in order to set things right.  While the movie features Pixar’s first female protagonist, co-director Mark Andrews tells Yahoo! the movie is “less about girl power” (yeah, because who wants that?) and “more about the oppositional relationship between mother Elinor and daughter Merida, likening the defiant red-haired princess to a scrutinized teenager who is forced to attend the same high school where her mother serves as the principal.”  YAWN.  Pixar whiffed in a big way with Cars 2 and it looked like Brave was a chance for the studio to get back on track.  Let’s hope that’s still the case.

Hit the jump to check out the new image.  The film also features the voices of Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Walters.  Brave opens in 3D on June 22, 2012.  Pixar will be releasing a new trailer in the near future. [Update: We've added two more images to the story, which you can check out after the jump.]

At this weekend’s D23 (essentially Disney’s Comic-Con), I got to speak with producer Katherine Sarafian and director Mark Andrews about Pixar’s next movie, Brave.  If you’re not aware, Brave is Pixar’s first film with a female protagonist.  During the interview, I asked them why has it taken so long for that to happen, what is the film about, and are they already thinking about the Easter Eggs.  They promise there will be a few of them, but you’ll have to look very close.  Hit the jump to watch.

One thing I love about the way Pixar markets their original films is that the trailers show very little footage from the actual movie itself. You’re able to go in almost completely fresh, without feeling like you’ve already seen 2/3’s of the movie. The next original film to be released from Pixar will be Brave next summer, and now The Pixar Blog confirms that the first teaser trailer for the film will be attached to Pixar’s Cars 2 when it hits theaters next month.

The studio’s first fairy tale (and their first film with a female protagonist), Brave centers on Princess Merida, a skilled archer who accidentally sets evil upon the Scottish highlands when she is granted an ill-fated wish. The phenomenal voice cast includes Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Walters. Judging by the gorgeous concept art that Pixar released in March, we’re in for quite a treat. Brave is slated for a June 22^nd, 2012 release, while Cars 2 hits theaters June 24^th.

I’m already looking past Cars 2 and on to Pixar’s next film Brave.  That’s partially because Cars 2 looks awful and partially because Brave will feature the studio’s first female protagonist.  It was also going to be the studio’s first film with a female director (Brenda Chapman), but there was a bit of controversy last October when Chapman was replaced by Mark Andrews, who previously directed the Pixar short One Man Band.

Behind-the-scenes drama aside, Brave looks like it could be a great film.  The film is set in Scotland and centers on a tomboyish princess who accidentally unleashes evil on her kingdom and must save the day.  The princess was to be voiced by Reese Witherspoon but scheduling conflicts forced her to drop out.  She’ll be replaced by they actually scottish Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire).  Hit the jump for more details on the film plus a first look at the concept art.  Brave is set to hit theaters in 3D on June 22, 2012. [Updated: Disney has provided some high-resolution images of the concept, which you can check out after the jump]

With production underway on director Andrew Stanton’s John Carter of Mars in London, Walt Disney has released the synopsis for the movie and also started a Facebook fan page for the film.  Here’s what they sent over:

From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL-E”), JOHN CARTER OF MARS brings this captivating hero to the big screen in a stunning adventure epic set on the wounded planet of Mars, a world inhabited by warrior tribes and exotic desert beings.  Based on the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Barsoom Series,” the film chronicles the journey of Civil-War veteran John Carter (TAYLOR KITSCH), who finds himself battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange Martian inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (WILLEM DAFOE) and Dejah Thoris (LYNN COLLINS).

As you might imagine, this is a huge film for us at Collider, so expect plenty of updates.  Hit the jump to read the rest of what Disney sent over: