Pixar continues to roll out Toy Story shorts, and this Halloween we’ll be getting another one.  Disney has announced that they’ll be releasing Toy Story of Terror on ABC.  According to TV Guide, the short will be 30-minutes long, and has the toys staying in a motel after Bonnie takes them on a road trip only to have the car break down along the way.  Once inside the spooky motel, one of the toys goes missing, and “the rest of the gang will find themselves caught up in a mysterious sequence of events that must be solved before they all suffer the same fate.”  The short will appeal to kids, but adults should enjoy references to Psycho, Aliens, and Predator.  One of the Predator references could be the return of Combat Carl (from the first movie), who will be voiced by Carl Weathers.  The gang will be joined by Toy Story 3 toys, Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) and Trixie (Kristen Schaal).

Hit the jump for the image and more.

Disney has taken on the task of bringing the Studio Ghibli filmography to a broad American audience with an English dub, but that still leaves so much foreign animation on the table that the young ones never get a chance to see.  Consider In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today?, the Czech stop-motion film by Jiří Barta.  We Americans have bestowed a billion dollars on a ceratin animated franchise about toys that come to life, so there is clearly a market.  Hannover House has stepped up and recruited Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack, Cary Elwes, Vivian Schilling, and more for an English-language limited release of the movie—now titled Toys in the Attic—on September 7.

It feels a bit wrong to hear Cusack vocally cheating on Toy Story, but I guarantee these will be some of the most interesting visuals you see all day.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

The first image from the new Toy Story short, Small Fry, has popped up online.  We reported in August that short film would have Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) getting left behind at a fast-food restaurant and trying to find his way back home with the help of less popular, Happy Meal-like toys.  It turns out there’s a bit more to it because one of the Happy Meal-toys kidnaps Buzz and tries to take over his play-filled existence.  Jane Lynch (Glee) will make her Pixar debut as the Happy Meal toys’ narcissistic support-group leader Neptuna.

Hit the jump to check out the full image and adorably tiny Lightyear feet.  The seven-minute short will be attached to The Muppets, which opens November 23rd.  Toy Story: Small Fry also features the voices of Tom Hanks, John Ratzenberger, and Joan Cusack. [We have added a new image, and updated the story with a hi-res version of the previously-released image]

Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil comes out during a time when unoffensive animated films just aren’t good enough anymore. For the film watcher, this is a great time with the likes of Pixar and Dreamworks upping the ante, with a few dark horses here and there and some old mainstays like Disney still staking a claim. Unfortunately, Hoodwinked Too isn’t a shining example of the current times. Instead, a bizarre plot, uninspired animation, and worst of all, a lack of more than a handful of laughs keep this sequel from pushing the genre forward. The shame is that there is some quality work done by some of the voice cast, but the rest of the film falls flat around them. Hit the jump for the full review.

As another season of Dexter came to an end last night on Showtime, the cable network teased the beginning of an all new series. Immediately following the season finale of Dexter, the first 20 minutes of the pilot for Showtime’s new series Shameless premiered. If you don’t watch Dexter, or you just plain missed the sneak peek, don’t worry, because Showtime has released the entire lengthy tease of the new series online for your viewing pleasure. Adapted from a popular British show of the same name, Shameless chronicles the exploits of the Gallaghers, a family of degenerates, made up of William H. Macy, Joan Cusack and Emmy Rossum, who seem to be constantly breaking laws and moral codes just to get by. Check out the sneak peek after the jump!

Disney has released the first trailer plus new images for their upcoming animated film Mars Needs Moms.  The plot centers on a young boy who goes to rescue his nagging mother after she’s abducted by Martians since, as the you probably gleamed from the title, the red planet requires responsible caretakers for their young.  If you like easy vomit jokes, poop jokes, and characters swimming in the uncanny valley, then this may be the movie for you.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and images.  Mars Needs Moms features the voices of Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Elisabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, and Joan Cusack.  It opens in 3D on March 11th.

In keeping with the tradition of mining our friends across the pond for new television material, the latest series snatched up from Channel 4 is Showtime’s Shameless. As we previously reported, the hourlong dramedy is headlined by the always great William H. Macy, and revolves around a working-class Chicago clan dealing with the recession.  Macy plays the alcoholic single-father dealing with a family of six, and is joined by Emmy Rossum (Phantom of the Opera) as the eldest daughter who is tasked with keeping her brothers and sisters in line.

Joan Cusack replaces Allison Janney, who filmed a guest spot in the pilot but could not continue with the rest of the show as her ABC series with Matthew Perry, Mr. Sunshine, was picked up to air as a midseason replacement this year.  The project is spearheaded by television uber-producer John Wells (ER, The West Wing) who also wrote the pilot.  Judging from the trailer, it actually looks pretty great. It almost seems like a darker, twisted version of Parenthood (the current Jason Katims iteration). To view the trailer, and for a bit more info on the series, hit the jump.

I always enjoy it when our poster articles have something for all tastes, and in this instance, I think we can deem the gamut run.  In one corner we have The Fighter, the adult boxing drama/awards contender which stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams.  In the other waits Mars Needs Moms, the family-friendly sci-fi animated comedy which features the voices of Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Elisabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, Kevin Cahoon, and Joan Cusack.  Check out the new posters for both after the jump.

After the more outside-the-box family films of Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up, Pixar is going back inside the toy box with Toy Story 3.  There’s nothing wrong with being inside the box when there are lots of toys, loads of fun, and plenty of jokes.  It’s wonderful to see Woody, Buzz, and the gang team up for another adventure (even if it’s the same rescue/escape narrative structure of the first two films).  But Toy Story 3 is so eager to entertain, that it almost never takes a moment to breathe.  Instead, it’s a movie that’s a roller coaster in the best sense of the term.  Set in the mold of a prison break movie, Toy Story 3 may not break with convention or out from under the shadow of the first two films, but it’s a welcome break from this dreary summer.

Last weekend, I had the unbelievable privilege of going to Pixar Animation Studios for the Toy Story 3 press day.   Pixar’s name has become synonymous with the highest quality of filmmaking and Toy Story 3 carries on in that tradition.  After seeing the film, I got the chance to sit down with the cast and filmmakers to talk about the movie.

Joan Cusack returns as Jessie, the yodeling cowgirl.  The character was such a touching figure in Toy Story 2 and it’s a joy to see her return ten years later.  Timothy Dalton makes his debut as one of the new characters in the film, Mr. Pricklepants.  He’s a hedgehog in lederhosen who sees himself as a seriously committed actor.  If you don’t laugh when you see him, then you probably feel really sad for some inexplicable reason.  Hit the jump for what Cusack and Dalton had to say about the film and keep checking back as I’ll be posting a new interview every day this week.  Click here to see my interview with director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson. Toy Story 3 opens this Friday.

With Toy Story 3 getting released next weekend, we’ve been given 5 clips and 18 high resolution images from the film.  Also, Matt was just at Pixar to do interviews with the voice cast and the filmmakers, so you can expect a lot more Toy Story 3 coverage next week.  Until then, check out the clips and images after the jump.

It was less than fifteen years ago that Toy Story debuted for the Holiday season of 1995. At the time Disney was taking a chance with an entirely computer animated film, especially after their amazing resurgence and recent run of cel animated films – they were only a year off of The Lion King. Now, Pixar essentially runs Disney animation and cel animation is the experiment – completely out of fashion in part due to Disney ruining the brand name (and to some extent DreamWorks making equally mediocre films). But you can’t blame Pixar for being good, and it was the wild success of the Toy Story films that helped cement their legacy. They tell the story of Woody (Tom Hanks), a cowboy doll who is ousted from his position as the sole favorite toy by Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and how the two go on an adventure in the real world. The sequel has the duo facing a toy kidnapper (Wayne Knight), who wants to send Woody to Japan with the toy line he originally came from while Woody confronts his own mortality. My review of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 on Blu-ray after the jump.

A new trailer for Toy Story 3 has been released and as you might expect from the company that only makes amazing movies (Pixar), the trailer makes me wish TS3 was in theaters this weekend.  Loaded with funny scenes and action, the trailer is a perfectly cut piece of awesome.

And unlike the first clips that have been released from Toy Story 3, this one starts to show what the movie is really about and how some of the new toys are not so friendly.  I promise you want to watch this trailer.  Also, I’ve posted 10 new high resolution images that show the new characters in greater detail.

Pixar will be unveiling a new trailer for Toy Story 3 tomorrow.  But if you can’t wait till then, 30 seconds of the trailer has already hit the net and it’s after the jump.  Featuring some of the new characters in the film, the spot is definitely worth watching.  Also, points to Disney/Pixar for finding a way to make us cover the movie twice.  After all, we’re posting the full trailer tomorrow as soon as it’s online.  Toy Story 3 gets released June 18 and the official website has been updated.

Hit the jump for the full synopsis and the 30 second clip:

On New Year’s Eve, before the clock struck midnight, director Lee Unkrich tweeted, “Enjoying the last day I can say ‘Toy Story 3′ doesn’t come out next year’”.  Indeed we have entered 2010, the year of the latest update in the Toy Story franchise, and today a clip that introduces a crucial new character, pretentious thespian hedgehog Mr. Pricklepants, has hit the net.  The sequel will follow the toys we know and love (Buzz, Woody, Hamm, Rex, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, and more) plus a few new playthings (Lotso and Mr. Pricklepants) when they head to a daycare center as owner Andy heads off to college.  Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, and Estelle Harris will reprise their roles, while Ned Beatty and Timothy Dalton will voice new the aforementioned new toys.

Look for the clip of Unkrich talking about Toy Story 3 and Mr. Pricklepants after the jump.