Pixar Confirms "Mars" Trilogy

The Pixar team has confirmed to EBZine that they recently made a trip to Edgar Rice Burroughs archives, doing research for a trilogy of John Carter of Mars films.

Directors Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews and Pixar executive Jim Morris all attended and confirmed the first John Carter film, which will be part live-action, would hit theaters before 2012.

The movie will follow Civil War vet John Carter, who is transplanted to Mars, where he discovers a lush, wildly diverse planet whose main inhabitants are 12-foot tall green barbarians.

Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who is in desperate need of a savior.

At present the studio has "Wall-E" in 2008, "Up" in 2009, "Toy Story 3" in 2010, and "1906" or the first 'Carter' film for 2011.


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Love the idea, I just do not want Pixar to become what Disney was/is, using/stealing other peoples ideas for their benfit.

Give me Toy Story 3!

I wouldn't worry about Pixar tackling this property. I bet it will be far more faithful to the books than what Disney did to other stories in the past.

This should be awesome to see. I do recall that this was being shopped around some years ago for the right studio. I am glad to see a great studio got the property. My only complaint is we have to wait 4 more years to get the first movie!

Snow White? Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? Alice in Wonderland? 101 Dalmations? The Jungle Book? Pinnochio? Robin Hood?

Disney has ALWAYS used other peoples work as the basis of their films. Some(Walt's films) were just better than the recent stuff.

What would a Disney/Pixar thread be though without a shot at Disney though?

This brings up an interesting memory. As a child, I would see the "Walt Disney's ________" (Cinderella, Jungle Book, Swiss Family Robinson, etc.) and always assumed that Walt himself thought up all these stories. I was astounded when I got old enough to look up & check out books for myself that someone else had published some of those works under their own name...making me ready to accuse Wyss, Kipling, and others of plaigarism (sp). When I found out that Uncle Walt had "stolen" those stories & claimed them as his own, I felt betrayed. Of course, I had no concept of an entire studio of writers, animators, etc. (I guess I thought Ol' Walt did it all).

Anyway, I finally came to terms with all this years later when I realized that the term was accurate in that the films portrayed Walt Disney's version of the story (similar to "Howard Pyle's Robin Hood"). Some stories were more faithful than others, and some of the Disney versions added elements that made the story faster-paced for a visual medium. I came to realize that I could enjoy both the Disney versions and the original stories for their respective merits.

In defense of Disney, at least the studio had the good taste (in most cases) to adapt good literature and/or classic tales & legends. From Disney, I learned about the Swamp Fox (which led me to search out & read historical books about Francis Marion), Rob Roy, Dick Turpin, and many other legendary heroes. After seeing Treasure Island & Kidnapped, I read both books. Searching for 'The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh', I discovered the fine series of novels by Russell Thorndyke. I checked out the books "101 Dalmations" and "Big Red" and devoured them. I'm thankful that a studio such as Disney existed to provide solid, stimulating entertainment at a time when most "kids" programming consisted of Captain Kangaroo, Fury, Supercar, and cartoons. Some of the Disney product was drivel, but most of it was produced with top-notch production values (except the awful Disney orchestra) and often featured future stars such as Sean Connery & Patrick McGoohan. Disney stories often took place in Europe and other locales around the world, and I learned quite a bit about other cultures (even if some of the info. was tinted by the times).

I've always hoped that someone would do John Carter of Mars (still waiting for the definitive Tarzan...'Greystoke' comes the closest but still misses the mark). Hope I'm still around in 2011 to see what they do with the material. Heck, I've lived long enough to see really fine versions of Lord of the Rings, which I never thought to see. Why not John Carter?

Now, give me Dejah Thoris!!

Yeah, what's next? An animated remake of Doc Hollywood?

Thought TS3 was coming 09.... darn. Is "Up" the adventure film?

When is the "Cars" sequel?

What story is Big Red?


I remember when Disney's Tarzan came out a couple years ago, somebody said someone from the Burroughs estate had given it a "thumbs up", not sure where I read that. What's your take on it?


I just read the Mars books a few years ago as an adult (I'm 33 now), and I really enjoyed them. Glad to see it's someone like Pixar that's doing them.

I hope it's not about young Briton's growing up

here's the original thread regarding the property.. if you want some backstory.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread....hreadid=351570

I remember that as well. IIRC, they said it was the most accurate representation of Tarzan committed to film.

Personally I think it's under appreciated. One of the best traditional Disney flicks post Lion King.

I'm delighted with this news. It is also good to hear that Pixar both understands that the first three books are a natural trilogy and that the studio is finally willing to do some adaptations (not that I don't love their original stories but a mix would be great).

This project will have some real hurdles as more adult and purely adventure-oriented cartoons have not done well in the American marketplace. Even Tarzan had to be made more cuddly. The Martian world is not cute. But if anyone can make this work then Pixar can.

When they sell the rights to Dreamworks

I don't get it. Is that the equivalent of saying "when pigs fly" in animation terms or are they actually considering selling the rights for one of their properties to Dreamworks. And if they are...WHY????

What about a sequel to Incredibles? Of all Pixar movies, a superhero movie needs more adventures.

Heck...I just wish they at least let somebody publish an Incredibles comic book.

We finally get some more info:

Andrew Stanton Talks John Carter Of Mars

AICN’ s Quint is at The Santa Barbara Film Festival where director Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) had some more to say about his upcoming film John Carter of Mars:

* Yes, his John Carter will be a Civil War soldier. No fanbase-rattling updates into the modern day here. Presumably still a Johnny Reb - but that wasn’t confirmed and political sensitivity may just curb this.
* He hasn’t got the same kind of development and pre-production time for this film that he’d be afforded on a Pixar production, but he has been a fan since he was a kid and has therefore had plenty of ideas percolating for decades. I could say the same about a few books myself and, actually, there are definitely a few key scenes from literature that I’ve planned, filmed and edited in my imagination over and over, so I know exactly where he’s coming from.
* Not wanting his film to look or feel like Star Wars or any of it’s derivatives, Stanton is taking on a more naturalistic aesthetic here. He said that the film would be akin to what we’d see should a National Geographic stumble across a long lost civilisation in a cave - not unlike some of what Peter Jackson said about his Lord of the Rings films, in fact. More evidence that Rings is now a key genre paradigm just how Star Wars was for so long.
* The second draft of the script is now complete.
* Stanton doesn’t want to shoot in 3D, though he feels Disney may try to push him in that direction.

For some reason this thread makes me want to see Pixar do an adaptation of The Sirens of Titan.

yea or an animated version of Seven Samurai.

Yeah... I get the Seven Samurai joke (A Bug's Life) but the Doc Hollywood one flew right over my head. I've seen Doc Hollywood but can't think of which Pixar film could be deemed a remake of it.

Cars.

D'oh! How did I not get that?

Pixar can't leave their good luck charm out of this one.