stories

'Toy Story 3': Third time a charm (roundup)

Pixar brings back Woody, Buzz, and the gang for a third go-round, and once again puts innovative animation effects into the service of classic storytelling.

The groundbreaking tech of 'Toy Story 3' For the new film, Pixar tackles a huge computing problem to conquer what otherwise would be an impossible animation task behind the story's emotional climax. (Posted in Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman) June 15, 2010 10:00 AM PDT

The man behind Pixar's 3D films Q&A Bob Whitehill, the stereoscopic supervisor at Pixar, is the person in charge when it comes to decisions about … Read more

Get Tales2Go for iPhone free for the summer

If you have children between the ages of 3 and 11, there's an app you have to get: Tales2Go. It provides on-demand access to more than 1,000 children's audiobooks and stories--everything from "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" to "Junie B. Jones."

The app is free, but a one-year subscription costs $24.99, which is a steal in my book.

However, if you download and register Tales2Go using a valid e-mail address between now and midnight tonight (Pacific Time), you'll get a summer's worth of streaming absolutely free.

Specifically, instead of expiring … Read more

'Toy Story 3': Hope the movie is better than its app

The other night I watched the last half hour of "Toy Story 2" on TV. So what if the children were in bed? It's one of my all-time favorite movies--go ahead and laugh--and I can't wait for "Toy Story 3," which opens Friday.

Needless to say, I was jazzed when Disney's free "Toy Story 3" app arrived yesterday. That is, I was jazzed until I ran it; what a depressing, disappointing, borderline insult of an app.

Here's what you'll find inside:

Woody's Wild RideWoody's Wild Ride is … Read more

The man behind Pixar's 3D films

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--In Hollywood these days, the push to put out movies in 3D is on. In part, it's a way to get some additional marketing buzz about a film, but it's also a source of additional revenue because theaters charge a premium for showings in that format.

At Pixar Animation Studios, those rationales are not lost on executives, and when "Toy Story 3" comes out on Friday it will be offered both in 3D and the traditional 2D format. Indeed, last year Pixar worked to build up interest in the new film by promoting a … Read more

The groundbreaking tech of 'Toy Story 3'

At Pixar Animation Studios, which will release "Toy Story 3," its 11th feature film, on Friday, each new movie is an opportunity both to notch huge box office numbers and to break new ground in the technique of using computers in digital animation.

To veteran Pixar watchers, the latter dynamic should by now be very familiar. With "Finding Nemo," the studio had to figure out how to use its technology to craft believable underwater scenes. With "Monsters Inc.," the challenge was animating the characters' lush fur. In "Cars," it was determining how … Read more

Pixar releases vintage Lots-o-Huggin' Bear ads

If you've seen any of the previews for Pixar's forthcoming movie, the terrific "Toy Story 3," you've no doubt caught wind of one of the new toys in the trilogy's roster of playthings: Lots-o-Huggin' Bear.

The movie opens on June 18, and until then viewers won't have much of a sense of how Lotso figures into the film's full story line. Suffice it to say, Lotso is a leader at Sunnyside Day Care, the new home of the stars of Pixar's 11th feature, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Hamm, Mr. and Mrs. … Read more

StoryCorps app helps preserve family stories for posterity

StoryCorps is a terrific nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, sharing, and preserving stories told by friends and family members. If you listen to NPR's Morning Edition, you've almost certainly heard some clips.

The StoryCorps app for iPhone lets you listen to some of these stories, then learn how to record and share interviews of your own. Unfortunately, the app falls short in one key area: it can't actually record.

The Stories tab is pretty straightforward: scroll through the list of available stories, tap one that sounds interesting, then listen to the streaming audio. If you like it, … Read more

Toy Story 3 game celebrates Pixar's spirit of play

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--Call it Toy Story 3.5.

That's what Pixar's Jason Katz, at least, called Toy Story 3: The Video Game, during a press event for the game at the famous animation studio's headquarters here Wednesday.

Katz, the story supervisor on the forthcoming "Toy Story 3," which will hit theaters on June 18, was explaining to a group of reporters that while the game version of the film is very true to its source material, it also stands on its own and extends the franchise. Someone who plays the game and then sees the … Read more

5 amazing iPad e-books for kids

If you ask me, the iPad's prowess as an e-book reader lies not in pulp fiction, but in kids' books. Think about it: the latest Grisham novel is just raw text, which any old Kindle can deliver. But children's books are all about big, splashy pictures and wild colors--elements perfectly suited to iPad screens.

And needless to say, the iPad can do a lot more than just display static pages. It can read stories aloud; it can enrich a classic tale with touch-powered extras; and it can even render pages in 3D. Let's take a look at five dazzling e-books for kids, starting with an eye-popping rendition of "Alice in Wonderland."

1."Alice for the iPad"  This lavishly illustrated 52-page abridgment of the classic tale incorporates animation like no other e-book to date. Readers can tilt the iPad to make Alice grow and shrink; shake it to watch the Mad Hatter's bobblehead bobble; and so on. The frantically paced demo video (above) is a little over-the-top, but there's no question this is a showpiece iPad app. Thankfully, there's a free Lite version you can try before splurging on the $8.99 full version.

2. Dr. Seuss books  Already among my favorites (uh, I mean, my kids' favorites) on the iPhone, Oceanhouse Media's three Seuss titles--"Dr. Seuss' ABC," "The Cat in the Hat," and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"--are just that much bigger and better on the iPad. Each interactive story sells for $2.99--quite a bit less than their respective hardcovers (as it should be). Oh, and stay tuned: one of my all-time favorite Seuss titles, "The Lorax," will make its iPad/iPhone debut in about a week.

3. "Jack and the Beanstalk Children's Interactive Storybook"  I think the title says it all, no? The "interactive" part comes in the form of games, activities, hidden Easter eggs, and the like. Gorgeous artwork, read-along text, and a reasonable price tag of $3.99. What's not to like?… Read more