John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

That's nice, Dory, but I'd rather have Edna Mode

The above image was the announcement Ellen DeGeneres made (obviousy with Disney's blessing) this week about the coming sequel to Finding Nemo. Finding Dory will pick up the story of the blue fish with the terrible memory, and evidently will be centered on the waters off California.

Finding Nemo is a movie I've seen countless times. We took our son to it when he was a preschooler, and the subsequent DVD played well over once or twice. The themes of parenting must have resonated too. Plus, those seagulls! 

I'm not at all surprised that Pixar is reaching into libraries for sequels (Monsters U. is up next), but the one I want to see the most remains nothing more than good wishes. 

The Incredibles, from 2004, is the Pixar movie that really knocked my socks off. I loved the story, I liked seeing how the movie dealt with the contentious themes of encouraging kids to excel rather than merely participate, I loved how it made a meal out of the imagery and ideas of the Silver Age of comics, and I thought so much of Michael Giacchino's score that I bought the soundtrack. 

The writer and director, Brad Bird, has mused about putting together a sequel, but nothing has happened yet. Bird has been preoccupied with other things, like the last Mission: Impossible movie and the forthcoming sci-fi movie Tomorrowland, which may or may not have a lot to do with the Disney theme park of the same name, but which will be shooting in Vancouver later this year with the likes of George Clooney and Hugh Laurie. 

So, no Dash, Violet or Jack-Jack (the baby who, a subsequent short later showed, has firemonster powers) for the time being. Fingers, though, remain crossed. 

Back to Nomanisan

Nomanisan is the John Donne-friendly name of the island in The Incredibles, the one where Syndrome lures Mr. Incredible (among other supers), only to ... well, I won't ruin it if you haven't seen it. I mentioned earlier in the week that the movie is getting a Blu-Ray reissue; here's a hint at one of the new features.

The Incredibles gets the Blu-Ray treatment

Brad Bird's The Incredibles is not only one of my favourite animated movies, it's among my favourite, period. I love the characters, the story, the breezy recreation of silver-age comicdom, the in-jokes, the performances (Sarah Vowell's Violet, Holly Hunter's Elastigirl/Helen and particularly Brad Bird's Edna Mode) and especially the fantastic score by Michael Giacchino. It's a film we watch together at least once a year.

The DVD set itself was good, with extras that included Easter eggs galore, including a hilarious recreation of the plot done with sock puppets. Now there's news of a new edition for Blu-Ray, with new features, set to come out in April.

The catch: we don't yet have a Blu-Ray machine. I've put off the decision for, well, ages. We have, after all, managed. This might be the tipping point.

 

Did Mr. Incredible have the world's first iPad?

David Janes noticed something remarkable in a scene in Pixar's The Incredibles: Mr. Incredible holds a tablet-like device that has some strong similiarities to the newly revealed iPad. The movie (don't forget that Pixar is just one of Steve Jobs' success stories) came out in 2004, six years before the iPad. 

Check out more images that David selected right here.

By the way, since you are here, have you seen the sock puppet version of The Incredibles? 

The Incredibles: sock puppet version

One of the best easter eggs I've ever seen on a DVD is a small video tucked into the Incredibles package a few years ago: an in-house joke featuring the entire plot told in a few minutes, in sock puppet form.

I'm posting this for my son, so he can watch it more often. (And, um, for me.)