Burbank, U.S.A - Step out of the theater and become immersed in the world of “Brave” with Adventures by Disney’s first-ever Pixar-inspired itinerary, “Scotland: A Brave Adventure.” Disney Pixar’s ‘Brave’ tells the tale of the courageous Merida, the film’s headstrong teenage protagonist, who defies ancient tradition and challenges destiny to change her fate.

This 9-day, 8-night quest through Edinburgh, the Isle of Skye, the Isle of Lewis and Inverness takes families through the rugged Highlands, allowing them to experience first-hand the history, culture, nature, legends and lore of Scotland that inspired Merida’s story of bravery.

Adventures by Disney is a leader in the group guided-tour industry – sharing the stories of the world through 20+ international itineraries. For ‘Scotland: A Brave Adventure’, Adventures by Disney trip-planning specialists worked directly with the expert storytellers on Pixar’s ‘Brave’ production team to incorporate the castles, landscapes and legends that inspired the lush settings and memorable characters in the film – creating a Scotland experience that could only come from Disney.

Guests will discover locations that inspired Pixar’s creative spark during visits to the historic Black House of Arnol and the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village, both of which served as reference for the Witch’s cottage, and Dunnottar Castle, one of the inspirations for the DunBroch family’s home.

Beyond the drawing board, the culture of the Scottish Highlands will come to life through authentic, hands-on activities – a hallmark of Adventures by Disney itineraries.

On the Isle of Skye, adventurers will partake in traditional highland games, make Scottish pastries – a favorite treat of Merida’s triplet brothers – and take lessons in Celtic music and dance. While traveling through Inverness, guests will participate in two of Merida’s favorite activities – horseback riding through the Caledonian Forest and archery at Glamis Castle. In Edinburgh, families will learn the art of tapestry-making at Dovecot Studios.

Another signature of an Adventures by Disney vacation, families will visit the country’s most treasured historical sites – including Eilean Donan and Edinburgh Castles, the ancient Callanish Standing Stones and Dun Carloway Broch on the Isle of Lewis – but in unique ways that only Disney could dream up. Rather than just walking the shores of Loch Ness, guests will go on a canoe expedition where they will search for “Nessie” and discover the picture-perfect Urquhart Castle.

In the capital city, travelers will tour the Royal Mile, including privately-guided visits to the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the Scottish home of the Royal Family – and the National Museum of Scotland, where they will learn fascinating details of the ancient period in which ‘Brave’ is set. Each departure features two knowledgeable Adventure Guides who will serve as leaders, storytellers, companions and personal concierge – taking care of all the details for a truly hassle-free travel experience.

“‘Scotland: A Brave Adventure’ combines the creative genius of Pixar Animation Studios with Disney’s ability to bring iconic stories to life with in a whole new way,” said Josh D’Amaro, Vice President, Adventures by Disney. “For the first time ever, our guests will be fully immersed in the legends and locations that inspired the film. ‘Brave’ is the perfect tale for Adventures by Disney to share; Merida’s experience speaks to the importance of the family bond – a cornerstone of any Disney vacation.”

Also new for 2013, Adventures by Disney has announced a Southeast Asia itinerary. Featuring Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, the 12-day, 11-night itinerary will give travelers the opportunity to experience some of Asia’s most exotic and culturally rich cities – including Saigon, Hanoi, Hoi An, Luang Prabang, Siem Reap and Angkor Wat.

Image Courtesy of   Brave

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Pixar Studios announced that the animation industry is working on two different movies that will be released in 2013 and 2014.

At the last Disney film convention, D23, held on August 20, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation chief John Lasseter disclosed the two films in active development whose titles remain unknown. Dinosaurs will be the main idea of one of the movies they are working on. Directed by Bob Peterson this movie confirms the rumors that sprang up two years ago.

In 2009, Greg Dykstra, a character sculptor at Pixar was showing his model for a young version of Carl during an Up featurette. In the interview with him, the public could see some dinosaurs’ pictures in the wall behind him. After that image the question loomed up:  Would be dinosaurs the main starring of the next Pixar film?

At the D23, Disney didn’t reveal much information about the plot. “What if that life-changing asteroid missed Earth? The hilarious tale depicts a world where dinosaurs never went extinct,” said Pixar. The movie, currently being referred to as the Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs, will arrive on November 27, 2013.

The other untitled production directed by Pete Docter, director of Monsters Inc and Up, will be about how the brain works. Described by Docter, it is a comic look at how ideas come together and the inner workings of our brains. The audience will have to wait until May 2014 for more details.

In the meantime and just few months before those two releases, Brave and Monster University movies will keep entertaining the spectators. Brave, from which a new scene was shown at the D23 featuring the suitors trying to win heroine Merida’s hand in marriage, will be on theaters August 17, 2012. Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, this movie was titled at its origin as The Bear and the Bow.

This film is the first Pixar movie directed by a woman and starring a woman. It is also based on a tale. In addition, according to the media outlet Variety, princess Merida will most likely join the Disney Princesses after this movie.

Two days after that premiere, Mike and Sulley will return for Monster University, the sequel to Monsters Inc, on August 19, 2013. The plot is about how they met at the University where they couldn’t stand each other and how that relationship changed until they became best friends.

Monsters University, brings back Billy Crystal who voices Mike, 10 years after the original was released. At a Q&A for a Hero Complex screening of City Slickers where Crystal recently participated he spoke briefly about the movie and he stated that the script was “really funny.”

Discussing Sulley, Crystal said, “John Goodman is a genius and he’s great and we’re really funny together. It’s college pranks with monsters. And I wear a retainer. Mike has a retainer.”

Planes, a spinoff of the “Cars” franchise, is another upcoming produced by DisneyToon Studios that will also hit on Spring 2013. For those who cannot wait until that date Wreck-It Ralph is the movie to go see. Voiced by John C. Reilly, this film is about an arcade game character named Wreck-It Ralph. The film will be opening in November 2012.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/harshlight/

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Pixar started out with a bang with its first feature film Toy Story in 1995.  Shattering box office records, the animation company grew into the multi-billion dollar company it is today.  Coming out with critically acclaimed film after film, Pixar showed no signs of faltering.  Recently, there have been rumors floating around that the story of our beloved toy heroes has not concluded.

Pixar has an interesting past.   It started out as an animation studio for Lucas Films Inc. in the 1970’s.  Around the 1980’s up-and-coming computer engineer and businessman, Steve Jobs bought the company who, in 2006, sold the company for 7.4 billion dollars to Disney.  Right now, it technically is part of the Disney Empire, but most of the creative control is still in the hands of the people at Pixar.

Tom Hanks, who plays Woody in the Toy Story trilogy, recently went toured around England to promote his new movie Larry Crowne.  BBC’s own Tim Muffet caught up with Hanks to talk about his new film.  However, during the interview, the topic had rapidly switched to the Toy Story franchise when Muffet asked about a Toy Story 4.

In a fast, low tone voice with a blank expression plastered upon Hanks’ face he responded, “I think there will be, yeah. Yeah, yeah, think they’re working on it now. There you go.”  When reporters reached out to Pixar for comments, they only found closed lips and closed doors.

With Pixar not saying a peep, Toy Story 4 is not really officially a movie as of yet.  With the rumor spreading, people are beginning to get up in arms about the fourth installment.  Many moviegoers who grew up with the franchise were ready for the story to end and to them it could not have ended more perfectly with the third film.

With a fourth movie they fear that the nostalgic magic that the movie gives them will be turned to dust.  Others believe this fourth piece is just a result of a money hungry production company, knowing that they will cash in on the profits.

First off, there is a very good chance this could be a nail in the coffin for Toy Story.  Three sequels are a bit much and with their first flop with Cars 2 it raises speculation on how good it could be.  Yet, to those who doubt, look at Pixar’s track record.  For over a decade and a half Pixar has not made one single flop.

They were bound to make one bad movie sooner or later.  Pixar is known for working on projects for years: Up! took more than five years to make.  So with such a high bar for the Toy Story series, and with ample time to perfect the story, Pixar creating a bad Toy Story film should be the least of people’s troubles.

With Pixar protecting their Toy Story 4 ambitions like it was the Declaration of Independence details and idea leaks are scarce to none.  So really, Toy Story 4 could be great or terrible at this point in time.  With judgments already made about the movie, people are already showing resentment but remember, anyone can be angry, but as the old saying goes, do not count your chickens before they hatch.

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