Disney to release 5 films via Imax

Walt Disney revealed its next 10 animated projects on Monday, including new films in the successful Toy Story and Cars franchises.

Taking its schedule to 2012, Disney will unleash a wide array of visual babysitters films ranging from Toy Story 3 and Cars 2 to fairy tales and animal hero tales -- most produced in digital 3-D.

"We're excited to be pushing the boundaries of 3-D and computer technology to tell our stories in the best possible way," said John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

The first of the 3-D crop will be Bolt, a tale that follows a dog who thinks he has superpowers. The pooch-centric film is set for a November 26 release and features the voices of John Travolta and tween royalty Miley Cyrus.

Next in line is Up, the story of a 78-year-old adventurer and his young sidekick, set for a May 29, 2009 release.

Disney will then re-release the first two Toy Story films in digital 3-D, with Toy Story released on October 2, 2009 and Toy Story 2 on February 12, 2010. The original films will set up the highly anticipated release of Toy Story 3 -- featuring the original cast -- due for a June 18, 2010 launch.

Classic fairy tale Rapunzel will get the Disney treatment in time for Christmas 2010, followed by Newt, set for a summer 2011 release.

If you're planning that far ahead, The Bear and the Bow -- a fairy tale set in mythic Scotland -- drops for Christmas 2011 and features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson.

The film Cars 2 is set to summer 2012 box office season.

Finally, Disney's big Christmas 2012 release will be an adaptation of Sci-Fi mastermind Phillip K. Dick's "King of the Elves" short story.

In a gala adorned with Hollywood stars, The Walt Disney Co. wowed an industry crowd Wednesday in a showcase of its upcoming films that included a sequel to its 1982 sci-fi flick "Tron" and a "Lone Ranger" remake with Johnny Depp as Tonto.

The daylong presentation at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars, delivered repeated surprises as actors emerged onstage to tout animated 3-D movies, live-action thrillers and comedies — with animal co-stars ranging from guinea pigs and chihuahuas to humpback whales.

Jim Carrey, starring in his first Disney film, a 3-D motion capture remake of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," summed up the chaos of his performance, in which he plays seven characters including Ebenezer Scrooge.

"It's pretty much just a party and everyone's invited," he said.

Commenting on Disney's lengthy rollout, which included a full screening of the animated dog-hero movie "Bolt," Carrey told out-of-town guests, "You can go back home and say these saddle sores came from Hollywood."

Among other casting announcements, Disney said Oprah Winfrey will be the voice of the character of Eudora in the hand-drawn animated movie set in New Orleans, "The Princess and the Frog."

Depp, who received top billing for the role of Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, will also play the Mad Hatter in a Tim Burton remake of "Alice in Wonderland."

"Believe me, any time this guy wears a funny hat, it's good news for Disney," Cook said.

A brief snippet from "Tron 2" featured a louder, crisper and more thrilling bike race and a cameo of an older Jeff Bridges, who starred in the original version.

Miley Cyrus, star of an eponymous movie and television show, performed a live song from "Hannah Montana: The Movie"; Robin Williams and John Travolta, stars of the upcoming "Old Dogs," yucked it up on stage; George Lopez appeared to promote "Beverly Hills Chihuahua"; and Dwayne Johnson was on hand to tout "Race to Witch Mountain."


The Pixar and Disney animation studios' chief creative officer, John Lasseter, also broke the news that "Cars 2," the sequel to the blockbuster he directed for Pixar Animation Studios, would be released in the summer of 2011, a year earlier than once planned.

Along with a wide-ranging slate of films starring Sandra Bullock ("The Proposal"), Tim Allen ("Wild Hogs 2"), and Zac Efron ("High School Musical 3: Senior Year"), Cook boasted Disney would release five 3-D movies next year, more than any other studio.

Cook fired a barb at former Disney studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, now chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., ribbing: "I read that even Jeffrey Katzenberg may release his first 3-D movie next year," in reference to "Monsters vs. Aliens."

The company also previewed films from its labels Touchstone and Miramax, the latter of which produced the 2007 Oscar winners "No Country for Old Men," and "There Will Be Blood."

The most promising Miramax release, set for release in December, was "Doubt," starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in a dark tale about a nun's fight against a priest who she suspects of sexually abusing a black student.

The presentation ended with a surprise appearance by actor Johhny Depp, outfitted as Jack Sparrow, walking onstage to the tune of "The William Tell Overture," the "Lone Ranger" theme, promoting yet another new role of his, the sidekick Tonto in the upcoming movie version of the classic TV series.

The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday it agreed to deliver five movies via IMAX theaters beginning with the 3-D movie "A Christmas Carol," starring Jim Carrey, in November 2009.

Future films may also include those made by director Tim Burton and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the studio said.

Imax Corp. is in the midst of rolling out digital projection technology at its large-screen theaters and the Disney slate takes advantage of that.

As of September, Imax had 320 theaters worldwide and aims to have up to 50 converted to digital technology by the end of the year.

Imax said last week that its screens averaged $27,000 in revenue over the opening weekend of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," which opened Nov. 7.

That was much higher than the $15,559 average per theater the film did overall that weekend, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC.