We believe there are only two significant brands in the film industry—"Disney" and "Steven Spielberg". We would like to establish "Pixar" as the third. Successful brands are a reflection of consumer trust, which is earned over time by consumers' positive experiences with the brand's products. For example, parents trust Disney-branded animated films to provide satisfying and appropriate family entertainment, based on Disney's undisputed track record of making wonderful animated films. This trust benefits both parents and Disney: it makes the selection of family entertainment that much easier for parents, and it allows Disney to more easily and assuredly draw audiences to see their new films. Over time we want Pixar to grow into a brand that embodies the same level of trust as the Disney brand.

This letter was available on the Pixar website until 2006, when Disney, utterly trounced by Pixar in the world of animated features, bought the company. [The Pixar Touch via David Cho]

Good old Stevesy runs pretty much the most profitable retail chain in the country, the Apple Store, and coincidentally also owns Pixar—and thus sits on Disney's board. So he heavily consulted with Disney when they decided to totally redesign their retail store's image, and it shows. From minor details like mobile checkout (employees carry small receipt printers on them) to bigger philosophies like community (there'll be a small theatre, like in Apple Stores) and interactivity (karaoke, touchscreen kiosks, "live chat with Disney stars"), Steve's fingerprints are all over the new concept. Hell, Disney store employees will even carry iPhones (or iPods Touch) to communicate. And that's a good thing, in our opinion: Apple Stores certainly aren't perfect, but they are a decidedly individual and interesting shopping experience, which Disney needs. A Disney rep, apparently a fan of Fox angryface Gordon Ramsay, even described some of the current Children's Place stores (former Disney stores which still sell licensed Disney merch) as "a dog's breakfast."

Update: After speaking with a Disney rep, it looks like a few things need clarification. Steve Jobs did consult with Disney on the project, but only once, so while the new Disney stores do have a clear Apple Store influence, Jobs himself did not have as heavy a hand in their design as I first thought. Sorry for the confusion.

Disney is rebooting 340 of these stores, with a possible flagship store in, of course, Times Square, and is spending about $1 million to do it. They're still working with real estate agents and ironing out the final details, but this could actually work out: Disney + Apple has previously equaled Pixar, and that formula has worked out pretty spectacularly. [NY Times]

Buzz was up there as part of a program by NASA and Disney to encourage students to study science, technology and math. He'll be honored in a parade at Disney's Magic Kingdom-along with his space station crewmates and veteran Buzz Aldrin-on October 2nd.

Too. Freakin'. Cute. To infinity and beyond! [Orlando Sentinel and Newslite | Photo by Tony Landis/NASA]

This Luxo Jr. debuted a few days ago at Disney's Hollywood studios, as part of Pixar's "Living Character" exhibit that includes an inflatable version of the house from Up and a possibly dangerous saturation of Randy Newman songs. [via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Colby's family called Pixar, guessed a name of an employee to break through the automated operator and explained the situation to the first person they reached. A Pixar employee flew out immediately with a DVD, toys and posters in hand. From the OC Register:

Colby couldn't see the screen because the pain kept her eyes closed so her mother gave her a play-by-play of the film.

"Do you think you can hang on?" Colby's mother said.

"I'm ready (to die), but I'm going to wait for the movie," the girl replied.

At the end of the film, the mother asked if her daughter enjoyed the movie and Colby nodded yes, Lisa Curtin said.

Colby died later that evening, hopefully fulfilled in at least some small way. [ocregister]

Click on the image to enlarge at 1400 px wide. Don't click if you don't want to see details about the movie, even while the frames are pretty abstract on their own.

This is the final color script for the movie, drawn by the genius of Pixar's Lou Romano. This script is used to set the lighting of the scenes, so the computer artists can get the mood right. They are complemented by the color scripts, which are very stylized strips that help set up the tone through the movie:

Check out Lou's site. It's full of amazing art—I wish I could buy the final color script as a poster—for this amazing movie. If you haven't seen Up! yet, go and enjoy it. You won't regret it. I really thought they didn't make them like these anymore. [Lou Romano via NY Mag—Thanks Rebecca]

The whole process has been thoroughly documented, and each piece of the mod was cut out with the utmost care. Check it out, this is amazing work. [English Russia]

Hulu. Summary: Alec Baldwin is an alien; TV turns brains to mush and that's a good thing; significant audience reached by a company that streams TV over the internet. We're evil and proud of it. Ed. Note: Hulu can't seem to get their embed crap straight with this post right now, and the site isn't loading the video, either. Suffice to say, it was good for a chuckle, and good for Hulu, which is certainly not a household name in U.S. households right now.

Update: Hulu Alec Baldwin Huluwood video is now available at their blog. Also, note to Hulu: You have to watch ads before you get to watch the ADS?! WTF?!

Vizio. Notes: We're here. We're cheap. People are buying our TVs. Deal with it. Oh, and there's a contest.

Audi. Notes: Jason Statham. Bad ass. And because they're better than BMW. — J.L.

Pixar's Up. Summary: How do you follow up a gem like Wall-E?

And then there were the 3D ads, featuring appearances by NBC's Chuck, the Sobe lizards, and the Dreamworks Aliens vs. Monsters animated flick. Who had the glasses ready? How'd it look to you?

Lastly, I am but a man, with beer in my system and BBQ covering my fingers. What did I neglect to mention that caught your eye during the commercial breaks? [Hulu, YouTube]

Start with the Wall-E bento, then move on to this second course of open face cheese sandwich. Polish it off with a shake of your choosing for dessert, then repeat as necessary. Given enough commitment and bone loss, you too can make yourself a piece of collectible Wall-E memorabilia. (Hey, there are worse ways to go.) [Flickr via Botropolis]

[design:related via NotCot.org]

It'll be available in a two- or three-disc set on Blu-Ray, and feature a new short film called BURN-E, as well as Presto, the short that ran alongside the film in theaters. The sets also have a documentary on the studio called The Pixar Story, a "retro suite of video games," and of course the standards like commentary and a behind-the-scenes look. The double and triple-disc sets will run for $36 and $41, respectively, and there will be single, double, and triple-disk DVD sets as well. [Official Site]

Murata claims that Little Seiko is designed to look like a kindergarten-aged girl, but I can't help but see the likeness to EVE, WALL-E's incorrigibly charming onscreen lady interest. The odd, outstretched arms (which are likely vital for balancing) and Pith helmet make the robot a little less endearing than its Pixar counterpart, but the resemblance is undeniable. Little Seiko's big debut is slated for CEATEC 2008, when we'll actually get to see this thing in action. [CrunchGear]

The hero of the film is a 78-year-old man named Carl Fredricksen, who walks around hunched over with a tripod cane. When he was a kid he met a girl named Ellie, who grew up in small midwestern town. The two fell in love and eventually got married. Her dream was always to explore the world and visit paradise falls, but as usually happens, life got in the way. They were never able to make good on their promise, and Ellie eventually passed away. Now Carl is a widower living alone in his small home. Developers are threatening to move him into an old folks home.

Seems risky for an animated movie, but also has the potential to become one incredible story. We can only hope that Carl learns how to use his GPS before taking off. [The HDR Room]

I’m proud of the overall proportions, but the eyes are still a bit too off for me...Having stared at this robot for 3+ years, I was extremely familiar with the proportions and functionality of Wall•E. It helped to know his design, but that made it hard to make the usual compromises when converting items to LEGO form.

But from our untrained eyes, it appears that MacLane is being far too hard on himself. [The Brothers Brick via bbGadgets]