Despite widespread dislike for Pixar’s CARS movies, the company have teased further entries in the series are in development. And not just that direct-to-DVD PLANES travesty either (click here for the trailer if you dare!)

Pimping PLANES to the assembled masses at this weekend’s Disney Expo, head honcho and CARS 1 & 2 director John Lasseter announced they were creating “an entirely new film set in the world of CARS but it’s about the different vehicles.”

Different vehicles?! That’s genius! Tell us more, John…

“The first one we’re doing from the Disney Toon Studios is called PLANES.”

Yep. Mentioned that already.

“The world of CARS is really big. When I look out of my window when I’m driving I see a whole other set of characters.”

It’s official, folks. Lasseter’s lost it. Why is nobody telling him that these movies aren’t working? Or has he now got to the point where, like a certain Mr Lucas, he’s surrounded only by yes men who fear to criticize the filmmaker’s opinions? It’s clear Lasseter has a huge fondness for this world of CARS, but I find it hard to believe it’s shared by the rest of Pixar.

The first movie, whilst certainly not one of the studio’s best, still managed to garner a decent box office and a fanbase, but you’d struggle to find anybody over 6 with a good word to say about CARS 2. As for PLANES, we’re sure it’ll make a sizeable wedge on home video, but they’re diluting the once great Pixar brand by launching into that market. And by the looks of it that project doesn’t seem to even be aimed at a family audience, which is (was) Pixar’s forte.

More encouragingly, the studio also announced some other upcoming features, neither of which have weird anthropomorphic vehicles in them.

Firstly, UP co-director (and voice of Dug in that mov– “Squirell!”) Bob Peterson will direct THE UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE ABOUT DINOSAURS that will explore a world where “the asteroid missed the Earth and dinosaurs continue to live.” The project will also reunite the director with actor Ed Asner who voiced balloon-enthusiast Carl Fredricksen.

Next, the second half of the UP directing duo Pete Doctor (who also brought us MONSTERS INC) will helm UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE THAT TAKES YOU INSIDE THE MIND. Check out this very early synopsis:

Pixar takes audiences on incredible journeys into extraordinary worlds: from the darkest depths of the ocean to the top of the tepui mountains in South America; from the fictional metropolis of Monstropolis to a futuristic fantasy of outer space. From director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera, the inventive new film will take you to a place that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen: the world inside the human mind.

While the dinosaur project doesn’t sound like Pixar stretching themselves much (though there’s a lot of potential there if they can avoid the inevitable FLINSTONES-type gags, “It’s a living!” etc), the ‘Inside Your Mind’ concept is fascinating. With early talk of the film’s high-concept exploring how the mind generates ideas, this will be one to watch indeed. MONSTER’S INC-EPTION anyone? No? Fair enough.

The former film has been scheduled for a Christmas 2013 release, while the latter will hit May 2014.

Before then we have BRAVE on June 22nd of next year (have an early look at the trailer here), with MONSTERS UNIVERSITY arriving one year later.

PLANES is released on home video on… where’d everybody go?

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