All of the following comes from the comments section of an animation blog that seems to be highly populated by fairly legit insiders. That said, it could be as false as the day is long (and they’re getting longer, thank God), but it’s a damn slow news day.
According to the posts at the Animation Guild Blog, Pixar’s 2012 film, Newt, is ‘dead.’ That comes from someone claiming to be revered Disney animator Floyd Norman (a lot of the sites that follow animation closely are completely sure that Norman is legit, but I always like to cover my ass with language!), saying ‘Naturally, our pals up north run a tight ship, so it’s not polite to provide details at this time.’
Newt was being directed by Gary Rydstrom, who did the short film Lifted that ran before Ratatouille. Here is the original description: What happens when the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, and they can’t stand each other? Newt and Brooke embark on a perilous, unpredictable adventure and discover that finding a mate never goes as planned, even when you only have one choice. Love, it turns out, is not a science.
The speculation in the animation world is that Monsters Inc 2 will move into that slot.
Man. Toy Story 3. Monsters Inc 2. Cars 2 (which is, on the same blog, rumored to be running into trouble). What’s up, Pixar?