Disney reveals 3D movie line-up

WALL*E will be the next release from Pixar

Disney and Pixar are to make eight new 3D animated films over the next four years, Walt Disney has announced.

The studio was showcasing the next 12 animated films it will release between now and 2012 in the US.

With the exception of robot love story WALL*E - which opens in June - and the hand-drawn Princess and the Frog, the movies will all be in digital 3D.

They include newly converted 3D versions of the hit movies Toy Story and Toy Story 2, out in 2009 and 2010.

"We're excited to be pushing the boundaries of 3D 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 line-up from Walt Disney Animation Studios includes Bolt, the story of an actor dog who believes he has super powers; Rapunzel, a retelling of the fairy tale; and the modern-day fantasy King of the Elves.

DISNEY FILMS WALL*E - June 2008 Bolt - November 2008 Up - May 2009 The Princess and the Frog - Christmas 2009 Toy Story (3D) - October 2009 Toy Story 2 (3D) - February 2010 Toy Story 3 - June 2010 Rapunzel - Christmas 2010 Newt - summer 2011 The Bear and the Bow - Christmas 2011 Cars 2 - summer 2012 King of Elves - Christmas 2012

All the films released in 3D will also be available in a 2D format.

Digital 3D still requires film-goers to wear glasses, but the left-and right eye images are finely calibrated so that most viewers experience no headache or eyestrain.

There are currently around 50 cinemas capable of showing the 3D pictures in the UK, but that number is expected to rise.

Up, about an elderly widower who embarks on a South American adventure, will be the first 3D effort from Pixar when it opens in 2009.

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack have returned to voice Toy Story 3, which is due to hit screens in June 2010.

Pixar's other upcoming releases include Newt, a love story involving the last two blue-footed newts alive, Scottish fantasy The Bear and the Bow, and Cars 2 in the summer of 2012.

Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, said: "We couldn't be more proud and excited about our upcoming line-up of feature projects.

"With so many great films literally on the drawing boards and computer screens, we felt that now was the perfect time to give moviegoers all over the world an update on the state of our art... this is as exciting a time as any in our history."