The Latest from The Leaping Lamp

Dug's Special Mission

I loved it when Dug triggered the tranquilizer darts and one of them struck Beta in the fur making him fall asleep. I wish I could get hit by a tranquilizer

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La Luna Short Film

Appearing with the theatrical release of Brave, La Luna is a delightful, Oscar-nominated short film by Pixar, written and directed by Enrico Casarosa. The music is by Michael Giacchino, who composed the score for Up.

La Luna is inspired by Casarosa's childhood memories from his homeland in Italy. The animated film, which lasts only several minutes, contains no understandable dialogue. The characters communicate in gibberish, but despite this the story is captivating and easy to understand.

See the official film trailer and read the plot at the Leaping Lamp's La Luna Pixar Short page.

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Mysterious Mantos The Magnificent And His Lovely Lover.

I like the strange couple, Manny and gypsy. They are a bit weird for them to be married to each other, because Manny, who is the carnivorous, cannibal

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Nice film, guys! Its flavour is in the air...

I love this film. I think it is one of Pixar's greatest, with the most funny and also realistic topic. I like very much the expressions of the characters,

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Brave Nonhuman Characters

Animals and spirits are a big part of everyday life in medieval times. The Disney Brave nonhuman characters play both significant roles while others just add some nice detail to the movie. There are four nonhuman characters; Mor'du the demon bear, Angus the horse and the woodland spirits called Will O' the Wisps. I have not included Queen Elinor in bear form, even though she is nonhuman for half the movie because her spirit is still human except for brief periods.

Learn about each of the Brave nonhuman characters and see some fantastic screen shots from the movie.

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Brave Minor Characters

Everything and everyone has an important role in this movie. The Disney Brave minor characters in this page include each of the three clan leaders with their first-born sons who come to compete for Merida's hand. Other minor characters include the witch, the head maid of the castle, and the giant silent guy in the Dingwall clan. Get all the details Brave Minor Characters page to see some fantastic screen shots from the movie.

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Main Disney Brave Characters

There are many colorful, wonderful people and animals who animate this movie, but the main Disney Brave characters have got to be the DunBroch family, the royal leaders of the Scottish Highlands. On this page we take a closer look at each person and discover more about them and their roles in the movie.

Here I will take you through the lives of:

• Princess Merida
• King Fergus
• Queen Elinor
• The Triplets Hamish, Harris and Hubert

So come on over to the Main Disney Brave Characters page to see some fantastic screen shots from the movie and character-related merchandise.

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WALT Film Tracking App for Pixar and Disney

Last week I got the opportunity from James Dempsey from Tapas Software to try out a new app he created for the iPhone and iPod touch called WALT, the Watched Animation List Tracker. Cool name, right?

Before I tell you about my experience with the WALT app, let me introduce you to James. He is a big fan of Disney and Pixar animation. James is also a big fan of Apple, where he worked for fifteen years before setting out on his own. WALT has allowed him to combine two different passions to create an app that he loves to use.

The idea is simple, sort of like a bird watcher's log book: Keep track of which Disney and Pixar animated films you have watched. Between the two studios, there are over 640 animated shorts and feature films. No wonder you need WALT to keep track of all of them!

WALT lets you view them in all sorts of ways by studio, decade, director and cartoon series. Search, sort, filter, and view details for a movie. It's a fast little database of Pixar and Disney animation in your pocket, but it's also your database of what you've seen and what you haven't. I found this so easy to use, and fast it is - WALT sifts through the data and you see instantly

Besides keeping track of things you've watched, WALT also is a great discovery tool. You can see your own progress in each category, but also get information at a glance like the number of Mater's Tall Tales cartoons, or how many animated features were released in a given decade. I'm quite familiar with all the Pixar films, but hundreds of films are in the Disney category that I've never heard of!

Here are some features:

• Scroll to the top of any list to do a global search by title, director, cartoon series.
• Use the 'View' button to change the sort order (I like mine sorted oldest to newest), or to filter on things you have or haven't seen.
• Once you begin checking off films, a pie chart shows your progress in that category. It automatically updates across all categories.

Version 1.1.1 was just released to include The Blue Umbrella, Pixar's latest short film under development. WALT will be updated to include additional 2013 releases, such as Monsters University before they are released.

WALT doesn't take up much space and is only 99 cents in the iTunes store. I highly recommend James Dempsey's app and you can buy it through his website at Tapas Software.

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Major Pixar Books Update

As I've followed my interest in this amazing animation studio, I've discovered that Pixar books come in three categories, each quite different with intention and content.

The first is the business, philosophy and history of Pixar Animation Studios. Some of these books here have no photos at all, it's just an interesting success profile to be studied.

Second is your art and coffee table type books, which are big and have lots and lots of colorful pictures and photos. This includes each movie's "The Art of..." book, that is released about the same time as the film. Concept art, sketches, story boards, computer models, etc. Included here are also encyclopedia-type reference books, which also have lots of great pictures.

And lastly is children's story books. From collections from various movies to character-specific (Mater is really popular with kids) you'll find lots of wonderful books to bring home and read to the little one in your life.

Explore all three Pixar Books categories and add some wonderful titles to your library or your child's collection.

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Brave Plot Finally Here!

Finally, better late than never, the Brave movie plot has been done! With more detailed story telling than you'll find in any of the wiki-based articles, The Leaping Lamp's Brave movie plot has exciting screen shots and video clips embedded right there where the story takes place.

At the Kingdom of DunBroch in the Scottish Highlands, a little red-haired princess named Merida is playing with her mother, Queen Eleanor in a peaceful wood. In the Brave movie, it is Merida's birthday and King Fergus, Merida's father, approaches with his big bow. She tries picking it up, but her father gives Merida her own bow, much to Elinor's distress.

Read the rest of this exciting story here.

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