Woody's News Roundup: FINDING DORY Grosses $1 Billion Worldwide, New Short "LOU" Announced, And TOY STORY Vans Collection

This past week, several very exciting Pixar-related developments have stuck out in a slow early-October news cycle. Possibly the most exciting is that just today Finding Dory officially crossed the $1 Billion Worldwide Box Office gross, becoming the second Pixar feature to claim the title (Toy Story 3 being the first)! In addition, Director Dave Mullins debuted a sneak peak at Pixar's next short film titled "LOU" and will debut with Cars 3 in Summer 2017! Finally, Disney-Pixar collaborated with Vans to create a Toy Story Vans Collection, complete with Woody and Buzz themed shoes and merchandise! More on all of these exciting developments after the break!

FINDING DORY Grosses $1 Billion Worldwide:

According to Box Office Mojo and Variety, Finding Dory has officially accumulated over $1 Billion in combined domestic ($484M+) and overseas ($516M+) box office. Finding Dory is now the second Pixar feature film to gain the title (along with Toy Story 3) and the fifth animated film (along with Frozen, Minions, and Zootopia). Dory is also the third Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 2016 film to gross over $1 Billion at the box office (along with Zootopia and Marvel's Captain America: Civil War). The incredible feat is a measure of how much fans- new and old- love Dory and the Nemo gang. Congratulations to Director Andrew Stanton and the team behind the momentous film for the incredible achievement!

Director Dave Mullins Teases Short Film "LOU":

First-time director Dave Mullins is shepherding Lou, Pixar's next short film and Cars 3 companion. As the title card implies, "Lou" seems to be the name of the creature inside of the lost and found box. The intriguing concept is the brainchild on Mullins, who has previously worked in the animation department at Pixar since the production of Monsters Inc.. Mullins has most recently contributed to Brave, Inside Out, and The Good Dinosaur, but has worked on Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, One Man Band, Cars, Mater and the Ghostlight, Ratatouille, Up, and Cars 2 as an animator, supervising animator, and directing animator. Nevertheless, Mullins has just a little bit of experience, don't you think?!

We should be very excited to learn more about Lou and, most importantly, what's inside that box!

VansxDisneyPixar Collaboration Titled Toy Story Vans Collection

The collaboration formally titled VansxDisneyPixar of the Toy Story Vans Collection is available on the online Vans Store and in stores around the United States. The collection features really cool designs of Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep, and the rest of the Toy Story gang intricately woven in (literally) to the fabric of Vans shoes. The collection also includes t-shirts, sweaters, socks, underwear, hats, and backpacks rocking the gang's aesthetic. I was able to snag a pair of new kicks yesterday (shown below) and can honestly say they are some of the coolest and most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. The collection is most likely available for a limited time, so if your able to get a pair while supplies still last, I highly suggest you do.

The Toy Story Vans Collection comes 1 year after the 20th Anniversary of the original Toy Story and two years before the release of Toy Story 4 (in Summer 2018). One can only wonder if VansxDisneyPixar will release similar collections of other Pixar properties (Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo/Dory, and The Incredibles are on my most-wanted list!), but only time will tell. However, considering how popular the shoes seem to be in stores and online, future collaborations would not be surprising. Keep your eyes peeled for any future collections and- in the meantime- enjoy the new kicks!