The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey Hardcover Due On August 7, 2012

The tale of the Toy Story films begins with an animation studio called Pixar. Once upon a time (in 1988), Pixar released a short called Tin Toy. The success of that film, plus other shorts that Pixar had created, led the management of the Disney Studio to suggest that the Pixar artists make a feature that Disney would distribute. The result of this collaboration was Toy Story, a film that showcased the power of a new medium as an art form and entertainment.

The three Toy Story features encompass the history of the Pixar Studio and computer animated features, yet their creation has only been presented in piecemeal fashion–until now. The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey by Charles Solomon the internationally respected critic and historian of animation recounts the origin and growth of one of the most significant and successful franchises in Hollywood history.

Readers who peer inside this toy box will discover interviews with the animators, directors, and voice actors who brought the films to life; artwork that inspired, grew into, or became a part of the iconic movies; and untold details of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs that the filmmakers experienced while creating such unforgettable characters. This book is a must for anyone who has ever wondered what toys do after humans leave the playroom!

The 192 page hardcover will be available on August 7, 2012.

Starbucks Cup Magic

Starbucks is launching its first major augmented reality app this holiday season that will let customers animate their coffee cups with their smartphones.

Starbucks Cup Magic launches for iPhone and Android devices in the U.S. next Tuesday. As demonstrated in the video below, the app works by pointing your phone’s camera at the company’s red holiday season coffee cups and 47 additional objects, such as bags of coffee, on display at Starbucks retail locations.

Doing so will produce animations involving five characters — an ice skater, a squirrel, a boy and a dog sledding and a fox — on your screen. You can also interact with the characters. For instance, if you tap the boy on the sled he does a somersault. Those who activate all five characters can qualify to win an as-yet-unnamed prize.

The app also includes traditional and social sharing capabilities. You can the send ecards as well as holiday offers from Starbucks, among other things.

The object, says Alexandra Wheeler, VP-Global Digital Marketing for Starbucks, is to “surprise and delight” customers during the holiday season.

The Art of Pixar: 25th Anniversary: The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation Book Due On November 2, 2011

Pixar is 25 years old this year and to celebrate Chronicle Books is publishing The Art of Pixar: 25th Anniversary: The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation ($50). This gorgeous, 320 page expansive book features the complete color scripts and a selection of the best of the art from the twelve films to date: “Toy Story”, “A Bug’s Life”, “Toy Story 2″, “Monsters Inc.”, “Finding Nemo”, “The Incredibles”, “Cars”, “Ratatouille”, “WALL E”, “Up”, “Toy Story 3″ and “Cars 2″.

Geared toward animation fans, this text is minimal and the art is extensive and stunning. The foreword is written by Pixar founder John Lasseter, with an introduction by Amid Amidi.

The hardcover is now available.

Funko presents Pop! Disney/Pixar Series 3 Coming To Disney Stores In January 2012

Funko presents Pop! Disney/Pixar series 3 coming to Disney Stores in January 2012.

Series 3 will include the following 12 beloved Disney/Pixar characters: Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Elastigirl, Edna Mode, Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, Toy Story Alien, Zurg, Ursula, Ariel, Donald Duck and Winnie The Pooh.

Scribner to Publish First Novel from Owen King

Owen King, the son of Stephen King, has signed with his father’s publisher for his first novel, Reenactment. The Simon & Schuster imprint called the book an “epic, comic” work, and will release it in spring 2013. Owen King’s first work, a collection of short stories called We’re All in This Together, was published by Bloomsbury in 2005.

“Reenactment is the story of Sam Dolan, an aspiring filmmaker whose fledgling career takes an unexpected nosedive. Set mostly during Dolan’s post-college years, the novel centers on Dolan’s struggle to escape the trappings of professional disaster, difficult family, and questionable relationships.”

The publication of Reenactment will also add to the growing publishing prowess of the King family. Joe Hill, who’s written two novels and a collection of stories, is also a son of Stephen King.

Stephen King Talks About His New Book, 11-22-63 On The Today Show

Author Stephen King sits down with TODAY’s Ann Curry to discuss his latest novel, “11-22-63,” a historical thriller that explores a world in which president John F. Kennedy was not assassinated.

iHome iP4 Boombox For The iPhone & iPod

iHome has introduced the new iP4 stereo boombox for the iPhone and iPod. Sporting a design that recalls the cassette-based portable systems of the 1980’s, the iP4 comes in pink or gray, and features a monotone color design, two 4” carbon composite woofers and 1” dome tweeters, a five-band graphic EQ, an LCD display, a magnetic remote control that attaches to the system when not in use, a flexible iPhone/iPod dock that accommodates any iPhone or docking iPod model, an FM radio, an auxiliary input, SRS TruBass digital signal processing, and the ability to run off the included AC adaptor or six D batteries. iHome’s new iP4 stereo boombox for the iPhone and iPod is available now and sells for $200.