With the release of the first teaser trailer of DreamWorks' upcoming caveman tale, The Croods, some heated debate has stirred about the similarities it bears to the concept and even aesthetic of Pixar's Brave.

As I watched the trailer for the first time, I was immediately reminded of Brave. The teaser highlights a teen-aged bushy-haired redhead with a disdain for following the rules of her short-sighted parents and eventually ends up getting them into trouble. The message is finally driven home by a shot of the girl doing a solo, free-style climb up a cliff — an signature image from the Brave promo pieces.

It turns out I wasn't the only one to notice the similarity. There is quite a discussion brewing on Big Screen Toons.

DreamWorks has been in constant scrutiny over alleged Pixar copy-catting starting with the infamous, and intentional A Bug's Life / Antz ordeal, followed by the Finding Nemo / Shark Tale incident.

The official list of contents for the upcoming Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 2 was released today. Since we were previously aware of the inclusion of student films from some of the Braintrust, there really aren't many surprises here. It picks up where the last volume left off.

BURN-E
Dug’s Special Mission
George & AJ
Air Mater
Time Travel Mater
Your Friend The Rat
Partly Cloudy
Presto
Day & Night
Hawaiian Vacation
Small Fry
La Luna

And Nitemare, The Lady & The Lamp, Somewhere in the Arctic, A Story, Winter, Palm Springs and Next Door, the student films by John Lasseter, Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton.

The collection will be available alongside Brave on November 13th, and both the blu-ray combo pack and the DVD are currently available for pre-order on Amazon.

Thanks Stitch Kingdom

Playing now in your nearest theater, is the 3D theatrical release of the best-selling DVD of all time, Finding Nemo.

In a quote from James Cameron, director of Titanic and Avatar as relayed by Lee Unkrich in a recent interview, if there was ever a movie that was screaming to be re-rendered in 3D, Finding Nemo is the one. I have shared the same sentiment for a few years now since 3D became commonplace. With the colorful and expansive underwater world with so much depth and atmospheric particle matter, I can imagine it will be very immersive and all the more gorgeous.

Showing before Finding Nemo is Pixar's newest Toy Story short, Partysaurus Rex.