It was reported last year that Disney/Pixar offshoot in Vancouver, DisneyToon Studios, was developing a Cars spin-off titled Planes. Variety reports today that direct-to-home video animation will see a Blu-ray and DVD release in spring 2013. They aren’t done there though. Variety also reports the film “will be followed up by projects that are built around other ‘stuff that kids absolutely love.'” Up spin-off anyone?

With the news this week that the Cars merchandise has raked in $8 billion in global sales, it is no surprise they are developing more direct-to-DVD franchises like Planes. John Lasseter, Toy Story director and Cars 2 co-director, had the following to say about the spin-off:

“We had such a great time exploring the world of ‘Cars’ over the course of two films, so it seemed only natural for us to see where our imaginations would take us in a film where planes were the main characters, By expanding the Cars world, ‘Planes’ gave us a whole new set of fun-filled situations and a great opportunity to introduce some fantastic new characters.”

Considering how protective Pixar is of their franchises, it does seem odd that they are so ecstatic about these new projects. They even report that Toy Story is getting the short spin-off treatment. It was known that the short Toy Story Hawaiian Vacation was going to premiere before Cars 2Toy Story this summer, but now we learn that a second short will premiere before James Bobin and Jason Segel‘s live-action film, The Muppets, this November.

What makes Pixar so unique is their commitment to crafting original stories with the highest level of technical achievement. If they plan to serve up these spin-offs and shorts, I just hope the brand doesn’t get diluted, as we’ve seen many other animation studios experience.

What do you think about these spin-offs? Are you looking forward to the Toy Story shorts this year?

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