The Untold Story of Circle 7 Studios: Monsters Inc. 2 & Toy Story 3 Pitches

The Genesis of Circle 7 Studios

• 🎯 Circle 7 Studios was officially established by Disney in March 2005 with the goal of producing sequels to existing Pixar properties like Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo.
• 💡 The initial plan was to release one animated film per year, with Toy Story 3 slated for a Spring 2008 release.

Pitching Monsters, Inc. 2: Monsters in Scaradise

• 🚀 Bob Hilgenberg and Rob Mure pitched a buddy comedy sequel for Monsters, Inc., focusing on Mike's wedding and a quest to find Boo.
• 🌟 Their script, "Monsters, Inc. 2: Monsters in Scaradise," was highly praised, with then-head of Walt Disney Studios, Dick Cook, calling it one of the best screenplays he had ever read.
• 🎭 The pitch impressed executives like Andrew Milstein and Allison Shawn, with Milstein calling it "the best pitch I've ever heard."

The Toy Story 3 Development

• ✍️ After their Monsters, Inc. 2 pitch, Hilgenberg and Mure were brought in to rewrite a lengthy draft of Toy Story 3 by Jim Herzfeld.
• 💡 Their rewrite focused on condensing the script and developing the opening sequence, which featured an imaginative action set-piece inside Andy's head.
• 🎨 The team at Circle 7 created an immersive environment for Toy Story 3, with visual development and artwork filling the entire studio space.

The Unraveling of Circle 7

• 📉 The creation of Circle 7 was partly a negotiating tactic by Disney during its strained relationship with Pixar and Steve Jobs.
• 🤝 In January 2006, Disney acquired Pixar for $7.4 billion, rendering Circle 7 redundant.
• 💔 On May 26, 2006, employees were gathered and informed that Circle 7 was being shut down, with many artists and staff eventually absorbed into Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Legacy and Unproduced Projects

• ✨ Despite its short existence, Circle 7 housed talented individuals, many of whom went on to work on successful Disney films like Bolt and Tangled.
• 😔 Hilgenberg and Mure express a sense of loss for their unproduced Monsters, Inc. 2 script, which they believe could have been a strong follow-up to the original film.
• 🎭 The story of Circle 7 is presented as a significant, often overlooked, piece of Disney-Pixar history, highlighting a chaotic but creatively fertile period.