"We've put movies into development and some get further than others and then we feel like things just aren't quite ready we put them to the side and that's just been put on a shelf and we'll see where that goes in the future," said Lasseter. "It's story was very similar to a movie that's out in theaters right now with a blue parrot. Oh my! Wow, we were like … no, there was no … great minds think alike, I guess. It was really pretty similar."
That movie would be Fox's CG-animated film Rio. Rio follows Blu, a domesticated Macaw who thinks he's the last of his kind until he learns there's another macaw who lives in Rio de Janeiro. Blu and his owner head to the faraway and exotic land to find Jewel, Blu's female counterpart. Alas, it's not exactly love at first sight between them. And now here's the official plot synopsis for Newt that was in a 2008 press release:
"What happens when the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, and they can't stand each other? That's the problem facing Newt and Brooke, heroes of newt, the Pixar film by seven-time Academy Award winner for sound Gary Rydstrom, and director of Pixar's Oscar nominated short, Lifted. Newt and Brooke embark on a perilous, unpredictable adventure and discover that finding a mate never goes as planned, even when you only have one choice. Love, it turns out, is not a science."
Hmmmm ....