After a huge year at the box office in 2013, Walt Disney Studios has just announced the release dates for its 2014 movie slate.
Starting out the year on February 28 is The Wind Rises from Touchstone Pictures. The movies stars the voice talents of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Martin Short, John Krasinski, Jennifer Grey, Stanley Tucci, and more.
The film was director Hayao Miyazaki’s final film and follows the story of Jiro who dreams of flying but is unable to become a pilot. Instead, he becomes one of the world’s most innovative and accomplished airplane engineers. The film pays tribute to engineer Jiro Horikoshi and author Tatsuo Hori.
On March 14, DreamWorks Pictures’ Need For Speed hits theaters starring Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as Tobey Marshall, a muscle car mechanic and street racer who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit.
A week later, Kermit the Frog and friends return to the big screen in Walt Disney Studios’ Muppets Most Wanted. The film takes the gang on a global tour where they find themselves entangled in an international crime caper. Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, and Ty Burrell co-star.
Captain America is back to save the world on April 4 when Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Solider opens in theaters nationwide. The film takes place after the events in The Avengers, and finds Steve Rogers living a quiet life in Washington D.C., but he quickly joins forces with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to take on The Winter Soldier.
Disneynature celebrates the release of Bears on April 18. The film showcases a year in the life of a bear family and is narrated by John C. Reily.
On May 16, The Walt Disney Studios release Million Dollar Arm starring Jon Hamm (Mad Men). The film tells the story of sports agent JB Bernstein who is trying to save his career by finding baseball’s next great pitcher by producing a reality show in India called “Million Dollar Arm.” The film also stars Alan Arkin, Madhur Mittal (Slumdog Millionaire), and Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi).
Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie as the evil witch opens nationwide on May 30. The films tells the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain and reveals the events that hardened her heart and drove her to curse Aurora.
Fans of last summer’s hit Planes will be racing back to the theaters on July 18 when Planes Fire & Rescue opens. This new comedy-adventure tells the story of an elite firefighting aircraft crew that is devoted to protecting Piston Peak National Park from a wildfire. Dusty returns to the action as an aerial firefighter and he learns what it means to be a true hero.
Speaking of heroes, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1. The film takes place after the events in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The epic space adventure tells the story of Peter Quill who is the object of a bounty hunt after he steals an orb from Ronan, a villain who is threatening the universe.
Other films on the 2014 slate include The Hundred-Foot Journey starring Helen Mirren (August 8), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day starring Steve Carell (October 10), Big Hero 6 from Walt Disney Animation Studios (November 7), and McFarland starring Kevin Costner (November 21).
The final film on the 2014 slate is Into the Woods, the highly-anticipated musical starring Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Tracey Ullman, and more.
Into the Woods arrives in theaters on December 25.
