With Cars 2 finally giving Pixar their first critical failure last year, it has become painfully clear that the animation giant is no longer invincible. Fortunately, there is no reason to think that their future projects won’t still be brilliant, and even though I’m not overly excited about Brave or the Monster Inc. sequel Monsters University, I remain confident that they will be solid flicks. But what will come after them? Up until 2010, there was a mysterious project called Newt in the works, but it ended up getting canceled — possibly because it had a plot that was too similar to Rio. Now this week at CinemaCon, Disney has unveiled three new Pixar films aiming for release in 2014 and 2015. None of them are sequels, and they are about dinosaurs, the human mind, and Dia de los Muertos respectively.

Disney sent out a press release this week with basic plot details, release dates and directors for these three new films (only one of which has a title). Here is how they all break down:

• The Good Dinosaur (May 30th, 2014) — What if the cataclysmic asteroid that forever changed life on Earth actually missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? This hilarious, heartfelt and original tale is directed by Bob Peterson (co-director/ writer, Up; writer, Finding Nemo) and produced by John Walker (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant).
• The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind (June 19th, 2015) — Pixar takes audiences on incredible journeys into extraordinary worlds: from the darkest depths of the ocean to the top of the tepui mountains in South America; from the fictional metropolis of Monstropolis to a futuristic fantasy of outer space. From director Pete Docter (Up, Monsters, Inc.) and producer Jonas Rivera (Up), the inventive new film will take you to a place that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen: the world inside the human mind.
• The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dia de los Muertos (TBA) — From director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson, the filmmaking team behind the Academy Award®-winning Toy Story 3, comes a wholly original Pixar Animation Studios film that delves into the vibrant holiday of Día de los Muertos.

While the first movie sounds a little bit like Ice Age, it’s interesting to note that the latter two films share premises that are very similar to Psychonauts and Grim Fandango, two video games designed by Tim Schafer. Coincidence? Probably. Guillermo del Toro is also supposedly producing a different animated film about the Day of the Dead, which could potentially be in direct competition. Either way, it’s cool to see that they will be taking a break from sequels for a few years. What do you think about these upcoming Pixar projects? Which one are you most looking forward to?