Woody and Buzz are heading to theaters Oct. 2nd in 3D for a limited run of 'Toy Story' and 'Toy Story 2' along with the first trailer for 2010's 'Toy Story 3D'

Credit: Pixar/Walt Disney

ShoWest is in high gear right now, one presentation after another being shown to the theater owners and press who have gathered in Vegas for the annual trade show.  And although it's scaled down significantly from the ShoWests of old, it still serves as a chance for the studios to premiere new trailers and footage and posters, hoping for a burst of sudden buzz.

And today, Disney seems to be the winner when it comes to generating interest with a presentation.

True, Warner Bros. unveiled the "Sherlock Holmes" trailer, and the response seems to be solid, but if you're watching Twitter feeds and website updates, Disney is winning the "HOLY CRAP!" contest so far today, due in no small part to the 3D presentations they screened.

I'm fascinated by the news that the upcoming "Tron" sequel is evidently just called "Tron" according to the title treatment that was shown today.  And I'm thrilled to hear that they're planning to give "Tron" the full 3D treatment on release.  This is exactly what 3D should be used for... these immersive SF or fantasy environments that an audience wants to explore on their own.  And the original "Tron" was already visually overwhelming, so it makes perfect sense that Disney would want to find a way to punch new audiences in the face in a way that's going to send them back to the theater again and again, and this might be it.

[more after the jump]

I wish I'd had a chance to see the "Beauty and the Beast 3D" sequence that was shown.  I've seen a few live-action films that have been retrofitted for 3D (the test footage from "Star Wars: A New Hope" was sort of mind-boggling), but animation really lends itself to the process in a specific way.  The idea of lifting each plane of a multi-plane process picture out to a different depth is very appealing, and it'll force audiences to really look at the way these films are made with new eyes. 

Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland" is getting the full IMAX 3D treatment about a year from now, and it sounds like Burton is approaching 3D the same way Henry Selick did on "Coraline," using it for emotional impact instead of just empty sensation.  Even though it's almost too easy to put Burton on "Alice," I must admit that I'm warming up to the idea the more we hear about his approach and as the first few images have started to appear.  It looks truly bizarre.

If you'd like to read some first-hand reports from the guys who are actually there in Vegas right now, here are a few handy links.

Steve from Collider went nuts for the "Tron" footage.

El Guapo from Latino Review has been at ShoWest since the start, and he was first up with his Disney panel reaction.

/Film has a nice write-up of the Warner panel, including the new "Terminator" footage that features a not-terribly-surprising cameo.

The one problem with ShoWest is that it's all about the studio fare.  I guarantee you won't hear about the new Tommy Wiseau project at ShoWest this year, but anyone who has seen "The Room" knows that anything Tommy Wiseau does should be major, major news.

So to balance out all this ShoWest news, here is a teaser for more of the deranged magic of Tommy Wiseau:

I'm sure more news will be breaking from ShoWest over the next few days, and anything really urgent, we'll be sure to keep you posted either here or in the Morning Read.

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