Frankenweenie will hit theaters on March 9, 2011. It's a pet project (pardon the pun) for Burton, as it will be based on a short film he directed (about a boy and his reanimated dog) while working at Disney in 1984. The film, which Burton has been planning for a good many years, will utilize stop-motion animation, despite the fact that the original short was live-action. However, it was always Burton's plan to shoot the short using stop-motion, and since his Alice in Wonderland made over a billion dollars for the Mouse House, he's practically got carte blanche at the studio right now and can now realize his intended vision. He's currently developing Monsterpocalypse and Dark Shadows films as well, although neither of those have release dates set.

John Carter of Mars will land in theaters on June 8, 2011. The adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs series of "Mars" books is directed by Andrew Stanton, Oscar-winner for Finding Nemo and Wall-E. It's Stanton's first live-action feature film. While Pixar is not officially involved, you can bet that their handprints will be all over the epic adventure. Taylor Kitsch, Mark Strong, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston and Lynn Collins all star in the flick, about a Civil War-era soldier who suddenly finds himself transported to Mars, which is undergoing a civil war of its own.

Interestingly, Disney already has a film set up for the following week; Pixar's medieval fantasy Brave sits in the June 15, 2011 slot. With the new John Carter announcement, Brave will most likely be pushed back, perhaps to a holiday weekend later in the year.

Source: Variety