Yesterday shortly after press time – which, to be honest, is that sliver of time between putting the kids to bed and being forced into watching the latest HGTV show with the wife – Pixar finally confirmed what everyone already seemed to know, that Monsters Inc. is getting a sequel. Cleverly titled Monsters Inc. 2: Money Never Sleeps (we added that subtitle to spice things up a bit), the follow-up will peek out of the closet on November 16, 2012. Most reports indicate Pete Docter, director of the original film and last year’s Up, will not return to the helm. More important to us is whether Mike and Sully, played by Billy Crystal and John Goodman, respectively; will also return.

We think this is a weird choice. The original Monsters Inc. made a half billion dollars worldwide, but to us there was just something missing with the concept. It’s success confounds us; we think A Bug’s Life is vastly superior in just about every category, yet audiences couldn’t have disagreed more. Perhaps it was because it was Pixar’s first original franchise after Toy Story 2, just when the hype for the company was hitting a fever pitch. If there’s any consistency between our tastes and the box office, it’s that Finding Nemo is our favorite of all the Pixar films and needs a sequel stat.

And in a sign it has become the animation studio of Walt Disney Pictures, a second film from Pixar, Brave, was also announced for a 2012 release date. Yes, that makes two Pixar movies in 2012. Also the year the world ends. How convenient, we all get to perish with happy thoughts.

Brave was originally titled The Bear and The Bow and had been slated for a summer 2011 release before the bump into 2012. /Film calls this film “Pixar’s first fairy tale” and stars Reece Witherspoon as the eponymous title character. Hmmm…could be what the studio needs to fill the void left by Shrek Forever After?

We don’t know if either of these are getting the 3D treatment, but word is out that Avatar: The Last Airbender is going three-dimensional for it’s July 2 release date later this summer. As more and more studios turn to 3D at the 11th hour for fear of leaving serious sums of cash on the table – as well as setting a precedent that all films titled Avatar must be in 3D – there is growing concern with movie-goers these types of movies are nothing more than a cash grab to dupe audiences into buying those tickets priced at a premium. After the hatchet job on Clash of the Titans, we all have reason to worry.

According to Avatar: The Last Airbender producer Frank Marshall, they have been looking at using 3D “for months” and M. Night. Shyamalan will supervise the conversion process. That’s a different story from what Clash director Louis Leterrier experienced, where the movie was effectively pulled from him at the last minute to do a 3D conversion without his consent or assistance.

Mind you, we need to keep things in perspective. Avatar: The Last Airbender is still directed by Shyamalan, and we all know his track record of late. 3D can never make his awkward cameos any easier to swallow, and the only thing that could have saved The Happening would have been a 4D conversion complete with fake gusts of wind inside the theater.

But nothing this week beats the next post – this one comes from the folks behind our kids’ favorite TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba, with a photo journal of DJ Lance and the gang’s appearance at last week’s destination festival Coachella. Wait, you caught us – it’s really our favorite show. Now excuse us while we dancey-dance into the weekend…

Let’s go back and remember what else happened today:

Back To The Future’s Not The Only Movie That Went Back To The Drawing Board – Movies [io9]

More Wacky Rumors: Vanessa Hudgens in Talks to Play Spider-Woman? [/Film]

EXCLUSIVE: CAPTAIN AMERICA WILL MEET THE HOWLING COMMANDOS [CHUD]