Someone call the WWF: Pixar has reportedly killed the last blue-footed newts on the planet with the apparently-confirmed news that their upcoming romantic reptile comedy newt has been canceled.

The Pixar Blog received unsigned confirmation apparently from Walt Disney's Dave Smith that the movie, announced back in 2008 for release next year, is no more. This follows February's comment from Disney insider Floyd Nelson to that effect. The confirmation is a sad milestone for the company, as the Pixar Blog points out:

They've never publicly canceled a film before... It's a black eye to the studio that was able to bring Toy Story and Toy Story 2 to the screen under extremely difficult circumstances and with far less time and resources.

More worryingly, it's place on Pixar's upcoming slate seems to have been taken by Cars 2; with Monsters, Inc. 2 having been recently announced and Toy Story 3 coming this summer, is Pixar abandoning original concepts in favor of franchise extensions?