With the movie about a month away, the Disney marketing machine is continuing to push Monsters University, with a new trailer now available on iTunes. The preview features the song Roar, made for the film by Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso of Swedish House Mafia. The Monsters, Inc. prequel opens everywhere June 21st.

The Snow Queen appears to be be a popular story to adapt into animation. News about Disney’s Frozen skims the web like an early frost, but another adaptation from Russia melts away in the morning light from too little publicity. Keeping the same name as Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, Deadline says that Vertical Entertainment has bought the US rights to distribute the film. Western fans might recognize the Russian distributor and co-producer Timur Bekmambetov, with credits to his name as 9 and Kikoriki Team Invincible. He released the film in Russia under his company the Bazelevs Group. Made in Stereoscopic 3D, The Snow Queen was released in in late 2012 in several countries already. It follows Andersen’s original plot embellished with comic relief sidekicks that dominate the plot more so than the protagonists. Wait for the US coming sometime in the future as well as a planned sequel for winter 2014. Enjoy the trailer in the mean time from ComingSoon.net.

Last week, readers got their first glimpse of the Toy Story of Terror TV special. Now word has arrived on another Toy Story project in the works: Mythic Rock, as listed on the résumé of Pixar producer Kim Jorgensen Adamsthe. Mythic Rock appears to be the latest entry in the Toy Story Toons line of shorts, following Hawaiian Vacation, Small Fry and Partysaurus Rex. At this time, the short's plot is unknown, as the title could refer to anything from Buzz finding a moon rock to Bonnie adopting a pet rock to the toys having a jam session. What is known, however, is that if the short follows the tradition of its predecessors, it will be attached to one of Walt Disney Pictures' theatrical features - although guessing which feature might be a tricky endeavor...

Rovio Entertainment has announced Jon Vitti will pen the screenplay for the film adaptation of the Angry Birds video game franchise. Among his numerous honors, Vitti has been particularly celebrated at the Emmy Awards: he won one as a writer-consulting producer on King of the Hill, and was nominated for his work on The Simpsons and The Larry Sanders Show. He also shared an Annie nomination as a writer for The Simpsons Movie. Details are skim regarding the comedic adventure Vitti will pen for Birds. Nonetheless, audiences can catch the frustrated fowls when Sony Pictures releases them into theaters on July 1, 2016.

While many candidates for next year’s Best Animated Feature Oscar have yet to be released, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is already looking ahead to the ceremony, making a few changes to its rulebook. From now on, directors won’t be the only recipients of the Best Animated Feature statuette, as a credited producer must also be named. A third statuette may be presented if another individual shares an equal director credit. As The Hollywood Reporter explains, the revised rule offers more recognition for producers. Previously, one statuette was awarded to the movie’s key creative individual – usually the director – and a second statuette was given if that recipient had a co-director. Who will be the first filmmakers to experience the new rules? Find out when the 86th Annual Academy Awards airs March 2, 2014, on ABC.

With Fox/Blue Sky’s Epic opening in theaters this Friday, Fox Home Entertainment is taking the opportunity to highlight some of their previous animated hits. For a limited time, families can purchase three Blu-ray 3-packs for $21.99 each: a Blue Sky set containing Robots, Horton Hears a Who, and Rio; an Ice Age set featuring the original hit with sequels The Meltdown and Dawn of the Dinosaurs; and an Alvin & the Chipmunks set containing the first blockbuster and its two “squeakquels.” The offer ends this Saturday.

LA Weekly shares the background of Jennifer Lee, the first female director of a Walt Disney Animation Studios theatrical feature. Lee graduated from Columbia Film School, where she met her future Wreck-It Ralph co-writer Phil Johnston. After the success of Ralph, Lee was asked to write and co-direct Frozen with Chris Buck. "Every day, it still feels like, 'Am I good enough? What am I doing here? Why are they letting me do this?'" jokes Lee. Audiences can see her latest work on the big screen when Frozen opens November 27.

In the latter ’00s, Vídeo Brinquedo raised the ire of animation fans, critics and unsuspecting parents by releasing cheaply-made imitations of Pixar’s and DreamWorks’ blockbusters. The most famous of these “mockbusters” was arguably Ratatoing, a thinly-veiled knock-off of Ratatouille. However, Vídeo Brinquedo also made a mint off their Little Cars series, just as Disney has made a fortune from Pixar’s Cars franchise. Hence, it is somewhat unsurprising that just as the Cars spinoff Planes is about to enter theaters, Vídeo Brinquedo’s latest catalogue advertises Airplanes. And if you’re wondering if the Brazilian company will borrow inspiration from any other future Cars spin-offs, such as the rumored Boats, the answer is they already have.

Earlier this week, Disney revealed more info on the previously-announced Toy Story of Terror, a 30-minute special airing on the ABC network in time for Halloween. According to TV Guide, the project begins with Bonnie, her mother and, of course, Woody and the gang on a road trip to see Bonnie's grandmother, when their car gets a flat tire. Forced to spend the night at a motel, the toys become entangled in a whodunnit mystery after one of them goes missing.

Interestingly, Toy Story of Terror shares certain similarities to an early draft of Toy Story 3, written by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, with revisions by David Guion and Michaelk Handelman. They submitted the screenplay during the mid-2000s, as Disney considered making Toy Story 3 without Pixar's involvement.

In what is shaping up to be an exciting (and expensive!) summer for high-def Disney fans, the Studio has just announced new additions to its already busy Blu-ray catalog releases. Joining the June 11 release of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch, and the August 27 release of The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh, Disney has now added some anniversary editions of a further handful of classics: The Sword In The Stone: 50th Anniversary, Robin Hood: 40th Anniversary and Oliver & Company: 25th Anniversary, all due August 6, plus a special edition for the Peter Pan sequel Return To Never-Land on August 20. Further details and cover art can be seen here:

Walt Disney Studios has released the dialogue-free "music video" Planes Takes Flight, to help build buzz for this summer's Cars spin-off. For two and a half minutes, the video shows off the film's visuals and storyline without a single spoken word, using just new footage and the musical score. Interestingly, that musical score comes from Grammy winner Mark Mancina (Tarzan) rather than the previously-reported James Seymour Brett. Planes will enter theaters on August 9.

Earlier this week, a Portuguese-language teaser trailer for Rio 2 went online. Now Fox has released a domestic version, featuring a colorful assortment of characters shaking their tail feathers until interrupted by Luiz the dog and a familiar foe. “Keep celebrating… I’ll be pooping on your party promptly,” warns Nigel the cockatoo, once again voiced by Jemaine Clement. Rio 2 opens in theaters April 11, 2014.

No one and we must admit no one saw this coming: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. The fan favorite cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is getting its first movie, but instead of following a story about ponies and their adventures it is about the ponies being transformed into humans and their high school adventures. After watching the trailer on io9, the movie will be treated with the same love and care as the series. It still begs the question, however, why Hasbro felt the need to turn the ponies into humans? The concept is nothing new in fan circles as many bronies and pega-sisters have drawn the characters as human before, but was that the inspiration to make it canon? Check out the preliminary concept art too. Whatever the reason, fans of all ages will flock to see the limited release movie on June 16.

It's been quite some time since Waltz With Bashir was in theaters, but director Ari Folman is following his Oscar-nominated film this year with The Congress, a motion-capture animated movie starring Robin Wright as an actress who agrees to have herself digitized for money. Deadline has the first trailer for it, which is set to debut at the Cannes film festival tonight. The movie has yet to find a release date in the US.

Getting an almost surprising amount of attention this week was the news that Disney had given Brave’s Merida an apparent makeover as they made the character part of their “official” Princess Collection (even though she’s technically a Pixar heroine). It would seem, however, as though the studio possibly took notice, as the AV Club has pointed out that Disney has removed the more slender, hand-drawn version of her from their website. Whether or not this means they have actually gotten rid of her so-called “new design” remains to be seen.

Over the past few months, more and more members of the creative team behind DisneyToon Studios’ Planes have been revealed, from the director to producers to story artists. However, one glaring omission from the film’s IMDb and Wikipedia pages left folks asking, “Who exactly wrote this movie?” Now a source at Disney has given Animated Views the answer: Jeffrey M. Howard. Animation fans might know Howard as having been a staple at DisneyToons for several years, working on Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue and Pixie Hollow Games. Audiences can see Howard’s screenplay come to life when Planes flies into theaters on August 9.

Constantin Film has sent Animated Views the textless poster artwork for Tarzan, the latest adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' legendary hero. The poster for the motion capture film first debuted in April but with German-language text. Tarzan will debut in Germany, where Constantin Film is based, in October. A U.S. release date has yet to be named.

As folks at this year's CinemaCon reported back from the Despicable Me 2 presentation, readers were surprised to learn that the highly anticipated sequel will feature an alternate version of the yellow, friendly Minions loved by audiences worldwide. Indeed, the franchise's second chapter will soon introduce moviegoers to purple, evil Minions. Now the official Facebook page of Despicable Me 2 has posted a sneak peek at one of them, sporting Troll doll hair and an extreme underbite. Watch as Minions take on Minions when Despicable Me 2 hits theaters July 3.

The teaser trailer for Rio 2 has leaked, in Portuguese, thanks to Animação S.A., reports A113 Animation. The new footage presents the film’s cast of characters performing a festive dance number, with macaws Blu and Jewel accompanied by their new triplets. The trailer also shows off Blue Sky Studios’ new logo, featuring Scrat once again in a jam. Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx and Jemaine Clement all return to voice their respective characters, with Carlos Saldanha back in the director’s chair. Catch the Rio 2 teaser on the big screen when it’s attached to Blue Sky’s latest feature, Epic, on May 24.

With the movie less than two months away, Universal has revealed a new poster for Despicable Me 2, which can be seen at the IMP Awards. The poster features Gru looking over his massive army of minions, along with the tagline "When the world needed a hero, they called a villain." Me 2 opens everywhere this July.

While Planes won't hit theaters until August 9, a teaser poster for its sequel, Fire & Rescue, has already been discovered by Cine1.com.ar. The poster advertises the DisneyToon sequel as "coming soon" - perhaps sooner than originally expected given that this poster and an Art of book for the sequel have already been revealed.

In a trailer for Monsters University, Sully plays a prank on his roommate Mike by gluing mirror shards on him and transforming him into a disco ball. Mike was not too fond of the joke, but he probably will appreciate his face on Epcot’s Spaceship Earth. To celebrate the new movie and summer vacation, Disney Parks will remain open for a full 24 hours. Visit io9 to see a neat clip and don’t forget to scream–Disney will need the power to keep the lights on!

Brave heroine Merida was officially inducted as a Disney princess this past Sunday and to complement the official coronation she was given a makeover to match her ten cohorts. The Huffington Post details the full account about how Merida now has a tinier waist, less freckles, wider set eyes, and control over her red curls. Sadly, her trademark bow and quiver accessories have disappeared, but sparkles (lots of them) have been added. This new portrayal is contrary to the image that Brave's original director and co-writer Brenda Chapman wanted to convey. Chapman based Merida off her own daughter and wanted fans to have a "You go girl!" attitude whenever they thought of her. While some may argue that Merida's new image still exemplifies girl power, a large group disagree. A campaign on Change.org petitions Robert Iger to return Merida to her less-sparkly version. Brenda Chapman is among the supporters. The signers want Merida to remain strong, confidant, and brave and not send the message that "being pretty" is more important.

In would seem as though Cleveland Brown's days of having his own TV series are over. The Cleveland Show, the Family Guy spin-off that has lasted four seasons against savage reviews, is not on FOX's schedule for the fall, Collider is reporting. The good news for fans of the network's cartoon line-up is that all of its other shows have been greenlit for another season, including American Dad!, Bob's Burgers, The Simpsons, and Family Guy. In addition, FOX is launching a new animated comedy series called Murder City, which will follow the adventures of "a dedicated, but inept detective and his colleagues in a twisted city precinct." As for Cleveland Brown, perhaps he should consider moving back to Quahog.

Sesame Street acknowledges diversity with a multi-ethnic cast, and as the Hispanic community grows in the US, Sesame Workshop has decided to add a brand-new Spanish-speaking cast member. Tough Pigs has a collection of videos that documents the audition process, from the open casting call and callbacks to the final announcement on Good Morning, America. The lucky new neighbor is Ismael Cruz Cordova, who will now forever be known as Armando in America's collective consciousness. Armando, or Mando for short, will make his debut next season and teach children about being a friend, the Letter and Number of the Day, and how to speak Spanish. Love the hair, dude!