Sorry for being a little slow on the uptake, but Where The Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak passed away at 83. The NY Times has a in-depth article on his life. Sendak is renowned for turning the world of children’s literature upside down. His books are some of the first to depict kids as bad, angry and capable of horrific nightmares. He instated a sense of realism into overly moralistic stories. He illustrated hundreds of books and in the later stage of his career focused on theatrical design. Another creative genius has passed away.

Disney and Pixar’s Brave has been rated PG for “scary action and some rude humor,” according to ComingSoon.net. The movie marks only the third time that Pixar has gotten such a rating for one of their films. It opens everywhere this June.

Fans of Stan Smith and Stewie Griffin won't have to worry about them going away anytime soon. THR is reporting that FOX has ordered new seasons for both Family Guy and American Dad this fall, bringing the hit cartoon shows to their 11th and 8th seasons respectively. The Cleveland Show, on the other hand, might be nearing the end of its days, as it has yet to be renewed by the network. Easily the worst reviewed of Seth MacFarlene's shows, Cleveland saw a ratings dive during its most recent season.

McDonald’s makes mecha history by giving away Gundam toys in their Happy Meals…but only in Japan where they are called Happy Sets. Anime News Network has the basic rundown. The Happy Set toys will feature miniature mecha and trading cards from Mobile Suit Gundam UC and Mobile Suit Gundam AGE. Japanese McDonalds will release the toys May 18th and all other Gundam fans outside Japan should check Ebay for those toys after that date.

"Hulk smash...box office!" Everyone expected for The Avengers to be big, but no one had any idea just how big. According to THR, Disney's The Avengers absolutely shattered box office records this weekend, earning the biggest opening weekend of all time with a whopping take of $200 million. To put into perspective just how big this is, the previous record holder, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 opened to $169 million last summer, which is more than $30 million less than what The Avengers pulled off in the last three days. It also eclipses Disney's biggest opening of all time, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, by almost $70 million. The Avengers has also been a huge success with critics and audiences alike, with a "Freshness" rating of 94% at RottenTomatoes.com and an A+ CinemaScore.

A brand new full trailer for India's UTV produced animated feature Arjun: The Warrior Prince is now available to watch online. A rough translation for the Hindi language trailer is offered by Cartoon Brew and can be found here. "The untold story of India’s greatest warrior” has been in development for a while, much before Disney took control of UTV. Directed by Arnab Chaudhuri, Arjun: The Warrior Prince will be out in India this May.

Brad Bird is set to helm something called 1952 for Disney, a top secret project that is intended to be a tentpole release for the studio, Deadline is reporting. Nothing whatsoever is known about the movie, except that it has "multi-platform aspirations," meaning that Disney is hoping that it can be translated into theme park attractions, video games and possibly a TV series. Bird, of course, directed three of the best reviewed animated movies in recent memory--and won Oscars for two of them--, and also scored raves from critics last December with his blockbuster action movie Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Production on 1952 is expected to begin in 2013.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, the world’s biggest online shopping market wants you! And not just you, but your creative ideas for TV comedies and television shows. CinemaBlend reports that Amazon is searching for new content. TV writers are invited to post their scripts for Amazon staff review. One of the great things about this opportunity is that you don’t have to be able to draw or be familiar with animation. Take a look at the rules and take a chance!

British funnyman Steve Coogan (Percy Jackson, The Other Guys) will lend his voice to a currently unknown role in Universal's upcoming Despicable Me 2. Coogan joins a cast that includes Al Pacino, Steve Carrell and Kristen Wigg. Wigg voiced the nasty orphanage owner Miss Hatie in the original Me, but she may be voicing a new character this time. Despicable Me 2 strikes theaters everywhere in 2013.

Fox Animation, according to CinemaBlend, has bought the movie rights to The Hero’s Guide To Saving Your Kingdom, a children’s book by Christopher Healy. The book takes an opposite approach the the standard Disney fairytale by focusing on the princes’ POV rather than the princesses. Healy’s book wasn’t released to the public until May 1, so it hasn’t attained a solid reputation yet. Backwards and fractured fairytales are always an animation staple these days. the Hero’s Guide To Saving Your Kingdom may raise the standard level for quality storytelling that way Shrek did.

Despite great reviews The Pirates! Band of Misfits had a disappointing weekend at the box office. While coming in a better than some expected 2nd place the film only earned $11.1 million according to Box Office Mojo. That tally is the worst ever opening for Aardman on this side of the pond. It’s not all bad news for the studio. Since opening over a month ago in some overseas markets the film had already made back its budget before opening here.

Greetings Programs! Coming June 7 to Disney XD is Tron: Uprising a midquel cartoon that takes place between the first Tron movie and the second Tron: Legacy. Cartoon Brew has a brand new trailer. The show is about Beck a young program who becomes a revolutionary leader in The Grid against the evil forces of CGeneral Tesler, oppressor of free systems. The legendary Tron, a program who fights for the users, trains Beck to become the next hero of the system if the young program can upgrade past impulsiveness to maturity. Elijah Wood will voice Beck with Bruce Boxleitner reprising his Tron role. The show combines CGI and 2D animation.

Aardman’s The Pirates! Band of Misfits made the publicity rounds this week. Indiewire talked with director Peter Lord about DreamWorks Animation, Batman, and the allure of Pirates, while SFGate continues with the director on the pirate theme. The Kansas City Star discusses the history of stop motion animation and how Aardman is helping the medium endure. And the Chicago Tribune does a breakdown of one frame from the film.

Sony/Columbia/Aardman's The Pirates! Band of Misfits opens today in 3,358 theatres, according to Box Office Mojo. The film is a hit with the critics so far, earning an 87% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. That number soars to 96% when counting only the top critics. Unfortunately Box Office Prophets doubts the movie will be a huge financial hit, probably bringing in a "middling" $13.4 million in a third place weekend finish. Box Office Mojo predicts a similar third place $16.3 million performance.

Seth MacFarlene's much-hyped reboot of The Flintstones is apparently "on life support," if what The Hollywood Reporter says is true. The Family Guy creator's script for the pilot was apparently rejected by FOX, with the network recomending that he put it on the backburner for now. A number of new writers had apparently been hired for the reboot, with some of them being let go now as a result of this. It is possible that MacFarlene could get some of them jobs on his American Dad! if the series gets renewed in May.

The first official plot summary for Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming The Smurfs 2 has made its way to ComingSoon.net. The story will involve Gargamel the evil but bumbling wizard creating a breed of evil Smurf-like creatures in an attempt to  kidnap Smurfette, who holds the key to capturing his little blue enemies once and for all, while he gathers fame and fortune as the most famous magician in Paris. Christina Ricci will voice Vexy, one of Gargamel’s creations who is essential a villainous version of Smurfette. Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays and Hank Azaria are all set to reprise their roles in the July 31st, 2013 sequel.

A new trailer for Sony Animation's upcoming Hotel Transylvania is now available online here. Due in theaters September 28, 2012, this is the story of a place where monsters, from Frankenstein to Big Foot, have been able to rest in peace. Until now...

You can also view the first teaser poster here:

ComingSoon.net has the news out of CinemaCon detailing Pixars 2014-15 slate of films. The Good Dinosaur, directed by Bob Peterson, will debut on May 30, 2014. Pete Docter’s untitled film “that takes you inside the mind” is now set for June 19, 2015. Also announced was director Lee Unkrich’s next project with producer Darla Anderson based on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos aiming for a 2015 release.

A new trailer for Brave is available online at Apple’s website. The Disney/Pixar film is set open June 22, 2012.

In somewhat surprising news, Disney Chairman Rich Ross has rather abruptly resigned from the company, THR is reporting. "I believe in this extraordinary Walt Disney Studios team, and I believe in our strong slate of films and our ability to make and market them better than anyone else," Ross, who only had the position since late 2009, said in his resignation letter. "But, I no longer believe the Chairman role is the right professional fit for me." It is unknown why he is leaving the company so suddenly, but Pixar honcho John Lasseter may or may not be behind it, as he is reportedly not a fan of Ross. It also might be because of the box office results for John Carter, which, as you possibly may have heard, cost Disney a lot of money to make. In any case, Ross' resignation is effective immediately.

Despite rumors that indicated otherwise, Jason Segal will not be making a cameo in the upcoming Muppets sequel, CinemaBlend is reporting. "My goal was never to take over the helm of The Muppets. They have people who are better equipped for that," the Five-Year Engagement star said. "My only goal was to bring back the Muppets that I loved. And I did that. I kinda don’t know what I have left to do in that regard.” While Segal may not be gone, Walter the Muppet apparently isn't. According to director Nicolas Stroller, "Walter is coming back. He is heavily involved in the story." The movie, of course, is without a release date at the moment.

New character posters for Ice Age 4 made their way online this week, and can be viewed at the IMP Awards. The latest film in the blockbuster franchise comes to theaters everywhere this July.

Can you believe that Disney is already planning the next Muppet movie? Co-writer of The Muppets Nick Stoller and director James Bobin are already writing a sequel to the 2011 blockbuster. Thirteen pages have already been written and it will be a comedy caper with new characters. Jason Segel might make a cameo and Disney wants a summer 2013 release date–which isn’t realistic. Disney really wants a sequel as soon as possible, but let’s hope they don’t sacrifice quality in their haste.

The first teaser poster for Disney's upcoming animated action movie Wreck-It Ralph has been revealed over at MSN. The movie tells the story of a video game baddie who longs to be a hero, and features a number of cameos from classic Nintendo products. Starring the voices of John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman, the film kicks off the holiday movie season on November 2nd.

As Disneyland Paris begins its twenty-year anniversary celebrations, our very own Jeremie Noyer has been hard at work behind the scenes on a new publication marking this historic birthday! Disneyland Paris: 20 Years Of Dreams documents the development of what was once EuroDisney (at its opening in 1992) through to the resort destination it has become today, with 192 pages and over 500 photos detailing and illustrating its story in both English and French texts. The book will be available at the Park itself and via mail order (email: dlp.mail.order@disney.com) from April 23. For more information visit DLRPtoday, while a peek at the book's front cover artwork can be seen here: