Month: August 2007 – page 2

Ratatouille credited for excellent end credits

An editorial regarding some intriguing end credits of recent films is available at Yahoo!/Reuters. In the article, Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille is among the movies noted for containing memorable credits. Explaining why it is recommended for a film’s end credits to be unique, Ratatouille director Brad Bird stated, “I think it’s the equivalent of finishing a show […]

Spongebob books recalled due to binding

Yahoo!/Associated Press indicates that Martin Designs Inc. is recalling nearly 250,000 SpongeBob SquarePants address books and journals. Apparently, the items’ bindings could contain hazardous levels of lead paint, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Justice League captured

IESB.net reports that the upcoming Justice League movie directed by George “Mad Max/Happy Feet” Miller will likely be animated with motion capture technology. Meanwhile, Cinema Confidential states that “neither Christian Bale nor Brandon Routh are being considered to play Batman and Superman respectively.” Maybe Tom Hanks will be acting all the roles.

A Conversation with Ben Balistreri

The character designer of Fairly Odd Parents, Danny Phantom, Foster’s Home and various Disney video projects, Ben Balistreri, speaks exclusively with Jeroen Van Zwol about his career and upcoming publication of Seaweed!

Wallace & Gromit site gets a makeover

AWN reports about the relaunch of the Offical Wallace & Gromit site with advanced video functionality. The new website features a mini player on the homepage with full-screen viewing capabilities. The website now offers a significant collection of Wallace & Gromit content including a series of short films and clips from their classic animations. The […]

Grave of the Fireflies to be a live-action film

Anime News Network reports that Japan’s PAL Entertainment Productions has confirmed a live-action remake of Akiyuki Nosaka’s semi-autobiographical novella Grave of the Fireflies. This will be the third movie adaptation of the novella after Studio Ghibli’s 1988 anime film of the same name and NTV’s live-action television movie. The film is scheduled for a summer […]

The Tick returns! Plus yay or nay for TransFormers Bay?

The Tick is back! Plus the future of home entertainment rests on Michael Bay’s words!?

The Tick Vs. Season Two

The mighty blue bug of justice returns! But he still hasn’t caught up with the guy who stole all the bonus features!

Ratatouille coming to DVD and Blu-ray in November

Video Business reports that Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille will be released on DVD and Blu-ray disc on November 6th, 2007. The film will join the previously announced Blu-ray release of Cars on the same day.

Youth charged with piracy for uploading The Simpsons Movie

Variety reports that a 19 year old from the Czech village in south Bohemia has been charged with producing and uploading a pirate copy of The Simpsons Movie. If convicted, the unnamed youth faces up to five years in prison and a fine of nearly $250,000.

Seth Green talks Robot Chicken and more

IGN has an exclusive in-depth interview with Seth Green, the creator,writer and star of Robot Chicken which recently received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program. Green talks about the new season of the show and also discusses Family Guy, Buffy, and several other film projects he is involved in.

DreamWorks goes HD-DVD!? Plus a More Symphonies fix!

Paramount/DreamWorks announces support for HD-DVD only, plus corrected More Silly Symphonies disc replacements now shipping!

The Bart Ultimatum

Variety.com reports on the all the d’oh The Simpsons Movie is raking in in the overseas market, most recently besting The Bourne Ultimatum, amongst others. “Fox’s toon — propelled by solid launches of $5 million in Russia and $3 million in Brazil plus respectable Euro holdover biz — has continued to show impressive traction overseas. […]

aniBOOM's MicroSmotion launches today

We mentioned aniBOOM yesterday here but today marks the first time their new tool, MicroSmotion, is available to any visitor for easily making their own animations to share online. Read on for more information:

New Disney Legends revealed

Jim Hill Media has revealed the list of names of those who will be honored this year as Disney Legends, with a special emphasis on the announcement that Floyd Norman, a frequent contributor to Jim’s site, will be honored with Legend status. Art Babbitt and Dick Huemer will also have the superlative honor bequeathed upon […]

Coverage of Pixar's recent Australian events

Rachel O’Brien recently attended the Australian premiere for Ratatouille, as well as the Pixar: 20 Years of Animation exhibit in Melbourne. For Upcoming Pixar, she has written a recommended, in-depth article, sharing her experiences at the attractions.

Paramount, DreamWorks Animation choose HD DVD

Coming Soon carries the official announcement from Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation that the studios have decided to exclusively support the HD DVD format. This move will affect all films from DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films. At the Animated News & Views Forum, ‘George C’ points out […]

Three new Bee Movie images

To its gallery for the DreamWorks Animation comedy Bee Movie, IGN has added three more images. Starring the voices of Jerry Seinfeld and Renée Zellweger, the computer animated feature will fly into theaters this November 2nd.

Shrek, Simpsons up for U.K. National Movie Awards

IMDB/WENN has listed the animated nominees for Britain’s inaugural National Movie Awards, which U.K. TV network ITV is launching after the success of the National Television Awards. The Best Animation nominees include Flushed Away, Happy Feet, Shrek the Third and The Simpsons Movie.

Interview with Pixar's Ted Mathot

Upcoming Pixar speaks with Pixar story supervisor Ted Mathot, mostly regarding his personal projects unrelated to the animation studio. Topics in the interview include Mathot’s involvement with comics, drawing and E-Ville Press.

U.S. box office actuals: August 17–19, 2007

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo: 4) The Simpsons Movie with $6,829,648, averaging $2,159 over 3,162 theaters ($165,271,443 total; 4th week) 16) Ratatouille with $1,643,850, averaging $1,171 over 1,403 theaters ($196,620,846 total; 8th week) 32) Surf’s Up with $159,208, averaging $674 over 236 theaters ($58,645,467 total; 11th week) 57) Meet the Robinsons with $29,136, averaging $422 […]

Miyazaki and Japan Airlines project

GhibliWorld and Nausicaa report that last month Japan Airlines (JAL) and Studio Ghibli announced “Sora wo Tobu”, a joint project in which Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso will be screened next month on some of JAL’s international flights. In addition to this, JAL will also show Miyazaki’s short film Kuso no Sora Tobu Kikai-tachi (Fancy Flying Machines) […]

Nocturna inaugurates Animadrid Festival

Nocturna, the long-awaited new film by Víctor Maldonado and Adriá García, will open Animadrid, the 8th International Festival of the Animated Image of Pozuelo de Alarcón – Community of Madrid, running September 28 through October 5, 2007. The Festival is organized by the Council of Culture and Tourism for the Community of Madrid and the […]

Hoo-Ray! Classic, really-for-real Disney in Hi-Def! Plus TMNT!

Major animated titles announced for Disney Blu-Ray Disc, plus join in the cowabunga Turtle fun online!

Smurfs DVD episodes explained

TV Shows on DVD points to the blog My Name is Earl Kress for an explanation, as well as a listing, of the 19 episodes to be found in The Smurfs – Season 1, Volume 1. From the Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection, the two-disc DVD set will enter stores on December 4.

Aniboom launches YouTube channel

Aniboom, where animators can create and share original work, is launching its own channel on YouTube, indicates Yahoo! News/Reuters. The move arrives as the company hopes to find a new blockbuster animated series. “We put the series all over the Web and whatever we catch will be the next hit,” AniBoom founder and Chief Executive […]

Animator Boyd killed in Vancouver

Cartoon Brew reports that Vancouver animator Paul Boyd was killed last Monday night, due to a gunshot by police. Boyd had worked as a director on Ed, Edd ‘n Eddy and The Mr. Hell Show, while also animating for Gary Larson’s Tales From the Far Side and Mucha Lucha!. Further details on this report may […]

Ani-Jam attracts anime fans over weekend

The Hanford Sentinel records some of the sights and sounds found last Saturday at the third annual Ani-Jam Japanese-animation convention. Held in Fresno, California, at the Fresno Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, the event united hundreds of anime fans, many of whom dressed in unique, colorful costumes for the occasion.

Sleeping Beauty and Finding Nemo to debut on Blu-Ray in 2008

Blu-Ray reports that Sleeping Beauty and Finding Nemo will be part of Disney’s Blu-Ray line up for 2008. Sleeping Beauty will thus become the studio’s first ever Platinum Blu-ray release. The report suggests that the release of Sleeping Beauty will also get BD-Live treatment, and the extras will include a virtual castle and multi-player games. […]

Enchanted poster debuts

Cinematical has obtained the one-sheet for Walt Disney Pictures’ live-action/animated film Enchanted. Directed by Kevin Lima and featuring songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, the movie musical will enter theaters nationwide on November 21.