Month: March 2008

3D Speed Racer Poster

Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes is a new poster for Speed Racer – in 3D! To view the three-dimensional effect, click and drag your mouse over the image. Speed Racer hits theaters and IMAX 3D on May 9th.

WALL•E TV Spot

UpcomingPixar reports about a new WALL•E TV spot which appeared on TheMovieBox.net. Directed by Andrew Stanton, Disney/Pixar’s WALL•E is set to hit the screens on 27 June 2008.

Rhythm & Hues opens new facility in India

Culver City-based vfx shop Rhythm & Hues, which won the 2008 best visual effects Oscar for The Golden Compass, has opened a facility in Hyderabad, India. Variety reports that the two Indian facilities at Hyderabad and Mumbai now sport a total of about 250 employees, and more expansion is planned. R&H’s India facilities are teaming […]

Kids pick Ratatouille as best of the year

Variety reports that the children’s movie review site kidspickflicks.com has named Pixar film Ratatouille as best of the year. This year’s choices were based off 107 votes from children ages 3-14. The “Ick” award for worst movie was The Golden Compass.

Disney to produce Jungle Junction, also Clubhouse, Tigger & Pooh get third seasons

Variety reports that Disney Channel’s preschool Playhouse Disney block has put the animated skein Jungle Junction in production. The series, which will be produced in the U.K., revolves around animals who explore a road-filled jungle on wheels and will hit Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney outlets across the world in 2009. According to the report, […]

Lebanon to screen Persepolis

Variety reports that the authorities in Lebanon have lifted the ban on the Academy award nominated film Persepolis. Based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel about growing up during the 1979 Iranian revolution, Persepolis will open on one screen April 9 with hopes to expand if reaction is positive.

We get animated with Dr Seuss!

Randall Cyrenne takes a look at the life and animated career of Ted “Dr Seuss” Geisel and his characters.

The Animated Seuss

Dr. Seuss had a lot more involvement in animation than you may have realized! Private Snafu, Puppetoons, and more surprises are covered in this retrospective.

Calling All Robots!

Variety reports that Disney and ImageMovers have teamed with Michael Dougherty to create Calling All Robots, a sc-fi adventure that will feature the same performance capture technology used in Beowulf and The Polar Express. The project is “a throwback to old Godzilla movies”, and is being penned by Dougherty, Breehn Burns, and Simeon Wilkins. Dougherty […]

Silverman talks The Simpsons Movie

An interview with David Silverman, director of last summer’s The Simpsons Movie, can be read on APP. During the discussion, Silverman talks about his background history and artistic influences, as well as the budget of the Simpsons flick. The possibility of a equal to the hit big-screen adaption is also mentioned. “Well, commerce would indicate […]

Ratatouille art auction

UpcomingPixar reports that Sanders Art Studio in Ogden, Utah is auctioning few original art sketches from Disney/Pixar’s Academy award winning film Ratatouille drawn by Artist Tim Rogerson. The three sketches up for auction are, Remy ~ Ratatouille “Little Chef”, Gusteau~ Ratatouille “Anyone Can Cook” and Skinner ~ Ratatouille “No Soup for You!”. The auction was […]

Finding Nemo Blu-Ray release delayed

UpcomingPixar, via Blu-Ray.com and TheDigitalBits, reports that Disney have pushed back the Blu-Ray release of Finding Nemo to 2009. The Blu-ray release was originally planned for Spring 2008. The sites also report that Disney will be releasing another Pixar catalog title along with the Blu-ray release of WALL-E this Fall.

New WALL•E Concept Art

UpcomingPixar shares a SlashFilm link featuring new concept art from the upcoming Disney/Pixar film WALL•E. The artwork, exhibited during the Pixar: 20 Years of Animation exhibit in Finland, shows the Axiom, where the humans currently reside, and also other areas featured in the movie. WALL•E opens nationwide on June 27, 2008.

Enchanted nominated for Hugo Award

Nominated for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form in this year’s Hugo Awards is Disney’s live-action/animated tale, Enchanted. Up for the award are writer Billy Kelly and director Kevin Lima. Other nominations in the catagory are The Golden Compass, Heroes, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Stardust.

Every South Park episode free online

Full episodes of South Park are available to view for free online at the show’s official website according to AWN. The site includes video clips and every episode of the show. The video can be fast-forwarded and rewound, excluding the embedded commercials that can not be skipped. The beta site also includes an avatar maker, […]

The title song from One Hundred and One Dalmatians?

Mark Evanier has posted an interesting story about a song he heard when he was eight years old. It was from a 78 RPM Little Golden Record that he won at a Disney event that featured two songs from One Hundred and One Dalmatians. The A side was the well known Cruella De Vil, and […]

A look at the world of Ponyo

GhibliWold has a look at a watercolor made by Hayao Miyazaki that shows the world of his upcoming film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Naussica.net reports that according to the film’s production diary the number of the animation cels in Ponyo exceeds 160,000. That compares to about 148,000 for Howl’s Moving Castle, 140,000 […]

Box office and sales charts – week ending March 23, 2008

MOVIES (weekend box office from Box Office Mojo) 1. Horton Hears a Who! – $24.6 million ($86.0 million total) DVD (weekly sales from Nielsen VideoScan via The Hollywood Reporter) 1. Bee Movie 4. 101 Dalmations 6. Beowulf BROADWAY (weekly box office from Broadway.com) 2. The Lion King ($1,323,304) 3. The Little Mermaid ($1,186,297) 4. Mary […]

Creating the Who-world of Horton

CGSociety has an excellent in-depth article where they talk to the the crew at Blue Sky Studios who worked on Horton Hears a Who! to find out what went into creating the unique look of the Who-world and its characters. The piece delves into the programming of the Seussian logic of exaggeration required to get […]

Japan names anime ambassador

MSNBC reports that Japan has named an animated cat to be the country’s anime ambassador! Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura named Doraemon, a popular cartoon robot cat, to the post during an inauguration ceremony and said, “Doraemon, I hope you will travel around the world as an anime ambassador to deepen people’s understanding of Japan so […]

DreamWorks Animation names new head of development

Alex Schwartz has been named head of development at DreamWorks Animation according to The Big Cartoon Database. Co-president of production Bill Damaschke said, “Alex is an exceptional and experienced executive with a proven track record. As we see the line between live action and animation continue to blur, we are eager to broaden our slate […]

The Hanna Barbera Treasury nominated for Book of the Year award

Congratulations to animation historian Jerry Beck whose book The Hanna Barbera Treasury has been named a finalist in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards. The book is nominated in the “Popular Culture” category and faces competition from seven other entrants. Beck said, “This was a rare case where the finished book turned out exactly […]

Hey Seuss! Horton hears our Views! Plus the new League…

Our views on Horton Hears A Who! new and old, plus Justice League: The New Frontier!

Horton Hears A Who!: Deluxe Edition

For Horton fans, this is a worthy re-issue, while Seuss fans will be in their element with the feature-length documentary feature In Search Of Dr Seuss!

Horton Hears a Who!

While not faithful 100 percent, Horton Hears a Who! is close enough to Seuss’ original to be a perfectly fun film.

Justice League – The New Frontier: Special Edition

In the 1950s, the emergence of the Justice League helps America heal after a decade of paranoia and fear.

Batman: Gotham Knights voice cast announced

Currently featured on Toon Zone is an article announcing the voice cast of the upcoming direct-to-DVD project, Batman: Gotham Knights. Playing Batman will be fan-favorite Kevin Conroy, who has voiced the character in numerous other animated outings starring the superhero. Gary Dourdan, Ana Ortiz, David McCallum, and Parminder Nagra will also voicing major characters. Batman: […]

Persepolis to return to theaters

Yahoo! News reports that the Academy Award nominated film Persepolis will be returning to 100 screens in the United States on April 11th. This time around, the animated autobiography will feature the English language, replacing the subtitles the film sported in its first run. Included in the cast are Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Sean Penn, […]

Trey Parker and Matt Stone talk South Park and more

AV Club has an interview with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone wherein they talk about the show, writing the hardest episodes and why they don’t want to make any more movies. Parker also talks about his collaboration with Matt over the years, the show’s tight schedule and why he never enjoyed making […]

Exclusive! Enchanted’s Kevin Lima and Chris Chase on their fairytale experience

Concluding Animated Views’ extensive Enchanted coverage, Jeremie Noyer speaks to the two men who made it all happen: director Kevin Lima and executive producer Chris Chase. The discussion is highlighted with some beautiful, never before seen development artwork chosen especially for us by them both, as they reveal how they finally brought the long on […]