{{link http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808405700 Greg’s Previews}} reports the rumor (first heard from {{link http://www.variety.com Variety}}) that Pixar is considering a slight name change for John Lasseter’s next film, \\Cars\\. The possibly renamed \\The Cars\\ is heading for a 2005 release.

The {{link http://www.ultimatedisney.com/ Ultimate Disney DVD}} fansite takes a look back at an almost forgotten Disney “Package Feature” from 1948, the anthology film Melody Time, in a {{link http://www.ultimatedisney.com/melodytime.html new review}} posted on the site. The Package Features were Walt’s way of continuing production during and after World War Two, when many foreign markets were […]

With previews out in LA and NY, {{link http://www.canoe.ca/JamMovies/oct26_collins-sun.html Jam Movies}} has a talk with the composer of Disney’s latest animated feature. In a fairly in-depth interview, Collins opens up about his creative process, writing for Disney films, as well as a take on his friend Sting’s troubled collaboration with the Studio on Kingdom Of […]

This being a rather slow news day, how about stopping over at {{link http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/waltdisney/index.html The Walt Disney Family Museum}}, a wonderful online resource for admirers of Walt himself, populated with memories of working and living with Walt from his many friends and family. “Founded in 1995, the Foundation strives to promote and produce serious discussion, […]

According to Box Office Mojo, Disney’s Brother Bear opened in New York and Los Angles with $285,000 based on Sunday estimates. Brother Bear opens nation-wide this Saturday, November 1st.

The famous animation historian John Canemaker will host a presentation of his new book The Art and Flair of Mary Blair on November 7th at LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Blair, a prolific and gifted designer/colorist, was one of the few woman artists to reach the top creative rungs at the Disney […]

{{link http://www.davisdvd.com/news/daily_news.html DavisDVD}} has Columbia TriStar’s January release slate, which includes (finally!) \\The Critic: The Entire Series\\ on the 27th. The show debuted in 1994, on ABC before being cancelled. It was picked up by FOX where it ran for another season (including a guest apperance by \\Critic\\ Jay Sherman on a crossover episode of […]

{{link http://www.billboard.com/bb/charts/videos/dvd.jsp \\Billboard\\ November 1, 2003 chart}}: 1 – \\The Lion King\\ (Platinum Edition) 10 – \\Sleeping Beauty\\

{{link http://www.billboard.com/bb/charts/videos/sales.jsp \\Billboard\\ November 1, 2003 chart}}: 1 – \\The Lion King\\ (Platinum Edition) 2 – \\Barbie of Swan Lake\\ 5 – \\Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico\\ 7 – \\Sleeping Beauty\\ 8 – \\Stitch! The Movie\\ 10 – \\Bionicle: Mask of Light\\

This week’s anime article on Ain’t It Cool News has some more coverage on Studio Ghibli DVDs in the works. In addition to Porco Rosso (which has been tenatively set for April 2004) and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Disney is also ironing out the kinks on the new English dub for Whispers […]

According to Box Office Mojo, Disney’s Brother Bear gathered $81,362 on its first day of release in New York and Los Angles on Friday. The film opens nation-wide on Saturday, November 1st.

{{link http://www.dvdfanatic.com/news.php?id=0310241 DVDFanatic.com}} reviews the direct to video \\Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman\\. The reviewer believes that “the story just isn’t compelling and the supporting cast doesn’t get to support anything”. However, he says, the “story was never the most compelling part of the Batman cartoon. It’s the look and this is where \\BMOTB\\ delivers. […]

In an in-depth article, {{link http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=1898 AWN}} follows the story behind \\Brother Bear\\, from its inception to its debut. This one is a must read! Besides telling an interesting story, it has a lot of little known trivia including: – part of Michael Eisner’s inspiration in pushing this project forward was “an original landscape he’d […]

{{link http://lightsoutentertainment.com/news/news.php?id=1931 Lights Out Entertainment}} has the first look at the teaser poster for the live-action/CG film \\Garfield\\. The movie, which opens June 18, 2004, features Bill Murray as the title voice, and a screenplay by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, co-writers of \\Toy Story\\.

Deep within the pages of {{link http://homevideo.universalstudios.com/catalog.php?Category=GenreKey&Keywords=Animated Universal Home Video}}’s website, a little digging reveals a date for the Steven Spielberg/Don Bluth 1986 collaboration An American Tail has been set for the film’s eventual video and DVD release! 20th January 2004 is the currently marked red letter day, when fans can also pick up the […]

Mr. Centipede has posted some great new shots from Disney’s upcoming film The Haunted Mansion in the Animated News Forum. It looks like the movie will be a 2-hour version of the ride, with Eddie Murphy as your doom buggy partner.

Jicin has posted art for four different covers for The Lion King 3, of which one will be chosen as the cover for the Dutch edition of the movie. Apparently Dutch fans get to vote on which one they like best.

Laughing Place updates with a recent interview with Ellen Woodbury, who served as the supervising animator for Zazu, Mufasa’s majordomo bird, in Disney’s The Lion King. A great, in-depth interview with many interesting points raised about the art and the science of animation. Ellen talks extensively of her work on Zazu, as well as other […]

USA Today gives a positive review of Brother Bear, calling it warm, fuzzy fun and “a sweet celebration of brotherhood in its many forms.” Cast your vote for the future of traditional, hand-drawn animation by seeing Brother Bear in the theaters. The whole industry will be watching to see how good this movie does. We […]

Toon Zone provides the full details for the Disney Channel animated, made-for-television movie Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time, which will air on November 28, at 8:00, 9:20, and 10:40 p.m.: “In the comedic adventure, the team of Kim Possible/Ron Stoppable is possibly stopped forever when Ron’s family relocates to Norway. Then things go from […]

In old but lesser-known news, Talk Disney offers an interesting piece of trivia: Apparently, Brother Bear is very loosely based on the Native American tale, “The Woman Who Married a Bear“.

The Internet Movie Poster Awards brings us the third poster for Brother Bear. Click here to see it.

In the lead up to the November 7th premiere episode of the Star Wars: Clone Wars “micro-series” on the Cartoon Network, the company has made available some original conceptual work as part of their press kit. {{link http://www.animationblast.com/ Animation Blast}} has scans featuring Anakin, Yoda and Obi-Wan as well as some other Jedi and opposing […]

Jim Hill is back with his latest {{link http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/index.htm?../articles/10242003.1.htm~contentFrame Why For?}} column over at his website today, with an interesting look at Walt Disney’s relationship with Jay Ward and his characters. Seems Walt was quite the Rocky And Bullwinkle fan, an admiration that Ward failed to return Disney’s way. Plus a look at the battle […]

The future does not look bright for \\Brother Bear\\ if the compilation of reviews at {{link http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/BrotherBear-1127071/reviews.php?rtp=1 Rotten Tomatoes}} is right. So far the Disney film already has 15 rotten reviews out of 17, for an abysmal freshness rating of 12%. Keep track as the reviews pour in in advance of next Saturday’s release date.

News is coming in from around the web that the final specs for the upcoming DTV feature will include a THX-certified (a first for a direct-to-video title) 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, Dolby and DTS 5.1 Surround Sound, and a whole heap of bonus materials, gathered on a second disc. Despite the general feeling towards Disney’s video […]

Take a peek inside Mainframe’s Scary Godmother over at CGW. WWOOOOOHHHHHH BOOOOOO I’m scared :)

{{popup Shrek2pussy.jpg Shrek 2 320×300}}Here is your first look at Puss in Boots from Dreamworks’ Shrek 2, which is set to open in May 2004. He is voiced by Antonio Banderas and will definitely be the talk of the summer season next year. (click picture for larger view) From Ain’t It Cool News.com

The Glen Keane directed Disney movie \\Rapunzel\\ has apparently been renamed. According to \\{{link http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106686389992986500,00.html?mod=home%5Fpage%5Fone%5Fus The Wall Street Journal}}\\, the title is now \\Rapunzel Unbraided\\. The \\Journal\\ takes an in-depth look at Disney’s switch from traditional hand drawn animation to computer animation. The story follows traditional animator Keane’s journey as he trades in his pencils […]

Mainframe’s Scary Godmother is set to premiere this Halloween, but how do you keep the cost down and produce a great CG cartoon? Film and Video