The Guardian (UK) has released their list of the forty best directors in the world today, and Hayao Miyazaki is in the eighth position, just below Errol Morris and above David Cronenberg. On his films, they wrote, “[Miyazaki’s] films create the world anew, literally. Each is set in an intricate, self-contained fantasy world that’s been […]

Baby Stewie could be staging a comeback. In a sign of the growing importance of DVD sales to Hollywood, 20th Century Fox is considering a plan to resume production of Family Guy, a sometimes crude animated comedy that the Fox network took off the air more than 18 months ago. As many as 35 new […]

Famous French comic book artist Enki Bilal is directing a CG adaptation of his Nikopol trilogy (La foire aux immortels, 1980, La femme piège, 1986, and Froid Equateur, 1992). Set in a futuristic Paris where ancient Egyptian gods come back to life, Immortel (Ad Vitam) is scheduled for a March 2004 release and wll star […]

As the day draws on, various entertainment and news channels are all running stories on Mickey’s 75th, most of them touching on his Steamboat Willie roots and looking to the future, with first-look clips from the 2D feature Three Musketeers, the 3D them park attraction Mickey’s Philharmagic and next Christmas’ 3D video title Twice Upon […]

Perhaps illustrating just exactly how important the creation of Mickey Mouse was, and continues to be, to the animation industry, {{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/ Animation Magazine}}’s website today launches with a great splash page montage featuring stills and rare audio featuring Walt Disney as Mickey from 1948 – celebrating the Mouse’s 20th Birthday! Once the clip has […]

{{link http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808403007&intl=us Greg’s Previews}} reports that the U.S. release date for \\Kaena: The Prophecy\\ has been set for June 4th, 2004. The film will debut in New York and Los Angeles on that day before opening in wider release on a later date.

The California Supreme Court will review a lower court ruling that holds Disneyland “to the same passenger safety requirements as operators of buses, trains, taxi cabs, escalators and ski lifts” according to {{link http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-disney18nov18235631,1,4057455.story The L.A. Times}}. Disney believes the higher standard should not apply since amusement park rides are entertainment not public transportation. If […]

Today sees the wide release on DVD of the warm and affectionate 1995 documentary {{link http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000TAYSO/ref=cm_wl_ovu-pg.1-pos.1/002-1902555-2863210?v=glance&coliid=I1XWCRLQV3O6K1&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER Frank And Ollie}}, an inside look at the lives of two of Walt’s fabled “Nine Old Men”. Previously available on a pan-and-scan VHS, this new Special Edition goes some way to cheering up those who were left disappointed by […]

On the evening of November 18th 1928, a showbiz legend was born – Mickey Mouse flashed across the screen of the Colony Theater in NYC and danced and sung his way through Steamboat Willie. The actual singing of a character (at that point in animation or live-action) was still revolutionary, after the initial success of […]

A recent article at Film Force discusses Disney’s Brother Bear from a deep Campbellian and Jungian perspective by exploring its archetypes and the hero’s journey that Kenai takes in the film. It also dignifies the roles of the fraternal moose pair, Rutt and Tuke, by showing that they are more than mere comic relief but […]

As if learning about the cancellation of My Peoples wasn’t bad enough, now director Guillermo Del Toro (the Blade movies, Hellboy) has revealed that he is no longer attached to the Wind in the Willows adaption, a project that Disney had once hoped would do for it what Lord of the Rings did for New […]

{{link http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-1117mickeymouse,0,3592155.story?coll=sfla-business-front The Sun-Sentinel}} looks back on the career of one Mr Mouse, who will be celebrating 75 years in the buisiness on Tuesday, November 18th. It was 75 years ago this day that Walt Disney premiered the groundbreaking cartoon Steamboat Wiliie, the one (to coin an often too used phrase) that started it all! […]

Those were the words Pixar CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement to {{link http://www.videobusiness.com/article.asp?articleID=6533&catType=NEWS Video Business Online}} today, which announced that Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo has become the industry’s biggest selling title on home video, with 15 million DVDs and a further 5 million videocassettes sold in the first 12 days of release. Sales have […]

Perhaps more known for his infamous animated features Fritz The Cat and the recently DVD-issued live-action/cartoon combo Cool World, director Ralph Bakshi remains an interesting figure on the fringe. Now, {{link http://www.thedigitalbits.com/rumormill.html The Digital Bits Rumor Mill}} announces that he is down to record an audio commentary for his 1977 fantasy Wizards, “due next year […]

Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz will take over the role of Zoser in Disney Theatricals’ \\Aida\\ on January 6, according to {{link http://www.broadway.com/template_1.asp?CI=32162&CT=38 Broadway.com}}

\\{{link http://www.latimes.com/la-et-horn16nov16,1,3968503.story The L.A. Times}}\\ takes a look at how cost-cutting at Hollywood studios doesn’t apply to their efforts to win awards. “Disney has pink-slipped scores of animators in Paris, Tokyo and Orlando, Fla. It’s penny-pinching time across Hollywood – except when it comes to awards-season campaigning, where there’s still plenty of room for $5,000-a-day […]

As we reported last week, Disney has shut down production on its 2D/3D-mixed animated film My Peoples, which has had a troubled history, going through re-writes and strange titles galore: A Few Good Ghosts, Once In a Blue Moon and Angel and Her No Good Sister being among them. Now the {{link http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-fi-disney15nov15,2,6422473.story Los Angeles […]

‘disneyaholic’ on our {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=94 Animated News Forum}} points to a {{link http://magicalears.com/films/animation/ComingUp/FutureReleases.php complete listing}} of Disney DVD and VHS titles (though LD is listed as a format, there are no new planned releases) for the next few months. Many of these look to be price drops and re-prints of older titles, but it’s exciting […]

Steve Ogden’s excellent {{link http://www.animwatch.com/ AnimWatch}} website, which keeps an eye on all developments in the world of independent animation, has just been updated to feature details on nine new films this month, including Aardman’s latest Creature Comforts and The Triplets Of Belleville. With the continual closing of the big US studios’ 2D departments, the […]

The Big Cartoon Database has just kicked off a new feature, {{link http://forum.bcdb.com/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view&post=14707 The Animated Word}}, which will be a review coulmn on new animated films and DVD releases. Alex Weitzman’s first pick is Looney Tunes: Back In Action – he thinks it’s pretty good…so what are you waiting for? Rush out Sunday and bump […]

‘dtemplar’ in the {{link http://forums.toontitan.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=17831#post17831 DVD Toons Forum}} posted that “Penny Singleton, who brought Jane to life on Hanna-Barbera’s 1962 primetime cartoon The Jetsons, died in California Wednesday two weeks after suffering a stroke. She was 95. Singleton is also known for creating the role of Blondie (of Dagwood and Blondie fame) on the big […]

The company responsible for such great shorts as Luxo Jr, Knick Knack and For The Birds has done it again. The recently completed Boundin’ is described as a charming, funny piece in the spirit of Disney’s cartoon Pecos Bill. No word yet on when and where it will premiere, though it’s a good guess that […]

Looney Tunes: Back In Action, which opened in 2903 theaters this weekend, failed to find an audience on its opening day bringing in only $2,140,000 in a distant seventh place. This does not fare well for the $85 million budgeted feature, as more family competition is to be expected this holiday season. Brother Bear, on […]

The next time you pop in the Finding Nemo DVD for the kids, or for yourself (wink – wink, you big kid you), don’t be so hasty to hit the play button. Just let the main menu sit there for a minute and be ready to laugh. I wouldn’t have gotten this if I didn’t […]

‘MusicFan’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=411#post411 Animated News Forum}} pointed us towards {{link http://www.scriptsales.com/DDScriptSales.htm Done Deal’s sales page}}, regularly updated to provide information on the hottest selling scripts and treatments in Hollywood. Seems that Disney Feature Animation has just bought the rights to Which Witch?, a novel by Eva Ibbotson that tells of a wizard who […]

{{link http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=16504 Ain’t It Cool}} is back this morning with their latest update in the world of Japanese animation. Check out the link for a round up of all the breaking news concerning Manga/anime titles, including recent and coming soon releases!

{{link http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?r=0&s=1&c=2730&n=1&burl= DVD Answers}} have posted slightly revised cover art for the upcoming region one release of Lion King 1½. Follow the link to see the new look, and thanks to ‘Buzz’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/index.php?s= Animated News Forums}} for the alert!

A source in the heart of the animation industry “heard today that the My Peoples project has today been cancelled and there is no back up project as of now”. The film, which has been in production for over a year now at Disney’s Florida Animation unit, mixes 2D and 3D with a voice cast […]

In a very expected move (it’s been rumored for months), Ghostbusters and Evolution director Ivan Reitman has been announced by MGM as responsible for continuing the Pink Panther live-action movie franchise. {{link http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2029268 The Hollywood Reporter}} also states that none other than Steve Martin (currently starring as the twisted head of the Acme Corporation in […]

If you just haven’t made it to the theater to see this new Joe Dante film yet, or you’re stuck outside the United States, then the French site {{link http://www.cinemovies.fr/fiche_extrait.php?IDfilm=1579 CineMovies}} has a treat in store: ten lengthy clips from Back In Action! These are probably of most interest to those in the UK, who […]