Belleville Rendezvous (The Triplets Of Belleville) will get one final showing on the BBC 4 digital cable channel, tonight (Saturday) at 11.30pm.

Set to retail on January 27th, {{link http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008EY6Q/qid=1074953040//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl74/102-4687562-8010520?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846 The Critic: The Complete Series}} brings together all 23 episodes from seasons one and two, as well as a few other surprises! Speculation across the web also has wish-listers including the 2000 follow-up “webisode” series in the set. Initial reports confim a “short film” compliation, which many […]

Just got a chance to see the Klein/Newton Annie Award Nominee Boys Night Out and can say that I wholeheartedly agree with Animation Blast’s Amid Amidi’s appraisal that it is a “cartoonist’s cartoon.” The feature is a dark comedy about a stepfather who has to reluctantly watch his stepson while his wife enjoys a little […]

Disney’s new TV series premieres today at 5:30 on the Disney Channel. This new animated comedy series is set in the Middle Ages and follows the title character, Dave’s comedic adventures with his family (with his sisters Candy and Fang) as they protect themselves and their family from a world of oddball foes. Dave himself […]

{{link http://www.nynewsday.com/ny-kangaroo0123,0,1776938.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-left NY Newsday}} reports that Bob Keeshan, TV’s Captain Kangaroo, has died at the age of 76. \\Captain Kangaroo\\ “premiered on CBS in 1955 and ran for 30 years before moving to public television for six more. It was wildly popular among children and won six Emmy Awards, three Gabriels and three Peabody Awards”. […]

{{link http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/index.htm?../articles/01232004.1.htm~contentFrame Jim Hill}} looks back at the careers of two of Disney’s best directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, on their last day working for Disney. The pair kickstarted the second Golden Age of Animation in the late 1980’s with \\The Great Mouse Detective\\ and \\The Little Mermaid\\. They went on to direct \\Aladdin\\, […]

\\Variety\\ reports (via {{link http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3133 ComingSoon.net}}) that DreamWorks is already fast-tracking production of \\Shrek 3\\ and \\Shark Tale 2\\, months before the first \\Shrek\\ sequel is released and more than half a year before the release of the first \\Shark Tale\\! In \\Shrek 3\\ the “green ogre will tackle the legend of King Arthur and […]

According to Central Florida’s local CBS affiliate {{link http://www.local6.com/news/2782804/detail.html Local6}}, Disney has sold the town center of Celebration – a city they created. The sale ends “the entertainment giant’s most visible connection to an experiment with urban planning”. The town center, which encompasses “18 acres containing 16 retail shops, six full-service restaurants, more than 94,000 […]

{{link http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/01/22/obit.woodbridge.ap/index.html CNN}} reports that \\Mad\\ magazine illustrator George Woodbridge has died of emphysema at 73. Woodbridge worked at the mag for nearly 50 years and his “exquisitely detailed pen-and-ink drawings were featured in nearly every issue”. \\Mad\\ Editor John Ficarra said that “he had a tremendous eye for detail that showed up in his […]

Masamune Shirow’s other manga, Appleseed is getting the CG treatment. The new movie will be directed by Aramaki Shinji and produced by Sori Fumihiko, the director of last years hit Japanese live action movie Ping Pong. The movie will be 100% computer animated, but will retain the 2D look of the original manga. 21-year-old actress […]

{{link http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/20/serkis.gollum/index.html CNN}} has an interesting report on Andy Serkis, his new book, and the creation of Gollum for \\The Lord of the Rings\\. The book is called \\Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic\\ and contains Serkis’ point of view of the character’s creation from the beginning (his agent told him this job would consist […]

The complete list of songs appearing in the upcoming Disney interquel The Lion King 1½ was recently released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. It appears to be an eclectic mix of all new material, each of the five principal songs from the first movie, and several songs “borrowed” from pop music, classical music, Broadway, and […]

Toonzone {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=100358 reports}} Teen Titans’ Sunday telecast was Cartoon Network’s highest rated episode of the week among key demographics, the network said today, as the superhero series scored its best-ever ratings and delivery. The episode was Cartoon Network’s #1 show among kids 6-11, who lifted the episode more than 70% over the same time […]

Animation World Network {{link http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=10093 reports}} The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has denied an appeal by Clare Milne and Disney to recapture the rights under copyright to Winnie the Pooh from the Slesinger family, originally granted in an agreement with author A. A. Milne in the ’30s. This appeal was […]

Animax Asia (Asia’s first 24 hour anime channel) started broadcasting last January 19 to several Asian territories including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the rest of South Asia. The network is currently broadcasting several anime titles including Astro Boy, Chobits, GetBackers, Texhnolyze, GTO and more. Here’s to more anime on Animax soon!

Animation World Network {{link http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=10092 reports}} two popular Japanese Anime series will debut on Cartoon Network in April. Gundam Seed will air on the network’s weekend Action Block. The debut will roughly coincide with the release of the first volume of the Gundam Seed manga from Del Rey on April 30. Detective Conan will air […]

According to {{link http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=10091 AWN}} former animators of the now defunct Disney Feature Animation facility in Orlando may have more opportunites to find work without having to move back to California. Raven Animation Inc., formed by {{link http://www.ravenmoon.net/ Raven Moon Entertainment}}, plans to run a studio in the Orlando area. Raven Moon CEO Joey DiFrancesco […]

New \\SpongeBob SquarePants\\ episodes aired on Monday night, but if you missed them you are in luck. An encore presentation of the episodes “Plankton’s Army” and “Missing Identity” will air again tonight at 8:30pm ET on Nick. Production of the TV show has ground to a virtual halt and new episodes are few and far […]

According to the {{link http://www.ntv.co.jp/ghibli/diary_g/index.html Studio Ghibli Production Diary}} (English translation available from {{link http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/howl/diary.html Naussica.net}}), storyboarding for \\Howl’s Moving Castle\\ has been completed. {{link http://www.animenewsnetwork.com Anime News Network}} reports that “at just under 1400 storyboards \\Howl\\ has slightly more storyboards than \\Spirited Away\\”.

Pentamedia Graphics’ \\Pandavas – The Five Warriors\\, the first full-length 3D computer animated film to be created and produced in India, will be released on DVD and VHS in North America by Eagle One Media on April 20, 2004. \\Pandavas – The Five Warriors\\ is “based on the classic Indian tale from one of India’s […]

{{link http://animationhq.net/ AnimationHQ}} announced that they will be holding an online chat with voice actor Gregg Berger. His list of credits include Donatello in \\Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\\; Grimlock, Long Haul, Outback #2, Skyfire, and TORQ III in \\Transformers\\; Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio in the \\Spider-Man\\ series; Cornfed Pig in \\Duckman\\, Motorviper in \\G.I. […]

The {{link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3408799.stm BBC}} reports that a new animated version of the classic children’s story \\The Little Prince\\ has been greenlit by Pathé Pictures, one of the producers behind \\Chicken Run\\. Francois Ivernel, managing director of Pathé, said “\\The Little Prince’s\\ magical words and images are deeply rooted in the imagination of generations of children […]

{{link http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=Simpsons%20Sports%20Moments1 ESPN}} counts down the top 100 sports moments from the 14 seasons of \\The Simpsons\\, a show that “regularly packs more memorable sports moments into its episodes than some MLB teams do in a season”. ESPN writer Greg Collins says it was “a painstaking process that involved viewing dozens of episodes, along with […]

A new book called \\The New York Times Essential Library: Children’s Movies\\, by film critic Peter M. Nichols, picks the best 100 children’s movies – but it looks beyond “traditional forms of children’s entertainment to assemble a collection of films that are stimulating for the whole family, including adults”. Some of the films include some […]

So big I don’t think there is a rod and reel combo big enough to pull this big boy in. Not only did Finding Nemo move up to the #8 World Wide Movie of all time slot, it did it with some style and a few extra bucks. If it can pull in another 40 […]

The Writers Guild of America has announced its television nominees for this year, and The Simpsons takes the lead with three out of six nods for animation writing. {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=100236 Toon Zone}} has the full list, and a link to the WGA stite.

The {{link http://www.impawards.com/2004/scooby_doo_two_ver3.html Internet Movie Poster Awards}} unveiled four new Scooby images promoting the upcoming Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

{{link http://vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=10076 VFXWorld}} reports that Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee in \\The Lord of the Rings\\) has mentioned in an interview that he is in the running to direct the film version of \\The Fantastic Four\\. “Upon the success of his short film, \\The Long and Short of It\\, which he filmed while making \\The Lord […]

UPDATE: Pixar has {{link http://www.pixar.com/shorts/bdn/ posted a sneak peak}} of their latest animated short film \\Boundin’\\ on their website! And after seeing the clip I can honestly say that I have never looked so forward to seeing an animated short! The story is told in song (with an old-timey western theme) and is about a […]

Yahoo! Finance reveals that Disney’s Teacher’s Pet opened at #13, with only $2.4 million. A spokeswoman for the Walt Disney Company described the film’s performace as being “pretty much on target.” Teacher’s Pet was budgeted at less than $10 million, according to industry insiders.