{{link http://forum.bcdb.com/gforum.cgi?post=17866 The Big Cartoon Database}} has a report that suggests that “the closure of Disney’s Orlando feature animation unit signals that an extension of the entertainment giant’s deal with Pixar Animation Studios is nigh”. According to a quoted analyist, if the Disney/Pixar deal were going to fall through, Disney would probably be ramping up […]

AWN has posted an {{link http://mag.awn.com/index.php?article_no=1965 Annie Award Voting Reference Guide}}. The “reference and resource list for all the nominated properties” has links to official websites, trailers, clips, pictures, and feature articles from Animation World Magazine and VFXWorld.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has {{link http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2003/04.01.12.html announced}} the winners of this years’ Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Awards. Several awards relate to the art of special effects animation, including one to Stephen Regelous “for the design and development of Massive, the autonomous agent animation system used for the battle sequences […]

{{link http://www.broadway.com/template_1.asp?CI=33352&CT=38 Broadway.com}} reports that “as it is every year, the first week of January was a tough one on Broadway. Every single show was down from the previous week”. \\Beauty and the Beast\\ took one of the biggest hits “down a whopping $517,296 from the week ending January 4”.

Despite the release of Tim Burton’s latest, Big Fish, which with $13.8 million didn’t quite manage to dislodge Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King from the top slot, the Peter Jackson motion picture behemoth continued to trail blaze through the charts, flying past the $300 million mark this weekend with a $14.2 million […]

{{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=99501 Toon Zone}} posted a fun little article on music professor Daniel Goldmark, who uses cartoons in the classroom to introduce students to the musical classics! Check it out at {{link http://www.cw.ua.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/01/12/400248b022276 The Crimson White}}.

{{link http://www.savedisney.com Save Disney.com}} this morning has a slightly new look (a full upgraded site is on the way), with Legacy Animation Studios’ Eddie Pittman offering up a visual take on the closing of WDFA-Florida. The page also re-prints Disney’s official statement regarding the Studio, which has president David Stainton announcing that “this difficult decision […]

Variety reveals that Paramount is developing a live-action/CGI animated version of The Trumpet of the Swan, the last children’s book from author E.B. White, who also wrote Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web. Miss Congeniality co-writer Katie Ford is set to write the film. The Trumpet of the Swan has previously been adapted for the screen […]

The New York Post is reporting that a deal to begin production on new Family Guy episodes “could even be announced as early as this week, according to sources.” “We’re sort of waiting on an official word, but to the best of my knowledge, the plan is to start producing a batch of new episodes […]

Pirates of the Caribbean took home the award for “Favorite Motion Picture,” at the 30th annual People’s Choice Awards, which aired on CBS last night. Johnny Depp, however, lost to Mel Gibson for “Favorite Motion Picture Actor,” while Bruce Almighty beat Finding Nemo for “Favorite Comedy Motion Picture.” Visit the People’s Choice Awards’ official site […]

Miramax’s \\My Baby’s Daddy\\, which opened in the top five this past weekend, had some help from animation studio {{link http://www.Noodlesoup.net/ Noodlesoup Productions}}. Noodlesoup animated the opening minutes of the film, their second such project for Disney-owned Miramax. “We’re excited that Miramax has such faith in Noodlesoup Productions and has given us the opportunity to […]

Comics2Film reports that the new animated Spider-Man series is coming to DVD tomorrow. Produced by Mainframe Entertainment, the series uses cel shaded CG to bring to life our favourite web spinner. The two disc set collects the complete first season of the show, that aired on MTV starting last July. Have a look at the […]

{{link http://www.tvshowsondvd.com TVShowsOnDVD.com}} {{link http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=954 reports}} that {{link http://www.amazon.com Amazon}} is taking {{link http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001A7V1U/qid%3D1073927525/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-5189550-6849708 pre-orders}} for DVD release of the season two finale Star Crossed. “When a Thanagarian force arrives and occupies Earth, Hawkgirl is torn between loyalty to her homeland and love of her adopted planet.” That’s the Cartoon-Network-supplied synopsis that’s been floating around […]

{{link http://www.animationinsider.net/news.php Animation Insider}} {{link http://www.animationinsider.net/news.php news}} has posted that According to financial statements released by {{link http://www.marvel.com/ Marvel Entertainmant}} , a new animated series based on the popular Blade movies is in development for {{link http://www.mtv.com MTV}}. The series will be targeted at an adult audience, and is likely still in the early developmental […]

Harry Knowles of {{link http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=16759 Ain’t It Cool News}} has posted a letter by Jim Hill that has several juicy news nuggets! – Disney Imagineers are preparing a new attraction for the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World called “Stitch’s Great Escape”. The show needed a “a few minutes of new traditionally animated footage featuring […]

The official {{link http://www.garfieldmovie.com/home.html Garfield}} website still lists June 18th as the release date for the film. However, {{link http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/g/garfield.php ComingSoon.net}} reports the release date as June 25th. Does ComingSoon.net have a scoop on a change? Or perhaps the film is going to have a limited opening on the 18th before opening wide a week […]

{{link http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=2969 ComingSoon.net}} has posted a picture of Tom Hanks’ character in \\The Polar Express\\ taken from the latest issue of \\Entertainment Weekly\\ (go to ComingSoon.net for larger version). The magazine also explains how the film is being made. [Writer/Director Robert] Zemeckis is employing motion-capture technology to place Hanks inside what he calls a “moving […]

{{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=99470 Toon Zone}} points to another Wilbur in the news today – Wilbur Post, the long-suffering human friend to the world’s most famous talking horse, Mr Ed. As MGM Home Entertainment gets set to release a new DVD collection, The Best Of Mister Ed: Volume One, next week, actor Alan Young, who went on […]

{{link http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/critics.choice.awards.reut/index.html CNN Online}} just posted a story on Saturday’s Annual Critics’ Choice Awards, where Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King was named best picture, also snagging awards for best director, ensemble cast and composer. The story confirms that Jackson spoke via satellite from his native New Zealand, where […]

Walt Disney Feature Animation-Florida will today officially close its doors, putting over 250 talented artists, technicians and animators out of work, as well as depriving the public of a chance to see how the magic was made. The animators’ desks themselves were a featured part of an attraction at Walt Disney World in Orlando, which […]

{{link http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=industryNews&storyID=4104323 Reuters News}} reports that Time Warner and MetroGoldwynMayer have ended initial talks that would see the two companies merge. The overall price for MGM and the “structure of the deal” (read that Warners wanted to suck MGM into its fold, like New Line and Castle Rock, whereas MGM would have wanted “An MGM […]

No silly, it’s Pixar’s latest Oscar worthy short directed by Industry vet Bud Luckey. VFXworld has a great article with some amazing images and detailed information about the production. Go take a peek, but you need to register with the site, no big, it’s FREE.

According to Yahoo! Finance, Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and David Stainton, president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, revealed today that an animated film based on William Joyce’s bestselling book A Day with Wilbur Robinson will be produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Executive produced by Clark Spencer (Lilo & Stitch) and […]

Be sure to visit the Internet Movie Database‘s Daily Poll, which poses the question, “Do you think Ellen DeGeneres should receive an Oscar nomination for her voice performance in Finding Nemo?”

Cable network Trio will be airing a documentary called \\Shocked\\ about \\South Park\\ creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker on March 7th according to \\{{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=1959 Animation Magazine}}\\. “The show will chronicle the subversive duo’s rise from the obscurity of Internet entertainment to media mogul status. \\South Park\\ began with a crudely animated video Christmas […]

{{link http://www.animationblast.com/ Animation Blast}} reports that Klasky Csupo “is apparently not doing so well nowadays. Rumor has it that their staff has dwindled to around 30 people, and that they’re moving from their fancy digs on Sunset Blvd back into their old studio on Highland and Fountain”. {{link http://www.klaskycsupo.com/ Klasky Csupo}}’s work includes \\The Simpsons\\, […]

{{link http://www.bfca.org/ The Broadcast Film Critics Association}} announced the winners of their Critics Choice Awards. \\Finding Nemo\\ won for Best Animated Film, but lost the Best Picture award to \\The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King\\. \\Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl\\ won for Best Live Action Family […]

The {{link http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=industryNews&storyID=4105748 Reuters News Agency}} is saying that the Orlando Sentinel has reported that Disney is expected to close its Florida Animation department and make an official announcement on Monday 12 January. More as soon as we have it.

Informed by a “highly reliable source,” Comics2Film reports that Warner Bros. Animation has greenlit a television series, starring Superman’s dog Krypto. Comics2Film’s source was not clear as to which network (Cartoon Network, Kids WB! or some other outlet) that the show, targeted at younger viewers, is planned for. Thanks to Superhero Hype! for the heads […]

Opening in a wider, but still very limited, release on January 16th, Tokyo Godfathers, from director Satoshi Kon (Millennium Actress), has had its {{link http://www.sonypictures.com/cthe/tokyogodfathers/ American website}} updated by Sony Pictures. As well as crew bios and story details, the site also features the film’s {{link http://www.sonypictures.com/cthe/tokyogodfathers/trailer.html US trailer}}, which goes about sellling the film […]