Animation Blast has updated with information that the new Disney animated film Lorenzo, directed by Mike Gabriel from a Joe Grant concept, will be showing as a short feature with Joel and Ethan Coen’s film The Ladykillers, which stars Tom Hanks and Marlon Wayans and is set to open in wide release March 26th, 2004.

BadBadRubberPiggy.com (aka BBRP) has again been a valuable source of Zimmy DVD goodness. The main page’s recent posts include an enormous DVD ad and a sneak peek at a new line of ZIM figures coming from Palisades Toys. A release date of May 11th has been set for the first DVD volume, “Doom Doom Doom“. […]

A.O. Scott of the New York Times gives a quick and lenient review of Clifford’s Really Big Movie, stating that “Clifford will provide preschoolers with comfort and amusement, though not rapture or enchantment. They will probably not mind the clumsy, gaudy animation, which lamely tries to bring more color and dimension to the simple, soothing […]

The LA Times comments on the problems that the shiny new Walt Disney Concert Hall is causing. Opened only as of October 23rd last year, the stainless steel design of the hall is causing a fairly problematic glare on the condominiums across the street. “To a handful of condo owners whose units face the Disney […]

In a short article from the Los Angeles Times today, “[Roy and Stan] opposed Comcast Corp.’s $50-billion bid for the Burbank entertainment giant as too low. In a letter to company shareholders Friday, Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold said the Philadelphia-based cable operator’s bid substantially undervalued the company. But the two used the […]

The Internet Movie Database has Larry the Cable Guy listed as part of the cast of Cars, with Randy Newman providing the film’s music.

According to DVD Answers, The Triplets of Belleville should be available on DVD, May 4, with bonus features including commentary on selected scenes, two featurettes and a music video. However, this news has yet to be confirmed officially. Thanks to “CaptainJasHook” for the heads up! Also on the animated DVD front: Toon Zone reports that […]

CNN.com has both a summary and a transcript of Michael Eisner’s interview last night on Larry King Live. Thanks to Toon Zone for the notice. Also, Michael at Mickeyfan’s website has posted an edited version of the transcript, in which he has corrected double talk, unintelligible language, hesitations, and comments that have nothing to do […]

First it was the battle of the bugs, then we got not one but two asteroids-heading-to-Earth flicks, two Latin-American set comedies, and a couple of mythical monsters in the running for the same Oscar prize. Now, following the fact that October’s SharkTale will try to swim into Nemo‘s waters, and that Disney is working on […]

Toon Zone reports that the re-branded Jetix action-toon blocks on ABC Family and Toon Disney (which we {{link http://www.animatedviews.com/wp-content/uploads/archives/00000602.html originally revealed here}}) have brought “ratings improvements for both channels, versus previous weeks and year-ago numbers”. Links to Disney’s official numbers, which programs performed the best, and other details can be found at {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=103046 Toon […]

Yessir folks, “Uncle Mikey” himself will appear on Larry King Live tonight on CNN – in an exclusive first interview since the Comcast Corp.’s hostile takeover bid. How will Eisner defend the company’s current regime? Tune in tonight at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT to find out!

Animation World Network has the scoop on a new Disney short entitled Lorenzo, which is set to premier at the Florida Film Festival in Orlando, March 6, 2004. The short is a 2D/3D hybrid inspired by Joe Grant’s idea of “a fat and sassy cat terrorized by its own tail into a fit of ballroom […]

Following the IMDb News Brief posted below, the Los Angeles Times‘ full speculative article about the politics behind the Roy Disney-produced short Destino is quite an interesting read. “Many veteran animators who have long seen Roy Disney as a champion of their art form have a wish: they want Walt’s nephew to win the statuette […]

CBS Marketwatch reports that Pixar’s shares jumped this morning on rumor of a Sony buyout. Apparently, the consumer electronic giant wants to offer $75 a share for the house of Nemo. Pixar is currently trading at about $70. Analysts aren’t giving the idea much credence. Pixar Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Jobs controls 60 percent […]

The {{link http://www.imdb.com/StudioBrief/#1 Internet Movie Database}} today reports that “The Walt Disney Company has hired corporate lawyer Martin Lipton, famed for developing strategies used by companies to avoid hostile takeovers. Lipton is credited with developing the ‘poison pill’ defense, a corporate strategy aimed at inflating the cost of a takeover, usually by issuing new shares […]

\\{{link http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117900376?categoryid=13&cs=1 Variety}}\\ reports that Sony Pictures Animation has greenlit \\Open Season\\ as its first film. “\\Open Season\\ tells the story of a 900-pound domesticated grizzly bear named Boog and a scrawny, one-horned mule deer named Elliot who are stranded together in the woods during hunting season. It’s up to the duo to rally all […]

{{link http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=10291 Animated World Network}} reports that MGM Vice Chairman and COO Chris McGurk has been in talks with Pixar Animation Studios about a distribution partnership. McGurk is quoted saying that MGM would be “the best fit” for Pixar because of its worldwide distribution apparatus and because MGM doesn’t possess any competitive animated films or […]

Sylvain Chomet’s Les Triplettes De Belleville was awared the prize for Best French Film of 2003 at the Lumières Awards in Paris on Tuesday night. “The film is also in competition in two categories at this year’s Oscar awards, Best Animated Film and Best Original Song”, reports today’s {{link http://www.imdb.com/StudioBrief/#1 IMDB Studio Brief}}. “The Lumières […]

Decide for yourself, after reading the article at Jim Hill Media.

Ain’t It Cool News takes a sneak peek at a few upcoming Disney animated releases, including The Incredibles, Chicken Little (including a description of its upcoming teaser trailer), and The Wild.

Many reviews of The Lion King 1½ have made mention of the similarity between The Lion King‘s Timon and Pumbaa and Hamlet‘s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Now, thanks to an alert from Kristin, we have proof that this analogy was made all the way back in 1994. Check out the transcript of an interview with voice […]

Coming Soon! reports on an upcoming computer-animated feature from Walt Disney Feature Animation entitled The Wild about a boy who spends a late night at the New York Zoo and accidentally gets trapped in a crate and shipped to Africa along with some of the animals. The movie is set to appear summer 2005. Looks […]

At the {{link http://www.wordplayer.com/forums/movies/index.cgi?read=62799 WordPlayer forums}}, \\Aladdin\\ writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio confirm that they were interviewed for the upcoming Platinum Edition of the film. Rossio adds that: Even though \\Aladdin\\ is the 3rd highest selling video of all time (behind \\Titanic\\ and \\Lion King\\) and even though the writers receive zero dimes from […]

The {{link http://empirefanfest.com/empirefanfest/schedule.htm Empire Fan Fest}} has a picture of a newly redesigned \\SharkTale\\ logo. The convention will also air some footage from \\Ghost in the Shell 2\\ at the DreamWorks booth.

Amid Amidi’s Animation Blast reports on censorship run amok in the form of “the US Department of Education is declaring nearly 200 TV programs inappropriate for close-caption funding and denying federal grant requests to make them accessible to the hearing-impaired.” If you think it’s adult cartoons such as Stripperella getting cut, think again. It’s mainstream, […]

DVD Answers has the cover artwork for the region two release of the Fraggle Rock DVD, set to arrive in stores on May 4. Thanks to ‘CaptainJasHook’ in the Animated News Forum for the heads up!

Always on the pulse with new goings on in the world of film, {{link http://www.aintitcool.com/ Ain’t It Cool News}} weighs in with several new updates of interest to animation fans. Firstly, an “insider” plays up the upcoming DTV release of {{link http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=17019 Mickey’s Three Musketeers}}, really going to great lengths to promote this as “the […]

Coming Soon! reports that The Walt Disney Company and The Jim Henson Company revealed today that under a new agreement, Disney will receive the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House properties from Henson. This new deal includes all Muppet assets, including the Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and Animal characters, the Muppet […]

Warner Bros and Ambient Entertainment are releasing the first CG movie ever produced in Germany. Back to Gaya is the story of two gnomes, Boo and Sinu, who live in “Gaya”, a virtual paradise in a TV series. When an evil scientist steals a charm stone terribly important to them, they have to live their […]

{{link http://money.cnn.com/2004/02/17/news/companies/comcast_disney/index.htm CNN}} reports that a source at Comcast says the company is not interested in buying Disney at current prices. Disney’s stock rose to a three year high after Comcast’s offer was announced. However, “the source also said that the Comcast’s offer is not being withdrawn, nor is it dropping its interest in a […]