Proving that Jim Henson’s Muppets are still a popular line of characters (are you taking note, Mr Eisner?), Palisades Toys has announced the availability and very fast sell out of a new series of Muppet Figures. “The response to Series 8 actually caught us off guard… In a positive way,” says Palisades President and CEO […]

Toon Zone has the details and cover art for Justice League: The Brave and the Bold, Superman: The Animated Series: A Little Piece of Home, and Batman: The Animated Series: Secrets of the Caped Crusader. All three titles will be available in stores on October 19.

As noted on their official site, “Water Warriors is an original concept by Silver Fox Films director Graham Ralph and tells the story of a young frog called Dudley, the smallest frog in the pond. When aliens crash land in their pond, they enslave the pond creatures to help raise their spaceship and then plot […]

Philip Staiger writes in with news on a new version of Dan Ritchie’s animation software, Project Dogwaffle, now available in edition 1.2 as a free updated download. Read the full details on the product here:

TV Shows On DVD have some updates to several highly anticipated animation sets due for release later this year. Follow these links for news on the {{link http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=1829 Looney Tunes Golden Collection 2}} release date and bonus Clampett documentary, the release date set for {{link http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=1828 The Flintstones Season 2}}, a release date for {{link […]

“Joe Carioca” at the Ultimate Disney Forums points out that a brief clip of Disney’s CGI direct-to-video feature Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas is now available at the official Brazilian Disney site. Follow the link to read Joe’s instructions on how to find the clip.

IMAX Corporation and Columbia Pictures today announced that \\Spider-Man 2\\ will be distributed to IMAX theatres worldwide this month. The film will be released to the IMAX network beginning on July 23, 2004. The film is being digitally re-mastered through proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The full press release follows:

Newsarama interviews Adam Beechen and Bill Matheny, the writers for the upcoming comic book spinoffs of The Batman and Justice League Unlimited.

As was reported yesterday, Marlon Brando’s last theatrical role will be as Mrs. Sour, in the independent CG feature Big Bug Man. Now comes word from Variety that Brendan Fraser may provide the title character’s voice in the film, which is already in production at Studio-Free Studios, a new animation pursuit from Bob Bendetson and […]

The trailer for DreamWorks Animation’s Shark Tale has just been added to Apple’s high quality {{link http://www.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/shark_tale/ QuickTime Trailers}} page.

Toon Zone posts a brief but informative {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=115661 review of events}} from this past weekend’s Anime Expo 2004, one of the biggest gatherings of manga and anime fans in the country.

The UK’s Guardian online has reprinted an interview with DreamWorks’ {{link http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1253349,00.html Jeffrey Katzenberg}} by my old pal Jason Solomons from The Observer newspaper. The studio head, currently riding high with Shrek 2, talks about forming a partnership with Spielberg and Geffen, his time with the Mouse House, the move from hand drawn to CG, […]

After having released screen shots of the sub-menus for their upcoming Mickey, Donald, and Goofy DVD feature The Three Musketeers, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has now released a screen grab of the main menu screen. Follow the ‘More’ link to view the image. The official site, which includes three new clips in addition to the […]

Oscar-winning Marlon Brando, who died last week in Hollywood aged 80, had just finished recording his lines for what will eventually be his final screen outing, Big Bug Man. {{link http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040706g.php Dark Horizons}} reports a Variety story about his role in the superhero-ish picture, about how celebrity and success can corrupt the good-hearted. “Brando voices […]

Although he passed away on May 25, the UK’s Guardian newspaper has only recently published an obituary for Ronald ‘Gillie’ Potter, an animator who pioneered the use of special effects in British screen advertising and also contributed visual effects and title work for big screen features including Jurassic Park. Read the full account of his […]

Turning up at eBay are new promotional items for The Incredibles, including a set of theater pins, a banner, and a static cling poster.

As expected, Sony’s Spider-Man 2 has smashed records to become the film with the biggest opening box office numbers. {{link http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=4704 JoBlo.com}} reports that Spidey has broken Matrix Reloaded‘s 6-day take of $146.7m and also beaten Shrek 2‘s recent 4-day holiday cume of $95.6m. From last Wednesday’s day of release to this Monday, the superhero […]

DVD Toons’ Anthony Lizarraga takes an early sneak peek at the WB’s {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/319 Batman: The Animated Series, Volume 1}}, a DVD collection of 28 episodes. “There has never been a truer Batman than the one producers Bruce Timm and Eric Rodomski gave us between 1992 and 1995. American animated television programming was redefined, and […]

Del Walker turns back the clock to take a look at a lost name in the history of animation over at DVD Toons, {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/features/67 Charley Bowers}} – The Story Of An American Comic Genius. Bowers’ life is pretty sketchy, though this extensive article reveals all there is to know about this early stop-motion animator […]

By the end of last week, DreamWorks’ Shrek 2 passed Spider-Man on the all-time {{link http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic.htm domestic grosses list}}, with a take of $404.3m, beating the webbed wonder’s $403.7 pull in 2001. On the worldwide board, Shrek 2 just passed Toy Story 2‘s $485m gross with a $485.3m cume so far, and is nipping at […]

The {{link http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373455725&p=1012571727162 Financial Times}} reports that the descendants of Zulu musician Solomom Linda have filed a lawsuit against Disney in South Africa claiming they are owed $1.6 million in royalties for the popular song The Lion Sleeps Tonight that the company used in their Lion King feature. Copyrights for the song, originally called Mbube, […]

Renart The Fox is a comedy based on the well known fairy tale “Le Roman de Renart.” The film tells the adventure of Renart, an outlaw fox who steals from the rich to help poor kids. Directed by Thierry Schiel and produced by Luxemburg based Oniria Pictures, the movie uses computer graphics to achieve a […]

Over at Jim Hill Media, Jim chimes in with some of his perspective on the recent Lion King Tenth Anniversary Reunion sponsored by ASIFA-Hollywood.

Animation Insider reports that the premiere of Cartoon Network’s Justice League Unlimited is being moved from Saturday, August 7, to Saturday, July 31. This new series will retain the superhero heavyweights of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, but also focus on lesser-known DC Comics heroes such as The Question, Hawk & Dove, Booster […]

Yahoo! Finance News reports that the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company has voted to give itself a 300% raise. “‘The new arrangements were approved after extensive consideration of board compensation practices at other large public companies and consultation with the board’s independent compensation consultant, and are intended to bring the board’s compensation […]

Jerry Beck at Cartoon Brew points out that animator extraordinaire Bill Melendez has made some major renovations to his site at {{link http://www.billmelendez.tv www.billmelendez.tv}}. Bill is best known for producing 40 years of Peanuts specials and movies and for providing the voice of Snoopy but has also worked with every other major Hollywood studio.

Be sure to check out the Spider-Man 2 spoof, The Peril Of Doc Ock, at Yahoo! Movies. Animated completely in Lego, this Spite Your Face production is set to please.

Today’s LA Times has an interesting article about the new wave of animated features made possible by the dropping costs of computer equipment. Projects like Valiant, Delgo, Foodfight! and Hoodwinked – a detective-story take on Little Red Riding Hood – are being developed by small independent studios, often on a shoestring budget. The internet also […]

According to Coming Soon!, Chicken Little will now have to face off against Mission: Impossible 3, which was previously scheduled to open on May 6, 2005. With more competition coming from Fantastic Four, the three films will duke it out for the top spot during next year’s July 4th weekend.