Coming Soon has collected some interesting tidbits concerning the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. According to The Daily Record, Alex Norton (The Count of Monte Cristo) has been cast as Edinburgh sea captain Sam Bellamy, while The Roxbury Register reveals stuntman Bobby Waldron will also have a role in the second and third films. In […]

Contact Music has the news that The Who’s rock-opera Tommy is being considered for an animated movie, featuring the voices of Robbie Williams and Bono. Grease producer Robert Stigwood plans for the feature to be built with a $400 million budget, remarking, “If you are going to do it, you’ve got to do it right.”

Chuck Oberleitner gives a rundown of last night’s {{link http://annieawards.com/ Annie Awards}} held at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA (More reports at Cartoon Brew/Animation World Network). Brad Bird’s Disney/Pixar film The Incredibles was the big winner of the night, soaring off with ten awards – getting a win in every category it was […]

Reuters reports that in a survey of nearly 2,000 ad executives, brand managers and academics by online magazine Brandchannel, Pixar was named the fifth most influential brand in North America. Computer icon Apple was placed in the top spot both globally and in North America. Reuters has the lists from the 1,984 respondents who answered […]

Ultimate Disney reports that as expected, Tarzan II has been assigned a “G” rating by the MPAA.

Latino Review has a few new stills from Robots, coming to theaters on March 11, 2005.

The Disney Database has just updated with over a dozen screen shots from next year’s Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest which is being produced by Disney Toons in Australia.

In the monthly email sendout from {{link http://www.thejohnclesse.com John Cleese’s official site}}, the comic actor confirms his involvement as the King in DreamWorks’ Shrek 3.

On January 24, 2005, Xlibris released Walt’s People – Talking Disney with the Artists who Knew Him – Volume 1, the first volume of a series of books that aims to re-animate the field of Disney research. The full press release can be reviewed here:

Just a reminder that an Afternoon of Remembrance will be held tomorrow at the The DeMille Barn – Hollywood Heritage Museum to honor those from the animation community who passed away in 2004. The event is jointly sponsored by ASIFA-Hollywood, The Animation Guild, and Women in Animation, and is free of charge and open to […]

The official site for the Laurence Olivier Awards has the nominations for the 2005 awards ceremony. Within the list, Mary Poppins picked up nine nominations, including Best New Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Laura Michelle Kelly- “Mary Poppins”), Best Actor in a Musical (Gavin Lee- “Bert”), Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a […]

IGN FilmForce speaks with Mark Johnson, producer of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The insightful interview covers changes from the book in the film, the movie’s production, and information on the sequel Prince Caspian. In related news, Ustecký týdeníkhas contains 42 pictures from the filming at a snowy location, […]

The full opening crawl for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith has been unveiled at Star Wars’ official website. One can click the “More” button at the end of this article to check out the text. Other Star Wars updates can be found at Cinema em Cena, which has new stills featuring […]

Yahoo! Movies has several scenes from both Pooh’s Heffalump Movie and Son of the Mask. Pooh’s Heffalump Movie opens on February 11, 2005, while Son of the Mask opens a week later, on February 18th, 2005.

Reuters reports that after throwing out a lawsuit that sought to recover Winnie-the-Pooh royalties from Walt Disney Co., last March, Superior Court Judge Charles McCoy has denied Slesinger’s request for a new trial. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles judge ruled that Stephen Slesinger Inc. had “stolen evidence and tainted the case”. Meantime, a lawyer for […]

According to Fox 411, all is not well with Disney’s Pixar-less Toy Story sequel. Fox News columnist Roger Friedman states, “My sources in the animation biz tell me that Disney, which will make Toy Story 3 without Pixar, cannot find a director to guide the project.” As the source claims, “Every single animator of note […]

Blur Studio’s home page has a teaser for their Oscar nominated short Gopher Broke (Jeff Fowler, director; Tim Miller, executive producer). The short features a hungry gopher that tries to steal food from a farmer, with hilarious results.

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, via Coming Soon, indicates that Stellan Skarsgård (Exorcist: The Beginning, King Arthur) will play Bill ‘Bootstraps’ Turner in at least one of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. The actor is set to begin work on the project in February and finish in December. The first Pirates of the Caribbean sequel will […]

According to Coming Soon, commenting on The Incredibles four nominations, writer and director Brad Bird states, “It is such an honor for The Incredibles to receive four Oscar nominations. I am thrilled that Pixar’s creative team is being recognized for their amazing work by the Academy alongside many other talented nominees. The screenplay nomination is […]

Taken from Toy News, Issue 42, February 05, a pic which reveals the design of the Scarecrow from Batman Begins is now up at Superhero Hype.

The Internet Movie Database reports that on Tuesday, the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) suggested the current board of the Walt Disney Co., including CEO Michael Eisner, be reelected at Disney’s annual board meeting on February 11. ISS applauded Disney for its progressing governance practices and search for a replacement for Eisner. As the ISS states, […]

Dygra Films’ take on Shakespeare’s comedy is coming to the theaters this summer. El Sueno de una Noche de San Juan is a $9M CG adaptation of A Midsummer’s Night Dream set in Galicia and distributed by Buena Vista International. The official web page has the trailer.

In the surprise announcement of the moment, Granada Ventures in the UK will release the {{link http://www.filmaxanimation.com/index.htm Filmax Animation}} feature Pinocchio 3000 {{link http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006L7OES/qid=1106736427/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/202-3056756-5900633 on home video and DVD}} this February 7. Previously the film was expected to have found a distributor and made a theatrical run, as in its native Spain, and has been […]

Latino Review features three new pics from Robots, opening in theaters on March 11, 2005.

The Hollywood Reporter indicates that Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies are working on a movie based on the preschool book The Krazees. Derek Guiley and David Schneiderman will pen the screenplay, while Robin Williams will star in the film. Concerning the movie’s synopsis, the website writes, “In adapting the book, Guiley and Schneiderman are creating […]

Nominations for the {{link http://www.oscars.com/nominees/nominees.html 77th Annual Academy Awards}} have been announced. As expected \\The Incredibles\\ was the big animated winner with four nominations, including Best Animated Feature and Best Original Screenplay. DreamWorks got two of the three Best Animated Feature award nominations, for \\Shrek 2\\ and \\Shark Tale\\. And \\The Polar Express\\ ended up […]

Animated News’ Christian Ziebarth attended a special preview screening last Saturday of Mulan II in the Frank G. Wells Screening Room on the The Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, CA. The event served as a benefit for two organizations: The Center for Asian Arts & Media and Families With Children From China (which also […]

After grossing a disappointing $37,760,080 domestically, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow flies into stores tomorrow. Still, despite a lackluster box office, the film garnered some rather good reviews, with the new one from IGN FilmForce certainly being no exception, as the website gives Sky Captain a fantastic score of 10/10. Meanwhile, the film’s […]

Get in on the discussion of the 2005 Academy Awards at the Animated News Forum! If you’re not a member it only takes a few minutes to join. Oscar nominations are set to be announced in less than two days. What films will be nominated for Best Animated Film? Who should win? Who was robbed? […]

According to Box Office Mojo, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film has been targeted for a June 10th release date! It was previously reported that Buena Vista was aiming for a June release, but no date had been specified. Pixar’s Pete Docter is overseeing the English translation of the film, although no voice cast has been announced […]