We’ve previously reported here at Animated News about cartoon characters appearing as write-in candidates on election ballots. Toon Zone reports now that Donald Duck has finished third place behind winner and Conan O’Brien lookalike Tarja Halonen and second-place candidate Sauli Niinasto in Finland’s recent presidential elections. Donald was unavailable for comment. Sources close to Mr. […]

Found at Wikipedia is the rumored cast for Pixar’s 2007 entry, Ratatouille. “Featuring the voice talents of: Brad Garrett as Chef, Kate Beckinsale as Esemhones, Jimmy Fallon as Frloen, Jeffrey Tambor as Banas, Harrison Ford as The Evil Andws, John Ratzenberger as Eskoimes, Martin Short as Nemral, Patrick Warburton as Wean and Bill Fagerbakke as […]

Toon Zone points to Ask Greg, where Gargoyles creator and supervising producer Greg Weisman writes that due to lackluster sales for Gargoyles: Season Two, Volume One, its follow-up Season Two, Volume Two may never see the light of day.

Celebrating Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, the Tribeca Cinemas Gallery and Warner Home Video present a Stop-Motion Animation and Artwork Exhibit. Offering free admission, the event lasts until Monday, February 20, and is open daily from 12:00pm – 8:00pm. For more information, one may visit Coming Soon or Tribeca Cinemas Gallery official website.

DVD Active has the front DVD artwork for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, arriving in R1 form on April 25th. In other DVD news, DVDtoons has the cover artwork for Avatar: The Last Airbender – Book 1, Vol. 3, coming May 30th, and The Chipmunk Adventure, coming May23rd.

The latest press photo for DreamWorks Animation’s Over the Hedge is up at Latino Review.

TV Shows on DVD specifies the 12 episodes to be featured on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Volume 4 DVD. This news comes courtesy of the release’s packaging, also found at the site.

Arriving from the writers of Hoodwinked, Tony Leech and Cory Edwards, is a new computer animated comedy that’s far from down-to-earth. The rights for Escape from Planet Earth have been acquired by The Weinstein Company, indicates The Big Cartoon Database. “Escape from Planet Earth, an original idea by Leech, is a comedy about a prison […]

Through The Internet Movie Database, The New York Post reports that Michael Eisner may have “lobbied” certain members of the Walt Disney Co. board in an attempt to halt the company’s $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar. The article lists Eisner’s reason for such an action as being held to his belief that the deal was […]

Kettering Today takes a look at Ricky O’Donnell, creative director for RJDM Animations. For the four-and-a-half years it has been in business, the studio has primarily focused on commercials. However, RJDM Animations is considering entering the feature film business, while also currently being involved in an upcoming BBC documentary on Rolf Harris and an animated […]

Ain’t It Cool News has captured two early reviews for Happy Feet, the November CGI comedy from Warner Bros. One of the reviewers enjoyed the film, stating, “Overall I quite liked it, although it definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste.” Meanwhile, the other reviewer felt differently, admitting, “I just thought this film was plain annoying…” […]

Just in time for Valentine’s day the ASIFA-Hollywood Blog gives details on the many bonus features found on the new DVD release of Dan Lund and Tony West’s Dream on Silly Dreamer (see Animated News’ review of the film from the Newport Beach Film Festival and from the earlier Minneapolis screening). The film chronicles the […]

From IESB come descriptions of the two Cars clips shown at this year’s WonderCon. Having seen the clips, Diana Slampyak predicts, “Cars should make Pixar and Disney a lot of money.”

Seward Street comments that traditionally animated feature films may soon be returning to Disney. The author explains: “I get a call tonight from a friend who has a friend who heard from a friend that at a meeting tonight with Lasseter that he was talking all about bringing back the glory of Disney traditional 2D […]

Posted at CGCHAR is an article from Digital Content Creation’s Jacob Heller, noticing the growing need for computer animators in an industry increasing with competition. “Siggraph 2006 should be interesting,” writes Heller. As an interesting side note, the piece recognizes that in 2007, somewhere between 25 to 30 computer animated films will enter theaters.

Larry Loc, ASIFA-Hollywood’s blogger, has posted an interview he conducted recently with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Jim Hill Media speculates on goings-on leading up to the recent acquisition of Mickey’s predecessor by The Walt Disney Company. So far there has been no official word on how Oswald might be utilized by the Studio. Is he […]

The sneak peeks segment of the upcoming Lady and the Tramp Platinum Edition DVD reveals that a special edition of Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure is coming soon and has a brand new Brother Bear II trailer in which Rutt and Tuke pay homage to Lady and the Tramp (no, they’re not slurping […]

The following is a press release detailing the lineup of programming for the 2006-07 seasons for the ABC Kids, Jetix, Toon Disney, and Disney Channel television stations:

The entertainment on demand phenomenon picks up some speed with this recent announcement that “Full episodes of popular original series from Disney Channel and Jetix will be available for viewing online starting later this year.”

The following is detailed information on the call for entries for the Vision Film Festival. Take the chance to get your animation noticed.

Universal Pictures’ \\{{link http://www.curiousgeorgemovie.com/ Curious George}}\\ opens today in 2,565 theatres, according to {{link http://www.boxofficemojo.com/counts/chart/?yr=2006&wk=06&p=.htm Box Office Mojo}}. The film is getting pretty good reviews so far, though most critics note that it is geared towards the younger viewers. The {{link http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10004008-curious_george/ Rotten Tomatoes}} Tomatometer has the film at 74% fresh. {{link http://www.boxofficereport.com/wbon/forecast.shtml Box Office […]

Parents wanting something to entertain the kids with before heading out to the theatre might want to check out these \\Curious George\\ downloads, crafts, and activities!

Earlier today, Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, sent studio employees an e-mail notice that producer Don Hahn will act as interim Head of Walt Disney Feature Animation until the Pixar acquisition has been completed. To read the e-mail, be sure to visit CGCHAR.

It looks like new Disney CEO Bob Iger is dipping way, way back into Walt Disney’s past by “trading ‘Monday Night Football’ sportscaster Al Michaels to NBC Universal for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character that was the predecessor to Mickey Mouse,” according to MarketWatch.com, a decision that was praised by Diane Disney Miller, […]

At the {{link http://www.grammy.com/ 48th Annual Grammy Awards}} music from two animated films took home golden gramophones. “Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media” went to \\Believe\\ from \\The Polar Express\\, written by Glen Ballard & Alan Silvestri and performed by Josh Groban. “Best Instrumental Arrangement” went to Gordon Goodwin for […]

It’s big and it’s proud. Harebrained human (sans bunny ears) and his capable canine companion share a champagne toast celebrating their multiple Annie wins last Saturday night:

The Walt Disney Company has announced that its first-quarter profit rose 7%, partially thanks to an increase in theme-park revenue. Posted at Bloomberg.com, the report also mentions that Disney CEO Robert Iger has revealed plans for the company to release about two Pixar films per year, with Toy Story 3 now being one of Pixar’s […]

Wikipedia notes that joining James Issac Conde and Spencer Fox are Gary Oldman, Harland Williams, Steve Zahn, Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett for Walt Disney Feature Animation’s December release, Meet the Robinsons.

The official teaser site for the DreamWorks Animation/Aardman film Flushed Away is now online. The site comes equipped with a sneak peek of the project, in QuickTime, Windows Media, Real Player, PSP and iPod formats.

Twelve menu screens from the Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit DVD have popped up at DVD Active. With a slew of award nominations and victories, 2005’s best reviewed film, according to Rotten Tomatoes, is now available to own on DVD.