Following is the full press release and title treatment for Flushed Away Underground Adventure, an interactive gaming collaboration between AOL, DreamWorks Animation, Aardman Features, and Mark Burnett Productions:

Warner Brothers’ \\The Any Bully\\ struggled to make a dent at the box office in its opening weekend, ending up in a disappointing 5th place finish with $8.1 million, according to {{link http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/ Box Office Mojo}}. Even \\Monster House\\ in its second week of release was able to beat the \\Bully\\ with a 4th place […]

Floyd Norman writes at Jim Hill Media about The Walt Disney Studio’s re-commitment to focus solely on family-themed entertainment. “Why waste time pursuing seedy adult films when there is a waiting and eager market for family themed entertainment? Add to that, these projects generate all kinds of additional product that enhance the bottom line. . […]

As The Ant Bully continues its second day in wide release, numerous headlines for the movie have appeared online. For instance, Jim Hill Media‘s Roger Colton interviews cinematographer Ken Mitchroney about Ant Bully‘s influences and behind-the-scenes experiences. Meanwhile, a look at the film’s premiere at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles is taken by […]

The full trailer for Happy Feet may be viewed at Moviefone, while the movie’s poster is on display at the Internet Movie Poster Awards. Happy Feet will tap dance into theaters this “Novemburrr” 17th.

Concering cover artwork and bonus features, DVD Active contains the latest information on the DVD releases of Over the Hedge (October 17th), Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Vol. 4 (November 14th), and Ice Age: The Meltdown (November 21st).

Coming Soon confirms the voice cast for Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille. Patton Oswalt, Brian Dennehy, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and John Ratzenberger have all signed on for the feature, coming June 29, 2007.

Warner Brothers’ \\The Ant Bully\\ opens today in 3,050 theatres, according to {{link http://www.boxofficemojo.com/counts/chart/?yr=2006&wk=30&p=.htm Box Office Mojo}}. The film gets mixed reviews from the critics, garnering a just rotten 53% at {{link http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ant_bully/ Rotten Tomatoes}}. \\Entertainment Weekly\\ says it is “an effortlessly clever animated confection”. However, the \\Hollywood Reporter\\ says the film is “anonymously generic […]

On Thursday, July 20th, over 100,000 comic and film fans united for a single purpose: San Diego’s Comic-Con International 2006. This year, largely represented before the “Con-verts” was a cornucopia of animated undertakings – from feature films to television series to DVD releases. Separating the revelations and speculations by studios, Animated News provides a handy […]

On November 21st, the 1966 animated classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! will break into stores once more, this time in a “Deluxe Edition” DVD. Extras for the package, according to DVD Active, will include: “an audio commentary, interviews, a ‘Jump to Musical Selections’ feature, pencil tests, and the animated feature Horton Hears a Hoo!” […]

The Animation Guild Blog writes that Walt Disney Feature Animation’s Rapunzel may be coming along quite nicely. “The word around the studio is that the First Act of Rapunzel found favor at its unspooling up in Emeryville. John Lasseter, I was told, gave plenty of notes to director Glen Keane but overall liked what he […]

Lionsgate Home Enterntainment has given MovieWeb and its superhero subsidiary SuperheroFlix an exclusive clip from the direct-to-DVD Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther. The sequel is scheduled for an August 8th release.

Latino Review exposes a few new screenshots from Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies’ Barnyard: The Original Party Animals and DreamWorks/Aardman’s Flushed Away.

The official website for Brother Bear 2 has been updated, now featuring four scenes. Concurrently, a behind-the-songs look at Melissa Etheridge’s music for the picture may be played, while the website’s background score boasts snippets of two tracks from the movie.

Roger Colton at Jim Hill Media reflects on his visit to DNA Productions last December, where he had the opportunity to speak with Keith Alcorn, one of the executive producers for The Ant Bully. The article also recalls the experience that inspired Tom Hanks and his Playtone Productions to support the project.

The official Muppets website is now allowing visitors to vote on the cover art they wish to see for the Muppet Show: Season 2 DVD. The three available styles all feature the same character but you do get to pick how that character is shown. The DVD will then be released in Spring 2007 with […]

Warner Bros. has just added a whole gravel quarry full of animated content to Apple’s iTunes, including the first season of The Flintstones, and the first season of The Jetsons, as well as an unaired Aquaman live action pilot. Also, three seasons of Schoolhouse Rock have recently been added to iTunes, so you can learn […]

Following is the full press release from DreamWorks Animation on their multiple presentations to be featured at the 2006 Siggraph Convention in Boston next week (Aardman fans: pay special attention to the description of the last presentation) as well as information for potential job applicants:

Yahoo! Movie News reports on some of the celebrity guest voices set to appear during the eighteenth season of the hit series The Simpsons, including Natalie Portman, Kiefer Sutherland, rock band The White Stripes, Dr. Phil McGraw (in a Treehouse of Horror episode), Joe Mantegna (“Fat Tony”), Joe Pantoliano, Michael Imperioli, Fran Drescher and comedian […]

After a surprisingly low box office for Warner Brothers’ \\Lady in the Water\\, Columbia Pictures’ \\Monster House\\ was able to take second place in its opening weekend with $22.2 million according to {{link http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2119&p=.htm Box Office Mojo}}. Rory Bruer, Sony’s president of distribution, called it “a terrific start” for the film. The box office tally […]

Following is the full press release from Starz Entertainment Group regarding the broadcast of Jennifer Shiman’s parodies of famous movies re-enacted by animated bunnies . . . and always in 30 seconds:

The official website of DreamWorks/Aardman’s upcoming comedy Flushed Away, which opens in theaters 11/03/06, was just launched at http://www.flushedaway.com Check it out for: — a look at the brand new trailer for “Flushed Away” — detailed storyline — exclusive wallpapers, buddy icons, and signature files — new stills from the film Blending Aardman’s trademark style […]

At age 72, Mako Iwamatsu, usually credited with his first name only, died from esophageal cancer last Friday, at his home in Somis, California. The Japanese-born American actor earned “Supporting Actor” Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for the role of Po-han in the 1966 “Best Picture” nominee The Sand Pebbles. Likewise well-noted in Mako’s […]

At the age of 85, actor Jack Warden died Wednesday at a New York hospital. According to his business manager Sidney Pazoff, he had suffered from numerous medical problems in recent years. Warden was twice nominated for a “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” Academy Award: in 1976, for his role as Lester in Shampoo, […]

China, a nation that require government approval for the production of most arts, announced it will accelerate censorship approval for animated works to enhance its domestic industry. The People’s Daily Online reports that, beginning in August, censors will now announce approvals on a monthly basis rather than twice a year as had been done in […]

Speaking with the The National Ledger, Tim Allen refers briefly to Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3. “It’s going to be great,” comments the voice of Buzz Lightyear himself. “We have John Lasseter, the original director, and I believe Tom [Hanks] is on board.” Allen further describes the current version of Toy Story 3 as being “stronger” […]

Reuters/Yahoo! explore the trend of 3-D several animated movies are currently employing to help raise interest in the pictures. With Monster House as the basis for the story, other animated projects mentioned include: Chicken Little, The Ant Bully, Open Season, Meet the Robinsons, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

A press release at Coming Soon heralds the teaming of BET Networks’ new animation unit and Vin Diesel’s One Race Productions to produce Hannibal the Conqueror. “The series will span the life of Hannibal, from his tutelage as a warrior under his father, the king of Carthage, to his history-making invasions of Spain, England and […]

TV Shows on DVD notes the October 3rd release of Return to the Planet of the Apes. The 1975 animated series will come in a 2-disc DVD package containing every one of its 13 episodes. The only bonus feature to be found for the set is a collection of previews for all the episodes, except […]