Month: June 2007

Cinema Expo debuts new posters

As noticed by Coming Soon, this week’s Cinema Expo, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, supplied a large assortment of new posters, banners and floor displays for upcoming features. Among the various films, titles relating to animation included Bee Movie, Horton Hears a Who!, The Simpsons Movie, Enchanted, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Beowulf. Film […]

Ratatouille story supervisor discusses research and challenges

Ratatouille story supervisor Mark Andrews discusses the research that went into making the animated film with Leo N. Holzer at TheReporter.com. A trip to Paris was a must. “With Google, we could look at shots of Paris until our eyes bleed, but you don’t get a sense of the true light there. You don’t get […]

Boomerang marathon to air every Flintstones episode

Cable channel Boomerang, Cartoon Network’s sister network, announced a special Independence Day marathon where they will air every episode of the first prime time animated series, The Flintstones, in chronological order. Kicking things off at 6am on Wednesday, July 4, will be the original pilot, entitled The Flagstones. The series finale will air Saturday, July […]

Weinstein, Gotham, Chungcheongnam-do team for animation

The Hollywood Reporter indicates that the Weinstein Company, animation management powerhouse Gotham Group and the Chungcheongnam-do government of South Korea are teaming to produce and distribute animated features. In addition, the Weinstein Co. and Gotham Group have entered a multiyear, first-look deal that will provide the Weinsteins with a steady stream of animated and family […]

Quiz: "Are you a Pixar pro?"

Moviefone presents the quiz “Are you a Pixar pro?” With queries spanning all of the company’s movies, this fun 13-question challenge can help one determine just how much a Pixar fan he or she truly is.

Art Stevens, RIP

o-meon reports the sad news that Disney animator/director Art Stevens passed away last May 22 due to a heart attack. Stevens began work at Disney in 1940 and worked on animated features such as Fantasia, Song of the South, The Three Caballeros, the Winnie the Pooh shorts and more. He helped Ward Kimball out with […]

Ratatouille opens

Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille opens today in 3,940 theaters according to Box Office Mojo. The film is wowing the critics, garnering an impressive 94% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, and a perfect 100% with the Cream of the Crop critics. The film is being gushed over for its look (Chicago Tribune: “you have never seen a computer-animated […]

Chances favorable for a TMNT sequel

Coming Soon points to the blog of Mirage Studios’ Steve Murphy, where it is confirmed that the a sequel to TMNT is looking more likely to happen. While the odds of a second installment in the computer animated franchise were recently described as “50-50,” Murphy writes that the odds have been raised to “70-30,” with […]

Simpsons Movie merchandise?

The American Chronicle asks the question, “Where is all the Simpsons Movie merchandise just one month before the movie hits theaters?” As a fan of the show, the article’s author, Timothy Sexton, ponders why more items relating to the film are unavailable at stores such as Target and Walmart.

StoryMakers salutes Walter Lantz and Woody Woodpecker

StoryMakers Studio is preparing an event honoring Woody Woodpecker and his creator Walter Lantz. With appearances by popular personalities in the animation industry, the ceremony may be seen by both Los Angeles attendees and the online community. Futhermore, everyone who registers to view the Woodpecker/Lantz celebration will receive their choice of animation-related eBooks. More details […]

Ratatouille roundup #3

Coming Soon conducts an interesting conversation with Ratatouille director Brad Bird. Meanwhile, SCI FI Wire serves a trio of articles regarding the movie: “Ratatouille, Short Share A Character,” “Ratatouille Sparked To Oswalt’s Rant” and “Ratatouille Mixes Toon Styles.”

Magic Moving Images book now available

From Colin Ord comes the new book Magic Moving Images – Animated Optical Illusions. The publication features such visuals as a horse galloping, a cat pouncing, cogs turning and 3D objects rotating. A demonstration of Magic Moving Images may be found at YouTube.

Nintendo DS becomes Enchanted

Details on the Enchanted Nintendo DS game have arrived at Mickey News. Coming this fall, the game will allow one to play as Princess Giselle, Prince Edward and chipmunk Pip in the settings of mythical Andalasia and real-world New York City. From Disney Interactive Studios, the Enchanted video game is being developed by Altron Corporation.

Bee Movie game trailer and demo

The trailer for the video game adaptation of Seinfeld’s Bee Movie can be viewed at Yahoo! Games. A free game demo is also available on the site.

Fixing up Ratatouille

Reuters has posted an interesting article giving insight on the changes Brad Bird made to Ratatouille when he took over as director for the film. The story also mentions why he was asked to step in on the project, as well as looking at his views on filmmaking and what his future plans are.

Canadian Simpsons poster

The latest poster for The Simpsons Movie can be found at CanMag. The one-sheet features the famous family on the run from an angry mob.

Beowulf comic mini-series coming in October

Comic Book Resources writes that a comic mini-series of Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf will arrive this October. From writer Chris Ryall, artist Gabriel Rodriguez and colorist Jay Fotos, the 32-page comics will be released in four weekly installments, leading up to the November 16 release of the motion picture.

Tarzan to leave Broadway

Thomas Schumacher, Disney’s head of theatrical productions, has announced that the Broadway incarnation of the animated hit Tarzan will end July 8, reports the IMDB’s Studio Briefing. Admitting that the show will close “earlier than any of us had hoped,” Schumacher was optmistic about the Dutch version of Tarzan, commenting, “I would have loved for […]

TV to DVD: She-Ra, Tree Friends, Foster's Home, Littles

TV Shows on DVD has the specs and artwork for She-Ra: Princess of Power – Season 2 and The Littles – The Complete Series. The site also introduces the front cover art for Happy Tree Friends – Season 1, Volume 3. In addition, the rear side of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends – The Complete […]

The Simpsons Movie soundtrack information

IGN features information on the soundtrack for The Simpsons Movie, which will be released July 24th, 2007. The article includes a look at what composer Hanz Zimmer wanted the music to be, as well as listing the tracks on the album. A limited edition will be released the following week.

Woodpecker DVD site updated

The official site for the Woody Woodpecker and friends – Classic Cartoon Collection DVD has been updated and now holds an extensive look at the DVD, its featured cartoons and bonus material. Furthermore, the site showcases some photos, clips and downloads. Woody‘s first venture on DVD will be available to own from July 24th.

Andreas Deja Paintings

The following are images of four paintings by Disney animator Andreas Deja and displayed last Thursday night at (and available for sale from) the Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, CA:

Pooh review, big things happening at Views

Pooh review, plus site updates a’coming…!

The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh: The Friendship Edition

Three classic, award-winning featurettes combine into one special film featuring the beloved characters of A.A. Milne.

Samurai Jack fights his way to the big screen

Variety reports that a trio of toon veterans (Fred Seibert, Kevin Kolde and Eric Gardner) are launching Frederator Films as an indie feature film company with a mission to produce 2D animated genre movies budgeted below $20 million. Among the projects currently planned, the most noticable is a feature film based on Cartoon Network’s Samurai […]

Ratatouille's Hollywood Premiere

o-meon has pictures and sound bites of the actors and other Pixar luminaries at last Friday’s world premiere of Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille at the Hollywood Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards. Among those caught among the sights and sounds of the multimedia extravaganza were Disney Studio chairman Dick Cook, Ratatouille stars Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, […]

Cartoon Network, Hasbro team for Transformers Animated

In an update to a report filed Thursday, June 21, FinanzNachrichten.de has the full press release regarding the partnership that Cartoon Network and Hasbro have formed to present Transformers Animated. Scheduled to air in early 2008, the series’ first season will contain 26 half-hour episodes, in addition to a 90-minute special. Talent involved with Transformers […]

Seinfeld on Bee Movie

Jerry Seinfeld recently spoke to BlackFilm.com about his work for the DreamWorks Animation comedy Bee Movie, opening November 2nd. In the conversation, Seinfeld notes how he became involved with the film and considers whether or not he would do a sequel to it.

Vancouver International Digital Festival details

This year, the Vancouver International Digital Festival begins a partnership with the Vancouver International Film Festival. As a result, the Digital Festival will kick off the Film Festival, thus bringing together talent in the animation community with representatives of global film and television. An official press release on the event is available here:

Bird talks Incredibles sequel and Toy Story 3

With Coming Soon, Brad Bird shares his thoughts on Toy Story 3 and a sequel to The Incredibles, while the latter possible project is also discussed with SCI FI Wire. “I have to come up with a story that is as good as or better than the original,” the Ratatouille director explained. “If I could […]