Business Wire has the announcement that American Greetings Properties and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are expanding their current partnership with a long-term deal. Series mentioned in the press release involve Sushi Pack, Twisted Whiskers and Maryoku Yummy, as well as such properties as Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake.

With The Denver Post, Alan Menken talks about the upcoming stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid, while also reminiscing about his late writing partner, Howard Ashman. “I talk to him. He shows up in my dreams all the time,” says Menken. Still, the composer promises that the new songs in the upcoming musical are as […]

Digital Spy records that Antonio Banderas recently spoke of a spin-off to his popular Shrek supporting character Puss in Boots. “The movie is going to show his back history, from being born a kitten to the swaggering cat that he is today,” explains Banderas. “I’ve seen the scripts and they’re very emotional, as well as […]

Ultimate Disney presents a helpful guide to products promoting the Disney/Pixar picture Ratatouille. The page lists items in the categories of “Books,” “Toys & Games,” “Video Games,” “Audio CDs,” “For the Kids,” and “Posters & Miscellaneous.” Speaking of posters, a new Ratatouille bus shelter banner has been discovered at eBay, with the poster focusing on […]

The following are photos of three wire sculptures crafted by Disney animator Andreas Deja and displayed last Thursday night at the Van Eaton Galleries. These wire sculptures were first mentioned at Animated News & Views in August 2005 in our Conversation with Andreas Deja (look at the very end of the interview) and were inspired […]

Disney Consumer Products has revealed that not only will the 1959 Disney classic Sleeping Beauty receive the Platinum Edition DVD treatment in October 2008, they plan to release the film in high definition on Blu-ray disc next year as well. Sleeping Beauty was previously released as a 2-disc special edition in 2003. The only other […]

From now until the end of August Regal Cinemas is holding its annual summertime Family Film Festival. “Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for […]

The following is a quick YouTube clip taken at last night’s lecture by Disney animator Andreas Deja at the Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks as part of a fundraiser for ASIFA-Hollywood (numerous photos from the event coming soon). Here he is explaining how he got inspiration for Lilo from watching a group of Hawaiian […]

AWN reports that Sharon Morrill, president of DisneyToon Studios, has stepped down from her post, where she had been responsible for producing direct-to-video sequels of the Disney Co.’s animated features. In an inter-Disney email supplied to AWN, Morrill writes: “DisneyToon Studios has gone through a lot of transitions in the last couple of years. We […]

Superhero Hype reveals that a new animated Spider-man series, entitled The Spectacular Spider-man, is coming to the Kids’ WB! channel in early 2008. The new series will pick up the world-renowned web-slinger’s mythology at the beginning of his hero’s journey as a not-so-typical 16-year-old with new-found powers, engaging the multi-leveled pressures of teenage life while […]

The Orange County Register’s weekly Wine & Food section today offers up an article on the culinary aspect of Disney/Pixar’s upcoming Ratatouille, noting the gustatory research that the Pixar people devoted themselves to in order to portray the world of upscale French cuisine accurately. For those who like animation and food, this is the article […]

Cartoon Brew offers a sneak peek at some finished footage from the new Flash animated series of George Of The Jungle. The series, currently in production at Studio B, will start airing on Cartoon Network around July. The clip, which first aired on the G4 Tech TV network in Canada, includes an interview with producer […]

AWN reports that Aardman’s successful claymation series Shaun The Sheep will premiere on Disney Channel on Sunday, July 8, 2007. The animated series won the Cristal Award as Best TV Production at the Annecy Animated Film Festival last week. Shaun The Sheep is a comedy series based on the misadventures of a young sheep named […]

Yahoo showcases an exclusive new trailer for The Simpsons Movie in both Standard and High-Definition formats. The Simpsons Movie opens in US theaters on July 27th. Update! Movie List has made the trailer available for direct download in High-Definition.

Ghibli World reports that a joint project between Ioue Naohisa and Studio Ghibli named Iblard Jikan will be released on DVD in Japan on July 4th as a part of Studio Ghibli’s Ghibli ga Ippai Collection. Ioue Naohisa is known for his fantasy artwork in the 1995 Studio Ghibli film Whisper Of The Heart. The […]

AWN reports that Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Oshii’s new animated film Sky Crawlers will be released in Japan in 2008. The futuristic film is based on a popular five-part novel, of the same name, by the bestselling writer Hiroshi Mor which he considers his most difficult work for film adaptation. Mor was quite relieved to know […]

Amazon showcases the revised and final cover artwork for The Jungle Book: 40th Anniversary Edition. The 2-disc special edition of The Jungle Book will be available to purchase on October 2nd. Thanks to “Daniel” at the Animated News & Views Forum for the notice of this news.

TFormers.com shares the lowdown on the new animated incarnation of Optimus Prime, to be seen in the 2008 series Transformers Animated. The sneek peek at Optimus comes courtesy of the Licensing International Expo 2007. Likewise in the article, information is unveiled concerning the cast and crew of the series. With its first season, Transformers Animated […]

USA Today presents a sneak peek at Terra, an upcoming animated film from Snoot Entertainment. Directed by Aristomenis “Meni” Tsirbas, Terra is an alien invasion story with a twist: “The invaders are human, and the townsfolk are the salamander-like, peaceful victims who must rise up against the monsters.” Producer Keith Calde assures, “It’s not anti-human,” […]

Wizard Entertainment offers a series of photos from this year’s New York Licensing Show. Certain images in the batch regard such animation-related projects as Kung Fu Panda, Beowulf, Speed Racer and The Clone Wars.

ABC News Online examines the belief that more adults are embracing animation than ever before. “We used to hear that animation for adults wouldn’t work, but now all our competitors are doing the same,” commented Mike Lazzo, senior vice president of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.

Variety indicates that Antonio Banderas’ production company Green Moon Producciones is negotiating a possible longterm alliance with Spanish animation studios Kandor Graphics. According to Green Moon producer Antonio Meliveo, “We’re exploring options and hope to close a deal by the fall.” In the meantime, Kandor partners Manuel Sicilia and Raul Garcia are currently helming the […]

Fox News reports that 30 minutes of the upcoming Bee Movie were shown at a screening held at the Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday. The event was hosted by Jeffry Katezenburg, with several cast and crew members of the film present.

AWN reports that former Nickelodeon Movies development vp Damon Ross has been hired by Dreamworks Animation as a senior development executive who will be working on the development of features and other original projects at the studio. Ross came to Nick Movies when it was launched in New York 12 years ago.

Variety reports that Lionsgate is planning a new animated series based on the 60’s TV show Speed Racer, set to air on the Nicktoons channel. The new franchise will be a continuation of the old series rather then a reboot and will feature a new young Speed Racer who enters a racing academy for the […]

Coming Soon has the scoop on a brand new one-sheet for The Simpsons Movie featuring the main cast. Meanwhile, Film Ick provides a non-watermarked version of the same poster while mentioning that the UK release date has been pushed forward to July 26th, one day before the official US opening.