Month: May 2008 – page 2

New WALL•E featurette

Yahoo!Movies hosts a new WALL•E featurette titled The Man and the Machine which focuses on the director, Andrew Stanton. WALL•E opens in theatres on June 27. Be warned of the possible spoilers!

Podcast recommendations

Load your iPod this weekend with a chestload of free interviews with some of the most fascinating personalities from the animation world: The Animation Podcast offers lengthy audio podcasts with masters such as Andreas Deja, Milt Kahl, Glen Keane, James Baxter, Ray Harryhausen, Ron Clements and John Musker; while BuzzBender recently chatted with Bee Movie‘s […]

In the mood to hunt easter eggs this holiday weekend?

DVD Review has unearthed hidden bonus features from recent animated releases including Ratatouille, The Simpsons Movie (DVD and Blu-Ray), Surf’s Up, Beowulf, Enchanted, Peter Pan: Platinum Edition, as well as Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1. Enjoy!

Behind the scenes of three Disney classics

Youtube is a wonderful thing! A vintage video of Walt Disney reenacting with his staff how The Three Little Pigs came to be has been uploaded online, along with the making of Pinocchio and The Magic Behind the Masterpiece of Bambi (part 1 and 2). Thank you to ‘Charles’ at Animation Nation for the links.

Wall•E on Movie Surfers

Disney’s official site features a new Movie Surfers video concerning Wall•E, Pixar’s upcoming sci-fi adventure. During the video, writer and director Andrew Stanton is interviewed, who sheds light on two of the film’s main characters. Several new clips from the movie are also shown. Wall•E opens in theaters on June 27th. Thanks to “Remy” over […]

Space Chimps poster

The first theatrical poster for the intergalactic comedy Space Chimps can be viewed on Cinematical. A direct link to the full-size version can be found here. Space Chimps hits theaters on July 18th.

Preview some new Disney music

While the quality of the DisneyMania series from the Mouse House has been very inconsistent, Volume 6 sounds rather promising with songs performed by Colbie Chaillat, Elliott Yamin, Plain White T’s and Nikki Blonsky. Take an earful at Amazon MP3! DisneyMusic.com also offers a preview of the soundtrack of Disney’s new franchise, Camp Rock, starring […]

Real life Wall•E coming to Disney parks?

The little robot that audiences worldwide are already falling in love with might not have popped up in just any streets of L.A., says Newsweek. Real life replicas of Wall•E will apparently be coming soon to theme parks as part of Disney’s “Living Character Initiative.”

Another lawsuit for DreamWorks Animation

The South Florida Times reports that a Boca Raton man is suing DreamWorks Animation, claiming the studio stole his ideas to create the 2005 movie Madagascar. According to Joseph Davis, the DreamWorks blockbuster has striking similarities with a manuscript he submitted to the studio in 1999 and was never compensated for, about the adventures of […]

For you Indy fans

Paramount’s Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull reportedly opened with a bang on Thursday with a massive though not (yet) record-breaking $25 million in the U.S. alone, $4.5 million of which came from midnight U.S. screenings.

New look for Disneyland's Monorail trains

Check out the the new Disneyland Monorail Mark VII trains here! Built in Rhode Island, assembled in Vancouver and caravanned thousands of miles west, the first in the fleet of new Mark VII Monorails is the first new Monorail design at Disneyland Park in over 20 years. The Mark VII features a design inspired by […]

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time getting limited theatrical release in the U.S.

Jerry Beck points out on the Cartoon Brew to the fact that Mamoru Hosoda’s 2006 film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, is going to get a limited U.S. theatrical release next month through Bandai Entertainment. “It’ll be screening June 13 through June 19 at the ImaginAsian Center in Los Angeles (251 South Main Street, […]

Video montage of the Art of Kung Fu Panda book

The Character Design blog put together a video montage showcasing some of the designs created by the amazing Nicolas Marlet that can be found in the Art of Kung Fu Panda book by Tracey Miller, now in stores.

Indiana Jones and the really slow and talky blockbuster…

Indy’s back, but it’s not all good…come have your say on the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull in our Forum!

Hans Zimmer and Will.i.am teaming up on Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

The Lion King and The Simpsons Movie composer Hans Zimmer revealed a very interesting bit of news in an August 2007 interview with MP3.com which has been flying under everyone’s radar–until now! Talking about his upcoming projects at the time, Hans revealed that he was working with Will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas on the Madagascar […]

Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries

As a tie-in to the new Indiana Jones movie opening today the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, CA, will soup up its Indiana Jones offerings by holding the “Summer of Hidden Mysteries,” featuring appearances by the archaeologist/adventurer himself, an “Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger” show, an Indiana Jones theme added to […]

Reality maven Mark Burnett ventures into animation

The Hollywood Reporter announces that top reality producer Mark Burnett (Survivor) has signed a deal with popular online animation Web site Liquid Generation to develop cartoon TV comedies-both original and based on existing content. Under the pact, Mark Burnett Prods. will produce Liquid Generation’s first three TV projects, including originals “Witness Protection” and “Rapper in […]

Report on AMPAS' Production Design panel

VFX World offers a short recap of last Friday’s discussion at the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences about “The Art, Science and Psychology of Production Design.” The article highlights quotes from several of the participants including Ralph Ralph Eggleston (Wall•E) who talked to the audience about his […]

The Iron Giant screenings on June 7-8 in the Bay Area

The Poop Presents film series has programmed screenings of Brad Bird’s 2D masterpiece The Iron Giant at the Cerrito Speakeasy in El Cerrito, CA. Organizers explain it was a challenge convincing the theater owners to play this film, “probably the most vibrantly shot 2D animated film”, again since its original screening “bombed.”

MPAA rating for Wall•E

As expected, the upcoming Pixar film received a G rating.

Roger Rabbit novelist still fighting for his share of profits

The Hollywood Reporter takes a closer look at the ongoing suit opposing Gary Wolf, the science fiction author whose 1981 novel formed the basis of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, to Disney. Wolf signed an agreement with the studio back in 1983 that gave him 5% of “gross receipts” from Disney’s exploitation of his characters. The […]

Billy Crystal, from Woody to Mike

Disney Insider officially confirms what was already well known: that Billy Crystal was originally given the opportunity to voice Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, but declined. “After seeing the finished film, he said that decision was the biggest mistake of his career. Upon learning this, Pixar offered Crystal the role of Mike in Monsters, Inc. […]

New distribution deals in place for Europe's Planet 51

Handmade Films Intl. has sold rights to its big budget European CGI film Planet 51 to TF1 for France and Moviemax Italia for Italy, with German and Japanese deals yet to be finalized, according to Variety. The alien planet comedy, budgeted at $60 million, was produced by Madrid’s Ilion Animation Studios and London’s Handmade Films. […]

Overview of new attractions in Orlando's theme parks

USA Today takes a closer look at various new rides opening in theme park capital of the world such as Universal’s Simpsons Ride and Walt DisneyWorld’s Toy Story Mania, noting that “for the first time in recent memory, each of them has a new major attraction to keep the turnstiles churning as tourism rebounds this […]

Is Speed Racer's failure bad news for the future of anime?

Definitely not according to this New York Post article, which notes that the anime community embraced the film and discusses upcoming high profile projects based on other anime franchises.

Regal & RealD rolling out 1,500 more 3D screens

Coming Soon! reports that Regal Entertainment Group and RealD 3D announced a deal that calls for a rollout of 1,500 RealD 3D screens, bringing the RealD 3D screen count to over 3,500. The rollout will allow most U.S. markets to have 3D capability. DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg commented that this new deal “marks a […]

James Cameron discusses 3D motion-capture Avatar

Titanic director James Cameron discussed yesterday at Microsoft Advance ’08 his new film Avatar, about a man who tries to become a miner by combining his being with an alien during an interplanetary war in which aliens can manifest themselves through human bodies — avatars. “Avatar is the single most complex piece of filmmaking ever […]

Kung Fu Panda clip

Quintessence has for your viewing pleasure an extended clip from DreamWork’s upcoming release, Kung Fu Panda. The CG martial arts comedy hits theaters on June 6th. Thanks to “CGIFanatic” over at the Animated News & Views Forum for the heads up!

A 20th season for The Simpsons, but no signed cast yet

According to Variety, while Fox recently announced the 20th season of The Simpsons, a deal has yet to be struck with the series’ voice talent. Production had to be put on hold while negotiations are underway which is expected to result in a shorter season of 20 or fewer episodes instead of the regular 22. […]

Interview with Ghatothkach director

Sify Movies recently sat down with 75-year old veteran director Indian to discuss his new animated film Ghatothkach and the state of the animation industry in his home country of India.