Month: December 2008

Artwork from Waltz with Bashir

OregonLive shares some artwork from Ari Folman’s acclaimed animated feature Waltz with Bashir. Based on Folman’s memoirs of the Lebanon War, Waltz with Bashir features artwork by award-winning Israeli illustrator and cartoonist Tomer Hanuka. David Polonsky has served as art director on the film.

New Year's Surprise — Peanuts treats!

A few weeks ago, we posted a number of reviews of DVDs featuring the Peanuts gang, but I had one more in the hopper that I’d been holding off on posting until we needed to fill some space during the holidays. I meant to post it earlier, but better late than never, especially since our […]

I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown

Though this 2003 TV special was produced after the death of Charles Schulz, it still manages to contain plenty of that old Peanuts Christmas magic. With an additional special and even a great “Making of” about the original Christmas special, this discontinued DVD is a rare treat.

Eartha Kitt, the voice of Yzma, dies

Eartha Kitt, singer, dancer and actress, died of colon cancer on Thursday at 81, reports Big Cartoon Forum. Kitt, who successfully played Catwoman in the Batman television series in the 1960s, was also the voice of Yzma in Disney’s 2000 feature film The Emperor’s New Groove which won her an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement […]

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa still strong at foreign box office

Variety reports that DreamWorks’ animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa remained robust in the top weekend slot at the international box office with $31 million at 6,211 playdates in 58 markets, bringing its foreign take to $278 million. The Madagascar sequel has now become the eighth biggest foreign grosser of 2008, tying it with The […]

Wallace and Gromit's newest adventure top TV ratings

BBC and Variety report that Nick park’s Wallace and Gromit have topped the Christmas Day TV ratings with their latest adventure A Matter of Loaf and Death. The 30-minute show, which premniered on BBC1, secured the biggest Christmas Day TV audience for five years attracting a peak audience of 14.4 million. Wallace and Gromit enjoyed […]

Andrew Stanton podcast interview

Creative Screenwriting Magazine has shared an exclusive podcast interview with Pixar director Andrew Stanton. In this over an hour long interview, Stanton shares his views on WALL-E, early shorts and commercials, and also his forthcoming film, John Carter of Mars. Thanks to PixarPlanet for sharing the link.

New Up image

An exclusive screen shot from Disney/Pixar’s new film Up can be viewed at Empire Movie News. The still features the movie’s two protagonists amidst a South American backdrop. Up hits theaters on May 29, 2009.

Christmas time is here

Merry Christmas from Animated Views! We’ve got a few presents for you this week. First up is Randall’s exhaustive review of Batman: The Complete Animated Series. Randall came away impressed by the content, packaging, and the extra goodies in this comprehensive set — so consider yourself lucky if Santa leaves it under your tree! Also […]

Max Fleischer's Superman DVD in April

DVDActive reports that Warner Home Video has announced Max Fleischer’s Superman for the 7th April. This release will feature all 17 theatrical shorts totalling 170 minutes, spread over two discs. Extras will include two retrospective featurettes, “The Man, The Myth Superman”, and “First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series.”

Trailer for 9

Apple shares an exclusive trailer for the forthcoming animated fantasy-adventure 9 in various formats including HD. Produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov and directed by Shane Acker, 9 features the voices of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau and Christopher Plummer. 9 opens in theatres on 9-9-09.

Exclusive Monsters Vs Aliens trailer

A second trailer for the upcoming sc-fi comedy Monsters Vs Aliens can be found in HD as well as standard definition on MSN. The new DreamWorks film, which opens in theaters on March 27 of next year, features the voice talents of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, and Stephen Colbert. […]

Ari Folman video interview, clips from Waltz with Bashir

COLLIDER has posted an exclusive video interview with Ari Folman, the man behind the acclaimed animated feature Waltz with Bashir, wherein he talks about his film, life and upcoming projects. In addition, the website also shares six clips from the film on the same page. Waltz with Bashir will see a limited theatrical run in […]

Batman: The Complete Animated Series

The best superhero cartoon of all time finally gets the complete series set it deserves.

The Tale of Despereaux

The ingredients in The Tale of Despereaux never come together in this boring and rambling film.

Lilo & Stitch: 2-Disc Big Wave Edition DVD in March

UltimateDisney reports that a two-disc set of Disney’s traditionally animated film Lilo & Stitch will resurface on March 24, 2009. Extras on this release will include Deleted Scenes, Music Videos by A*Teens and The Hawaiian Chorus, Lilo & Stitch Island Adventure Games, DisneyPedia: Hawaii, A Stitch in Time, and much more. Cover art for the […]

Keanu Reeves talks Cowboy Bebop

MTV Movies Blog reports that Keanu Reeves is eager to bring the classic anime series Cowboy Bebop, to the big screen as a live-action movie. Reeves hopes to play Spike Spiegel, 27-year-old bounty hunter, who leaves Red Dragons, the Chinese Mafia group, and teams up with Jet Black to roam the solar system in search […]

WALL-E wins big at Chicago Film Critics award

Chicago Film Critics Association has named WALL-E the Best Picture of 2008. In addition to the top honor, the movie also won the awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Animated Film. The awards, voted on by the 55 members of the organization, covering print, radio, television and the Internet, were announced […]

The Best Of 2008: It Came…It Saw…It’s Over!

From the best to the worst, here are our highlighted DVD picks of the year, plus some other worthy mentions, high-def choices, and our top three motion pictures of the year!

Wallace & Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death

Nick Park’s latest adventure for his lovably perilously-prone duo is as accomplished as ever, if perhaps not quite as stunning or original as previous efforts.

The Tale of Despereaux clips, featurettes, and more

Coinciding with the release of the film, COLLIDER shares six movie clips, two featurettes and more from Universal’s upcoming animated feature The Tale of Despereaux. Directed by Sam Fell and featuring the voices of Matthew Broderick, Ben Falcone, Emma Watson, Tony Hale and Dustin Hoffman, Despereaux tells the tale of a tiny mouse with oversized […]

Coraline alphabet posters

IMPAWARDS shares the links to Twenty-six different websites, premiering twenty-six different posters for Coraline, one for each letter of the alphabet. Directed by Henry Selick, Coraline opens in theaters on February 6, 2009.

Peanuts: Snoopy's Reunion remasterd deluxe edition DVD in April

DVDActive shares the artwork and other details on the upcoming remastered deluxe edition of Peanuts: Snoopy’s Reunion. Besides the main feature, the single disc release will also include a bonus “Peanuts TV special”, and a “Together Again: The Peanuts Voice-Cast Reunion” featurette. Peanuts: Snoopy’s Reunion will be out in stores on April 7, 2009.

South Park: Season 12 DVD in March

DVDTimes reports that Paramount Home Entertainment have announced the US DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of South Park: Season 12 on 10th March 2009. Uncensored versions of all 14 episodes will be included in this release. Extras on the disc will include, “Six Days to South Park – A Day-by-Day Making of South Park (Super […]

Up generates early buzz

Pixar’s Upcoming film has been generating some early positive buzz, following the 45 minutes screening at Butt-Numb-A-Thon. According to CHUD, “What we saw was sometimes fully rendered and finished, sometimes flat and undone and often just sketches and storyboards with a temp music track and voices dubbed over, but it was completely engaging and often […]

Ponyo distributor sets record earnings

Variety reports that Toho, boosted by the strong box office performance of Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature Ponyo on a Cliff, has set a new company record for annual box office earnings in Japan. Toho’s biggest hit, Ponyo which was released in July, has made $171 million to date.

2008 Best Song Oscar contenders announced

Forty-nine songs will compete for nominations in the Best Original Song category at the 81st Academy Awards, and four of them are from animated films: Barking at the Moon, from Bolt Down to Earth, from WALL-E I Thought I Lost You, from Bolt The Traveling Song, from Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa The Oscar nominations will […]

Extended Up clip

A new clip from Disney/Pixar’s Up can be viewed on the film’s official website by clicking on the house that appears once the page loads. The video is an extension of the scene played out in the movie’s teaser trailer, which can be seen here. Up, which opens in theaters on May 29th of next […]

Return To The Sea (again), plus Dr Horrible and another Nutty Professor…

New contests for The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea and The Nutty Professor!

Christmas Contest: win The Little Mermaid II Special Edition – Winner!

The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea Special Edition on DVD – Winner Announced!