Month: December 2009

Little Nemo, The Muppet Movie among those added to National Film Registry

Little Nemo, The Muppet Movie, Quasi at the Quackadero, The Red Book, and Scratch and Crow were added to the National Film Registry according to the head of the Library of Congress, James Billington. Each year the Librarian of Congress, advised by the National Film Preservation Board, selects up to 25 films that are culturally, […]

Worldwide box office for Avatar: $700 million in 12 days!

20th Century Fox’s Avatar has become a blockbuster on an epic scale…and at a very fast rate, too. According to the studio, the movie has already earned a jaw-dropping $700 million worldwide, with $250 million of that number coming from the US. Things have also continued to be good for Fox at the box office […]

New Rapunzel image

SlashFilm points to a new image from Disney’s upcoming animated fairy tale Rapunzel. It’s hard to tell if the image is an actual still from the film or just concept art, but it’s worth checking out either way. Rapunzel hits theaters next Thanksgiving.

Third How to Train Your Dragon trailer

A new trailer for DreamWorks’ upcoming animated comedy/adventure How to Train Your Dragon is now online and can be found here. The preview begins with a montage of footage from some of the studio’s previous hits before going on to show some new footage from the film. Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois of Lilo […]

Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas

Curious George returns for the holidays in a delightful little animated special that should appeal to his many young fans and put a warm smile on the faces of some adults too!

New Despicable Me trailer and poster

With the movie not coming out until next summer, a third teaser trailer for the Steve Carell animated comedy Despicable Me has been released. The preview features characters not seen in previous ads for the film: jelly bean shaped minions who are in the service of Gru, Carell’s supervillain protagonist. The minions are also the focus of a new […]

A Miser Brothers’ Christmas

Two classic Rankin/Bass characters, Heat and Snow Miser, are back for their own holiday special. In it the two brothers must put aside their differences and save Christmas from the jealous North Wind.

The Chipmunks make a box office killing

Whether you love them or hate them, the Chipmunks proved yesterday that they still have plenty of box office power left in them, with their new movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel opening to an extremely impressive $19 million yesterday, according to studio estimates. Estimates regarding how Disney’s The Princess and the Frog was affected by […]

Marmaduke trailer hits the internet

The teaser trailer for the live-action/animated family comedy Marmaduke is now online at Yahoo! Movies. Unlike the comic strip on which it’s based, the great dane Marmaduke–whose appearance will almost certainly remind some people of Scooby-Doo in CGI form–will be given a voice in the movie, provided by Owen Wilson. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, Marmaduke comes to […]

Ho-ho-ho with our Best Of The Year!

In our last update before the holidays, Animated Views wishes a very Merry Christmas to you all, plus we review the highs and lows of the past twelve months’ animated movies and home entertainment releases!

New upcoming project from DreamWorks Animation: Fright Diner

DreamWorks Animation is planning on going into the world of horror comedy in their recently announced upcoming movie Fright Diner. The movie, based on a novel by A. Lee Martinez, will center around a werewolf and a vampire who battle zombies and other mayhem, all within a diner in the desert where supernatural creatures gather. Written by […]

The Best Of 2009: This Time It’s Personal!

Join us on a trip back through the past twelve months for the best and the worst of the year, including our top ten DVD and Blu-ray highlights, which ones to avoid and the pick of 2009’s movies!

Brittany Murphy dies at 32

Annie Award winning actress Brittany Murphy has died of an apparent heart attack at age 32, several sources (such as the New York Post) are reporting. Murphy is best known to animation fans as the voice of Luanne Platter on the long running series King of the Hill. She also had roles in the TV […]

Box office victory for Avatar

Avatar made a very solid $73 million during its opening weekend, according to studio estimates. Were it not for the massive snow storm that was sweeping part of America over the weekend, the James Cameron picture might’ve made even more. As things turned out, it fell about $6 million short of claiming the record for best December opening, which […]

International character posters for Alvin sequel now online

Six new international posters for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel are now online at the IMP Awards. The ads feature close-ups of the chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore, as well as the Chippettes, Britney, Eleonor and Jeanette. The Squeakuel opens in the US on Wednesday.

Toy Story 3 clip now online

The extended clip of Toy Story 3, set to air along with The Incredibles on ABC Family tonight, has appeared online and can be viewed on ComingSoon. The final addition to the Toy Story film series hits theaters on June 18th, 2010.

Friday box office for Avatar

With virtually all eyes in the industry watching it, James Cameron’s Avatar kicked off its box office run yesterday with a gross of $27 million, according to EW.com. It was a strong start for the sci-fi extravaganza, and should probably be enough to confirm an opening weekend of around $55-65 million.

Michael’s Jackson’s Captain Eo returning to Disneyland

The King of Pop himself will be returning to Disneyland one last time, Disney Parks Blog reveals, in the park’s popular attraction Captain Eo. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by George Lucas back in 1986, the 17-minute 3D movie hasn’t been seen since it’s closing in 1997. Its limited engagement in Tommorowland begins in February […]

Toy Story 3 coming to IMAX 3D

It has just been announced that next summer’s Toy Story 3 will be getting the IMAX 3D treatment. It will be the first time that a movie from Pixar has ever been released in that format. Those who can’t wait for the June 18th release date to see some of the movie can tune into ABC […]

The Princess And The Frog‘s Supervising Animator Mark Henn – Part 1: It All Started With A…Mermaid!

Jeremie Noyer begins his multi-part discussion with Mark Henn, looking back on the animator’s career from joining Disney to moving to the Studio’s Florida unit.

Avatar opens

James Cameron’s Avatar (finally) opens in 3,453 theatres according to Box Office Mojo. The film scores a solid 82% at Rotten Tomatoes, with their consensus being that “It might be more impressive on a technical level than as a piece of storytelling, but Avatar reaffirms James Cameron’s singular gift for imaginative, absorbing filmmaking.” The Tomatometer […]

The Princess And The Frog‘s Supervising Animator Mark Henn: A Career Retrospective

Join Jeremy Noyer for an exclusive look back over Disney animator Mark Henn’s career, right up to becoming supervising animator on the Studio’s return to traditional animation, The Princess And The Frog!

Trailers for Toy Story 3, Shrek 4 online

New trailers for what are poised to be two of the biggest films of 2010 are now online in high definition at the Apple trailers site: Shrek Forever After (opening in May) and Toy Story 3 (opening in June).

Charity art show and auction in Rancho Cucamonga

If you’re lucky enough to be in the area Saturday night, check out this charity art show and auction at the at the CCAA Museum of Art in Rancho Cucamonga. The event benefits the Loma Linda Childrens Hospital. Among those displaying work will be Disney artists, Floyd Norman, Bruce Smith, Bill Perkins, Aurian Redson, Glen […]

The Princess and the Frog

While not the fairest one of all, The Princess and the Frog shines enough to prove wrong anyone who thought that traditional animation was a dying art and that the movie musical croaked years ago.

12 Days of Cartoon Network’s Holiday Programming

As the run-up to Christmas continues, Cartoon Network has mined its vast animation library to present a large number of classic and modern Christmas specials that appeal to viewers of all ages. Included among the offerings are several programs new to Cartoon Network this year: Gotta Catch Santa Claus, The Marvelous Mis-adventures of Flapjack: Low […]

The Lord Of The Blu-Rings

The original theatrical editions of Peter Jackson’s epic Lord Of The Rings trilogy will make their anticipated debut on Blu-ray next April 6, from Warner Home Video. The $99.98 nine-disc set will feature more than seven hours of supplements drawn from previous DVD versions of the three films, including featurettes from the LordOfTheRings.net website, plus […]

Actor Cuyle Carvin becomes a cartoon

Fred M. Grandinetti, author of Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History and Jack Mercer: The Voice of Popeye and 17-year host of the New England cable TV show Drawing With Fred, an award-winning throwback to the old ‘Uncle’ hosted shows of the 50s and 60s featuring many classic cartoons, has announced the cartoon caricatured style Cuyle […]

South Park: Season 13 gets a cover

The cover art for South Park: Season 13 has been revealed at DVD Active. The DVD and Blu-Ray releases will include all 13 episodes from the season, along with mini-commentaries by show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It hits store shelves on March 16th.

Shrek Forever After teaser trailer and poster

Continuing what has been a pretty big week for trailers on the internet, the treaser for DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek Forever After is now online at Apple.com. The site also has the brand new teaser poster for the film, which features the four main characters from the franchise. Shrek Forever After is set for release next summer.