In the first of three featured articles, the UK-based film blog Flickering Myth profiles Pixar Animation Studios. The second part will follow on November 11, and part three on November 18, 2009.

The LA Times reports that after more than a decade of discussions, Disney has finally been granted permission to build a theme park in Shanghai. Disney CEO Robert Iger said, “China is one of the most dynamic, exciting and important countries in the world, and this approval marks a very significant milestone for the Walt […]

Mickey Mouse is re-branded as an action hero in the Nintendo Wii console’s hotly anticipated Epic Mickey game set for release next year. The Guardian online speaks to designer Warren Spector about the game’s Cartoon Wasteland storyline, which will see the return of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit in his first major new role since Disney’s […]

Premiering on NBC November 17, DreamWorks’ animated special Merry Madagascar will debut on DVD the very next day – as a Walmart exclusive title. The half-hour special, in which Santa gets amnesia after his sleigh crashes on the island and Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and the penguins must save Christmas by delivering presents, will be […]

The 82nd Academy Awards, to be held March 7, will be a two-headed affair as far as the host will be concerned: Steve Martin returns to the podium, to be joined by his SNL, 30 Rock and the upcoming It’s Complicated colleague Alec Baldwin, as announced by The Hollywood Reporter.

The Animation Guild Blog notes that the rumored and then dropped Disney project Joe Jump (mentioned here back in 2006) may be back in development.

Fans of the pioneering web series Tiki Bar TV may recognize the new VP of development for Disney Television Animation. Variety reports that Kevin Gamble, perhaps better known online as the fez-wearing, prescription-filling bartender Johnny Johnny, will be in charge of development and production of new animation shorts and series on Disney Channel and Disney […]

Over at Yahoo Movies, the 2nd trailer for Dreamworks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon has just been released. The film, which will be shown in Digital 3D, is scheduled to be released on March 26, 2010.

“On a showy, exuberant demonstration of the glories of motion capture, computer animation and 3D technology level, it’s a wow. On any emotional level, it’s as cold as Marley’s Ghost”, so says Kirk Honeycutt in his Hollywood Reporter review for Disney’s production of Robert Zemeckis’ film of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

The National Film Board of Canada’s animated documentary Tying Your Own Shoes by Shira Avni, has won the Golden Dove Award at the 52nd International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film.

The Hollywood Reporter suggests the doubling of entries in the Best Picture Academy Awards race could have a major effect on future Oscar winners…or not. Will it mean more space for big-budget blockbusters like Star Trek and animated fare such as Up? Or just create extra room for more arthouse titles? You won’t find the […]

Director Robert Zemeckis revealed in a recent MTV exclusive that Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman are collaborating to develop a script for a Roger Rabbit sequel. There have been many rumors in the past about potential sequels to the film, but this is valid material. You can expect more info about the sequel to be […]

IGN reports Seth Macfarlan’s American Dad has been renewed for a sixth season on Fox. This means all three MacFarlane series – including Family Guy, and the Cleveland Show – will be returning next year.

Home Media Magazine has opened up voting for their 2009 TV DVD Awards, honoring the best television series DVDs released this year. And animation is front and center in several key categories. The categories with animated nominees are listed below (specific animated nominees in bold print)–you can vote on the entire list here:

The Wall Street Journal has a nice piece on The Princess and the Frog, the return of traditional animation to Disney, and how it was brought about by some directors they let go and the company some blamed for the demise of hand drawn films.

Robert Zemeckis defends his performance-capture animation techniques with some name-dropping in an article from the National Post, and Jim Carrey gets philosophical with the LA Times, as they both discuss A Christmas Carol, opening this Friday.

Jonathan Demme, Oscar winning director of The Silence of the Lambs, is planning to bring the book Zeitoun to the big screen as an animated film, according to the NY Times. The book by Dave Eggers, co-author of the Where the Wild Things Are screenplay, tells the story of a “man who remained in New […]

The guys at Cartoon Brew have some video to show how Pixar thrilled their employees more than any ghost would ever dare try this past Halloween.

Nickelodeon will be airing a third television movie for its popular animated series, SpongeBob SquarePants, this Friday, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the show. The movie, called SpongeBob’s Truth or Square, will contain flashbacks from the characters’ pasts. Nick will release the movie to DVD on November 10th, four days after the network premiere.

According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, the 20th season of The Simpsons is not only coming to DVD on January 12, 2010, but will also be the the first season of the show released on Blu-ray. Both releases include all 21 episodes from the season, running nearly 482 minutes long. Only one feature is present right now: a […]

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Disney Channel will be launching their first new animated series in three years. Fish Hooks, created using a mix of 2D digital animation and photo collage, takes place at a high school in a fish tanks at a pet store. Gary Marsh, president entertainment at Disney Channels Worldwide, said, “The […]

BusinessWeek talks with DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg in a quick interview that covers a lot of ground — including sales of movie tickets and DVDs, future Broadway endeavors, runaway spending, and celebrity tweets.