Month: March 2013 – page 2

The LEGO Movie gets title treatment and contest

Coming Soon premieres the title treatment for Warner Bros.’ The LEGO Movie, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs). To build anticipation for the film, Warner Bros. is asking LEGO enthusiasts to create 15-30 second video clips as part of the “LEGO ReBrick Movie Competition”. One of the clips […]

Kung Fu Panda, Shark Tale directors board Noah’s Ark

Two by two, the animals – and now directors – boarded Noah’s Ark. Deadline.com reports that Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson and Shark Tale co-director Cameron Hood are helming the Unified Pictures computer animated musical. Written by Philip LaZebnik (Mulan), Noah’s Ark tells of Gilbert the meerkat, who leads a ragtag band of animals […]

Epic presentation leads to new trailer

Coming Soon attended a 45-minute presentation for Fox/Blue Sky’s Epic, in which director Chris Wedge showed new scenes and elaborated on making the film. One interesting note from Wedge was that Epic bears little resemblance to its original source material, William Joyce’s illustrated storybook The Leaf Men. The project became something different when Joyce left […]

Watch Oz The Great and Powerful’s opening credits

One of the most talked about aspects of Sam Raimi’s blockbuster Oz The Great and Powerful is its opening credits sequence. Created by Yu + Co, the black-and-white, stereo 4:3 sequence was inspired by the films of George Melis, as explained by Garson Yu in an interview with Cinema Blend. Now viewers can witness this […]

Turbo brings new domestic, international trailers

Two new trailers for DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo have arrived online. The second domestic trailer, attached to The Croods in theaters this weekend, may be seen at iTunes Movie Trailers. Concurrently, an extended international trailer is available at MSN UK. Turbo tells of a snail whose dream of competing in the Indy 500 is brought to […]

Planet Earth shatters Weinstein Co. record

Cartoon Brew reports that Escape from Planet Earth is the highest-grossing computer animated movie distributed by the Weinstein Co. Thus far, Earth has collected more than $52 million during its theatrical run. The studio’s previous top CGI earner was Hoodwinked, which collected $51.4 million in 2005.

Guardians tops home entertainment charts

Rise of the Guardians premiered atop Nielsen Video’s First Alert sales chart, which tracks overall disc sales, and Nielsen’s Blu-ray Disc sales chart. Oscar-winner Life of Pi debuted at No. 2 on both charts, despite making $122 million to Guardians‘ $103 million in theaters domestically. Wreck-It Ralph, the previous week’s top seller, fell to No. […]

Croods stars talk; creatures revealed

ComingSoon.net has an interview with The Croods stars Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds. And Empire Magazine has a gallery of some of the strange creatures their characters will face on their journey. The Croods opens this Friday, March 22nd.

Tina Fey on Muppets set

Collider has a photo from the set of The Muppets…Again! movie featuring Tina Fey and what appears to be Kermit’s “jewel-heisting doppelgänger named Constantine”. Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell also star. The film is set to open a year from tomorrow, on March 21, 2014.

New Despicable Me 2 trailer and poster

A brand new trailer and poster for Despicable Me 2 have found their way online and can be seen on ComingSoon.Net. The preview is expected to be shown on the big screen this weekend with 3-D screenings of The Croods. Already one of the most marketed movies of the year, Despicable Me 2 strikes theaters everywhere this […]

Teen Titans Go! promo

Spinoff Online has a look (courtesy of BeyBladeMetalRanger) at the first promo for Teen Titans Go!, a new series from Cartoon Network’s DC Nation programming block. “Character-driven comedy is the order of the day as this new take on the superhero series focuses on the funny business that happens between saving the world and living […]

Monsters University “student-run” Tumblr

Stitch Kingdom notes that in keeping with Pixar’s marketing push to make Monsters University feel like a real school, they recently started a Tumblr page ran by a “student” — a “Monstropolis transplant”, an “MU Sophomore”, and a “Self-diagnosed coffee addict”. Be sure to check out The Grumblr for more, including this ESPN video on […]

Touring Laika

Grow Film Company recently posted some behind the scenes videos from Laika and their recent film ParaNorman. Included are tours of the puppets, animation, and art departments. You can watch the animation video here, but check out their page for the rest.

Pete’s Dragon getting new screenwriter

Amongst the Disney classics, is an often forgotten movie musical combining live action with animation. Pete’s Dragon is story about an orphan boy befriended by dragon who becomes invisible at the drop of a hat. Following a recent trend of remakes and augmentations to current titles (i.e. Cinderella, Malifiecent, and the possible Beauty and the […]

Art of The Croods book preview

ComingSoon.net has some images from the upcoming The Art of The Croods book, “which features over 400 pieces of concept art, character sketches, storyboards and digital paintings, along with interviews with key animation talent”. The film opens this Friday, while you can pick up the book on March 26th.

Pay TV being outflanked by web creators

Deadline reports that the new Angry Birds Toons series that just launched this weekend has, among other signs, caused BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield to forecast that “the pace of innovation is accelerating and that traditional media industry gatekeepers run by executives such as Brian Roberts, Rupert Murdoch, Bob Iger, Sumner Redstone, Jeff Bewkes, etc. do […]

TMNT reboot will be “awesome”

Kevin Eastman , one of the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is happy with the direction of the upcoming Micheal Bay film reboot, according to Comic Book Resources. “From everything that I’ve seen in the script and the development and everything they’ve asked my input on specifically, it’s gonna be an awesome, familiar, […]

Oz’s opening title magic

CinemaBlend has an interesting look behind the scenes of the 3D retro-themed animated opening credits sequence in Oz The Great and Powerful. “Our opening sequence needed to set up this sensational 3D journey, up front, so that the audience kind of expects the whole entire film is going to be an adventure fantasy film. We […]

Thomas Newman to score Pixar’s Good Dinosaur

During a recent event at Le Moyne and Syracuse University, Thomas Newman revealed that he will provide the musical score for Disney/Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, says The Dolphin. This will mark Newman’s third collaboration with the studio, having provided Oscar-nominated scores for Finding Nemo and WALL-E. Directed by Bob Peterson, The Good Dinosaur tells of […]

Priyanka Chopra lends voice to Planes

Priyanka Chopra is the latest actress confirmed for DisneyToon Studios’ Planes, reports the Indo-Asian News Service. Chopra will voice the character Ishani, one of the many international planes to be featured in the Cars spin-off. Take Five A Day has a sneak peek at Ishani’s design.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Monsters University!

Mike and Sulley prepare for St. Patrick’s Day antics in the latest poster for Monsters University, on display at IMPAwards.com. Moviegoers should anticipate more themed posters from design studio FIVE33, also responsible for the film’s winter-themed poster, as the monsters make their way to theaters this summer.

List of Cartoon Network, Adult Swim shows coming to Netflix

In January, Netflix announced it would carry full seasons of shows from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim starting March 30. Now Streaming Soon has the complete list of series about to hit the on-demand service. Courage the Cowardly Dog, Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls are just some of the Cartoon Network titles to be […]

Day of the Dead uses Kickstarter to get musical score

While Pixar and Guillermo del Toro prepare separate projects on the Day of the Dead, three seniors from the Ringling College of Art and Design are making their own short film about the Mexican holiday. Day of the Dead follows a young girl who discovers the holiday’s true meaning: “to celebrate the lives of lost […]

Chris Sanders originally offered Rise of the Guardians?

Speaking with a fan site for The Croods, Chris Sanders reveals some interesting trivia about another DreamWorks feature, Rise of the Guardians. Upon joining the studio in 2007, the director was apparently given a choice between The Croods and Guardians. “The Croods was the one that was up and running and ready to go,” he […]

Kung Fu Rabbit finds success via Redbox

Despite a slew of animated titles hitting stores this month, one smaller animated film has found an audience thanks to Redbox kiosks: The Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit. If the title looks suspiciously similar to Kung Fu Panda, so does the film’s trailer and synopsis. The film also borrows actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who joins […]

Wreck-It Ralph: Ultimate Collector’s Edition

Either the most unique movie in Disney’s recent history or the one that doesn’t feel like a Disney movie at all, Ralph is entertaining even if it’s game over for the very basic extras package.

Great and Powerful concept artist Dawn Brown journeys to Oz!

Concept artist Dawn Brown leaves Kansas to speak with Animated Views about the the visuals of Oz The Great and Powerful and how this trip to the “merry ol’ land” is unlike anything audiences have seen before!

Rotoscopers YouTube: Wreck-It Ralph and Finding Nemo

The Rotoscopers talk about the recent home video releases of Wreck-It Ralph and Finding Nemo, two animated classics — though one outshines the other in bonus features.

From Up on Poppy Hill gets limited opening

Goro Miyazaki’s From Up on Poppy Hill opens in New York and Los Angeles today, according to Animation Magazine. “The film was the top-earning animated feature in Japan in 2011, grossing almost $54 million and outdrawing two Pokémon features. It also won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Animated Feature”. Check out the magazine’s site […]

Reynolds, The Croods Guy, talks about film

Croods star Ryan Reynolds, who plays the role of Guy, sat for an interview with Flicks and Bits, where he discussed his character, the recording process, the family dynamic in the story, and what it was like seeing the finished product. The Croods opens March 22nd.