IMAX, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment are teaming to bring Despicable Me 2 to international audiences sooner than expected. The theater chain has announced it will start showing the anticipated sequel in select international IMAX 3D theaters on June 20. Despicable Me 2 will hit standard U.S. theaters on July 3.

On Wednesday, Disney treated CinemaCon attendees to an early cut of Monsters University – and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive! Peter Sciretta of /Film tweets that the prequel is “a fun broad college comedy set in a cleverly designed world,” while also praising its “surprising turns” and “gutsy message.” Eric Eisenberg of Cinema Blend […]

Disney Pixar announced on their Twitter account today the already rumored news that “Inside Out, the new film from director Pete Docter, will open in US theaters June 19, 2015″. According to previous reports, the film is “told from the perspective of the emotions inside the mind of a little girl”.

DreamWorks Animation is moving forward with a sequel to this year’s first animated blockbuster, The Croods, says The Los Angeles Times. Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco are returning to direct the sequel, although details on the film’s plot being kept under wraps. Negotiations are underway to bring back the first film’s voice cast, which included […]

It appears Katy Perry won’t be the only pop star in The Smurfs 2. Billboard.com says Britney Spears will lend her vocals to the end credits song Ooh La La. Spears’ Femme Fatale collaborators Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald and Ammo Cirkut produced the track, while Bonnie McKee, J Kash, Lola Blanc and Fransisca Hall each […]

If Fox is to be believed, talk of The Cleveland Show‘s cancellation may have been premature. On April 7, The Animation Guild Blog reported that The Cleveland Show has definitely been canceled. But now a Fox spokesperson is denying the claim, saying the show’s fate has yet to be decided. “Only Fox can dictate whether […]

Universal used this year’s CinemaCon to screen about 15 minutes of Despicable Me 2. Peter Sciretta of SlashFilm.com and Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net discuss the footage, which included a look at the purple, evil Minions. While Sciretta enjoyed the Minions, he was less impressed by the more emotional scenes shown. “One thing that worries me […]

A new batch of animated films is gearing up for theaters, as a fresh crop of posters reminds. Collider reveals the 3D-printed standee for Relativity Media/Reel FX’s Free Birds, displayed at this year’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, IMP Awards has new international posters for Despicable Me 2 and Turbo, as well as a Smurfs […]

As the release of Monsters University draws closer, Yahoo! Movies reveals the members of fraternities Oozma Kappa, Roar Omega Roar and Jaws Theta Chi as well as sororities Slugma Slugma Kappa, Eta Hiss Hiss and Python Nu Kappa. The images are being released now to coincide with Greek Week, in which fraternities and sororities come […]

Amazon.com lists Escape from Planet Earth as scheduled to hit stores on June 4. From Rainmaker Entertainment, the film opened in February with $15 million, eventually collecting $54 million to become the Weinstein Co.’s highest-grossing animated feature in the U.S. Directed by Cal Brunker, Escape features the voice talents of Rob Corddry, Brendan Fraser, Sarah […]

Folks who watched last night’s Family Guy were treated to cameo appearances by Stan Smith of American Dad and Hank Hill of King of the Hill. Furthermore, the show’s opening credits mimicked those of Hill. Entertainment Weekly goes behind the scenes of these guest appearances, talking to Family Guy executive producer Steve Callaghan. Previously, Smith […]

Jonathan Winters died last night of natural causes, reports The New York Times. The actor burst onto the big screen in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in 1963, before joining The Carol Burnett Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. From 1967-69, he headlined The Jonathan Winters Show. Winters was a regular on […]

DreamWorks Animation announces it has acquired the intellectual property for the iconic Troll Dolls franchise from the Dam Family and Dam Things of Denmark. To cultivate the franchise, American Girl veteran Shawn Dennis will act as head of brand development. DreamWorks Animation is now the exclusive worldwide licensor of the merchandise rights for the classic […]

Disney Insider has the first screenshots from the Planes video game. “Join Dusty and friends as they perfect their flight skills and embark on global missions, air races, and grand adventures around the world.” Gamers can play as one of ten characters from the film, including Dusty Crophopper and fighter jets Echo and Bravo. Much […]

Coming Soon announces that Open Road Films has acquired all U.S. distribution rights to the computer animated family film The Nut Job. The film is now scheduled to open January 17, 2014. The Nut Job features the voice talents of Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, and Brendan Fraser. It is described as “an action-packed […]

The Hollywood Reporter has the first look at Sunday’s intro for The Simpsons, which pays tribute to Breaking Bad. “Marge plays the cook, whipping up blue cupcakes; Homer is Heisenberg (albeit — a much less industrious version than Bryan Cranston’s); and Bart handles distribution, hauling away a briefcase full of the goods,” the site explains. […]

This week, Pixar offered members of the media a sneak peek at Monsters University, and Jim Hill was on the guest list. The event previewed 40 minutes of the Monsters, Inc. prequel, plus an early screening of the latest Pixar short, The Blue Umbrella. Unfortunately, Hill cannot specifically reveal what he saw until the press’ […]

FilmStarts.de, via Coming Soon, has the first poster for Constantin Film’s 3D animated adventure Tarzan. The film features the motion captured performances of Kellan Lutz (The Twilight Saga) as Tarzan and Spencer Locke (Resident Evil entries Extinction and Afterlife) as Jane. Tarzan is expected to swing into theaters overseas this fall.

Coming Soon has a new “Toy Box” trailer for Disney Infinity. The footage reveals more crossovers in the Disney universe, from Mike Wazowski standing at Scrooge McDuck’s money bin to Carl Fredricksen’s house flying past the iconic hilltop of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Disney Infinity will be available August 18, for the Wii, Wii U, […]

Forbes looks at the implications of Fox and DreamWorks’ recent partnership, saying “it immediately establishes just who the titans in modern day American animation are… the second and third-place animation studios just teamed up, which automatically makes them a strong bet to challenge the Mouse House”. Calling the deal a game-changer, the writer believes the […]

A lawsuit against DreamWorks claiming they stole the ideas for Kung Fu Panda can proceed to a possible trial a judge ruled this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “The judge’s decision potentially sets the stage for an uncommon occurrence in Hollywood: a trial concerning a major studio in which a jury would determine whether […]

In news that may be seen as somewhat surprising by many, the upcoming Walt Disney biopic Saving Mr. Banks has been rated PG-13 for “thematic elements including some unsettling images,” ComingSoon.net is reporting. The movie–which is apparently finished now, given that it has an MPAA rating–chroncles Disney’s efforts to coax  P.L. Travers into letting him adapt her […]

Blu-ray and DVD releases for The Legend of Korra Book One: Air, the popular follow up to Nickelodeon’s much acclaimed animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, have been announced, reports IGN. The Legend of Korra will mark the first TV series Nickelodeon has ever released on Blu-ray. Bonus features exclusive to Blu-ray include Audio Commentaries […]

Though well-known in the animation community, the casual fan may not be familiar with Bruno Bozzetto, the famous Italian animator. He is best known for his Fantasia parody movie Allegro Non Troppo from 1976 and his character Mr. Rossi, who appeared in twenty shorts from 1960-1975. Bozzetto will be honored at the Annecy International Animated […]

The Kung Fu Panda franchise has barely begun, according to the plans DreamWorks has for Po and his kung fu fighting friends. DreamWorks is planning on building it to be a franchise to rival Shrek’s success and the third movie is already in the works with a December 23, 2015 release date, reports The Hollywood […]

Often said to be the most beloved of all the 1950s Mouseketeers, Anne Funicello died today at the age of 70 from multiple sclerosis. Funicello attracted the attention of Walt Disney after he saw her perform in a school’s rendition of Swan Lake. He was looking for children to star in a new show, and […]