Subject: Animated News Weekly

12/07/03– 12/13/03:

Hi again, and here we go again with the Animated News Weekly. Please copy and paste any split links into your browser for more info on a given subject. This week’s headlines…



----DISNEY QUITS DISNEY----

Last week’s big story continues to send shockwaves through the web. Jim Hill Media’s Larry Pontius, a long-time Disney Company staffer, had a dream about Roy Disney’s situation:
http://www.jimhillmedia.com/articles/guest/pontius.12082003.1.htm

Meanwhile Roy himself has been busy, starting up the “Save Disney” website with fellow resigned board member Stanley Gold:
http://www.savedisney.com/

Needless to say, Disney's internal internet service blocked their employees’ access to the site with a firewall, according to the BCDB:
http://forum.bcdb.com/gforum.cgi?post=16232

At animator Dave Pruiksma’s online petition to oust Eisner, Roy Disney has signed himself (#1758), and legendary animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, as well as producer Don Hahn also appear. The “stuck in the middle” Hahn spoke out about the rift to the Orlando Sentinel:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/orl-livhahn121003dec10,0,311763.story?coll=orl-home-headlines


The New York Post announced that the board had taken on a new director, who was to bring in a fresh independent outlook. However, John Chen has since attacked the board for many of the same reasons that Roy and Stan left:
http://www.nypost.com/business/12615.htm

The Motley Fool’s Rick Aristotle Munarriz offers some advice to Eisner, and how he can help shape a new image:
http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2003/commentary031205ram.htm?source=eptyholnk303100&logvisit=y&npu=y&bounce=y&bounce2=y

Time Magazine looks back on Eisner’s career:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101031215-557062,00.html



----FEATURE FILMS----

Variety announced that comedian Jerry Seinfeld has signed to DreamWorks Animation for the CG-animated BEE MOVIE, an Antz-like tale of insects in the big city. Animated World Network has more:
http://news.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=top&newsitem_no=9786

Dark Horizons picks up on another Variety story, this time on scribes Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle being hired to re-write the screenplay for the long in gestation Disney animated/live-action combo ENCHANTED. The film now has a new director as well, Bringing Down The House’s Adam Shankman. We have more:
http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000421.html

Coming Soon picked up on the widely reported news that Scrubbs star Zach Braff will voice CHICKEN LITTLE in Mark Dindal’s computer animated cartoon for Disney:
http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=2671

Return to Middle Earth: after KING KONG, director Peter Jackson has said he wants to go back and complete the Lord Of The Rings cycle by filming THE HOBBIT as a prequel to hit his series of films. Currently tangled up in legal rights (New Line own re-make rights, but MGM has a deal to actually distribute the completed picture), it’s hoped that these will be cleared up after shooting wraps on Kong. The last of the Rings trilogy, The Return Of The King, opens this week. Reuters has more:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3U30OLM2B2ZYQCRBAELCFEY?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3957539

NEMO still swimming in high waters! According to Toon Zone, the film should now be reaching the $300 million mark in international box office:
http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=96699

Upcoming DreamWorks CG animation: the SKG Fansite posted new pics from Shrek 2, Shark Tale, Over the Hedge and Madagascar:
http://www.dreamworksfansite.com/fullstory.php?id=254

Cinescape reports (a little belatedly) on the LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION premiere:
http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Movies&action=page&obj_id=40389&type_id=270285&cat_id=270338?_id=0#

There’s a production crew member’s online diary for Miyazaki’s next, HOWL’S MOVING CATSLE, online at:
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/howl/diary.html

If you haven’t seen it already, the quite fun teaser trailer for SCOOBY DOO 2 is online at Apple:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/scooby_doo_2/

Good, bad, or ugly? The GARFIELD: THE MOVIE teaser is online…what do you think?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/garfield/

Another trailer for you: this time of the quite special looking L’UOVO (THE EGG), a CG-based film with some beautiful imagery. We have frame grabs and a link to the official site and trailer:
http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000451.html



----DVD RELEASES----

France this week saw the release of two TEX AVERY box sets, though be aware that early word confirms that these are somewhat of a “rush job” put out to please the Tex-mad French, and only contain unrestored (and in some cases cut) cartoons. Amazon.fr has a four disc:
http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DF12D/qid%3D1070413926/sr%3D1-2/ref%3Dsr%5F1%5F2%5F2/402-3696703-0788143
Tex Avery Five Disc Tin Set:
http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DF12E/qid%3D1070413926/sr%3D1-1/ref%3Dsr%5F1%5F2%5F1/402-3696703-0788143
Also, the site has a great looking Disney ZORRO set on offer:
http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000VKLP8/ref=pd_bxgy_text_2/402-3696703-0788143
Remember that, despite an English soundtrack on these, they will probably come with “forced” French subtitles. Restored, region 1 editions, are on the way for 2004.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEAR is a hit on DVD too! The title sold over 11 million video units last week, 90% of which were 2-disc DVD sales:
http://www.videobusiness.com/article.asp?articleID=6653&catType=NEWS
Meanwhile, could Jack and co’s next screen voyage be subtitled TREASURES OF THE LOST ABYSS? Cinescape has heard a rumor:
http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Movies&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=270338&obj_id=40379

Bruno Bozzetto's 1977 Fantasia homage ALLEGRO NON TROPPO has been announced for release to DVD. We have more on the impressive sounding set:
http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000439.html

Could the Roy Disney/Micahel Eisner situation be the real reason behind this year’s slate of WALT DISNEY TREAURES DVDs? Jim Hill Media speculates:
http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/index.htm?../articles/12112003.1.htm~contentFrame

BROTHER BEAR will mark a return to first-run 2-disc DVD sets when it comes out on disc next March. Announced this week, the initial special features can be found on the official press release:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2077
Pre-order Brother Bear from Amazon.com for a 30% discount:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JMFH/thehomeimprovemz/002-1902555-2863210



----INTERVIEWS----

Spanish web site 3D Y Animacion has a great interview (in English) with Miguel A. Corominas, technical director on the impressive looking feature EL CID: THE LEGEND:
http://www.3dyanimacion.com/entrevistas/entrevistas.cfm?link=elcideng



----CHARACTERS AND HISTORY----

This year’s winners of the Digital Media World Austrailian Effects And Animation Festival Awards:
http://www.dmw.com.au/awards_finalists.htm

Next year’s BEST ANIMATED SHORT candidates are given the once-over at Yahoo News, along with closer looks at DESTINO and BOUNDIN’:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20031210/va_sp_ev/animated_shorts_discover_fest_route_is_1

THE WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM has been updated to carry new material on co-founder ROY O. DISNEY, on the 110th anniversary of his birth. QuickTime interviews with his son Roy E., as well as audio from Walt himself, await you at:
http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/waltdisney/home.html



----TELEVISION / THEMED / STAGE----

Reuters News reports that Friends star Lisa Kudrow is to lend her voice to an animated pilot for the Fox Network:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3U30OLM2B2ZYQCRBAELCFEY?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3960532

Boob-oop-a-doop! Betty’s coming to the stage! Playbill announces that a new musical for the sexy siren is in the works. She’s still got it:http://www.playbill.com/news/article/83201.html

Toon Zone has the news on a new TV special celebrating MICKEY MOUSE’s 75th ANNIVERSARY. However, the one-hour (is that all?) show looks less enticing still, when one considers that half of it will be filled with the recycled Mickey’s Christmas Carol featurette from 1983:
http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=96925



----BUSINESS----

No lay-offs this season at Walt Disney World:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/orl-bizservers10121003dec10,0,2883724.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Gregory Noveck has been hired by Warner Brothers for a new position that will see him looking at re-activating underused DC Comics characters. Dark Horizons has more:
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news03/031210f.php



----WRAP UP----

That’s all for this week, folks! Don’t forget to visit us online at www.animated-news.com and contribute through our forums:http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/

Have a great week,
The Animated-News Team.


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