Subject: Animated News Weekly

12/28/03 – 01/03/04:

Hi again, and welcome to the first Animated News Weekly of 2004 – with many more issues to come! Please copy and paste any split links into your browser for more info on a given subject. This week, kicking off the New Year, were these stories…



----FEATURE FILMS----

Catch two of the year’s most original and innovative films, Sylvain Chomet’s THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, and Disney/Dali’s DESTINO short, when they play together at Landmark Theaters across the country. We have the links to more info, showtimes and coming soon dates:
http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000529.html

Miyazaki’s next, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, has hit another delay, this time to allow its director to finish the film off as he wishes and not be under any rush-job pressure. Get ready for a Japanese translated page for the full story:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr?url=http%3A%2F%2Fheadlines.yahoo.co.jp%2Fhl%3Fa%3D20031229-00000021-spn-ent&lp=jaen&intl=1&tlb=1

Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse brings us a first look at test footage for his upcoming CLERKS: SELL OUT animated feature film from Miramax, which is to be completely animated with the Flash plug-in. A full scene, which will not appear in the finished movie, is available here:
http://www.viewaskew.com/clerkstest/clerks.html

GARFIELD – two new stills are up at JoBlo:
http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=3231
And a new teaser poster:
http://www.impawards.com/2004/garfield_ver2.html

THE INCREDIBLES’ teaser page at Pixar’s website has been updated to include “sneak peek” looks at three new clips from the movie:
http://www.pixar.com/theater/trailers/incredibles/index.html

While it was never going to be a box-office bomb, Peter Jackson’s final LORD OF THE RINGS epic, THE RETURN OF THE KING, has exceeded expectations by a very long way. Having only been in theaters around the world for less than a month, the film has already notched up around a quarter of a billion dollars in business, with Japan and other lucrative markets still to open!

TIME MAGAZINE’S BEST AND WORST films of 2003 have been revealed, and animation shows up strong, with NEMO and BELLEVILLE both making appearances:
http://www.time.com/time/bestandworst/2003/story.html

There are updates to the TEACHER’S PET website, which now includes synopsis, biogs, images and downloads, as well as the already posted trailer. The movie is set for release on January 16th:
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/teacherspet/main.html

USA Today reports on the in-development SLINKY movie, supposedly heading for the multiplexes after being previously announced for a direct-to-video outing, a la the Barbie franchise:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-01-02-slinky-movie_x.htm



----DVD RELEASES----

Thanks to the Big Cartoon DataBase, we have a synopsis and what to expect in Disney’s (hopefully not cheap-lookin’) summer animated release, MICKEY’S THREE MUSKETEERS. Could be great fun:
http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000554.html

In addition to the already announced, supposedly 2-disc Special Edition of the SOUTH PARK: BIGGER LONGER AND UNCUT movie, Paramount have also set the COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON to appear on disc in 2004, though probably not until the Fall.

As 2004 arrives, a number of 2003 releases are being put back into the “vault”. Amazon announces that several Disney titles, including the 2003 DTV sequels 101 Dalmatians II and Jungle Book 2, as well as Sleeping Beauty SE and the earlier releases of Fantasia and Lady And The Tramp II, are only available while stocks last:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/512121/ref%3Dmk%5Fdel%5F512305%5F231/102-3662996-8231362

TV Shows On DVD announces that the WB is to issue a number of new SCOOBY DOO discs, mainly to coincide with the new feature Monsters Unleashed:
http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=936

THE LION KING 1½ (or 3: HAKUNA MATATA if outside the US!) is shaping up to look quite breezy fun. Ultimate Disney has a sneak peek at specs and menus from the 2-disc:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/lionking15.html

Toon Zone reports on the first volume of INVADER ZIM to hit DVD:
http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=98716

Jerry Beck looks at a new animation anthology disc: AVOID EYE CONTACT, a series of New York-independently-produced shorts:
http://www.cartoonresearch.com/reviews.html



----INTERVIEWS----

FRANK AND OLLIE, the 1995 documentary that has been hard to find on DVD, has a little promotional push thanks to The Laughing Place, who interviews director TED THOMAS, son of Frank:
http://www.laughingplace.com/News-PID210230-210232.asp
To order the disc online, check a review, or see the specs, follow our link:
http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000345.html



----CHARACTERS AND HISTORY----

Animated mail is to begin appearing next summer, when a host of Disney characters are to feature on 37-cent postage stamps, promoting the notion of friendship as demonstrated by the likes of Mickey, Donald and Goofy, Bambi and Thumper, Mufasa and Simba, and Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket. The BCDB also has the four images to be used:
http://forum.bcdb.com/gforum.cgi?post=17251



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

Adam Pascal, who featured as Radames in Disney’s current Broadway hit Aida, has been announced, via Playbill, as the “storyteller” in Disney’s upcoming workshops of its in-development musical TARZAN, based on the animated feature film and Phil Collins’ music score:
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/83532.html

BLUE’S CLUES’ canine star will finally speak, after years of barking, in the Nickelodeon pre-school show. THE LEGEND OF THE BLUE PUPPY will air in prime time and be an “origin” story that addresses many of the program’s ideals:
http://forum.bcdb.com/gforum.cgi?post=17282

The LOONEY TUNES are back on TV this week, starring in a commercial for insurance company Aflac:
http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2059770



----BUSINESS----

Advertising inserts or moviegoer treats? The Hollywood Reporter looks at a growing trend that sees the studios promoting their wares via supposedly “fun” audience freebies:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2058567

Who is Jim Hill Media’s “Person Of The Year”? Someone to keep an eye on in 2004, that’s for sure:
http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/index.htm?../articles/guest/dizbiz.12312003.1.htm~contentFrame

2D is not dead! Over in Europe the classical animated medium still thrives, as witnessed by a number of high-profile and high-quality projects coming from across the pond. Animation World Network takes a closer look:
http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=1959&page=1

Mickey Mouse becomes a vegetable! Over at Epcot, those clever bods in the kitchen have discovered a way to grow Mickey-shaped cucumbers! Whatever next:
http://forum.bcdb.com/gforum.cgi?post=17357



----WRAP UP----

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

Happy New Year,
The Animated-News Team.


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