Animated News Weekly Archive
One downside to getting to celebrate another big milestone like our 20th anniversary is that there's not a lot more left to show or tell about our history. However, after some major excavation deep into the embarrassingly cluttered AV archives, we were able to find another dusty bit of long lost content under some old boxes of cease and desist letters and moldy Norm Of The North promotional plush.
From the first week of our launch in October of 2003 and intermittently over the next six years or so, we had an email newsletter. Sure these messages may not be too useful anymore! But they're actually kind of fun as a sort of virtual time capsule. And perhaps some future animation researcher might find the links useful. Either way, they're part of our story and we're happy to be able to move them from the dark, cobwebbed recesses of the AV archives and back into the warm light of our anniversary celebration!
So travel back 20 years with us to see how we covered the top stories of the day!
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Subject: Animated News Weekly 01/25/04 – 01/31/04: Hello, and what a week it’s been! Please copy and paste any split links into your browser for more info on a given subject. And here we go with the Animated News Weekly… ----DISNEY/PIXAR SPLIT---- Coming right at the end of the week, the big news was Pixar’s announcement that it would be seeking a film distribution deal with another studio, breaking its ties with Disney, and further putting the future of Disney fair and square on the shoulders of troubled Mouse House CEO Michael Eisner: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000773.html Pixar’s press release: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000777.html Disney responded with this press release: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000778.html Roy Disney spoke up, as expected, and used the opportunity to emphasise his view that Eisner is now no longer up to the job of running the Mouse House: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000779.html With Disney complaining that they had no official forewarning of the announcement from Pixar, Business Week wonders if it is all a bluff: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2004/nf20040130_5999.htm Already there is speculation on who Pixar might join up with. Since many other studios already have alliances with animation suppliers (Fox/Blue Sky, DreamWorks/PDI, Columbia/Imageworks), analysts are saying that Warner Brothers may be the natural fit. The company has been known to dabble with animation in the past, mostly with pickups and international acquisitions, though promoting their own product remains elusive to their marketing team (The Iron Giant, Looney Tunes: Back In Action). The Dow Jones thinks it could work: http://www.quicken.com/investments/news_center/story/?story=NewsStory/dowJones/20040129/ON200401291955001877.var&column=P0DFP Meanwhile, Michael Eisner will have to face the stockholders’ questions when the annual Disney meeting goes ahead on March 3. The news also comes after a call from Roy Disney to vote against the CEO at the meeting (see below): http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?siteid=mktw&guid=%7B800A8073%2D730D%2D49A5%2D8ED8%2D88412C14616E%7D& Perhaps playing against the Pixar decision, Disney has fought back, making it plain to everyone that they own the rights to the movies, as well as merchandise and sequel rights. TOY STORY 3 has been announced as an in-house Disney project, though no-one else, including voice talent Tom Hanks or Tim Allen, knew anything about it: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000784.html CNN takes a “what if?” look at what could happen if Pixar CEO Steve Jobs decided to merge his company with Apple Computer (also run by Jobs). Some interesting reading to be had here: http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/30/technology/apple/ As expected, Jim Hill chimes in with his views and the “insider” scoop on the Disney/Pixar break up: http://www.jimhillmedia.com/articles/01302004.3.htm ----ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS---- Animated Feature: Brother Bear, Finding Nemo, The Triplets of Belleville Animated Short: Boundin', Destino, Gone Nutty, Harvie Krumpet, Nibbles Original Screenplay: Finding Nemo Original Score: Finding Nemo, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King Original Song: "The Triplets of Belleville" (The Triplets of Belleville), “Into The West” (The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King) Sound Editing: Finding Nemo, Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl The Return Of The King was also nominated for Best Picture, Director (Peter Jackson), Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Make-up, Sound, Adapted Screenplay and Visual Effects. Pirates Of The Caribbean had additional nods for Best Actor (Johnny Depp), Make-up, Sound, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects. ----FEATURE FILMS---- BELLEVILLE RENDESVOUS (THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE) notched up some more kudos this week, winning the first ever BBC World Cinema Award, and being nominated for three César Awards in France: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000733.html STUART LITTLE 3 is to be a totally CGI feature, currently not know whether to be theatrically released, or more probably, going direct to DVD: http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/story/0,1259,---20234,00.html TEACHER’S PET continues to nose-dive at the box office, just scraping past $5.3 million after two weeks on release: http://www.leesmovieinfo.net/wbotitle.php?t=2360 Disney’s previous animated feature BROTHER BEAR, looks to be on strong legs internationally: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000758.html First look at the SPONGE BOB SQAUREPANTS movie: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000743.html Disney to Return To Oz? The Hollywood Reporter is saying that the studio is teaming again with Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates Of The Caribbean) to adapt American McGee’s take on The Wizard Of Oz, the first in a planned trilogy: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/index.jsp CLIFFORD’S REALLY BIG MOVIE will be the last place to hear the late John Ritter provide the voice of the lead character, when Warner Bros releases the Clifford The Big Red Dog film on February 20th: http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=100787 GOLDEN GLOBES: Return Of The King took top awards: http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2004/goldenglobes UK readers can vote for the Audience Award at this year’s BAFTAS: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000774.html CARS – Race car fan and Hollywood legend Paul Newman is to voice and race: http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3179 Early TINTIN titbits: http://www.thezreview.co.uk/news/news3541.htm Elton John and Disney’s GNOMEO AND JULIET cancelled? The spoof Shakespeare CGI comedy looks like the plug was just pulled: http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/index.htm?../articles/01272004.1.htm~contentFrame Jim Hill on DESTINO’s potential Oscar win, and the no-win red faces at Disney: http://www.jimhillmedia.com/articles/01282004.1.htm New concept art on line for DreamWorks’ OVER THE HEDGE: http://www.jimcarreynettet.dk/debatten/viewtopic.php?t=21 After SHREK 2, director Kelly Asbury takes on IMAGINARY CHILDREN, a fun-sounding premise: http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=upsell_article&articleID=VR1117899065&cs=1 THROUGH THE MOEBIUS STRIP, the CG sci-fi film based on the concepts of Jean Giraud, which may go direct to TV, is expanding to also become a television series: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000771.html SHREK 2 will get its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15 before opening in the US on May 21: http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=101053 Russia’s animated feature LITTLE LONGNOSE looks set to be released by Warner Bros (infamous for picking up anything animated, and a favorite for the Pixar distribution deal) in the US. No date yet, but Germany gets it in March. Coming Soon has new screenshots: http://www.mysan.de/gate.html?name=coppermine&file=thumbnails&album=141&page=3 First look at the CG CHICKEN LITTLE from Disney, with a Portuguese text article: http://www.animagic.hpg.ig.com.br/producao.htm Animation Nation points to Figures.com, for a look at Hasbro’s line up of toys for Disney/Pixar’s THE INCREDIBLES: http://www.animationnation.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=007545;p= As reported last week, the Shark Tale sequel is moving ahead, with DreamWorks apparently signing up web domains in the name of ANOTHER SHARK TALE: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000789.html ----DVD RELEASES---- BAMBI II going ahead? Star Trek’s Patrick Stewart has been talking, and it ain’t pretty! At one point, the article mentions “voice work for the upcoming Disney movie Bambi II”: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000767.html FANTASIA, FANTASIA/2000 and THE FANTASIA ANTHOLOGY (featuring a bonus LEGACY disc) all go back to the vaults this weekend, though can be ordered from Amazon until inventory runs dry. Other titles disappearing include SLEEPING BEAUTY and various DTV sequels: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/512121/102-4687562-8010520 ----INTERVIEWS---- Ruben Aquino, supervising animator of Denahi in Disney's BROTHER BEAR, talks of his passion and career in animation: http://outnow.ch/movies/specials/2004/BrotherBear/Interview.E/ ----CHARACTERS AND HISTORY---- Even though he’s left the company, Roy Disney continues to play up the work done on “Destino”, with a new piece by animation historian Charles Solomon over at the Save Disney site: http://www.savedisney.com/news/se/destino.asp Roy Disney continues his fight to oust Michael Eisner as the big cheese at the Mouse House. This week he sent a message around to Disney stockholders and Save Disney members, urging for them to vote “no” to Eisner at the upcoming election of directors of the board, at the annual company meeting on March 3: http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00000757.html ----TELEVISION / THEMED / STAGE---- CARTOON NETWORK is to premiere their first made-for-TV movie, PARTY WAGON, on Friday 27 February: http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=100819 The first ever CG series to air in prime time, GAME OVER, will start on the UPN channel on March 10. The very Incredibles-sounding synopsis has the Smashenburns family dealing “with the trials of living in an unconventional world filled with action heroes, monsters and fantasy characters, all while dealing with the everyday challenges of just being a family”: http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=100960 DISNEYMANIA, the pop-riffic collection of classic Disney tracks covered and headlined by today’s hottest young music stars, was such a success that a VOLUME 2 is now in stores: http://disney.go.com/disneyrecords/Song-Albums/disneymania/index.html SPACE GHOST goes darker and more serious: an interesting approach is happening: http://newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8574 LAURA MICHELLE KELLY is confirmed as the lead in Disney/Cameron Mackintosh’s MARY POPPINS stage musical: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/84041.html ----BUSINESS---- Who sued Roger Rabbit? Original author and creator Gary K Wolf says he’s owed millions from Disney: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=493&ncid=790&e=2&u=/ap/20040125/ap_en_mo/brf_disney_roger_rabbit Eisner’s bonus: the CEO just got a pay push: http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040127/media_disney_pay_1.html According to Jim Hill, Disney Animation president David Stainton has put his foot in it again: http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/index.htm?../articles/01302004.2.htm~contentFrame ----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/ Have a great week, The Animated-News Team. ---------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: The news shared in this email contains material and links to other non-associated websites. Animated-News.com is not responsible for any consequences arising from the participating and use of these sites, and cannot be held liable for any content that may prove to be untrue, or stories that may later have elements within them changed by the creators of the reported projects. Original content ©2004 Animated-News.com.
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