o-meon goes to drama class and dissects a rat, Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille, that is. According to o-meon’s head writer, Chuck Oberleitner, “Technically and artistically, the film is prepared as brilliantly and served up as beautifully as anything we’ve come to expect from the kitchens of the Emeryville animation studio. Unfortunately, most of the film’s main characters […]

More news from the land down under: Orange County, California, not Australia. Yesterday’s Orange County Register reported on the soft opening to the media and select annual passholders of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland Park before its grand opening today, June 11. From the sound of it there are now two Disneyland […]

The following is the official press release announcing “An Evening With Andreas Deja” at the Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks on Thursday, June 21st:

Following is the official press release for the June 19th release of Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media’s Bridge to Terabithia on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. “Based on Katherine Paterson’s Newbery Award-winning novel, Bridge to Terabithia recounts the heartwarming tale of kids who stumble upon the fantasy kingdom Terabithia, where they face the challenges of […]

It hasn’t even been released theatrically yet but Dr. DVD (Brian Erdy to some) sits down with Brad Bird, Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Janeane Garofalo and Brad Lewis to talk with them about Ratatouille.

The following is the official press release announcing The Visual Effects Society’s festival this year with particular mention being made of Joe Dante’s participation in the “VFX Guilty Pleasures” Panel:

The following are twelve photos taken yesterday at the new Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer’s Island attraction at Disneyland Park in Anaheim highlighting the Jack Sparrow stage show, Dead Man’s Grotto, the Turner blacksmith shop, shipwrecks, bone cages, and more:

Now that you’ve seen the movie, take on pirates yourself at Disneyland’s Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island attraction, which opened today. “The attraction itself has been loaded with special effects, live pirates skulking about and activity areas for visitors to discover hidden treasure. In one cove, guests can maneuver pumps that reveal a sunken […]

Dutch entertainment show RTL Boulevard recently featured comic/gag artist Wilbert Plijnaar who has also worked on American animated films such as Ice Age and Shrek 2. The video (for those who are not familiar with the Dutch language you will have to use your intuitive skills to pick a size for your video to play […]

According to Yahoo! Finance, The Lion King, Disney’s story of nephew/uncle conflict on the African Savannah, recently previewed its stage version of the lion tale in Johannesburg, South Africa in preparation for its official run beginning June 6. Director Julie Taymor shares her excitement: “In the ten years I’ve been working on The Lion King […]

The Sydney Morning Herald hints at a Shrek Broadway style musical heading to Australia and also hints that the Shrek movie series may finish up with a fifth installment. Those wishing to apply for the part of Shrek in the stage version should have “a powerful presence and strength … preferably a baritone.” Thanks to […]

Even though it’s called an “UnReview” o-meon’s look at Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End still gives an in-depth look at this blockbuster-in-the-waiting. “In the final analysis, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is a much better film than the second of the three POTC films, Dead Man’s Chest. It is by […]

Along with the film’s teaser poster, the following is a complete list of all the various media formats for DreamWorks’ new Bee Movie trailer, as well as footage and photos of Jerry Seinfeld’s promotion of the movie at the Cannes Film Festival:

From the Disneyland news service comes the following press release regarding the yellow Nemo submarine making a cross-country tour to promote the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction at Disney’s flagship theme park:

Last night Buena Vista Home Entertainment held an event for the press showcasing the coming release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest to Disney Blu-Ray DVD. These releases will have all of the content that their respective regular DVD releases had plus […]

The United States Postal Service has recently unveiled its Disney postage stamps (scroll down to near the bottom to see the Disney stamps) with the theme of “Magic” and featuring Dumbo and Timothy Mouse, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, Mickey Mouse as “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and Aladdin and Genie. Previous themes featured in the USPS’ […]

The following is the official press release from The Visual Effects Society revealing their “50 Most Influential Visual Effects Films of All Time,” which includes several animated films. It’s not hard to guess which movie made it to the number one spot. This may be the only time you will ever see Darby O’Gill and […]

Like the dancing baby from Ally McBeal, Shrek and Fiona’s offspring groove just as much but are a lot greener: http://www.ogrebabies.com/

Please find below streaming links in various formats for Shrek the Third‘s new trailer which debuted Friday in theaters:

For those in the Orange County area tonight, stop motion legend Will Vinton will be lecturing at the Art Institute of California – Orange County at 5:30pm (plan to arrive early). Vinton will discuss “the creation, growth, and acceptance of Claymation and 3-D animation, the importance of story and character development at all levels of […]

The following are ten pictures taken at last Saturday’s Stop-Mo Expo put on by Larry Loc and hosted by ASIFA-Hollywood:

The following are eight recent images taken at Disneyland of the coming Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction set to open in June 2007, based (obviously) on Disney/Pixar’s 2003 hit Finding Nemo.

ASIFA-Hollywood will raise the curtain on a timeless art form by hosting the Stop-Mo Expo, a daylong event celebrating the art of stop-motion animation at Woodbury University on Saturday, April 21, 2007. The expo will be comprised of two distinct events: beginning at 9 a.m. panel discussions and seminars with animation professionals and at 6 […]

Bill Plympton’s independent animated feature film Hair High is ending its Oscar-qualifying run today, Thursday, April 19 at Laemmle’s Sunset in West Hollywood so L.A. residents have only one day left to catch the critics favorite! Hair High received a flawless 100% score of positive reviews from the Cream of the Crop at Rotten Tomatoes; […]

Just a reminder that Bill Plympton’s Hair High is playing until this Thursday at Laemmle’s Sunset in West Hollywood. The following are links to some new interviews with Bill Plympton and reviews of his film: Movie Hole The Animated Films LA City Beat LA Weekly Rotten Tomatoes

For those getting geared up for ASIFA-Hollywood’s Stop-Mo Expo or just interested in stop-motion animation in general, Wink! has a webisode online for beginning stop-motion animators that itself is a stop-motion video. The webisode demonstrates that “stop-motion” doesn’t necessarily equate exactly with “claymation” since many of the stop-motion moments in the video are done with […]

After our last mention of the Newport Beach Film Festival we were informed by the organizers that this year’s festival comes complete with animated commercials. See them now on YouTube: Promo 1 Promo 2 Promo 3

The Three Caballeros, Donald Duck, Jose Carioca, and Panchito Pistoles, return in glorious hand-drawn animation (I’m hesitating in this instance to call it “2D” animation) to the Mexico Pavilion’s Gran Fiesta Boat Cruise at Walt Disney World. Directed by Eric Goldberg and with voices provided by Tony Anselmo and Rob Paulsen, among others, this animation […]

The Newport Beach Film Festival has just posted their full 2007 schedule including their animation lineup, which features stop-motion, computer-generated, and hand-drawn animation. A featured animated film this year will be director Satoshi Kon’s groundbreaking anime Paprika. Also, Heather Henson, daughter of Muppets creator Jim Henson, will be appearing again at the festival as in […]