James R Whitson Author Archive
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Shaun the Sheep Movie

Skillfully made and utterly charming, Shaun the Sheep Movie is filled with wooly situations, sheep thrills, and good-natured fun. You won’t have a baaaad word to say about it afterwards.

How Shaun the Sheep creators used no words in new film
Shaun the Sheep Movie opens

Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep Movie opens today. The film is a hit with the critics, garnering a stellar 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Their critical consensus: “Warm, funny, and brilliantly animated, Shaun the Sheep is yet another stop-motion jewel in Aardman’s family-friendly crown”. Box Office Prophets projects a $15 million five-day opening.

Disney’s Feast director takes on the Battling Boy movie
How animation’s first great brain-trust created a legend
Pocahontas Legacy Collection soundtrack announced
How Pixar’s Inside Out models real-world filmmaking tools
Roald Dahl books get interactive with new app series
Did Pixar kill hand-drawn animation in the US?
Minions

Minions has potential but is ultimately disappointing with an uneven plot and stale jokes. Instead of feature length these little guys would be better served doing short films from now on.

Space Jam sequel/reboot with LeBron James in the works?
Don Rickles returns for Toy Story 4
EU opens antitrust case against 6 major US movie studios
Minions opens

Universal/Illumination’s Minions opens today in 4,302 theatres according to Box Office Mojo. The film is getting mixed reviews from the critics, scoring a 56% at Rotten Tomatoes. Their consensus: “The Minions’ brightly colored brand of gibberish-fueled insanity stretches to feature length in their self-titled Despicable Me spinoff, with uneven but often hilarious results”. Box Office […]

Cuba’s animation industry filled with challenges and promise
Disney XD shorts build to September Guardians of the Galaxy premiere
Chinese filmmaker denies The Autobots rips off Cars
Animation Guild secures new contract
Comic-Con animation events to get excited about
View an exclusive clip from Zarafa, opening today in NYC
Minions score biggest animated opening weekend ever in UK
Google Play and eOne to offer feature film All Creatures Big and Small free

Entertainment One’s feature-length film All Creatures Big and Small is getting an exclusive debut on Google Play July 1st — and audiences in the U.S. can reserve a complimentary HD copy starting today and running through July 28th. The release coincides with the launch of Google Play’s new family-friendly discovery experience that is designed to […]

How Pixar picked the 5 core emotions of Inside Out