The New York Times looks into Nickelodeon’s attempt to win the hearts of the young with their new app. After research showed their target audience was more interested in fun and games than watching TV, the company that makes TV shows had some work to do. But outside the entertainment value, the app “has serious […]

Jim Hill discusses DreamWorks’ upcoming film The Croods which recently had it’s premiere in a somewhat unlikely place. “You’d think — given the sophisticated sorts of folks who annually attend the Berlin Film Festival — that this wouldn’t be the sort of crowd which would enthusiastically embrace something as crass-sounding as The Croods. But that’s […]

Fast Company delves into the art and technology behind Paperman with legendary 2D animator Glen Keane and 3D animator John Kahrs. Inspired by watching Keane sketch on top of CG animations, Kahrs combined “new aesthetics with standing traditions” and married “the tangibility of CG with the human grit of a pen on paper” to bring […]

John Powell and Sergio Mendes will be back to provide the music for Rio 2, according to Film Music Reporter. The movie will also include “new Brazilian artists and original music by Janelle Monáe and The Wondaland Arts Society”. Look for the Rio to return next spring.

Disney recently announced a major new video game called Disney Infinity. Like Activision’s Skylanders, the game will use toys you buy as your onscreen character. The more toys you collect the more characters you have to choose from — and the more money the company rakes in on a game you already bought. John Lasseter […]

In their coverage of the “Top Moments in Black History” from 2000-2012, NewsOne has listed Disney introducing the first African-American princess. Voiced by Anika Noni Rose in the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog, “Tiana’s plucky character and the film’s New Orleans backdrop gave the typical tale with an original twist”.

After a pre-Oscar protest by Rhythm & Hues visual effects employees and supporters, and the winner of the visual effects Oscar having his mic cut off just as he was about to mention their issues, VFX Soldier has an open letter to Life of Pi director Ang Lee who mentioned after winning the directing trophy […]

After Paperman director John Kahrs accepted the Oscar for Best Animated Short at the Oscars last night, producer Kristina Reed threw several paper airplanes over the mezzanine in celebration, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “It went largely unnoticed by the crowd, but security didn’t think the act was very sweet, kicking her out of the […]

Brave kept Pixar’s winning streak going and Disney won an Oscar for Paperman. Life of Pi was the Visual Effects Academy Award winner. Acceptance speeches, baackstage interviews, and thank you videos from the Oscar website can be seen here:

Wired has a look behind the scenes at the creation of the unique look in ParaNorman. Nelson Lowry, the film’s production designer, “had a goal: Nothing should be perfect. Lines didn’t have to be straight, inspiration would be found in mistakes, and the final product should looks as much like the ‘beautiful, expressive napkin sketch’ […]

A trailer for Cloudy with a Chance for Meatballs 2 will be released on February 27th. To build the anticipation, Sony Pictures Animation is posting a new image from the film everyday until then on their Facebook page. The film itself is slated to open on September 27, 2013.

USA Today says in a ceremony not likely to feature many surprises, the animation category is the place to look for drama. “Animated feature films, having shed some of their slapstick reputation by adopting more sophisticated themes and technology and a keener competitive spirit, are creating compelling storylines for Sunday night’s Academy Awards”. With the […]

In preparation for the Oscars, Disney says they needed some pointers on their red carpet strut. Corny? Yes! But a good excuse to post some never before seen sketches by Walt Disney that were used in the 1933 short Mickey’s Gala Premier.

One of the most infamous musical numbers in Oscar history occurred in 1989 at the 61st Academy Awards when Rob Lowe and an unauthorized-by-Disney Snow White performed an excruciating 15 minute song and dance number with several uncomfortable stars in the audience as props. The producer behind the segment never worked in Hollywood again, Disney […]

Contactmusic and the AP say it’s time to take the animation category at the oscar seriously. Brave director Mark Andrews says, “I think this year with these films — and so many more — the envelope for animation is being pushed. We keep seeing more risky, deep films that we wouldn’t have seen 10 years […]

The 39th Annual Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy, and horror films, have announced their nominees. Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, and Wreck-It Ralph are up for Best Animated Film. And Danny Elfman was nominated for Best Music for Frankenweenie. The Avengers, Battleship, The Hobbit, John Carter, Life of Pi, and Snow White and […]

If you’re not checking out former Disney animator Andreas Deja’s blog Deja View you need to bookmark it now. A supervising animator on such classic films as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, Deja’s last entry includes an historic photo of some of the Nine Old Men working on […]

Christophe Beck has been hired to score Disney’s upcoming film Frozen, according to Film Music Reporter. Beck previously scored The Hangover, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, The Muppets, and Paperman among many others.

Moviefone looks into the surprising opening week numbers for Escape From Planet Earth. “Here’s a kids’ film that’s not based on a familiar title or franchise, one without A-list stars in the leads, made by off-brand animators (Rainmaker Entertainment, which had never made a theatrical feature before) for an indie studio (The Weinstein Company), with […]

Total Film has posted character art for several of the students and staff of Monsters University. Also included are their school ID cards revealing the names of some of the characters we’ve seen in the trailers.

After canning the planned 3D theatrical re-release of The Little Mermaid originally set for later this year Disney announced the film would be making its way on to their Diamond Edition line of Blu-ray discs. Left unsaid was whether the work already done on the 3D version would be utilized on the home video release. […]

The Hollywood Reporter has the first big review of DreamWorks’ next animated film The Croods, which played at the Berlin International Film Festival this past week. Their bottom line is “the humor and charm… is too uneven to help it approach [Ice Age’s] mammoth market share. But its mostly fast-moving roller coaster of kinetic action […]