Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino will be hosting “What’s Opera, Doc? Animation and Classical Music” on May 14 in Beverly Hills. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences event will present “some of the most inspired and memorable uses of classical music in animation”. Also appearing are Academy Music Branch governor Bruce Broughton and director […]

DreamWorks How to Train Your Dragon continues to dominate according to Box Office Mojo. In it’s fifth weekend it has reclaimed the #1 spot. In total the film has brought in $178 million domestically and $355 million worldwide. Mojo says, “At its current pace, Dragon will vie with Kung Fu Panda to become DreamWorks Animation’s […]

Disney CEO Bob Iger is featured in a New York Times piece. “Widely dismissed” when he took over the top job from Michael Eisner, the new take on Iger is “blockbuster CEO”. The article discusses the many changes he’s made at the company (and the reactions to them), and follows him on “a day in […]

Upcoming Pixar linked to a cool video this weekend — a taped-to-VCR commercial purportedly from 1983 featuring the season’s hot new toy, Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear. Obviously a Pixar job, the video is just the latest of several viral videos for Toy Story 3 from the studio. In addition, AV reader Grace points out that Barbie’s pal […]

Batman may soon be coming to a stage near you, according to ABC News. Tentatively titled Batman Live, the show would be “an elaborate arena production aimed at kids and families”. While no firm dates have been set, a 2011/2012 launch timeframe is being discussed.

Box Office Mojo reports that Pixar will be releasing a sequel to Monsters Inc. in November 2012 and that The Bear and the Bow has been renamed Brave and pushed back to June 2012.

Cinema Blend has a piece with the link-baiting title “5 Ways DreamWorks Animation Is Better Than Pixar”. The article isn’t nearly as contentious as the title would suggest, however, and does a good job of fairly pointing out the areas where DreamWorks excels over its rival.

Forbes delves into the world of celebrity voice acting to rank the A-list — a top 10 based on box office earnings and press attention.

Mashable discusses a talk Disney and Pixar Animation President Ed Catmull gave at the Economist Innovation Conference. He said Pixar’s success was due to being able to trust his managers, not being afraid of making mistakes and then having to fix them, and balancing the artistic with the commercial.

Disney/Pixar’s Up has picked up some more hardware, this time the feature film award at the Humane Society’s Genesis Awards, according to the L.A. Times. The Genesis Awards “honor media depictions of animal protection issues”.

IESB.net has a somewhat surprising rumor that George Lucas will be bringing the Star Wars franchise to preschoolers. They believe the new series, based on the kid-friendly line of Galactic Heroes toys, is to be titled Squishies.

Comics Continuum reports that a new animated Green Lantern direct to video film is in the works at Warner, timed to be released at thte same time as the live-action Green Lantern movie coming out in the summer of 2011.

The New York Times discusses the lighting and overall look of DreamWorks’ How To Train Your Dragon with director Chris Sanders and cinematographer and eight time Oscar nominee Roger Deakins. Deakins is most well known for his live action work (No Country for Old Men, The Village, A Beautiful Mind, The Shawshank Redemption) and had […]

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced that it will launch director James Cameron’s Avatar on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on Thursday, April 22. The Oscar winning epic is the highest grossing film of all time, taking in over $2.6 billion in worldwide box office. Dates it will be released in other countries follow.

The L.A. Times has more about and reaction to the recent name change of Disney’s Rapunzel to Tangled. Ed Catmull, president of Disney and Pixar Animation Studios said, “We did not want to be put in a box. Some people might assume it’s a fairy tale for girls when it’s not. We make movies to […]

Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders talk with the L.A Times about the 12 month deadline they faced when brought in to rework DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon. The tight schedule meant the film became more of a director’s movie rather than a film by committee. DeBlois said, “It’s a model that allows for too […]

Pete Docter picked up the Oscar for Best Animated Film and Michael Giacchino won for Best Score for Disney/Pixar’s Up at the 2010 Academy Awards. Avatar picked up prizes for Cinematography, Visual Effects, and Art Direction. Logorama was the winner of the Best Animated Short Film Oscar. The full list of winners is online here.

Up won Best Animated Feature and Michael Giacchino picked up the Best Score trophy at the British Academy Film Awards. Avatar had a mildly disappointing night, losing in six of the eight categories it was up for, but taking home the Best Special Visual Effects and Best Production Design awards. Mother of Many won Best […]

The trailer for Waking Sleeping Beauty is now online at Apple. The documentary, which is financed and distributed by Disney, looks at the company during the turbulent period from the 1980s to early 1990s. But according to filmmakers and critics the film is no white-washed version of events. Read on to see what director Don […]

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane talks candidly about his three shows now airing on FOX, why there are no boundaries he won’t cross, and even gets into his personal life and how he got into animation in a long piece over at the Scottish Daily Record.

Aniboom and Sesame Street are sponsoring a contest to find talented animators who might get a chance to have their work air on the iconic children’s program. Entrants need to create a short preschool-aimed animation. Winners in five categories will get $5,000 and a grand prize winner will receive an additional $5,000. All winning animators […]

After watching the ten nominees in the Best Live-action Short and Best Animated Short Oscar categories, The Faster Times has a five-point hypothesis on what it takes to make an Oscar nominated short film. The tongue-in-cheek but funny-becasue-it’s-true “recommendations” range from “going with what works” as in A Matter of Loaf and Death, to “flattering […]

HBO will debut a new animated series starting February 19th based on the popular podcast The Ricky Gervais Show. Those unfamiliar with the podcast can get a more in-depth primer on it and the animated series from the Toronto Star, but the gist is three funny guys sit in a studio and riff about what […]

To help celebrate their 50th anniversary, the international animation festival Annecy has announced an online competition co-sponsored by YouTube. While open to everyone there are specific guidelines entries need to follow, which you can find on their website. The top winner will receive a week at Annecy 2010 (transportation to France, accommodations, and accreditation included) […]