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Shrek the Musical wins Tony Award
DreamWorks Theatricals’ Shrek the Musical took home a Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical (Tim Hatley). The production was nominated for 8 awards including Best Musical. |
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Shrek, WALL-E at the Tony Awards
Jim Hill reports that WALL-E will be making an appearance at the Tony Awards this Sunday. Jerry Herman (composer of such Broadway his as La Cage aux Folles, Mame, and, of course, Hello Dolly!) will be receiving a lifetime achievement award and WALL-E will be part of the tribute. Also making a big splash at […] |
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DreamWorks announces upcoming slate
DreamWorks Animation has announced its upcoming slate of eight animated feature film releases through 2012. They also announced plans to release five feature films every two years, up one from their current two picture a year release schedule. Bill Damaschke, Co-President of Production and President of Live Theatrical, said “Our exceptionally talented and highly experienced […] |
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The secret to Pixar's success? Their people
CNN talks with the people of Pixar to figure out how they churn out hit after hit. Up director Pete Docter says “I don’t really think it’s much of a secret. I think it comes down to two basic things: one is that we’re run by artists… Second, we have some pretty great people that […] |
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Technology lifts Up
CNet reports on the technology behind Pixar’s Up. Not any diferent from their past films you might say? “Try thinking of the algorithms required to animate more than 10,000 helium balloons, each with its own string, but each also interdependent on the rest, which are collectively hoisting aloft a small house… Consider that within the […] |
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Up opens
Disney/Pixar’s tenth film, Up, opens today in 3,766 theatres according to Box Office Mojo. The film is getting sky high reviews from critics, earning a 98% Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times says, “This is another masterwork from Pixar, which is leading the charge in modern animation”. The Los Angeles […] |
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Pixar to open second studio
Pixar will be opening a second studio in Vancouver according to the Vancouver Sun. The 20,000 square foot facility will employ 75-100 people and will be tasked with making the company’s short films. “Amir Nasrabadi, who will run the Vancouver operation as studio general manager, said Vancouver was attractive to Pixar for a number of […] |
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Nine animated films compete for Student Academy Awards
Thirty-six students from 20 colleges and universities have been selected as finalists in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 36th Annual Student Academy Awards competition. Nine films will compete in the animation category for Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal awards. The ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 13, at 6pm at the […] |
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Soderbergh to animate character in Moneyball
Animation Magazine reports that Steven Soderbergh will be animating a character in his upcoming live action baseball film Moneyball. “We have this sort of oracle character that appears throughout and declaims various issue… He’s your host in a way… The background will be real but the person who is supposed to be him will be […] |
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Fox's Cleveland picked up for second season
Before the first season has even premiered, Fox has decided to order up a second seaon of Cleveland according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Family Guy spinoff, which should debut this fall, already had an order for a 22 episode first season. The network has now picked up 13 more for a sophomore season. |
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3D Toy Story double feature to debut this fall
Disney/Pixar has announced that they will be bringing 3D versions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 to theatres starting October 2, 2009, in a special limited engagement double feature. President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group Mark Zoradi said, “This fantastic double feature will let moviegoers see two of their all-time favorite films […] |
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Robot Chicken team hatches Titan Maximum
The New York Times reports that Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim has ordered a new show from the creators of the stop-motion animated series Robot Chicken. The new show will be called Titan Maximum and will use stop-motion to “satirize Japanese cartoons of the 1980s”. |
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Pinocchio on Blu-ray Disc – Winner Announced!
Win Pinocchio: Platinum Edition Blu-ray Disc – Winner Announced! |
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WALL-E, La Maison pick up Oscars
Pixar’s Andrew Stanton picked up his second career Best Animated Feature Oscar, this time for WALL-E, at the 81st Academy Awards. La Maison en Petits Cubes was named the Best Animated Short Film. In accepting the award for WALL-E, Stanton thanked Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, and Steve Jobs for “creating a cinematic safe haven where […] |
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WALL-E a winner at Grammy Awards
Despite not even being nominated for music at animation’s premier awards show, WALL-E has won two Grammy Awards. Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman picked up trophies for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media (Down To Earth) and Best Instrumental Arrangement (Define Dancing). WALL-E lost the Best Score Soundtrack Album to […] |
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Disney, DreamWorks distribution deal developing?
Several media outlets are reporting that DreamWorks may have to make a deal with Disney to secure some much needed quick cash along with distribution of their films. The L.A. Times reports that Universal today has dropped out of an already announced multi-year distribution deal with DreamWorks, a deal which was born after the DreamWorks/Paramount […] |
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Kung Fu Panda wins big at 36th Annie Awards; WALL-E shut out
Kung Fu Panda was the big winner at last night’s 36th annual Annie Awards. The film picked up 10 awards including Best Animated Feature. Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II won the Television award. Avatar: The Last Airbender won the Children’s TV award. And Sebastian’s Voodoo won the Short award. The full list of winners […] |
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Stanton goes in depth on WALL-E
In an interview with Newsweek Pixar’s Andrew Stanton touches on many interesting topics about his latest film WALL-E, including: breaking down the barrier between animation and live action, the relationship between EVE and WALL-E and how it parallels the way men perceive their relationships with women, the fact that this is Pixar’s first love story, […] |
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Oscar nominated shorts coming to theatres and computers
Animation Magazine reports that Shorts International is bringing the Oscar-nominated live action and animated short films to theaters and computer screens. Beginning on February 6th the group will bring the program, titled The 2008 Academy Award Nominated Short Films, to theaters in 60 cities. The film will then be available to download on iTunes on […] |
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New Orleans to host Disney art exhibit
Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney Studio will open in New Orleans this fall according to USA Today. The art exhibit will feature over 600 pieces from films such as Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. The idea came directly from […] |
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Star Trek alum boldly goes to a galaxy far, far, away
George Takei, best known as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek TV series and films, discusses his new role as part of another iconic sci-fi franchise with the Great Falls Tribune. Takei voices the character of Lok Durd, in Cartoon Network’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Besides discussing his role in the series, Takei […] |
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The Simpsons, South Park to broadcast in HD
Engadget reports that the long running Comedy Central animated series South Park and the even longer running FOX animated series The Simpsons will both start broadcasting in high definition in the coming months. The Simpsons will make the switch on February 15th while South Park will change over on March 11th. |
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2009 Oscar Nominations, WALL-E up for six awards
The nominees for the 81st Academy Awards were announced this morning. Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, and WALL-E were the picks for Animated Feature. WALL-E was also nominated for Original Screenplay, Score, Song (Down to Earth), Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing. WALL-E‘s six nominations ties Beauty and the Beast for most Oscar nominations for an animated […] |
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BAFTA nominees announced
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced their film nominees and several animated films were nominated in several different categories. Perseopolis, WALL-E, and Waltz with Bashir were nominated for Best Animated Film. Perseopolis and Waltz with Bashir were nominated for Best Film Not in the English Language. WALL-E picked up additional nods […] |
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SpongeBob celebrates 10th year
Animation Magazine reports that Nickelodeon is kicking off a year-long celebration of the 10th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants. Among the events and projects scheduled are: a live cast script reading, a new website, new episodes, a TV movie, and a documentary. |
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Waltz with Bashir on Oscar Foreign Language shortlist
Nine films have been named to the Oscar shortlist for the Foreign Language Film category at the upcoming Academy Awards. Included in that list is the animated Waltz with Bashir. After additional voting the list will be narrowed to the five final nominees. The full list follows: |
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WALL-E, Waltz with Bashir pick up Golden Globes
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has awarded Golden Globes to two animated films this year. WALL-E picked up the award for Best Animated Feature Film while Best Foreign Language Film went to Waltz with Bashir. Wall-E and Bolt lost out to The Wrestler in the Best Original Song category. |


