While animation may have suffered at the box office this summer, The Hollywood Reporter notes that it thrived in the toy aisles of retail stores. Thinkway Toys’ line of Despicable Me 2 merchandise – the Fart Gun being a particular highlight – sold out in the UK before the movie even hit theaters. And with […]

According to Blu-ray.com, Planes will arrive in stores on December 10. Amazon.com has the DisneyToon title available to pre-order in two-disc and three-disc packages, although bonus features are unknown at this time. Thus far, Planes has collected $49.6 million domestically, set to pass its reported production budget of $50 million this weekend.

Random House has placed the first 21 pages of Frozen: The Junior Novelization, penned by Sarah Nathan and Sela Roman, online. It is unknown how closely the adaptation follows the latest feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios, particularly since the book replaces songs with dialogue. Nonetheless, the preview offers a glimpse of the opening scenes […]

“Are Hollywood studios cranking out too many animated films?” asks The Los Angeles Times, in a new piece observing the under-performance of recent animated films like DreamWorks’ Turbo and DisneyToons’ Planes. The article comes on the heels of a similar piece by Forbes. “Everybody has been able to survive so far, but as more films […]

This summer saw a record number of animated movies hit theaters: Blue Sky’s Epic, Pixar’s Monsters University, Illumination’s Despicable Me 2, DreamWorks’ Turbo, Sony’s The Smurfs 2 and DisneyToons’ Planes. While Despicable Me 2 rose to become the year’s second-biggest film, Forbes observes that most of the animated releases performed below expectations, with Turbo, The […]

Last May, Foodfight! finally arrived on DVD, after more than 10 years in development. Now The New York Times traces the film’s making, including its numerous setbacks. In 2000, Threshold Entertainment announced the feature would explore the unseen after-hours world of a grocery store, with the supporting cast comprised of famous mascots like Mr. Clean […]

In Planes, protagonist Dusty Crophopper is mentored by WWII veteran Skipper, who refuses to talk of his wartime experiences until the characters share a poignant scene on an aircraft carrier. Now DisneyToons Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter tells The Wall Street Journal about the real-life inspiration behind Skipper: his father, Paul Eual Lasseter, who served […]

Amazon has just listed Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University as available to pre-order in both standard and 3D Blu-ray editions. A prequel to the 2001 blockbuster Monsters, Inc., the film follows “mismatched monsters Mike and Sulley as they overcome their differences and become the best of friends during their days at Monsters University.” With a 78% fresh […]

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck team to outwit the “No shirt, no shoes, no service” policy of Goofy’s diner in No Service, now available to view at Disney.com. Following the March debut of Croissant de Triomphe, No Service is the second of 19 brand-new shorts starring Mickey and his friends, who have been given 1930s-influenced […]

Amazon.com is now taking pre-orders for Mickey’s Christmas Carol and Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year, coming to Blu-ray on November 5. Originally released as a direct-to-video feature, A Very Merry Pooh Year uses interstitials to combine the 1991 TV special Winnie the Pooh and Christmas, Too with the 2002 short Happy Pooh […]

In April, CinemaCon attendees saw artwork revealing the new designs for Hiccup and Astrid in How to Train Your Dragon 2. Now License Global, via Bleeding Cool, presents more images of the characters, who have aged a bit since the events of the first movie and TV series. In addition, the magazine has an updated […]

It appears Disney’s Frozen isn’t the only highly anticipated animated feature with a teaser trailer on the way. A tweet by ComingSoon.net suggests the teaser for The Lego Movie could hit theaters within the next few weeks, perhaps with either Monsters University next Friday or Despicable Me 2 on July 3. The Lego Movie will […]

Despite announcing Planes: Fire & Rescue yesterday, Disney still has the first Planes movie to promote. With that said, a brand-new poster for the Cars spin-off is now online, at Cineplex.com. U.S. moviegoers shouldn’t bother seeking the one-sheet in their local theaters: this one is for Canadian theaters only. In both countries, Planes opens August […]

“Your summer is about to get a bit cooler…” reads a tweet from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Twitter feed. Indeed, the studio is finally releasing a trailer for Frozen next week. The teaser will hit online in five days, before premiering in theaters with Monsters University. In other Frozen news, The Rotoscopers points out that […]

Folks who enjoy DisneyToons’ Planes this August won’t have to wait long for a sequel. Disney has scheduled Planes: Fire & Rescue for July 18 next year. The announcement isn’t totally unexpected, since the film’s teaser poster and Art Of book have already been revealed. However, the news does confirm that Fire & Rescue will […]

Disney has announced that The Muppets…Again! is now Muppets Most Wanted. The title was actually unveiled earlier this year, when Disney Channel began airing behind-the-scenes ads for the upcoming sequel. However, the TV spots were unclear as to whether Muppets Most Wanted would be the final title of the sequel or simply a name for […]

Deadline reports that Melissa McCarthy has joined DreamWorks Animation’s B.O.O. (Bureau Of Otherworldly Operations). The film tells of the secret government agency whose mission is to protect humans from evil hauntings – though the agents themselves are ghosts. McCarthy will voice Agent Watts, who teams with fellow spook Jackson Moss (voiced by Seth Rogen) to […]

The Hollywood Reporter profiles what it calls “summer’s brutal animation war.” A record six animated features are scheduled this summer: Blue Sky’s Epic, Pixar’s Monsters University, Illumination’s Despicable Me 2, DreamWorks’ Turbo, Sony’s Smurfs 2 and DisneyToons’ Planes. But is there enough interest from families to go around? The piece also looks at a growing […]

Despite having been in theaters for less than two weeks, Fox/Blue Sky’s Epic is now available to pre-order at Amazon.com. Consumers may purchase the film in either the standard Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack or – for just three bucks more right now – the Blu-ray 3D combo pack. Released to positive reviews, Epic has collected […]

While the official website for Disney’s Planes says the film is not yet rated, IGN and Blu-ray.com claim the MPAA has given the Cars spinoff a PG rating. Both Cars and its 2011 sequel were rated G – a rating which proved controversial for the latter film as parents found it too violent for younger […]

New artwork for Disney’s Frozen is making the rounds online. The first, most-discussed image is that of a promotional display for the highly anticipated feature. It shows the rosy-cheeked protagonist Anna in a new pose and possibly the public’s first look at the snowman Olaf in his final CGI form. From the Disney Reads Facebook […]

Last week, readers got their first glimpse of the Toy Story of Terror TV special. Now word has arrived on another Toy Story project in the works: Mythic Rock, as listed on the résumé of Pixar producer Kim Jorgensen Adamsthe. Mythic Rock appears to be the latest entry in the Toy Story Toons line of […]

Rovio Entertainment has announced Jon Vitti will pen the screenplay for the film adaptation of the Angry Birds video game franchise. Among his numerous honors, Vitti has been particularly celebrated at the Emmy Awards: he won one as a writer-consulting producer on King of the Hill, and was nominated for his work on The Simpsons […]

While many candidates for next year’s Best Animated Feature Oscar have yet to be released, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is already looking ahead to the ceremony, making a few changes to its rulebook. From now on, directors won’t be the only recipients of the Best Animated Feature statuette, as a credited […]

With Fox/Blue Sky’s Epic opening in theaters this Friday, Fox Home Entertainment is taking the opportunity to highlight some of their previous animated hits. For a limited time, families can purchase three Blu-ray 3-packs for $21.99 each: a Blue Sky set containing Robots, Horton Hears a Who, and Rio; an Ice Age set featuring the […]

LA Weekly shares the background of Jennifer Lee, the first female director of a Walt Disney Animation Studios theatrical feature. Lee graduated from Columbia Film School, where she met her future Wreck-It Ralph co-writer Phil Johnston. After the success of Ralph, Lee was asked to write and co-direct Frozen with Chris Buck. “Every day, it […]

In the latter ’00s, Vídeo Brinquedo raised the ire of animation fans, critics and unsuspecting parents by releasing cheaply-made imitations of Pixar’s and DreamWorks’ blockbusters. The most famous of these “mockbusters” was arguably Ratatoing, a thinly-veiled knock-off of Ratatouille. However, Vídeo Brinquedo also made a mint off their Little Cars series, just as Disney has […]

Earlier this week, Disney revealed more info on the previously-announced Toy Story of Terror, a 30-minute special airing on the ABC network in time for Halloween. According to TV Guide, the project begins with Bonnie, her mother and, of course, Woody and the gang on a road trip to see Bonnie’s grandmother, when their car […]