Entertainment Weekly has named “The 50 Smartest People In Hollywood.” Talented folks found in the lineup include Ratatouille director Brad Bird (#23), DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg (#22), Beowulf director Robert Zemeckis (#18), Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook (#12), and Industrial Light & Magic visual effects supervisor John Knoll (#10).

TMZ has obtained information that the Fred Rappoport Company, one of the producers behind the animated Christmas special Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, is suing Elmo Shropshire, singer of the popular Christmas tune upon which the show is based. According to Rappoport, Shropshire interfered in a $1 million merchandising deal regarding the special. […]

The Hollywood Reporter shows that the television premiere of Shrek the Halls averaged 21.1 million viewers and a 7.2 rating/20 share in adults 18-49. Airing on ABC at 8/7c, the special was followed by the Holiday favorite How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which averaged 18.7 million viewers and a 6.8 rating/17 share in the 18-49 […]

Upcoming Pixar notes that the official website for Toy Story Mania is now open. Animation enthusiasts may particularly enjoy the behind-the-scenes images for the attraction that the site reveals. Toy Story Mania will debut at Disneyland and Walt Disney World in the summer of 2008.

MTV Networks is hoping to place every clip from every episode of South Park onlne next year, with viewers being able to watch the clips for free. This strategy aims to increase the show’s television ratings, as a similar move with The Daily Show resulted in such success. The Hollywood Reporter has more on this […]

The Hollywood Reporter indicates that Shrek the Third was pushed to second place on the DVD sales charts, as Live Free or Die Hard took the top spot. As for Ratatouille, the Disney/Pixar hit dropped to 4th place in its third week. Interestingly, Black Friday discounts saw Happy Feet jump back into the top ten, […]

TV Shows on DVD presents a new batch of headlines regarding classic and contemporary animated shows coming soon to stores. Series and specials found among the latest information include Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States, South Park: Imaginationland, Justice League: The New Frontier, Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, the two volumes for Warner Brothers’ […]

With SCI FI Wire, producer Rich Moore explains the epic feeling the team behind Bender’s Big Score wanted to give the direct-to-video film. Concurrently, a clip from Score is available to view at Coming Soon.

IGN Movies showcases five new captioned images from the live-action/computer animated comedy Alvin and the Chipmunks. The movie will enter theaters on December 14th.

At Animated News’ sister site, Animated Views, Ben Simon reviews three of the most popular animated DVD titles released this fall: Ratatouille, Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1 and Shrek the Third. With Ratatouille, Ben joins most other critics in praising the film, giving it a perfect score of 10. He gives its DVD’s small […]

Disney’s Bolt, previously known as American Dog, will be released in digital 3-D when it enters theaters November 26, 2008, says The Hollywood Reporter. Featuring the voices of John Travolta and Susie Essman, the film tells the tale of “a TV star dog named Bolt (Travolta) who is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to […]

The Hollywood Reporter indicates that Lauren Ambrose will voice one of the title characters in Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are. The actress is replacing Michelle Williams, whose voice reportedly did not match the filmmakers’ vision of how the Wild Thing should sound. Where the Wild Things Are, using real actors, computer animation and […]

DVDActive has the bonus features and artwork for Turok: Son of Stone. The Genius Products and Weinstein Company release will include an audio commentary and a “Making of” featurette. The site also reveals the two covers for Appleseed Ex Machina, which will carry DVD artwork that is different than its HD DVD and Blu-ray releases.

Walt Disney Pictures’ Enchanted came in at #1 over the Thanksgiving weekend. Collecting $35.3 million during the Friday-to-Sunday period, the film averaged $9,472 from 3,730 theaters. Enchanted has collected approximately $50 million since its debut last Wednesday, November 21st. These numbers translate into the live-action/traditionally-animated picture having the second highest five-day Thanksgiving opening of all […]

TV Shows on DVD writes that Disneyland – Secrets, Stories & Magic will contain three episodes of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, including “The Golden Horseshoe Revue,” “Disneyland Goes To The World’s Fair” and “Disneyland Around the Seasons.” The site also has the latest news for Warner Bros.’ two Academy Awards Animation Collection releases, […]

Animation World Network writes that the upcoming Goofy short How To Hook Up Your Home Theater will play in theaters with National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The anticipated sequel is scheduled to be released on December 21st.

This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving parade will feature new animation-related floats among its usual selection. Joining the lineup for the 81st annual event are Shrek, the Sesame Street fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby, and the Hello Kitty Supercute feline superhero. USA Today has more on this story.

With SCI FI Wire, Amy Adams explains her excitement that her character in Enchanted, Princess Giselle, is considered to be in the same roster as such beloved Disney princesses as Cinderella and Snow White. Walt Disney Pictures’ Enchanted is now playing in theaters.

In its coverage of the Enchanted Los Angeles premiere, IESB.net has a quick chat with John Lasseter. The chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios gives some brief thoughts on Enchanted, traditional animation, How To Hook Up Your Home Theater, and WALL-E.

DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek the Third debuted in the top spot on the national DVD sales and rental charts for the week ending November 18th, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Sales for the famous ogre’s latest DVD were so strong that the title is already now among the year’s top ten sellers. That popularity also helped Shrek […]

Opening in 3,632 theaters today is Walt Disney Pictures’ Enchanted. Featuring traditional animation and live-action, as well as new songs from the Oscar-winning duo of Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, the film is predicted to take the lead at the box office this Thanksgiving. Yahoo! Movies/Reuters believes Enchanted will gather at least $35 million over […]

The New York Times investigates why the two recently-released DVD volumes of Sesame Street – Old School come with the warning: “These early Sesame Street episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.” From Cookie Monster’s addiction to Oscar the Grouch’s depression, the article takes a look at […]

In an update to a report filed November 12th, Upcoming Pixar indicates that the rare piece of Ratatouille artwork by Darryl Bellach that was available for purchase at eBay has finally been sold. The winning bid was $35,000, which will benefit the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home Foundation.

AOL Music allows visitors to legally hear the complete soundtrack to Alvin & the Chipmunks for free. Included on the album are covers of such hits as Bad Day and Funkytown, as well as new and classic versions of Chipmunk favorites Witch Doctor and Christmas Don’t Be Late.

TV Shows on DVD reports that in addition to a single-disc DVD, the direct-to-video Justice League: The New Frontier will also receive a two-disc Special Edition package, when the film hits stores on February 26th. Word has yet to arrive on what bonus features the collector’s set will contain.

Moviehole talks with DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. The focus of the conversation is the company’s latest film, Bee Movie, although the Shrek franchise, Monsters Vs. Aliens and Mr. Peabody & Sherman are also briefly mentioned.

The Wall Street Journal examines the success of the Disney Princess brand, reporting some interesting plans in store for it. Apparently, Disney is hoping to attract newborns and their parents with new products. In addition, the article indicates that an upcoming Pixar pic will feature a Scottish princess, while noticing the state of Princess-themed direct-to-video […]

Yahoo! Movies has a new clip from Disney’s Enchanted, titled “Steel Beast.” Meanwhile, photos and summaries of the film’s Los Angeles premiere are also at the site as well as The Hollywood Reporter, Getty Images and The International Herald Tribune. Plus, Kevin Lima speaks with SCI FI Wire about the homages to classic Disney animation […]

With SCI FI Wire, co-writers Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman explain how they added details to the original tale of Beowulf for its current film adaptation. “It’s a fantastic epic story more than 1,000 years old, written by a monk,” says Avary, about the Anglo-Saxon epic poem. “We just filled in some of the holes.” […]

Lorne Lanning talks to GamesIndustry.biz about the future of his Oddworld video game series. “There’s not a whole lot I can reveal. We’ve got four projects that we are working on. I can’t really get into them, except you know one of them is the film,” comments Lanning. “I can say that another one is […]