The Weinstein Company now owns the rights to the family picture Arthur and the Minimoys. Based on Luc Besson’s children’s book, the movie’s screenplay was likewise adapted by Besson, who will serve as the film’s director as well. Starring in the live-action aspect of Minimoys are Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow, as the voices of […]

Cinempire, via the Internet Movie Poster Awards, has the latest domestic one sheet for Ice Age: The Meltdown. Interestingly, the poster shows that the 2 has been dropped from the film’s title, at least in the U.S. In the meantime, Coming Soon has an international poster for the second Ice Age chapter.

Screen Media Ventures has obtained all domestic rights to the computer animated family adventure Mee-Shee: The Water Giant, points out Variety through Dark Horizons. From a screenplay by Barry Authors, John Henderson directed the picture. Budgeted at $25 million, Mee-Shee is about one 8-year-old boy’s quest to save a “Loch Ness monster-type creature” from poachers.

Reuters via Yahoo! News focuses its attention to the direct-to-video title Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild. Considering the success other DTV animated projects have enjoyed, the composition examines the chances of success for a third Little movie, pointing out the film’s marketing and theatrical siblings.

Coming this July for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Gameboy Advance and PC is the video game adaptation of Warner Brother’s family comedy The Ant Bully. IGN Filmforce has the project’s details.

The “Education” section of the Deccan Herald investigates the Animaster, a Bangalore-based animation school. The school offers an advanced three-year diploma in animation, collaborating with the Algonquin College of Ontario, Canada. Veena Pratap, president of Animaster, explains, “Animaster is involved in training, production and research in animation. A student here learns the animation skills and […]

FortWayne.com spotlights a recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health, in which 74 animated, G-rated films were tested for kid-friendliness. According to the creator of the study, Kim Thompson, an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, the report found at least one act of violence per film, while 60% of […]

CNN Money notices the large amount of computer animated movies hitting theaters in 2006, wondering which of them will achieve success. “Some of these movies could be in trouble. I suspect that a bunch will fall by the wayside,” Dennis McAlpine, an independent media analyst, unfortunately predicts. “Hollywood has never been bashful about its own […]

Previewing more new footage from the movie, the French trailer for Disney/Pixar’s Cars is up at Coming Soon.

The husband-and-wife team Cindy David Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt, writers of the English-language version of Howl’s Moving Castle, tell Sci-Fi Wire that they are expecting fellow Best Animated Film nominee Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit to take home the Oscar on Sunday. “”I think the momentum is behind Wallace & Gromit […]

Red Herring reports that on Tuesday, Jerusalem Venture Partners launched Israel’s first media center and multimillion-dollar animation studio, hoping to make Jerusalem a major presence in the animation and gaming industries. The Jerusalem Animation Lab acts as both animation and gaming studio, plus a developmental lab dedicated to creating animations for cellular phones. Max Howard, […]

IGN features four screen captures from the Game Boy Advance adventure Garfield: The Search for Pooky, which arrived in stores last Wednesday.

Two-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor John Dykstra will make his directorial debut with Walden Media and Relevant Entertainment’s Tortoise and Hippo, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The film is based on the true story of a baby hippo and 100-year-old tortoise that were rescued from the Indian Ocean following the Asian tsunami.

DVDtoons has the box art for Superman: The Animated Series – Volume 3, Justice League – Season 2, and Nick Picks 4, all set for release on June 6. In addition, the site also serves the cover artwork for This is America, Charlie Brown, containing the eight episodes that comprise the series. Charlie Brown will […]

At CGCHAR comes word that Wild Brain Animation Studios has made a majority stake acquisition of Kidrobot. The new deal will allow the companies to collaborate on such animated undertakings as television series, feature films, and direct-to-video activities. In the meantime, Paul Budnitz will remain the president of Kidrobot, while also acting as executive producer […]

Through a plethora of pictures, the online version of Now Playing Magazine shares a peek at future toys from such properties as the upcoming Fantastic Four animated series and Warner Bros.’ classic characters.

Dennis Weaver, most famous for his work in the hit television series Gunsmoke and McCloud, died on Friday, at the age of 81 years old. His animated work included voicing the characters Dusty and Josh in Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990). In 2002, Weaver enjoyed a guest role in the Simpsons episode “The Lastest […]

At Utlimate Disney is the press release for next week’s wave of Studio Ghibli DVDs, including Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, and Whisper of the Heart. Found among the piece’s info is word on what bonus features are in store for the 2-disc sets.

Angry Alien Productions presents a 30-second bunny reenactment/parody of the 1933 masterpiece King Kong.

The Internet Movie Database has acquired three more posters promoting Hoodwinked. This time around, Twitchy and Nicky Flippers are the recipients of character banners.

Coming Soon has the specs for King Kong’s original theatrical version DVD and the Special Edition 2-disc set. Bonus features to accompany the latter include: a special introduction by Peter Jackson; post production diaries; Skull Island: A Natural History; and Kong’s New York, 1933. Both King Kong DVDs will enter stores on March 28, 2006.

The television premiere of the DTV title Ultimate Avengers: The Movie has been rescheduled, says Toon Zone. The Cartoon Network event will now take place on April 15, rather than March 11, following four weeks of Hayao Miyazaki movies on Toonami.

Toon Zone has the announcement from Cartoon Network that Paul Condolora has been promoted to senior vice president and general manager for Cartoon Network New Media. At his new post, Condolora will continue to report to Mark Norman, senior vice president of business operations for Cartoon Network U.S. and Boomerang.

At the blog Better Than Fudge, an excerpt from The Charlie Rose Show reveals that Oscar-nominee Catherine Keener has a role in Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, as the mother of the main character, Max. The interview further reveals that The Jim Henson Company is making puppets for the production.

Ford’s official website offers the humorous commercial in which Kermit the Frog explains why it is easy being green.

Latino Review is where the first two television spots for Ice Age 2: The Meltdown may be located, in high-resolution QuickTime glory.

About.com via Route 66 News provides a glimpse of the upcoming Mattel toy line inspired by Disney/Pixar’s summer picture Cars, explaining the bells and whistles to be found with some of the items.

Ain’t It Cool News has a positive early review of DreamWorks Animation’s Flushed Away, with only light spoilers involved.

From Disney’s Investor Relations Newsletter, Ultimate Disney learns that the Dumbo: Special Edition DVD is still slated for June 13th, the same day the Disney Channel’s popular High School Musical will arrive in stores. On the other hand, the release date for Leroy & Stitch, once due in April, has been moved to June 27th. […]

According to an interesting article from The Central Chronicle, India is on track to becoming a leading outsourcing destination for the animation industry. Adding to this suggestion is the fact that a recent survey by Anderson Consultancy stated that the Indian animation industry could earn near $15 billion by 2008.