Acclaimed special effects animator and artist Michel Gagné has finally written a follow-up to his intriguing comic book series about a brilliant alien inventor wrongfully condemned for the destruction of his home planet. Gagné writes, “It’s been a long time since the last issue of ZED – almost two years actually. For those who read […]

USA Today has an interesting piece on the creation of Buckbeak, the half-horse, half-eagle creature known as a hippogriff, who plays a key role in the new Harry Potter film. “‘The hippogriff was probably one of the most complex creatures we’ve ever done (in the three Potter films),’ producer Mark Radcliffe says. Several artists, Radcliffe […]

Slate magazine, over at MSN, has a fascinating new article by Clive Thompson in their Gaming section about the increasing CG uber-realism of human characters in video games, and the repulsive effect it has on its audience. Citing a phenomenon called the Uncanny Valley, discovered by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori, Thompson reflects on this trend […]

Ain’t It Cool News has done it again with a first look at The Corpse Bride, which showed up at the Licensing 2004 show in New York. Another delightfully macabre stop-motion feature from Tim Burton, and produced at Will Vinton Studios in Oregon, The Corpse Bride is tenatively slated for October 2005. The template of […]

Reuters has posted a 6 minute preview clip of Linkin Park’s new anime-style music video, Breaking The Habit. The video involved close collaboration between the band and Gonzo Digimation Studios in Japan, which is known for combining 2D and 3D effects in a single animated scene. The video was directed by the band’s “turntablist” and […]

Dark Horizons has a couple of interesting scoops; they had previously posted that Johnny Depp was under serious consideration to play Superman’s arch-nemesis Lex Luthor in the 2006 Superman film, stating he was chosen “because he’s the studio’s favourite, and McG wants to work with him. He’s tied because he’s not exactly sure if he […]

The Los Angeles Times [free registration required] has posted an obituary for Disney animator and comic book artist Jack Bradbury, who died of kidney failure on May 15th, at the age of 89. “In a career spanning five decades, he started at Disney in the mid-1930s and worked his way up to a full animator […]

The widespread U.S. comic strip FoxTrot is just beginning a new storyline this week; their target – Eisner! Well, specifically – what the character Jason would do if Eisner were ousted. So far Jason’s got some… interesting… ideas; including the ever-popular crossover gimmick! That said, you can see Monday’s strip here, and Tuesday’s is here. […]

Nausicaa.net reports that preorder pages for Porco Rosso, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and My Neighbor Totoro have been put up at FYE.com and Suncoast.com, with a stated release date of August 31st. This has yet to be confirmed, but with two big anime retailers giving out such enticing information, it’s hard not […]

The Home Theater Forum has given a tough but fair review for the upcoming Brother Bear DVD. Says reviewer David Boulet, “I don’t think I’m saying anything too surprising or controversial to suggest that Brother Bear isn’t quite up to the caliber of other modern Disney classics we’ve come to know and love (think The […]

That’s right, sports fans – another box set to thin out your wallet has been announced for release this year! TV Shows on DVD has posted the full specs for The Simpsons: Season Four, which includes such classics as “A Streetcar Named Marge,” “Whacking Day,” and “Mr. Plow.” It will street on June 15th, and […]

Good ol’ Ultimate Disney has given us another sneak peek at the cover art for three upcoming DVD releases. Well, in the case of the Aladdin: Platinum Edition (click the thumbnail for a larger image), it’s merely a closer look, but hey! Now we can scrutinize ad naseum! Speaking of nausea, the supposedly finalized Lion […]

Tim Hauser, aka Merlin Jones, has written an eloquent editorial piece at SaveDisney.com examining the abstract qualities of story that the Walt Disney Company has shown so well in the past, and which now belong to Pixar more than any other. He believes that, among other things, the Disney of today has tried too hard […]

A strange, yet hilarious Flash series of Harry Potter-inspired cartoons called the Harry Potter Puppet Pals has recently moved to its own domain, consolidating all Puppet Pals goodness into one easy-to-find location! The Puppet Pals madness began in September 2003, when an odd little animated short called “Bothering Snape” appeared online on the 30th. Over […]

The ever-reliable DVD Toons has posted the specs and extras for the May 25th release of Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards. The 20th Century Fox title will be presented in anamorphic widescreen video, with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio. Extras will include audio commentary with Bakshi, the “Ralph Bakshi: The Wizard of Animation” featurette, 2 theatrical trailers, […]

The National Public Radio, via Cartoon Research, has a great article about the music of The Triplets of Belleville, and speculates about the film’s chances at the Oscars this year. You can hear several samplings of the film’s soundtrack, as well as the original radio feature’s audio, the film’s trailer, and a complete music video […]

BadBadRubberPiggy.com (aka BBRP) has again been a valuable source of Zimmy DVD goodness. The main page’s recent posts include an enormous DVD ad and a sneak peek at a new line of ZIM figures coming from Palisades Toys. A release date of May 11th has been set for the first DVD volume, “Doom Doom Doom“. […]

A.O. Scott of the New York Times gives a quick and lenient review of Clifford’s Really Big Movie, stating that “Clifford will provide preschoolers with comfort and amusement, though not rapture or enchantment. They will probably not mind the clumsy, gaudy animation, which lamely tries to bring more color and dimension to the simple, soothing […]

The LA Times comments on the problems that the shiny new Walt Disney Concert Hall is causing. Opened only as of October 23rd last year, the stainless steel design of the hall is causing a fairly problematic glare on the condominiums across the street. “To a handful of condo owners whose units face the Disney […]

In a short article from the Los Angeles Times today, “[Roy and Stan] opposed Comcast Corp.’s $50-billion bid for the Burbank entertainment giant as too low. In a letter to company shareholders Friday, Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold said the Philadelphia-based cable operator’s bid substantially undervalued the company. But the two used the […]

Yessir folks, “Uncle Mikey” himself will appear on Larry King Live tonight on CNN – in an exclusive first interview since the Comcast Corp.’s hostile takeover bid. How will Eisner defend the company’s current regime? Tune in tonight at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT to find out!

Following the IMDb News Brief posted below, the Los Angeles Times‘ full speculative article about the politics behind the Roy Disney-produced short Destino is quite an interesting read. “Many veteran animators who have long seen Roy Disney as a champion of their art form have a wish: they want Walt’s nephew to win the statuette […]

If Disney didn’t already have enough on their plate, another bad press blow as just hit them in the face again. A local Florida channel first reported the death of a costumed worker in Walt Disney World. Though details are still coming, the 38-year-old man was allegedly hit in the head by a parade float […]

From the New York Post: “Roy Disney’s grass-roots effort to oust Disney CEO Michael Eisner appears to be paying off. In a regulatory filing yesterday, Disney board member George Mitchell said the company is stepping up discussions to find a successor to Eisner. “The admission was made in two letters sent recently to institutional shareholders. […]

Jim Hill throws in his two cents on the Comcast bidding issue – with a slightly regretful tone. Apparently he knew about the story weeks before it broke today, and is now kicking himself for not getting a word out earlier. But hey – now that he has, go check it out! There’s quite an […]

Legacy Animation Studios, a refugee production company founded by several former WDFA-Florida animators (AN article here), has issued a press release announcing their very first project: a traditionally-animated short by the name of Lucky! According to the release, “Lucky is the story of a four-leaf clover who is down on his luck. As Lucky passes […]

The Miami Herald reports that “the fish story Finding Nemo took top honors Saturday at the animation industry’s 31st annual Annie Awards, earning nine awards, including Best Theatrical Feature, Best Directing and Best Voice Acting. [It] also captured the Best Music and Best Writing prizes. Ellen Degeneres received the Best Voice Acting award for her […]

After months of stagnancy, The-Last-Unicorn.net, the official website for the live-action production of The Last Unicorn, has finally seen a change. Not just any change, either – the whole website has been revamped! With a new look and layout, the site still continually mentions that it is only a work-in-progress representation, with much more to […]

The Invader Zim fan site, BadBadRubberPiggy.com, has posted a new interview with Medias Blasters representative Meredith Mulroney about the upcoming Zim DVD release. Put up against very specific, detailed questions, Mulroney has encouraging, albeit vague answers about the progess of the DVD volumes and the limited box set. Truth be told, the DVD is still […]

As of January 15th, the all-new SaveDisney.com site has been put up! A vast improvement on the original temp site, SaveDisney.com now has five different areas of interest – “Vision,” “Families,” “Consumers,” “Employees,” and “Shareholders.” It also provides pages of FAQs, tips for taking action, letters from site visitors, and suggested links, among several other […]