In a recent column, Film School Rejects laments in “How ‘The Story of Princess Kaguya‘ Makes Pixar Look Bad” about the lack in variety in 2013’s potential nominees for the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars. All of the US films are computer animated and the editorial believes that Pixar’s Monsters University and Disney’s […]

The first trailer for Maleficent has been revealed and can be seen over at EW. The live-action movie starring Angelina Jolie tells the story of Sleepy Beauty from the famous Disney villain’s perspective. Not much of the plot is revealed, but it does show how Maleficent stalks Princess Aurora throughout her entire life. The movie comes to […]

As movie magic technology has become more advanced, the border between live action with special effects and full animation has been blurred. Peter Debruge of Variety wondered when the Academy would change their rigid constraints on what qualifies for an animated film in his editorial, “Oscars: With Films Like Gravity, Where Does Animation Branch Draw […]

Earlier we posted a list of the animated films that are eligible for the 2013 Oscars and now the Academy has released the list for animated short nominations. The animated short is a classic art form that allows storytellers and animators to tell poignant stories and experiment with technique more so than longer films. In […]

Disney is currently planning a live-action version of The Jungle Book…again. Jon Favreau, the actor/director famous for the first two Iron Man movies, is in talks to helm the project, which would presumably mix live-action with CGI. The Rudyard Kipling book, of course, was adapted into an animated movie by Walt Disney, which spawned a […]

Anthropomorphization of just about anything is a typical creative meme and is mostly regulated to the fandom sector. In a launch to appeal to its Asian comsumers, especially Japan, Microsoft decided that Internet Explorer needed to become an anime heroine. Say what? Internet Explorer is often the punchline for IT jokes and Microsoft wanted to […]

It is hard to replicate old processes and when Disney Animation was working on the new “Get a Horse” short they had to replicate animation techniques from 1928! With digital technology nearly anything in animation is possible, but to capture the feeling of an old short Lauren MacMullen, the director, and her team had to […]

After many years of speculation and waiting, Muppet fans can finally get to know the man underneath Kermit the Frog. Brian Jay Jones has written Jim Henson: The Biography, the most authoritative source in existence on the man (other than his friends and family, of course). There have been biographies on Jim in the past, […]

Sad news hit the puppetry community when Jane Henson died this year, but another person from the golden age of the Muppets has followed her. You probably do not know him, but you know his work, Faz Fazakas. With a Muppet-like name, Faz was the main Muppet special effects designer from the 1970s-1980s and he […]

Maleficent hasn’t even come out yet, but Disney is apparently banking on it being a hit, as they already have a live-action Cruella De Vil movie in development, says The Hollywood Reporter. The villain, of course, was the cause of terror for dogs everywhere in the original animated 101 Dalmatians, its 1996 live-action remake, the […]

Following Hollywood’s recent trend to remake classic fairy tales, Disney is taking a turn on Cinderella. The Huffington Post has the first press photo from the new live-action film with Lily James (Downton Abbey) as the title character riding a horse in a meadow. Also in the film will with Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter […]

Why does the US have a hard time getting animated films made in foreign countries? Blame it on getting the distribution rights, but there is another movie called Foosball made by Juan Jose Campanella in a joint venture between Spain and Argentina that might take some time to get here. Animation Magazine reports that Rupert […]

How many projects are hidden in the Disney vault that could have been something grand? While the number is probably more than we have fingers and toes, Andreas Deja revealed a shelved project called Fraidy Cat. He posted character designs on his blog and to complete the concept Hans Bacher posted his background treatments along […]

One way to make Disney mad is to masquerade as a normal tourist family and then secretly shoot a nightmarish film at the theme parks. The Mouse House might be upset, but they are allowing the movie called Escape from Tomorrow to be shown in theaters next month. Inside the Magic has the trailer and […]

It might be a little early for award season, but The Hollywood Reporter says that Monsters University has won the Hollywood Animation Award. Director Dan Scanlon and producer Kori Rae will receive the award on behalf of Pixar. Carlos de Abreu, the founder of the awards, and a committee determine who win the honor. A […]

Anyone would think John Kahrs was crazy for leaving Disney after his Paperman short won the Oscar, thus abandoning a promising career. Kahrs offers us curious fans a statement about why he left the Mouse House: “I will miss working with them, and feel lucky to have played a part in the revitalization of the […]

In an astounding move, John Kahrs, director of the Oscar-winning animated short Paperman, is set to leave Disney. An unofficial resignation came from a post on the Disney Animators Twitter account, when the Mouse House wished him luck. Kahrs has not said anything about where he is going or what he is going to do, […]

Today is a good day to cry, because one of the most beloved animation directors of our era, Hayao Miyazaki, announced at the Venice Film Festival that he was retiring from full-length animated features, says The Guardian, after the premiere of his new movie The Wind Rises. Miyazaki made a similar announcement in 1997 after […]

One can’t expect a movie about talking fish to be scientifically accurate, but people do glean information from them and take them as facts. It’s a habit that really should be broken and you will understand why after reading The Fisheries Blog post about Finding Nemo and clownfish reproduction. Apparently, clownfish are born hermaphrodites and […]

Most superheroines wear skintight or very little clothing, usually showing off their *ahem* gifted bodies while fighting the good fight. The Burka Avenger, created by Aaron Haroon Rashid, instead clads a traditional burka to hide her secret identity. So what’s her backstory? Jiya is a Pakistani teacher who fights to prevent a girl’s school from […]

Samurai Jack fans should rejoice because the time-traveling samurai is back in dead-tree format. Cartoon Network has partnered with IDW to publish new comics based on the hit cartoon. “Samurai Jack is an irresistible mix of high adventure, comedy and mythic storytelling,” said series writer Jim Zub (Skullkickers), who will be joined by Andy Suriano, […]

Any child of the nineties probably ran around in their backyard yelling, “By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!” more than once. If all the “i’s” are dotted and “t’s” crossed, an entirely new generation will be shouting the eco-friendly catchphrase. Spinoff Online reports that “Sony Pictures is in final negotiations for the rights […]

The year is halfway over and Hollywood has seen tremendous gains in profit. The Hollywood Reporter tracks the top earners, noting that DreamWorks is doing better despite a slow start. Even slow Sony has seen its stock grow. What does not come as a surprise, however, is the findings show that Disney is the top […]

Before Disney bought Pixar, a script for Monsters, Inc. 2: Lost in Scaradise was being worked on by Bob Hilgenberg and Rob Muir, as the screenwriters discussed in an exclusive interview with Animated Views last year. Now io9 shares concept art from the never-made sequel and recalls details about its plot: “The movie was to […]

Hayao Miyazaki never fails to tantalize his audiences around the world with his imagination. Stepping away from his fantasy element, Miyazaki has journeyed into a more realistic story in his latest film The Wind Rises. The film focuses on Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed the Zero Fighter used by Japanese pilots in World War […]

In the excitement of Monsters University, Billy Crystal and John Goodman found the time to sit down with Collider and discuss the sequel which is really a prequel. In the interview, the respectable voices of Mike and Sulley discuss what they think about the new movie and the differences between the younger versions of their characters. They even share some […]

China has long lagged behind in the animation industry compared to the US, Japan, and Europe. With DreamWorks opening a studio in Shanghai, animation studios in the Middle Kingdom want to improve the domestic product. China.org.cn interviewed Xiong Weihu–the founder and chairman of Chengdu Hengfeng Animation Co.–to get his opinion on the current state of […]

The Snow Queen appears to be a popular story to adapt into animation. News about Disney’s Frozen skims the web like an early frost, but another adaptation from Russia melts away in the morning light from too little publicity. Keeping the same name as Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, Deadline says that Vertical Entertainment has bought […]

No one and we must admit no one saw this coming: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. The fan favorite cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is getting its first movie, but instead of following a story about ponies and their adventures it is about the ponies being transformed into humans and their high school […]

In a trailer for Monsters University, Sully plays a prank on his roommate Mike by gluing mirror shards on him and transforming him into a disco ball. Mike was not too fond of the joke, but he probably will appreciate his face on Epcot’s Spaceship Earth. To celebrate the new movie and summer vacation, Disney […]