Brave heroine Merida was officially inducted as a Disney princess this past Sunday and to complement the official coronation she was given a makeover to match her ten cohorts. The Huffington Post details the full account about how Merida now has a tinier waist, less freckles, wider set eyes, and control over her red curls. […]

Sesame Street acknowledges diversity with a multi-ethnic cast, and as the Hispanic community grows in the US, Sesame Workshop has decided to add a brand-new Spanish-speaking cast member. Tough Pigs has a collection of videos that documents the audition process, from the open casting call and callbacks to the final announcement on Good Morning, America. […]

Time to add another up and coming 3D animation studio to the roster! Marza Animation Planet, a subsidiary of the SEGA SAMMY Group and headed by former American Sega COO Masanao Maeda, has put the new movie Robodog into the pre-production phase. The film, says Deadline Hollywood, is described as a family-friendly story of a […]

Not too long ago, we reported on the Whole Hog Theatre’s stage version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke and its Kickstarter campaign. The Internet came to the troupe’s rescue and the play has gained a huge following. With sold-out shows for its entire two-run stretch, we are sad to say all good things must come […]

IBM made another world record, says The Guardian. The company known for pushing technology’s limits with Deep Blue and Watson changed the movie world when it created the world’s smallest movie and it happens to be animated. IBM was inspired to make the short from its atomic data storage research. Using carbon monoxide molecules and […]

Though well-known in the animation community, the casual fan may not be familiar with Bruno Bozzetto, the famous Italian animator. He is best known for his Fantasia parody movie Allegro Non Troppo from 1976 and his character Mr. Rossi, who appeared in twenty shorts from 1960-1975. Bozzetto will be honored at the Annecy International Animated […]

The Kung Fu Panda franchise has barely begun, according to the plans DreamWorks has for Po and his kung fu fighting friends. DreamWorks is planning on building it to be a franchise to rival Shrek’s success and the third movie is already in the works with a December 23, 2015 release date, reports The Hollywood […]

Often said to be the most beloved of all the 1950s Mouseketeers, Anne Funicello died today at the age of 70 from multiple sclerosis. Funicello attracted the attention of Walt Disney after he saw her perform in a school’s rendition of Swan Lake. He was looking for children to star in a new show, and […]

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner has taken a step into boys action cartoons, says The Hollywood Reporter. Eisner’s Tornante Co. and Nelvana have teamed up to make the Mysticons, with Sean Jara signed to write it. Mysticons is a collaboration between The Topps Entertainment, a trading card company Tornate acquired in 2007, and Nelvana. The […]

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert passed away from complications with cancer at the age of 70. In 1975, Ebert became the first movie critic to win a Pulitzer Prize, for his Chicago-Sun Times reviews. Later, Ebert partnered with Gene Siskel on the first show dedicated to film reviews, Sneak Previews. The two would go on […]

Unlike the April Fool’s story, this one is sadly true. Disney has decided to shut down the LucasArts Entertainment Company, which has been the primary developer for Star Wars video games. The company will now outsource production of future titles to third party developers. “The news comes after several years of diminishing returns for the struggling […]

It is with deepest sadness that we report Jane Henson, wife of the late Jim Henson, passed away. The Henson Company posted a tribute page to honor Jane and her life. Jane met Jim back in college and became his collaborator in many of his early projects, including the famous Wilkins Coffee commercials and appearances […]

Disney has been mostly silent about what it plans to do with Star Wars, hinting at new movies and directors. In an official press release, Disney has decided to reboot the entire franchise in traditional animation, casting the Mouse and friends in the titular roles. Goofy’s son, Max, will play Luke Skywalker; Goofy is Darth […]

For over twenty years, the man known as Bruce Timm has brought DC superheroes to the small screen in some of the genre’s most highly regarded animated series (including, among other things, Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League). There probably is not a chance of this hero resurrecting as most superheroes do, but Timm has […]

Another part of Disney history passed away March 23, 2013 at 94 from age-related causes. Instead of being behind the camera, Norman “Stormy” Palmer was part of the tail end of production as a film editor. For 45 years, Palmer worked at the Walt Disney Studios, working on the popular True-Life Adventure films as well […]

Sony Entertainment released a new direct-to-video cartoon feature called Adventures in Zambezia in the US. The animated movie follows Kai, a young falcon who goes on the basic hero’s journey to find Zambezia, the legendary city of birds. His father is, of course, against the trip, but when evil lizards kidnap him, it is up to Kai and his […]

The new movie from Reel FX has changed its title from Turkeys to Free Birds, according to Animation Magazine. The movie is about two turkeys from different walks of life, who time travel to change the history of the first Thanksgiving. The movie will open the holiday movie season on November 1st, 2013. The film will […]

Despite recent financial difficulties resulting in the downsizing of employees, DreamWorks Animation’s stock rose after The Croods dominated the weekend box office. The Hollywood Reporter gathers analysts’ reviews of the studios recent stock rise and Tony Wible of Janney Montgomery said, “The stronger open on The Croods should start to ease investor concerns about [DWA’s] […]

Amongst the Disney classics, is an often forgotten movie musical combining live action with animation. Pete’s Dragon is story about an orphan boy befriended by dragon who becomes invisible at the drop of a hat. Following a recent trend of remakes and augmentations to current titles (i.e. Cinderella, Malifiecent, and the possible Beauty and the […]

China is the hotbed for the animation industry these days. Oriental Dreamworks is going into Shanghai and now Gary Wang, the Tudou founder, will build his own studio in Beijing. Wang sold Tudou, arguably the Chinese version of Youtube, to Youku, and decided to invest his future in domestic feature projects, says Animation Magazine. Wang […]

While we’re not sure of the exact calorie count, the Japanese LAWSON convenience store chain is loaded with Super Saiyan snacks. The Japanese are notorious for play on word advertising and Dagon Ball Z is also known for naming its characters after food. ANN explains that as a promotion for Dragon Ball Z: Battle of […]

One of the first dubbed clips of Studio Ghibli’s newest feature film From Up On Poppy Hill has hit the Internet reports Anime News Network. GKids will release the film in the US. It is based on a 1960’s shōjo manga by Tetsurō Sayama and Chizuru Takahashi and it is about two teenagers falling in […]

Variety takes a look at the 15th annual Cartoon Movie, Europe’s gathering for animation enthusiasts. Fifty-six projects are set to premiere, including three movies: Miffy: The Movie based off the Dutch children’s TV series, Aya of Yop City described as a teen soap opera and it is based off a graphic novels series, and lastly […]

Bad news for traditional/2D animation fans, from The Guardian, Disney states they do not have any future plans for the medium. All of the current Disney movies in production are in 3D, which has become the industry standard. “To my knowledge we’re not developing a 2D or hand-drawn feature animated film right now,” said [Bob] […]

The Los Angeles Times has an update on the Disney shareholder meeting. With stock at an all time high, shareholders rejected the two proposals that would restructure how the company was governed. The first would have split the CEO and chairman roles into two separate positions and the second would have created an easier path […]

The young Princess Sofia is certainly living up to her title as she charms young audiences. Disney decided to renew the cartoon Sofia The First for a second season, says The Hollywood Reporter. “We are so proud of the strong connection our young viewers and their parents have forged with Sofia,” said Nancy Kanter, senior vp original […]

Popular Dark Horse comic book series Beasts Of Burden is about a pack of dogs charged with protecting their fellow animals and humans from paranormal nightmares. Reel FX, the new studio out to make a name for itself, recently picked up the movie rights and Shane Acker as the director. Acker previously directed the robotic […]

In a Disney first, Wreck-It Ralph is available to download before it reaches DVD and Blu-ray. But before it hits the mass market a couple interesting tidbits have popped up on io9 and each offers a fresh perspective on the popular movie. First up is a 60 second live-action short by Kial Natale. Casting choices […]

Stop-motion director Henry Selick was disappointed when Disney pulled the plug on his The Shadow King movie. Instead of nursing his wounds, he’s found a new partner. K5 International is a German distribution and production company and they have picked up the project, already adding advertising to their website. Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern […]