Christian Willis’ {{link http://www.songofthesouth.net/news/index.html Song Of The South.net}}, absolutely the greatest online resourse for all things Brer Rabbit (though don’t go looking for bootlegs – it’s a respectable site), is reporting that Roy Disney would support the eventual release of his Uncle Walt’s 1946 animation/live-action masterpiece Song Of The South on DVD. “[Eisner] has been […]

{{link http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040308f.php Dark Horizons}} points to some pretty major movies shifting their original release date orders. Of most interest to animation fans will be the Tom Hanks CGI-fest The Polar Express‘ date change. The Robert Zemeckis-helmed movie will now open nine days later, on November 19 2004.

If Michael Eisner bows to investor pressure and steps down from his post as CEO of The Walt Disney Company, after losing his Chairmanship at last week’s shareholders meeting in Philadelphia, he’s still going to be in one heck of a position, financially speaking. {{link http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2004/nf2004035_4187_db016.htm BusinessWeek Online}} looks at what severance package prizes Uncle […]

While perhaps not containing the grace, charm and amazement of the cartoons described below in the Inkwell series, Disney’s Kim Possible: A Sitch In Time is pretty good fun for the “tween” set. {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/280 DVD Toons}} has the first review online, pointing out about the time-hopping plot that “there’s plenty of fun to be […]

Ray Pointer, an animation enthusiast of the medium’s early days who turned his passion into a personal crusade to restore and present the work of such animation pioneers and innovators as Max Fleischer, Pat Sullivan, Otto Messmer and the young Walt Disney, has finally delivered on his promise to make his VHS anthology programs {{link […]

‘Dalboz’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=1503#post1503 Animated News Forum}} alerts us to the fact that the Animation Show – Volume One DVD, which features “most (but not all) of the shorts included in the touring show, as well as a bunch of new ones”, is now available for {{link http://www.animationshow.com/dvd.html pre-order}} from the official site. Thanks […]

If you were one of the two people who didn’t see this in theaters, then get out now – you still can! For those who did, and want to see it again at home, DVD Answers have just revealed the {{link http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?r=0&s=1&c=3471&n=1&burl= full specs, artwork and menus}} for the upcoming region one edition. Features include […]

Crew members who have seen a close-to-final cut of the new Thunderbirds movie, due out in the UK on July 23, say that it is a “terrible film” and could cause its producers, London’s Working Title Films, headaches in the future. “We all saw what happened to FilmFour when they tried to bankroll a couple […]

The {{link http://www.animatedviews.com/wp-content/uploads/archives/00001019.html chat session}} with animator Chris Headrick that we told you about last Wednesday apparently had to be cut short, “due to unforseen technical problems”, according to an email we recieved from the organizers at AnimationHQ. However, Headrick will return today, Sunday March 7, tonight at 7pm EST to continue Saturday’s chat session. […]

The {{link http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dizmoodmar06,1,4367947.story?coll=la-headlines-business Los Angeles Times.com}} (free subscription) has been talking to high-ranking Disney insiders about this week’s events within the company, currently referred to as the “unhappiest place on Earth”. One top executive comments: “The general feeling is that something else is going to happen. Everyone is talking about it. What about Comcast? How […]

Animation historian and writer Jerry Beck got a sneak peek at Disney’s next – and last – traditionally drawn animated film, the bovine comedy {{link http://www.cartoonresearch.com/reviews.html Home On The Range}}. “The Disney studio has come a long way from its Kansas City roots, Mickey Mouse beginnings and Snow White heights”, he says, adding that Range […]

‘Wolf Tooth’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=1497#post1497 Animated News Forum}} reports some great news for fans of Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli films. “Anime Digital in the UK gave us a heads-up that Spirited Away is now set for an end of March [DVD] release over there”, while “Howl’s Moving Castle is due in July in […]

Santa Clarita, California: Dan Ritchie, A professional computer graphics animator and FX artist who moved to California to work on the series Mystic Knights, is striking back at “slow employment opportunities by diversifying with a Squirrely new novel”, {{link http://www.squirreldome.com/AnimatorGoesSquirrely2.htm Silver Squirrel}}. Dan also worked on projects such as Starship Troopers Chronicles, Dan Dare and […]

After a busy newsweek, and finding ourselves with a slow newsday, hop on over to {{link http://atomfilms.shockwave.com/landing/landingIndex.jsp?id=atom_412&mature=accept Atom Films.com}} for a “naughty but hilarious short”, Wheelchair Rebecca. As the site describes it, “A child’s innocent question about her Wheelchair Rebecca doll leads Mommy to make some delightfully grotesque suppositions”. WARNING: THIS FILM IS FOR MATURE […]

The BBC’s disc review show, The DVD Collection, looks at the work of stop-motion animation director Ray Harryhausen today, plus the UK Looney Tunes releases and Belleville Rendezvous, on their 8.30pm show. For those in the UK with access to the BBC 4 digital cable channel, the show is repeated again at 11.30pm.

DVD Toons is running another giveaway contest, this time for the March 9th {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/news/530 Winnie The Pooh: Springtime With Roo}} DVD. The site has five chances of winning!

It’s been there a while, but we’ve only just picked up on it! Over at Disney’s {{link http://disney.go.com/corporate/investors/ Investor Relations}} webpage, you’ll find a wealth of business material and corporate documents, such as Annual Reports and such, including Studio head {{link http://disney.go.com/corporate/investors/events/pdfs/dickcook.pdf Dick Cook’s presentation}} (link will open a large PDF file!) for the recent […]

Raider Productions is conducting a search throughout the world for clay, classical, computer, and flash animated shorts to create its 90 minute World’s Best Independent Animated Shorts 2004 VHS and DVD compilations. “These VHS and DVDs will be created to promote the diverse range of stories that the consistently developing medium that animation is allowing […]

From today (March 5), hop on over to {{link http://www.delgo.com Delgo.com}}, the official Web site for the computer animated feature film Delgo, a new fantasy adventure still in production, and the first independently produced computer animated feature in the U.S., for a fun competition that challenges the player to guess the voice actor behind the […]

{{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=104354 Toon Zone}} reports that “the rights to distribute the Appleseed movie have been aquired by Geneon Entertainment. The movie is planned for release this summer in the US with releases in Europe and Asia to follow”. More details on the film and a link to the outstanding-looking trailer can be found in our […]

News continues to pour in about Michael Eisner and his stepping down from the position of Chairman of the Board of The Walt Disney Company, following yesterday’s shareholders meeting which saw a huge 43% of shareholders withholding their vote for Eisner’s re-election to the Board. Eisner will remain the CEO of the Company, something that […]

Those with high-speed and broadband internet connections can catch a two-minute {{link http://news.bbc.co.uk/broadband/console/news/newsid_3530000/3530923.stm BBC NEWS}} clip on today’s shareholder meeting. Click on “World” and the “Disney Boss Faces Shareholder Revolt” headline to play. The clip requires RealPlayer.

{{link http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/03/03/rtr1285218.html Forbes.com}} is saying that “Top U.S. public pension fund Calpers has called for the resignation of Walt Disney Company Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner after more than 40 percent of shareholder votes cast at Disney’s annual meeting were withheld on Eisner’s re-election”. The number is far beyond Roy Disney’s hoped for 15-20%, […]

The {{link http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=4490585&section=news Reuters News Agency}} is first out of the gate with a report on the just-finished Disney shareholders meeting. The article notes that “Mike Jenneman, who voted to re-elect Eisner, said: ‘If a year from now things aren’t different, my vote is going to be different’.”

Taking the stage to talk at the Disney shareholders meeting, Studio head Dick Cook played up the upcoming releases from Walt Disney Pictures, including such tent-pole pictures as Hildago, The Ladykillers, Home On The Range, The Alamo, King Arthur, M Night Shyamalan’s The Village, The Princess Diaries II and, of course, The Incredibles, to which […]

At the Disney shareholders meeting, Studio president Bob Iger announced plans to build on various Disney franchises, including Lilo And Stitch and Pirates Of The Caribbean, making references to the two theatrical Pirates features in development, as well as a proposed, and as yet unannounced, television series. More news on that as we get it.

At the Disney shareholders meeting today (March 3), Roy Disney and Stanley Gold were welcomed by a warm and rapturous applause as they took the stand for their 15 minutes allotted to them by the board to put their views across. While Gold spoke for exactly the 15 minute time allowed, Roy Disney spoke for […]

MLive’s {{link http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0037_BC_WSJ–Disney-Fans&&news&newsflash-financial Business News Flash}} has a great little story on the kinds of Disney fans who are standing up to help Roy Disney’s fight against the current Disney board, including self-described “Disney dweeb” Jim Hill!

{{link http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/index.jsp?epi-content=GENERIC&newsId=20040302005957&newsLang=en&beanID=202776713&viewID=news_view Business Wire}} reports that Bob Iger, The Walt Disney Company’s president and COO, will appear at the Bear Stearns 17th Annual Media, Entertainment and Information Conference at 12:45 p.m. EST on Tuesday, March 9, 2004. His remarks will be available live via webcast at the {{link http://disney.go.com/corporate/investors/events/presentations.html Investor Relations}} page at Disney’s official […]

As with many sequels nowadays, there is talk of a {{link http://superherohype.com/spider-man/index.php?id=951 third Spider-Man}} film being put on the development fast-track even as part 2 is being finished and prepped for release on July 2. All this comes in a report from Superhero Hype (via {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=104237 ToonZone}}) in which Marvel Comics Studio’s Avi Arad […]