{{link http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=industryNews&storyID=4104323 Reuters News}} reports that Time Warner and MetroGoldwynMayer have ended initial talks that would see the two companies merge. The overall price for MGM and the “structure of the deal” (read that Warners wanted to suck MGM into its fold, like New Line and Castle Rock, whereas MGM would have wanted “An MGM […]

The {{link http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=industryNews&storyID=4105748 Reuters News Agency}} is saying that the Orlando Sentinel has reported that Disney is expected to close its Florida Animation department and make an official announcement on Monday 12 January. More as soon as we have it.

Opening in a wider, but still very limited, release on January 16th, Tokyo Godfathers, from director Satoshi Kon (Millennium Actress), has had its {{link http://www.sonypictures.com/cthe/tokyogodfathers/ American website}} updated by Sony Pictures. As well as crew bios and story details, the site also features the film’s {{link http://www.sonypictures.com/cthe/tokyogodfathers/trailer.html US trailer}}, which goes about sellling the film […]

The Guardian newspaper in the UK reports on the “marketing alliance” of the Fox Kids and Toon Disney channels to create a new kids TV brand, to be named Jetix. Fox Kids Europe, which was sold to Disney two years ago, will be totally re-designed as Jetix, while Jetix branded program blocks will also play […]

From {{link http://www.jimhillmedia.com/articles/01092004.1.htm Jim Hill Media}}: “As the deadline for the official announcement draws ever nearer, JH tries to pin down the exact moment that Mouse House managers lost their enthusiasm for Feature Animation-Florida; he seems to think that it had something to do with Lion King II“. Plus Hill’s thoughts on the new Legacy […]

LucasFilm’s next batch of Star Wars: Clone Wars is on the way, reports the {{link http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/15282.htm New York Post}}. Following the first series, which debuted last November, the ten new episodes, each again between three and five minutes long, are slated to begin on March 26 on the Cartoon Network.

{{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=99221 Toon Zone}} points towards the first English-language review of El Cid: The Legend, a $9 million animated feature produced in Spain by Filmax Animation, that has appeared at {{link http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1941&ncid=2020&e=3&u=/variety/20040105/va_fi_re/el_cid__the_legend__el_cid__la_leyenda Variety}} (via Yahoo). Jonathan Holland calls the film “engaging, if unadventurous, [it] succeeds as lighthearted kids’ entertainment, but refuses to break through into […]

The adventurous junior investigative reporter Tintin is celebrating his 75th year, with a series of strips to be printed in newspapers across his native Belgium and France, according to {{link http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=493&ncid=493&e=1&u=/ap/20040108/ap_en_mo/belgium_tintin Yahoo News}}. He’s also the face on {{link http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040108/481/bru10401081829 two new Euro coins}}, reports the Associated Press.

The {{link http://www.caltradereport.com/eWebPages/page-two-1073607565.html CalTrade Report}} mentions that DreamWorks will outsource “computer-generated animation services, including modelling, character animation, lighting effects, compositing, and rendering” for their upcoming CG television comedy show Father Of The Pride, to Hong Kong-based company Imagi. Thanks to {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=99146 Toon Zone}} for the link.

Amid Amidi, who runs the great animation news and commentary site {{link http://www.animationblast.com/ Animation Blast}}, is taking pre-orders for the upcoming April print issue of the magazine. Hop on over to the {{link http://www.animationblast.com/inprint/ preview page}} for a look at what to expect in the 100-page, ad-free, packed edition. The run is limited to just […]

‘Dalboz’ on the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=722#post722 Animated News Forum}} links to three new ads that push Finding Nemo in two categories for this year’s Academy Awards: {{link http://www.100megs24.com/~editor1/FYC/Buena_Vista/Finding_Nemo/nemo3.html Original Score}}, and {{link http://www.100megs24.com/~editor1/FYC/Buena_Vista/Finding_Nemo/nemo4.html Best Picture}}, as well as a “{{link http://www.100megs24.com/~editor1/FYC/Buena_Vista/Finding_Nemo/nemo5.html general}}” ad that pushes many other aspects of the film’s artistic merits. Thanks for the […]

While it may not be packed with the kind of features to get more “mature” animation fans excited (where are directors Joe Dante and Eric Goldberg on a commentary track?), the WB have announced the specs for the March 2nd DVD release of Back In Action. Not too much to get in a fluff about, […]

The {{link http://forum.bcdb.com/gforum.cgi?post=17522 Big Cartoon DataBase}} announces that Finding Nemo has become the second biggest hit of 2003 in the UK, following the huge opening of the third Lord Of The Rings film, The Return Of The King. Nemo swam to £37.2 million pounds ($67.2 million U.S.) since a November release, while King returned £40 […]

No, not the Academy Awards (they’re announced on January 27th), but the nominees for this year’s animation industry Annie Awards have been posted on their {{link http://www.annieawards.org/ official site}}. Up for prizes in the ceremony, to be held February 7th at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, are this year’s animated big hitters Finding Nemo, Brother […]

Walt Disney’s 1961 live-action feature The Parent Trap (which featured a classic stop-motion animated opening sequence) is being lined up to appear on the Mouse’s ABC Network as a new TV show, produced by the company’s Touchstone Television in association with Smallville production company Tollin/Robbins Productions. The update, which shifts the story’s emphasis away from […]

Orlando Bloom has been speaking about his imminent return to the high seas for the upcoming sequel to this summer’s surprise hit Pirates Of The Caribbean, based on the Walt Disney theme park ride. “I’ll be heading back to film with Johnny Depp soon, which is cool. I have no complaints about working in the […]

The usually quiet Ted Thomas, director of the 1995 documentary Frank And Ollie, recently released on DVD, steps out into the limelight to reflect on making the film and putting together the disc, in an interview posted over at {{link http://www.laughingplace.com/News-PID210230-210232.asp The Laughing Place}}. He also touches on how hard the film has been to […]

Over on his {{link http://www.cartoonresearch.com/reviews.html Cartoon Research}} site, animation historian Jerry Beck takes a look at a new DVD that compiles vintage and recent “produced-in-New York animated short films”. Avoid Eye Contact: The Best Of NYC Independent Animation also includes animators’ “personalized navigational menus, and a few bonus materials (audio track commentaries, behind the scenes […]

The highly anticipated release of Invader Zim to DVD has had fans on tenterhooks for the past couple of months now. {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=98716 Toon Zone}} finally lifts the lid on what to expect from Volume One, which will contain seven episodes and will be issued on May 11th – the first of three volumes that […]

Jerry Beck, at his {{link http://www.cartoonresearch.com/ Cartoon Research}} site, links to a story at {{link http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2059770 Adweek}} which reports that Bugs and Daffy are appearing in a new TV commercial for the Aflac insurance co. The spot first aired during college football bowl games yesterday (January 1st) and will now hit rotation on national network […]

Though the future of classically animated films in the US hangs in the balance, the medium is flourishing in Europe, thanks to technology and a boom in talented artists able to lend their expertise to a new breed of feature-length films. Belleville Rendezvous has shown that quality does not have to be sacrificed due to […]

As the new year chimes in, now is the chance to find a number of discs in those winter sales that Disney plans to discontinue on January 31st. Only a month to go before Sleeping Beauty 2-disc SE, Fantasia (the 1940 original, the 2000 update and the lavish, highly recommended Anthology box set), and the […]

Many happy returns and welcome to 2004! The year promises to be a very interesting one for animation indeed, as the medium continues to redefine exactly what “traditional animation” is, what the future is for 2D and 3D, and where the line between photorealistic characters and exceptional special effects character animation is drawn. The industry […]

Thanks to ‘ChayaA’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=689#post689 AN Forums}} for pointing out a link to Time Magazine’s revealing of their reviewers’ picks for the {{link http://www.time.com/time/bestandworst/2003/story.html best and worst}} films of 2003. Richard Corliss has Nemo and Belleville tied together at the number 2 spot, second only to Return Of The King, while Nemo appears […]

{{link http://www.playbill.com/news/article/83532.html Playbill}} (via Toon Zone) is reporting that Broadway actor Adam Pascal (already known to Disney fans for his role as Radames in Elton John/Tim Rice’s Aida) has been tapped to perform in the next stage of workshops for the upcoming stage translation of Disney’s Tarzan. Pascal says “I’m playing the storyteller, so basically […]

Jerry Beck, over at his {{link http://www.cartoonresearch.com/comments.html Cartoon Research}} page, takes a look at the new Definitive Guide To Betty Boop Memoribilia book, as well as Mike Joens’ An Animated Death In Burbank and another push for the very fun Son Of Faster Cheaper, by Floyd Norman.

The {{link http://www.imdb.com/StudioBrief/#1 IMDB}} today reports an upswing in the recent box office slump of the summer, with Peter Jackson’s Return Of The King perhaps unsurprisingly leading the way (for a total gross, in 2003 alone, of $224 million). The much heralded Peter Pan, at the other end of the spectrum, has only managed to […]

With the new year just around the corner, {{link http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents The Digital Bits}} has posted a slate of what we can expect from some of the major studios. All of these are subject to change, but at the moment, here’s what we can expect, animation wise: Paramount has more Jimmy Neutron, SpongeBob SquarePants and other […]

‘Wolf Tooth’ on the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=671#post671 AN Forum}} tells us that Yahoo Japan is reporting a release date change from July to November next year, to give director Miyazaki extra time to complete the movie (rumored to be his last, though he’s been saying that for a while now)! The {{link http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ Anime News Network}} […]

If you couldn’t wrestle control of the TV remote to catch BBC 2’s showing of Belleville Rendezvous this past Christmas Day, a scan through the UK TV listings reveals that the digital cable channel BBC 4 is re-showing the film as part of their World Cinema Award season. It’s on tonight, the 28th December, at […]