“So you want to be in pictures?” asks a new press release from Activision, Inc. and Lionhead Studios, who are hosting an online contest “where fame is the ultimate prize. Fans of the forthcoming game The Movies are invited to design their own studio logo. The winning logos will appear in the game for use […]

Eliza Gallo writes for Video Business that “Disney’s board of directors expects to find a replacement for for outgoing CEO Michael Eisner by June and will retain an executive search firm to that end. Meanwhile, the board reiterated its support for Eisner, whose tenure ends September 2006, and stressed the need to consider external candidates […]

A new promotional advertisement for Mary Poppins on DVD contains a first look image at The Cat That Looked At A King, a new animated short that appears on the DVD, hosted by Julie Andrews. In some good news, the short seems to have been fully animated in traditional hand drawn style, while the page […]

The new issue of VB Magazine contains a full page advertisement for the upcoming – and highly anticipated – Gargoyles: Season One box set from Disney, showing off for the first time the front cover artwork. With a $29.99 list price, the 2-disc set will contain Audio Commentary on episodes one to five, original show […]

‘Monkeyboy12’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=5309#post5309 AN Forum}} links to IGN-FilmForce, which has a first look up at the live-action {{link http://filmforce.ign.com/ff/articles/550/550083p1.html Fantastic Four characters}}.

The {{link http://www.disneydatabase.com/ Disney Database}} has just bounced back online, after some server downtime. The site picks up again with new looks at the international DVD releases for Mulan and its sequel, plus the recent Jim Hill news of a turnaround in Rapunzel‘s fortunes.

‘Moonraker’ in the {{link http://forums.dvdfile.com/interactive/forum/showthread.php?p=610263#post610263 DVD File Forums}} has opened up his copy of the Aladdin Platinum Edition, with menu grabs, package shots and more. The photos confirm that Proud Of Your Boy does not look like it has been placed back into the movie.

What looks to be the film’s second trailer (fast cut to avoid too much CG stiffness) has debuted over at {{link http://movies.channel.aol.com/franchise/exclusives/polarexpress.adp AOL Moviefone}}. The Robert Zemeckis-directed/Tom Hanks-starring The Polar Express opens November 10.

The recent Cinefex newsletter reports that “Jeffrey Tambor and David Alan Grier will star with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and friends in the ABC TV Muppets’ Wizard of Oz movie, based on Frank L. Baum’s fable about a Kansas farm girl swept off to a fantasy kingdom by a tornado”. Joining the previosuly announced […]

The Ghost In The Shell sequel, Innocence, has proven to be a hit for DreamWorks’ specialist Go Fish division. “In just three days, Innocence has already grossed an astounding $317,722 in US theaters and become the number one movie in 22 of the 48 theaters it is playing at, including the renowned Arclight Hollywood in […]

Yahoo Movies profiles the {{link http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20040921/en_usatoday/fantasticfourreferstoactorstoo cast and crew}} of the upcoming live-action feature based on The Fantastic Four comic book, which will currently go head to head next July 4th weekend against Spielberg/Cruise’s The War Of The Worlds and Disney’s Chicken Little. Expect date changes before next summer!

We’ve a super abundance of Incredibles goodness for you today, with some new banner ads for the movie, a large hi-res version of the final poster, plus the recently launched second theatrical trailer, now in a variety of formats and big screen sizes, which is sure to bring a big goofy grin to your faces! […]

Though no region one date or announcement has been set, the Australian EzyDVD site is taking orders for a {{link http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/229281 Smurfs: Volume 1}} collection, to ship on 16 November. US fans will need a multi-region player to view the discs, though no details have yet been posted on this release. Expect an official region […]

The UK’s {{link http://www.empireonline.co.uk/site/news/newsstory.asp?news_id=16191 Empire Online}} just got a sneak peek of footage from Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Express. Starring Tom Hanks in several roles, the site also has news of Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler’s {{link http://www.empireonline.co.uk/site/news/NewsStory.asp?news_id=16131 involvement in the film}}, set to steam into theaters on November 10.

Today sees the release of the much hyped and hotly anticipated animation films Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence and Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, which is the first feature film to feature live actors in a completely computer animated world. Both films offer huge, visually stunning images and storylines, tapping into the […]

The DreamWorks Fansite is {{link http://www.dreamworksfansite.com/features/contest/gis2.php giving away}} Ghost in the Shell 2 posters – one of them signed by director Mamoru Oshii – and the DVD of new TV incarnation Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex to fans across North America courtesy of Go Fish Pictures.

The Disney Channel is airing commercials that announce there will be a new sneak peek at The Incredibles during the {{link http://psc.disney.go.com/disneychannel/clickit/index.html Click It To Pick It}} block this Sunday, September 19, between 6:30/5:30c to 8/7c.

Ay Carumba! Canadian Simpsons fans are sure to be left smiling when Emmy Award winning voice actor Nancy Cartwright stages the North American premiere of her one woman show My Life as a Ten Year Old Boy in Toronto this October. Keeping with the theme, audiences will also hear from David Silverman, the Simpsons director […]

Over at Jim Hill Media, story-man Floyd Norman {{link http://www.jimhillmedia.com/mb/articles/showarticle.php?ID=1080 hints at the plot problems}} a certain troubled monkey movie is having, as well as his experience working on the project and was like to work in the story department at Walt Disney Studios back in the 1960s. Universal, who are producing Curious George with […]

The {{link http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000629093 Hollywood Reporter}} has an interesting article up which looks at the ever growing need for CGI artists in the industry’s dominating reliance on those techincal aspects of filmmaking. In fact, Pixar’s Suny Behar believes that his experience with 3D compositing, in combination with his cinematography skills, made him more attractive than the […]

Obviously content with the tidy sum Garfield The Movie made over the summer season, 20th Century Fox are to bring another 80s cartoon favorite to the screen in the form of a live-action/CGI feature. Read the press release here:

Things in the Ghost In The Shell world are about to go stellar. In addition to DreamWorks’ Go Fish Pictures release of the sequel, Innocence, we have word that the cult franchise is staging a major comeback with the new movie, and a TV series, videogame, graphic novel, and DVD releases in the pipeline. In […]

Don’t forget that today you can bring Disney’s last – for now – traditionally animated film home on video. {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/334 DVD Toons looks at the disc}} and is pleased with the supplements on offer: “A single disc doesn’t mean that it’s not pretty packed, with a couple of real surprises! Perhaps the best and […]

In an end to a long-wrangling bidding war between Time Warner Entertainment and Sony (Columbia) Pictures Entertainment, trade paper Variety is today announcing {{link http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=upsell_article&articleID=VR1117910349&categoryID=18&cs=1 the sale of Metro Goldwyn Mayer to Sony}}. Variety reports that “A group led by Sony Corporation agreed in principle to terms with Metro Goldwyn Mayer to acquire the studio, […]

The Animation World Network has posted Michael Eisner’s {{link http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=11910 end-of-contract letter}} to the board of The Walt Disney Company, in which he announces his intentions to step down as CEO in September of 2006. Also re-printed on the page is the response to the news by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, one of […]

The Care Bears are the latest set of traditionally animated characters to go CGI, with the release of Jouney To Joke-a-Lot, a new direct-to-video title. Despite widescreen frame grabs and a letterboxed trailer, the 80-minute film will be made available only in fullframe by Lion’s Gate Entertainment on October 5. Check out the new look […]

‘Bill1978’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=5099#post5099 Animated News Forum}} lets us know that Amazon.com is listing an {{link http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002ZMJF2/qid=1095076983/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-3809330-5636916?v=glance&s=music Aladdin Special Edition Soundtrack}} CD, to coincide with the film’s Platinum Edition DVD release next month. No song or score listing yet, but the title does mention “Extra Tracks”, which points to Proud Of Your Boy as […]

Randall Cyrenne at DVD Toons looks at the huge amount of animated and related box sets and special editions that we, as responsible animation fans, must all go out and buy between now and the end of 2004. {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/features/70 Psyching Up For The Fourth Quarter}} is a light-hearted but serious take on the big […]

‘RandCanuck’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=5065#post5065 Animated News Forum}} has pointed out Miyazaki’s latest, Howl’s Moving Castle, has won the Osella Award for technical achievement at this year’s Venice Film Festival. More details at the {{link http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/newspro/latest_news.shtml#newsitem1094928518,24799, Nausicaa}} site, and congratulations to the Studio Ghibli team.