Sadly, Veteran Royal Shakespeare Actor and voice artist Tony Jay has passed away following complications during a long recovery from surgery to remove a benign tumor from his lungs. poetsonbroadway.com reports that on the morning of Sunday, August 13th, Jay unexpectedly lost the battle that he’d been bravely fighting since the surgery in April. Among […]

Critics aren’t exactly jumping out of their seats to laud the reptilian animation in the new Samuel L. Jackson film Snakes on a Plane but Canada.com shares that it’s this animation that keeps people on the edge of their seats in this horror flick. Although over 400 live snakes were actually used in filming, “‘snakes […]

Recent news out of Laughing Place has been creating a stir about Pixar’s next project after Ratatouille. While recent articles have sparked headlines of a possible Monsters Inc sequel and the wheels are turning on a third installment of Toy Story, the mysterious single sentence article states without source or author that the Pixar film […]

Konami has sold the animation rights to its hit franchise Catlevania to Project 51 Productions reports Game Daily. With an extensive following and more than 20 million copies sold, Project 51 principal Kevin Kolde and his representative, Panacea Entertainment’s Eric Gardner, hope to capitalize on its already overwhelming success with direct to DVD stories, TV […]

News of a unexpectedly large second-quarter profit caused shares of DreamWorks Animation SKG (ticker symbol: DWA) to rise on Friday but only by 1.5% as other questions loomed. The big concern hanging over the company is that although DVD sales and film revenue are expected to remain healthy, there looms the possibility $300million worth of […]

China, a nation that require government approval for the production of most arts, announced it will accelerate censorship approval for animated works to enhance its domestic industry. The People’s Daily Online reports that, beginning in August, censors will now announce approvals on a monthly basis rather than twice a year as had been done in […]

The nation of Iran has made efforts to revise policy in hopes of preserving the animation field in the country and harnessing its “unique potentials.” The Islamic Republic News Agency reveals that in the last three months fourteen animated films have begun production that “focus on various religious, literary and routine issues.” The Center for […]

Box Office Mojo reports that Superman Returns took in over $52 million to hold onto its lead since its Wednesday street date, easily fending off new release The Devil Wears Prada which came in at $27 million. On the animated front, in its fourth week, Disney and Pixar’s Cars fell to fourth with $14 million […]

Internet portals are making it easier than ever for indies to show off and capitalize on their skills. Web sites, hosted by giants like AOL all the way down to smaller, independent entities, allow these artists to reach larger and, in some cases, more powerful audiences. More importantly however, it is also becoming easier for […]

Loughborough University Animation Professor Paul Wells has created the latest in a line of animation text books entitled The Fundamentals of Animation. Animation World Network reveals that the text is divided into two sections and “discusses the key principles and processes involved in animation.” Ava Publishing also has further information on the book.

Steve Jobs, the new board chairman at Disney since its acquisition of Pixar in May, won’t be receiving a paycheck for his services there. Television Point reports that the board of directors recently agreed to nix Jobs’ paycheck at his own request. The move is not uncommon for the technology pioneer who currently takes in […]

A recent Animated News article on the rumored cancellation of The Little Mermaid III has sparked debate amongst readers and a handful of e-mails supporting a counter-claim. One e-mail in particular notes that Ultimate Disney features a recent screen shot of the bonus features menu from the forth coming Little Mermaid platinum edition DVD which […]

The Animation Block Party, devoted to showcasing the work of independent professionals and students from around the world has set its schedule for the 2006 Summerfest. Taking place in New York City July 22-24, the event will feature everything from “giveaways” to “discussions with industry survivors.” Ticket information and the excellent shorts lineup for the […]

Still having trouble playing the Ratatouille trailer? Then check out the teaser for Disney and Pixar’s eighth feature length film here in any of several formats that may better suit your PC.

The Mainichi Daily News reports that “Pixar: 20 Years of Animation” is coming to Asia. The exhibit which experienced acclaimed success in New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Science Museum London will now be showcased at the Mori Arts Center in Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills. Featuring a behind the scenes look at Pixar’s magic […]

British citizens Peter Lord and David Sproxton of the nation’s largest animation studio, Aardman, were named CBEs by the Queen in her 80th birthday honors list reports C21 Media. The studio’s co-founders met at school in the 1970s and were co-producers of last year’s Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse […]

Pixar President and co-founder Dr. Ed Catmull has been selected to receive the 2006 IEEE John von Neumann Medal for his contributions to special effects in live-action and animated motion pictures reports The Daily Utah Chronicle. The Utah native and University of Utah alumnus is being recognized for research that led to four major innovations […]

In a highly in-depth article, Fortune takes a close look at the man who brought us both Toy Stories and A Bug’s Life as well as brought one of the most successful and acclaimed animation studios in Hollywood’s history to life. “John Lasseter’s storybook career seems like the plot of one of his movies,” states […]

BBC News reports that Aardman characters Walace and Gromit will soon be riding into the hearts of kids on the Isle of Man as the duo makes a special appearance with Yamaha TT racer Guy Martin to support a children’s charity. “I am delighted to welcome Wallace and Gromit and Guy to the island and […]

Focus Features has struck a deal to take over world rights from Laika Entertainment for the stop-motion animated feature Coraline reports comingsoon.net. The film about a girl who discovers an alternate version of her life has already attached big names to its cast and crew including Dakota Fanning, Henry Selick, and They Might Be Giants.

Pest control has its hands full as the creatures come out of the woods for interviews leading up to Friday’s release of Over the Hedge. The Daily Collegian takes on Wanda Sykes about her role as a crabby skunk named Stella and the experience of providing a voice for animation. Teen Hollywood also offers a […]

Over the Hedge director Tim Johnson learned a few tricks from a big, green ogre. The Toronto Sun reports that the Shrek movies have set the standard for DreamWorks animation and left ogre-size shoes for its latest endeavor to fill. “There are a lot of fun things in Over the Hedge that kids will relate […]

As the countdown continues to the grand opening of the showroom floor and Cars comes rolling out of the shop, Disney Insider has look in the shop. Bonnie Hunt, the voice behind the wheel of a Porsche named Sally, talks about her relationship with Pixar and the pit crew that fine tuned this vehicle. Meanwhile, […]

A new alternative to motion capture technology has been put into production by LookAhead Decisions Incorporated reports Business Wire. ActiveMotion generates realistic motion in any environment and for any multi-articulate character by combining a physics simulator with artificial intelligence producing billions of possible movement combinations. The process uses 10% of the production costs and time […]

DreamWorks Animation it-man Jeff Snow gives his thoughts the company’s latest film. In an interview with The Courier-Journal, Snow talks about his role as the movie’s story department head and what it takes to “cuteify” a story. Over the Hedge hits theaters in the US this Friday.

Federator Studios has teamed up with the Nicktoons Network to launch its third annual animation showcase. The newly renamed Nicktoons Network Animated Festival is accepting entries until May 31st of shorts no longer than 10 minutes in length and a $10,000 grand prize will be awarded to the best judged film reports Digital Animators. Also […]

DVD Exclusive has announced the winners of the 2006 DVD Exclusive Awards giving top prizes to a number of animated DVDs. Of the 26 awards presented, half were handed to the animation medium. The top winners of the night were The Incredibles with four wins including Overall DVD, New Movie and Family Guy Presents Stewie […]

A month long ice festival in Fairbanks will be featuring carvings from the upcoming Ice Age 2: The Melt Down among its ranks this year. Yahoo! News reports that John Leguizamo, voice of Sid will be flying in to assist Gov. Frank Murkowski in the ceremonial ice ribbon cutting using blow torches on a stage […]

The Numbers has put together a brief look at this year’s race for the Best Animated Feature Academy Award. The information includes several links to synopses and movie data as well as a look at previous Oscar appearances by the current nominees. The site also is running an Oscar competition featuring a Curious George prize […]

On February 15th, the Chinese government issued a vague notice banning films and TV shows that mix animation with live-action. The AP through Breitbart.com reports that the ban is an attempt to minimize western influences on the Communist nation’s children as well as “promote the development and prosperity of the cartoon industry in China.” While […]