A press release from Buena Vista Pictures Marketing on Yahoo! News gives extensive details on the upcoming Lady and the Tramp engagement at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre. In addition to Stan Freberg and Andreas Deja, who have already been announced as members of the opening night panel discussion, animator Eric Goldberg has also been added […]

Yahoo! Movie News reports Aardman Animations director Nick Park has stated that last October’s fire that destroyed many of their stop motion production models will not keep him from animating more Wallace and Gromit films. “Some of the ideas I’ve got could make feature films, some of them might be shorts.” Wallace and Gromit: Curse […]

An overview of the features found on DisneyToon Studios Bambi 2 (due out Feb. 7 in the U.S. as a direct-to-video title and shortly thereafter in Europe as a theatrical feature) can be viewed here:

It’s official! Yahoo! News reports that Disney is acquiring Pixar. The all-stock transaction is worth $7.4 billion. Pixar’s Ed Catmull will become president of the combined Pixar and Disney animation studios and John Lasseter will be Chief Creative Officer of the animation studios, as well as Principal Creative Advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering. Steve Jobs, […]

The Orange County Register online has posted a minute and a half streaming video of a ride-through on the Monster’s Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue ride at Disney’s California Adventure. Looks like they have done a good job of re-creating the Monster’s Inc. in true three dimensions. Even the octopus at Harry Hausen’s […]

Ain’t It Cool News has posted an early review of Curious George.

From February 2 -14 Lady and the Tramp will be shown in an exclusive engagement at Disney’s historic El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. This may be the only chance to see this classic animated feature in a proper theatrical presentation for years. A panel discussion will be held prior to the screening of the […]

The Disneyland news service has issued a press release and photos announcing the official opening of the new Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! ride at Disneyland’s California Adventure which can be read and viewed here:

Podcast enthusiasts should take note that Disneyland has recently begun their own monthly podcast, “featuring many of the magical moments from the biggest celebration in Disney history. Join host Michael W. Geoghegan as he brings interviews, stories and event highlights from the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland® to your mp3 player.” Some of the podcast moments […]

There’s been a lot of talk and rumors floating around this week about a possible buyout of Pixar by Disney. Chuck Oberleitner helps to make sense of it all at o-meon (see the “Mickey and the iSteve” article). Also, see a recent Motley Fool article in which Rick Aristotle Munarriz draws a particularly apropo analogy […]

An updated press release for DisneyToon Studios’ Bambi II emphasizes that the film will go into moratorium only 70 days after its release on February 7, 2006. This is “in tribute to the 70th anniversary of Walt Disney’s inception of his animated classic, Bambi,” referring to the year 1936 when work on Bambi commenced.

Cartoon Brew reports on the recent passing of animation legend Norman McCabe. “Between 1934 and 1999, McCabe worked at Schlesinger’s, Warner Bros., US Army Air Corps Training Film Unit, MGM, Swift Productions, Five Star Productions, Telemation, Pacific Title, Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, DePatie-Freleng, Ruby-Spears, Filmfair, Marvel and Universal.”

Yahoo! News reports on a new Peter Pan book being written by a Geraldine McCaughrean and commissioned by the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. The sequel will be entitled Peter Pan in Scarlet and will feature the well-beloved characters “Peter, Wendy, Tinkerbell, the rest of the Darling family and the fearsome Captain Hook.” No […]

This week’s AutoWeek.com had some “spy photos” from Disney/Pixar’s Cars. The two pictures (large file sizes!) can be viewed here:

Three images from the Brother Bear 2 trailer found on the Bambi II DVD can be viewed here (yes, Rutt and Tuke are in it):

Following up on our report from earlier this month about Disney shorts coming to iTunes, Cartoon Brew mentions that the shorts are due this summer and will include all of their Oscar-nominated shorts from Three Little Pigs up to Lorenzo. Their report also mentions a pending DVD box set of said shorts and a brand […]

Clay Kaytis has revived his Animation Podcast site with a brand new interview with Eamonn Butler, Animation Supervisor on the films Chicken Little and Reign of Fire.

Bambi II, from DisneyToon Studios, is being released on DVD in the United States but in theaters in Europe. However, ASIFA-Hollywood members will be treated to a screening on February 7 at the Harmony Gold Screening Room so it can be viewed in all its big-screen glory.

Cartoon Brew has pointed out an article from yesterday by Roger Ebert extolling the virtues of the animated short with particular attention given to Chuck Jones’ achievements. Larry Loc, ASIFA-Hollywood’s blogger, has followed it up with a tribute to Mike Maltese.

The ASIFA-Hollywood Blog has now listed some of the high profile talent who will be presenting at the upcoming 33rd Annual Annie Award, including William Shatner, Jason Alexander, Craig T. Nelson and Brad Bird. The ceremony is scheduled for February 4 and will be held at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and hosted once again […]

DreamWorks Animation has just notified us that they have posted online clips (including story reels) from Madagascar and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit that are available to the public for viewing but more specifically to be used for purposes of voting by ASIFA-Hollywood members in the 2005 Annie Awards. More here:

The Curious George marketing machine is starting up with an announcement on iTunes that the soundtrack by surfer musician Jack Johnson is now available for preorder. If you pre-order the album in addition to other perks you even get a downloadable coloring book.

A trailer included on the upcoming Funny Factory DVDs starring Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse indicates that a special edition DVD of Dumbo is coming sometime in 2006 but does not indicate whether it will be a 1-disc or 2-disc edition.

Yahoo! Finance reports on the recent addition of some historical Disney animated shorts. According to the chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, Dick Cook, “We are pleased that in addition to offering our classic animated shorts on DVD, we will now reach an even broader audience with programming on Apple’s iTunes Music Store.”

Before we forget 2005 too much, Chuck Oberleitner has listed many of those in the entertainment/animation industry who passed away last year, those who have left a mark in the hearts of all of us. Those from the realm of animation will be remembered later this month at the Afternoon of Remembrance, an annual event […]

A recently released full synopsis of Flushed Away by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Features can be read here:

It looks like it was a little rainy but that didn’t keep Disney’s float, comprised of “five beautiful Disney castles from around the world seeming to float . . . on a pillow of clouds,” from participating in the 117th Rose Parade in Pasadena. Complete story at Disneyland News. Three images can be viewed here:

As Father Time draws the year 2005 to a close Chuck Oberleitner has posted a Year In Review in video or photo format for the Disney enthusiast, accompanied by a score that had been written by Andy Garfield that had been intended to be used for Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary celebration.

Hot on the heels of the Toy Story: 10th Anniversary Edition DVD comes the Toy Story 2: Woody’s Roundup Edition DVD. Toy Story 2 is often cited along with The Godfather II and Superman II as the rare sequel that is at least as good as the original movie it is based on. In stores […]

The Orange County Register online has a detailed article today on the new Monsters, Inc.: Mike & Sulley to the Rescue ride at Disney’s California Adventure which officially opens in January but is test running off and on from now until then. “The Monsters, Inc. attraction invites visitors to line up at the Monstropolis Transit […]