As if there wasn’t already enough controversy over Simba and Kimba, Toon Zone alerts us to an article at BBC News Online about an author of children’s books in France suing Disney. The author, Franck Le Calvez, claims that many of the characters in Disney/Pixar’s smash hit Finding Nemo are similar to characters in a […]

Kristin points us to an article at the St. Petersburg Times Floridian website for a glimpse of real lives being hit hard by the closure of Disney’s Florida animation studios. There’s also insights into corporate struggles, the “so-called” 2D vs. 3D animation war, fat cat capitalism wherein those who control all the money give themselves […]

Jim Hill Media has a new article in which he compares Disney CEO Michael Eisner to Beauty and the Beast’s Gaston (whose hubris led him to falling from a great height) and to other Disney villains in general in the recent Roy Disney/Stanley Gold controversy yet still holds out hope that Eisner can come down […]

Jim Hill Media has a new “Why For” column where various questions are answered concerning the delay of Aladdin’s IMAX presentation (I was really hoping to see it), the release date of Home on the Range, and more. After reading his answers you may wonder if there’s anything Jim Hill doesn’t know. I think what […]

Disney’s official site for The Lion King 1½ updates with two new trailers, one entitled “Timon’s Proposal” in which Timon makes a weird, semi-musical proposition to Shenzi (and in which we discover what might be Shenzi’s full name), and one entitled “Gotta Go,” which shows what happens when you give your surrogate child too much […]

If you loved Brother Bear in the theater and can’t wait to get a copy of your own for home viewing the good news is that it will be released by Disney to VHS and DVD on March 30, 2004.

A new still from Disney’s upcoming The Lion King 1½ has recently been made available and features the ever-lovable duo of Timon and Pumbaa sleeping on the job but otherwise doing their best to raise the lion cub prince Simba. Follow the “More” link to view the image.

Kristin Cheddar gives us the heads-up about an article on Variety.com regarding an upcoming CGI animated feature starring uber-famous standup comedian Jerry Seinfeld and entitled “Bee Movie.” I wonder if it will have that bee girl from the Blind Melon music videos or if it will be about “nothing” as the “Seinfeld” television series purportedly […]

In keeping with our long-standing tradition of reporting only the hard, solid, verifiable facts we will now begin reporting any dream that anybody connected with the animation industry in any way feels free to relate to others over the Internet. Larry Pontius, author of “Waking Walt,” has contributed a recent article to Jim Hill Media […]

Jerry Beck’s Cartoon Research page points us to a new article at MSN’s Slate all about Carl Stalling, the genius discovered by Walt Disney in the early 1920’s and the man responsible for the musical score for hundreds of Warner Bros. cartoons from 1936 to 1958. As John Williams did for Star Wars, it is […]

If there’s someone on your holiday shopping list who really likes clothes and you can’t figure out what to get them you might want to give MKT’s Swag CafePress page a gander. There’s shirts for men and women, baby items, mousepads, clocks, mugs, etc., with slogans such as “Roy Was Right,” “Bring Back Roy,” “Keep […]

Laughing Place has a new “Disney in the Classroom” article written by Lee Suggs, a history teacher from Northern California, about the educational value that can be found in Disney’s Brother Bear. It’s long been my belief that movies can teach valuable life lessons and do not have to be merely shallow entertainment and it’s […]

If you can’t get enough of the latest developments in the Roy Disney/Stanley Gold shakeout story Toon Zone has added a link to a letter purportedly written by Roy E. Disney to current Walt Disney Company employees in which he charges that “The focus [of the company] has shifted to the chase for the quick […]

Animation World Network updates with a report that three animated titles by Sir Paul McCartney of Beatles fame (“fame” may be too mild of a word) have been acquired by Miramax and are scheduled for a spring 2004 release. The three titles are TROPIC ISLAND HUM, TUESDAY and RUPERT & THE FROG SONG. In his […]

Animation Blast has updated with news of a letter of support for the efforts of Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold in calling for the ouster of Michael Eisner. The letter was begun by three former Disney employees and can be signed by anyone who wishes to express their support. Will this letter be effective? […]

The forum at the Big Cartoon DataBase reports that The Walt Disney Company has decided to keep Michael Eisner in his position as CEO despite protests from Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold. Oddly enough, the decision seems to be based primarily on stock value when one of Roy Disney’s complaints was that the company […]

It might seem a little jarring to go from the very serious news of Roy Disney’s resignation to news about the flatulence of a cartoon warthog, but a post by “Kervanna” at the Kiara’s Sahifa Message Board reveals that the “Hot Tub” trailer mentioned at the official Lion King 1½ site is included on the […]

Just a quick heads up that Disney’s official page for The Lion King 1½ has just updated with the sound working now, text clips from movie critics praising the movie (Michael Scheinfeld from TV Guide says it serves up “an irreverent circle of laughs” and Leonard Maltin calls it “an animation extravaganza”), a picture of […]

The official site of ABC is now sporting a page for the upcoming Peanuts special I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown! “It’s Christmas vacation and, as usual, ReRun’s big sister is stressing him out, so he decides to turn to his best friend, Snoopy, for amusement and holiday cheer.” Follow the link for […]

Animation Blast recently posted a link to a New York Times article online in which the future of Mickey Mouse is discussed. While Mickey is certainly an enduring cultural and corporate icon the question is more about whether or not he can remain a viable and entertaining character in animated features. Sales of the upcoming […]

Doing what it does best, Jim Hill Media digs to the bottom of the recent Few Good Ghosts cancellation and the shutting down of Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida and finds some answers. The answers may not be pleasing or satisfying but the bottom line is that when you are trying to please stockholders more […]

A recent article at Film Force discusses Disney’s Brother Bear from a deep Campbellian and Jungian perspective by exploring its archetypes and the hero’s journey that Kenai takes in the film. It also dignifies the roles of the fraternal moose pair, Rutt and Tuke, by showing that they are more than mere comic relief but […]

The forum at the Big Cartoon DataBase has a new report on an Oregonian scientist who has bred his very own ToMacco plant (a blend of tomato and tobacco), inspired by the Simpsons episode #AABF19, “E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt),” from a couple years back. In our increasingly smoke-free world one wonders what use it is to breed […]

Animation Insider recently scored an exclusive interview with Brother Bear directors Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker, in which they discuss the development of the film from its inception and the development of Rutt and Tuke as characters that became increasingly central and important to the story. There’s even a picture that shows the directors with […]

So, let’s say you call in sick to work on Friday, November 14, 2003, get the kids out of school and your wife (or husband) out of their yoga class and go to catch the very first showing of Looney Tunes: Back In Action at your local theater and you all have a wonderful time. […]

Here’s your Animated News staff Peanuts specialist, Christian, checking in with a report from the Toon Zone Forum that a third Peanuts Christmas special, I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown! will be airing on ABC on December 9. The show will focus on Rerun van Pelt (voiced by Jimmy Bennett), the younger brother […]

Animation World Network updates with a report on Sennari Inc. and Bullwinkle Studios partnering to bring characters such as Rocky and Bullwinkle, Sherman and Peabody, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Underdog to wireless platforms in the form of “games, screen savers and ringtones.” Now you will never have to leave home without your favorite Cold […]

The forum at the Big Cartoon Database reports that beginning March 26, 2004 Warner Bros. feature films will have Looney Tunes shorts attached to them and that there is also a new Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote short entitled The Whizzard of Ow that can be seen now at Wal-Mart and Supercenters stores. Follow […]

The Big Cartoon DataBase updates with a report on the upcoming Tarzan Broadway musical from Disney and states that Phil Collins has already written six to eight new songs for it. No word yet on if Rosie O’Donnell will be reprising her role as Terk.

Animation World Network reports that Brother Bear’s Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker, and Chuck Williams are now under contract to produce a new animated feature for Walt Disney Feature Animation. While the report doesn’t explicitly state it, it seems likely that this will be a traditionally animated film, rather than a computer generated film, and to […]