There’s been lots of upheaval in the Star Wars universe since the Disney acquisition with old projects being shelved and new ones announced. The cancellation of the popular The Clone Wars TV series was a blow to animation fans, but IGN has word that there is another… maybe. RebelForce Radio spoke with Dave Filoni, supervising […]

The Wrap notes that The Croods has become just the second movie of the year to pass $300 million worldwide box office gross. “[This weekend] the 3D caveman cartoon took in $34.1 million from 62 markets to raises its international total to $206.8 million. With its $125.8 million domestic haul, its global gross now stands […]

The Muppets… Again! is filming on the streets of London this week, and Bleeding Cool reports that signs announcing the fact give a little more plot info, a possible British release date, and of course some jokes! The new blurb reads: “Kermit the Frog and the gang embark on a World Tour, with the ‘help’ […]

Phys.org looks at an essay that explains the staying power of animated films and how they are able to draw us in emotionally. Eric Scott Jenkins, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of communication, says “When people talk about Disney animation, they may describe it as magical or wonderful, and I don’t think that has […]

Our friends The Rotoscopers recently attended a test screening for Disney’s upcoming film Planes and they’ve posted their thoughts in an early review. (While they try to keep major spoilers out they do talk about the plot, so beware if you’d prefer absolutely no spoilers.) They’ll be posting a video report soon and you can […]

Film Music Reporter says that Henry Jackman will be scoring the upcoming DreamWorks film Turbo. Jackman’s previous work includes the music for Puss in Boots and Monsters vs Aliens.

A preview of Blue Sky’s upcoming film Epic will air tonight during the Kids’ Choice Awards. Animation fans may also be interested in several of the awards which include Favorite Cartoon (Fairly OddParents, Phineas and Ferb, SpongeBob SquarePants, Tom and Jerry), Favorite Animated Movie (Brave, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Wreck-It […]

ComingSoon.net has an interview with The Croods stars Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds. And Empire Magazine has a gallery of some of the strange creatures their characters will face on their journey. The Croods opens this Friday, March 22nd.

Collider has a photo from the set of The Muppets…Again! movie featuring Tina Fey and what appears to be Kermit’s “jewel-heisting doppelgänger named Constantine”. Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell also star. The film is set to open a year from tomorrow, on March 21, 2014.

ComingSoon.net has some images from the upcoming The Art of The Croods book, “which features over 400 pieces of concept art, character sketches, storyboards and digital paintings, along with interviews with key animation talent”. The film opens this Friday, while you can pick up the book on March 26th.

Deadline reports that the new Angry Birds Toons series that just launched this weekend has, among other signs, caused BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield to forecast that “the pace of innovation is accelerating and that traditional media industry gatekeepers run by executives such as Brian Roberts, Rupert Murdoch, Bob Iger, Sumner Redstone, Jeff Bewkes, etc. do […]

Kevin Eastman , one of the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is happy with the direction of the upcoming Micheal Bay film reboot, according to Comic Book Resources. “From everything that I’ve seen in the script and the development and everything they’ve asked my input on specifically, it’s gonna be an awesome, familiar, […]

CinemaBlend has an interesting look behind the scenes of the 3D retro-themed animated opening credits sequence in Oz The Great and Powerful. “Our opening sequence needed to set up this sensational 3D journey, up front, so that the audience kind of expects the whole entire film is going to be an adventure fantasy film. We […]

Goro Miyazaki’s From Up on Poppy Hill opens in New York and Los Angeles today, according to Animation Magazine. “The film was the top-earning animated feature in Japan in 2011, grossing almost $54 million and outdrawing two Pokémon features. It also won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Animated Feature”. Check out the magazine’s site […]

Croods star Ryan Reynolds, who plays the role of Guy, sat for an interview with Flicks and Bits, where he discussed his character, the recording process, the family dynamic in the story, and what it was like seeing the finished product. The Croods opens March 22nd.

The Wrap asks what’s next for the visual effects community after the Rhythm & Hues bankruptcy. Ideas range from forming a union to changing the way studios are charged for special effects. But with the availability of low-cost foreign effects and the other ways the price of their labor has been hit there are no […]

Deadline says that Marvel has signed a deal with Feld Entertainment (the company behind the Disney on Ice series) to bring their characters together in a live-action show called Marvel Universe Live. While various studios have the movie rights to certain characters, Marvel still holds the rights to them in other mediums meaning this version […]

The Writers Guild of America, West claims Nickelodeon has been negligent in making residual payments, according to The Wrap. The union has given them until March 25th to post a $3 million bond before they tell their members to withhold their services from the company. Nick says they’ve “been working with the WGA to resolve […]

With Oz The Great and Powerful opening today, Indiewire looks back at the long history Disney has with the stories of L. Frank Baum, dating back to the 1930’s when Walt considered Oz as a possible followup to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The Verge writes about a recent lecture titled Math in the Movies by Pixar Senior Scientist Tony DeRose at New York’s Museum of Mathematics. His talk to a diverse crowd of young and old was about “translating principles of arithmetic, geometry, and algebra into software that renders objects or powers physics engines. This process is […]

Other than a couple of press releases and a blurry image there isn’t a lot out there about Relativity Media and Reel FX’s upcoming film Turkeys. The movie was originally set for a 2014 premiere but in an aggressive move after DreamWorks moved Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Reel FX moved their film up by an […]

BusinessWeek has an in-depth article on how Disney bought Lucasfilm and what they plan to do with it. The behind the scenes piece reveals that the seed of the plan was planted at the opening of the revamped Star Tours ride in Walt Disney World where Disney CEO Bob Iger and George Lucas had a […]

Charles Solomon, writing for the Southern California Public Radio decries the latest Los Angeles cultural event to exclude animation — a year-long cultural celebration of The Rite of Spring called LA’s Rite: Stravinsky, Innovation and Dance. “Musicians, dancers and scholars will be involved in symposia, performances, exhibitions and digital installations through October. Nowhere is there […]