According to {{link http://www.quicken.com/investments/news_center/story/?story=NewsStory/dowJones/20040129/ON200401291955001877.var&column=P0DFP Dow Jones Newswire}}, Warner Brothers may be the most natural fit for Pixar “based on their domestic and international film-distribution strengths”. If a Time Warner/Pixar deal occurs, the Dow Jones analyst thinks the “giant entertainment company might try to strike a deal with Disney to buy the two movies left under […]

According to {{link http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2004/nf20040130_5999.htm Business Week}} “like everyone in Hollywood, Disney execs learned about Pixar’s surprise move from the press release”. Even Disney’s studio chief Dick Cook, “who enjoyed a stronger rapport with Jobs than Eisner did, was caught off guard by Pixar’s announcement. No phone call. No heads-up… Cook, who called Jobs after hearing […]

\\Roy Disney and Stanley Gold Dismayed, But Not Surprised by Loss of Walt Disney Company’s Relationship With Pixar\\ As significant shareholders of The Walt Disney Company, we are extremely dismayed, but not surprised by the loss of Disney’s Pixar relationship. More than a year ago, we warned the Disney Board that we believed Michael Eisner […]

\\Disney and Pixar End Talks\\ Pixar has elected to conclude its discussions to extend a successful long-term partnership with The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) following the delivery of two more animated features, \\The Incredibles\\ expected in 2004 and \\Cars\\ expected in 2005. “We have had a fantastic partnership with Pixar and wish Steve Jobs and […]

\\Pixar to End Talks with Disney\\ Emeryville, CA – January 29, 2004 – Pixar today said that it is ending its discussions with The Walt Disney Company to extend their existing five-picture deal, and will begin discussions with other studios to distribute its films beginning in 2006. After completing the final two films under the […]

{{link http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/29/news/companies/pixar_disney/ CNN}} reports that {{link http://www.pixar.com/ Pixar Animation Studios}} has announced it has ended talks with {{link http://www.disney.com/ The Walt Disney Company}} over extending their five-picture deal. “After ten months of trying to strike a deal with Disney, we’re moving on,” Pixar CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. “We’ve had a great run […]

\\Variety\\ reports (this time via {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=101053 Toon Zone}}) that \\Shrek 2\\ will make its debut during the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. The film will be screened on Saturday, May 15, and open in theaters on May 21.

{{link http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3204 ComingSoon.net}} reports on a \\Variety\\ story about Jean Giraud’s sci-fi fantasy film \\Thru the Moebius Strip\\. Senator International will handle worldwide sales rights of this CG feature written by Jim Cox and Paul Gertz. Currently in post-production, \\Moebius\\ will be completed this year. The film features the voice talents of Mark Hamill, Chris […]

{{link http://www.playbill.com/news/article/84041.html Playbill}} quotes a \\Variety\\ report about Laura Michelle Kelly, the 23 year old actress who has landed the title role in the upcoming stage musical \\Mary Poppins\\. Kelly, who says she saw the film version as a child, won’t be watching it again anytime soon. “I won’t see it again until I’ve finished […]

{{link http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/elsewhere/index.html Movie Poop Shoot’s}} Jeffrey Wells shows off the \\Shark Tale\\ mailer he recently received from DreamWorks. “I got this toy shark delivered to me the other day. It’s supposed to promote DreamWorks’ \\Shark Tale\\… Ever since he arrived this little guy has been sitting on my kitchen counter, grinning and trying to help […]

The \\{{link http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/7809095.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp Miami Herald}}\\ reports that Roy Disney and Stanley Gold are calling on stockholders “to vote against the election of four directors, including Disney chairman and chief executive Michael Eisner, at Disney’s March 3 annual meeting”. Disney and Gold sent out a letter to stockholders saying that this action would send a message […]

The nominations for the 76th Academy Awards were {{link http://www.oscar.com/nominees/index.html announced}} on Tuesday. \\Finding Nemo\\ leads animated films with 4 nominations, including the third ever screenplay nomination and the fourth ever sound editing nomination for an animated film (no animated film has won either category). Best Animated Feature: \\Brother Bear\\, \\Finding Nemo\\, \\The Triplets of […]

{{link http://filmforce.ign.com Filmforce}} has a {{link http://ffmedia.ign.com/filmforce/image/SB-Monster_1_happy.jpg promotional shot}} from the upcoming \\SpongeBob Squarepants\\ movie. (I wasn’t able to find the story this pic goes with. If anyone finds it please email me and I’ll link to it.) A {{link http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/spongebobsquarepantsmovie/ teaser trailer}} was released last month. The film is slated to open November 19th, […]

The {{link http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=493&ncid=790&e=2&u=/ap/20040125/ap_en_mo/brf_disney_roger_rabbit AP reports}} that a lawsuit against Disney brought by Gary K. Wolf, the author of the novel on which the \\Who Framed Roger Rabbit\\ was based, has been reinstated by an appeals court after being dismissed by a lower court. Wolf claims he is owed millions of dollars in royalties from merchandising […]

Twenty years ago today, a much younger Steve Jobs introduced the world to the Macintosh and changed the course of computer and animation history. The Mac brought us the first computer “for the rest of us” and started the boom of computer use by the masses. And two years later, with money earned at Apple […]

{{link http://www.nynewsday.com/ny-kangaroo0123,0,1776938.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-left NY Newsday}} reports that Bob Keeshan, TV’s Captain Kangaroo, has died at the age of 76. \\Captain Kangaroo\\ “premiered on CBS in 1955 and ran for 30 years before moving to public television for six more. It was wildly popular among children and won six Emmy Awards, three Gabriels and three Peabody Awards”. […]

{{link http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/index.htm?../articles/01232004.1.htm~contentFrame Jim Hill}} looks back at the careers of two of Disney’s best directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, on their last day working for Disney. The pair kickstarted the second Golden Age of Animation in the late 1980’s with \\The Great Mouse Detective\\ and \\The Little Mermaid\\. They went on to direct \\Aladdin\\, […]

\\Variety\\ reports (via {{link http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3133 ComingSoon.net}}) that DreamWorks is already fast-tracking production of \\Shrek 3\\ and \\Shark Tale 2\\, months before the first \\Shrek\\ sequel is released and more than half a year before the release of the first \\Shark Tale\\! In \\Shrek 3\\ the “green ogre will tackle the legend of King Arthur and […]

According to Central Florida’s local CBS affiliate {{link http://www.local6.com/news/2782804/detail.html Local6}}, Disney has sold the town center of Celebration – a city they created. The sale ends “the entertainment giant’s most visible connection to an experiment with urban planning”. The town center, which encompasses “18 acres containing 16 retail shops, six full-service restaurants, more than 94,000 […]

{{link http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/01/22/obit.woodbridge.ap/index.html CNN}} reports that \\Mad\\ magazine illustrator George Woodbridge has died of emphysema at 73. Woodbridge worked at the mag for nearly 50 years and his “exquisitely detailed pen-and-ink drawings were featured in nearly every issue”. \\Mad\\ Editor John Ficarra said that “he had a tremendous eye for detail that showed up in his […]

{{link http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/20/serkis.gollum/index.html CNN}} has an interesting report on Andy Serkis, his new book, and the creation of Gollum for \\The Lord of the Rings\\. The book is called \\Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic\\ and contains Serkis’ point of view of the character’s creation from the beginning (his agent told him this job would consist […]

According to {{link http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=10091 AWN}} former animators of the now defunct Disney Feature Animation facility in Orlando may have more opportunites to find work without having to move back to California. Raven Animation Inc., formed by {{link http://www.ravenmoon.net/ Raven Moon Entertainment}}, plans to run a studio in the Orlando area. Raven Moon CEO Joey DiFrancesco […]

New \\SpongeBob SquarePants\\ episodes aired on Monday night, but if you missed them you are in luck. An encore presentation of the episodes “Plankton’s Army” and “Missing Identity” will air again tonight at 8:30pm ET on Nick. Production of the TV show has ground to a virtual halt and new episodes are few and far […]

According to the {{link http://www.ntv.co.jp/ghibli/diary_g/index.html Studio Ghibli Production Diary}} (English translation available from {{link http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/howl/diary.html Naussica.net}}), storyboarding for \\Howl’s Moving Castle\\ has been completed. {{link http://www.animenewsnetwork.com Anime News Network}} reports that “at just under 1400 storyboards \\Howl\\ has slightly more storyboards than \\Spirited Away\\”.

Pentamedia Graphics’ \\Pandavas – The Five Warriors\\, the first full-length 3D computer animated film to be created and produced in India, will be released on DVD and VHS in North America by Eagle One Media on April 20, 2004. \\Pandavas – The Five Warriors\\ is “based on the classic Indian tale from one of India’s […]

{{link http://animationhq.net/ AnimationHQ}} announced that they will be holding an online chat with voice actor Gregg Berger. His list of credits include Donatello in \\Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\\; Grimlock, Long Haul, Outback #2, Skyfire, and TORQ III in \\Transformers\\; Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio in the \\Spider-Man\\ series; Cornfed Pig in \\Duckman\\, Motorviper in \\G.I. […]

The {{link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3408799.stm BBC}} reports that a new animated version of the classic children’s story \\The Little Prince\\ has been greenlit by Pathé Pictures, one of the producers behind \\Chicken Run\\. Francois Ivernel, managing director of Pathé, said “\\The Little Prince’s\\ magical words and images are deeply rooted in the imagination of generations of children […]

{{link http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=Simpsons%20Sports%20Moments1 ESPN}} counts down the top 100 sports moments from the 14 seasons of \\The Simpsons\\, a show that “regularly packs more memorable sports moments into its episodes than some MLB teams do in a season”. ESPN writer Greg Collins says it was “a painstaking process that involved viewing dozens of episodes, along with […]

A new book called \\The New York Times Essential Library: Children’s Movies\\, by film critic Peter M. Nichols, picks the best 100 children’s movies – but it looks beyond “traditional forms of children’s entertainment to assemble a collection of films that are stimulating for the whole family, including adults”. Some of the films include some […]

{{link http://vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=10076 VFXWorld}} reports that Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee in \\The Lord of the Rings\\) has mentioned in an interview that he is in the running to direct the film version of \\The Fantastic Four\\. “Upon the success of his short film, \\The Long and Short of It\\, which he filmed while making \\The Lord […]