{{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 […]

UPDATE: Pixar has {{link http://www.pixar.com/shorts/bdn/ posted a sneak peak}} of their latest animated short film \\Boundin’\\ on their website! And after seeing the clip I can honestly say that I have never looked so forward to seeing an animated short! The story is told in song (with an old-timey western theme) and is about a […]

{{link http://www.superherohype.com/catwoman/index.php?id=693 Superhero Hype!}} has the scoop on an \\Entertainment Weekly\\ article that discusses Pixar’s upcoming \\The Incredibles\\. Though you might expect an action stud like Vin Diesel or The Rock to be voicing the herculean Mr. Incredible, the superlead is played by…Craig T. Nelson. (Holly Hunter speaks for his wife, Elastigirl.) “There’s a school […]

Several prestigious children’s book awards were announced earlier this week by the American Library Association, {{link http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/01/12/newbery.caldecott.ap/index.html CNN reports}}. Some of the winners included: \\The Tale of Despereaux\\ by Kate DiCamillo won the 2004 Newbery Medal given for the year’s best writing. It tells the “story of a small mouse in love with a princess”. […]

{{link http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/usatoday/20040109/en_usatoday/disneyraisingcurtainsonnewprojects&e=5 USA Today}} looks at what’s in the pipeline from Disney Theatricals. While much of the info has been reported in this space previously, Thomas Schumacher (president of Disney Theatrical Productions) does go into a little more detail on some of the upcoming shows.

Here’s an offbeat but interesting story from {{link http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/15/crime.haiti.reut/index.html CNN}}. Suppose you’re a former military chief in the Haitian army during the bloody military dictatorship of the early 1990’s. As the assistant commander in chief of the Haitian army you are convicted in absentia of murder in November 2000 and sentenced to life in prison […]

{{link http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3029 ComingSoon.net}} points us to {{link http://www.latinoreview.com/films_2004/dreamworks/shrek2/shrek2.html Latino Review}}, who have posted 6 new images of theatre banners from DreamWorks’ upcoming \\Shrek 2\\. The six banners are of Shrek, Donkey, Princess Fiona, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Far Far Away, Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming, and Puss In Boots.

{{link http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=1971 AWN}} and Jerry Beck take a look back at “the surprises and failures of the 2003 animated features in the US”. He also takes a look at what the coming year holds in a year when “classic theatrical hand drawn character animation – for the first time since… well frankly, for the first […]

{{link http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808468770 Greg’s Prevews}} confirms that \\Garfield\\ has been moved back a week and will be released on June 25th. This “puts it closer to the 4th of July, as the only family movie within two weeks before the holiday”.

Two-time Academy Award winner John Lasseter will receive the Art Directors Guild’s honorary Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award, according to \\{{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=1974 Animation Magazine}}\\. “Not given on an annual basis, the award recognizes individuals whose body of work in the film business has ‘richly enhanced the visual aspects of the movie-going experience’”. In addition to […]

{{link http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-film.html?2004-01/13/11.00.film SciFi Wire}} reports that Robert Luketic (\\Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!\\, \\Legally Blonde\\) will be directing and John Leguizamo (\\Ice Age\\, \\Titan A.E.\\) will be starring in the Fox/Blue Sky animated film \\The Iguana Brothers\\. “John Leguizamo’s doing the voice [of one brother],” Luketic said in an interview. “It’s about two Puerto […]

{{link http://forum.bcdb.com/gforum.cgi?post=17866 The Big Cartoon Database}} has a report that suggests that “the closure of Disney’s Orlando feature animation unit signals that an extension of the entertainment giant’s deal with Pixar Animation Studios is nigh”. According to a quoted analyist, if the Disney/Pixar deal were going to fall through, Disney would probably be ramping up […]

AWN has posted an {{link http://mag.awn.com/index.php?article_no=1965 Annie Award Voting Reference Guide}}. The “reference and resource list for all the nominated properties” has links to official websites, trailers, clips, pictures, and feature articles from Animation World Magazine and VFXWorld.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has {{link http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2003/04.01.12.html announced}} the winners of this years’ Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Awards. Several awards relate to the art of special effects animation, including one to Stephen Regelous “for the design and development of Massive, the autonomous agent animation system used for the battle sequences […]

{{link http://www.broadway.com/template_1.asp?CI=33352&CT=38 Broadway.com}} reports that “as it is every year, the first week of January was a tough one on Broadway. Every single show was down from the previous week”. \\Beauty and the Beast\\ took one of the biggest hits “down a whopping $517,296 from the week ending January 4”.

Miramax’s \\My Baby’s Daddy\\, which opened in the top five this past weekend, had some help from animation studio {{link http://www.Noodlesoup.net/ Noodlesoup Productions}}. Noodlesoup animated the opening minutes of the film, their second such project for Disney-owned Miramax. “We’re excited that Miramax has such faith in Noodlesoup Productions and has given us the opportunity to […]

Harry Knowles of {{link http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=16759 Ain’t It Cool News}} has posted a letter by Jim Hill that has several juicy news nuggets! – Disney Imagineers are preparing a new attraction for the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World called “Stitch’s Great Escape”. The show needed a “a few minutes of new traditionally animated footage featuring […]