BBC News relays the thoughts expressed by Aardman Animations co-founder Peter Lord regarding the death of Joseph Barbera. “Hanna and Barbera’s surprising achievement was to give us great animated comedy without a great deal of animation. With great design, wonderful vocal performances and superb sound effects they created a string of utterly memorable comedies – […]

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo: 9) Happy Feet with $7,650,181, averaging $2,982 over 2,565 theaters ($175,967,627 total; 7th week) 31) The Polar Express (IMAX) with $179,513, averaging $5,279 over 34 theaters ($2,770,777 total; 7th week) 43) Santa Vs. the Snowman – Season 5 with $41,545, averaging $1,888 over 22 theaters ($828,415 total; 9th week) 60) […]

Nicktoons Network, Nickelodeon’s 24-hour animation channel, has announced 13 original half-hour episodes of The Secret Show, via a press release at Broadcast Newsroom. Described as “Get Smart meets Monty Python,” the series will air Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. (ET), beginning January 20.

Ben Simon travels to Paris for an exclusive tour of Il était une fois, Walt Disney (Once Upon A Time… Walt Disney), the current exhibition running at the prestigious Grand Palais. The show extensively reveals the many and varied sources of European inspiration, from books to cinema, that the Disney artists of the Golden Age […]

The New York Times notices the plastic surgery that Disney.com has received. The site’s redesign will be introduced by Disney CEO Robert Iger at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, on January 8. The article explains, “Some executives who saw it said it was much improved, with video and interactive features, and was much […]

FilmStew.com via Yahoo! Movies writes that a deal providing Universal Studios theme parks the exclusive use of DreamWorks Animation characters is no longer in service. Supposedly, the studio had numerous ideas for theme park attractions that Universal did not find appealing. As a result of this action, DreamWorks’ animated properties may now be shopped to […]

The production blog for Hellboy Animated sends readers to YouTube, where the first trailer for Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron is now available. Lasting a little over one minute, the advertisement comes from Starz Media.

PRWeb has the press release for Voice123, an online database dedicated to helping casting directors find the voices they need for various voiceover work. Specifically, the website describes itself as “the largest online platform for the voiceover market, and boasts of having the largest number of voiceover artists enrolled with it.”

Cover artwork for Scooby All-Stars, which the packaging refers to as Scooby Doo, Where Are You! – The Complete Third Season, is displayed at TV Shows on DVD. Likewise, the site offers the backside artwork for the first season of Loonatics: Unleashed.

With Sci Fi Wire, Brittany Murphy speaks about voicing the title role in Disney’s upcoming animated feature Tinker Bell. “It definitely shows her life with Peter and the Lost Boys, but it shows Tink with her girlfriends and also feeling inadequate about being a tinker fairy,” the actress explains. “Pots and pans, kettles; that’s what […]

According to SYS-CON Media/PR Newswire, the Walt Disney Company has indicated that it grossed $3.26 billion in global box office revenue during 2006. That total was helped by the company having the year’s biggest box office draws: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, which pulled in $1.06 billion, and Cars, which acquired $462 million. […]

The New York Times suggests that Savion Glover has not been given the proper credit he deserves for providing the motion-captured tap-dancing of Happy Feet’s protagonist, Mumble. Nonetheless, Glover insists he is pleased with his treatment, commenting, “I love George Miller, and was happy to be a part of the film. I have no problem […]

From Shout Factory, Sonic the Hedgehog – The Complete Series will burst into stores on March 27. With the package’s cover artwork displayed, TV Shows on DVD lists the special features for the DVD release.

The Newsweek section of MSNBC.com has conducted its list of the best movies of 2006. Two of the films to have a quick mention in the piece are none other than Monster House and Happy Feet, as both come “highly recommended” by the magazine.

News.com.au explains the ingredients used for the creation of Happy Feet, one of which being the visual effects composed by Animal Logic. Studying Antartica, as well as such creatures as penguins and elephant seals, digital supervisor Brett Feeney sought a “photo real effect” for the animation in Happy Feet, as directed by George Miller. In […]

Following similarly enlightening articles from JoBlo and Coming Soon, DVD Talk investigates the visual effects found in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, courtesy of Industrial Light and Magic. Animation supervisor Hal T. Hickel, visual effects art director Aaron McBride, and creature model supervisor Geoff Campbell take the site on a tour, explaining the […]

The Los Angeles Times notices the nearly 500 special effects that can be seen in Night at the Museum. Under the supervison of Jim Rygiel, whose work for the Lord of the Rings trilogy brought him three Oscars, Rhythm & Hues helped craft the film’s visual magic.

The Associated Press via Yahoo! Finance reviews the performance of the Walt Disney Company for the year of 2006. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Robert Iger, the company enjoyed success through such actions as the acquiring of Pixar and the distributing of video content through iTunes.

The Washington Post looks at the dancing displayed in Happy Feet. For the film, the signature moves of master dancer Savion Glover were motion-captured and transferred to the penguin picture’s star, Mumble.

TV Shows on DVD has the lowdown on the April 17 release of Spongebob Squarepants: Friend or Foe, which will contain seven episodes of the hit series. Concurrently, the site offers cover artwork for Justice League Unlimited – Season 2, coming March 20.

Atom Films displays the sequel to the popular online film, Animator vs. Animation. Lasting a little over three minutes, Animator vs. Animation 2 reveals the humorously unfortunate happenings that abound when a stick figure brings chaos to a desktop, battling the AIM man and the Firefox fox.

The Hickory Daily Record has chosen Doug ‘Mater’ Keever as one of its “people of the year.” Discovered by Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, who was visiting Lowe’s Motor Speedway to research the racing culture, Keever’s “life-of-the-party” racing enthusiasm made him the inspiration for the comic sidekick Mater in Disney/Pixar’s Cars.

Reminding readers of the television documentary Walt Disney: Once Upon A Time, which aired on the Canadian network CBC Newsworld this past Christmas Eve, The Toronto Sun writes of the impact Europe might have had on the “Old Maestro.” Traveling to the continent twice, once as a soldier in World War I and another time […]

In its list of films that failed to attract large audiences in 2006, Variety includes the DreamWorks/Aardman collaboration Flushed Away. Noting that the movie pulled in $61 million, along with critical acclaim, the piece adds, “made more cheaply, [this] pic likely wouldn’t have made this list.” Variety suggests Flushed Away involved a budget of close […]

In Forbes Magazine’s countdown of “The Top 15 Holiday Movies of All Time,” The Nightmare Before Christmas comes in at #15, having grossed a domestic total of approximately $50,379,629 since its release on October 13, 1993. That figure does not include the $8,616,662 the movie’s 3D re-release has gathered thus far this year.

On December 3, The New York Times reviewed Neal Gabler’s Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. It might be said that the editorial painted Walt in an unflattering manner, using such descriptive phrases as “largely friendless, moody, impatient…” Thus, John Culhane has responded to the review, defending Walt’s character, in a new New […]

Entertainment Weekly humorously presents two lists that Santa is more likely to ignore rather than check twice. In “Christmas with the Cranks,” ten Christmas movies with an edge are presented, including The Nightmare Before Christmas and Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights. The other article, “Seven Sinful Santas,” suggests films in which jolly ol’ Saint Nicholas […]

The New York Times covers the history of two Rankin/Bass puppets of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus. Crafted from wood, felted wool and wire, the figures were created in the 60’s by Japanese puppet makers, for the television specials from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass. Following a long journey from oblivion to […]

As projected at Coming Soon, the Buena Vista Pictures 2007 Preview reveals that Enchanted is now scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 21. As of right now, the only other picture opening that week is the Frank Darabont thriller, The Mist. Enchanted was originally set to open against DreamWorks Animation’s Bee Movie, on November […]

The Los Angeles Times spotlights Dick Van Dyke’s enthusiasm for visual effects. For approximately four decades, the actor has practiced crafting special effects within his home studio. In fact, Van Dyke has even contributed visual effects to some of the projects in which he has acted, such as Diagnosis Murder and Night at the Museum, […]