The Pixar masterpiece exceeded expectations with an estimated $23.3M gross yesterday for what should be a $64–67M three-day weekend. That would make it the third biggest opening for a non-sequel animated film, behind Pixar’s own Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Congratulations to everyone at Disney/Pixar!

According to Fantasy Moguls, Pixar’s perfectly-reviewed film is off to a meteoric start, much stronger than last year’s Ratatouille. The new animated masterpiece, already described by many critics as the likely winner of the next animation Oscar, will almost certainly top $20M on opening day. One source told the site $60M+ for the weekend and […]

Empire offers a first look at the new trailer for Disney’s November animated feature film Bolt which can also be enjoyed on the big screen in theaters nationwide starting today in front of Wall•E.

And Pixar’s latest also rose to 98% of positive reviews overall according to Rotten Tomatoes. It “has all the heart, soul, spirit and romance of the very best silent movies 60 years ago.” says the Hollywood Reporter. “One of the best films of the summer” (USA Today), “Pixar’s ninth consecutive wonder of the animated world” […]

Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that Disney and Pixar are going to push hard for a Best Picture Oscar nomination for Wall•E “on the basis of its anti-toon moody darkness and rave reviews by critics who matter.” Only Beauty and the Beast earned a nomination in that category back in 1991, and that was before an […]

Yahoo! Movies exclusively debuted the trailer for the December 19th animated feature film The Tale of Despereaux, Directed by Sam Fell (Flushed Away) and featuring the voices of Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Frances Conroy, Tony Hale, Ciaran Hinds, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci, Tracey Ullman, Emma Watson […]

Rotten Tomatoes sums it all up: “It’s rare that a picture earns comparisons with Chaplin’s City Lights and Kubrick’s 2001. It’s rarer still that said picture is also praised as intelligent, visually remarkable, darkly funny, and ultimately, heartwarming family fare. However, critics say the good folks at Pixar have done just that with Wall•E, perhaps […]

SPA officially pushed back its next feature film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, originally set for March 27, 2009 (until DreamWorks’ Monsters vs. Aliens claimed that same spot) to the much less trafficked January 15, 2010. The studio’s follow up film, Hotel Transylvania, which had originally been announced for September 25, 2009 has now […]

Fantasy Moguls reports that tracking on Pixar’s latest film is “phenomenal,” and it is likely to open a notch higher than last June’s Ratatouille, earning a spot in the all-time Top 10 openings for animated films. Expect a $52 million-$57 million for the three-day and a possible $115 million-$120 million banked in its first 10 […]

Coming Soon reports that actress and wannabe singer Scarlett Johansson has joined the voice cast of the animated feature film adaptation Astro Boy. Imagi and Summit will promote the film at the upcoming Anime Expo convention in Los Angeles, giving away a special edition t-shirt from their booth (#913 and #915).

The world’s most famous director emailed an heartful message about his experience working with and befriending visual effects genius Stan Winston to Ain’t It Cool. Check it out!

Academy Award winner Paul Newman is battling lung cancer according to unconfirmed reports. Could this affect Pixar’s 2012 sequel, following the recent death of George Carlin who voiced Fillmore? “Well, you know, his character [Doc Hudson] is coming back,” John Lasseter told MTV News. “He’s a good friend of mine, and so we’re just waiting […]

The TAG Blog reveals that a story crew has started early work on a Kung Fu Panda sequel at DreamWorks, while animators are hand-drawing new material for the DVD of the first film, expected to be released this Fall. Comments one animator: “This has been a fun project. It should go on to late July. […]

Wall•E is expected to easily become the year’s most marketed movie, with DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda coming close behind. Last year, Ratatouille topped the marketing charts, with Disney spending $54 million to cook up ads for the Pixar-produced pic. To put that into perspective, the industry average to promote a pic was $35.9 million last […]

The film, which Cinema Blend calls “another winning confection from Pixar” and GFR “the perfect window for kids into a broader world of imagination and perhaps even activism”, could be “Pixar’s best movie ever” according to the New York Magazine. The Village Voice feels that “you’ll adore it because of a cuddly, lonely little robot […]

With the recent passing of VFX legend Stan Winston, Sony Pictures Imageworks has decided to change its upcoming SIGGRAPH 2008 “Studio Events” program and instead pay tribute to Stan at the Nokia Theater on Aug. 13 (8:00 -11:00 p.m.). Find out more details at AWN.

Disney won big at last night’s Satury Awards as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror presented three trophies to Enchanted (best Fantasy Film, Actress for Amy Adams, and Music for Alan Menken) while Ratatouille won for best Writing and unsurprisingly beat Beowulf, Meet the Robinsons, Shrek the Third, The Simpsons Movie and Surf’s […]

Movieweb reports that Christina Ricci will voice the lead role of the timid crayon Yellow in Exodus Film Group’s animated CG feature The Hero of Color City. She plays one of several crayons whose colorful world is threatened by an evil tyrant. She is the first member of the cast to be announced for the […]

Variety reveals what Laika has in the works post Coraline , and it’s quite exciting! The studio, which does both CG and stop-motion features, was created when Phil Knight, whose Nike empire gives him an estimated worth of $7.9 billion, stepped in to buy the former Will Vinton Studios, famous for the California Raisins, after […]

Freddie Highmore told SCI FI Wire he just completed the final voice work for two more Arthur and the Minimoys films, inspired by the popular children’s fantasy books of Luc Besson. The 16-year-old British actor completed filming two sequels to the 2006 film more than a year ago and had to finish the looping for […]

Disney orchestrated a one-of-a-kind premiere last Saturday at the Greek theater in Los Angeles, which was turned for the occasion into a 2,000-seat outdoor movie theater; NASA Mars rovers lined the red carpet. After the screening, 30 vans shuttled guests up the hill to the Griffith Observatory for the party, which included a special setup […]

The spunky little fairy, which is headlining one of Disney’s hottest franchises, will get her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later this year. She will join other imaginary characters there including Winnie the Pooh, Kermit the Frog and Mickey Mouse.

The DreamWorks Animation CEO introduced clips, storyboards and early animation sequences from Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and touted the studio’s first stereoscopic 3-D feature Monsters vs. Aliens earlier today at the Cinema Expo conference in Amsterdam.

AFI’s top 10 of animation was revealed tonight, with quotes-sadly limited to voice talent and random celebrities but still enjoyable-by Isabella Rossellini, Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberg, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Cameron Crowe and more. Like all lists the ranking is highly questionable but still more credible than most. Click […]

D3Publisher will release the video games based on Focus Features and Laika’s stop-motion feature film Coraline, credited as the first to be originally filmed in 3-D. Directed by Henry Selick, Coraline follows a young girl (Dakota Fanning) who walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. […]

While Hasbro is the master toy licensee on DreamWorks’ latest hit Kung Fu Panda, the studio will have to settle for a smaller partner on its first stereoscopic 3D film next March. ToyQuest’s line for Monsters vs. Aliens will include action figures, non-electronic table top games, vehicles, playsets, role-play products, plush, youth electronics, seasonal toys, […]

Ultimate Disney took a look for us at the sequel’s new DVD edition: “Unsurprisingly, the name Special Edition is anything but in this case. All Disney has done is changed the packaging and sneak peeks, and added a game. It’s doubtful anyone eager to own this sequel has waited up until this point to purchase […]

Coming Soon! had the chance to see Pixar’s new short and their verdict is now online: “without a doubt (…) one of Pixar’s best. It’s definitely a treat before the main feature even starts.”

AWN recently sat down with Pixar’s Roger Gould and Walt Disney Imagineering’s Sue Bryan to discuss the making of the much talked about new Disney ride, Toy Story Mania. The L.A. Times also takes a look at the new attraction.

The Pixar Blog posted more quotes with writer/director Andrew Stanton, new movie stills, and the first production photos.