The nominees for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards have been announced. From Shrek to Mumble the penguin, animation found itself represented once more in the competition for the coveted music award. To see the list of animated-related Grammy entries, please click:

The first trailer for the live-action/CGI Speed Racer adaptation is now up at Moviefone. Meanwhile, USA Today provides a set of images from the highly anticipated feature. Speed Racer will cruise into theaters on May 9, 2008.

DVD Active has the announcement from Genius Products regarding the DVD of its computer animated movie The Ten Commandments. While no bonus features have been revealed yet, the package’s cover artwork is now available to view.

Moviefone has added a second trailer for the animated Persepolis. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, the critically acclaimed film will have a limited run in the U.S. starting December 25th.

TMZ reports that magician Art Metrano is suing the creators of Family Guy, due to a scene in the series’ direct-to-video movie, Stewie Griffin – The Untold Story. Metrano claims that a flashback in the film, involving Jesus, employs a “comedy routine identical in music, sound and action to Metrano’s act, ‘The Amazing Metrano.’”

TV Party has a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the making of Rankin/Bass’ Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The article sheds some light on the history and making of the classic Christmas special.

TV Shows on DVD has the press information on the four-disc Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors – Volume 1, coming to stores on March 25th. The site also has the latest news on the three-disc Sam & Max: Freelance Police – The Complete Series, arriving March 11th.

Variety reports that awards season has officially commenced this week with the National Board of Review naming the films winning its top prizes. Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille takes home the award for Best Animated Film, while Persepolis wins the Bvlgari Award for NBR Freedom of Expression, which “champions the voices of maverick filmmakers”.

The first Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian trailer has just premiered at Narniaweb.com and Narniafans.com.

DVDTimes reports that Optimum Home Entertainment has announced UK Region 2 DVD release of Studio Ghibli’s film Tales from Earthsea on 28th January 2008. Based on the series of books by Ursula Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea marks the directorial debut of Goro Miyazaki, son of Hayao Miyazaki. Tales from Earthsea will be released as […]

The nominees for the 35th Annual Annie Awards were announced today. In the feature categories, Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille leads the field this year with 13 nominations including Best Animated Feature as well as individual nominations for directing, writing, character animation, animated effects (two nominations), production design, storyboarding, character design, character animation, music, and voice acting (three […]

CartoonBrew reports that Aardman Animations has launched Creature Discomforts, a series of TV spots, in an attempt to highlight the difficulties and discrimination faced by the disabled people. These TV spots will be aired in UK next month but the Official Website has made them all available to watch, alongwith a behind-the-scenes piece.

Cracked.com has published a list of nine most racist Disney characters which, according to the article, were unfairly characterized by their ethnic background. Characters in the list include Uncle Remus from Song of the South, The Crows from Dumbo and The Merchant from Aladdin, to name a few.

DVDActive has posted the cover art for the upcoming One Hundred and One Dalmatians Platinum Edition DVD, which will arrive in stores on March 4th. Along with a restored 1.33:1 feature presentation, extras on this two-disc set will include deleted scenes; a “Cruella de Vil: Drawn To Be Bad” featurette; a “Redefining the Line: The […]

DVDTimes has posted the details on the upcoming Aristocats Special Edition DVD which will hit stores on February 5, 2008. This new release will feature digitally-enhanced picture and sound. Plus it will include all-new extras, such as a never-before-seen deleted song; Bath Day, a cartoon short from 1946 featuring Figaro; “Backstage Disney: The Aristocats Scrapbook”; […]

The New York Times has a recommended piece that examines the chances of Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille being nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. Specifically, the article ponders if the Best Animated Feature Oscar category will help or hurt the possibility of such a nomination.

Moviehole reports that Gary Oldman has joined Jim Carrey in the cast of Robert Zemeckis’ motion-capture feature A Christmas Carol. Like Carrey, Oldman will play more than one character in the film. Interestingly, the site notes that Cary Elwes will stand-in for Carrey, at times when the comic is not available to participate in the […]

Upcoming Pixar points to The San Fernando Valley Business Journal, where word arrives that the Walt Disney Company is hoping to strengthen its online presence with a new website of games based on Disney/Pixar’s Cars. The site is expected to launch in 2008.

Entertainment Weekly has named “The 50 Smartest People In Hollywood.” Talented folks found in the lineup include Ratatouille director Brad Bird (#23), DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg (#22), Beowulf director Robert Zemeckis (#18), Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook (#12), and Industrial Light & Magic visual effects supervisor John Knoll (#10).

TMZ has obtained information that the Fred Rappoport Company, one of the producers behind the animated Christmas special Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, is suing Elmo Shropshire, singer of the popular Christmas tune upon which the show is based. According to Rappoport, Shropshire interfered in a $1 million merchandising deal regarding the special. […]

The Hollywood Reporter shows that the television premiere of Shrek the Halls averaged 21.1 million viewers and a 7.2 rating/20 share in adults 18-49. Airing on ABC at 8/7c, the special was followed by the Holiday favorite How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which averaged 18.7 million viewers and a 6.8 rating/17 share in the 18-49 […]

Upcoming Pixar notes that the official website for Toy Story Mania is now open. Animation enthusiasts may particularly enjoy the behind-the-scenes images for the attraction that the site reveals. Toy Story Mania will debut at Disneyland and Walt Disney World in the summer of 2008.

MTV Networks is hoping to place every clip from every episode of South Park onlne next year, with viewers being able to watch the clips for free. This strategy aims to increase the show’s television ratings, as a similar move with The Daily Show resulted in such success. The Hollywood Reporter has more on this […]

The Hollywood Reporter indicates that Shrek the Third was pushed to second place on the DVD sales charts, as Live Free or Die Hard took the top spot. As for Ratatouille, the Disney/Pixar hit dropped to 4th place in its third week. Interestingly, Black Friday discounts saw Happy Feet jump back into the top ten, […]

TV Shows on DVD presents a new batch of headlines regarding classic and contemporary animated shows coming soon to stores. Series and specials found among the latest information include Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States, South Park: Imaginationland, Justice League: The New Frontier, Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, the two volumes for Warner Brothers’ […]

With SCI FI Wire, producer Rich Moore explains the epic feeling the team behind Bender’s Big Score wanted to give the direct-to-video film. Concurrently, a clip from Score is available to view at Coming Soon.

IGN Movies showcases five new captioned images from the live-action/computer animated comedy Alvin and the Chipmunks. The movie will enter theaters on December 14th.

Concluding our coverage of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 70th Anniversary Event held recently at Disney’s California Adventure theme park we present eight images from the “Fairest One of All” art exhibit showcased in the Animation Building and featuring concept art, background paintings, storyboards, and reproduced movie cels from Walt Disney’s pioneering animated […]

Break out some egg nog and light up the Yuletide log as Shrek the Halls premieres tonight on the ABC network. Taking place chronologically after Shrek the Third and before Shrek Goes Fourth, Shrek the Halls tells the tale of one year’s Christmas in a swamp not too far away from the land of Far […]

At Animated News’ sister site, Animated Views, Ben Simon reviews three of the most popular animated DVD titles released this fall: Ratatouille, Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1 and Shrek the Third. With Ratatouille, Ben joins most other critics in praising the film, giving it a perfect score of 10. He gives its DVD’s small […]