animated-news

Kung Fu Panda kicking into theaters tomorrow

DreamWorks Animation’s latest film entry is getting an unusual amount of positive reviews for the studio, currently cloking in at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Jim Hill calling Kung Fu Panda “one fun summer flick.” And in a recent interview with Jam! Showbiz, Duston Hoffman recalls how he was initially hesitant to join the animated […]

Looking back at Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

One of the best animation resources out there, the TAG Blog, takes a trip down memory lane on Disney TV Animation’s 2D series based on the space warrior in Toy Story.

Vincent, deleted scenes, Tim Burton intro & commentary on Nightmare Before Christmas 2-disc collector's edition

Disney Home Video has announced a 2-disc collector’s edition of The Nightmare Before Christmas for release on the 26th August, says DVD Active. The film will be presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track. Extras will include a commentary by producer and writer Tim Burton, director Henry Selick […]

Dumbo Cel Release and Artist Signing

On Saturday, June 21, 2008, The Disney Studios Animation Gallery in Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ will be holding a Dumbo Cel Release and Artist Signing. “Share in the love of Mrs. Jumbo’s, sweet, little, “Baby Mine” with the newest edition to the Ink and Paint collection from the Studios Animation Gallery at the Walt Disney World […]

Your own private Panda

The San Diego Zoo website points to a contest allowing you to win a private screening of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda for you and up to 299 of your closest friends. Entries must be received by end of day June 6, 2008.

New cast announced for Madagascar sequel, Will.i.am-Hans Zimmer music team confirmed

Coming Soon! reports that the original cast from Madagascar, including Ben Stiller as Alex the lion, Chris Rock as Marty the zebra, David Schwimmer as Melman the giraffe, Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria the hippo, Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien the lemur king, Cedric The Entertainer as Maurice, Julien’s advisor and Andy Richter as […]

Madagascar 2 poster

The first theatrical poster for DreamWork’s upcoming sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa can be seen at Cinematical. The one-sheet features all of the lead characters from the first film, including Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, and the comical group of penguins. To view the poster in full-size, click here. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa hits […]

Kung Fu Panda toys unleashed at McD on Friday

Beginning June 6 through July 3 at McDonald’s restaurants in North America, and then rolling out across the globe, McDonald’s Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal program features exclusive characters from DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming. McDonald’s young guests will receive one of eight Kung Fu Panda toys with the purchase of a Happy Meal at participating McDonald’s […]

Angelina Jolie "upset" by Disney films

Angelina Jolie told Digital Spy in a recent interviews that she finds Disney films offensive because they lack cultural diversity. The actress told OK! that she was reluctant to show her daughters movies from the animation giant because they don’t feature African princesses. “Even the colour of the children in the cartoon matters. There still […]

Video interviews with the Kung Fu Panda cast

Coming Soon!‘s Heather Newgen talked exclusively to Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Lucy Liu about voicing Po the Panda, Master Shifu and Viper, respectively, in DreamWorks Animation’s new film Kung Fu Panda which will be kicking its way to conventional theaters and IMAX this Friday.

Bernie Mac and Alec Baldwin onboard Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, more images surface

USA Today unveils this morning nine new photos from DreamWorks Animation’s sequel to Madagascar which will roar in conventional theaters and IMAX on November 7, 2008. Don’t expect a sneek peak at new characters though since the gallery is made of screen captures from the featurette that debuted a few months ago on the Bee […]

The Simpsons voice actors seal deal with Fox, get salary bump

The Simpsons cast has sealed a four-year deal that hands it more “D’oh” and solidifies the animated hit’s 20th season, says Variety. Production on the show has been delayed for several months as voice actors and 20th Century Fox TV hammered out a deal. New pact bumps the stars’ salaries up to about $400,000 an […]

Kermit and Roger back on the big screen for Elstree Film Festival 3

Elstree Screen Heritage strikes back again this year with Elstree Film Festival 3, another week-long celebration of the movies made at the historic studio just outside London in the UK. Topping the bill is a double feature matinee specifically geared towards a family audience, featuring screenings of Jim Henson’s 1981 directorial debut The Great Muppet […]

Kung Fu Panda's John Stevenson

An in-depth interview with John Stevenson, co-director of DreamWork’s upcoming animated comedy Kung Fu Panda, can be read at ComingSoon. In the article, Stevenson discusses the process of making an animated film, how he got into his position, and his future plans now that he has finished his work on Panda. The martial arts adventure […]

Sylvain Chomet picks Edinburgh for The Illusionist

Variety has posted an article featuring Academy award nominee Sylvain Chomet and his new feature film The Illusionist. The article suggests how the Scottish capital seduced the French director and his wife in 2003 when they visited the place for the screening of his film The Triplets of Belleville at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. […]

More Wall•E photos sent in cyberspace

Slash Film unveiled 8 new images from the upcoming Pixar film this morning. Enjoy!

DisneyWorld's new grim grinning gracious ghosts

“Forget about fright. Now it’s all about being polite.” Jim Hill warns you in his latest Monday Mouse Watch and talks about the new spiel that Magic Kingdom cast members are expected to recite whenever they work at the Haunted Mansion.

Download the new 3D film Big Buck Bunny for free

Sun Microsystems today announced the online release of the 3D animation film Big Buck Bunny rendered using Network.com’s Sun Grid compute utility service. The movie is created using open source 3D software suite Blender, available from blender.org as well as Network.com Application Catalog, a collection of online grid-enabled applications that can be used in an […]

Reports from Kung Fu Panda's L.A. premiere

No Angelina Jolie or Jackie Chan in sight, but actors Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, James Hong and Michael Clarke Duncan hit the red carpet yesterday at the Los Angeles premiere of their new film Kung Fu Panda at the (where else?) Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Also in attendance were the movie’s talented directors John […]

Toon producers outsource to China

It’s no secret China’s cost advantages make manufacturing toys, clothes and fake designer watches a useful option, but now animation producers are waking up to the fact that cheap production costs combined with a love of anime make it a great country for making animated movies as well, reports Variety in yet another Annecy-related animation […]

New animated projects for Mike Johnson, Tyler Perry

In an interesting article about independent animation producers working without the traditional pipelines and high overhead, Variety reveals that Vanguard Animation, which plans to unveil its Space Chimps at the Annecy animation festival, is “finalizing the script for its next feature, an action-adventure version of a contemporary Oz story with Corpse Bride‘s Mike Johnson attached […]

Very first animated project turns 100

Debate flares whenever someone tries to identify the world’s first animated film, which means some will surely take exception as the Annecy fest gives the honor to Frenchman Emile Cohl this time, celebrating 100 years since the debut of the artist’s landmark toon Fantasmagorie. It was on Aug. 17, 1908, that Gaumont released Cohl’s two-minute […]

Bollymation's upcoming boom

Variety thinks India may lead medium’s next creative wave and tells you why. The online article also offers an exclusive first look at the Disney short Glago’s Ghost, about a Russian border guard spies an alien during his shift.

3-D "a revelation" for Sigourney Weaver

Sigourney Weaver suspects that director James Cameron’s epic science fiction adventure, Avatar, will change Hollywood forever because of the stunning new 3-D technology that Cameron has perfected. “It was quite an adventure,” the actress tells CanWest News Service. “We were in New Zealand for a lot of it, where I’d never worked. We were working […]

Dustin Hoffman discusses Kung Fu Panda, The Tale of Despereaux

Dustin Hoffman gave some advice to the makers of Kung Fu Panda via the Hartford Courant: “Anyone who does animation, who is involved with this extraordinarily intricate process, has to have real emotional issues and I hope you get help.” And if his Panda performance didn’t work? Hoffman smiles. “It’s the animators’ fault!” The 70-year-old, […]

Bolt teaser trailer debuting this month

Do not expect a teaser for Pixar’s Up to be attached to copies of Wall•E, according to JV Pixar News. Instead the first trailer of Disney’s own Bolt will debut in front of Pixar’s latest film. Check out JV Pixar News for more updates on everything Pixar, including the new soundtrack cover artwork for Wall•E.

Fly Me To The Moon trailer and blog

Check out the trailer for the first animated film created from scratch for 3-D at Cartoon Brew, which also links to the official Fly Me To The Moon blog.

Madagascar coming to Blu-ray on September 16th

The DreamWorks Animation blockbuster will debut on Blu-ray this Fall, says DVD Town, 6 weeks before the theatrical release of its sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

Disney and Pixar: a Hollywood marriage that works?

The New York Times takes an interesting look at the surprisingly smooth integration of Pixar into Disney two years after their merger. Among other victories, the paper points out that while Cars racked up a relatively low (to Pixar’s standards) $460 million in global ticket sales, the franchise generated $5 billion in sales of related […]

Another Panda clip

An exclusive new clip from Kung Fu Panda has appeared on Latino Review. This clip centers on the Furious Five, a group of martial arts masters, and their intense training room. Kung Fu Panda hits theaters on June 6th.