From adamgault.com comes a new animated short Lantern Fishes, a completely unique computer-generated “2.5D” film shedding light on life at the bottom of the ocean depths. Meanwhile Motionographer has an interview with the creator. Thanks to Kristin for the heads up.

Gearing up for the 40th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD of Disney’s The Jungle Book (release date: October 2), Animation World Network reports that the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. will host a two-week engagement of the animated classic from September 7 through 23, with a special opening night panel taking place on September 6. […]

Amazon reveals the DVD cover artwork for Bender’s Big Score, which is set to be released on November 27th and is the first of the four straight-to-DVD Futurama movies currently in development. Thanks to “rednowgreen” at the Animated News & Views Forum for bringing this to our attention.

To promote their upcoming animated feature Bee Movie, DreamWorks has teamed up with Dolby Digital to create a special video featuring the films’ characters including its star, Jerry Seinfeld alias Barry B. Benson. The promotional video can “bee” viewed online on Dailymotion while Movielist has made it available for direct download. The video is currently […]

Animation Insider reports that Kids’ WB! has added the animated martial arts comedy Skunk Fu! to its Fall lineup. Acquired from U.K.-based Cake Distribution, the show is the sixth new series joining the Kids’ WB! block for the 2007-2008 season. Skunk Fu! follows the adventures of a skunk who is accidentally dropped into China by […]

According to Variety, Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, Van Helsing) has signed on to direct the live-action adaption of G.I. Joe for Paramount Pictures. Apparently, Sommers was hired in the room after pitching his version of the film to Paramount chairman/CEO Brad Grey and production president Brad Weston. The studio is aggressively looking for a screenwriter […]

Ultimate Disney reports that an insert included with the Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dream DVD announces that the 2002 Cinderella sequel, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, will return to DVD for a limited time as a Special Edition with a release date set for December 18th.

Variety reports that Promenade Pictures has set the release date of its first project, a CG-animated version of The Ten Commandments, on October 26th. Promenade added that Commandments will be the first of a 12-part Epic Stories of the Bible series. The Ten Commandments, which has an $11 million budget, is directed by Bill Boyce […]

DVD Active displays the cover artwork for South Parks’ Christmas compilation, Christmas Time in South Park, which will be available to own on November 13th. Meanwhile, TV Shows on DVD premieres the cover artwork for The Pïnk Panther Show: A Pink Christmas, set for a November 6th release.

ToyNews reports that Jamie Oliver, British celebrity chef, has teamed up with Aardman Animation to develop a new animated series called Little J. Aimed at 7 to 11 year olds, the 2D animated show follows Oliver’s fictional ten year-old self on a quest to discover the secret of becoming a great chef. “We were thrilled […]

Playbill summarizes the cast, plot and schedule for the Broadway adaptation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Directed by Francesca Zambello, the musical will hit the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 3, while its official opening is scheduled for December 6. In the meantime, a new photo for the show has been released, with the blog The […]

Advertising Age reports that the Disney Adventures magazine will halt its run following the November issue. The site discloses that Disney Publishing is making this move “to better focus resources and maximize long-term growth potential through new magazine and book initiatives.”

An editorial regarding some intriguing end credits of recent films is available at Yahoo!/Reuters. In the article, Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille is among the movies noted for containing memorable credits. Explaining why it is recommended for a film’s end credits to be unique, Ratatouille director Brad Bird stated, “I think it’s the equivalent of finishing a show […]

Yahoo!/Associated Press indicates that Martin Designs Inc. is recalling nearly 250,000 SpongeBob SquarePants address books and journals. Apparently, the items’ bindings could contain hazardous levels of lead paint, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

IESB.net reports that the upcoming Justice League movie directed by George “Mad Max/Happy Feet” Miller will likely be animated with motion capture technology. Meanwhile, Cinema Confidential states that “neither Christian Bale nor Brandon Routh are being considered to play Batman and Superman respectively.” Maybe Tom Hanks will be acting all the roles.

AWN reports about the relaunch of the Offical Wallace & Gromit site with advanced video functionality. The new website features a mini player on the homepage with full-screen viewing capabilities. The website now offers a significant collection of Wallace & Gromit content including a series of short films and clips from their classic animations. The […]

Anime News Network reports that Japan’s PAL Entertainment Productions has confirmed a live-action remake of Akiyuki Nosaka’s semi-autobiographical novella Grave of the Fireflies. This will be the third movie adaptation of the novella after Studio Ghibli’s 1988 anime film of the same name and NTV’s live-action television movie. The film is scheduled for a summer […]

Video Business reports that Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille will be released on DVD and Blu-ray disc on November 6th, 2007. The film will join the previously announced Blu-ray release of Cars on the same day.

Variety reports that a 19 year old from the Czech village in south Bohemia has been charged with producing and uploading a pirate copy of The Simpsons Movie. If convicted, the unnamed youth faces up to five years in prison and a fine of nearly $250,000.

IGN has an exclusive in-depth interview with Seth Green, the creator,writer and star of Robot Chicken which recently received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program. Green talks about the new season of the show and also discusses Family Guy, Buffy, and several other film projects he is involved in.

Variety.com reports on the all the d’oh The Simpsons Movie is raking in in the overseas market, most recently besting The Bourne Ultimatum, amongst others. “Fox’s toon — propelled by solid launches of $5 million in Russia and $3 million in Brazil plus respectable Euro holdover biz — has continued to show impressive traction overseas. […]

We mentioned aniBOOM yesterday here but today marks the first time their new tool, MicroSmotion, is available to any visitor for easily making their own animations to share online. Read on for more information:

Jim Hill Media has revealed the list of names of those who will be honored this year as Disney Legends, with a special emphasis on the announcement that Floyd Norman, a frequent contributor to Jim’s site, will be honored with Legend status. Art Babbitt and Dick Huemer will also have the superlative honor bequeathed upon […]

Rachel O’Brien recently attended the Australian premiere for Ratatouille, as well as the Pixar: 20 Years of Animation exhibit in Melbourne. For Upcoming Pixar, she has written a recommended, in-depth article, sharing her experiences at the attractions.

Coming Soon carries the official announcement from Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation that the studios have decided to exclusively support the HD DVD format. This move will affect all films from DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films. At the Animated News & Views Forum, ‘George C’ points out […]

To its gallery for the DreamWorks Animation comedy Bee Movie, IGN has added three more images. Starring the voices of Jerry Seinfeld and Renée Zellweger, the computer animated feature will fly into theaters this November 2nd.

IMDB/WENN has listed the animated nominees for Britain’s inaugural National Movie Awards, which U.K. TV network ITV is launching after the success of the National Television Awards. The Best Animation nominees include Flushed Away, Happy Feet, Shrek the Third and The Simpsons Movie.

Upcoming Pixar speaks with Pixar story supervisor Ted Mathot, mostly regarding his personal projects unrelated to the animation studio. Topics in the interview include Mathot’s involvement with comics, drawing and E-Ville Press.

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo: 4) The Simpsons Movie with $6,829,648, averaging $2,159 over 3,162 theaters ($165,271,443 total; 4th week) 16) Ratatouille with $1,643,850, averaging $1,171 over 1,403 theaters ($196,620,846 total; 8th week) 32) Surf’s Up with $159,208, averaging $674 over 236 theaters ($58,645,467 total; 11th week) 57) Meet the Robinsons with $29,136, averaging $422 […]

GhibliWorld and Nausicaa report that last month Japan Airlines (JAL) and Studio Ghibli announced “Sora wo Tobu”, a joint project in which Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso will be screened next month on some of JAL’s international flights. In addition to this, JAL will also show Miyazaki’s short film Kuso no Sora Tobu Kikai-tachi (Fancy Flying Machines) […]