To mark the highly anticipated DVD release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, fans of the film flocked to Grauman’s Chinese Theater to walk the plank and earn a copy of the two-disc Special Edition DVD. Fans walked the plank from a façade of Captain Jack Sparrow’s Black Pearl into a 10,000-gallon tank […]

It’s here! After meticulous planning under top-secret conditions and the sometimes desperate measures taken to ensure nothing slipped before we were ready, we’re finally able to bring you something that we feel is a little special: Animated-Views.com, the new and improved companion site to the Animated News experience where we go beyond the news to […]

The full list of nominees for the 2007 Annie Awards is now available. For the first time in Annie history, all voting for the 34th Annual Annie Awards will be cast online rather than by mail. A record high 3,700+ ASIFA-Hollywood members will be required to view judging material online for all nominees before casting […]

The latest rumors on several high-profile projects.

Read on to find out what you can do tomorrow (Tuesday the 5th) for a chance to win a free copy of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest at a special event being held tomorrow at the historic Grauman’s Chinese theater (UPDATE: Participants no longer need to dress like pirates to qualify. But […]

Various news outlets (including Cartoon Brew, The Hollywood Reporter, and the Associated Press) are reporting that nominations for the 2007 Annie Awards have been revealed. DreamWorks leads all studios with a total if 17 nominations, while DW’s Flushed Away and Pixar’s Cars lead all films with 9 nods. Full list coming soon… Best Animated Feature […]

The Hollywood Reporter reports that after almost ten years as film division president of Rhythm & Hues, Richard Hollander is joining Pixar as a producer. Taking Hollander’s former position will be Lee Berger, the current senior executive in charge of feature film production at Rhythm & Hues.

Walt Disney Feature Animation will soon lay off 160 animators, which is equal to approximately 20% of its total staff, writes Variety. Those animators directly affected by this move will be notified within the next couple of weeks. The staff reduction arrives as production is completed on Feature Animation’s latest film, Meet the Robinsons.

Numerous covers for some of next year’s most anticipated animated films are now appearing at Amazon.com. For Shrek the Third, two titles in the mix are Mad Libs plus Storybook and Viewer. The style of the latter book has also been adopted for a Ratatouille reading, as discovered by Upcoming Pixar. The Pixar pic also […]

TV Shows on DVD observes that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Fast Forward: Future Shellshock will hit stores on February 6, 2007. The 2-disc set will contain 13 episodes of the most recent series’ fifth season.

Touring the special effects facility of Industrial Light and Magic, JoBlo was treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how many of the most marvelous illusions in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest were created. The presentation included input from Animation Supervisor Hal Hickel, Senior Digital Modeler Supervisor Geoff Campbell and Visual Effects Art Director […]

Variety spotlights digital effects company Animal Logic, which is looking to move further into animated features after its success with Happy Feet. Transitioning into a studio similar to Pixar and DreamWorks Animation, Logic currently has 550 employees, as it continues relationships with such directors as George Miller, Baz Luhrmann and Phillip Noyce.

From producer Jordan Kerner, Coming Soon has discovered the inspiration for the future Smurfs computer-animated trilogy. According to Kerner, “This is coming out of Australia. They were all over me for that. Everybody was reading me in terms of Smurf movies, but we’re not anywhere near that yet. We’re just writing the script. There’s a […]

Moviehole provides an update on the status of a sequel to the 2001 hit Cats & Dogs. In an interview with Film Monthly, director John Whiteshell admitted to no longer being involved in the project. Nonetheless, visual effects house Tippett Studios’ supervisor, Todd LaBonte, recently disclosed, “There is a sequel, we did tests for it. […]

Previewing its lineup for next year, Sony Pictures has released a brand-new photo from Surf’s Up, as seen at Coming Soon. The upcoming computer-animated penguin tale is slated for a June 8 debut.

For Ain’t It Cool News, Sylvester Stallone answers a series of questions sent in by inquisitive minds. One of those queries asks, “Is it true you’d love to work with Pixar on the Incredibles sequel?” To this question, Stallone’s answers, “I thought The Incredibles was fantastic, and although I’ve never been asked, I would love […]

Suffering a brain aneurysm, composer Shirley Walker died Wednesday evening in Los Angeles, California. She was at the age of 61. In 1986, Walker scored Disney’s Fluppy Dogs, a pilot for a rejected television series. Later, she orchestrated music for the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film (1990). She also orchestrated and wrote music […]

At the age of 59 years old, Timothy Hayes Rooney, son of actor Mickey Rooney, died September 23 in Hemet, California. His death was the effect of a five-year battle with the muscle disease dermatomyositis. According to the World Entertainment News Network, Rooney “was chosen as one of the original Mouseketeers for the Mickey Mouse […]

Today, the Internet Movie Database asks the question, “Of the eligible contenders for this year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, which is your favorite?” Registered members of the site may vote their choice here, or simply take a look at the current results here.

The casting sheet for Walt Disney Feature Animation’s upcoming The Frog Princess has been posted at the Manhattan Theater Source forum. The list includes the names and descriptions of all the main characters to be included in the traditionally-animated film. Thanks to “Kinoo” at the Animated News Forum for the scoop!

According to Premiere Magazine‘s list of “The 20 Most Overrated Movies of All Time,” Walt Disney’s Fantasia does not live up to the hype animation fans have granted it. The article writes, “This film is a mishmash of pedantic narration and erratic tone… and, frankly, some of the animated sequences now seem dangerously akin to […]

TV Shows on DVD spreads the word on the final seasons of Justice League: Unlimited and Batman Beyond. With both two-disc sets aiming for a store release date of March 20, the Justice League: Unlimited DVD package will be greeted by heavy marketing at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants.

Actuacine.net offers the latest one-sheet for Arthur and the Minimoys, known as Arthur and the Invisibles in the U.S. Furthermore, the site contains several recent images for the forthcoming computer-animated/live-action adventure.

The Hollywood Reporter via Coming Soon reports that Ice Age: The Meltdown enjoyed a first-place finish on the national DVD sales chart, knocking The Da Vinci Code down to the second spot. Concurrently, on Home Media Magazine’s video rental chart, Meltdown debuted at #1 with approximately $10.3 million. In the meantime, Cars continued to have […]

Following are seven shots of the menu screens from the 2-disc Special Edition of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest DVD due out next Tuesday, December 5. Be to sure look for at least four Easter eggs.

The following is a promotional image with information relating to this Saturday’s broadcast of The Happy Elf on the Starz Kids & Family network:

Coming Soon summarizes the creation and impact of Walt Disney’s True-Life Adventures, using thoughts from Roy Disney. Among the memories he relays, Mr. Disney recognizes the award-winning documentaries’ long journey toward a DVD debut, as True-Life Adventures will finally be released this December 5.

As part of its “Random Spiel,” Dark Horizons indicates that DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda has been rescheduled for June 6th 2008. The funny flick was originally planned to battle the Wachowski brother’s adaptation of Speed Racer on that year’s Memorial Day weekend.

A brand-new trailer for next January’s The Invincible Iron Man has been added to the official Marvel website. Four screenshots from the direct-to-video animated adventure are likewise displayed at the site.

DVD Active brings the lowdown on the DVD release of Sony Pictures Animation’s fall hit Open Season. “Extras will include a filmmaker audio commentary, deleted scenes, a Voices Behind the Stars featurette, a Swept Away scene deconstruction, an Inside the Animals Studio feature, an “I Wanna Lose Control” music video, interactive games, and more.” Open […]