Variety via Coming Soon indicates that battling Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille for the top spot at the box office next June 29th will be Live Free or Die Hard, the long-anticipated fourth outing in the Die Hard series. The two films will then go head-to-head with Transformers five days later, on July 4th.

Rankin/Bass Historian and Biographer Rick Goldschmidt has opened a blog dealing with one of his main interests in life: Rankin/Bass Studios. Noticed by Cartoon Brew, the site serves as a companion piece to Goldschmidt’s already popular Enchanted World Of Rankin Bass online database.

Cinema Confidential reports on a big screen animated film based on the Sea Monkeys, the brine shrimp who can be coaxed out of their cryptobiotic state by just adding water, to be produced by Empire Pictures.

o-meon gives some updated casting information for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix including the selection of Helena Bonham Carter as Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Known for playing dark roles, Bonham Carter has previously provided voices for animated films such as Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Tim Burton’s The […]

Jim Hill Media spotlights the Meet the Robinsons display Walt Disney Feature Animation is offering at SIGGRAPH 2006. Located at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, concept art for the film generously adorns Booth 1227. Furthermore, maquettes of characters Wilbur Robinson, Lewis, Bowler Hat Guy, and the robotic bowler hat Doris may be viewed as […]

The Hollywood Reporter states that the upcoming Spider-Man animated series will head directly to DVD next year. The package will include the show’s first 13 half-hour episodes. This move is the starting one made by Culver Entertainment, launched from Sony Pictures Television for the purpose of direct-to-DVD activities.

ITV News reports from the premiere of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies’ Barnyard: The Original Party Animals, where Courteney Cox Arquette and Kevin James were on hand to talk about the comedy. Pictures from the event, held July 30th at the Cinerama Dome theatre in Los Angeles, may be found through Yahoo! News and Getty […]

The comedy Hotel Transylvania has been given the greenlight at Sony Pictures Animation, says Variety via Coming Soon. The project will be directed by Anthony Stacchi and David Feiss, while Michelle Murdocca will produce. Screenwriter Don Rhymer is penning the screenplay. Hotel Transylvania looks at “a group of classic monsters including Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dracula […]

Ken Bautista from the blog Luxo serves an interesting tour of Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California. Within the report, he lists the top ten highlights of his trip, from the Renderfarms to the animation department huts. Coinciding alongside the report is a Flickr album of the noteworthy visit.

The trailer for Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D has arrived at Coming Soon, in a variety of QuickTime, Windows Media, and Real Player sizes. The movie will show in select theaters this October 20th, in Disney Digital 3-D.

Yahoo! News and the Australian Associated Press regard how far the makers of Happy Feet went to give their film a photo-real feel. According to Director George Miller, the film boasts more computer power than that which the Pentagon uses. The article also indicates that after a recent screening of the movie, an impressed Prince […]

The Internet Movie Poster Awards contains a Swedish one sheet for Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, titled simply Garfield 2 in Sweden. Meanwhile, the feline follow-up is coming to DVD this October 10th, an advertisement for the release reveals. DVD Active displays the ad containing an early look at the project’s cover artwork.

The Animation Guild Blog gives a brief update on the current happenings of such Walt Disney Feature Animation projects as Meet the Robinsons and American Dog. Likewise, the piece sheds some light on a rumor of the morale now at Disney Feature Animation, and mentions Disney Toons’ shift to original projects rather than sequels.

Tom Rice, Rob Sprackling, and rapper Lil’ John are attached to direct the Miramax/Rocket production of Gnomeo & Juliet, according to The Internet Movie Database. Due to the site’s user-submitted nature, an official confirmation should arrive before this news is seen as more than a rumor. Sprackling directed the 1998 short Green Monkey, while Rice […]

Sony Pictures has unveiled a teaser site for their upcoming CGI-animated film Surf’s Up. The movie about three surfin’ birds is due out Summer 2007.

Turner Broadcasting System and Apple today announced that programming from {{link http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewCustomPage?name=pageNetworkPage_AdultSwim Adult Swim}} and {{link http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewCustomPage?name=pageNetworkPage_CartoonNetwork Cartoon Network}} is now available on the iTunes Music Store. The animated shows added added are: \\Johnny Bravo\\, \\Aqua Teen Hunger Force\\, \\The Venture Bros.\\, and \\Sealab 2021\\. Also available, from Nickelodeon, is a {{link http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTVSeason?id=172911491&s=143441 Blue’s Clues […]

Following is the full press release and title treatment for Flushed Away Underground Adventure, an interactive gaming collaboration between AOL, DreamWorks Animation, Aardman Features, and Mark Burnett Productions:

Warner Brothers’ \\The Any Bully\\ struggled to make a dent at the box office in its opening weekend, ending up in a disappointing 5th place finish with $8.1 million, according to {{link http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/ Box Office Mojo}}. Even \\Monster House\\ in its second week of release was able to beat the \\Bully\\ with a 4th place […]

Floyd Norman writes at Jim Hill Media about The Walt Disney Studio’s re-commitment to focus solely on family-themed entertainment. “Why waste time pursuing seedy adult films when there is a waiting and eager market for family themed entertainment? Add to that, these projects generate all kinds of additional product that enhance the bottom line. . […]

As The Ant Bully continues its second day in wide release, numerous headlines for the movie have appeared online. For instance, Jim Hill Media‘s Roger Colton interviews cinematographer Ken Mitchroney about Ant Bully‘s influences and behind-the-scenes experiences. Meanwhile, a look at the film’s premiere at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles is taken by […]

The full trailer for Happy Feet may be viewed at Moviefone, while the movie’s poster is on display at the Internet Movie Poster Awards. Happy Feet will tap dance into theaters this “Novemburrr” 17th.

Concering cover artwork and bonus features, DVD Active contains the latest information on the DVD releases of Over the Hedge (October 17th), Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Vol. 4 (November 14th), and Ice Age: The Meltdown (November 21st).

Coming Soon confirms the voice cast for Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille. Patton Oswalt, Brian Dennehy, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and John Ratzenberger have all signed on for the feature, coming June 29, 2007.

Warner Brothers’ \\The Ant Bully\\ opens today in 3,050 theatres, according to {{link http://www.boxofficemojo.com/counts/chart/?yr=2006&wk=30&p=.htm Box Office Mojo}}. The film gets mixed reviews from the critics, garnering a just rotten 53% at {{link http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ant_bully/ Rotten Tomatoes}}. \\Entertainment Weekly\\ says it is “an effortlessly clever animated confection”. However, the \\Hollywood Reporter\\ says the film is “anonymously generic […]

On Thursday, July 20th, over 100,000 comic and film fans united for a single purpose: San Diego’s Comic-Con International 2006. This year, largely represented before the “Con-verts” was a cornucopia of animated undertakings – from feature films to television series to DVD releases. Separating the revelations and speculations by studios, Animated News provides a handy […]

On November 21st, the 1966 animated classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! will break into stores once more, this time in a “Deluxe Edition” DVD. Extras for the package, according to DVD Active, will include: “an audio commentary, interviews, a ‘Jump to Musical Selections’ feature, pencil tests, and the animated feature Horton Hears a Hoo!” […]

The Animation Guild Blog writes that Walt Disney Feature Animation’s Rapunzel may be coming along quite nicely. “The word around the studio is that the First Act of Rapunzel found favor at its unspooling up in Emeryville. John Lasseter, I was told, gave plenty of notes to director Glen Keane but overall liked what he […]

Lionsgate Home Enterntainment has given MovieWeb and its superhero subsidiary SuperheroFlix an exclusive clip from the direct-to-DVD Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther. The sequel is scheduled for an August 8th release.

Latino Review exposes a few new screenshots from Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies’ Barnyard: The Original Party Animals and DreamWorks/Aardman’s Flushed Away.

The official website for Brother Bear 2 has been updated, now featuring four scenes. Concurrently, a behind-the-songs look at Melissa Etheridge’s music for the picture may be played, while the website’s background score boasts snippets of two tracks from the movie.