TVShowsOnDVD.com has the details and cover art for the first Batman: The Animated Series box set, scheduled to be released July 7, 2004. Special features for the set include commentaries on select episodes, “The Dark Knight’s First Night” featurette, “Batman: The Legacy Continues” featurette, a tour of the Batcave, and trailers for Challenge of the […]

{{link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4765823/ Newsweek}} scores the first in-depth look at the upcoming Shrek 2, with a full run down on the story, the new characters, behind the scenes audio and trailer video links, plus Jeffrey Katzenberg and some of the cast members’ takes on the film.

The classic-2D-characters-to-CGI revolution continues, and is set to be tainted pink, when Blake Edwards’ famous feline the Pink Panther takes on a CGI look for the opening title sequence of Steve Martin’s Inspector Clouseau feature The Mask Of The Pink Panther (or Birth Of…, depending on which day of the week it is). The {{link […]

Follow the ‘More’ link for more information on another Ray Harryhausen lecture, this one to be held in the afternoon of April 27 at the Ex’pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA. “There will be a videotape presentation of Harryhausen’s work followed by a question and answer session, after which he will sign copies […]

Box Office Report reveals that Home on the Range landed in 5th place over the weekend, falling 33% to $5.4 million and bringing its total domestic gross to $37.7 million. Following close behind in 6th place was Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleased with $5.1 million and a 36% drop since last weekend. The sequel’s domestic […]

Spanish site 3DA scored the first image from the upcoming Dreamworks’ CG extravaganza. Follow this link for the full resolution version.

It may be a slow news day but there’s a new interview at Animation World Magazine with the legendary Joe Grant, who is just about to turn 96 and is still involved in animation after decades of helping Disney out with such hits as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, both Fantasias, Saludos Amigos, Make […]

\\{{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=2368 Animation Magazine}}\\ reports that “after debuting in fourth place two weeks ago, Disney’s animated feature \\Home on the Range\\ has been enjoying a week at the top of the box office charts… The light carton comedy earned another $1.8 million Monday to claim the No. 1 spot, where it has stayed throughout the […]

If only I lived in Hollywood – sniff-sniff. In my book, Ray is the Grand Uncle of the current trend of CG movie characters. With titles like Sinbad and Clash of the Titans, he put heart and soul into everything he did. If you are lucky enough and are a fan of the amazing Ray […]

Previews Catalogue Order Form shows that the Batman: The Animated Series – Season One DVD Box Set is set to be released in July 2004, if all goes according to schedule. The suggested retail price for the DVD set is $44.98. Included on the four disc set are the first twenty-seven episodes of Batman: The […]

Follow the ‘More’ link to read all about two new animated series coming to Nicktoons, Leader Dog and Tortellini Western. Each is said to have a retro, 2D look and is created by a small team of animators at Animation Collective using Macromedia Flash. I should add that when you go to the Animation Collective […]

{{link http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/506/506235p1.html?fromint=1 IGN FilmForce}} has a short but sweet article on Hayao Miyazaki’s ninth anime feature Howl’s Moving Castle, which also has a link to a twenty second clip from the upcoming film.

I’m not sure what this says about Britain’s moviegoing public, but The Guardian newspaper today reports that “after two weeks, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed has taken in more than The Passion Of The Christ in five”, with Scooby still at number one in UK cinemas with a $15.6m pull and Mel’s epic stuck at number […]

The Hollywood Reporter, via the {{link http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=filmNews&storyID=4846740 Reuters News Agency}}, reports that Valiant‘s cast of Ewan McGregor, Ben Kingsley, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie and John Hurt has been boosted by the addition of John Cleese (who obviously enjoyed his stint on DreamWorks’ Shrek 2) and Tim Curry (the “serial vocalist” who’ll lend his voice to […]

For those who live in or around Los Angeles, there will be a special one time theatrical screening of Paul McCartney’s Music and Animation Collection at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre, April 17 at 2:00 pm. Follow the ‘More’ link for complete information. Thanks to Kristin for the heads up.

After {{link http://www.animatedviews.com/wp-content/uploads/archives/00001233.html a report earlier this month}} that Michael Chartrand, while costumed as Tigger at Disney World, had been accused of fondling two women at the park, more reports of inappropriate touching have begun pouring in to authorites according to {{link http://www.wftv.com/news/2988791/detail.html WFTV}}. Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Solomons said, “It appears we have 24 folks […]

{{link http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040415/ap_en_ot/tv_the_simpsons_3 The AP}} reports that “Matt Groening, creator of \\The Simpsons\\, will make his first guest voice appearance on Sunday’s show”. In the episode Groening is signing autographs at a sci-fi convention. Thanks to “Wolf Tooth” in our {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=2039#post2039 Forums}}.

The DreamWorks SKG FanSite has posted an extensive look at the new {{link http://animation.dreamworksfansite.com/shrek2/games.php Shrek 2 game}}, with a trailer, screenshots and specs. The game comes out on all formats in May.

According to {{link http://vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=10728 VFX World}}, Warner Brothers has announced that the fourth film based on the popular \\Harry Potter\\ books, \\Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire\\, will be released on November 18, 2005. Even though the book \\Goblet of Fire\\ is longer than the first two \\Harry Potter\\ books combined, this announcement seems […]

The {{link http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2004-04-14 IMDb Studio Briefing}} has several stories of interest to animation fans. In the first, they report that analysts have “expressed skepticism that Comcast’s February proposal to buy Disney for $54 billion will be revived”. The downward turn of Comcast’s stock price may indicate “wariness over the proposal” by investors. One analyist believes […]

Follow the ‘More’ link to read the Animated News review of Disney’s upcoming DVD and video title, The Haunted Mansion, which is due out in the U.S. on April 20.

Ben Simon over at DVD Toons has {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/289 words of wisdom}} for those considering picking up Artisan’s recent edition of the 1982 Rankin/Bass feature The Last Unicorn: “I don’t think I’ve come across a film yet that has been treated with such little respect on disc. What [fans have] been given is one of […]

Jim Hill Media puts to rest the rumor that Chicken Little has been “scrapped.”

A little late in posting, but here they are: IESB have put up red carpet snaps of the guests arriving at the recent premiere for Disney’s latest animated feature. Among {{link http://inlandempirestrikesback.net/ipw-web/gallery/hotr the photos}} is a great shot of Cuba Gooding Jr and a poster of the character he voices, Buck the horse, plus Randy […]

Follow the “More” link to read the complete transcript of a recent web chat with Paul McCartney on MSN. 99% of the discussion is related to animation. Thanks to Kristin for the heads up.

Featuring some stunning CGI and character animation effects, this summer’s action-pic take on Asimov’s classic tale of humanoids-gone-bad finds Will Smith back in the sci-fi genre. Check out the new QuickTime teaser at {{link http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/i_robot/ Apple Trailers}}.

‘WolfTooth’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=2031#post2031 Animated News Forum}} offers up a translation of an article that first appeared at the official Toho site, naming the actors that will be providing the vocals for Miyazaki’s latest animated feature.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the WB Network has greenlit Green Screen, a live-action/animated improv comedy pilot from Drew Carey. In Green Screen, the cast will perform – in front of a green screen – several improv games that will involve the audience’s suggestions for topics and settings. Those audience suggestions will then, in post-production, […]

Jim Hill Media has two new articles that may be of interest to lovers of traditionally animated movies and the music featured in them: Can a few WDFA die-hards really make a difference? and Hey, smack my big old rump if that ain’t art …

Endorsed by Yahoo Shopping, {{link http://www.dvdmegapacks.com/ DVD MegaPacks.com}} offers re-packaged disc collections of various public domain movies – some of which are quite rare and worth seeking out. Of special interest to animation fans may be {{link http://store.dvdmegapacks.com/cartoonpack.html this Cartoon Classics collection}}, which features 100 original animated shorts. Though the site describes the 12-DVD set […]