Following the closure of Walt Disney Feature Animation-Florida, a group of animators, led by studio veteran Eddie Pittman, forged ahead with a plan to keep Walt Disney’s traditional style of animation alive, by opening Legacy Animation Studios. Chris Douvalas over at {{link http://www.animatedbuzz.com/WB/53.html Animated Buzz}} recently spoke to Pittman about the first couple of months […]

Many critics are saying that the game should have never been started for UPN’s Game Over, the first computer-animated primetime show on broadcast televison. Though most enjoy the show’s animation and voice performances, many find the script lacking. “Shows about video-game characters, like the games themselves, ought to be fun,” writes David Bianculli in the […]

\\{{link http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/10/business/media/10place.html?ei=5065&en=f3c12b7b9c37c729&ex=1079586000&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print&position= The New York Times}}\\ has a very interesting article on the wrangling that went on behind the scenes at Disney after last week’s unprecedented shareholder vote against the board. They also report that the company is renegotiating CEO Michael Eisner’s contract “to allow him to retain a salary of $1 million even though […]

{{link http://www.macnn.com/news/23784 MacNN}} reports that at a recent conference an Apple representative said “Pixar has used Linux and Intel-based architecture in 2003, but that Pixar was switching to Mac OS X and G5 workstations for its production work. [He] went on to say that this switch was ‘a move that no doubt made common CEO […]

‘MusicFan’ has alerted us to a little bit of info he’s found on the screenwriter of DreamWorks as yet unannounced Rex Havoc feature. Panellists at this year’s {{link http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/panelistsbios03.php Austin Film Festival Site}} (running October 14-21) include many names that will be known to animation and film fans. A little down the list, though, is […]

Coming Soon! has some casting news on the upcoming Fat Albert movie. Kenan Thompson of Barbershop 2: Back in Business and cast member of NBC’s long-running late night comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live has been cast in the title role. “The film will start with animation, move into live-action and end in the animated […]

The Big Cartoon DataBase reports the sad news that everybody’s favorite corncob pipe-smoking sailor has been dropped by Cartoon Network. The timing is particularly bad because this is the year of Popeye’s seventy-fifth anniversary. Maybe they have one of those mandatory retirement age clauses like Disney has for its board of directors. Follow the link […]

The {{link http://www.hometheaterforum.com/index.php Home Theater Forum}} brigade, a seriously dedicated band of “cinema at home” enthusiasts, had their annual chat with home video and DVD execs from Warner Brothers last night. For details on titles of particular interest to animation fans, check out here:

Pictures from Back to Gaya, Germany’s first completely computer-animated movie, are available at MySan.

While not strictly animated titles, there are a bunch of highly anticipated catalog releases coming from Disney this year that will appeal to all those who love the Studio’s classics, including the original Freaky Friday, Flight Of The Navigator and Walt’s last musical, The Happiest Millionaire. {{link http://www.dvdfile.com/software/dvd-video/archive/2004/03_08.html DVD File}} reports that Disney “will release […]

Following our story that DreamWorks seems to have more animated films in {{link http://www.animatedviews.com/wp-content/uploads/archives/00000922.html various states of production}} that it can shake a stick at, comes news, courtesy of ‘MusicFan’, that there are no less than five more projects lined up. The {{link http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1503404 already known-about}} Master P: Kung Fu Panda has had a new […]

{{link http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=598&ncid=790&e=7&u=/nm/20040308/film_nm/film_ross_dc The Hollywood Reporter}}, via Yahoo News, has revealed that Gary Ross, the writer of such films as Big, Dave and the director of Pleasantville and this year’s hopeful in the Oscar race, Seabuscuit, is getting into animation. “Universal Pictures has optioned Kate DiCamillo’s Newberry Medal-winning novel The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story […]

Christian Willis’ {{link http://www.songofthesouth.net/news/index.html Song Of The South.net}}, absolutely the greatest online resourse for all things Brer Rabbit (though don’t go looking for bootlegs – it’s a respectable site), is reporting that Roy Disney would support the eventual release of his Uncle Walt’s 1946 animation/live-action masterpiece Song Of The South on DVD. “[Eisner] has been […]

{{link http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040308f.php Dark Horizons}} points to some pretty major movies shifting their original release date orders. Of most interest to animation fans will be the Tom Hanks CGI-fest The Polar Express‘ date change. The Robert Zemeckis-helmed movie will now open nine days later, on November 19 2004.

The Laughing Place has the complete video from SaveDisney.com’s March 3rd press conference, responding to the unprecented no confidence vote. The event followed Wednesday’s Shareholder Meeting.

If Michael Eisner bows to investor pressure and steps down from his post as CEO of The Walt Disney Company, after losing his Chairmanship at last week’s shareholders meeting in Philadelphia, he’s still going to be in one heck of a position, financially speaking. {{link http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2004/nf2004035_4187_db016.htm BusinessWeek Online}} looks at what severance package prizes Uncle […]

While perhaps not containing the grace, charm and amazement of the cartoons described below in the Inkwell series, Disney’s Kim Possible: A Sitch In Time is pretty good fun for the “tween” set. {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/280 DVD Toons}} has the first review online, pointing out about the time-hopping plot that “there’s plenty of fun to be […]

Ray Pointer, an animation enthusiast of the medium’s early days who turned his passion into a personal crusade to restore and present the work of such animation pioneers and innovators as Max Fleischer, Pat Sullivan, Otto Messmer and the young Walt Disney, has finally delivered on his promise to make his VHS anthology programs {{link […]

‘Dalboz’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=1503#post1503 Animated News Forum}} alerts us to the fact that the Animation Show – Volume One DVD, which features “most (but not all) of the shorts included in the touring show, as well as a bunch of new ones”, is now available for {{link http://www.animationshow.com/dvd.html pre-order}} from the official site. Thanks […]

If you were one of the two people who didn’t see this in theaters, then get out now – you still can! For those who did, and want to see it again at home, DVD Answers have just revealed the {{link http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?r=0&s=1&c=3471&n=1&burl= full specs, artwork and menus}} for the upcoming region one edition. Features include […]

Crew members who have seen a close-to-final cut of the new Thunderbirds movie, due out in the UK on July 23, say that it is a “terrible film” and could cause its producers, London’s Working Title Films, headaches in the future. “We all saw what happened to FilmFour when they tried to bankroll a couple […]

The {{link http://www.animatedviews.com/wp-content/uploads/archives/00001019.html chat session}} with animator Chris Headrick that we told you about last Wednesday apparently had to be cut short, “due to unforseen technical problems”, according to an email we recieved from the organizers at AnimationHQ. However, Headrick will return today, Sunday March 7, tonight at 7pm EST to continue Saturday’s chat session. […]

The {{link http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dizmoodmar06,1,4367947.story?coll=la-headlines-business Los Angeles Times.com}} (free subscription) has been talking to high-ranking Disney insiders about this week’s events within the company, currently referred to as the “unhappiest place on Earth”. One top executive comments: “The general feeling is that something else is going to happen. Everyone is talking about it. What about Comcast? How […]

Animation historian and writer Jerry Beck got a sneak peek at Disney’s next – and last – traditionally drawn animated film, the bovine comedy {{link http://www.cartoonresearch.com/reviews.html Home On The Range}}. “The Disney studio has come a long way from its Kansas City roots, Mickey Mouse beginnings and Snow White heights”, he says, adding that Range […]

‘Wolf Tooth’ in the {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=1497#post1497 Animated News Forum}} reports some great news for fans of Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli films. “Anime Digital in the UK gave us a heads-up that Spirited Away is now set for an end of March [DVD] release over there”, while “Howl’s Moving Castle is due in July in […]

Santa Clarita, California: Dan Ritchie, A professional computer graphics animator and FX artist who moved to California to work on the series Mystic Knights, is striking back at “slow employment opportunities by diversifying with a Squirrely new novel”, {{link http://www.squirreldome.com/AnimatorGoesSquirrely2.htm Silver Squirrel}}. Dan also worked on projects such as Starship Troopers Chronicles, Dan Dare and […]

After a busy newsweek, and finding ourselves with a slow newsday, hop on over to {{link http://atomfilms.shockwave.com/landing/landingIndex.jsp?id=atom_412&mature=accept Atom Films.com}} for a “naughty but hilarious short”, Wheelchair Rebecca. As the site describes it, “A child’s innocent question about her Wheelchair Rebecca doll leads Mommy to make some delightfully grotesque suppositions”. WARNING: THIS FILM IS FOR MATURE […]

Saddle up your horses and take a ride on down to your local online general store because the first wave of Home on the Range merchandise has recently been made available at DisneyStore.com. The collection includes several plush toys, a Lincoln Logs-style cabin building set, the soundtrack CD, a Game Boy Advance game, and the […]

Good ol’ Ultimate Disney has given us another sneak peek at the cover art for three upcoming DVD releases. Well, in the case of the Aladdin: Platinum Edition (click the thumbnail for a larger image), it’s merely a closer look, but hey! Now we can scrutinize ad naseum! Speaking of nausea, the supposedly finalized Lion […]

The BBC’s disc review show, The DVD Collection, looks at the work of stop-motion animation director Ray Harryhausen today, plus the UK Looney Tunes releases and Belleville Rendezvous, on their 8.30pm show. For those in the UK with access to the BBC 4 digital cable channel, the show is repeated again at 11.30pm.