{{link http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=upsell_article&articleID=VR1117895941&cs=1 Variety}} reports (via {{link http://comingsoon.net/news.php?id=2385 ComingSoon.net}} for those of us without a Variety subscription!) that Etan Cohen has made a seven-figure overall deal with Fox Television that “keeps him on as a writer and co-exec producer of \\King of the Hill\\ for two seasons and will allow him to create a pilot”. They […]

{{link http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2035154 The Hollywood Reporter}} reports that Fox Animation and the team behind the surprise hit \\Ice Age\\ have optioned the rights to Tor Seidler and Fred Marcellino’s children’s book \\The Wainscott Weasel\\. Blue Sky Studios will produce and Chris Wedge is expected to direct. This project isn’t expected until after Wedge has finished \\Robots\\ […]

Drew C. Hackney writes about Walt Disney Theatricals upcoming projects at {{link http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/index.htm?../articles/guest/hackney.11212003.1.htm~contentFrame Jim Hill Media}}. \\Mary Poppins\\ is already set for a 2004 release and \\Tarzan\\ is slated for 2005. After that, projects in planning stages include \\The Little Mermaid\\, \\Hoopz\\, and \\Pinocchio\\. Hackney also gives his thoughts on DreamWorks’ possible foray on Broadway.

{{link http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=1923 AWN}} interviews \\The Triplets of Belleville\\ director Sylvain Chomet. He discusses his previous work, the success of \\Belleville\\, his views on computer animation, and his upcoming project.

{{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=1818 Animation Magazine}} reports that the classic 80’s animated series \\Robotech\\ is coming to DVD on January 27, 2004. The first volume of \\Robotech Remastered: Extended Edition\\ will include the first 12 episodes. “This newest release features a digital transfer from the original film stock and includes footage cut from the original broadcast version. […]

DVD Toons’ comment feature {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/features/58 My Toon Cents}} runs down the list of eligible films put forward by the Studios this year for consideration as nominees for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. We all have favorites that we’d like to see win, but remember that these are not the final nominations, but just the […]

Grammy winning and Oscar nominated composer Michael Kamen has died of an apparent heart attack. Among his many credits, Kamen composed the scores of \\The Iron Giant\\ and the live action version of \\101 Dalmatians\\. He won the 1999 Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production for his work […]

{{link http://vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=9645 VFXWorld}} reports that in an interview with the \\Toronto Star\\, Andy Serkis, the actor behind the CG character Gollum in \\The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers\\, alludes that he will be reteaming with director Peter Jackson. “Serkis has an even bigger assignment ahead of him. Rumour has it he’ll be the […]

Creating a new cartoon and basing it on a popular toy has almost always been a safe bet. But {{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=1807 Animation Magazine}} has a report that may be taking this a bit too far. Pre-production on the first Slinky film – yes Slinky, the springy toy that is fun for a girl and a […]

Jerry Beck, over on his {{link http://www.cartoonresearch.com/screenings.html Cartoon Research Screenings}} page, reminds the lucky animation fans of LA that tonight sees the first of three events marking a chance to catch some unique and rare films on the big screen. “Forget music – Visit the new Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. and watch silent […]

Doing what it does best, Jim Hill Media digs to the bottom of the recent Few Good Ghosts cancellation and the shutting down of Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida and finds some answers. The answers may not be pleasing or satisfying but the bottom line is that when you are trying to please stockholders more […]

{{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=1806 Animation Magazine}} has the scoop on why DreamWorks’ \\Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas\\ was not on the list of films eligible for the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar. Ann Daly, head of feature animation at DreamWorks, told Animation Magazine Online, “In light of the fact that \\Sinbad\\ was clearly a commercial disappointment, […]

{{link http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2003/03.11.19.a.html The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}} has released the names of the eleven films that will compete for the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar in the next Academy Awards competition. The films that will compete for the three nominations are: \\Brother Bear\\, \\Finding Nemo\\, \\Jester Till (Till Eulenspiegel)\\, \\The Jungle Book […]

{{link http://www.tiscali.co.za/tiscali/entertainment/entertainment_story.jsp?content=109769 Tiscali Entertainment}} has interviewed Samuel L. Jackson, who discussed his role in the upcoming Pixar movie \\The Incredibles\\. He reveals that he does not play a bad guy, as some thought, but Mr. Incredible’s best friend Frozon. “I’ve got superpowers, man! – I can make things freeze… Yeah, it was cool, spent about […]

{{link http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/popcandy/2003-11-18-pop-candy_x.htm USA Today}} asks “Enough of the mouse – what about the cat?” The writer takes an interesting and fun look at the world’s first animated star, Felix the Cat. Brush up on your Felix trivia with nuggets like: “the first television images transmitted were of a Felix the Cat doll” – 75 years […]

{{link http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/brief_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=2031147 The Hollywood Reporter}} is reporting that The American Film Institute will “honor the songs of Hollywood in its ongoing celebration of 100 years of American movies with \\AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Songs: America’s Greatest Music in the Movies\\. The three-hour special, airing in June 2004 on CBS, will count down the 100 […]

Cartoon Network will air a new hour long Powerpuff Girls Christmas special this holiday season according to {{link http://news.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=top&newsitem_no=9637 AWN}}. In \\’Twas the Fight Before Christmas\\, which will debut December 12 at 9pm, “the girls are shocked to find themselves on Santa’s naughty list”. This is the same episode that was released on DVD in […]

To celebrate the 75th birthday of Mickey Mouse {{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/article.php?article_id=1805 Animation Magazine}} is collecting messages from readers. They ask that readers write about “how you feel about Walt’s world famous creation – how Mickey influenced your career, how he brought you together (or continues to bring you together) with friends and family, and basically makes […]

The Guardian (UK) has released their list of the forty best directors in the world today, and Hayao Miyazaki is in the eighth position, just below Errol Morris and above David Cronenberg. On his films, they wrote, “[Miyazaki’s] films create the world anew, literally. Each is set in an intricate, self-contained fantasy world that’s been […]

Baby Stewie could be staging a comeback. In a sign of the growing importance of DVD sales to Hollywood, 20th Century Fox is considering a plan to resume production of Family Guy, a sometimes crude animated comedy that the Fox network took off the air more than 18 months ago. As many as 35 new […]

Famous French comic book artist Enki Bilal is directing a CG adaptation of his Nikopol trilogy (La foire aux immortels, 1980, La femme piège, 1986, and Froid Equateur, 1992). Set in a futuristic Paris where ancient Egyptian gods come back to life, Immortel (Ad Vitam) is scheduled for a March 2004 release and wll star […]

As the day draws on, various entertainment and news channels are all running stories on Mickey’s 75th, most of them touching on his Steamboat Willie roots and looking to the future, with first-look clips from the 2D feature Three Musketeers, the 3D them park attraction Mickey’s Philharmagic and next Christmas’ 3D video title Twice Upon […]

Perhaps illustrating just exactly how important the creation of Mickey Mouse was, and continues to be, to the animation industry, {{link http://www.animationmagazine.net/ Animation Magazine}}’s website today launches with a great splash page montage featuring stills and rare audio featuring Walt Disney as Mickey from 1948 – celebrating the Mouse’s 20th Birthday! Once the clip has […]

{{link http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808403007&intl=us Greg’s Previews}} reports that the U.S. release date for \\Kaena: The Prophecy\\ has been set for June 4th, 2004. The film will debut in New York and Los Angeles on that day before opening in wider release on a later date.

The California Supreme Court will review a lower court ruling that holds Disneyland “to the same passenger safety requirements as operators of buses, trains, taxi cabs, escalators and ski lifts” according to {{link http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-disney18nov18235631,1,4057455.story The L.A. Times}}. Disney believes the higher standard should not apply since amusement park rides are entertainment not public transportation. If […]

Today sees the wide release on DVD of the warm and affectionate 1995 documentary {{link http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000TAYSO/ref=cm_wl_ovu-pg.1-pos.1/002-1902555-2863210?v=glance&coliid=I1XWCRLQV3O6K1&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER Frank And Ollie}}, an inside look at the lives of two of Walt’s fabled “Nine Old Men”. Previously available on a pan-and-scan VHS, this new Special Edition goes some way to cheering up those who were left disappointed by […]

On the evening of November 18th 1928, a showbiz legend was born – Mickey Mouse flashed across the screen of the Colony Theater in NYC and danced and sung his way through Steamboat Willie. The actual singing of a character (at that point in animation or live-action) was still revolutionary, after the initial success of […]

A recent article at Film Force discusses Disney’s Brother Bear from a deep Campbellian and Jungian perspective by exploring its archetypes and the hero’s journey that Kenai takes in the film. It also dignifies the roles of the fraternal moose pair, Rutt and Tuke, by showing that they are more than mere comic relief but […]

As if learning about the cancellation of My Peoples wasn’t bad enough, now director Guillermo Del Toro (the Blade movies, Hellboy) has revealed that he is no longer attached to the Wind in the Willows adaption, a project that Disney had once hoped would do for it what Lord of the Rings did for New […]

{{link http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-1117mickeymouse,0,3592155.story?coll=sfla-business-front The Sun-Sentinel}} looks back on the career of one Mr Mouse, who will be celebrating 75 years in the buisiness on Tuesday, November 18th. It was 75 years ago this day that Walt Disney premiered the groundbreaking cartoon Steamboat Wiliie, the one (to coin an often too used phrase) that started it all! […]