Over at DVD Toons, Rand Cyrenne is happy to meet up with old friend {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/313 Inspector Gadget}}, but is less impressed with the way he has aged on disc, while Rodney Figueiredo is left with a better impression of Marvel’s 1990s animated spin on {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/314 Spider-Man Vs. Doc Ock}}. Gadget is out in […]

Animated News was able to attend ASIFA-Hollywood’s 2D Animation Expo yesterday at Woodbury University in Burbank, and while there was not too much to be gleaned from the proceedings in the way of animation-related news, we did learn from Jim Capobianco of Pixar that there is no truth to the rumor that Pixar will be […]

Robin Joseph, a student of animation currently going on to make his final year film, has let us know about his new site, {{link http://www.patchoforange.com/ Patch Of Orange}}. Check out his site for examples from Robin’s portfolio, concept art, links and caricatures, including Nightmare Before Christmas creator Tim Burton (right)!

Stop-motion animator Marc Spess has “finally got around to putting up a site” for his short film {{link http://www.zombie-pirates.com/ Zombie Pirates}}, started two years ago with a friend. Images, storyboards, an animated test video and news updates are available on the site, which the duo hope to use to raise enough funding to make their […]

TV Guide.com has an interesting review of the rather interesting Kaena: The Prophecy, a movie which was “originally conceived as a video game,” and featuring the voice talent of Richard Harris and Kirsten Dunst. Thanks to Kristin for the heads up.

Below is a transcript of a Buena Vista Home Entertainment press release announcing new “ease-of-use” DVD features that will be appearing first on Disney’s The Three Musketeers.

Maya is a feature film project helmed by Mexican director Ricardo Arnaiz, whose goal is to promote the Mayan ancient culture. The movie will use traditional 2D techniques as well as CG. This is one of the most ambitious projects of Mexican cinema, featuring an all Mexican talent crew. The story integrates fictional elements in […]

Variety via Animation World Network is reporting that Vince Vaughn (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) has pitched to Speed Racer producers Joel Silver and Richard and Lauren Shuler Donner his take on the film which would have him playing Racer X. He would also executive produce on the project. Vaughn’s take focuses on family struggles […]

Reuters indicates that in a small conference with Deutsche Bank investors, from Disney’s Burbank headquarters, Disney CEO Michael Eisner stated, “We are reducing our investment in our film businesses.” According to Disney President and COO Bob Iger, “If we are going to invest money on entertainment, I think there are better ways to spend than […]

Yahoo! Movies has the new trailer for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, which will open in US theaters on September 17, 2004.

Variety, via Coming Soon!, reveals that screenwriter Ben Ramsey (The Big Hit) will adapt Dragonball Z for the big screen for 20th Century Fox. The popular series upon which the movie will be based follows “an adult humanoid alien who’s just discovered that he was sent to Earth to blend in and destroy our population […]

At IGN FilmForce, Jonathan Frakes speaks about his new film Thunderbirds. “I think we are all pretty conscious that there is a way to tell the story of the Thunderbirds for the fans, and there is a way to tell the Thunderbirds as a family action movie. If you happen to be a fan, you’ll […]

DreamWorks SKG Fansite reports that Shrek 2 broke box office records on it’s opening day in Paris, France, attracting 78,069 seats in comparison to Finding Nemo‘s draw of 50,261 seats. Grossing $39 million overseas and $382 million in North America, expect Shrek 2‘s domestic total to be around $410-420 million, with the overseas total being […]

Okay, here we go: {{link http://www.showbizdata.com/contacts/picknews.cfm/35921/JULIE_ANDREWS_SAYS_POPPINS_DVD_IS_SUPERCALIFRAGILISTIC Showbiz Data}} is the first to announce that the 2-disc Special Editon of Mary Poppins is going to be “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”. Speaking briefly to star Julie Andrews, she says that she was “staggered” watching the film again while recording an audio commentary. “It’s not at all creaky; it’s not at […]

Weighing in with their review of Disney’s {{link http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/312 Teacher’s Pet}}, DVD Toons agrees that it is better than than its box-office bomb nature suggests and deserves a second breath of life: “It’s refreshing to see good old-fashioned cartooning again, without the obvious CG distractions – everything here is refreshingly ‘lo-tech’. The story’s scope certainly […]

The Orange County Register has a brief article showing the Disney postage stamps featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, Bambi and Thumper, Mufasa and Simba from The Lion King, and Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket that have previously been reported at Animated News. Free subscription required to read article online.

Toon Zone has a couple of interesting links up today, including news on {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=114570 Singapore’s upcoming Animation Nation}} festival for independent animation, and the {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=114574 announcement}} by Dark Horse Entertainment and Image Entertainment that will see the two companies join up to produce and distribute theatrical features, direct-to-video titles, animated content and soundtracks […]

{{link http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=2135 Animation World Network}} has a report on the recent Licensing Show, with a look at the new TV properties, upcoming animated features and direct-to-DVD titles. Also on the site, reviews of three new animation-related {{link http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=2137 books}}: Bill Plympton’s Sloppy Seconds, Gary Baseman’s Dumb Luck and Danny Fingeroth’s Superman on the Couch. Finally, […]

In a positive, early look at Sky Captain and the World Tomorrow, Moriarty at Ain’t It Cool News writes, “Even unfinished, this is a very pure and uncomplicated piece of entertainment.” The critic goes on to say, “Is this a perfect piece of transcendent film art that will change you life? No, of course not, […]

‘Monkeyboy12’ in the AN Forum has posted a link to a story at video game site IGN about the game tie-in for the upcoming film. The game is being developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC and is scheduled for release along with the film in March.

Following Fox’s release of Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards recently, it seems the director’s other fantasy epic, Fire And Ice, is also up for a DVD revival: independent company Blue Underground are listing the 1983 animated feature on their {{link http://www.blue-underground.com/future_releases.php Future Releases}} webpage. No details on specs, though BU are well aware of the collectors’ nature […]

The American Film Institute (AFI) announced their list of the {{link http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/songs.aspx top 100 movie songs of all time}}. The list includes “classics of every kind – from timeless favorites of yesteryear to contemporary tunes”, with the number one song selected being “Over The Rainbow”, from The Wizard Of Oz. Other placings of interest to […]

Ropes of Silicon has the first picture of the well-known monkey and the Man in the Yellow Hat from Universal’s upcoming Curious George, climbing to theaters on September 30, 2005.

A new trailer (in Spanish) for Filmax’s upcoming CG feature is now available online. This futuristic take on Collodi’s book is due to bow in Spain’s theaters this coming July. An English version of the movie featuring the voices of Whoopi Goldberg and Malcolm McDowell is also in the works.

Frédéric from the French Incredibles fansite, The Indestructibles, has added three new pictures to his website, under the “Infos” section! Also check out Shane Glines’ Cartoon Retro forum for more Incredible artwork and book covers!

Jerry Beck, on his {{link http://www.cartoonbrew.com/ Cartoon Brew}} website, links to the list of animated cartoon shorts to be included in the upcoming Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume Two set, and says “wait’ll you see the list of bonus materials”! Also on the site, Jerry is promoting {{link http://www.asifa-hollywood.org./current.html#2D ASIFA-Hollywood’s 2D Expo}}, to be held […]

Animation Insider is reporting that Boomerang, Cartoon Network’s sister network dedicated to classic animation, is planning to air 24 hours of historical shorts featuring various Hollywood actors and actresses between the 1930s and the 1950s that will air entirely commercial-free this Saturday, June 25. Boomerang will feature every single Warner Bros. animated short from the […]

Follow the ‘More’ link for TV Guide’s review of A&E’s Pride or this link to its page at TVGuide.com if you can catch it before it gets replaced with a review of another show. Pride (not to be confused with NBC’s Father of the Pride) is a “live-action drama [with a] seamless pairing of vivid […]

Commemorating the movie’s two-year anniversary of its US theatrical release, Ultimate Disney has received word of what bonus features may appear on the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD of Lilo & Stitch. Though these specs are from the film’s DVD re-release in Italy, arriving this fall, most – if not all – of the same features […]

Dark Horizons confirms that Kung-Fu Panda is still in the works, with word coming from Shelly Page at DreamWorks. As a guest speaker at a student film convention in Cardiff, Wales, Page not only confirmed but also described the film as “a cross between Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Pandas“.